before spring is gone | k.th

013 : apathy

Over the next week, Taehyun made little to no effort to speak with Bomi. Something that had Bomi completely on edge and frankly quite upset as well. On top of that, it seemed like whenever Bomi had time to speak with Taehyun, he was always whisked away by Beomgyu or Hueningkai or someone completely different.

By the time the end of the week rolled around, Bomi was exhausted from trying to chase after Taehyun. She sat outside the gym, sipping her water as she listened to the squeaky shoes of her classmates playing basketball. As she let out a long sigh, she saw Taehyun walking by with another girl, the two speaking together in what seemed like an animated conversation.

Taehyun smiled at the girl as he slung his backpack over his back and followed the girl toward the classroom. He looked around for a moment and made eye contact with Bomi. They stared at each other for a moment before he turned away and continued his conversation with the girl.

Bomi felt something pull at her heart and she quickly looked at the ground. She couldn't bring herself to look up from the ground. If she did she knew she would start crying. Bomi hated that she was so emotional but she couldn't help but feel hurt when she saw Taehyun with another girl.

It was very obvious to her that he was trying to forget his feelings for her. But Bomi had hoped that he would try to make it work. She wished that he would consider acting on his feelings for her. She wished with all her heart that he was willing to do it for her like she would for him.

Gripping her water bottle tightly in her hands, Bomi hardly realized that a pair of shoes have entered her vision until someone's finger gently tapped her head.

"Hey," Hueningkai said.

Bomi couldn't bring herself to look up at him.

"Bomi," Hueningkai said again.

Bomi didn't move.

"He'll come around,"

Almost immediately, Bomi could feel her tears start to spill over. Hueningkai noticed the small shake in Bomi's shoulders as she tried to hold her tears in. Frowning gently to himself, Hueningkai gently wrapped his arms around Bomi and hugged her tightly causing her to cry even harder.

Hueningkai felt bad for Bomi. He had already accepted that she wouldn't like him back, and he was alright with that fact. He had someone who picked him up and helped him move on. But he wasn't so sure that Bomi had that kind of person. She didn't have many friends outside of Hueningkai and Taehyun while she lived in Korea. She had only made a few friends in the class through group projects but Hueningkai rarely ever saw her hang out with them.

Bomi only had Hueningkai and Taehyun to lean on.

Hueningkai looked over Bomi's head and saw Taehyun watching them from the opposite side of the hallway. Bomi hadn't noticed him yet since she was crying into Hueningkai's chest, but Kai saw him clear as day.

Taehyun and Hueningkai stared at each other before Taehyun looked away and started to leave. Hueningkai opened his mouth to call out to his friend but he felt Bomi start to shift around in his grip.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't," Hueningkai replied, turning his attention to her. "I'll talk to him. So don't worry,"

Bomi shook her head, "Maybe it's better this way. It's better if we just part ways here, right?" She gave a shaky smile, obviously not believing the words coming out of her mouth.

Hueningkai shook his head, "No, I disagree. I think he should try and be a little more understanding."

Bomi nodded gently before looking down at the ground. She wiped a few stray tears and sniffled.

Hueningkai reached over and patted her gently on the head.

"Don't worry, just be patient. He'll come around eventually," Hueningkai said. "You'll see,"

~ ~ ~

Taehyun knew that he wasn't supposed to be upset. After all, he was the reason Bomi was crying. He chose to ignore her and spend his time with others. But it didn't make him feel any better. In fact, Taehyun found himself even more aware of Bomi now that he was trying to avoid her.

Kim Hayan was Taehyun's partner for an art project but he found himself hanging out with her more often to try and take up the space Bomi used to fill. She was a sweet girl, pretty and soft-spoken. She reminded Taehyun of Bomi. The way she floated across the floor instead of walking, the way she spoke in a gentle tone, and the way she played with her hair when she was nervous. Hayan reminded Taehyun of all those little details that Bomi constantly did.

Walking past the gym, Taehyun pulled his backpack over his back as he was making his way to the classrooms with Hayan when he saw Bomi. She sat alone outside of the gym, her eyes glued to Taehyun. Her brown eyes stared straight at him with such intensity that he had to look away.

Taehyun's smile drifted off his face and Hayan seemed to notice the change in his behavior. She fell silent and glanced behind her at Bomi. She wasn't an idiot, she knew Taehyun was trying to distract himself by spending time with her.

When they got to the classroom, Hayan leaned back against a desk and watched as Taehyun started to put his science textbooks back into his locker.

"You should go to her," Hayan said.

"What?" Taehyun looked at her with wide eyes.

"Lee Bomi," Hayan said. "I know you want to see her."

"I–" Taehyun started to say but immediately shut up when Hayan gave him a look. He sheepishly looked down before sighing. "I should talk to her," Taehyun slipped out of the classroom leaving Hayan on her own. She smiled gently at Taehyun's back before sighing and putting the last of her things into her locker. She knew that he wouldn't have chosen her anyways.

As Taehyun got closer to the gym lobby, he slowed down. Stopping just a few feet away, Taehyun watched as Hueingkai wrapped Bomi into a tight hug as she cried into his chest. Taehyun's legs suddenly felt heavy, he couldn't move forward, couldn't get his mouth to open to say anything.

Hueningkai and Taehyun made eye contact and that's when Taehyun could move again. He wasn't supposed to be here. He had hurt Bomi. Taehyun believed that he would only do that more if they stayed together. He couldn't be certain that he wouldn't act out emotionally knowing that she would be leaving.

There was no point in Taehyun's eyes. Whenever Taehyun became emotional his judgment and actions became unpredictable. No one knew what went on inside Taehyun's head. Not even Taehyun himself.