OUR HEARTBEAT [BEOMJUN] ✅

sixteen

My heart seemed to stop in my chest. A text from Taehyun. After all these weeks.

“I …” I held up my phone. “I’ll be right back.”

Arin gave me a questioning look and Yeonjun just nodded. I didn’t pause to explain anything to Arin, I just went to my room. I stared at the text some more, biting my lip so hard I almost bled. I released my lip from my teeth and startled when Arin appeared in my doorway.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Then, without waiting for my answer, she marched forward and held out her hand for my phone.

I placed the phone in her upturned palm, knowing I needed some of her classic advice right then.

She read the text and her face went from curious to angry. “Choi Beomgyu, you better not be thinking about responding to this.”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Don’t. It’s time to officially let go. And look, now it will be your decision, not his.”

I sat down on the edge of my bed, my heartbeat slowing. “I don’t even remember what his voice sounds like. Is that weird?”

“Why are you trying to remember what his voice sounds like? Stop it.” Arin walked over and sat down beside me. “And no, it’s not weird, because you haven’t talked to him in months. Months! That’s what happens when he never calls or texts or responds to you.”

“Okay, I get it,” I said.

“And …”

“And I’m not going to respond.” And I wasn’t. She was right, of course. Why should I?

The doorbell rang, and Arin handed me back the phone. “That would be Soobin,” she said. “I better go collect the contract so he can be on his way.”

I followed her out of my room. Despite what I’d said seconds ago, I actually wasn’t convinced that my willpower would hold up if I was alone. A quick scan of the living room revealed that Yeonjun was now sitting over by Liz and Jeno, reading through some papers, probably Jeno’s comic.

Arin opened the door and instead of just collecting the contract and sending Soobin on his way, she invited him inside. Guess I should’ve answered the door with her.

I went to intercept them before Soobin made it any farther into the living room.

“Gyu,” Soobin said when I reached the two of them.

“Don’t call him that,” Arin said. “She hates it. You are purposefully trying to annoy her.”

“I didn’t know he hated it,” he said. “That’s the name he uses on the podcast. That’s the name you used when you called in from the hall that first day,” he added to Arin with a grin.

“Shh,” Arin said. “Where’s the contract?”

Soobin was wearing his backpack and he slung it off his shoulder. He knelt down to rifle through it. Yeonjun walked over to join our group of three.

“Hey, Soobin,” Yeonjun said. “You’re ditching school Monday?”

“Soccer tournament with my traveling team.”

“You two know each other?” Arin asked.

“We go to the same school,” Soobin said.

Arin looked at me. “That means nothing.”

“It’s true,” I said. “I know nobody.”

“Now everyone knows you, though,” Yeonjun pointed out.