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The day Haechan dreaded the most eventually came.

He had spent the weekend completely isolated, only leaving his room whenever it was absolutely necessary, and much less leaving his house at all. The boy wasted countless hours simply staring at the ceiling, thinking about the perfect plan to make his next move. 

Haechan was even scared to go to work. He had decided to call in sick, hoping that he managed to fake a convincing cough, but feeling disappointed in himself for lying to his boss and coworkers. Except for doing that, the boy kept his phone always turned off, not wanting to see if a certain teacher slash neighbor had sent him a text message.

His parents were well aware of this sudden change in his behaviour. Haechan had once usually been a cheerful and outgoing boy, but since the beginning of the school year, his light had slowly begun to fade away. They thought maybe something had happened that really upset their son, but decided to let him be for a while. They would give him some time first, after all, Haechan had made it crystal clear that he wanted to deal with it alone.

Now it was finally Monday, the one day which saved the worst for last, meaning that English class was the very last one. Haechan would have probably started to skip them like some of his classmates have been doing, but there was a clear difference between those students and himself in regards of their English teacher, and it was that Mark hadn't become friends with their parents. But mostly, it was that only him was being stalked and assaulted by said person.

Haechan tried to shake those thoughts off his mind as he walked towards the classroom. They would not help him anyways, the only thing that mattered then was whatever he would do in his circumstances. Finally entering the class, the boy was surprised to find that Renjun's desk and his own were already separated, unlike usually, while all of the rest remained in pairs.

Renjun was orderly placing his materials for the first class when Haechan approached him and sat by his side. "What's up? I thought that English class was the last one," he greeted, clearly making reference to the space between the two of them, but the older paid him no mind. He simply kept putting his things on his desk, not even bothering to spare the younger a glance, and pretending not having heard his voice.

Confused, he looked behind only to see that both Jeno and Jaemin were as surprised as he was, if not more. Jaemin mouthed a puzzled 'no idea,' while Jeno shrugged his shoulders. Unsatisfied with the answers, or lack of answers, which he had received, Haechan turned back to his best friend, "uhh... Junnie?" He began rather tentatively, but his voice had clearly reached Renjun's ears. However, the boy kept refusing to acknowledge his presence. 

"Hey, is everything ok--" and Mrs. Kang, the biology teacher, entered the classroom, ready to start with her lesson. Everybody quieted down, and Haechan decided it would probably be for the best if he let it go for now. And so classes went on just like that, without any word exchanged between the pair. Even when they had their free periods for eating breakfast and lunch, Renjun made sure to be the first to finish picking up his things in a rush and disappear. 

He went away without another word, leaving his friends behind.

"What have you done?!" Asked Jeno while the group sat down in the cafeteria to have their lunch, when the oldest of their group of friends was nowhere in sight. "Me?" Haechan deadpanned, incredulous, "you all know that I would never do anything to upset him!" He replied in frustration, but of course, he was more worried about what had happened to Renjun rather than about defending his innocence. Jaemin had to nod at Haechan's answer.

The trio, plus their youngest friends Chenle and Jisung, spent the rest of the lunch break discussing what could had possibly caused Renjun avoid and ignore all of them, but mostly Haechan, with such strong determination. They were completely clueless, and finished eating with no idea of what to do to help their friend. 

Haechan remembered with a bittersweet taste the last time they had spoken to each other. He pictured how Renjun had so cheerfully offered his help for when he was about to have dinner at Mr. Lee's, and then felt guilty that he couldn't seem to be there for him as well. He felt like the worst best friend to someone who had been nothing but caring to him.

When the group finally got back to class, their missing friend was already there. He sat at his desk, looking out the window absentmindedly, yet pretending to not have noticed his friends sitting besides and behind him. Haechan wanted to say something, anything. This situation hurt him, Renjun ignoring him like that hurt him. Whatever he had done to make his best friend so upset, he would fix it, immediately.

This whole situation completely plagued his mind, causing him to even forget about his English teacher, whom they will be seeing in less than an hour.

The boy peeked hesitantly at Renjun's direction, wondering what he should do. Try to talk again now? Wait until we finish classes? Wait until tomorrow? However, his train of thought was completely interrupted when his eyes caught a glimpse of Renjun's. They seemed too glassy, and the area below them appeared a bit swollen. 

But before he could tell for sure, Renjun had noticed him staring and turned his head to the side quickly. The older exhaled shakily and made sure that Haechan wasn't able to see his face anymore. And by now, his best friend felt even more worried than before.

Has he been crying??? 

A/N:

Just you wait...

Hello again!!! I hope that the wait didn't feel too long. I'm a bit less busy these weeks, so hopefully I can return to the weekly updates without any problem. Also, thank you so much for your votes and comments, they really motivate me to write more chapters for you!

So please don't stop jejeje

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