shades of yellow » han seojun ff

32. glow

YEONWOO AWOKE THE day of the camping trip to bright and sunny skies. She got dressed quickly, so that she could check and double-check that she had not left anything important behind.

"Got everything?" Her mother asked as she clambered down the stairs clad in loose jeans and a sage-green fuzzy sweater.

(She was a sucker for fuzzy sweaters).

"I checked twice from my list." She proudly held up a handwritten list filled with numerous ticks and crosses. Her meticulous habit of creating lists stemmed from Seyeon, as he had always been a very particular person ever since young.

Her father drove her to the school. Before she could exit the car, he stopped her. "I just want to say—" He took her hand in his. "—that I'm very proud of you, my precious daughter."

Yeonwoo's heart burst. Her father had never been a talkative person, and words never came easily to him. The fact that he was able to muster up the courage to tell her this warmed her immensely.

"I'm proud of you too, Dad." For overcoming so much. For being able to live every day as if you haven't lost your only son. For being our pillar of strength. Those were the words that died upon her tongue. But she knew her father could read them in her glowing eyes.

"Now leave." He gently pushed her out. "Go have fun."

"I will."

—

Yeonwoo joined her friends, who were congregating on the grass in front of the buses that would take them to the campsite. She stood next to Sujin, both judging with narrowed eyes as a reluctant Jugyeong took photos of Sua and Taehoon. The couple avidly posed for the pictures, looking every bit the part of happy teenagers in a high school romance.

"Disgusting, don't you think?" Sujin mumbled.

"We're probably just jealous we don't have anyone. But don't worry, Sujin-ah." She threw an arm around her friend. "We have each other."

Seojun made his way over to them, handsome as always in a stripy shirt and jean jacket slung over his arm. Coincidentally, he was matching with Jugyeong.

"What is this?" Sua said in a teasing tone. "Are you two trying to reveal that you're dating?"

He coughed, making eye contact with Yeonwoo. The memory of the baseball game flooded into her head.

After the almost-kiss, she seemed to be hyperaware of his every movement. When they both reached into the popcorn bucket at the same time, they snatched their hands away as if they had been electrocuted. When his knee brushed against her's, her heart literally stopped.

He walked her to the bus stop, citing that his mother taught him to do so. She was flattered but wanted him to leave as quick as possible so she could mull over what had happened and critically analyse it.

"I'll see you at the camping trip then." She muttered to him, as they waited for her bus.

"I don't know what came over me." He suddenly said. "I'm sorry."

What was she supposed to say? That she didn't mind it? That she kind of liked it?

She finally went with, "It's alright. They wouldn't have left us alone if you hadn't ... did what you did. And I trust you not to do something out of bounds."

"But what if—" But then the bus arrived, and the moment was lost. His eyes followed her as she boarded the bus, relaxing as she found a seat next to an old woman. His smile was bright as it drove away, and that last image of him remained in her mind all weekend.

The students boarded the bus. Yeonwoo was one of the first in line, and plopped down in a middle row. She left the aisle seat empty, for Sujin or Jugyeong because Sua was obviously going to sit with Taehoon.

But before she knew it, one of her classmates stood in front of her: Ha Minkyu. "Hey, Yeonwoo." He smiled shyly at her. "May I sit here?"

"Of course!" She liked him. He was a nice guy who could play the guitar well, smart too. He also played the violin in the school orchestra, a feat she admired because she knew firsthand the challenges of playing in an orchestra. 

She tried to ignore the excited whispers that erupted as soon as he sat down next to her. And she failed to notice Seojun's crestfallen face.

"I think Minkyu must like her, don't you think?" Sua was whispering to Taehoon, both of them being in front of Seojun in the line, . "They'd make such a cute couple!"

"Move it." Seojun growled. The couple gulped and rushed to the back of the bus.

Sujin ended up taking the seat next to Suho, and Seojun sat next to Jugyeong. Sua and Taehoon eyed this surprising turn of events with curious eyes.

"What do you think is going on, jagiya?" Taehoon whispered to his girlfriend.

"Something big." Sua grinned, as she spotted Seojun glare at the back of Minkyu's head from his seat with Jugyeong.

To the ecstatic cheers of the students, the bus slowly pulled away from the driveway and made its way into the city. It would be two hours before they reached the camping site in the country.

"Would you like to listen?" Minkyu held out an earphone to Yeonwoo, who had been unsuccessfully rummaging through her sling bag for her earphones.

"Thank you, I must have forgotten my earphones in my suitcase," She said gratefully, taking the bud from him.

"This playlist is filled with songs I think describe high school perfectly." He explained, as Chocolate by DAY6 began playing.

She gasped in delight. "I absolutely love this song!"

He chuckled. "Me too. DAY6 is my favourite band."

"Mine too!"

They began discussing their favourite songs and bands, and Minkyu eagerly took her on a tour through the hundreds of playlists he had compiled during their junior year alone.

"Seojun? Seojun?" With a start, Seojun snapped out of his murderous stare to the realisation that Jugyeong had been calling his name for the past minute.

"Yeah, what?" He demanded roughly.

Her eyes blinked slowly. "I ... I was just wondering if you wanted to listen to music?"

He swallowed, glancing at Yeonwoo and Minkyu. They looked the picture of happiness.

"It's alright. I'm tired," He said softly and closed his eyes to sleep.

—

a/n: btw, ha minkyu is the extra that everyone fell in love with on true beauty, played by the handsome kim won shik:)) he's also seojun's future bandmate. I can't find his official name in the drama, but I gave him this name cos I think it lowkey suits him? I can't imagine another for him hehe

I've written eight chapters in two days, and I want to complete this story asap for you guys:)) it's been so long since true beauty, and I feel so nostalgic going through the websites and reading other han seojun stories