ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs ʙᴇᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ˘ ʜᴀɴ sᴇᴏᴊᴜɴ

four

Suha saw JiHo's blue hair before she saw JunSeo. A laugh bubbled out of her chest as she looked at the man from behind. His hair never stayed the same colour for a long time and Suha had bet he'd go bald before he turned fifty.

Suha had insisted on walking since the weather was relatively warm so Mr.Choi dropped her off a few shops before and drove back to the house to assist her father. "Ji! Jun!" Suha yelled, catching attention of the two boys, a bright smile still persistent on her face from the joy their simple presence brought her. They turned around and with bright smiles, approached the girl. "How're you doing today Su?" JunSeo asked first. "I'm good! Just a few more days of these and I'm free." She exclaimed happily, shuffling her weight. "So good to hear that." JunSeo patted Suha's head. A blush crept up the girl's cheek and she looked down at her shoes, not caring her hair would get all fumbled.

"Stop hogging my bestfriend loverboy." JiHo sasses from beside JunSeo and smiled at Suha before giving her a tight hug. "Let's get inside shall we?" The three best friends trekked inside the coffee shop, the boys helping Suha with the step. As they sat down in the booth, Suha suddenly felt herself get conscious of her big thighs. She was wearing a skirt and you could easily see their outline. They just looked so... big. To ease herself, she sat with her legs crossed and decided to focus on what the other two were ordering. She could self criticise later.

"I'll take a chocolate frappe." JunSeo ordered "An iced americano and a turkey ham sandwich for me please." JinHo went next. When the waiter looked at Suha expectantly, she stuttered. She hadn't thought about food and she didn't want to. It would just make her thighs bigger. "Just an iced water please."

The waiter nodded and left, just as JunSeo looked at Suha confusedly. The girl was pulling again and again at her shirt, pulling it away from her skin. Realisation hit him like a truck and he sighed before speaking "You outfit looks lovely Suha. It suits you really well."

"I look fat." The girl tried to laugh it off. "No you don't." JiHo spoke up. "You look like a human. The skirt goes around your back perfectly. The shirt hugs your body and the oversized jacket really completes the look. Have you seen how great your boobs look?"

A smile lit up Suha's face. JiHo always knew the right things to say and his compliments were always exactly what you needed for a pick-me-up. Maybe it was because he had gone through the same thing when he was younger before his glowup that happened two summers previously or maybe because he was a big advocate for body positivity. He was like a magician to her in moments like these and she was eternally grateful. "Now, let's get you something that isn't water shall we?"

"I'll take a berry smoothie." The boys smiled and signalled the waiter over, changing the order. Soon, the three teens flowed out with smooth conversations as they devoured their drinks and the sandwich that they split into uneven three pieces.

Around lunch time, the trio decided to change the place and go over to a restaurant where Lisa and MunHee would meet them. Since both the girls had respective family events to attend which is why they met the trio for lunch only. Suha loved her guy friends, but Lisa and MunHee were her childhood friends and she'd always have a soft spot for them. She grew up with them whereas JunSeo came into the picture in kindergarten and JiHo was introduced in elementary school. Lisa and suha's dads were business partners whereas MunHee's mother and suha's mother had been friends since their college days and it only made them happier that they got to bring up their daughters today. Suha had been close to MunHee's mother until the woman divorced her husband and moved to Japan, causing them to loose touch.

The place where all the friends met was a barbecue restaurant and as suha saw her friends eat to their heart's content, she couldn't help but feel a little envious. They always ate without a care in the world and Suha often restricted herself, no more than a certain quantity because calories exceeded her or because she knew she'd bloat and get insecure later. It wasn't something she always did, but she had her moments where she would stop eating because she had been eating a lot lately. Then out of guilt, she would binge eat. It was an unhealthy and repetitive cycle. It got better a lot of times before it went down again and she just knew, she would never be truly free of it.

It had been a long time when the friend group had sat together and hung out, talked about stuff that wasn't school or drama around it. Ever since junior year had started, they had been either overcome with school work or coaching which unabled all five of them to be together. Her friends kept her grounded, not letting her float away in everything that had happened since SeYeon and how her life had turned upside down. Everything had changed that week and Suha was more grateful than ever that she had the best group of friends to fall back on. They listened to her rant, comforted when she cried non stop and bought all the ice cream she could need. All the guilt while eating a pint never got to her, her friends made sure it didn't.

When lunch ended, they all decided to head for ice cream before parting ways. There was a gelato shop just round the corner and Suha assured everyone she could walk the small distance and there was no need to cancel the plan or order a taxi.
Suha was deep in conversation with JunSeo, the duo a few feet away from everyone when her shoulder bumped into someone else's and she lost her balance, putting pressure on her injured ankle to stabilise herself. JunSeo grabbed her forearm to keep her stable and she held onto him, nodding when he asked worriedly if she was okay.

She turned to look at the man to apologise for what had happened but her words got caught when she looked who it was. Suha's eyes widened as she looked at the boy she had bumped into. Her heart stopped and it was as if time had too. He looked the same he had all those months ago, if not more... handsome but also, His hair had grown longer at the back and he had another piercing in his ear. Suha found her eyes wandering for a quick moment before everything came crashing down on her. The voices in her head stopped speaking as long as she had her eyes on him but the second she looked away, they were back and some were even louder. His eyes were narrowed at where JunSeo held Suha's arm. But Suha didn't care in the moment. "I'm sorry." She mumbled out before getting one of the crutches from JunSeo's hand that had fallen when she lost her balance and walking again.

JunSeo gave the man a glare before walking after suha who was walking away from the scene as quickly as her legs allowed with her friend calling her name again and again "Suha!" JunSeo finally caught up to her and grabbed onto her arm, making her stop. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine. It was just an accident, I'm not hurt."

She closed her eyes tightly, not allowing the tears that had build up to fall. So he was still in the city, Suha noted. With how he had disappeared, she would've thought that he left the country but then she thought of his mother and she remembered, of course he'd be in the city getting her treated. And if the doctor's words were something to go by, he'd be back in school soon too. The mere thought put her mind to worry.

JunSeo didn't get the answer to the question he had asked. He was less worried if she was physically hurt and more concentrated on her emotional health. "Let's just catch up with other okay?" He wanted to ask more, force her to tell him and lend his shoulder for her to cry so she wouldn't have to alone. He wanted to tell her he was there and he always would be.
But it wasn't the smartest decision and he knew. She would only get irritated if he asked more and more and again and again. So, he let her be for then.

The two jogged slightly, entering the gelato shop where the rest of their friends were, waiting. "Should I get wasabi gelato with siracha?" JiHo asked just as Suha entered the place with SunJeo in tow and she shook her head, a small smile taking over her lips. She really was grateful for the idiots.

All while, they remained unaware that the guy had followed them, his eyes teary as he stared at her. Anger boiled in his chest at whoever had hurt her and the green monster roared as he saw the boy feed her ice cream and her response was a simple smile.

A/N: Who did she bump into?