Hearts Aflame

018: Bonds, What?

This chapter is dialogue heavy since it is the awaited EXPLANATION chapter, yay?

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Mina's phone dinging brought her out of her small make-up frenzy, where she was applying contour to her cheeks in front of her wall mirror attentively. If it was a single ding, she would have ignored it, since her makeup was a lot more important than her phone messages (which were nothing more than advertisements and the boys' silly emojis in the group chat) however, there were multiple dings, which worried her. Multiple dings usually meant emergencies, didn't they?

So she hurried to her desktop and took her phone, replacing it with the contouring bottle she had in her hand. Her phone was unlocked already – she forgets her phone unlocked at least three times a day – with three text messages all from different numbers.

At the same time.

Could that be a coincidence? Surely, since none of the messages came from people who were together, and they all had different contents as well. She opened the first message, which was from Minseok, curiously. Wasn't she with him just yesterday? What did he want now? She vowed to kill him if he wanted her to be his slave for this day too.

- Minseok:
- I'm sorry.

Sorry? Why was he sorry? She furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly worried. Did he do something to make him say that when she was with him? Well, aside his rude way of telling her to leave, but she didn't even think he had noticed! She quickly typed a reply back.

- To Minseok:
- What for?

Then, she went for the next text message, which surprisingly was from Yixing. When was the last time she talked to Yixing? After she found out they knew of Suho's knowledge about her feelings, she didn't talk to anyone aside her roommates, Minseok, who forced her to talk, and the two boys she was entangled with as of now. Wow, now it sounded like she talked to everyone! But it didn't mean she had to be less angry to the rest to talk to them. At least Minseok made her talk. Jongdae came to talk to her, whereas she did Sehun and Baekhyun wrong. What did the rest do? Nothing. She opened Yixing's text message with an angry pout.

- Yixing:
- Sehun, can you bring my mathematics book? I think I forgot it in your apartment >.<

Mina couldn't help but scoff, reading into his try to reach her right away. Did he think that pretending to misdial her phone for Sehun, she'd fall for it?

- To Yixing:
- You know this is not Sehun, but nice try.

Huffing, she went for the last text message she received, and the name atop her messages' list left glowing green with unread, made her chest swell. She quickly blinked her eyes, closing them and opening them hurriedly, rash speculations circulating her mind right away. Her finger hovered over the name for a few seconds, heart pounding, before quickly clicking on it.

- BaeSuho <3:
- Meeting at my house, ASAP.

She released a sigh she didn't know she was holding, clear, burning disappointment swallowing her whole. Oh, who was she kidding. He didn't reach her out to talk or to apologize. Why would he when he kept mum through her one-sided conversation? When she went to his house to speak but he stayed silent? She just hoped he'd reach for her, apologize and beg for her forgiveness.

But no! He didn't even bother. And her, oh how stupid of her to react to his name, the name she didn't even bother change in her contact list! She was so pathetic. She quickly deleted his message away, and in that minute, another message from Minseok popped up in her timeline.

- Minseok:
- For telling you to leave that way? I don't know, I feel bad about it.
- Also, you were right.
- Luhan has a crush on me.
- He told me that yesterday.