Chapter 14
The hush of the night returns when (Y/n)'s cries turn into sniffles. Her crying calmed down but her arms were still tight around Hyunjin, and his were, too, his chin gently rested on her head, and her hair lightly tickled his hand, he could feel warm chills every time breathed against his damp shirt. She then slowly releases her arms, and he does the same, already missing the warmth as they let go of the hug, and the damp area on his shirt is cold again. He stares at her, tilting his head a little and trying to see her face, but she has her head down as if trying to cover her face from him. Ah, this is expected... Manager (L/n) would never let anyone see her crying face. He chuckles and takes his black cap off and puts it on her head and adjusts it low enough to cover her eyes, slightly startling her. She wipes her tears off with her sleeve. I want to hug her again...
"Thank you, Hwang Hyunjin—but you should put it on, what if someone sees you?" she says, trying to sound like she hasn't been crying, which she fails miserably in.
"Don't worry about me, Manager (L/n) ... do you want to go home, now?" he asks in a calm tone. The girl shakes her head, Hyunjin's cap still covering half her face,
"I have a lot of work to do tonight,"
"But, Manager (L/n), you should rest for tonight..." she lifts her head as though she can see him, her usual small smile is visible.
"Hwang Hyunjin, thank you for worrying about me, but I need to finish my work, really," Hyunjin nods, beginning to feel the urge to cry, too. Why? Don't know. Manager (L/n).
"Then... let's go back to the building," he says, going beside her and giving her a pat on her back. She agrees and they start walking. Manager (L/n) ... you're going too hard on yourself. It's making me worry about you even more.
Their walk back to the company is quiet, for both of them have too much in their minds, so they mentally agree to surrender to the comfortable silence. When they reach the place, (Y/n) stops before the entrance and turns away, taking his cap off her head, fixing her hair, and handing the hat back to him.
"Keep it," he tells her.
"No, people are going to know that it's yours,"
"But they're going to see your puffy eyes—"
"Okay, thank you," she interrupts and immediately puts it back on, making him smile. She glances at him, staring at him for a second, and then she grins.
"Ah, right..." he hands her the plastic bag that carried her dinner, "here, I was hoping we would eat together, but we both have work tonight," he says, and she nods.
"It's fine, we can eat together some other time," she puts her hand in her pocket, "how much did it cost?" she asks, intending to pay him back.
"No need to pay me back, Manager (L/n),"
"No, Hwang Hyunjin, I don't like being indebted to anyone,"
"...then pay me back with a meal for next time,"
"...okay, deal," she nods.
They walk into the building and each of them goes to continue their work.
Hyunjin goes to the dance room to practice a little more, but his mind is still lingering around (Y/n). The fight. How did she not break down while arguing with them? Her friend who she smiled to so widely in the café... betrayed her and cheated with her boyfriend, and then she even slapped her... geez. he starts to recall the things (Y/n) said in that argument, I had better stay on Manager (L/n)'s good side... he then starts to wonder the reason she started dating that dude, to begin with. I can't believe they were fighting for that douchebag when I was right there... The shot of (Y/n) when she ran to him seconds before her tears exploded appears in his head, making him wonder. Then remembering her puffy eyes and reddened nose when she was giving him his hat back, he smiles. He walks to the back of the practice room to replay the song so he can redo the choreography.
