this chapter is dedicated to our leads in the comic book :)
"did you guys hear about the news?"
"the one about chenle?"
"i can't believe he's been acting all highly but he's not even the heir"
"yah you don't know if it's true or not"
"i bet it's fake"
"bet it's true, i've noticed how suspicious he was even though he had a lot of money"
"chenle's here!"
"where?!"
all eyes went over to the doorway where chenle stood, he felt the stares on him and he knows why. his eyes traveled to each of his classmates' faces until he stopped on a certain figure. the figure looked at him unreadable eyes
chenle only sighed before walking out of the class again. he knows that the news already spread so he didn't want to be bothered with those stupid questions. he decided to go somewhere secluded - where's there's not a lot of people around
he didn't notice that someone followed him until he finally arrived at the rooftop. "why did you follow me?" he slowly turned around to face saeron who didn't look shocked that she got caught
"i thought you might need someone to lend you an ear or two"
"why?"
"hm?" saeron's head tilted slightly as she was puzzled with his short question
"don't you hate me?"
"hate is a strong word, let's just say i'm not exactly fond of you" chenle only let out a small chuckle before taking a seat on the bench beside him with saeron following after
it was all silence with only the wind swaying past them as leaves flew briefly before dropping down to the ground. the two didn't know how to start another conversation and after a lot of thinking, saeron finally had one
"those were only my lines chenle, but i knew i can't twist any of my words anymore. i'm sorry" chenle was too tired to question what she meant by 'lines' so he only nodded his head as a sigh escaped his mouth
"i'm tired"
"of what?"
"of being myself, being zhong chenle, cheondae high's number one zhong chenle, zh corporation's youngest heir"
"but.." saeron turned her head to face him but chenle was looking up to the sky, "all of that tiredness always goes away when i think of myself as zhong chenle who sincerely likes saeron and will protect her from any harm"
saeron's heart softened at his words and just as she was about to reply, a loud noise cuts her off
"just take the ticket, you need to go abroad"
"i don't want to" the older woman sighed heavily before composing herself as they are in the hallway where a bunch of students are walking around
"you better take it now, before anyone sees us"
"do you only ever care about what other's think?"
the older woman closed her eyes in frustration before taking a deep breath as she calmly whispered, "i've taken care of the articles so just ta-"
"i, zhong chenle!"
his loud voice infiltrated the hallway making all noise around him gone quiet. students started to gather around the mother and son, mrs. zhong quickly put on her shades to slightly cover her face from the public and her actions made the young male scoff in annoyance
"let's just talk at ho-" "i'm not the real son of Chairman Zhong of ZH Corporations" the students around them including her mother gasps in shock, the students around never expected for the news to be true while mrs. zhong frantically look around as she panicked that the whole world knows about their family secret now
his mother was too flabbergasted by her son's outburst to the point she couldn't speak anything to cover it up. "i don't want to be a coward anymore. i'm going to live as the real zhong chenle from now on"
chenle's voice didn't waver a bit as he kept a stern voice the whole time - he doesn't care about the public's opinions anymore, he's tired of faking everything.
"why are you doing this chenle? as your mother, i've done all of that for your sake"
"no"
a voice suddenly appeared not far from the crowd, all eyes went to her as she slowly made her way to the center - beside chenle. "what he needs right now... is to be honest with who he really is"
the students were in awe at how saeron stood up for chenle, none of them ever dared to talk to mrs. zhong but here she is - saeron, confronting the older woman who calls herself a mother. saeron on the inside felt really happy for her character because for once she can finally speak up during a stage
hearing the familiar noise made saeron feel a rush of confidence soaring throughout her body. she stood up straighter as she wore a strong expression, "listen here, ma'am"
the older woman gasps in disbelief by how she called her, "your child isn't your tool, if i were you - i'll be too ashamed to call myself a mother"
that was the last thing she said to the older woman before grabbing a hold of chenle's hand and dragged him away from the crowd and to a more deserted place.
she brought him to the rooftop, where they were earlier before the stage. "chenle" the male hummed in response as he waited her to continue
"i'm really sorry for all of the harsh words i've said to you and please just know i never meant to lead you on nor to break your heart.."
"it's okay, i forgive you"
saeron immediately shot her head up as she was surprised with his answer, "you do?" chenle nodded as he wore a sweet smile that somehow also seemed sad if you looked closely. "i can't ever hate you saeron, it's too hard for me"
saeron frowned at his words, she feels bad that she keeps breaking his heart but he never hated her - he keeps on searching for her which guilt tripped saeron to the max
"but... i can't return your feelings chenle.."
"i know, it's okay" saeron felt tears piling up as the guilt is almost close to consuming all of her mind and heart, "you like jeno right?"
jeno? no. saeron doesn't have any feelings for the said male. she's comfortable with him but he never once fluttered her heart. the female lead of the comic is in love with chenle but in reality, she's not. the male lead loves the female lead in the stage and also the shadows but he never found his ego so there's a chance he never actually loved her - he just couldn't find a chance to prove it. the supporting male lead? he loves the female lead during the stage and in the shadows.
saeron felt like her life is really complicated. from how she struggled to live, how she struggled to enjoy a normal school life, how she had to go through a complicated love story and it all happened because of the writer's hands
saeron gave no response as she suddenly felt really emotional all of the sudden. do you know the feeling where you're just too tired with everything so you can't think of what to say but you're emotional as fuck? that's saeron right now
chenle noticed she's almost close to breaking down so he immediately pulled her to his embrace and gave her a comforting hug. and in that hug, saeron broke all of her walls and cried silently while the male only gently patted her back as he waited for her to finish letting all out of her emotions
the truth between the two teenagers finally came out and the tension between them withered down
is this a sign that all will be well?
ok this chap might be a little weird.. but like what was written on top of the page
this chapter is dedicated to the leads from the comic book bcs i want them to finally be honest with each other without fighting and yeah