chapter 23
~home~
With a weary sigh escaping her lips, Song Yoon-ah set off on her way to class. Although she thought she heard her name being uttered by one of Seojun's friends, she could care less. Yoon-ah had been worried sick, thinking that something had happened to Seojun; but watching the idiot jesting with his friends, and threatening Jukyung no less, made something snap within her.
The girl hadn't even considered what she would say to him when she ran into the boy again. Perhaps she had expected that seeing him alright would make her feel relieved, but in her worry, she had forgotten just how mad she was at him.
On top of that, the mere sight of him cornering Jukyung to threaten her was enough to trigger her fury. Despite this, there was a part of Yoon-ah that was rational enough to restrain her anger. Despite being friends, Yoon-ah realized that he was entitled to be his own person; he didn't owe her anything.
"Yoon-ah-ya!" The sound of an unfamiliar voice calling out for her caused the brunette to snap out of her trance.
Her brows rose in mild surprise to see one of her classmates emerge from the restroom, followed by a girl Yoon-ah didn't know. Their faces were filled with both intimidation and excitement as they approached her.
Although she was sure she knew the girl who called out to her, since she sat just in front of her in class, her friend seemed to be from a different section.
Yoon-ah cursed herself on the inside, her memory eluding her of their names. The two were well acquainted with Sua, but she had never spoken to them before herself. Then again, Sua appeared to know almost everyone.
"Oh, hey," She offered them an awkward smile in greeting. "What's up?"
"Soojin is in there," the short-haired girl said in a meek voice, gesturing at the closed doors of the restroom behind her. "I think you'd better go check on her"
"Is everything okay?" Yoon-ah said, her hair rising up in alarm.
"Well, it doesn't seem so-"
"Yes, yes-Soojin is alright," the other girl added quickly, noting Yoon-ah's eyes widen at her friend's words. "But-" she hesitated. "It's best if you check in on her."
Yoon-ah was already at the door before the girl completed her sentence. Flashing a grateful glance over her shoulder, the brunette pushed open the double doors. The lone figure in the restroom was Soojin, apparently lost in her own world.
'KangSu?' Yoon-ah called, the affectionate nickname she had for her friend slipping from her lips.
Yet, the gesture failed to elicit any response from Soojin, who did not even glance up to acknowledge Yoon-ah's presence. In fact, it appeared she didn't seem to hear her at all. She continued scrubbing her hands aggressively, taking more hand soap as she did so.
"Soojin-ah?" Yoon-ah called again, louder this time. "Is something wrong?"
Just as Yoon-ah extended her hand toward her, Soojin suddenly seemed to snap into awareness. As she stared up at Yoon-ah, an expression of dazed surprise crossed her face.
"Are you okay? Is something on your mind?"
Soojin blinked, focusing on Yoon-ah as if for the first time. A crooked smile made its way to her face. "No, it's alright. There was just something on my hand."
Though Soojin's smile appeared to be genuine on the outside, Yoon-ah knew her well enough to discern her false smile from a sincere one. Her concerned gaze fell on the girl's hands, which looked worn and rough. However, before Yoon-ah could comment on it, Sua burst in through the door.
"Ah, Ji-yoo told me you'd both be here," the petite girl chimed in with a bright smile. "Are you guys ready for class? It starts soon, let's go."
Just as they did before Jukyung transferred schools, Sua reached out and hooked arms with Soojin and Yoon-ah. It wasn't long before she set off chatting endlessly - in her usual cheerful way. Yoon-ah knew she should have been paying more attention to Sua's words, but try as she might, she couldn't concentrate on anything she said. She couldn't help but sneak a glance at Soojin, who seemed uncharacteristically absorbed in Sua's words.
As if sensing Yoona-ah's gaze on her, Soojin turned to meet her eyes. It was as if they exhanged words through their eyes. Yoon-ah remained silent in front of Sua, since Soojin was clearly not comfortable saying anything at that moment...but she also had a feeling the conversation was far from over.
In class, Yoon-ah couldn't help but notice how Jukyung and Suho kept exchanging silent glances at each other. Although she attempted to ignore them and go on with her work, she found it rather hard to conceal her smirk. The chemistry between the two seemed to crackle in the air like a live electrical wire, making her want to disregard what she had witnessed the morning before. Something was definitely happening between them- and Yoon-ah was rather curious to see how their story would unfold.
_________________________________________
after school~
Yoon-ah gazed out of the car window on the way back to her house with her head resting on her arms and her brown hair blowing across her face. It had been a long day, and her thoughts kept swimming back to the time she had spoken with Seojun in the morning. Although, it was more of her snapping at him than anything else.
The night before, her peaceless mind had been haunted with the worst possible scenarios; but this morning, an inexplicable fury shot through her veins at the sight of the dark-haired boy.
He not only avoided her calls and messages but had also not been to the classes since morning. The way he spoke to Jukyung as if everything was alright, infuriated her to no end. A grunt of irritation escaped Yoon-ah's lips as she twisted in her seat, averting her gaze from the streets outside.
The brunette stared blankly at the roof of the car for a moment, then pulled her phone from her skirt pocket and slipped the earphones into her ear. Melodic music emanated from the device, and Yoon-ah sighed with satisfaction; closing her eyes to block out the world and enjoy the soft beats in peace.
Not even a second later, there was a crunching sound, and the car slid to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. While Yoon-ah glanced upwards, she saw that they had come to a halt right outside her house rather than pulling into the driveway.
"Is everything all right, Mr. Choi?" Yoon-ah asked the driver, trying her best not to let her disappointment reflect in her tone in the face of being disturbed out of her momentary peace.
When Mr. Choi did not reply, Yoon-ah's gaze flickered to the rear view mirror, only to see the driver's face turning deathly pale. His knuckles were slowly turning white from the force with which he gripped the steering wheel.
"Mr. Choi?" she echoed, concern filling her eyes.
"Miss, I think-" The man' voice broke as he choked out those words, then swallowed. "The car seems to have collided with someone."
Yoon-ah's eyes grew wide.
"It wasn't intentional," the man stuttered. "I was about to pull into the driveway when somebody just walked in front of the car without warning..."
Before the older man could finish speaking, Song Yoon-ah had already exited the car with the black car door slamming shut behind her. Though her mind raced in momentary panic, her steps remained steady.
The brunette rounded the corner to see a dark figure lying on the ground in front of the car, clutching his side as though he were in pain. With a familiar maroon blazer sprawled on his side, the young man let out a howl of pain. An involuntary squeak of surprise escaped her lips, and the figure turned towards her, black eyes gazing at her.
"Han Seojun?" she exclaimed as her hands flew to her mouth in shock.
Everything seemed to happen at once.
Mr. Choi scrambled out of the car in a frantic state, appearing to have recovered from his initial shock in the least, while the girl fell to her knees beside the injured boy. A strange feeling of heaviness washed over her as she gazed down at Seojun, the events of the morning quickly becoming a distant memory.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her frantic eyes examining him for injuries.
Suddenly, the girl paused. She thought she caught a glimpse of amusement in the boy's eyes as he gazed at her but it was gone before she could be certain, for it was right at that moment that Mr. Choi approached them, inquiring about Seojun's injuries in a panicked voice. The boy's face immediately contorted in agony as he wailed.
"I got hit by the car," Seojun cried out, clutching his knee close to his chest. "I think I'm going to die! There is no hope for me!"
Mr. Choi yelped while Yoon-ah's eyes darted around in panic for a moment, but then they settled on a box crushed under the car's wheel. Now that she thought about it, the sound she had heard in the car was eerily similar to that of a cardboard box being crushed, not at all that of a person being struck. In fact, Seojun did not appear to be hurt by a long shot, rather he seemed to be trying to suppress his laughter.
"Oh, dear!" Mr. Choi cried. "There must be some way we can help you!"
With just a glimpse of Seojun's amused smile, Yoon-ah had all the evidence she needed to confirm the theory cooking up in her mind. The fact that Seojun just pulled an idiotic prank on her made her lips twitch in displeasure. The brunette, who was still on edge and who felt her heart thundering in her chest, was none too pleased with the sudden turn of events. Neither did she feel particularly inclined to forgive the boy anytime soon.
She abruptly stepped away from him, and the boy's eyes widened a little. Before he could even open his mouth, Yoon-ah beat him to it, turning to the older man with a frown: "Mr. Choi, I'm sure I can handle things here. But I suggest you return home, your family must be waiting."
"Miss, but..."
"C'est bon," Yoon-ah said with a smile. "He isn't dead. Plus, he's a friend from school. You shouldn't have to worry."
She spoke to Mr. Choi with a lowered voice, leaning away from the boy. When the older man heard her words, his brows scrunched together and he whirled around to look at Seojun. Sure enough, the boy was sitting up in a half-lazy manner and had leaned forward to listen to their conversation, but when their eyes fell on him, he immediately fell back on the driveway and cried out once more.
Mr. Choi's gaze fell on the cardboard boxes, realization dawning upon him. He gave Seojun a curt nod, walking back to the car with a set of his shoulders.
Clearly, the elderly man was embarrassed to have panicked to that degree in front of his employer, much more so because it was a prank.
Yoon-ah nearly laughed at the older man's reaction, glancing over her shoulder at Seojun only to see his puppy-dog eyes looking at her in anticipation.
"It hurts," he cried out.
The brunette's lips drew into a thin line as she fought the urge to smile. She strode blithely towards the main iron gates of her house without a second glance at the boy. Almost as if she could sense Seojun's confusion over her reaction, she smiled to herself.
"Hold on! Hey!" yelled Seojun, hauling his worn backpack over one shoulder and running after the girl.
With a haughty turn of her eyes, Yoon-ah observed Seojun straighten up in front of her. "Oh good, you can stand up. I was about to call the hospital."
Seojun's eyes widened, a shaky chuckle escaping his lips. "There is no need for that-"
With mock horror in her eyes, she turned around to look at him. "Why not?" she asked. "Aren't you hurt? You may have suffered a concussion."
"No, I'm alright. I'm alright," Seojun shook his head frantically, with the look of a man who knew all too well that his plan was heading in the wrong direction. "There is no need for an ambulance."
"Really?" she idled, kicking the flower bouquet that lay at the entrance out into the streets, more out of habit than anything else.
He nodded. Yoon-ah noticed his eyes tighten when he saw the flowers, but she was relieved when he did not comment.
"Okay then, bye."
Yoon-ah slipped through the crack in the heavy iron gates, allowing them to swing shut behind her. Seojun, however, put his hand forward to prevent it from closing. "Yah! I just got run over by your car, is this how you're going to treat me?"
"Umm...Yes?"
"You can't do that!" he cried out, pointing to his side as he did so. "I'm hurt!"
"Seojun," she called out through the iron bars, her eyes glittering with amusement.
"Yeah?"
"Your acting is awful."
"Oh. Oh. I mean- " Seojun let out a disappointed sound, scratching his neck. "That makes sense. Did I get you?"
Yoon-ah pondered for a moment, deciding against giving him the momentary satisfaction he wanted: "No."
"Not even for a moment?"
"No."
"Oh," Seojun looked disappointed, and the girl struggled to suppress her smile.
"Okay bye," she repeated, swinging the door shut again.
"Wait-" The boy stuck his foot in the middle to try and stop it from closing. Unlike last time though, he winced.
Yoon-ah's eyes widened. Seojun noticed her gaze and looked at the ground sheepishly. "It's fine. I just ran into a little problem last night."
"Oh no, Seojun. Did you start another fight?"
He turned away with a pointed look. Yoon-ah rolled her eyes, though her features were overcome with sudden worry.
"Come on in."