please remember to vote and comment!
Tuesday, February 2
Choi Hanbyul hesitantly walked into the school, using Haruto as a human shield. The male shook his head at her antics, taking long strides, making it difficult for the younger to keep up.
She really didn't want to meet the boys after the incident. She wanted to be mad at them, but she knew seeing them would make it difficult. Especially with their roughed up faces.
Seeing them as soon as she entered the class, Hanbyul immediately turned the other way. If it weren't for Haruto grabbing her hand, she would've already been outside the gates. The brunette looked up at her boyfriend, pouting slightly as she shook her head.
"I don't know what happened, but you can't ignore them forever. If it gets too hard — only if it does–" Haruto emphasized, pointing at the girl. "–only then will we get out of school. Alright?"
Hanbyul sighed, grumbling. "Fine." She took a deep breath, putting on her best icy glare, and walked towards her seat — which unfortunately was amid all the boys.
Just like she had dreaded, all the boys — except Junghwan — tried talking to her. Hanbyul closed her eyes tightly, looking down before grabbing a book and pen from her bag. She started doodling, and the boys noticed her humming to herself as she tightly gripped the pen, trying her best not to listen to any of their words.
Mashiho gestured the boys to stop talking, realising the girl didn't want to talk to them. But Jaehyuk was persistent. He had to talk to his best friend. "Hani, jebal. Where did you go? Why did you leave like that?" Hanbyul breathed out harshly, internally praying for the classes to start quickly.
"Hyung, leave her–" Yedam started, but his words fizzled out as the older glared at him, instantly shutting his mouth.
"How can you do something dumb like leave the house? I told you I had things under control!" Jaehyuk stated, making Hanbyul scoff at his words.
"Under control?" She turned to look at him with a glare. Big mistake. Hanbyul gulped as she saw his slightly swollen face, most of the bruises covered with makeup, but she didn't have to see them to know how bad it was. "Under control, my ass," she muttered, looking away as quickly as she could.
"Hani, come on. Just talk–" Jaehyuk groaned, feeling pain on the back of his head.
"Knock it off. Let her be," Yoshi warned, furrowing his eyebrows. The younger male sighed, slamming his fist against his table before grabbing his books that were on the table.
"Save it." Hanbyul stood up, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "I'm leaving." She took her phone, putting it into her blazer pocket.
"Don't go," Jeongwoo pleaded, and the brunette looked away, ignoring the many band-aids that were on his arms.
"Should've said that when I left the house."
|<><><><><>|
The back of the school was now a common hiding spot for Hanbyul. But that meant the boys knew where she was hiding too. She sent a text to Haruto, telling him she wanted to meet him near the guardroom.
Hanbyul threw her bag over her shoulder, internally groaning when she saw Jaehyuk approaching her. She pretended to not see him and tried walking past him, but it didn't work. Jaehyuk had grabbed onto her arm, stopping her from walking further.
"Hani, please stop ignoring me. I did nothing wrong, did I?" He asked, sincerely looking at the younger.
Yes, you did. You took the blame for everything when it was my fault. And you had the audacity to tell me it was fine when Hyunsuk punished you all. Everything about what you did was wrong, she wanted to tell him, but looked at down his hand that was grasping hers.
"Let go."
Jaehyuk shook his head. "Not until you answer me. You can't just leave after everything we did for you. Come on, we–" Hanbyul's eyes widened at his words, her head shaking as she denied his claims.
"I didn't do anything of this to you. You brought it upon yourself. I did nothing to you guys, Jaehyuk. Nothing. Nothing at all." She repeated, convincing herself more than she was speaking to the older.
Yoon Jaehyuk noticed the state his best friend was in, knowing the past few days were taking a toll on her. Hanbyul's eyes were red, and if you looked closely, you could see the poor job she had done in covering up her dark circles from the sleepless nights.
"O-okay. You didn't d-do anything. It's a-all us," he muttered, worrying immensely for the younger. He let go of her wrist, taking a few steps back and turned around, running his fingers through his hair.
What had Jaehyuk done? This wasn't the cheerful and sassy Hanbyul he knew. Why did she look so drained ... and broken? Was it because of him?
"I am not on the streets, don't worry. I'm staying with Haruto. I think about you guys all the time, so I hope all of you are doing well. Please take care of yourself, Jaehyuk," the brunette muttered, taking advantage of the boy turning away so she didn't have to look at him.
"We'll be fine as long as you are fine. That's all we need to know." Jaehyuk sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "If you ever need me, I'm just a call away, Hani."
"Alright."
|<><><><><>|
Watanabe Haruto watched his girlfriend run across the school field, quickly making her way towards the guardroom where she wanted them to meet up. He greeted her with a small smile, pinching her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Can we go home?" Hanbyul asked, hopefully looking at Haruto.
The older raised his brow at her words. "Why? What happened?" He pulled her away, inspecting her face to figure out her emotions.
She seems fine ... and slightly relieved too. Why does she want to go home?
"I just want to. I don't feel like going for classes today." The girl gave a bright smile, causing him to chuckle as he shook his head.
"No."
Hanbyul frowned, blinking in disbelief. "What? Why?" She pouted, confused.
"I am already a bad influence on you, Hani. I don't want to help you skip school." Haruto ruffled her hair, smiling lovingly. "As a person who cares about you, I think I should drag you back to class by your ear." He held her ear, pinching it lightly.
"Okay, okay, arrasseo! You can let go now." Hanbyul weakly slapped away Haruto's hand, holding her ear as she playfully glared at him.
"Just breathe, Hani. I will be right behind you at all times."
***
okay, stay safe. y'all know the drill. please remember to vote and comment!