White T-Shirt

스물 셋

Yeona looks up from her food at her friends beside her, seated at the table in the restaurant that Chanyeol had booked for them. The atmosphere of the restaurant is cosy, dimly lit and warm. The trio eat their meal, but spend more time talking to each other than they do eating.

"Are you nervous for Friday night?" Chanyeol asks

"I'm more nervous for Saturday night." Taemin says

"What's on Saturday?" Chanyeol asks further

"It's the singing showcase. You're coming right, Yeona?" Taemin asks

Yeona bites her lip, her heart aching as she is reminded of the performance that Jonghyun had been so excited for her to attend. The one that he had never shut up about, he talked so often about the songs he was writing, and he would spend hours working on his composition daily.

"You okay, Yeona?" Chanyeol asks, noticing the drop in her mood

"Can I come just for your songs?" Yeona asks

"We don't have a setlist, so I don't know when I'll be on." Taemin says

Once again, Yeona sits quietly, she knows that if she goes to see the performance, she will see Jonghyun. She has managed to avoid him for a whole month, and after her conversation with Jinki on Monday night, she is unsure of how she will react when she sees him.

"Yeona, are you okay?" Chanyeol asks again

"It's about Jjong, right?" Taemin asks

Yeona nods, not lifting her gaze to meet the others. She doesn't notice the way Chanyeol tilts his head to one side, confused and concerned for his friend, and not understanding what the story is, behind the person's name that he has never heard before.

"Yeona's ex boyfriend." Taemin explains

Yeona bites her tongue, still not comfortable with the term, ex-boyfriend. She squeezes her eyes shut momentarily, willing her tears to fade, willing her mind to just let go of the man that she pushed away.

"Did he hurt you?" Chanyeol asks

"No, I hurt him." Yeona replies quietly

"She broke his heart, and her own at the same time." Taemin continues

"Taemin!" Yeona whines

Chanyeol sits awkwardly between the two, reading the expression on Yeona's face. Her eyes are glossy, as if she's fighting the urge to cry. Taemin too seems upset by the exchange, saddened after having to watch his friends deal with their mutual heartbreak over the last month since their relationship ended.

"I can come with you, on Saturday night." Chanyeol offers

"You can't say no, Yeona." Taemin says

Yeona looks up at Taemin, his expression is warm, despite the harshness of the order he just gave her. She knows that he wants her to be there, and she knows that he would be there for her if the roles were reversed. She does owe him, too, for taking care of her over the last month, day in and day out.

"Fine, thank you Loey. I'll be there." Yeona says

Taemin smiles at his friends, and Yeona feels a sense of relief knowing that she isn't going to be alone. She is also relieved that she will be with a friend who knows that she might cry, or need to run out of the auditorium. She tries to settle her nerves, her anxiety, she tries to tell herself that she doesn't want to see Jonghyun, though so much of her heart is telling her that she does.

"We can go out afterwards, on Saturday, too." Taemin says

"Before training on Sunday?" Yeona asks