𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 | 𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐣𝐚𝐲

26: i can get used to this

"𝐈𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞," 

~🌙 ~

"Here," Hyerin placed a bottle of apple juice in front of me. I eyed it closely, trying to remember if I had asked for one recently. I picked at my brain, but nothing came to my mind. I pushed the bottle back towards her.

"I didn't ask for this," 

"I know. I'm giving it to you." she pushed it back towards me. 

"Why?"

"You look tired and could use the extra energy," she hummed with a smile. She reached over and twisted the lid open.

"Drink up!" 

"I already told you I didn't ask for this," 

"Well you aren't going to waste a perfectly good apple juice, are you?" she whined, placing her hands under her chin. Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout and her eyelashes fluttered slightly. Cute. The tiniest smile crept up on my face, but I covered it up with an awkward cough. 

"I'll give it to Jake or something," 

Hyerin frowned and her eyes lost the happy spark she normally had every day. Seeing her face visibly lose happiness, sent a wave of hurt through me. It was like seeing a baby duck being separated from its mother in a stream. My chest was scrunched up into a paper ball seeing her look sad - naturally, I had to fix that. 

I took the bottle in my hand and took a huge gulp of it before replacing the lid and putting it in my bag. At first, she was confusing at my actions, but it was enough to replace that smile of hers that I... enjoyed seeing. 

"So? Do you feel more energised now?"

"I do," I chuckled.

"Okay, class! Let's start," Our science teacher called from her desk. The students shuffled about as they moved to their assigned seat. Friendship groups split up and others were only just arriving. Hyerin and I arrived early to avoid the rush, which was such a blessing even if I was a temporary hop-a-long. 

"See you after, Jongseong-ah," Hyerin ruffled my hair as she stood up to leave. 

"Yah!" I called out, swatting her hand away from me. Hyerin giggled at my reply and winked at me before sitting in her seat. I swear I felt my chest jump. Why is she being so cheeky and cute all of a sudden? Or maybe she was acting the way she always did and I had just never noticed. All I knew was that her playfulness was uplifting. 

I wanted to see it more.

"Jay, do you have a spare pencil?" Jake called as he rushed into his seat on our table. I watched as he quickly unpacked his equipment and scattered them onto the desk. 

"No, sorry. Where's your own?" I interrogated with crossed arms. Jake was never a person to forget his equipment. In fact, he had double the amount you actually required. He could lend pencils out to the seven of us and still have some left. I was boggled at his rushed unorganised state. 

"I lent them," he started reaching into his blazer uniform pockets, "Aha! Found one."

The pencil was dull and short. It was barely useable. I snorted at his last resort and Jake punched my arm playfully. 

"It's not my fault, okay?" 

"Evidently," I laughed silently whilst making notes, "Seriously though, where are your pencils?"

"I leant them to Yeri in Maths but she keeps giving them away and asking for more," Jake huffed. Ahh yes, Kim Yeri. The delinquent of our class who secretly held a secret school trade. She would sell school supplies at low prices to other delinquent students. There was no doubt that those supplies were stolen or 'borrowed' from other students. 

"It's okay, Jake. Just keep asking around for a pencil and I'm sure it will make its way back to you," I chortled and got my head down. 

"Shut up," he laughed himself, "I take it you leant your pencil to Hyerin."

"Of course, who else would I lend it to?" 

"Uhm, me?" Jake stressed with annoyed eyes. His anger humoured me. I knew he hated being unorganised, but I also knew how much he hated when I pranked him. That was why I prepared myself for the blow that was destined to come my way. When the teacher wasn't looking, I took the pencil from my blazer pocket (Yes - I had one the whole time) and placed it on his desk. 

It took a second for him to notice, but when he did he almost jumped out of his skin. Jake glared at me in annoyance but also looked relieved. His face switched between either like he was morphing into another person. I just smiled playfully and turned to focus on my work. 

Once class was over, I packed my stuff away and waited for Hyerin. I scanned the room and saw her in her seat talking to some of her friends. I'll admit, I stared for a while. It was only the back of her head, but her hair seemed more silky today. Did it always flow that naturally? 

A few minutes passed and I realised that she was still talking to her friends. The class was almost empty now as everyone had left for lunch. 

"You know we can carry your stuff too?" Sunghoon said as he grabbed my bag, "Kaja? I'm hungry."

"It's fine. You go ahead," I brushed off, my eyes still on Hyerin. 

"Suit yourself," Jake said before he and Sunghoon left the room. 

Finally, Hyerin turned back and headed towards me. She apologised quietly before picking up my bag and crutches. She helped me place my arms in the holders with a gentle touch. Even though it was a hard task that sometimes required a forceful push, her hold was always light and soft. 

"I'm going out for lunch with some of my friends today. Will you be okay getting to last period with the guys?" Hyerin asked as we walked down the hallway. 

"Y-yeah. Of course," I felt unnerved thinking that she wouldn't be joining me. It was stupid to depend on her - the exact reason why I didn't want a babysitter in the first place. But Hyerin was different. She was kind, helpful and considerate. Being helped by her felt comforting. It took away the fact that I had broken a leg and couldn't do a lot for myself. 

Being around her felt easy. 

"You're the best!" she clapped before pulling me into a side hug. Even though I was in crutches, she managed to give me a tight hug without pain. Her hair tickled my face and quite nicely smelt of fresh berries. 

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," she sat me down at our lunch table and placed my crutches beside me.

"Ani~ You have freedom to do whatever you want remember? Just go and be safe," I said and thanked her. She smiled, expressing how grateful she was for my understanding. Hyerin walked away in a half skip towards her friends who were waiting for her. I watched as her hair bounced as she walked and her hands swung by her side. She radiated happiness like the sun did light. 

"You must really like her, hyung," Ni-ki whispered to me with a slight giggle. 

"Yeah, I do."