sunwoo
🙄🦝⚽️💔☀️🍓
Put your phones up here. Nobody leaves until that clock strikes 4:15." the teacher says.
She's answered with silence since it's just me and Hyunjae here. It's the first of 10 after-school detentions we have to spend together.
The teacher exits the classroom, leaving he and I sitting far apart in silence.
We look like typical high school misfits with my black eye and the small scratch on his left eyebrow. what bothers me is that Hyunjae doesn't even seem to be mad about it.
I understand what sola was saying earlier now. It's like he actually feels bad.
"I'm sorry Jihun punched you." Hyunjae says. His voice nearly startles me.
I don't glance back at him.
"Are you really going to give me the silent treatment? What are you an elementary school kid?" He asks, with an annoyed tone I've never heard before.
I turn around in my seat to face him sitting at the back. "I didn't ask for an apology. I couldn't give a flying fuck about you or your friends."
"I'm just trying to make it right. What more do you want from me?" He asks.
"Nothing," I glare at him. "That's what I just said. i didn't ask you for anything. Only that you stay away from Sola."
"That's what I'm doing!" Hyunjae says defensively. "I can't....I'm not talking to her."
"Good." I say.
"...did she say anything?" He asks.
I roll my eyes. "Why do you even care?"
"I do care," He says softly. "I really care."
I study his face for a long time. He must be good at faking because it seems like he feels sorry for real.
"Then why would you ever even think about hurting her?" I ask angrily.
"Because I... I was in a tough position. but now I realize that none of that matters. I shouldn't have engaged with her at all." Hyunjae says, staring at his desk.
"Yeah, you're a real genius." I say.
"Look I know I fucked up. I know Sola's probably never going to speak to me, for a good reason, but I just want her to know that I'm owning up to it. And that I'm sorry. I don't want her thinking I don't care, because I do." Hyunjae says.
I sigh. "Then why do you act like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you've never even heard her name before. You're living life as if nothing happened, and that's whats hurting her." I say.
"I'm working on that," He swallows.
"Oh yeah? congrats." I narrow my eyes at him.
"No, really. I'm not going to be hanging out with my friends anymore." Hyunjae says.
"Where the hell are you going to go then?" I ask.
"I don't know, the library maybe."
"Um, no. That's our spot." I say.
Hyunjae looks up at me. I feel judged.
Finally he says, "You two are awfully close."
"Yeah, we're best friends." I say. "Choose your next words wisely."
"I didn't mean anything. I'm just stating a fact."
"Well yeah, we've been friends since childhood." I say.
Hyunjae nods as if he knows something. It pisses me off.
"And?" I ask harshly.
"Nothing." he shrugs. He's got an annoying face.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
"Tell me what the hell you're smiling at." I argue.
"why did you fight me?" Hyunjae asks.
"Huh?"
"I mean why did you start a fight? We both know if I fought back you would have lost. badly. Even if Jihun didn't interfere. so why?" He asks.
"Because you're a fucking asshole who hurt Sola." I reply.
"Okay, and why do you care so much?" Hyunjae asks.
"because that's what friends do?"
"Friends?"
"What are you getting at here?" I ask.
"I'm just saying. You care an awful lot."
"Yeah well I know that might be a foreign concept to you since you're a fuck boy, but-"
"Woah there!" Hyunjae says. "A what??"
"A fuck boy." I answer.
"I'm...I'm not." He says weakly.
"Oh, so you didn't fuck my best friend and then leave the next day without a word?" I ask. Those words taste sour in my mouth.
"But the intentions weren't-I-I mean I was..." He takes a long breath. "Never mind, continue."
"That was the end of the sentence."
"Okay well don't you get what I'm putting on the table?" Hyunjae raises his perfectly shaped eyebrows.
"No?" I ask, beginning to get ticked off. "You're so fucking cryptic just tell me."
"Do you like Sola?"
My blood runs cold, yet I feel my palms begin to sweat for some reason. Hearing someone say that out loud must sound so wrong to me that I can't seem to speak correctly.
"Um. No? We're friends." I say. "We always have been."
"Then why do you look like you're about to be sick?" He asks.
"Maybe because I've been talking to you for too long." I glare. I stand up and sling my backpack around my shoulder.
"Where are you going? You're not allowed to leave." Hyunjae says.
"Does it look like I give a shit?" I walk straight out the door before he can get in another annoying word.
Holy fuck I'm sweating. I walk through the empty hallways and out the door. The cold air feels nice, but I can't settle the odd feeling in my stomach.
Why would he even suggest that? I mean sure Sola and I joke about getting married one day, but that's platonically. And also just an inside joke because we'll find our perfect matches.
Of course we're just friends. Everybody knows that. Neither of us has even discussed having those feelings because it'd feel so weird. We're practically siblings.
And yet I'm still thinking about it.
