nunchi [txt yeonjun]

25%

oh great! everyone was now expecting him to become a star. he had less than a semester left before the incredible high school experience was over and the last thing he ever wanted was to get his life even more complicated than it already was.

why did they give him such a high mark on the latest exam?

he caught his breath and reached for the water bottle in his backpack. putting it to his lips, he only stopped drinking to breathe again. all he did today was sing his lungs out till they started burning, working on his stamina, which wasn't something he hadn't done a considerable amount of times before but it sure as hell tired him more than usual.

he might as well have run one hundred and thirty-four laps of a stadium.

his head jerked to the left when the door closed with a thud in that direction.  coach han was slowly walking towards him. "how's it going, choi? good work from what i've seen." he patted the boy's shoulder.

"thank you, sir. could've been better."

"that always applied, son."

yeonjun nodded, the corners of his. mouth tugging upwards in a shy grin. "true that. i was just done for today."

the boy sipped once more on his water and stood to go.  a moment later, just before he got going, his phone beeped in the pocket of his jeans. taking his, he ran his fingers on the luminous screen, then hissed something only he could hear.

"anything wrong?" coach han asked.

a sigh escaped the highschooler's lips. "nothing. our car broke down and dad was telling me to catch a bus to get home. see you around, coach" his hair was damp with sweat as he ran a hand through it; mental note to cut it shorter when he had time. if he ever had time.

"aren't you living in bundanggu too? let me drive you."

yeonjun's hand rose and rubbed the back of his neck. his head lowered, he replied, "i can't bother you, sir. it's okay for me to take the bus."

"it's nothing. you're a good kid, choi, our school's pride. it's the least i can do."

yeonjun lowered his head further, his heart uneasy at the compliment. the school's pride wasn't his favorite thing to be, and it kind of bothered him - that he was first a good reputation and, secondly only, a good guy. but he had grown too used to it to keep minding. "thank you, coach."

"only that," the man added, although a bit hesitant, "do you mind if i make a stop to the hospital? promise it'll only be five minutes. i don't want you to be late at home either." it wasn't the happiest of things, nor a thing he'd like to share.

yeonjun looked up at the vocal coach. "it's alright. thank you. visiting somebody?"

the teacher nodded.

"hope it's not something bad."

"coma."

at once, the boy's throat dried and smiles died from his face. "i'm sorry." a part of him condemned his own curiosity, whilst the other - the bigger part - was curiosity itself. "family? or friends?"

the man only sighed, his shoulders raising and dropping a moment later, as if he'd just sunk into himself. "no. it's actually a girl from our school. she was hit by a truck like a week or two ago and now she just won't wake up . her mom's desperate."

the boy recalled having heard the news on tv and the whispers between classrooms, but paid little to no attention to the details. he felt bad, of course, like anybody would when hearing of such tragedies, but it wasn't something to have caught his eye in any special way. "anybody i should know?"

coach han shrugged. "you tell me. her name's kwon yeonwoo."