Silence ○ Lee Haechan

○ 7

You know the moment when you hear news and your heart drops, like for example, when you find out someone you don't like is going to be your group partner... yeah well that's exactly what Mari was feeling- literally.

She could feel her heart drop to the floor, mouth opening in shock as her mouth grew dry.

It was like fate was teasing and punishing her by putting the two together.

"I trust you can explain the report to Haechan yourself when you two catch up," the teacher spoke with a happy genial smile before grabbing his belongings.

"Wait but sir-" Mari tried to call out to him but he had already exited the classroom ending the one sided discussion.

A silence washed over the room as they remained as the last two people present. It was deafening, you could drop a pin and it could echo like an orchestra in a theatre.

"What did I do to deserve this" she said under her breath and dropping her head.

"This isn't pleasant for me either okay," Haechan spoke out and she moved her eyes up to look at him before her head followed suit.

She honestly didn't know what to say, she was never expecting to see him ever again let alone be in another group project with him and she was confused.

"Look-"
"Look-"

The sound of both their voices overlapping made Mari want to run away. So far away in fact that she would end up in Bern, Switzerland. At least there she wouldn't have to deal with the current awkward silence that swallowed the two of them whole.

Kicking them further into the ground and plucking away at every nerve running through their body making the whole ordeal completely and utterly cumbersome.

"Can you just say something," she said rather fast wanting to escape the tribulation of the situation.

"Fine," he started off turning his body to face her and Mari followed suit- twisting her body to stand right in front of the boy she once knew unlike any other.

"Why don't we keep this civil. We do the assignment and it's over."
"Right."
"It's only what?"
"Five weeks."
"Exactly. We spend five weeks being civil and once we submit the report we can be on our merry ways."
"Never speak to each other again."
"Precisely."
"Good."
"Good."

Mari gripped hold of her bag strap hanging off her shoulder and adjusted it, "just message me when you're free," she said before she started walking towards the door.

"Wait," Haechan called out and Mari's feet halted, turning around to see him holding out his phone.
"What's your number?"

It felt like time had stopped, all her weight dropping to her feet as her mouth opened slightly in shock and drying out almost immediately.

Her eyes bored into the phone extended out to her and she felt a sharp stab hit her heart, out of everything that could've happened she didn't expect him to have deleted her number. She just assumed he kept it, like she had done.

Gulping down the dry lump in her throat she nodded her head faintly, extending her hand out to grab the device from his own.

As her fingers tapped away at the screen she could feel her heart picking up in pace, eyes stinging from her lack of blinking and her body felt heavy.

Tears started to gloss over her eyes but before he could notice she quickly sent herself a little "hello, it's haechan" and shoved the phone back into his own hands.

She blinked away the tears briefly before looking up at him and sending him a small smile, "there," and with that she turned on her heels and rushed out of the classroom.

Her heart pounding against her chest as she made her way around a corner and into an empty dimly lit hallway. Her back clashing against the cold hard lockers as her bag dropped to the ground with her arm falling to her side.

Her free hand gripping the fabric over her shirt as the tears started to arise in the corner of her eyes once more.

She hated him, but despite her loathing towards the boy that didn't dismiss their past.

With everything they've been through together she honestly didn't expect those words to fall from his lips.

"What's your number?"

Three words, that's all it took for years of being friends to come crumbling down, that's what made it all feel real.

Three words and that's exactly what made Mari realise that he too didn't want to associate himself with her anymore.

But what could she expect, it had been 2 years and the last time they saw each other they didn't exactly end on good terms- or on any terms at all.

Bringing her hand up to her face she brushed away the stray tear that fell down her hot skin. Pushing herself off of the locker and picking up her bag.

She couldn't let this get to her, she has to be civil- no matter how many memories it brings back.

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