Friends I han seojun ff ft. lee suho

#016

chapter 16

~dodgeball~

The next morning, Yoon-ah arrived at the school later than usual. She had gone to her house first after waking up in the morning. Having tasked Mr. Choi with something important, she had no choice but to take the bus, followed by a quick dash to the school gates. While Song Yoon-ah did not have a spotless attendance record like Suho, she liked to keep it clean of late entries. 

Her face was flushed red when she entered the school building. Her arrival was soon followed by whispers and lingering rumors in the corridors, which she had learned to ignore by now. The brunette rolled her eyes and hurried ahead past the early morning crowd and towards her homeroom. Soon enough, however, her gaze fell upon a familiar figure walking to class with his hands in his pockets, late as usual.

"Oh, Han Seojun!" Yoon-ah called out without thought.

The boy did not break his stride, simply swiveling back to locate the source of the voice. When his gaze fell on her, Seojun's face lit up. He opened his mouth, possibly to call out a greeting when Lim Jukyung rushed outside the classroom. Her long hair flew behind her while her face was buried in her hands. It was too late by the time Seojun turned back, and he accidentally trod over her foot.

Jukyung winced in pain and worry took over his features. "Yah! Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," Jukyung squeaked out, nursing her foot gingerly. Before the boy could speak any further, Lim Jukyung waved a dismissive hand at him and attempted to hop away on one foot. She wasn't very successful though, since she ran into Yoon-ah not even a moment later.  

"Imju?!" Yoon-ah let out in surprise, grasping the flailing girl by her hands. "Are you alright?" 

Jukyung nodded furiously, murmuring a quick reassurance to Yoon-ah. "I'm sorry. I need to go." 

She hobbled all the way to the end of the corridor, oblivious to her classmates' stares. Yoon-ah tilted her head curiously, her eyes following the girl until she disappeared around the corner.

"What was that about?" she wondered aloud. She looked back at Seojun- who, himself, stood with a puzzled look on his face. He was staring at Jukyung as if the girl held the secret to a mystery he had been pondering about, for a long time. She could practically see the gears turning in his head. She would have asked what he was thinking if he hadn't shrugged and continued on his way to the classroom. 

Yoon-ah attempted to follow the boy inside. They hadn't even taken two steps forwards when Seojun stopped in the middle of the doorway. The brunette hardly had any time to react, colliding with his back face first. She stumbled a bit, her hands flying up to her throbbing head. "What the hell, Seojun?" 

The boy ignored her. "Was Lim Jukyung with you that night?" he asked tersely. 

"What night? Oh," Yoon-ah trailed off as the realization dawned upon her. "Yeah, why?"

Seojun looked down at the floor. It seemed as though he had registered her words, but only barely. She could sense that he was working his brain trying to recall a memory. There was a brief pause before his gaze grew sharp and the pieces finally clicked into place in his head.

"Your friend stole my helmet," he said slowly. He looked back at her, accusation working its way into his voice. "She ran away with it that night!"

"No way. Are you sure you're not mistaken?" 

"I'm pretty sure about that, Song Yoon-ah."

The brunette let out a quiet sound of acknowledgment, her fingers twisting around her bracelet. She didn't know what she could say in this situation and Seojun's intense gaze was making her feel different. Almost nervous. Instead, she let the silence hang in the air and answer for her.