dandelion ➳ 박성훈

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍: the truth untold

chapter eleven

꒰☁️꒱

"finally, we're done!" haneul punched the air in delight, sunghoon chuckling as heeseung followed the two closely, at the same time keeping his distance.

"seung, why are you dragging your feet like that buddy? and you ain't as cheerful as you usually are. I wonder what is bothering that little mind of yours."

heeseung said nothing, maybe he was so absorbed by his thoughts that he paid little to no attention at what the girl had told him, but a hand on his shoulder dragged him out of his little daze.

"she's right. I don't know what's that thing troubling you today hyung, but if you feel like taking it off your chest, then we're both here for you."

heeseung wished he was braver than that, be able to warn the angelic being in front of him of what is coming his way.

cause, if his fears were confirmed, then he was in big trouble.

he nodded, mentally cussing himself out for being a coward, yet two things were being put in danger if his initial thoughts were revealed.

one, the relationship between him and jungwon. if spreading something false reached his ears, then not only would his friendship with him fall in great destruction, but it'd also affect his relationship with haneul.

the domino effect would spread like a fatal disease, he'd be labeled as a liar─ if not something worse, but his mind couldn't even think something worse that could affect his reputation at the moment.

but, what if jungwon had indeed bad intentions? the second thoughts had started clouding his once clear mind, making him walk in an awkward way, that eventually lead him to stumbling upon a gap in the sideway, as his face came in contact with the stop sign.

haneul and sunghoon abruptly turned around, finding the boy pressing on his forehead, covering his left eye as the girl ran to him, guffaws escaping her mouth as she tried reaching for his hands.

"oh my gosh seung, are you fine in there? bad stop sign, fuck you and your cousins who always hurt my tall friend!" the girl started slamming her hand on the red polygon, sunghoon bursting out in loud laughs.

tho heeseung was in pain, he couldn't resist the urge to laugh along, cause it was just haneul. the girl that he fell in love with when they were young, the one that he realized falling for wasn't meant to be, so he surrended in the fate of being her best friend.

it didn't really bother him, since he still had the chance to be around her and feel the warmth her aura was naturally radiating. she was still the kim haneul he had fallen for, just that there were no butterflies throwing a party out of nowhere and for no exact reason when they met.

the image of sunghoon laughing with her actions was what caught him red-handed for dreaming about his friend in the way he used to. the new add in their life, the one who seemed so strange, at the same time strangely familiar.

he had popped up in their frame out of the blue, bringing walks in the icy afternoons and dance routines on the thin ice of the river in their life, and only then did heeseung notice how those were the contributors to her current happiness.

it was as if the young boy had the magic ability to take her mind off things that dragged her down and made her fall into a slumber of deep depression and anxiety, for someone close to her actually being away.

he achieved something that took both him and jungwon a long time to do so in just a month.

sunghoon was the one, heeseung had no doubt these two were meant to be, once haneul turned her back to him and caught up with the raven haired, still glancing over at the frozen him, who was still daydreaming.

"hee, we need to go." she giggled out, dragging him by his arm as he blinked a couple of times, before he offered her a teeth-revealing smile.

and, even for that split moment, the cruel reality seemed to vanish and be replaced by the happiness he's been seeking for.

"here's the key, go home and tell mom that I'll be back shortly, I'm just going to copy some notes from jieun." she said, throwing the named item as the boy caught it midair.

"is that a secret date my much clever self is sensing?" he teased, his brows raised up as a side smirk made haneul squeal. "nooooo! now now, off you go, my ace."

as heeseung drove his soles to the house next corner, sunghoon looked at haneul with a small smile before he hesitantly hooked hands under his coat's long sleeves.

haneul wasn't alarmed at first, she's perfectly used to holding hands with her friends─and she had to admit that jungwon's hands were the best to hold and play with.

but once sunghoon intertwined their fingers, she couldn't help but feel the flutter she's so used to once she meets eyes with him. the way his big hand was burying her very little one into a warm and safe grip, she felt her heart melting, smiling as she looked up at him.

"tiny hands." he commented, making her giggle as they started walking. she had promised him this morning that she'll walk him home, and however much the boy insisted it should be the other way round, she had worked her magic on him by sulking for a period or two, before he agreed.

as they approached the house on top of the hill, she felt his grip tightening, uncomfortably enough to make her think that something was off with the whole situation.

"sunghoon, what's wrong?" carefully tip-toeing in front of him, she noticed his wide eyes and his slightly parted lips, pupils shaking as he let go of her hand.

"you need to leave, please." his voice came out shaky yet coherent, making her panic for a moment straight. she looked back at the house, finding nothing odd but a car parked on the roots of the hill.

'it wasn't there last time.' she thought before looking back at the begging eyes of the boy, nodding before she turned around and walked away.

there was no room for discussion and she was aware of it, keeping a mental note to ask him why was he acting so anxious tomorrow. it seemed serious, but she wished that the boy she had developed feelings for wouldn't have to face something soul-crushing.

on the other hand, sunghoon took a deep breath, ready to face the devil in human form once he entered, as his weak body reacted the other way, not ready to accept more of what it had already endured.

sunghoon used his spare key to open the front door, the first thing entering the frame of his eyesight being what he had feared and was well used to, phone already set to dial the numbers he had memorized all too well at a young age.

"119, what's your emergency?"