shades of yellow » han seojun ff

17. biscotti

SCHOOL ROLLED BY the next day. Yeonwoo wasn't that fazed when Seojun didn't pick her up on his motorcycle. She wouldn't have herself, after that humiliating experience in which she saw him half-naked. 

So she rode her bike to school instead, feeling much more relaxed on it rather than that metal death contraption.

She made her way across the school grounds, wheeling her bike beside her when she saw Seojun standing still, apparently in a daze. She followed his line of sight and was a bit startled to see that it was Jugyeong who caught his attention. Wait a second, was she pretending to roar at him?

"Earth to Seojun?" She nudged his shoulder with hers. He jumped about a mile into the air when he saw Yeonwoo peering at him in concern. She was nearly as tall as him, so it was a weird experience not have to strain his neck to look at her.

"What? What is it?" He ordered roughly.

"You seemed so distracted. What's going on in that mind of yours?" They began walking together.

"Nothing." He decided not to mention that at the centre of his woes was her. "What about you?"

"Contemplating my future."

Seojun blinked, before letting out a huge roar of laughter. He very much enjoyed her rapid switches in mood, her musings of the far and beyond.

She smiled, pleased to see the usual Han Seojun she knew (and loved, if she would admit it). "It was my dream to study abroad and it was Seyeon's to debut as an idol. How about you? I know you quit as a trainee after his death."

He was taken aback—no one had ever asked him about what he truly wanted in life. 

After a momentary silence, he eventually stuttered, "I don't know if there's anything left for me to do. But if anything, I want to at least be able to provide for my mother and sister."

"You're a good guy, Seojun." Yeonwoo mused. But a cheeky glint shone in her eyes. "But no matter what, I'll never be able to forget it."

Seojun was still reeling from what Yeonwoo had asked him before, and wasn't able to process what she just said. "Forget what?"

"Your boxers!" She whispered in his ear, before hopping on her bike. She cycled away then turned back towards the boy to laugh gleefully at his confused expression.

Seojun was left in the dust. "Yah. YAH!"

—

Suho was absent. While the rest of the class was preoccupied with that, Yeonwoo tapped Sujin on the shoulder and whispered, "Sujin-ah, you forgot to text me last weekend. Is everything alright?"

Sujin turned around. Yeonwoo's perceptive eyes managed to detect a faint mauve colour concentrated by her cheekbone, which had been expertly layered with concealer.

Her horror prevented her from saying anything. All she could do was raise a shaking hand to her mouth.

"It's fine. It doesn't hurt much." Sujin pasted on a smile that was clearly fake and purely for both their benefits.

It had been an accident. She never meant for Yeonwoo to find out the truth of her home situation. In eighth grade, after a parent-teacher interview, her father had dragged her to the empty parking lot and slapped her hard across the face for coming third in the rankings. Yeonwoo had accidentally stumbled upon the terrible scene because she had chased Sujin down to return a book to her.

From that day on, the universe seemed to pull the two together—they were co-leaders for a preschool event, partners for geography lessons, the only two competent group members for a science project. In the end, they accepted their fate and became friends.

"I'm telling you, it's fine." Sujin was the one trying to console Yeonwoo, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

Yeonwoo sniffled, "You can fight and kick and punch so well, you're a good person, you're smart and righteous, you don't deserve that."

"All people have an imperfection in their lives. It's natural."

"But it isn't right. How can a father do that to his own daughter?"

"If things get worse, I'll run straight to your house."

As Mr. Han called for attention, Sujin turned around and gave her friend a thumbs-up. Yeonwoo returned the favour, glad to see her friend in high spirits despite the pain she was going through. 

She wished she could be as strong as Kang Sujin.

—

a/n: sujin & yeonwoo friendship superiority! :)

has anyone noticed the movie easter egg I put in this chapter? Hint: has to do with the title chapter and an adjective I used in the first section of this chapter.

this is a filler chapter. but I promise, spice is otw in the next chappie!