empire | park sunghoon

05] Sunghoon

Hana had been staring down into nothing for a while now and it made Sunghoon worry about her. Was Jay making her uncomfortable? Did he say something wrong? He knew how troublesome Jay could be which caused others to get a weird aura from him if they weren't his fangirls. Since Sunghoon also hung around him, he didn't want Hana to suddenly feel like both of them give off a bad aura. 

"Hana?" Sunghoon said waving his hand slowly in front of her face, immediately causing her to snap into reality. As Sunghoon laughed at her little twitch into reality he continued. "Are you okay? You look like you have something on your mind" he didn't really expect an answer from her, but he couldn't just sit there without asking her, what if she wanted to say something but didn't dare? 

"Oh" was all she could get out. Sunghoon couldn't really guess what was wrong, but he also knew that he couldn't ask for too much. It was their first day together, he didn't really expect her to tell him all her problems. Her answer just made his head ask even more questions. 

As time passed by Jay kept whining and hitting Sunghoon, wondering about where Niki could be. Everytime Sunghoon got annoyed at Jay's actions, he saw a smile creep up on Hana's lips. He wasn't angry at Jay, he just wished for him to maybe call Niki himself or go look for him. But if this also made Hana show her beautiful smile, then he was okay with it. He got used to Jay being whiny and if this made Hana feel happy, he wanted to get used to see her smile too. 

The lunch was starting to move towards its end and Niki still hadn't showed up. He was bad at contacting them if he was coming or not, so if he didn't show up they mostly didn't worry either. Niki was a good kid and they didn't always need to act like overprotective brothers if he didn't show up. They knew he wouldn't get into a fight if it wasn't for a very good reason. 

"Niki isn't coming" Jay said, eyes on his phone as he probably got a message from Niki as they walked out of the cafeteria. 

Sunghoon heard a slight sigh and "oh" coming from Hana. He looked at her but her eyes were glued forward as she tried to ignore the two boys from asking any questions. As much as Sunghoon wanted to ask, he chose not to. It was better for now to not put any pressure on her. She's a new student, he doesn't have to know everything on her first day.  

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In class again Sunghoon had taken a seat beside Jay again, it became a routine by now. But this time, they had Hana at the seat behind them. Even Jay seemed to enjoy her company already, which made Sunghoon smile. 

Jay didn't hang out with a lot of people, before he got the bravery to actually talk to Sunghoon, he was more of a loner. But Sunghoon made him open up more and it made Sunghoon's heart feel warm that he could help him develop by just using his words everyday. It became his inspiration. Now that he easily seemed to have befriended Hana already, he couldn't be more proud. Now it was just Niki's turn to meet Hana. But at the same time Hana seemed unsure of meeting him. 

He brushed off the negative thoughts and instead he thought of the positive side. Niki always meets Jay and Sunghoon after school since they all live towards the same direction. He hoped that maybe Hana did too so that they could walk with her home. He just wanted to keep her safe even in bright daylight, even if it was their first day he was curious of her. Even if he totally wanted to supress the incident on the roof. Maybe later on he could be ready to talk about it, but not now. He was already talking well with her, he didn't wanna screw up and scare her away with his "crazy mindset". 

As the class goes on Sunghoon can hear Jay and Hana having constant conversations, he was mostly paying attention to the lesson himself so he could only blame himself for not participating in their talking. But a part of him still wanted them to listen and not laugh together so much. He knew Jay well, he wasn't the type to talk to a lot of girls but something happened now. But he was also happy that Jay got a friend. But Hana was someone he yet wanted to spend more time with soon, get to know who she was. He wanted to do that before Jay could. 

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"So Hana..." Sunghoon started as he was leaning beside her locker, watching her put everything in and out. It was the end of the day and Jay had left to meet up with Niki. Sunghoon hadn't told Hana yet tho. As Sunghoon had spoken up Hana gave him a quick "hmm?" to indicate that she was listening. "Which way are you walking home? I could walk you if you want?" he said scratching his neck as his face went totally red. 

"Oh, I walk to the left from the school gate. What about you?" she answered closing her locker. He felt his heart beating faster and faster, it was the same way as them. He could definetily feel his heart skip beats out of excitement. He saw this as an oppurtunity to get to know her. 

"I walk what way, let's talk on the way then?" she nodded at his question with a big smile, making Sunghoon's body feel the feeling of accompilshment. She started walking towards the school exit, making Sunghoon follow her easily. He just hope that there wasn't something negative about meeting Niki... 

Her steps looked happy, like she was excited over them two taking a walk home. At least it's what Sunghoon wanted, because he for sure was excited. He just knew that Jay was waiting outside and would be walking home with them, but maybe Niki and Jay could get caught up in their own conversation. At least that's what he wished for, so that he could get to know her. 

As they got outside Jay stood there on his own, tapping his feet on the cold concrete. Niki was nowhere in sight which caused Sunghoon to narrow his eyebrows. 

"He'll be here soon" Jay said as he had probably seen Sunghoon's face expression. Sunghoon just nodded as he kept giving small glances to Hana. She had her fists clenched and her breath was short. She seemed nervous. 

"You look stiff, are you okay?" Sunghoon walked up to her and whispered. He was afraid that Jay might ask her something weird that could affect her. But all Sunghoon got as an answer was Hana shaking her head no. It made him let out a small sigh, leaving her standing alone as he went over to Jay. 

They waited together on the staircase, Jay having his eyes glued onto his phone in boredom and Hana just letting her legs dangle over the edge of the handrail she was sitting on. The awkward tension made Sunghoon's chest clench as he felt his heart beat faster and faster. It made him feel sick in his stomach. He was worrying about why Hana seemed so nervous about Niki. Had he done something to her that Sunghoon hadn't seen? But Niki was a good kid, he would never harm anyone... But all he could do to get his questions answered, was to wait. Even if the tension was eating him alive from the inside. 

Soon small steps was heard hitting the hard gravel ground, making everyone's gazes turn up. Their eyes moved from left to right, trying to guess from which way the sound came from. Suddenly from around the right corner the younger boy suddenly stepped out, looking happier than ever. He looked surprised to see all of them sitting there patiently, having everyone's eyes on himself now. Seeing him made Sunghoon look over at the girl, but before she could give a reaction, the younger boy spoke up making Sunghoon turn his gaze back again in panic. 

"Oh you guys waited!" Niki uttered as he looked at them with stars in their eyes. He tried meeting everyone's eyes and suddenly they landed on Hana, making his smile drop and causing Hana to give out a small gasp. "You're here...?"