｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
It was Saturday morning when she had gotten the phone call from Suho.
She had already forced herself up and got ready for the lunch with Yeonghwa and after had been loitering in her kitchen trying to find something to snack on when her phone started buzzing incessantly on the counter. She was too caught up in making a decision to hear it the first time, but when it had started going off the second time, it had caught her attention and she walked over to it, catching sight of Suho's name on her phone, Devine Void.
She smiled at the inside joke before it quickly faded as the call ended once more, seeing that it wasn't just his first time calling, but his third. She quickly dialed him back in a hurry, worry encasing her heart.
He answered in the middle of the first ring, "Yeona?"
She could hear distress in his tone, "Suho, what's wrong? You never call me more than once. You sound upset."
"I heard..." She could hear his breathing on the other line, the sharp, harsh intakes of breath causing her to believe that he was in the midst of an oncoming panic attack, "I heard a phone ringing- a specific... specific ringtone and it made me think... of..."
He didn't even have to finish his sentence in order for her to understand why he was about to break down, "Suho, Suho!" She exclaimed the second time when he wouldn't respond, hearing a hum come from the line, "Suho, take deep breaths, alright? In... Out... In... Out..." She continued to stay on the line with him while he calmed down, it taking about thirty minutes of her coaxing him to become stable enough to converse with her.
He explained a little more of what happened once he was able to tell her, prompting a question from her, "Suho... Have you ever thought about going to see a doctor about this?"
It was silent on his end so she continued.
"I know it doesn't seem ideal, but it could really help with your panic attacks, learning how to cope with what happened..." She cringed slightly at her words, knowing she was being slightly hypocritical since she had never gone to the doctors for her anxiety and PTSD. It was a selfish and ignorant thought, she knew it was, but in her mind; she could handle her emotions enough to not need any help. At least that's what she believed.
"I don't need it. I'm fine." He responded shortly, his tone not sharp, but not exactly inviting either.
"Just think about it, okay? And don't say okay and totally brush me off, actually think about it." She spoke, feeling satisfied when he ended up agreeing.
"I'm gonna hang up now. I have to wallow in embarrassment for calling you about this." Suho announced bluntly, "Bye."
Yeona let out a laugh, "You can always call me about these kinds of things. Bye, Suho." He hung up without another word and Yeona sighed, placing her face into her hands and rubbing her eyes.
He sure knew how to wake her up.
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
The time for Yeona and Yeonghwa's meetup came around a while after her phone call with Suho. The two had met up at Prince's Comics before making their way to a burger place that Yeonghwa had chosen which ended up being not that far from their neighborhood.
They were nearing their destination when Yeona's eye caught someone familiar rushing out of the food place that they were about to enter. She elbowed Yeonghwa lightly, "Look, that's my friend ImJu." They couldn't see her face as she was rushing around the corner into the alleyway closest to the building, "And... that's... Lee Suho?" She muttered, watching as said boy walked into the food place.
"Wow, do your friends frequent here often?" Yeonghwa asked, slowing in his steps to keep up with Yeona who had come to a stop.
"No..." She trailed off, frowning when Jugyeong turned around from her place in the alleyway and hastily made her way back to where she had exited only to stop when Suho walked back out, "At least one of them doesn't..." The duo watched as Jugyeong froze the second that Suho had made eye contact with her. Jugyeong opened her mouth like a fish out of water before turning on her heel and bolting back to the safety of the alleyway, her pace surprisingly fast for a girl who would hardly participate in their P. E. class.
"What is going on?" She asked out loud, her eyes following Suho who chased after the distraught girl.
"Your friends sure have interesting lives... First a fire at the building and now some... of whatever this is?" Yeonghwa said, his eyes narrowed as he watched the scene unfold in front of them.
"Yeah, it seems that way, doesn't it?" Yeona mused, a slight smile appearing on her face, "It's like we're watching a K-drama unfold... Oh god..."
Yeonghwa's eyes widened a bit at her tone of voice, glancing at her with a curious look, "What?"
"It really is a drama... That's Chorong and Han Seojun..." She muttered, her eyes focused on the duo before sliding over to the boy whose face was still full of confusion, "Oh, sorry. Han Seojun and Suho don't get along and they both seem to be fighting over Jugyeong. Chorong is just a teaser that follows Seojun around like a lost puppy. Either of them happen to see Jugyeong and Suho and it's game over for them."
"Why is it game over if he- Wait! He's looking at where they are!" He exclaimed, cutting off his own question.
Yeona looked back at the duo and there with his gaze down the alley was Chorong, pointing to where the two teens had run off to. Seojun turned his head for a moment, staring, before shrugging and continuing forward, dragging Chorong along with him.
Yeona sighed in relief, "If he had followed, it would've been... well..." She trailed off, not sure how to end the sentence.
Yeonghwa didn't seem to have any issue, "A shit show."
Yeona paused before nodding, "Yeah, a shit show. Okay, let's run over there before anyone else comes."
"Aye-aye, captain," Yeonghwa replied, grabbing her hand and tugging her along with him across the street and to their destination. Seojun was thankfully still walking away from the food place meaning he probably wouldn't see them slip into the place and decide to come and interrupt.
Just as they were about to enter, a large group exited and Yeonghwa let go of her hand. Yeona kept her gaze to the door, waiting for the last person to exit so they could enter, not paying attention to the people that were leaving.
That was until a familiar voice sounded, causing Yeona to freeze in her movement of grabbing the door handle, "Kim Yeona?"
Yeona internally cursed herself and her luck, praying that they would just make a snarky comment and leave her alone. She knew that was wishful thinking but nevertheless, her prayers were being spoken in her head over and over.
"Kim Yeona?" Another voice was heard, causing her gaze to snap to that of Lee Sungyong who was eyeing her like he had just stumbled upon a prize.
Park Semi scoffed out a laugh, "First Dumpling and now you? Who's next?" She raised a brow, her smirk growing ever so slightly. Her gaze slid from Yeona to the boy who stood behind her, a look of confusion mixed concern on his face, "Hello there," She said in a taunting tone, raising her hand and waving prissily.
Yeonghwa placed a hand on Yeona's elbow, "If you'll excuse us-"
Semi stepped up, brushing in between the two, causing Yeonghwa's grip on her elbow to falter until he could no longer feel her arm, "What's the rush?"
Sungyong stepped up to Yeona, "Nice meeting you here, Kim Yeona."
Yeona's gaze was still locked onto Sungyong, afraid to let him out of her sights, "I wish I could say the same," She replied sharply, "But I'm afraid that my friend and I are busy, so if you'll excuse us-" She grabbed Yeonghwa's wrist and made a move to walk past Sungyong, deciding that the burgers were definitely not worth the energy and embarrassment that she would face staying there.
Sungyong grabbed her wrist and separated the two, tugging Yeona away from Yeonghwa who protested, "Yah!"
Semi stepped in front of him, "What? You don't know about little miss Kim Yeona, do you? You haven't heard what she's done to me?" Semi laughed humorlessly, "She's a crazy bitch, I'd watch my back if I were you."
Sungyong continued to tug her until they were a distance away where the group of Semi and their followers couldn't eavesdrop before he jerked her to a stop, "New boyfriend? Gotta say, I figured it would be Lee Suho or Han Seojun."
Yeona's eyes widened at the mention of the boys. She knew that Sungyong had known of her friendship with Seojun, but he had never seen her with Suho, even when she attended Yongpa High. Sungyong continued, "Maybe you're three-timing them?" He hummed, placing his free hand to his chin, his grip still tight on her arm.
She became aware of the pain of his grip and ripped her arm from his grasp, taking a step back, "What do you want?" She asked, staring him down.
Sungyong let out a laugh before sobering up, his face dropping into a serious look as he grabbed her arm again, yanking her forward and leaning down to talk in her ear, "I hope you don't think that I'm done with you... There's still more pain to come, miss Kim Yeona. Mess with Park Semi once... well..." He stepped back and gestured to her, referring to her position.
Yeona kept her face neutral, not allowing her emotions to show on her face, "Just do me a favor?" Yeona mused, knowing that with her words, this situation was not going to end well, but she couldn't help herself, "Leave me alone and go to hell." She replied, venom lacing her tone as she tried to rip her arm from his grasp again, failing when his grip would not relent. He raised his free hand and Yeona knew what was coming, raising her free arm in defense of what was about to happen, clenching her eyes closed.
But the slap never came and Yeona slowly opened her eyes, her eyes trailing to where Sungyong's hand had been raised, a hand wrapped securely around his wrist, stopping him from his actions, "Yah, Chorong. Let's get burgers another time, yeah?" The voice of the one and only Han Seojun sounded, filling Yeona with a sense of relief. Her eyes trailed from his hand to his arm and finally to his face, meeting his gaze.
"You okay?" He asked, raising a brow. Yeona breathed out a sigh, nodding.
Chorong circled around and grabbed the hand that was wrapped harshly around Yeona's arm, freeing her from the pain that was Sungyong's grip. She instinctively took a couple of steps back, quietly thanking Chorong. She glanced back at Yeonghwa, eyes flitting around until they landed on him, being held back by two of Sungyong's goonies.
"Yah!" Yeona called out, capturing the attention of the two boys who looked at her with a bored look, "Let him go." She demanded, staring the two down with a look that could kill.
The two shifted nervously, their eyes going from her, to Sungyong, and then the boy who still had Sungyong's wrist in a tight grip. Both boys swallowed simultaneously when Seojun's eyes met theirs, immediately letting go of Yeonghwa who rushed over to Yeona, "Are you okay? Those guys were unrelenting in their grip, I'm sorry I couldn't get to you."
Yeona nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, it's okay." She turned back to Seojun and Sungyong, watching as Seojun canvassed the scene before shoving Sungyong away by the arm, which caused him to stumble back, having to catch himself from falling.
Seojun and Chorong both moved in front of Yeona protectively just as Sungyong moved forward. The boy was clearly frustrated as he yelled out, "Yah, what the hell?"
"Let's not cause a scene." Seojun replied coolly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yah, Sungyong, he sounds mad scary when he talks serious!" One of the goons exclaimed in a teasing manner from behind them, still standing where they had been before.
Sungyong laughed at his words, sobering up immediately when he felt something hit him. He looked down to the floor and saw a small empty bottle that was once filled with yogurt, his eyes slowly trailing up to the offender.
"My bad, I thought this was a garbage can." Chorong called out, staring at Sungyong with a smirk.
Sungyong cursed out loud, raising his fist quickly, "Do you want to die-"
Seojun reacted quicker, stepping forward and grabbing his shirt in a tight grip, "Yah. Leave unless you want to die. I don't want to waste my time with hoodlums like you anymore." He pushed him back with a bout of strength, Sungyong stumbling backwards with the force. Semi had made her way over to them, grabbing Sungyong's wrist when he went to swing at Seojun, "Sun, let's just go!" She exclaimed, fear flashing through her eyes as she look at Seojun's eyes.
"What? What will you do here?" Seojun asked. There was a beat of silence and as if that answered his question, he cocked his jaw as he turned around, "Let's go." He gestured for Yeona to go first, which she hesitantly complied, glancing back to see Semi pull Sungyong back as he had tried to throw a punch again.
"Don't look back, just keep walking." Seojun instructed, staying behind her and glaring at the two boys that were still standing in their spots, smirking in satisfaction when they flinched and rushed over to Sungyong.
They continued until they had turned the corner, Seojun immediately going into interrogation mode, "What the hell was that? This is not the first time that you have run into them, what's the backstory here?"
Yeona ignored his questions entirely, putting on an uncomfortable smile, "You guys haven't met! Yeonghwa, this is Han Seojun and Kim Chorong. Seojun, Chorong, this is Ahn Yeonghwa..."
Yeonghwa smiled awkwardly, "Hey."
Seojun nodded in acknowledgement before turning his attention back to the girl in front of him, "Answer my questions! What the hell was that, Yeona?"
Yeona waved him off, "Maybe later. Don't worry about it." She replied, putting emphasis on the words to show him exactly how much she did not want to talk about that right now.
Seojun opened his mouth to retort but Chorong elbowed him in his side, effectively cutting him off. Chorong spoke up, "Nice to meet you, Ahn Yeonghwa. Time to go, Han Seojun." He grabbed the boys arm and tugged him with all of his force, "See you later, Kim Yeona!" He called after, ignoring Seojun's shouts of protest.
They watched them disappear, an uncomfortable silence falling between them. Yeona hummed before speaking, "So..." She took a chance at looking over at him, regretting it once she saw the same curiosity and protectiveness lingering in his eyes.
"So..." He trailed off. The millions of questions that she could see floating around his head were evidently going to keep him up at night, she presumed. The difference between Ahn Yeonghwa and Han Seojun was that Yeonghwa had the ability to keep his questions to himself and was respectful not to cross any boundaries whereas Han Seojun... not so much.
Yeona sighed, "There's definitely a history there. Let's just say none of those people were good people."
"That was evident. I don't see you being a troublemaker." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't try to pester her about what had happened and Yeona found comfort in that.
Yeona pursed her lips, "I only make trouble when it's for good causes... Anyways, I'm sorry that that happened and in turn I wasn't able to treat you to lunch..."
Yeonghwa smiled and waved her off, "We still have time. What do you say we go to a chicken place instead? There's not one far from here and it's probably one of the best chicken places in this neighborhood." He tilted his head in a way that told her to follow him and she complied, falling into step beside him.
"Chicken sounds good. I'm paying, remember that." She reminded, giving him a pointed look.
Yeonghwa raised his hands in defense, "Mhm, yeah."
Yeona stopped, crossing her arms, "Yah! I am!"
The boy stopped as well, turning to face her, "No complaints here."
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion before opening her mouth to speak, "You better not pull a fast one on me."
He laughed, "Yeah, sure..." He coughed out, "No promises," to which Yeona responded by slapping his arm and pouting.
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
Yeona had managed to convince Yeonghwa that he didn't need to walk her home by telling him that she would be staying at Prince's Comics for a couple of hours. She indeed kept her promise, staying until the sun was beginning to set over the horizon.
Her walk home was soothing and although it was a bit cold, she felt at ease. Her run in with Sungyong wouldn't deter her mood, no matter how many times he would try and ruin her day and possibly her life.
As she turned the corner to go up her driveway, she spotted a figure sitting on the steps in front of her home, causing her heart to drop to her stomach before she ended up recognizing the person at her doorstep. The leather jacket clad boy stood up immediately when he spotted her, "Yah, Kim Yeona! It's dark out! Why are you just now coming home?"
Yeona rolled her eyes, "Dad?" She asked, giving Han Seojun an incredulous expression before it dropped into a flat gaze, "Why are you here?"
Seojun visibly shuddered, looking perturbed, "Don't ever call me that again, got it? And anyways, you didn't answer my question, Kim Yeona!"
Yeona stopped in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest, "It's really none of your business, but if you must know, I was at Prince's Comics. Now answer my question."
"Who was that guy earlier?" He asked, ignoring her and making it known that she would not be getting a response from him until all of his questions were answered.
She sighed and stood there for a moment before pointing to her forehead where the cut was almost completely healed and was just a light pink scratch, beginning to speak, "Remember this? I told you I had fallen and hit my head on the floor? The longer version was I was evacuating a building that was on fire. When I fell, Yeonghwa helped me up and then ended up giving me a piggy-back ride to safety since he was faster."
Seojun's eyes widened, "You were almost barbecued in a building?"
Yeona rolled her eyes, "Everything is fine. I was just taking Yeonghwa to lunch as a thank you. Now answer my question, why are you here?"
Seojun suddenly became somewhat shy, looking away as if embarrassed, "I was coming to check on you..."
Yeona felt a smile growing on her face, "You?" Her smile was full and teasing, "Were coming to check up on me?" She asked, pointing to herself although he was still facing away from her, "Why?"
Seojun's gaze landed back on her as he began to speak again, "After what happened today. I had questions about everything," Yeona's smile faltered, "But my number one question was if you were okay."
Yeona looked down at the ground before letting her gaze float back to his, "I'm okay."
"So what's your history with Sungyong?" He asked after a beat of silence and a nod.
Yeona let out a mix of a scoff and a laugh, "Wow, cut right to the chase, huh?" Seojun stared at her expectantly and Yeona rolled her eyes with a sigh, "It's none of your business. Let's just say him and his little side chick do not like me. Especially the side chick."
He furrowed his brows, "Side chick... Park Semi?"
Yeona scowled at the name, "Yeah..." Her expression switched to a curious one, "You know her?"
Seojun shook his head, "No, I was stalking Sungyong on Stargram and stumbled across her account. But now that I know her name, I can recall at least four times where someone had talked major crap about her."
Yeona laughed, "You Star-stalked her? What are you, a thirteen year old girl?"
Seojun glared at her playfully, "Yah, I had to learn about my opponent. You can never know too much about your enemy."
"Enemy?" Yeona asked with a laugh, "Why is she your enemy?"
"Because she's your enemy?" He answered with a 'duh' expression, "Kim Yeona, how are you number two in class but lack basic comprehension?" Seojun asked with a raised brow and crossed arms.
Yeona gasped, placing a hand to her heart, "Wow! Number twenty-seven in the class trying to insult me! Han Seojun, don't even talk. You lack both common sense and basic comprehension skills."
Seojun rolled his eyes, "I'll have you know that I'm actually number nineteen in class. As for the other thing that you said, I refuse to believe that."
"Ego too big to let it hurt?" She asked, tilting her head innocently at him.
He scowled, "Shut up. I shouldn't have checked up on you."
"You started it." She mumbled, pouting before letting her easy smile rest back on her face.
Seojun finally dropped his scowl and gave her a look that she couldn't quite read, "I'm glad you're okay, Yeona. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, he quickly made his way down the steps and down her driveway before disappearing. Yeona stared after where he went before she shook herself out of her daze, scolding herself out loud.
"No. No, no no no no. You don't like him. Go to bed." She nodded at her own words and got her house key out of her bag, unlocking the door and quickly closing it behind her.
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
The next morning, Yeona had taken her medication and had some of the leftover side dishes that Seojun had made one of the previous nights, for breakfast. Once she had the satisfied feeling of having enough breakfast, she had made her way to school.
She was making her way further onto campus when she spotted Han Seojun a little ways away, walking with his nose buried in his phone. Her face lit up, changing her route to go where Seojun currently stood.
Just as she was about to call out to him, Jugyeong was walking in his direction whilst singing something she couldn't quite make the words of before jumping at him with a swipe of her hand, mimicking a tiger of sorts, a playful "roar" coming from her lips. She had a large smile on her face which only grew when she was noticeably satisfied with his reaction and she turned on her heel to make her way to the school building, not before turning once more and roaring again.
Yeona's own smile faltered at the sight of Han Seojun who was staring after her, a look of longing on his face that made Juygeong seem like she was the world and he was just lucky that he was able to even be in her presence. She knew. She didn't want to admit it but she had to.
She liked Han Seojun. She didn't quite know when it started, or if it would pass, but all she knew in that moment was that she liked him.
And he liked someone else. Her best friend.
He looked at a loss for words, staring after her before he looked to his left and then to his right - his gaze landing directly on Yeona.
She froze for a moment before forcing her mind to work, wiping off the sad look that had probably been evident and throwing on a smile, giving him a slight nod of acknowledgement before turning on her heel and making her way to the front doors of the school, hoping that he wouldn't come after her.
She knew that he potentially had feelings for Jugyeong. They had talked about it that night on the swings when she had told him not to use her to get back at Suho. Although she deemed it a sick thought, part of her had hoped that he was using her and that he would come to his senses and not like her best friend. But as good as her luck was, which wasn't good at all, he liked Jugyeong.
She couldn't exactly blame him, Im Jugyeong was a beautiful girl - inside and out. She had a very bright and playful personality and was a very dimensional girl.
Yeona felt a little less important than her best friend. She knew she wasn't ugly, but she didn't know where she fell in the looks department. She was kind but that was it. She didn't have any dimension at all, she felt like an empty sheet of paper, two sides that were exactly the same whereas Jugyeong was so much more than that.
So yeah, she couldn't blame Han Seojun for liking her. Hell, if Yeona swung that way, she would like Jugyeong too. She loved her best friend and if Jugyeong decided one day that she liked Seojun well... She would throw her own feelings aside to make her best friend happy.
After all, she wanted everyone around her to be happy. That's who she was, a kind soul whose sole purpose was to please everyone in what she would figure would be the best way.
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
Y: You switched the cards??
Yeonghwa: What?
Y: You. Switched. The. Cards.
Yeonghwa: ...
Yeonghwa: What ever do you mean :0
Yeonghwa: Someone switched the cards? A catastrophe!
Y: You will be seeing God in 3-5 business days.
Yeonghwa: Wait what
｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈•ﾟ｡
if you couldn't pick up on it in the texts, yeona is referring to the fact that yeonghwa switched their debit cards when they were paying for lunch :-) not proofread!
HI! how are you?
a lot has happened in my life! i finished work for the summer (i will be back next summer <3) and!!!
drumroll....
i moved into my college dorm!!!!!
classes start tomorrow and instead of getting a good nights sleep, i'm finishing this chapter <3 you're welcome.
actually, i've been working off and on for the chapter for about a week now - it's not as good as i wanted it to be, sorry in advance. it's a bit scattered in my opinion but that's okay!
i plan on writing more, no worries!
we're almost finished with ep 6!! woohoo! i'll let you know when we enter ep 7
so i am taking studio art with a concentration in drawing and painting (the concentration might change but the major hopefully wont) and i'm actually excited!! i'm also thinking about minoring in psychology or something else. if i figure that out i'll let you know but as for now, we're an art kid bestie <3
i hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, comment and vote to boost my ego :-D
my first class for college is tomorrow at 6pm (very late ik but it was the only one available) and i'm excited! i also have an online math class that i have to deal with tomorrow as well but hopefully that wont be too bad!
thank you sm for reading and for waiting patiently for the chapter! i'll try to get the next one out quicker than i did this one! :-)
i love and appreciate you all sm! bye! - haley