aversion | bbangnyu

12

"You were gone yesterday..." Younghoon whispered as Chanhee slid into the seat next to him.

Chanhee looked over at him and nodded, "yeah...?"

"I thought that maybe you were sick..." he spoke while he simultaneously rummaged through his backpack for his notebook, "because it's been colder lately."

"No, I just needed to take a day off," the younger said softly, not knowing why Younghoon was suddenly so concerned about what seasonal viruses Chanhee was possibly contracting.

Flipping through his notebook, Younghoon opened to the page he left off on before looking back over at the boy. "Your parents let you do that?" He asked.

Chanhee raised an eyebrow, "Let me do what?"

"Stay home."

Not quite sure why this was such an interesting topic for the elder, Chanhee shrugged, "Yeah they don't care if I stay home every once in a while."

"Ah..." Younghoon said gently before suddenly becoming more interested in the lecture than their conversation.

Chanhee's eyes lingered for a few moments longer as he just thought. "Can you not take a day off if you need to?"

A small sigh fell from the boy's lips as he turned to look at Chanhee once again. He was truly trying his hardest not to be an asshole and a privileged jerk towards the boy any longer, but he just wanted to tell him to mind his own business. "I'm not sure..."

"What are you guys talking about?" Yeri asked, turning around so she could be included in the conversation.

Chanhee hit her forehead with the back of his hand and muttered, "You're so nosy."

"Are you two friends of something?"

"Not quite..." Chanhee muttered as he tried to push the girl off his desk.

Instead of moving, however, Yeri laid her head down on Chanhee's papers. "Let's go shopping after school."

"Let's do our homework before you get kicked out for poor grades," the boy grumbled.

"Chanhee..." Younghoon whispered, trying to get his attention.

"Hm?"

Pointing to one of the problems on his paper, Younghoon flashed an apologetic smile before hesitantly asking, "Can you help me again?"

"We'll talk about this later," Chanhee said to Yeri, pulling his notebook out from under her head. He turned towards Younghoon and realized it was another problem just like the one they worked on yesterday. "Did you forget already?"

Younghoon pressed his lips together tightly before reluctantly nodding. "I'm sorry—I swear I paid attention yesterday," he spoke loud enough so just Chanhee could hear him. The thought of anybody overhearing his struggle with mathematics made him nauseous.

"Don't worry about it." The younger used a gentler tone this time, noticing how antsy Younghoon seemed to be. "You probably just need to refresh your memory." 

"I just can't remember."

Chanhee let out a quiet breath when he saw the elder's frustration was only increasing. "It's okay," he said softly, trying to comfort him as best he could.

"I can't do it," he repeated. He felt as if he saw one more equation of any sort he would completely lose it. It was so tiring trying so hard but failing every time.

"Stop being so dramatic," Chanhee said flatly before grabbing Younghoon's paper.

Although the response caught him off guard, Younghoon couldn't help but laugh. "If you keep helping me you'll realize I'm not being dramatic. I don't think there's anybody in the world worse at math than I am."

"Younghoon," the boy started, "You can comprehend at least something if you've made it all way to calculus. Some people get stuck in algebra."

"That doesn't make me any better." 

A smile formed on Chanhee's lips before he said, "Well if you'd stop complaining maybe I could actually help you."

✨✨✨

Chanhee and Yeri had decided to part ways after class mostly because he convinced her to focus on her struggling gpa instead of shopping. Because of this, there was nobody to rush him after class so he took extra long to pack up his things.

Coincidentally, Younghoon did the same thing. He put his notebook in his back pack so slowly Chanhee thought maybe time had somehow slowed. 

"Why are you being weird?"

"I'm not being weird!" Younghoon defended as he finally shoved the notebook into his bad, "Maybe you're being weird." There were a few seconds of silence before Younghoon realized he was in fact doing exactly what Chanhee had accused him of. "Sorry," he whispered.

Chanhee let out a hum and waved the boy off. He took no time putting on his bag and heading out of the classroom.

After a few steps, he felt like there was somebody walking behind him. Wanting to test his theory, Chanhee planted his feet into the tiling of the hallway, stopping as fast as he could. Unsurprisingly, somebody face planted into his back with a muffled, "dear lord!" 

"What is going on with you?" He hissed, "Just tell me why you're acting like this!"

"I had something I wanted to ask you."

Chanhee crossed his arms and spoke, "Couldn't you have asked me earlier instead of following me like a creep?"

"I'm not a creep."

"Oh my god, younghoon—just ask me whatever you wanted to ask."

"Well..." the elder started nervously, "I was wondering...wondering if maybe you'd give me a second chance?"

Chanhee raised an eyebrow, "Second chance for what?"

"Being your friend." He said seriously. Trapping his bottom lip in between his lips, Younghoon closed his eyes for a split second before adding, "I really thought about what you said and I want to try again—if you'll let me."

There was a blank expression on Chanhee's face as he listened to the elders words. "This is some kind of sick prank isn't it? That's why you were being so nice in class—because you and your friends are...are trying to mess with me, right?"

"No—no none of this is a prank." A dramatic sigh came out of the boy as he started pacing the width of the hallway. "I have a lot of friends, Chanhee, but not one of them has ever given me a bandaid—or even asked if I was okay."

"That's just basic human decency."

Younghoon quickly nodded, "That's exactly why I want to be your friend—you're a good person, Chanhee."

"And your friends?" Chanhee asked, "what about them?"

"I don't care what they think."

"You're sure?"

Younghoon nodded once again and added, "I swear, Chanhee, I'll be the best friend you've ever had. And...if I mess it up somehow I'll leave you alone for good. I promise."

"You promise?" Chanhee asked as he held up one of his pinkies.

A grin spread across the elders face as he reached out and interlocked their pinkies, making a vow to himself that he would never again make Choi Chanhee upset. 

———

I've written up to part 16 and I'm having such a hard time not uploading everything all at once but I know I'll regret it when I have nothing left and don't want to write 

Thanks for reading