shades of yellow » han seojun ff

21. vintage

UNFORTUNATELY, WORD OF the karaoke room fight made its way to the ears of the vice-principal, who punished them by making them write apology letters in the counsel office first thing on Monday morning.

The hand-shaped mark on Yeonwoo's face had faded to a faint red, yet the wound on her lip remained. Luckily, her mother had believed her excuse that she had fallen down in the streets.

Just as they were leaving the counsel office, Jugyeong stopped Yeonwoo.

"Here," she said shyly, handing her a red lollipop tied with a pink ribbon. "This is for saving me. Thank you."

Yeonwoo turned crimson, but accepted the gift anyway. "It was nothing. It was fun, actually."

"Ah. I see." They laughed nervously. But Jugyeong's face turned solemn. "And, Yeonwoo? I hope that you're doing alright."

"What do you mean?"

"I—" She blushed. "I heard what you said to Sungyong. How bullies took away the thing you cherish most in the world. If you don't mind my asking, what was it?"

Yeonwoo's breath hitched. But then said softly. "It was my twin. Seyeon and I were bullied in middle school. When Seyeon became an idol, those bullies posted on the Internet that he had bullied them instead of it being the other way around. And one thing led to another, he ended up committing suicide last year."

Jugyeong gasped, "Jeong Seyeon? Your twin is—" She slapped a hand across her mouth. "Aish, I'm so sorry. I-I recognised the name from somewhere and—"

"It's fine. Life of someone with a famous sibling, huh?"

Jugyeong bit her lip. She sort of wanted to confide into Yeonwoo. Tell her that she too had been a victim of bullying, that Yeonwoo was not alone in her struggles. But the girl's scars still seemed to have not healed yet, just like hers.

So she said instead, "If you ever want to talk ... I'm right here. Okay?"

Yeonwoo smiled. "Thank you. You too."

Sujin and Sua joined them. "Why do you two look so sombre? Cheer up, we're out of that stuffy office." Sujin pushed them forward, grinning. 

This definitely did the trick of lightening the mood.

"You were so cool, Yeonwoo-ah," Jugyeong said admiringly, as they all walked together to class. "My heart stopped when he slapped you, and stopped again when you slapped him."

"Total girl crush!" Sua squealed, linking arms. But then she pouted. "You are so foolish though. Going ahead without waiting for us."

Yeonwoo shrugged dismissively. "It wasn't much. My cheek doesn't hurt anymore."

"You're welcome." Seojun pushed past them, flicking his hair in a sad attempt to look cool. He turned towards the girls, smirking his famous smile. 

"It's all thanks to my stellar first-aid skills that Yeonwoo looks fine today."

"I bet you just stared in the mirror while she had to do everything herself." Sujin rolled her eyes and nudged Yeonwoo. "Right?"

It was as far from the truth as she knew it, but how could Yeonwoo tell her friends the truth? Eventually, she knew she would wind up confessing what she thought she was starting to feel for the Han boy.

"Let's go to class now." She urgently pulled at her friends to the classroom, avidly looking away from Han Seojun's baffled expression.

Before she was able to enter the class, Suho stopped her. He examined her with uneasy eyes. "Are you alright? I didn't get to talk to you after yesterday."

"It's fine. See? My cheek's healing." She edged closer to Suho to show him.

He didn't bother to hide his glare at Seojun, who glowered back before sauntering roughly into the classroom past them. 

"It's all because of that jerk."

"Are you guys going to fight again? Seriously?" But she laughed lightly. "I think I would like to see it though. Sua has been very descriptive about your clashes. Personally, I think she finds them attractive."

Suho's face was one of sheer determination as he declared, "I'll make sure Sungyong never bothers you ever again."

"Seojun already told me that Sungyong would make it his personal vendetta to hunt me down for slapping him back."

"Aish." He rolled his eyes. "Can't you just stay away from Seojun? He's not good for your health."

"I'll be fine, Suho." She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Worry about Jugyeong instead." 

He turned automatically to the girl in question, who had been watching their interaction. Jugyeong turned away, blushing at being caught spying.

In fact, Jugyeong was feeling very conflicted. She thought she was beginning to develop feelings for Lee Suho, but he seemed mighty interested in Jeong Yeonwoo. He laughed and smiled so easily at her when he was usually so stiff and callous—even around her, Jugyeong. It appeared to her that Yeonwoo was the only one who Suho liked being around with.

"What are you thinking about?" The girl inhabiting her thoughts sat at her desk next to Jugyeong.

"Me? Oh, nothing." She fidgeted with her notebooks. "Just worried about exam season."

"Me too. It's going to be my first exam at Saebom. I hope I don't mess up too badly."

"You're really smart, Yeonwoo, I'm sure you'll do well." Jugyeong said, her face not seeming to match with her voice.

"Yeonwoo is coming to our study café tomorrow after school. We'll need all the help we can get, right?" Sua said. "Suho will also be there."

They both looked at the boy, who was reading the textbook with a pensive, serious expression painting his anime-worthy features. 

Sua tutted. "What a psycho, am I right?"

Jugyeong nodded unfeelingly. She turned towards Yeonwoo. Her heart caught in her throat when she recognised the look on her face, one she knew so well because she usually wore the same expression looking at Lee Suho.

One of deep affection.

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a/n: decided to update cos my exam went well today:D don't forget to vote and comment! xx