in the following fresh week, eunha came to school early to avoid the crowd. she made her way straight to her locker before heading to her homeroom, sitting at her spot.
around half an hour later, her classmates starts filling in the room. soon enough, the dreamies also entered the room.
each of them were surprised. after almost a week of her absence in school, they were glad to see her well.
"hey, eunha. it's great to see you back." said seolhyun, giving a pat on eunha's back.
eunha returned a weak smile as she replied, "i'm sorry i've been missing. i was unwell."
"that's fine. we're glad to know you've recovered." said renjun, as then the group of bullies entered their class.
"aww look, the princess of the dreamies are back!" said haerin. "did you have a good rest, sweetheart? i wonder what you're going to do with your life. a week in a new school and you took a week off, already? i'm excited to see if you'll even graduate."
"leave her alone, haerin. your life isn't well enough to talk about someone else's life." jaemin said as he stood up, blocking eunha from haerin's view.
"are you sure about that? i'm sure i live a better life than you." whispered haerin to jaemin, earning a glare from jaemin and the rest of the dreamies.
haerin then left the room with five pair of eyes glaring at her.
"good morning, students." greeted their homeroom teacher, making everyone go back to their seats in an instant. after taking their attendance, their teacher made an announcement, "i received a letter from miss kim and it's regarding the recruitment of student councils. so to the students whose names are listed, do note that you will have an assessment activity at the end of this week."
"hey," called jeno with a soft voice as he lightly tapped eunha on her shoulder.
eunha turned around with a hum and jeno continued, "you're still interested to join, right? i can get you in the list."
with a weak smile, eunha replied, "it's fine, jeno. i don't think i'm good enough to join the student councils. plus, it's unfair for the other students."
"are you sure?" asked jeno once again and eunha nodded. just then, the teacher left the homeroom and everyone proceeded to their own classes.
as the '00 dreamies left their class, they were greeted by mark, who was waiting for them outside their class.
"hey, hyung!" greeted donghyuck as he gave mark a fist bump.
"morning, guys." mark greeted back.
"what's up, hyung?" asked jeno.
"i'm here to fetch eunha." he said as his eyes then met eunha's, "miss kim wants to meet you."
"i'll see you guys later," said eunha as she made her way next to mark.
the two walked ahead of the rest of them, making their way straight to miss kim's office.
"are you feeling better now?" asked mark as the two walk side by side.
with a weak smile, she hummed in response to his question.
"hey," called mark just as the two arrived in front of miss kim's office. he lightly pulled the sleeves of eunha's uniform to grab her attention.
"yes, mark?" she replied.
"i have no idea what miss kim is going to talk about. but if you're uncomfortable on opening up, don't force yourself, okay?" said mark as his eyes emoted a caring look.
"don't worry about me, mark. i'll be fine." said eunha with a small reassuring smile. she took mark's hands off her sleeves before knocking on the door.
"good morning, miss kim." greeted eunha as she entered the office, mark following behind.
"good morning, have a seat." said miss kim as she shifts her attention from her desktop to the two students before her.
"how are you, eunha? i was aware you were absent for a week. are you feeling better, now?" asked miss kim as she sat on the couch before the two.
"i feel better, miss. i was unwell last week but i'm fine now." explained eunha.
"good to hear. how's your first week in school?" she asked again.
"it's fine, miss. i'm slowly adapting to the school." eunha replied.
"how is things with haerin?" asked miss kim which surprised eunha.
eunha looked at mark with a scared look in her eyes. as her fingers unconsciously went busy fiddling with itself, miss kim shot a look at mark.
mark gave a nod and a reassuring look to eunha as he notices eunha getting nervous in her seat.
"it's fine, eunha. it's a safe space for you to speak on it." said miss kim in a calm tone.
"i prefer to avoid talking on that matter, miss." said eunha hesitantly.
"that's fine, eunha. i respect your decision. but if you want to talk about it, i'm always ready to hear you, alright?" miss kim stopped before continuing, "i'm not new to cases involving haerin. mark knows that too. and we certainly will not turn a blind eye on it. if she ever disturbs you again, please let the school know. let mark know and we will take actions, alright eunha?"
"i will, miss kim." said eunha weakly.
soon, the two were dismissed by miss kim. eunha heaved a deep exhale as mark closed the door behind him.
"hey, are you okay?" asked mark.
"yeah i'm fine." replied eunha, before walking ahead of mark. "i'll see you later, mark."
eunha's pov
the bell rang, indicating that lunchtime is here.
"are you heading to the cafeteria?" asked seolhyun as she packed her stuffs into her school bag.
"i'll be at the library, i need to catch up on my lessons." i replied as seolhyun nodded.
"don't overwork yourself," said donghyuck before leaving the class with seolhyun.
soon, i head out of the class with my stuffs, my feet leading me to the place i've been missing in the past week.
as i closed the door behind me, i dropped my school bag along the way, as i comfortably sat by the edge of the rooftop.
it's the open view and the fresh air that i needed. i took my phone out of my pocket and dialed for a number i've always dialed whenever i'm in need of a company.
"hey, eunha." she greeted from the other end.
"hey, yunhee. are you busy?" i asked.
"not really. it's my free period right now but my brain feels too drained to continue studying. we haven't talked in a while, how is it there?" she asked.
"it's fine, i guess." i answered shortly.
"what's wrong? is something bothering you?" she asked, knowing something was off from my short replies.
"it's the anniversary week," i replied weakly, trying to hold back the tears.
"ah right, it is." she continued, "it must've been another rough week for you, eunha."
and just like that, a tear dropped and before i knew it, i was already sobbing.
"i hope you won't be too hard on yourself, eunha. i understand that this is a tough time for you, but i hope you're reminded of how you're loved by so many people." she said and at the same time, i heard the door closing behind me.
"hey,"
"yunhee, i'll call you back later." i said quickly before hanging up, wiping the tears off my face before turning around, "hey, jeno."
"can i join you?" he asked, and joined to sit me at the edge after i nodded to his question.
"how did you know i would be here?" i asked, once again wiping a tear with the back of my hand.
"noticed you weren't at the cafeteria with the rest of the dreamies. the rooftop was the second place in my mind." he replied.
silence fills in the air around us, both of us just enjoying the scenery. but as time passes, the atmosphere starts to grow awkward.
"you don't have to talk about it if you're not ready. i'm here to keep you company." he said out of the blue, sending a warm smile.
"thank you, jeno." i said.
and the silence continues.
but it wasn't awkward anymore, it certainly wasn't unpleasant.
i wanted to be alone, but being alone with him wasn't a bad idea, after all.