"What's that?" You tilted your head slightly.
"Ice pack? Obviously?"
You have more questions but you chose to shut up as it might appear like you don't get what's the obvious.
With a heavy hand, you received the object. "Fine. Thanks."
There was an abrupt silence between the two of you. You prefer the current situation though. He's not looking at you with a glint of fun in his eyes, as if he has a plan to ruin your day.
"They are bad at taking care of students. Should have gave you this instead of some pills." He commented.
"Ah," A grunt escape from you lips when it hit your head, shivering from the contact. "It's burning. I don't wanna do this anymore."
Yangyang scoffed, looking at you, finally. "What a tough girl you are, atleast to me, yet you can't last a minute with an ice pack."
"Let me give you a lump with a bruise in the head and ice pack, and let's see what you'll say." You groaned. It's true that it's a lot harder having bruise in the head with the ice pack. You felt like your skull is going to break from the contact.
Yangyang glanced at you before smirking. "Huh, don't dare me. I play football and basketball. I can handle that well."
You lost that battle, you admit. What Yangyang said was right.
You stretched your arms and put more weight in your hand to flatten the surface of the pack, shivering when it hit a painful nerve. "I think I'm going to die."
"Give me," He attempted to grab your hand to grab the ice pack but you leaned back.
"No. I can handle myself."
"Oh really? You'd thank me when the pain subsides because of the ice pack. But for that to happen, you must apply it properly." Yangyang raised his brow once, making sure he appears sincere, because he is indeed serious.
It's your turn being stubborn, though. "Thanks a lot for your concern, but I think it has gotten better."
"I'm not dumb." He finally snatched the pack despite being in your grip. You gave him a surprised look but he did not even glanced at you.
Your shoulders raised when he extended his arm behind and let the ice pack collapse with your head. "That still hurts, on the same degree! Nothing changed, seriously. Its just more disturbing you're the one holding it."
"No, actually, you will realize how I helped because this will strain your muscle. You will have to hold it for a few minutes and your arms will go numb." He peeked at you and winked. "You can say thank you to me in advance."
You refused to do so and just looked away, leaning in your thighs so you will be lower, hoping that it helps Yangyang's arms not to go numb.
The guy noticed what you did and this made him lean back with a wide smile. "That's very considerate of you."
"I did not do anything." You whispered, almost inaudible.
Yangyang suddenly rested his arms heavily on your back which made you snap your head at him. "Really? Then I'm gonna take advantage of it."
"Yangyang what in the fu--"
"Woah, okay, chill. I'll do it properly. I don't wanna make your headache worse." He quickly removed his arm off you while still keeping the pack intact. "I'll just damp it so it won't hurt that much, what do you think?"
"Yeah, as long as you don't do anything stupid." Given that he made fun of you, you lost all your generosity and just sit properly. You don't care whether it will hurt his arm or not.
Yangyang did as he said, repeatedly damping the pack behind your head. He had a slight smile building in his face while he does it. And you must agree that him being here helped a lot, since it was hard to reach the back of your head.
"By the way," He licked his lips when he noticed your attention being on your phone. "I watched you playing archery."
You paused scrolling, cheeks slowly heating up. "The one before I.. collapsed? Right?"
"No, the one you messed up."
"Oh, fuck." You covered your face in embarassment.
He clicked his tounge with that very familiar gaze of his — that one he shows when he teases you. "Swearing is bad."
"Do you think I care at this point? That is so embarassing! And why are you watching me in the first place?" You looked at him with a glare. He was about to change his arm with his other since it seems like he is starting to feel numb but you stopped him by gripping his wrist. "Do you.. like me?!"
Of course, there's no way you meant that.
You can imagine the face Yangyang will make which is full of disgust accompanied by gagging noises.
But you noticed him staying quiet. It was your signal to glance at him and there you saw his straight face.
"What if I do?" Questioned Yangyang.
For a moment, you did not know how to react on what he said. You had to move backwards and the sound of ice cubes falling as it lost contact with you.
He suddenly cracked up after a good five seconds of torture in silence.
"You should have seen your face!" He pointed out, continuing to laugh and pausing on holding the ice pack for you for a moment.
You kicked his shoe and glared. "That's no fun."
"This is new." He quickly grabbed a wipes in his bag and dusted his shoe off. "Will you really react like that if someone confessed?"
"Why do you care?" You whispered, kicking his shoe once again when you noticed him sitting upright, finally done cleansing it.
Yangyang clicked his tounge and looked up at you, still with the innocent smile he always wear. "Seems like you're getting your revenge."
"I'm really going to leave now if you don't stop your stupi--"
"Sorry," He said. Your eyebrows met upon hearing those two words you rarely hear that from him. "I was the one who was playing when the ball hit you."
You squinted your eyes, waiting for him to crack up. But his familiar expressions of sincerity showed up instead.
"Oh, that's fine." You cleared your throat when he suddenly leaned behind you, putting a light pressure at the back of your head again. "That's sport, after all. Getting hit with a ball is inevitable. I'm sure you did not mean it."
"Yup, no matter how much I make fun of you, I draw lines on hurting you physically. I really am, sorry. I hope this bruise heals faster." He poked his tounge in his cheeks, furrowing his brows while applying ice pack in your lump.
It was your turn to smirk. "So, you're doing this because you are guilty? If you did not hit me, you won't bring an ice pack and do all of this?"
"No? I'd still bring it and do this for you. I wanna help treating it even if it's not my fault." His words made you frozen in your seat. There was no sign of mischief in his tone nor present in his eyes.
That was kinda sweet. You have trouble reading what his intentions are.
"You're good at playing volleyball, huh?" You started in order to stop the silence; and your thoughts.
"Yup."
"You're pretty athletic," You complimented.
"I actually like a lot of sports. But the ones I really love is football and basketball. I placed 1st on my elementary days, y'know? After trying those two sports, I then tried soccer! I was unfortunate though, I always lose in that game and I always kick into a home-run. Anyway, if you'll see my room, you'll be amazed by the amount of awards there. I'm not kidding! I just really enjoyed those stuff because they make me physically active. I also.." He slowly trailed off and shyly caressed his nape. "I must be.. talking a lot."
"You must really like sports. I wonder what course you'll be getting for your college, but I hope it's something that makes your eyes spark as much as it did when you told me stories about your sports." You crossed your arms and let him rest his limbs for a moment by swerving away from the ice pack. "I'm not saying those to.. cheer you up. Whatever you pick, I absolutely don't care. Like, literally not gonna support you with whatever shit you're doing."
He pursed his lips and copied your position, crossing his arms too. This time, his face visibly tries to hide an excited expression. "No. I think you will."
For a moment, you noticed his muscular arms that were hidden most of the time since he loves to wear sweaters.
You looked away and cleared your throat. "Whatever you want. I'm not forcing you, and I don't care anyway."
"As weird as it sounds, hearing those words from you is like a warm cuppa tea." He looked sideways and smiled cutely. "Thanks."
-----
It has been two days since that incident with the volleyball. The bruise has gotten better quickly than you expected. Perhaps, the cold compress did help even if it felt uncomfortable.
Tonight is a night to relax for you. There are no to-do lists in your laptop and you can finally be in peace.
But you're not emotionally doing fine. Your mother still hasn't come home yet. It's not even a week since she said that she will have to stay with your father most of the time, but those days without her was still empty.
With loneliness lingering on the house, you locked yourself in your room and turned your air conditioner into the lowest degree. You just want to snuggle into the warmth of your blanket for the meantime.
You scrolled through your social media accounts in your laptop, seeing a bunch of posts and keeping yourself entertained. It's currently 7 in the evening and the night has fallen into a deep darkness.
While scrolling, you noticed a post shared by your new friend — Renjun.
"Oh, it's the coffee shop." You tilted your head while scanning what was posted. "The opening's one day ahead.."
Shit, you still haven't made up your mind about it.
You shook your head lightly, grabbing your phone and quickly searching for Ten in your contact list.
Ten Lee • Active now
Y/N Jung
yoooowwwwww,
the opening is already the day
after today.
Ten Lee
Yup, thanks for bringing
that up
u gonna come
u shud come
Y/N Jung
you will be there.
right?
Ten Lee
bruh ofc, he's a close
a friend! plus,
make some more friends.
i mean outside the school^^
Y/N Jung
Hey, don't be too confident
im still not sure if i
will be available that time
Ten Lee
no no no u WILL attend
i will go in ur house an hour
before the event
ill pick renjunnie first
Y/N Jung
no wait
Ten Lee
so thats the plan? okay.
get changed into a
nice formal ctl
cloth**
preferrably black or dark
color shade so three
of us will match
yayy
THEN tell your mom about it
cause it will last for like an
hour
and i donr wanna appear as
a bad senior
Y/N Jung
WAIT A MINUTE? CALM DOWN?
I DONT EVEN KNOW ANYONE
THERE LIKE NONE OF MY CLOSE
"GIRL" FRIENDS ARE IN THERE
AND ADD UP THE FACT THAT THE
SO-CALLED OWNER "KNOWS"
ME
which creeps me up until today,
by the way.
and here you are planning it all out?
Ten Lee
LOOOOL
okay fine sorry
dont get so worked up
Y/N Jung
ill think about it.
Ten Lee
Okay sure. forgive my
misconduct bestie
You plopped into your bed and sighed. You want to ask Ten if you can invite atleast three of your closest friends but felt embarrassed by doing so. It's not your opening party after all.
-----
Friday went by quickly. It's already dismissal even before you knew it.
You and Yujin were both waiting for her other friends in the waiting shed along the hallway. You constantly greet the people you know, and some strangers who just know about you given that you have some sort of name in this campus.
"Are they coming out yet?" You frowned, referring to her other five friends.
"Hey, its Friday."
"Yeah, I have a calendar." With a tired look, you raised you phone and showed the current time and date.
"No! Duh! Its Friday, so that means we can bond after school today," Yujin almost squealed as she turned her whole attention to you. "Will you come with us? Let's eat outside tonight."
"I'm not sure about that.."
"What? Why!" Yujin raised her brow. "Give me an acceptable one."
"Well.." You still have to contemplate whether attenting the coffee shop opening is worth it.
"Come on! The last time you went out with some cool friends, like me, was on Yeji's treat! I was absent that time. Will you please do me some justice?"
You slightly pouted. She has a point. If you're in her shoe, you will definitely do the same.
"You see.. I'm not allowed to go out two nights in a row." You scratched your eyebrows, not being mindful on what you were saying. You just used that as an alibi knowing your mother approves on wherever you are going.
"Why? Did you go out last night?"
"Nope."
She hummed. "Then are you going out tomorrow? Where? Is that a date?"
"Shut up. No!" You covered her mouth when some heads turn in your direction. "I was just kidding.. I guess."
"See? That's how I catch a liar." She stuck her tounge out.
In the end, she succeeded on changing your mind of overthinking about what to do tomorrow. You can't dodge her question anyway, or you might slip saying you are attending and opening shop and you will not invite any of them.
And so, you spent the night with friends, having a few drinks.
It was not as bad you thought it will be. You enjoyed your time with them.
"Ah, this is nice." Liz said, leaning at the backrest and looking at everyone with stars in her eyes.
"What's nice? The fact that its finally Friday or because you go out with us?" Yujin asked while pouring herself a drink.
"Both. Although I'm more thankful that its Friday than having you in the same table with me."
"Oooh," You whistled as Liz dissed everyone.
Leeseo chimed in the conversation after being quiet for a few minutes. "By the way, did any of you decide any future course? I'm still thinking what would be mine."
"Y/N, I'm genuinely curious.. what will yours be?" Wonyoung turned everyone's gaze at you. "You're smart, even without focusing too much on studies."
"I just have enough time though," You lied. You know that the influence of being competitive by both of your parents shaped who you are today. You felt pressured relaxing on a corner while they simultaneously achieve something, even when they are not directly pressuring you. "But if I will have to choose.. I'd like to be a cardiologist someday."
"Oh?" Leeseo looked at you with surprise.
"Yup. I know majority thinks that I'd rather be an engineering or a businesswoman, like my parents, since I have this intellectual skill and stuff." You slightly nodded. "Those are my second choice, but being a Cardiologist is my first option, honestly."
"You should do what you want," Yujin urged as she chew the piece of meat.
Yeah, but with the expectations you have and shaky financial support, you doubt you can still fulfill it.
Now, you felt like you were Yangyang at that time you advised him the same thing.
There are some stuff, like dreams for example, that no matter how much you are eager to pursue, you can't.
That even if the universe sees how much you try to achieve it, they won't give it to you.
__________
a/n:
im still not sure about the Korean education system, with all due respect. i heard their class reaches 7 pm? and their weekends may not be the typical saturday and sunday.
but for decency, let's just use the typical timezone. thanks for understanding!