Best Part ꕀ Huang Renjun

ꕀ 10

"Oh, that's... nice of him," she said, glancing back to her book, not really knowing what to say.

Jaemin hummed as he watched her. "That surprise you?"

Yujin hesitated as she thought. "Mmm, not really. You guys are super close," she shrugged, glancing over to him as he grinned.

"Yeah," was all he said, allowing for silence to return to the two briefly as he watched her with scrutiny.
"You know, he's really not what you think he is."

Yujin glanced up, eyebrows furrowing as her faced twisted perplexed.
"What do you mean?"

Jaemin shrugged, reaching into the bag and pulling out another chocolate chip to pop into his mouth. "Just that, people have their assumptions about Renjun- and I know you do too."

Yujin opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when she didn't know what to say. Her eyeline drifted ever so slightly to the left as she let her mind wander.

"All I'm saying is, just consider the possibility that you two are more alike than you think," he smiled softly at the girl, the overhead lights gleaming in his eyes before he turned his head to the oven.
"Yes! The cookies are done!" He grinned widely as he shoved the oven mitts onto his hands and reached into the oven to pull out the tray- turning around and shining his wide smile to the girl as he held out the tray for her to see.
"I hope you're ready for the best cookies you've ever had."

Yujin huffed a quiet laugh, shaking her head in amusement. But as they began to move the cookies onto the cooling tray, Jaemins words rang through her head like a symphony.

-—-

The sky had turned dark. Asterisms decorated the navy canvas above her as Yujin made her way home. The soft, natural glow of the moon and the dim, luminescent artificial lighting of the odd lamppost lit her way.

Her fingers pressed into the muscle of her neck, trying desperately to relieve some of the strain from her heavy backpack.

Work had been exhausting and all she wanted to do was take a shower- feeling sticky after a customer dropped a can of cola, causing it to explode and soak her leg and arm. The overly sweet scent still clinging to her clothes and skin.

Yujin sighed, adjusting the grocery bags in her hands to even out the weight. Her feet shuffled along the cracked pavement , barely lifting her feet with each step. She was so exhausted that she hardly reacted when her toe caught on a raised edge, making her stumble slightly before catching herself.

Her eyes drifted to the flickering lamppost in front of her, watching as it struggled to provide any light- just like it had for the past two years.

She hated her neighbourhood. The pothole ridden roads, the cracked pavement, the overgrown lawns that seeped into the streets. The way the city ignored it all, allowing it to fall apart piece by piece, and pretending that these problems didn't exist.

The sound of footsteps pulled her from her thoughts.

Ahead of her, she spotted An Haewon.

Another girl in her neighbourhood that she went to school with. They were friendly but didn't really know each other.

Yujin smiled at the girl as they walked past each other and the girl reciprocated it- only for a second.
The moment the two had their backs to each other, their smiles dropped.

But Yujin didn't take offence, rather, she understood the struggles.

As the girl finally reached her house, relief washed over her to be met with dark windows rather than yelling.