{M}ℝ𝕦𝕟 𝔸𝕨𝕒𝕪 | ✨𝕐𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕪𝕦 & 𝕊𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕒𝕚✨

Chapter 31

Soobin opened his jaws wide and let out a heartbreaking cry that echoed all over the barrier reef. He sniffled and coughed, his nose was stuffy and he could barely smell anything, and his eyes were taking the color of red as his helpless sobbing continued.

"And-And-And. . . He flew away a-a-and left m-m-m-meeee." Soobin let out painfully, his strong arms curled around Lia who was quietly sitting down beside him to comfort the aching in his heart.

"Oh, Soobin. . ." She brushed the 19-year old's blue hair to calm him down and offered him a crab she had hunted a while ago. "Here, just. . . Keep eating until you feel better."

Soobin looked at her and grabbed the crab with his teeth after mumbling a small 'thank you' to her. He shifted closer to Lia and let his head rest on her lap while he hugged his legs in a fetal position. 

After being rejected by Kai, Soobin had walked away from his friends and swam away into the ocean to cry alone. But to his pride's dismay, Lia had found him curled up on a rock and had asked him the reason as to why he was rocking back and forth while sucking on his thumb.

Soobin was grateful for her though, at least she had let him rant about his feelings and gave him a few bites of the prey she had hunted so he could swallow his sorrow and enjoy a bite of seafood.

Lia let out a sigh. She hated to see Soobin in such despair, specially when such pain was stabbing at her sweetest and most gentle friend's heart. Despite their rocky beginning, her and Soobin had become pretty close to one another, you could even go as far as to call them siblings. 

They didn't know exactly why, but they did felt a fraternal connection that tied them together.

 "What if it was a misunderstanding?" She brushed her fingers against Soobin's pale blue cheeks, her sympathy spilling right out as she tried to console him. "You've told me plenty of stories about you two. Maybe he does like you but was too panicked to confess too."

Soobin swallowed the few shrimps he stuffed into his mouth, the urge to sob was still too tempting but he managed to blink at Lia with huge blue-gray eyes. "But. . . He's never acted like that before!" He let out a helpless wail, and suddenly. . . Tears were coming down his cheeks once more, and he found himself hugging Lia way too tightly, almost squeezing her. 

"H-He pro-proba-aly likes m-me as a. . F. . . F-F. . ."

"Please don't-"

"FRIEND!" Soobin's voice rose at the pain that the small little word shot at his heart.

He was contaminated by heartache and the thought of his moments with the 17-year old being platonic was able to make him start blabbering incoherent sentences that would only be understood if you cried along with him.

Lia bit her lip at the 19-year old's tight grip. She could barely breathe and the sensation of Soobin's claws sinking into her scales made her extremely uncomfortable.

 But despite wanting to snap her jaws around Soobin's arm and tear them off her waist, she calmly tapped him so he would let her go. "Soobin. . . Sweetie. . . OH, MINHO THANK GOODNESS-"

The newcomer came out of nowhere, he had waved at Lia in greeting and immediately went for Soobin, dragging him away from Lia and hugging him as if he was the 19-year old's long dead father. 

"My poor child! I heard what happened, I'm so sorry you gad to go through such pain." He grabbed Soobin's face and pouted his lips at the younger who was still sniffling. "Here, my kisses will cure your sadness."