Querencia

32

"Time's up! Stop writing and put your pen down."

The male professor ordered, his voice echoed within the hall. Some students groaned, expressing their dissatisfaction with the tricky questions on the papers. They completely were deceived by the tips given by the professor 3 days before the test.

Juyeon was no exception. Though he did study hard, he must admit that he relied on the tips too much. It had killed him.

He glanced over at the girl next to him who had her calm expression on like usual. That one expression of hers was always hard to decipher whether she did well or not. Because Hana would never show how anxious she was though her heart was about to burst.

"Did you do well?" he attempted to ask after their papers were taken away.

She shrugged. Either it was her answer or she just refused to talk to him.

Much to his hatred, Juyeon could not say much about her attitude. He was partly wrong too for giving her too much hope. And it was for a decade. The damage she received was too much to have her treat him the same as before.

"Hana, can I meet you for a while?" the professor requested as the students started leaving the hall.

Juyeon watched the girl jog towards the professor's desk as soon as her name was being called, knowing how she hated to make people wait for her once they needed her.

Ironic how she had willingly waited for someone - the opposite of her style.

Juyeon waited for her outside the hall, once a while glancing inside through the small glass on the door. Though he could only see the side frame of her, he knew the discussion was all about a good thing.

And he was relieved.

"Hi Mr.Lee", a voice snapped him out of a trance, breaking his stare from the girl to the demeanor in the hallway who was walking towards him. "What's up?"

They fist-bumped each other, tugging the corner of their lips upwards respectively.

"Not so good", Juyeon told him the truth, his deep sigh embodied his true feeling. "What are you doing here?"

"It's lunch break", Kevin's brows knitted together as he tapped his left wrist where it was only an imaginary watch hugging it.

"Ah, did they ask you to get us?" Juyeon guessed which for a brief moment Kevin flinched, but the former ain't notice. "Hana is still inside, so we need to wait for her for a while."

"Juyeon, I-"

"What should we eat today?"

"I-"

"Did Changmin and Chanhee choose the menu?" Juyeon never gave him the chance to speak when he kept cutting the poor boy. "I've found a newly opened cafe. We should-"

"Kevin."

As karma hit him, it was then Juyeon's turn to be cut when Hana appeared by the door, and the discussion inside was concluded.

Little did he know, karma hit him twice.

"Hana and I had planned to get our lunch alone", Kevin explained, his expression was more apologetic from the way he bit his bottom lip afterward.

It took Juyeon quite some time to decipher the situation, his eyes flickered from the guilty Kevin to the confused Hana. He was loss for words, and he did not know what he should feel right now.

Was it a disappointment?

But he was in no position to feel so. Hana had the right to go out with whoever she wanted and he was supposed to be grateful that it was Kevin - the one he trusted.

And he had Heiji - obviously, the one he fell in love with. So, what was the point of feeling disappointed?

"I suppose that it is a date", he pocketed his hands, smiling teasingly towards Kevin who now was shy, rubbing his nape.

"Is it a date?" the latter glanced over the girl next to him. "No right?"

"It can be", she started walking backward with a playful smile outstretched across her face as she chinned towards the direction they would be trailing through. "Come on boy, you don't want to miss the bus."

And so, the two left Juyeon alone in the hallway, sullenly watching how the two got along better than the day they first met each other.

"I've been replaced", he did not notice that he was sighing deeply, a strange feeling started consuming him as he watched Hana with Kevin.

This time he did not deny the feeling - he was unhappy.

"What are you looking at intensely?"

A whisper beside him startled him, turning his head almost immediately just to be greeted by the pretty face of Heiji.

"You scared me", he placed a hand on his chest, calming his furious heartbeat.

Heiji laughed, pushing some strands of her hair to the back of her ear. "You're cute when you're scared. Like a cat, a very cute cat."

"Hana told me that many times", he nodded, returning the smile on his face which made Heiji fall but the boy never noticed it.

If only he did, maybe he could have noticed that something had happened between the girl before his eyes and his best friend.

"Let's get lunch", in a real quick, Heiji dragged him by the sleeve without any consent. "I'm craving sushi, so let's get it."

He just let her drag him. He did not mind as long as it was her but, it could not stop him from thinking about his best friend.

What kind of meals did she get for lunch? They usually ate the same thing, it felt really weird to have different food.

"Oh, Heiji. I meant to ask you this but I always forgot", his track halted, and the two now were facing each other. "I heard you met Hana. Why?"

Juyeon could have sworn that he saw her eyes waver, her lips tremble. But, why must she feel so?

"Nothing. We accidentally met in the restroom", she pursed her lips into a thin line. "Why? Did Hana tell you anything?"

"No, she would never", he sighed again and it started to annoy Heiji.

She was uncomfortable when Juyeon kept talking about Hana whilst they were being alone.

"I'm sorry to tell you this", she bit her lips as she came closer to him, looking up into his pretty orbs which were anticipating the things she wanted to deliver. "I think Hana hates me. She never treats me nicely."