Welcome to Aoba Johsai || Iwaizumi Hajime

Chapter 12

Haneul was not motivated to go to school anymore. Her father did not question her and let her skip school as much as she wanted to. As Haneul stayed home, her phone vibrated non-stop. Her friends continued to contact her, but she never replied to them. She didn't know what to say and she was scared.

The four of them even appeared in front of her door, but she refused to see them. Her father always had to tell them that she wasn't in the condition to see them. The four of them would bit their lips as they did not have any way to contact her.

Oikawa, especially, felt guilty. He didn't know why he took out his anger on her. Why did he have to throw her those hurtful words when she is already dealing with hatred from someone? Her mental state was already weakened and technically he was the one who pushed her to her limit.

As this cycle continued, Haneul decided that she should go to school to inform the coach that she will be quitting. Her father looked at her with concern but gave her a smile as she headed out of her door. She arrived at school late on purpose as she didn't have the courage to bump into them on the way or in school. 

When she entered the classroom, the teacher did not say anything and let her go to her seat. Iwaizumi stared at her, but Haneul did not even glance towards his way. When lunch arrived, Haneul rushed to the bathroom before Iwaizumi could stop her. She didn't have any appetite, so she didn't mind skipping her lunch.

After lunch, Haneul entered back to the classroom and sat in her seat. Iwaizumi wanted to talk to her, but he didn't know how to start. He did not want to make any mistakes. Just by looking at her condition, he could tell how vulnerable she was currently. He wanted to be extra cautious.

Soon club period arrived that Haneul rushed to the faculty before any of them could approach her. She immediately walked up to the coach. "Coach..."

"Lee!" The coach looked at her with a smile. "How are you feeling? Are you all better now?"

Haneul just gave him a forced smile. "May I get the paper to drop off from the club?"

The coach looked shocked at her words but nodded as he gave her the paper. "You are in your third year, so I understand. Although I would love to have you as our manager until the end."

Haneul just gave him a sad smile before thanking him. She then left, rushing back home immediately.

• • •

As Haneul filled out the form, she could feel her sight becoming blurry due to her tears. She really enjoyed being their manager and staying around them, but she couldn't do that anymore. She was just too scared, too hurt, and too tired for everything. She didn't want to deal with the bullying of whoever it was and she didn't know how she was supposed to face Oikawa and the other members anymore.

Once she was done filling the form out, she shoved the paper into her school bag before forcing herself to sleep. She thought it was the best way to let her brain stop thinking about everything.

• • •

Haneul fidgeted nervously as she could feel Iwaizumi's eyes on her the whole period. When the bell rang, indicating lunch, Haneul rushed out of the classroom immediately with the form. As she was rushing to the faculty, she suddenly was pulled back by someone. Before she could even check who it was, she was pulled into an empty classroom.

When she was finally free from the grip, she turned to the person in fright. However, her eyes widened when she saw Iwaizumi. She bit her lips and was about rush out of the door, only for Hanamaki to slam it shut. Haneul took shaky breaths as she was about to run to the back door, but she stopped when she saw Oikawa and Matsukawa in front of it.

Haneul took a step back shakily, but she was blocked by someone. She could tell it was Iwaizumi as the rest were in her sight. She was about to step away from him, but Iwaizumi held her in place, not letting her escape.

She tried to struggle against him, but she could not possibly win him against strength. She just gave up and closed her eyes tight as she looked down. She just wanted to escape from here. She just wanted to hand the coach the form and leave the school. Everything was overwhelming for her.

"Lee-chan," she flinched when she heard Oikawa's voice.

Unwillingly, tears flew from her eyes as she began to struggle against Iwaizumi's grip once again. "L-Let me go..."

Iwaizumi shook his head. "Please hear him out, Haneul..."

Haneul bit her lips before speaking. "There's nothing for me to hear. He didn't say anything wrong. He is right, I am just being a bother..."

"No, it's not!" Oikawa yelled.

Haneul flinched at his raised voice before looking at him in shock. "N-No... you're right... But you don't have to worry about it anymore!"

She showed them the form. "I filled out the form already! O-Once I give it to the coach, I won't be part of the club officially! You can do better now! Nothing will hold you back!"

Their eyes widened in shock. Iwaizumi pulled away from her and looked at the paper she was holding. As they were all frozen on the spot, Haneul continued. "A-Also... I... I will leave as soon as I can... You don't... don't have to feel uncomfortable... or guilty... I... I won't be in your sight anymore..."

As she said those words, her tears flew down her cheeks. Then in a blink of an eye, Iwaizumi snatched the paper from her and handed it to Hanamaki. Haneul's eyes widened in shock as she tried to retrieve the paper. "G-Give it back! What... What are you doing?!"

Hanamaki shook his head and handed it to Matsukawa before she could reach for it. When Matsukawa received it, he immediately ripped the paper into pieces, making Haneul frown. "W-Why...?"

"Because you don't have to," Iwaizumi said.

Haneul looked at him with a tear-stained face. "I have to... You don't need someone who holds you back... You need to go to Nationals in the spring tournament..."

She then looked down as her hands rolled into fists. "I... I don't have the courage to face you anymore... I don't have the courage to face whoever is behind the bullying... I... I just wanna... I just want to escape... I want to run away..."

Haneul crouched onto the floor as she began to cry into her arms. Iwaizumi kneeled beside her before pulling her into his warm embrace.

"I'm sorry, Lee-chan," Oikawa apologized beside her. "I didn't mean anything I said. I was not in my right mind."

Haneul just shook her head. "D-Don't apologize..."

Oikawa did not listen to her and continued. "The team needs you. If it weren't for you, I would have overworked myself again. Maybe I would have been in a bad condition as you said. Also, the team was able to focus solely on our training since we have you."

Oikawa then crouched in front of her with a sad smile. "You are not a bother nor useless. You are our one and only precious manager."

Iwaizumi slowly unwrapped his arms from Haneul before backing away. Once he did, Oikawa hugged her tightly. "I'm really sorry, Lee-chan. I know I was an idiot. I know that I hurt you, but will you please forgive me?"

Haneul cried harder as she hugged Oikawa back. Oikawa bit his lips as he patted her back softly while the other three looked at them with relief.