Hazelnut - Ryeji

15

As my foot steps outside of Yeji's house, I looked above and I noticed that the infinite blue skies are all covered with grey clouds. The sky lit up as lightning appeared clashing through the forest of clouds.

The weather got worse every second just like my mood.

I took out an umbrella from the bag I was holding and I opened it as I was expecting rain to fall from the skies.

I was about to walk away from Yeji's house, but i hesitated. I looked at her house as I started to regret my decisions.

It was the first time I've seen her cry and the first time I got mad at her. I was so fueled up with rage that I didn't even notice I was physically hurting her. I wanted to run inside of her house and dash my way to her room, but I couldn't.

I wanted to hug her and kneel down in front of her and apologize. I wanted to dry her tears myself. 'She's probably still crying.' I thought to myself.

While I was busy thinking about Yeji, a raindrop fell on the top of my head. I looked above the dark and noisy skies and I saw rain falling down rapidly.

I sighed and I put my umbrella above me to prevent myself from getting sick. I inhaled and sharply exhaled through my nose and I walked away from Yeji's house.

It was very fortunate that Yeji's parents weren't home or else I would go home with a giant bruise on my face for making their precious daughter cry.

As I walk through the streets under the rain and feeling the cold dark afternoon air, I forced a smile to lighten up my mood as I was still a little mad at Yeji. I was honestly expecting the kiss, but she suddenly laughed at me.

It hurts a lot when you and your feelings get toyed.

While walking, I saw a tall figure standing across the street while looking at me.

I couldn't identify the person's face as he was standing in the shadows, but it was obvious to me that he's drenched in rain. It almost seems like he's waiting for someone.

He was just standing still in front of me while cars and different vehicles pass by one by one.

I tightly held my umbrella and walked to the left side to avoid him.

"Shin Ryujin." The guy with a deep voice spoke that made me pause.

I looked at the him. "Yes?" I raised my right eyebrow.

Lightning suddenly appeared in the skies making a loud sound and lighting up things for a few seconds. I caught a glimpse of the face of the person and my eyes widened a little bit.

It was my classmate, Soobin. He was wearing a white shirt and black shorts.

"Soobin? what are you doing here?" I asked.

Soobin walked towards me and he threw a glance at Yeji's house. "What are you doing in this street?"

I rolled my eyes as he is starting to get in my nerves. I know that this guy has a massive crush on Yeji because he is always giving her food and other stuff.

"I just visited someone." I let out a small smile and walked away.

Soobin suddenly grabbed my wrist. "Was it Yeji?" He asked.

I sighed. "Yes. Is there any problem with that?"

He clenched his fist while glaring at me. "Why are you two always together? you always go on a date. She always hangout with you. You two even went on a vacation!" He yelled.

I chuckled. "Ask her yourself."

"Why is she always hanging out with an idiot troublemaker? A troublemaker with family and self problems. You always like to pick on weak people. That's pathetic, Shin Ryujin." He scoffed.

My head was boiling. I feel like a volcano that was about to erupt in a few seconds. "I'll go now." I tried to calm myself. I shoved Soobin's hand away and I slowly walked away.

"Are you two dating?" He asked making me pause for the second time.

"What makes you say that? do you not know she had a boyfriend? why would she date a girl?" I looked at him in the eyes.

"Because she dated a girl before." He said making my eyes widen a little bit.

I chuckled. "You are really creepy, Choi Soobin." I mocked him. "Why is she always hanging out with me? because I'm a lot better than her ex."

Soobin dashed towards me and he suddenly punched me on the right side of my face.

I fell to the ground and I let go of my umbrella. I was a little fascinated by his punch. He was a lot stronger than me.

For a moment, I forgot that Soobin plays a lot of sports. A single punch instantly made me bleed. I can tell that it'll leave a bruise.

Soobin chuckled and crouched in front of me. "Did you die, Shin Ryujin?" He laughed at me.

I wanted to fight back, but I remember my promise to Yeji. I promised her that I will never land a single punch on anyone. If I didn't promise her that, I could've easily fought back.

Soobin gritted his teeth. "Stop hanging out with Yeji or I will kill you." He threatened me.

"Stop!" Someone suddenly yelled that caught our attention.

It was Yeji.

She was standing while holding a purple umbrella while panting. She looked like she ran her way to me.

Soobin stood up and smiled at Yeji. "Oh, Yeji. How are you? want to grab some hazelnut ice cream with me?"

Yeji threw a glance at me. Her eyes widened when she saw the pathetic look on my face. "Ryujin!" She yelled and ran towards me.

Yeji crouched and put her umbrella above me. "Are you okay?" She asked with a hint of worry.

"Yeji..." Soobin weakly said. "Why are you always hanging out with that girl?!"

Yeji furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Soobin. "She is better than you!" Yeji yelled.

"W-what? I'm smart, handsome, and I play a lot of sports. Shin Ryujin is nothing compared to me!" He yelled back.

"You're awful, Soobin. I hate you so much!" Yeji shouted. She was fueled up with rage while holding her umbrella. "Punching someone won't make me change my mind! I'm so happy I broke up with you!"

Soobin furrowed his eyebrows. "F-F...." He struggled to say a word as he was slowly walking backwards.

Without hesitation, Soobin walked away from us with a distressed look on his face.

When our male classmate is no longer present, Yeji switched her attention to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Y-yes." I looked at her in the eyes. "So he was your old boyfriend." I chuckled weakly.

"I'm sorry." Yeji apologized.

I inhaled and exhaled as I straighted my back while sitting down on the wet and dirty ground. "W-why are you hanging out with me? and not with Lia, Chaeryeong, and other people who cares a lot about you?"

"I-I..." Yeji couldn't say a word.

"Besides, I'm just a bully and an idiot. A troublemaker with family and self problems, right?" I said.

Silence started to form between us. Yeji let go of her umbrella and we looked at each other as we started to get drenched in rain.

Yeji put her hand on my shoulder. "T-that's not true. People say those things to you because they don't know who you are and they don't understand you." Yeji said. "For me, you are a good friend and I am having so much fun with you."

I clenched my fists and tears started to form in my eyes. My heart was aching so much and I couldn't move a muscle.

Yeji held my fist with her trembling hand. "I want you, Ryujin." She said. "A-and I want you to stay with me."

"P-please? stay with me." She begged.

I looked at her in the eyes. Her eyes were filled with pain and she was so close to crying. I let out a small smile with a slow nod.

"Alright. I'll stay with you."