In the Belly of a Whale ~ ldh

Cloudy with a Chance of Boys

"You can smell rain. You can hear thunder coming. But there's not a weatherman on the planet who could have given me this forecast: cloudy, with a chance of boys."
~ Megan McDonald, Cloudy with a Chance of Boys

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"Who are you looking for?" I jumped, whirling around to come face to face with Hyuck. He raised an eyebrow, shoving a sweet red bean bun in my face. "Eat this."

"Thanks."

"Answer my question." He leaned against the locker next to mine.

"No one. I'm not looking for anyone," I lied as I unwrapped my bun. He clicked his tongue at me. "Why do you never believe me?"

"Because you're a terrible liar." He flicked me on the forehead.

"Hey!"

"Jiwoo!" Jaemin came flying around the corner with Yechan in tow. "Just the cutie I've been searching for. What are you doing with Hyuck?"

"Oh my God, were you waiting for Jaemin?" He whispered in my ear and I elbowed him in the stomach. He let out a grunt.

"Shut up," I murmured. Then, louder, "what can I do for you, Nana?"

"Many things, I'm sure." He winked and I blushed.

"Can we please get to the point?" Yechan furrowed his brow, his tongue poking into his cheek in annoyance. "Jiwoo, we need your help."

"With what?"

"Yechan, the tactless bastard, made Park Ruri cry and she's been in the bathroom for twenty minutes. We need her before we can start the council meeting so we were wondering if it would be possible for you to go try to calm her down." Jaemin shot Yechan a dirty look.

"Hey! Yechan!" Hyuck slung an arm over my shoulders and Yechan stiffened. "You can't just go around making girls cry! If you ever made Jiwoo cry, I'd kill you myself!" I smacked him on the chest.

"It's not that bad, Hyuck." I gave Yechan a sheepish smile. "Which washroom is she in?"

"The one next to Mr Kwon's classroom."

Before that day, I had spoken to Park Ruri maybe three times. She was like a Pomeranian. Lachrymose, skittish, and cursed with a shrill, thin voice, she was by far the most annoying member of the student council. I was still going to talk to her, though, because l was well aware of just how cruel Yechan could be.

"Park Ruri?" I knocked on the bathroom stall emitting a soft snuffling sound.

"Who is it?"

"Baek Jiwoo. Na Jaemin sent me." I decided not to mention Yechan for the time being. I heard her get to her feet and then there was a click just before the door swung open.

"Seonbae." Her eyes were swollen and she had a wad of toilet paper clutched in one hand. I smiled weakly, stepping aside so she could come out of the stall. "Jaemin seonbae sent you?" I nodded, tucking my hands into the pockets of my cardigan.

"He's worried about you. Also..." I looked up to meet her fragile gaze. "He's waiting outside with Im Yechan." Her eyes widened. "Yechan wants to apologise to you."

"Oh."

"Ruri... what did he say to you?" As soon as the question passed my lips, she burst into tears. "Oh, no! I'm sorry! Please don't cry!" I placed my hands on her trembling shoulders.

"Ah," she hid behind her hands, "I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be." I pulled her into a hug. "Why don't you tell me what happened?" Ruri nodded slowly, rubbing at her nose with the clump of toilet paper as she let out a sniff.

"I asked Yechan seonbae if he could read over my assignment for Ms Lee's class since I know he had her last year, but he told me I needed to learn how to persevere on my own merits." As she spoke, the corners of her mouth drooped even farther.

That dumbass.

"Oh, Ruri. That must have hurt." I opened my arms wide and she hugged me again. "I'm sure he just wants you to have more confidence in yourself."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes, I do." To be honest, I didn't believe myself. Ruri did, though, and that's what mattered.

When we exited the bathroom, Yechan and Jaemin were leaning against the opposite wall. I nodded for Ruri to go over to them and then Jaemin and I gave her and Yechan some space.

"Thanks, Jiwoo." Jaemin gave me his signature heart-stopping smile.

"Mmm-hmm. Why didn't you get one of her friends?"

"I trust you." He shrugged. "If we asked her friend, who knew how long they'd be in there gossiping. We needed to get her back out here quickly."

"You can be just as cold and calculating as he is," I shook my head.

"Don't say that, cutie." He placed a hand over his heart.

"Jaemin!" Yechan appeared next to him with a scowl on his face. "Let's go."

"Did you two kiss and make up?" Jaemin cooed and Ruri's face flushed. Oh. Jaemin and I exchanged a knowing look. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's get going. Thanks so much for your help, Jiwoo."

"See you later." As I turned to leave, Yechan caught my eye. He looked pissed. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, but Jaemin had already taken him by the arm.

>  >  >  <  <  <

After school, I met Yechan at the front of the building just like the text he had sent me requested. He still had that irascible energy to him.

"Are you okay?" I reached for his hand but he smacked me away, his eyes darting towards a group of students standing a few metres away. "Yechan, talk to me."

"Come with me." He began to walk towards the side of the school and I hurried to catch up with him.

"Where are we going?" I had tutoring later, so I needed to get home. "Yechan?" Instead of responding, he grabbed me by the shoulder and shoved me up against the side of the school. My bag dropped to the ground.

"Jiwoo," his voice was a low growl. "We need to talk." My eyes widened at those four dreaded words. "I don't want you hanging out with Hyuck, or with Jaemin." I scoffed, brushing his hand from my arm.

"You can't tell me what to do."

"They have feelings for you!" He slammed his palms flat against the wall on either side of my head. "If you love me, you won't go near them."

"Jaemin flirts with everyone, that's just how he is! Hyuck and I are barely even friends! I hated him when we first met! Plus, what about Park Ruri, huh? If we're talking about people having crushes, she can't even look at you without blushing!" My chest was heaving from shouting, but Yechan didn't back down.

"That doesn't change anything! Feelings can transform, and I've seen the way Hyuck looks at you!"

"So what if other people have feelings, Yechan? They can deal with them on their own! What matters is how we feel." When he didn't respond, I took his face in both hands and kissed him. It was the kind of kiss that had us desperately clinging to each other and left my lips tingling.

I was ten minutes late for tutoring that day.