district 17 | svt

4

Talk with her, you idiot.

Junhui sighed and slowly turned to face the petite girl.

"Seohyeon."

His friend flinched at the mention of her name before turning towards Junhui. One look in her eyes and he already knew.

"Good morning," he said with a smile so genuine and soft, it made Seohyeon's heart beat faster, "shall we get going?"

Seohyeon's facial features seemed to be a lot brighter than before. Her cheeks were a slightly tinted shade of pink, making look even cuter than she usually did. Her hair wasn't as tightly pulled back like it was before, only a little more loose. She gave him a nervous smile before nodding, and the two began to walk together side by side.

Cute. Junhui thought, a blush once again creeping over his cheeks.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, trying to make the awkwardness between them disappear.

"Fine," Seohyeon said.

She was lying. She only got a few hours of sleep. But frankly, it was all worth it. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to know. If the pills were simply for nutrients, why did they make everyone act so robotic? Why did everyone have to take them? Why were colors forbidden? Why was there only a few known about in this world? Junhui said he wanted to tell her everything he knew. Does that mean the District is keeping more things a secret from the rest of us? If there were other things, why?

"Junhui," she spoke up again, "I've decided what I'm going to do."

Junhui looked at Seohyeon, a little shocked. His brown eyes looking directly into her own made her heart beat faster, and her cheeks burn red.

"I-I'm not going to take them," she said, "I've thought about it, and that's my decision."

She had decided that night. She told Junhui that she wanted to learn more about everything. She wanted answers to all her questions. If taking her pills prevents her from getting any answers, then she wouldn't take them.

Junhui didn't know what to do. He was happy of course, but it was so sudden. She always was the type of girl to do things quickly, but he always thought it was because of the pills. Apparently, it was actually one of the natural parts of her personality.

Junhui took a deep breath in and scratched the back of his neck. He almost smirked at the thought of how things were actually working out better than he had hoped they would. He turned back to look at Seohyeon, blushing as he stared into her eyes. She flinched for a second, but continued to stare into his own. They had stopped in the middle of the path, silently looking at one another. The silence between them was almost suffocating for Seohyeon, and it seemed like Junhui was just itching to say something. She just wanted him to spit it on it already.

"Are you doing anything today?" Junhui asked, breaking the short silence between them.

"Not anything specific," she responded, "It's a Resting Day after all. Why?"

"I want to show you something," he explained, "its kind of important."

"Oh," Seohyeon trailed off, "okay."

"After First Meal, will you come with me?" He asked, his voice more hushed.

"Where to?"

"You'll see," he smiled, "just trust me..."

He leaned closer to until their faces were merely inches apart. A small smirk began to form on his lips, and Seohyeon's eyes widened anxiously.

"Okay?" He asked.

Seohyeon slowly nodded, and Junhui chuckled before pulling away.

"Alright!" Junhui said, "lets get going before Minghao gets mad."

They both began to walk again, side by side, in silence. It wasnt suffocating or awkward. It was comfortable, a peaceful silence between them like yesterday. As they reached the entrance to the Eating Room, they were greeted by a slightly irritated Minghao.

"Took you two long enough," he mumbled as he walked up to them.

He gave Junhui a glare and a subtle nod to Seohyeon before sighing.

"Jane is already waiting for us in there. You two took too long and the poor girl was getting hungry," Minghao scoffed.

"You seem to care a lot about Jane's well being," Seohyeon pointed out.

Minghao started to blush, and he suddenly became all flustered.

"I-wha-I didn't-"

Junhui snorted before forcing himself not to laugh at the sight of his friend getting embarrassed.

"D-Don't test me Junhui," Minghao said with a red face, "just go inside!"

"Right okay," Junhui chuckled, "let's go in then."

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