The Last Piece of Me {HyunLix}

Apollo & Daphne.

Felix.

I'd walked out faster than my mind could process what was happening. My face was burning and my head throbbed with a million embarrassing thoughts. I just walked, one foot in front of the other with my eyes glued to the ground till I reached the dance campus, then I stopped at the bathrooms instead of taking the stairs up to the dance studio. I'd left my bag on the bench before I'd left, but for all I knew, Leeknow would be up there and if he saw me crying, I could already predict what kind of rash things he'd do to the person at fault. As upset as I was about what Hyunjin had said, I didn't want that for him.

I splashed my face with water and leaned forward over the basin for a moment before looking at myself in the mirror. My eyes weren't too swollen yet, but my face always went a pathetic shade of peach when I'd been crying. Leeknow would catch on easily, and if he didn't, Jeongin or Seungmin would. I sighed and ran some water through my hair. I looked like I'd been skimmed by a forward ranger; there was no lying my way out of this if anyone saw me in person. Maybe it was best if I just faked sick and got Jeongin to pick my stuff up at the end of practice. Yeah, probably for the best. After all, I didn't really want everyone ganging up on Hyunjin like I knew they would. They were way too overprotective sometimes; not that I didn't appreciate it, but I wasn't as fragile as they thought I was. Not that my current state proved my argument at all.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I stepped out of the bathrooms. Leeknow. Great.

Lee Minho - Are you okay? Where are you?

I sighed. There was still a chance Jisung hadn't even told Leeknow anything; maybe he was just worried that I hadn't come back to the studio in a while.

Lee Yongbok - I'm fine hyung

Lee Yongbok - Feeling a little sick though, maybe I caught whatever Jeongin had yesterday. I think I might go back to my dorm.

Lee Yongbok - Could you get Seungmin to grab my bag when practice is over?

There was a moment of silence as I stepped out of the way of a few people trying to get into the bathrooms. I walked over to the staircase and leant back on the railing. The ellipsis on Leeknow's side of the screen popped up and disappeared a few times.

Lee Minho - You sure you're okay, Yongbok?

I let out a weak breath, tears pricking my eyes again. There it was, the question that would have broken me; I was glad I decided not to go to practice. It would have been terrible to fall apart after something so stupid as hearing a stranger say he didn't like me. I shouldn't have even cared; I didn't even know Hyunjin. But I did care. That was my problem, I always cared.

Lee Yongbok - I swear I'm fine hyung. I'll be back at practice tomorrow, I promise.

Lee Minho - Okay. Look after yourself.

I sucked a sharp breath and sat down on the first step with my hands in my hair. Why was my heart aching? I should have been white with rage hearing Hyunjin talk about me like he had any right not to like me. I tried to make up for breaking his painting, I tried not to make him uncomfortable when I so desperately wanted to stare at him with my mouth agape. I should have been beyond angry at him right now, but all I could feel was the unruly beating of my heart as it remembered his contented face while feeding the birds yesterday; the wind making stray hairs flutter in golden threads across his face. I should have been angry; but I wasn't. I just found myself wishing I could have been born the kind of person he did like; as a friend, or as more than that.  But I wasn't, and he'd made that entirely clear. I was just going to have to ignore the painful thumping in my ribcage till it became bearable. But for now, I was going back to my dorm to wallow. That was all I needed; a day to wallow.