Meiru sat on the sofa chair in silence, the same goes for Harin, except for the 7 teens who were trying to make a conversation. "So... you also know that these guys are part of a gan- actually, you yourself is one of their gang members. Am I correct?" Harin asked Meiru who was fidgeting her fingers.
"You could say so... I mean like, I'm not usually at the front-end type of gang member. I usually help Mark with the surveillance and hacking stuffs." Her friend replied. Harin stared at her friend intensely before letting out a long sigh of relief. Meiru looked up from the coffee table and looked at her friend in confusion, not expecting her reaction.
"Thank god... it was honestly awkward having to deal with 7 boys in one floor." Harin said as she leaned on the sofa. "You're also struggling about it? Same!" Meiru said as she lightly smacks Harin's lap. Almost immediately, the two of them were talking about how hard it was for them to handle with the 7 teens, who were awkwardly looking at them for a few minutes.
"How could you say that to us?" Haechan asked as he pretended to let out a tear. "I mean, for the past few days Harin was with us here, you've been nothing but a nuisance to her. Did you forget how you keep barging into her room when she was doing her homework, almost threw her assignment that she left at the coffee table?" Renjun said as his eyebrow raised, looking at Haechan. Haechan let out an 'uhh' as he scratched his nape before deciding to switch the conversation.
—— Meiru entered Harin's room after slowly opening the door in order to scare her, which failed as she accidentally bumped into the floor lamp. Sitting at her friend's bed, Meiru looked around the bedroom, admiring how she decorated her room as she hummed to a song that she was playing on her phone.
"Hmm... Meiru, so... about what you said just now about you being involved in this gang stuff, you also know the fact that my house was not actually on fire because of the stove, but was done by some unknown gang. Right?" Harin asked. Meiru hummed in response to her question, later asking why she questioned that.
"At least... there's someone I could talk to. About it." Harin's reply made Meiru let out a 'huh?' as she looked at her in confusion.
"Do you want to know the reason behind why my house caught on fire and who caused it?" Harin asked as she stops clicking her keyboard. Meiru asked, "Do you want to talk about it at the rooftop? The breeze is good, especially at 1am."
Meiru came to the rooftop later than Harin, with 2 cups in her hand. "Here, your favourite mocha latte." She said as she placed it on the table. Harin took the cup and took a sip and looked at the sky, staying silent for the past few seconds as Meiru sat on the floor.
"You can talk about it, I'm listening." Meiru said. Harin started talking about her family's past issues before talking about the incident. As soon as she said who caused the fire, Meiru gasped in shock.
"... You want to know the reason why my father burned the house... and tried to kill me and my mom? It's because we both escaped from our demise at his place." Harin said as she let out a chuckle before staying silent for the next few minutes.
"But... I don't get it... why kill both of us? He could've just spared my mother and taken me away. My mom doesn't even know shit about fighting, let alone murder someone. Why kill her?" Harin asked herself as she let a few tear drip down her face. Almost a few seconds later, she started tearing up. "Let it out... Cry your heart out." Meiru said as she patted her friend's back, slowly pulling Harin into her embrace. A few minutes later, Harin started whimpering and cried uncontrollably.
"If only I was strong enough, I could've saved my mom. If only I know about it sooner, I wouldn't have told mom to help cook cheese gimbap. I'm the reason my mom died." Harin said.
—— "Come on... let's head back. The guys are probably worried about us." Meiru said as she helped grabbed the 2 cups and pulled Harin's hand to lift her up. "Are you feeling better now after letting your feelings out?" She asked, receiving a slow nod from Harin. The duo walked back to the 2nd floor and met up with the 7 teens who were chatting amongst themselves.
"Did something happen? Your eyes are puffy." Chenle asked upon seeing Harin's eyes looking a hint of red. "Oh this? It's nothing, something went into my eye when I was at the rooftop with her. I guess I rubbed my eyes that hard..." Harin said as she looked at Meiru who nodded in response. Chenle and the boys thought nothing of it and continued chatting with each other, together with Meiru and Harin.
A few hours later, Harin was in her room, walking out of the bathroom after having a quick warm shower before continuing on with her school assignments. Seeing as the condition of her study desk is in a mess, Harin decides to organise her desk, placing several of her assignments on her bed as she tries to figure out which of the few assignments should she prioritise first. Almost suddenly when she felt that her desk is now neat, her door was closed which made her stop what she was doing. Looking at it, she noticed a strawberry milk and oreos. Harin opened the door to see who the sender was and close it back again after seeing no one at the hallway.
Realising there was a note flattened by the oreos packet, Harin took the piece of note and read it - 'I figured these would help you cheer up. You don't look genuinely fine just now when Chenle asked.' Figuring it was Jisung who sent the snacks to her, Harin could not help but smile.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
this chapter is mainly abt Harin & Meiru's interaction stuffs. cause like, meiru wasn't even mentioned for like the past few chapters💀
