C-38
Minho is sleeping soundly beside me. Good thing that Mr. Ho is not coming for Maths today so we have an hour of free time. He didn't leave any activities that's why we can do whatever we want inside the classroom.
I'm sleepy as well so I got startled when someone calls me.
"Y/n?" Renjun knocks on my desk.
I rub my eyes before paying attention to him. "Yes?"
He takes some papers from his desk-drawer and hands it to me. "Those are some copies of my Maths notes. I think they'd help you for the next quiz because it's easier to understand."
"Thanks a lot, Renjun." I smile at him. "Why do you keep giving me these? You've been saving my Maths grade for the past months with all the weekly lectures you lend me."
"Well, you always complain about it being hard and I thought I could help you a bit. I still feel bad because you were punished by lending me your book."
"It's fine! That was months ago, I'm surprised you still think of it. I do need these notes though so thanks again!"
"You're welcome." He scratches his nape with a little grin before returning to whatever he was previously doing.
When the bell rings signalling the start of the last subject for today, which is Philosophy by Ms. Meen, I nudge my seatmate because his face is still planted on his desk.
"Did you do something again?" I ask him.
He keeps on napping every free hour and he's influencing me. When he yawns, I'll also yawn and it makes me sleepy.
I know what, or who, he lost his sleep for and I don't feel good about it, but I can't really tell him to stop because it would be really selfish. I trust him and it's fair enough that I let her have a few hours of his attention weekly when I have Minho beside me literally.
Hmp.
"A cat always naps. You should've known that by now," he says as he rubs his eyes.
I giggle at his slightly swollen face because he looks adorable with puffy reddish cheeks.
There he goes again with his cat stuff. I'm pretty sure that in his past life he was a cat or when he grows old he'll be one of those single grannies living with 20 cats as their children.
"You should see the picture I took of Dori with a red bow and a beret. I even lost-" I abruptly stop before I end whatever relationship we have.
"Lost? Lose what?" He eyes me suspiciously.
"I even lost my sanity going around to find those stuff!" I laugh it off.
He just shake his head at me with a small grin before facing in front. That was close!
Ms. Meen walks in with a pleasant smile on her face as always. She calls our attention by raising a paper that looks like a grading sheet.
"I'm so satisfied with all the projects you turned in," she starts. "I'm glad that I can clearly see your efforts through every videos. You've all shown your group's interpretation on how human behaviour affected by love goes and I'm very proud."
"Do you think we did alright?" I ask Minho.
He gives me a reassuring smile. "We enjoyed doing it so it'll be more than alright."
"You're finally admitting that you enjoyed hanging out with me and Jisung." I beam at him.
"I saw how dedicated you were with the project. I think that's admirable," he says and looks away. "...and Jisung's not that bad, I guess."
"I knew you'd like him! He's the best little brother I never had. Don't tell that to Jeongin."
"You should tell Jisung that." He chuckles. "It's pretty refreshing spending some time with introverts and an oblivious girl."
"I'm just shy, but I actually like people."
He smirks and brings his face closer to mine. My eyes widen at the sudden proximity.
"I thought you only like me?" he whispers with a faux pout.
My face immediately flushes and I lightly push him away before facing in front. I hear him chuckling as he takes my right hand and intertwines it with his left one. He put it under our joined desks so no one could see.
"That's unfair because I only like you," he says playfully before facing in front and acting like he didn't just make me a flustered mess with his words.
Sometimes I don't get Minho. One moment he's a soft boy, then in a snap of a finger he'd be all playful which is a strong contrast to his default stoic facade. But I like his weirdness.
I used to be really flustered when it comes to skinship, but I managed to get sort of used to it now. Once I assured him that it's fine to touch me, he just went for it. I thought he was only talking about holding hands so I got startled when he started squeezing me into his embrace and putting his arm on my shoulders sometimes.
I'm just relieved that Minho didn't go as far as kissing. I don't know what to do if ever that happens. I might stop breathing.
He never did anything that made me feel uncomfortable even when he always teases me. Who would've thought that he could be chaotic at times? He's cold, soft, suggestive, and weird all together. Minho is really opening up to me and I feel like it's our little secret. I'm waiting for the day where he'll fully show me all of him, but I don't think it'll be anytime soon because he's been busy lately. He doesn't have time to hangout with me anymore and I'm starting to unlike someone I don't even know.
Before my crush on him, five days a week of seeing each other was enough. Now that I'm crushing on him big time, I even want his weekends too. Oh no! Maybe she's not the problem but me.
"I'll announce your well deserved scores so you should listen," Ms. Meen begins. She recites each scores of every groups while I anticipate for ours. I hope it's better this time.
Everyone is waiting for their scores and we'll clap whenever a group is announced.
"Han, Moon, and Lee got 96%."
I look at Minho with a big grin, trying to stop myself from jumping in joy. He laughs at my reaction and pats my head.
"Good job," he says as he's smoothing back my hair.
"I haven't seen it, but the way you and Han edited it must've been really good!"
"Duh?" He jokingly removes imaginary dusts off his shoulders.
The bell rings after an hour which means dismissal. Before Minho could pull me, I stand up and go straight to Jisung to invite him to Mochi Cafe.
"Han!" I poke him by his shoulder to get his attention.
"Y/n." He turns to me as he raises both his brows in acknowledgment.
"Do you want to go to Mochi Cafe? We got good grades so we should celebrate."
"Uh-" He looks behind me. "You two can go without me. I'll go out with my other friends," Jisung says as he gives me a tight-lipped smile.
"Oh... Enjoy then." I return his smile and walk away. It's been a while since our last hangout. I kind of miss him.
When we're outside the classroom, I tug on Minho's sleeve. He looks down at me apologetically and that's when I release a sigh.
"I can't go with you today, I need to do... something," he says. I just nod at him even when I'm sulking inside. I don't want him to think that I'm clingy so I didn't push on.
"Okay..." I absentmindedly mumble.
"I'll make it up to you, promise," Minho says before letting go of my hand. He seems to contemplate for a moment. "Actually, there's something..."
"Hmm?"
He pauses for quite a while and then shakes his head. "Never mind, next time."
He's been declining all my invitations for over a week now. We haven't gone out since that sleepover and I can't find a moment where I'm alone with him because he's always doing something.
I shouldn't have believed Chan when he told me all Minho stays up for is dancing and me. Maybe he's right... but now she's taking up his days instead.
I got my hopes up.
I want to tell him that I'm ready, that I want us to be together, that I want something beyond friendship, but he never gives me the chance to say it because he's always so busy.
He's preoccupied by another girl.
"Take care," I tell him with a little pout.
Minho pulls me in for a quick hug before going his way.
Do I have the right to feel sad now?
I huff at myself and proceed to walk to the bus stop. Once I'm sitting, my phone signals a call from my brother.
"Oppa?"
[ "Hello, sis! I don't think I can go home early today so don't wait for me, hmm?" ] he says through the loud background noise.
I nod even when he can't see me. "Why?"
[ "Practice is more hectic this week. Don't stay out too late and lock everything before you go to bed, okay? I have the spare key." ]
"I will. Don't tire yourself too much, Oppa. Take care." I sigh as I finish the call because their break time is over.
My parents still have to stay for two weeks at our hometown to take care of my grannies so I won't have someone to accompany me at home. Dori is probably sleeping and won't wake up until he's hungry again.
I don't mind being alone, but I really feel like celebrating today because we got good grades. When the bus came, I went to the block of cute cafes instead of going home. Might as well do some me, myself, and I bonding.
I decide to try something different so instead of going to Mochi Cafe, I went to Seungmo Cafe which has cute dogs and puppies instead.
A cute fluffy white dog immediately greets me once I enter.
"Hello there," I coo and pat its head before going to the counter to get my order. I go to an unoccupied table with my cheesecake and milkshake.
The cute fluffy white dog appears again with an adorable brown one. They go to each of my sides and lay there.
"You want some?" I laugh when they both gaze at my foods with shiny eyes. "Sweets are not good for you," I tell them.
"They're Shushu and Kiel," a voice says. I got shocked when I see Hyunjin putting an apron and fixing his working attire.
"How many cafes do you work at?"
"Just two, but I like it better here. Don't tell Jinyoung-sunbae." Hyunjin grins and sits with me.
"How did you manage to work two jobs?" I look at him in awe.
"I'm not a regular, I switch to whichever cafe I feel like going to. I have a dog named Kkami, but I can't take him to the dorm so he's staying with my parents. It's more tolerable not being with him when I surround myself with other animals." He wipes his nonexistent tears and pats my shoulder before going to the counter and resuming his job.
Hyunjin's a bit dramatic.
I eat my food and pet the dogs from time to time. This is a bad idea because I have a really weak heart for cuties. I push the urge of adopting another baby because I know my mother will really disown me if I suddenly get a dog.
Dori is enough. I should just pour all my love and attention to him.
After I finished my food and rested for a bit, I said goodbye to Shushu and Kiel. Hyunjin's a bit busy trying not to mess up the drinks he's making so I just let him be.
I walk around until I stop at a playground. The sun is setting now and it's a little windy. I sit on the swing and slowly push back and forth with my feet. It's been a while since I had no one with me and I almost forgot how I used to be because I got too familiar with the feeling of having friends around.
My social life has improved a lot for the past months and I think I can understand why my brother said that I'm a little rebel. I always had the urge in me, not in the sense of creating chaos but just in the sense of having fun, but I just ignored it. Someone came and he pushed me to feed my curiosity. That's ironic because he's always pulling me around.
There's Seungmin, Felix, Hyunjin, Changbin, Chan, and Minho who became my friends. Back then I only had my little cousin Jeongin and my neighbour Jisung. I wasn't even friends with Jisung until Minho came because I used to have a tiny crush on him. He's so nice, showing me around and helping me adjust in my new neighbourhood, but then he started to call me noona so I just shrugged it off.
I smile and reach a hand out to run through the bushes of blooming flowers around me. It's also silent which adds to the peacefulness of the moment.
Until someone decides to break it.
"P-Pretty..."
I look back to see a tall boy in a hoodie, snacking on an ice cream with a duffel bag slinging from his shoulder. He looks a little dazed while facing me, but he immediately averts his gaze and points to the flowers with flushed cheeks.
"Hey!" I stand up and wave at him. "Yes, it's really pretty especially today."
"You like it a lot, huh?"
I tilt my head. "How'd you know?"
"Oh." He scratches his nape. "I just noticed. Every time I run into you, your stuff has a lot of floral prints."
I smile. "Well, you're still very much an ice cream enthusiast."
"You remember?"
"Every time I run into you, you always have a cone in hand."
"Oh." His gaze falls down. "Well, I need to go. I just stopped by when I saw you. Our trainer will probably scold me for being late again." He waves at me before walking away.
I decided to leave too. I stroll through the pavement leading to the bus stop as I'm already a little tired from walking around and it's getting dark now.
My phone dings and when I open it, I see Felix sent me a meme of a girl with equations around her head saying that it reminds him of me.
I'm minding my own business searching for memes to reply to him when two guys suddenly block my path. I look up at them and my eyes widen when I recognise that they're the ones who cornered Minho by the lockers.
"Hey, aren't you Minho's little girlfriend?" Thug 1 asks.
"She looks different though," Thug 2 says.
"Of course! Years passed, dumbass." Thug 1 hits Thug 2's head.
I slowly back away while they're arguing. I haven't even gone far when they finally turn to me.
"Where do you think you're going?" Thug 2 asks. "Running to Minho for help?"
"I-I don't k-know what you're t-talking about." Oh no, this is not the time to stutter!
"You can't fool us, Sunny." One of the guys approaches me and tries to touch my face, but I swat his hand away. "Ooh! She's fighting back!"
My heart pounds so fast when they look at me with creepy faces and I just start running for my life. I should've went home already!
My eyes start to blur as I hear them laughing behind me. A hand harshly yanks my arm that caused me to twist my ankle and fall down, scraping my knee in the process.
"She's still that clumsy little girl. How cute!" they both mock me.
"Stay away from me! I'm not, Sunny!"
I immediately stand up, push them away, and resume my running. Their voices drift off as I turn to a corner. I hide behind a tree and lean my back on it while trying to catch my breath.
I need Minho.
"Y/n-"
"No! Don't touch me!" I push the hand off my shoulder.
"H-Hey, calm down. It's just me..."
"Huh?" I look at him with wide eyes.
His eyes scan my body and his jaw visibly tightens. "Who did this to you?"
"Where did that girl go?" I hear the guys from earlier running towards us so I immediately hold onto him.
"There you are- oh? The princess have a knight in shining armour now?"
"P-Please..." I cling to his arm tighter. He looks at me reassuringly before pushing me behind him.
"Leave her alone, assholes." He pops his knuckles and throws them a glare.
"Go away while we're giving you a chance kid- wait, you look familiar..."
He approaches them. "How dare you hurt her?"
"Don't butt in our business- oh shit!"
He kicks them on the guts, making them fall to their knees, then he slams their heads together before they could stand back up.
"Stop messing with us or I'll blow your heads off!"
I flinch at his shouting as he pushes the two to the ground before taking my hand and running away.
We go to a park that has a few people around and sit on the bench. He looks at me with concern and his face hardens when he sees my bleeding knee.
He rummages through his bag to get some things then he kneels before me. He wipes my scratched knee clean with a handkerchief and put a bandaid over it.
"Are you okay?" he asks softly and I nod at him, wiping the corners of my eyes so I wouldn't start crying. He sighs and sits beside me again. "Where's your boy?"
"He's busy..."
I officially don't like her. First, she keeps Minho busy. Now, she almost get me into a big trouble.
He frowns. "Give me your phone."
"Why?"
"Just give it to me," he says and takes my phone. He types something in and gives it back to me. "There, you have my number. Message or call me when you need someone for whatever reason, however trivial."
I cast my eyes down to avoid his gaze. My brother said not to talk to him again.
My shoulders jump when he reaches his hand to pat it. He looks at me with wide eyes before his face softens. "Sorry... I didn't mean to startle you."
"You should go now, aren't you late for practice already?"
"You're more important," he replies. "I can't leave you again. If Taeil-hyung finds out about this he'll worry a lot."
"I won't tell him, but... can you please take me home?"
He nods and crouches down. I got confused when he tilts his head towards me.
"Hop on. We don't want your ankle to worsen."
"No, it's fine! It's not even that bad." I feel my face heating up as I avoid his eyes. "I might be heavy."
"I'm stronger than I look. I worked out hard just to give safe piggybacks, you know?" He chuckles before pulling me up and urging me to tie his hoodie on my waist, then he throws me on his back and walks forward.
"Hey, put me down!" I laugh when he staggers while getting used to my weight. I got slightly dizzy from the elevation because he is so tall.
"Just stay still. You're my responsibility now. I wanna prove Taeil-hyung that he can trust me again."
We're both silent as he walks carefully along the pavement. The streetlights illuminate his serious face while I don't know where to look and what to say because this is awkward. I hope I'm not too heavy on him.
This reminds me of when he returned my nameplate that I dropped. That was dark back then so I didn't see his face clearly and I even thought he was a ghost.
I clear my throat. "Why do you say my brother doesn't trust you?"
"He thinks I'm still a troublemaker."
"You don't look like one to me though," I mumble. "People can change and isn't that normal for our age?"
"Well, I'm not just a troublemaker, also a coward. Pair those two traits and it's a recipe for disaster." He looks back at me and grins. "I bet he told you not to talk to us again."
My eyes widen and he giggles. He finally puts me down by our gate that I didn't even notice we're already in front of.
"Looks like we're already here. I'll go now." He walks away but before he could turn to a corner, he stops and turns to me. "You're still so curious, aren't you?" He smiles, turning his way and disappearing on my sight.
A smile slowly emerges from my face as I enter and close the door.
I don't know why I feel oddly comfortable with him. Maybe my brother's wrong. In fact, he's always helping me whenever we cross paths.
Maybe... Jungwoo isn't so bad.
••••••••
Did anyone catch on Y/n's little crush on Jisung?
It's okay if nobody did because I did make it very subtle, but it was definitely there. I wonder how our dear Hannie would react if he ever finds out. Heh. Which instances do you think it showed?