Querencia

42

The class was dreadful. It was the only subject that made Hana pray diligently to effortlessly pass the exam - if that was possible.

It kept her questioning how alphabets and numbers could be connected with unknown symbols and finally created an answer.

She must say that she was not a fast learner when it came to numbers but Juyeon was.

Back in schooldays, she was once struggling with maths but seeing Juyeon do so well in class somehow encouraged her to study more and stay focused.

And they both made it - together.

"Bear with it", she spoke softly underneath her breath whilst scribbling her note, not intending to let anyone hear.

But, Juyeon seemed to have heard.

He glanced over at the girl next to him, her face scrunched up funnily - her habit when she was under stress. He smiled to himself, for the sight was priceless.

He thought that he wouldn't be seeing this anymore.

Knowing Hana was trying to focus, he did not want to get in her way. Nonetheless, he hoped he could have cheered her up.

That was how he found his hand rummaging into his bag, a bar of chocolate was taken out - meant to be hers.

Writing a short note on a paper, he placed the chocolate on it. Together he slid them in front of her.

Hana flinched - who would not when suddenly a big hand appeared, the bar and the note disappearing under it.

But she felt her heart fluttered upon seeing his soft smile, his eyes turned into crescents. Only the small act of him almost drove her insane.

Seeing him within this close gap made her mind travel back to that certain day, his voice confessing to her was buzzing in her ears. She was dying to tell him how badly she wanted them to be on the next level - changing their friendship to a relationship, but it was all messed up when Heiji's name floated somewhere in her head.

"Do you want me to gain weight by eating too much sugar?" her face was stoic but deep down she was holding herself back from sounding too flowery.

Juyeon's smile slightly faded, the tone in her voice was intimidating. But, to whom did he want to blame this? It was his fault, and he deserved to be hated.

"Eat it later", he pondered with that kitten look, Hana's lips twitched to pull a smile.

"You're so annoying", she dramatically rolled her eyes, pulling the chocolate and the note closer.

That was when she noticed his sweet note written in his messy handwriting,

You're doing good as always. Let me know whenever you need help.

Secretly, Hana smiled. She wondered how much effort he would be pouring to be as sweet as this in a relationship.

But unfortunately, she could not differentiate it. For her, now and then, he had always treated her the same. He was sweet to her all the time, but he once told her that they were only friends - best friends specifically.

She always got fake signals from him, was this time real?

"What is the tension between you two?" Chanhee asked in the hallway where they had gathered before going to the cafeteria.

Hana and Juyeon walked closer to each other and it somehow looked like Juyeon was chasing her. He kept talking and asking but the girl only answered with body language.

"No tension", she shortly answered, Juyeon too shook his head. "What's for lunch?"

"We're waiting for Changmin. He's gone somewhere with the student's council members", Kevin said, endearingly smiling towards Hana.

And Juyeon felt competitive at this point. He absolutely could not lose to him. Not after the deal they agreed on.

"Changmin is too much!" Chanhee got furious, one foot stomped onto the hard ground. "He makes us work too hard for the party. I mean, fairy tale theme? Does he want us to put wings on our back?"

"I thought you enjoyed it?" Freya smirked, crossing her arms in the process. "Pinky boy?"

At that, Chanhee sighed, raking his hair, "I just go along with the plan."

"Which means you love it...?" the slightly quizzing tone was coming along with a nod. Hana surely was enjoying the opportunity where she could tease the boy. "Noted."

"You girls don't understand me", the pretty boy flustered, pointing to Kevin and Juyeon next. "You guys know what I meant right?"

And it seemed like they just wanted to play with him - Juyeon shrugged whilst Kevin pondered. It surely was the plan since Chanhee was always in his savage mode and easily got mad at something unnecessary.

But, doing this also meant nothing but making the boy more upset than he did. And it just made Changmin confused upon his arrival joining the group.

"Just who made you so upset? I'll kill them for you", now the table had turned, making the rest of the group gulp. Everything that came out from Changmin's mouth was all possible - that was supposed to be scared of.

Chanhee was just about to open his mouth, wanting to vent out everything when Freya cut him, sparking the discussion about what to eat. Swiftly it became a distraction and eventually became a main focus when everyone voicing out their opinions.

"That's intense", Kevin whispered into Hana's ears, brows knitted together.

"Just for you to know, that we have saved your life", the girl yell-whispered and eventually then the two ended up laughing together.

Unfortunately, it did not go unnoticed by Juyeon. Sighing that sounded endless, the scene unfolded and made him slightly uneasy.

What if Hana would fall for Kevin for real?

Would his effort to show her his true feelings become worthless?

"Someone is enraged."

It was then, that Juyeon flinched, the whisper next to his ear made his hair stand. He almost threw his large hand when he turned around, spotting Freya was looking at him most scarily.

"Just don't do that", he warned, watching the latter ponder.

"Didn't know that you're a coward", it was intended to be a joke, they were supposed to laugh but Juyeon admitted that he was one. And that unfortunately had made Freya feel bad. "I.... wait, did something happen?"

At this point, the girl was holding him back, letting the rest of their group walk ahead. The emotion in Juyeon's eyes was unreadable, it was as if he was in a dilemma.

"Kevin won't back off", Freya gasped at the answer heard, covering her mouth with her palm as she heard Juyeon let another sigh. "Thus, we have dealt to launch a battle."

"But, he's your friend Juyeon", frustrated as she seemed, she desperately wanted them to stop it. "Hana won't be happy if she knows."

"You can't tell her", his voice sounded deep but stern in the slightest way. It was full of warnings which was noticeable. "I have to do this, and I have to win. I can't lose Hana."

The confession somehow made Freya flutter, though it was not meant for her. Seeing Juyeon and Hana to be 'something' was her long-awaited dream she could not freely throw away.

And she knew she was about to witness the ship she wanted to sail with her own eyes finally sailing. It was slowly but surely worth waiting for.

Hence, Freya pulled out the best friend card she had carried for a long time in her pocket, offering something she knew Juyeon would have never rejected.

"Tell me what is your plan?"