𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲

chapter 21

A/N: Just a little note that anything underlined is a text message, enjoy :]

When you get to school you walk up to Chorong and the boys to greet them, noticing that none of your other friends have arrived yet. They cheer when they see you, shouting out that you look really pretty, and you thank them with a giggle. They all run over and offer to carry your suitcase when you approach them.

"Shush, I can carry it myself," you say with a roll of your eyes, laughing at their goofiness. You chat with them for a while on the school field while you wait for everyone to show up, laughing at how they're already being scolded by the teacher when the trip hasn't even commenced yet.

You're wearing a striped blue and white shirt with some black trousers, and you're holding a denim jacket in your hand since it isn't too cold just yet.
"Woah, that's pretty," you hear Chorong say, and you turn to see that he's looking at your bracelet.

The other boys are so engrossed in their conversation that they don't hear him speaking to you. You lift your hand up and look at the bracelet with a little smile before thanking him. "When did you get it?" he asks, since he hasn't seen you wear it before.

"Oh, it was a gift," you tell him. He has a slight idea of who it could be from but doesn't get the chance to ask, because you run over to greet Jugyeong who's walking over to the field where you're all standing. You hug her excitedly, the two of you giggling when you realise that you're wearing matching outfits.

You take some pictures with her and your other friends when they arrive, finding the coincidence funny, but when you turn and notice Seojun walking over you quickly scramble to put your jacket on and cover the shirt you're wearing. Oh god, you think to yourself, what are the odds that he would be matching too? He has a shirt that's very similar to the one you and Jugyeong are both wearing, and the realisation makes you sigh quietly.

He reaches the area where you're all congregating shortly after, and everyone instantly erupts into cheers at the realisation that he and Jugyeong both seem to be wearing couple outfits. They don't notice that you're matching too, since you're covering the shirt with your jacket and tightly holding it closed to avoid any teasing from your classmates - you know it would upset you.

Jugyeong looks at you sadly when she realises but you just smile at her innocently, as if you don't know what's going on. You also miss the look Chorong throws you, having noticed the way you rushed to put your jacket on a few minutes prior and how you look away in discomfort while everyone teases the two of them.

You just shuffle on your feet as you stand beside Jugyeong quietly, but when you look up you happen to make eye contact with Seojun. You throw him a little smile in greeting but look away not long after, unable to hold the eye contact. You turn around to take some more pictures with your friends, trying to ignore his burning stare on you.

Once everyone has arrived the teachers do a quick head count, before telling you all to get seated on the coaches which are parked nearby. The teacher checks your name off the register last, so you enter the coach once the majority of your classmates are already seated.

You make your way up the steps after putting your suitcase into the luggage compartment below the vehicle, looking around for a place to sit once you enter. You watch as Soojin sits beside Suho, so Jugyeong moves to sit in an empty seat at the back.

When you see Seojun walking over to sit beside her your heart sinks, noticing how happy he looks to be sitting with her. You quickly look around for somewhere else to sit, and a smile makes its way onto your face when you see Chorong ushering you over. He shoves Manshik out of the way and motions for you to sit in the (now) empty seat beside him with a grin on his face.

You shake your head with a chuckle before walking over to where he's sitting towards the middle of the coach. He gets up when you approach the seat, offering for you to sit by the window, and you thank him before sitting down.

You settle into your seat, and he kindly places your backpack into the overhead compartment after you get your phone and headphones out for the journey. You quickly text your mother to check up on her, telling her that you would soon be leaving for the camping grounds where you would be staying over the next few days.

You also ask her if she's alright, and she responds with an affirmative seconds later.
Baby, you don't have to keep checking up on me every five minutes okay? Don't worry about me, Gowoon and Mihyang are both here if I need anything. Just enjoy your trip!

You smile at the text you receive from her, quickly typing a response.
I'll call you tonight, okay? Let me know if anything happens.
I will, now get off your phone!!

You let out a little smile before putting your phone down on your lap, turning to Chorong and chatting with him for a bit. You converse normally for a while, but he suddenly goes quiet and loses his smile when he remembers the way you were trying so hard to cover the shirt you're wearing.

"Did Seojun get that for you?" he asks and motions towards the bracelet on your wrist, noticing the way you're unconsciously playing with the charm as you talk to him. His voice is quiet so nobody else can hear what he's saying, and you mentally curse him for being so observant.

When you just stare at the bracelet and don't respond to his question he knows it's true, and after a momentary silence he speaks up once again.
"You like him, don't you?" You freeze, turning to look at him in shock. He was able to figure out pretty quickly that you liked Seojun, but didn't mention it since there was never really a chance to talk to you about it alone.

He could tell from the way you act around him, and just the way you interact with one another in general made it pretty obvious that you have feelings for him. You realise that there would be no use in trying to deny it if he's already figured it out, so you just let out a defeated sigh.

"Is it that obvious?" you ask sheepishly, and he just throws you a sad smile. He agrees to keep it a secret, which you greatly appreciate. It just breaks his heart to see you so clearly distraught over the fact that he likes Jugyeong.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly, picking up on the way you're looking down and starting to fidget with your fingers.
You stay quiet for a few seconds, before finally clearing your throat and forcing a smile.

"Of course!" you say, "why wouldn't I be?" He looks at you sadly because he knows you're lying, but decides against talking about it further since it's clearly making you upset. You just plug your headphones in once the coach finally begins moving, leaning your head onto the window and closing your eyes to get some rest on the journey.