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S H I N R Y U J I N
my check up with ms. seomin just ended. i actually don't think that's a check up, we basically just talked about puppy seung all the time. i think i'm the last person in this building to know that they're siblings. looking at ms. seomin now, i can see a big resemblance of them two. wow, was i that ignorant about that obvious fact?
i also found out that the paintings earlier was actually painted by seungmin. impressive, i didn't know he paints. i was very surprised when ms. seomin told me that, i think my eyeballs jumped out of their sockets.
i also won't forget the embarrassment i had when ms. seomin asked me why i didn't know seungmin paints when in fact, we're in the same circle of friends. when she asked me that, i didn't know what to say. especially since she's seungmin's sister. i can't just tell her that i don't really pay attention to her brother, it will make me look like a mean friend. and i feel so bad about not befriending many people now, hyunjin, chaeryoung, chaeyeon and seungmin. they're all great people but i was too self absorbed to befriend them before.
i didn't really have to tell ms. seomin all that anymore anyway. she said just by looking at me she already knows the situation. what can i say? she's a psychology graduate for a reason.
i bid goodbye to ms. seomin and head for the door. i spent a long time here, good thing i was legally excused from my classes. when i went out of the room, i was surprised to see seungmin there sitting at the bench just in front of the room.
i close the door behind me and stared at him. he haven't noticed me yet since he's busy doing something on his phone. with a small smile on my lips, i made my way towards him and stopped right in front of him. he looked up and when he saw me he stand up immediately.
his sudden movement made us both surprised. i took a few steps back and so did he, resulting to him sitting back down again. we stared at each other as we try to register what just happened. what the heck? we're both acting so weird.
based on the look on his face, i know he's asking himself the same thing. my lips start to twitch to a smile as my whole body slowly starts to loosen up. when i'm finally at ease and all the awkwardness in my body is gone i started laughing.
do you know that moment when you're so awkward with someone but you just want to make friends? well that's what i was feeling. i remember seeing something in the internet saying that laughing can be handy at such moments, i'm doing it now and it really is handy.
my eyes are squinted because of laughing but i still cearly saw how seungmin also started laughing. see? now we're just laughing as if we weren't so awkward moments ago.
" whatcha' doing here puppy seung? " i asked after our laughing session. i smirked at him and emphasized the nickname i just used.
he stood up again and groaned when he heard me use the nickname. " can you not use that? " he furrowed his eyebrows in frustration making me let out a chuckle.
" i'll think about that "
he sighed at my answer and then he straighten his clothes before taking a small step closer towards me.
" i was waiting for you " he said, straightforward.
i stopped and am surprised about his, again, sudden action. seungmin seem to realize what he just said too. his cheeks turned pink and he's raising and moving his hands, don't know what to do. now how can i not call him puppy seung? he's adorable.
" i-i mean, it's lunch time now anyway and w-we're headed to the same place so i decided to wait f-for you " he explained, stuttering here and there. he let out a sigh after what he said. " yeah " he breathed out and nod his head.
i chuckle again, making his cheeks heat up even more. he's definitely a puppy, so adorable.
" alright then, let get going! " i said and started to walk. i know he's walking behind me so i turn slightly to the side to peek at him with a smirk on my lips. " puppy seung "
×××
when we arrive at the cafeteria, the only ones there were yuna, jeongin and chaeryoung. as we approach the table i started to feel nervous. earlier today, hyunjin's acting weird. i mean, everyone in our circle knows that he's all for chaeyeon but he isn't this vocal before.
this morning when he and yeji arrived at our lockers all he started talking about with me is chaeyeon. like literally her, her and just her. it's nice that he's finally back to telling me all the things that happen when he's with chaeyeon but this is just too much.
it's like he's rubbing it on my face, that he'll never like me and will only like chaeyeon. it is nice he isn't here yet. i don't want to listen to his chaeyeon news anymore.
" hey guys! " chaeryoung greeted me and seungmin as we sit with them. i smiled at her and turn to look at jeongin who's beside me.
" this is the first time i see you two together, it makes me feel weird " jeongin stated and shivered as he stared at the two of us.
" you're right, i thought you guys aren't friends " yuna agreed.
i look at seungmin, sitting on my other side, as he play a game in his phone. when he's like this i don't feel awkward at all, but how can we get closer if he's not paying attention to me?
" we're friends " i said and turned to look at yuna, in front of me. " we're just not that close " i added while nodding my head. yep, that sounds like a good answer.
eventually chaeryoung, yuna and jeongin get up to get food. with my persuasive powers, i was able to force jeongin to get me food. i'm just too lazy to get up. also since it seems like seungmin will not get up too so i decided, why not just accompany him?
i rest my left elbow on the table and rest my left cheek on my left hand as i watch seungmin beside me. i'm pretty sure he knows i'm staring at him, but he's not budging at all. what game is he playing anyway? i lean a little closer to him so i can peek on his phone but i was surprised when he clicked his tongue in an annoyed way.
i went back to my original place and stared at him. oh, he got annoyed by the game. i thought he got annoyed by me. i silently stayed there and watch seungmin. at first i thought i'll be just watching him but he excitedly jumped on his seat, not too excited to cause a scene, and whisper a " yes! ".
he turned to look at me with that big joyful smile on his lips. it seems like he felt embarrassed when he saw me so he started to stay still on his spot. just by watching, i definitely understand what's happening. he just wants to share his victory.
" congratulations on winning puppy seung " i smiled widely and showed him a thumbs up. hearing my words must've sparked his excitement again as he nod his head like a kid, explaining to me how the game went.
he's too excited he didn't even mind the fact that i called him by that nickname again. is this how it is to be close friends with seungmin? filled with a little bickering and lots of adorable puppy seung? ugh, he's so adorable. is he really older than me?
" aren't you going to eat? " i asked him, cutting him off from explaining things from the game. he locked his phone and put it down on the table.
" jeongin lose to this bet we had two weeks ago, and his dare is to get me lunch for a whole month " he said and shrug his shoulder. " so we'll be seeing him with three trays "
there is this playful smile on his lips and he let out a devilish chuckle. i gasp as i watch him laugh. that's mean! but, why is this making me laugh too? eventually, i ended up laughing with him.
" poor in-ie " i said between laughs making seungmin nod his head in agreement.
out of nowhere, someone put their tray on the table in front of us and forced their way between me and seungmin. i stopped laughing and look up to see yeji. she has her grumpy face on as she push me and seungmin away from each other so that there will be a space between us. she sat there and mumble curses as she started picking on her food.
i wanted to ask her what is wrong but i can sense that she doesn't want to talk about it so i kept quiet. i met eyes with seungmin who just shrug his shoulders, confused too as to why yeji is grumpy.
i nearly flinched when i heard a tray making contact with the table. it wasn't that loud but i still got a little surprised. i look at my other side and saw jisu. she sat on my other side and glanced at yeji. she let out a sigh when she saw yeji's state and then met eyes with me.
" she found out " jisu whispered, enough for only me to hear. i furrowed my eyebrows and scoot closer to her. i don't understand, what does she mean?
" the felix and jisung situation " she added. my mouth was agape and a gasp was threathening to come out, but i raised my hand and covered my lips.
that's the best suiting reason as to why yeji is this grumpy. if i were her, i'll definitely delete felix in my life. what he did is just so wrong. oh and poor jisung, now that this happened how can he come up to yeji? she looks like she don't want to interact with any living creature.
" hey ryujin "
i look away from jisu only to see hyunjin holding two trays with him. he put the trays on the table, one in front of me. jisu and i moved so that hyunjin can sit between me and yeji.
" actually hyunjin, i already asked jeongin to get me lunch " i explained the moment he's finally comfortable, sitting beside me. he looked at me with a small smile and nod his head.
" yeah, i know " he said then started eating.
oh. so he helped jeongin carry the tray? is that it? why can't he just tell me? aish. i grab the spoon and scoop some soup, only to put it back down again. ugh, i'll have to wait for jeongin to arrive so i'll know whether this is the one i asked him to buy me or not.
i did that for a while until eventually he came with yuna, chaeryoung, jisung and felix. he sat in front of me and slide the other tray he has on the table, towards seungmin. i silently let out a breath and decided to finally eat the food in front of me. yes, this is it.
ugh, i'm so hungry. why did i even wait that long? i should have just asked hyunjin. that way i won't be this hungry. the thing is, i can't ask him. i just don't want to talk to him. i feel like if i do, the only thing he'll talk about will be chaeyeon, like how he is earlier today.
our table is unusually quiet. well, we are talking to one another but there are three people whose silence makes me feel weird. jisung is supposed to make a joke. felix is supposed to laugh loud as hell. yeji is supposed to tell us some gossips. instead, they're all quiet.
i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one feeling it. everyone must be feeling it but is trying to make the atmosphere lighter by talking and laughing.
i used my chopsticks to pick up a piece of the spicy pork cutlet in my tray. did i mention how i am so loving this? well, i so love this! i really like spicy food and meat. this is exactly it, so i can't explain how much this made my day brighter. ugh, i love our dear cafeteria when they cook food ike this.
i heard a soft chuckle beside me, so i turned to look at him. i stopped chewing and raised my eyebrows at him.
" do you like what you're eating? " hyunjin asked as the same smile rests on his lips. oh, so that's what he's gonna say. i thought he'll be talking about chaeyeon again.
i continued chewing and swallowed it finally. " nope " i answered and then grinned at him. " i love it "
the smile on hyunjin's face slowly vanished and then it was replaced by a slightly stunned expression. what? why? did i say something wrong? did it not sound funny? that's supposed to make him smile brighter.
because of the look on his face, my smile started to fade as well. or maybe he just remembered something. oh please. now, he seems to be spacing out.
" hyunjin? " i softly called his name, trying to catch his attention. he flinched and slightly shake his head before making eye contact with me. the smile on his lips came back, but mine didn't after what he just said.
" chaeyeon really loves food like that too " he faced his tray again, a lovesick smile forming on his lips. " i wonder how she's enjoying her food right now "
ugh. here we go again with the chaeyeon here, chaeyeon there. i mentally rolled my eyes and just went back to eating. tsk, but now i don't feel like eating. hyunjin just can't shut his mouth when he's talking about that girl. i think i just lost my appetite.
i huffed and drop my utensils on the tray. i didn't mean to make it sound loud but now i just got all of their attention. i look up and was faced by all of my friend's stares.
" what's wrong ryujin? " jeongin asked. i played it cool, putting on a smile before i speak.
" nothing, i'm just gonna go get some gummy bears " i explained as i stand up and carry the tray with me. i didn't wait for their reply and started to walk away.
×××
" what's taking you so long? "
i flinched and raised my head when my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone.
i did buy gummy bears, which i am now savoring, but i stayed here at an empty table far away from our usual table. i told myself earlier that i'm just going to stay here for a few minutes but i guess time passed by too fast.
" ah... hey puppy seung, you're done eating? " i greeted him with a playful smile on. i'm starting to like his nickname. seungmin rolled his eyes then sit in front of me.
" don't change the topic " he pointed out making me purse my lower lip. he's smart huh, he caught that.
" so? " his right eyebrow is raised as he stare at me. i put the almost empty pack of gummy bears on the table while letting out a sigh.
" i like hyunjin " i said honestly.
i know seungmin and i aren't the closest but, he just has this warm vibe with him that made me say that. i also said i want to be closer to him, so i guess being honest will make us two closer. at first he look surprised because of my sudden confession, but his shoulders relaxed as he let out a breath.
there was a pause between the two of us. the atmosphere is kind of serious, and that made me laugh. i laugh and try to let out all the negativity in me. when my eyes met seungmin's he still has a serious expression on. shyness start to creep in me so i stopped and composed myself.
" sorry " i murmurred and slightly shake my head.
alright, let's be normal shin ryujin. let's not try to laugh out of nowhere and make a fool of ourself in front of kim seungmin, our future bestie.
" i like hyun- well i think more than that " i started explaining. i pop another gummy bear in my mouth and shared some with him. everything, from that party to now. i told him all of it.
" out of 10, how much of an idiot do you think i am?~ " i asked him in a sing song manner after telling him the whole story.
i watched him with a huge smile on my lips as he hum and think about it.
" 11 "
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cut! how's that for y'all? 😁 i know i said i was busy and yes i really am but i just wanted to share this chapter so you guys won't be bored 😁 also i'm starting to get nervous because i haven't added any new draft chapters for a while now 😣 hopefully i get inspired one day and add more draft chapters. 😄 and the woojin thing is making my head hurt like hell. i seriously can't believe it. i can't believe i loved him so much and he's like that. now i have trust issues 😑 anyways! don't forget to give love to this story!! 😄💛
~Bae Rose⚘