Sideline | RENJUN

Chapter 12

"Seolhee. The girl's name was Kang Seolhee."

Renjun stood up and grabbed both of Jieun's arms as the colour drained from the girl's face and she almost fell back, off her stool. He was thankful for his fast reflexes, any second later and Jieun would have definitely landed on the ground.

On the other hand though, Renjun's aggressive movements has sent his mug off the table, the sound of glass shattering making Doyoung and the customers he was talking to turn towards them.

Doyoung stood up, clearly concerned but Renjun shot him a look, shaking his head. His hyung got the message, sitting back down and letting Renjun handle it.

"Seolhee. It can't be." Renjun heard Jieun mumble and remembered that he was still holding onto her.

"Hey, you alright?" Renjun asked, wishing that the counter wasn't separating them. As he saw how Jieun was shaking, he was seriously debating on jumping over so he could comfort the girl properly.

The sound of his voice must have made Jieun remember where she was as she snapped out of her trance, shaking her head. She pulled her arms out of his grasp, making Renjun feel bare as he held onto nothing.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that." Jieun said as she slowly stood up, clearly still a little frazzled by it all. "Give me a moment and I'll come out to clean the mess."

"No, it's my-"

Renjun couldn't finish his words as Jieun had already disappeared to the back, leaving Renjun alone.

Renjun had a bad feeling as he remembered what Jieun had mumbled and couldn't help but wonder why she had said what she said.

Does she know Seolhee?

Renjun heard footsteps and saw that Jieun had brought a broom for the glass, moving towards where the broken mug was. He quickly slid in front of her, blocking the girl's way.

"Renjun, what are you doing?" Jieun asked softly, clearly avoiding his eyes. He reached out, taking the broom from the Jieun's hands.

"I broke the cup so I should clean it up. Take a seat, Jieun. You look like you're about to pass out and I don't think either of us want a trip to the hospital today."

...

If Jieun's legs didn't feel like jello, she definitely would have fought Renjun and insisted on cleaning up the mess. But here she was, sitting on the stool that was still warm from when Renjun had sat on it, watching as he cleaned up the broken glass.

There's no way, Jieun thought as her mind began to wander once again. There's no way that they actually cared about her. They definitely knew, they knew that Seolhee against them, that's why they killed her.

But from the way Renjun had described it, it was hard for Jieun to really accept her own thoughts.

Did Jeno really love her? Did they really care about her so much that they made a rule over her death?

Jieun looked up as she felt a tap on her arm and saw that Renjun was there, the broom in his hands. She glanced over at where the broken mug once was and saw that Renjun had finished cleaning up.

"Do you want me to take you home? You seem a little shaken up." Renjun asked her.

Jieun shook her head, slidding off the stool. "It's okay. If I go home, then I'm just going to end up sleeping and being unproductive."

Jieun noticed Renjun glance over to where Doyoung was before turning back to her.

"Do you want to go somewhere with me then?"