Querencia

36

Everything was a mess.

Something that once was a part of happiness was nothing but misery now. Juyeon has lost in his path, not sure where to fix this, not even sure whether he could fix it either.

He thought everything would fall back into the right places once he talked it out with Hana but no, it became worse.

Two days before the friendly match.

He did hope to see Hana at his game despite the bitterness of their friendship. He has never stopped reminding her about the game though what he got in return was an eye roll. But he would never stop, for the girl's presence alone was miraculous.

Staring towards the bleachers as he did the warmups, Juyeon could feel the difference. His view would never be the same in every break he had, he no longer could see the cheerful Hana trying her best to hype him up though she never understood the rules of the game. He no longer would receive a drink or towel from her like she was his manager, to begin with.

Though now, one of the seats at the bleachers was filled with someone he had his eyes on for quite a while, it was not the same - it won't.

Most of the time Heiji was here, she was only scrolling on her phone, taking selfies and barely watching him play. When he approached her during the break, what would come out from her lips was merely a question of 'when will the practice end?'

And today was no different.

"It will take a while today. What about you go home first?" Juyeon suggested, slightly worried that Heiji was bored alone.

"Alright. Call me when you're home", without hesitation, she jolted up from her seat, taking her bag with her.

Juyeon did expect it but he could not help himself from startling by the girl's action. Maybe, just maybe, he did hope that Heiji would stay, like how Hana would do.

"She's always stayed", Juyeon did not realize, he had blurted that out loud.

Heiji was offended, that was for sure. Though Juyeon did not mention any names, she seemingly would be able to guess who was in his mind.

"Are you comparing me with her?" pulling her arms against her chest to have them crossed, Heiji questioned. But, no sign of regret was seen in his eyes, Juyeon just eyed her blankly. "How could you compare us together? Don't you remember what she's done to me?"

At that, the boy flinched a bit. His mind automatically traveled back in time to that one night when Hana burst in front of him. She looked so disappointed that night - like she had never committed any crimes towards Heiji.

"Go home first. I need to resume the practice", it was a made-up story he created but surprisingly Heiji bought it, leaving the court for real after bidding a lovely wave.

The boy heaved a deep sigh afterward before he turned on his heels to go back into the court. How he wished his life was fictional where it was the right time for his comfort zone to appear without hints.

"Lee Juyeon."

Almost tripping over nothing, he did not lie that he was doubting. He almost thought that it was all his imagination but checking won't hurt, right?

And so, Juyeon glanced over his shoulder, spotting a chic girl flashing a small smile that looked more like a smirk, a plastic bag in her grasp was floating high in the air.

Did not know why, but he started giggling, finding it all amusing.

"I saw the disappointment in your eyes", the girl rolled her eyes as the boy scooted closer to her. "You are expecting Hana to come, don't you?"