Friends I han seojun ff ft. lee suho

#044

chapter 44

Yoon-ah didn't recall heading away from the exam hall. But she must have, because here she was, moving. Weaving through seats until she found her own. To her utter surprise, she was guided to a little love seat hidden in a cozy corner at the back. She stared at the number on the ticket for a long time. There was no mistake; this was their seat. Lee Suho could have picked any seat in the theatre, but had settled on the love seat. 

Yoon-ah noticed a couple on the other corner giving her a curious once-over and felt her cheeks flare up. The seating arrangement during their covert mission could have been so much more discreet. She made a mental note to bring it up to Suho later, just in case the plan didn't work out. As a matter of fact, she knew it was not a good idea to be here in the first place. It seemed inevitable that something would go sideways eventually. 

She also knew she had taken the liberty to discourage Suho about this, given how absurd the idea seemed. She now hoped though, that he wouldn't listen to her and show up regardless. In that way, she wouldn't have to sit with her thoughts in a silent exam hall for hours. 

Another message popped up on her phone. Yoon-ah gripped her drink tighter. Her phone had been buzzing all night long. It was a torrent of memories from her past, which she had avoided for many years. The messages were from everybody who was somebody in the country. Many of her father's acquaintances, quite a few of her own, and some of her former friends. While their support was meant to be comforting, she knew it held no sincerity whatsoever. 

Yoon-ah had changed her number thrice in the past year itself. The fact that they went to such lengths to get her new number, it was obvious they expected something in return. The same as always, she guessed. They were pretending to sympathize with her, presumably to gain her favor, and thus her father's, of course. 

She turned her phone off with a sigh and tucked it into her back pocket. She wasn't a fool anymore. Besides, it wasn't like her father was going to call her. While he had tried many times to reach out to her, her mother's demise was probably still a sensitive matter. She knew he would do what he did best-- wrap himself in his work and pretend that he didn't miss his wife after all these years. Yoon-ah suspected that the three-year mark was another reason he had taken the USA assignment under his wing without much hesitation. It was a long project and he would be out of the country while the citizens mourned the loss of their favorite actress.

There was a certain tightness in her throat when those thoughts filtered through. Yoon-ah blinked blankly at the empty hall before her, choking back the lump in her throat. Her hands trembled slightly, stalling halfway to the armrest. 

The accident had occurred a while ago, and it had only made her more apathetic to everything. Grief stirred in the pit of her stomach and gripped her tongue, but Yoon-ah didn't panic. It wasn't scary for her because she'd been there before, she knew the feeling well. There was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again, but each victory was a little easier, and it gave her a little hope.

"Song Yoon-ah?" 

Suddenly, a soft male voice echoed behind her. 

Her heart jumped in her chest.

Uh oh

Yoon-ah closed her eyes, hoping she was hallucinating. Of all the places she could have stumbled into him, it had to be on a (fake) date with Lee Suho.

The brunette bit on the inside of her cheeks. She twisted back, her body angled awkwardly between the seat and her new companion. Light brown eyes met her own tentative ones, making her hold her breath. She had been avoiding the boy since he had surprised her with his confession a few weeks ago. There was no doubt that she owed him a conversation. But the knowledge that she didn't even know his name just made her feel guilty.