Mirage

16

Few days passed by and everything had changed at once just like how Sunwoo had expected.

He should have glad that he no more needed to see the bubbly Haeun bugging him early in the morning, or trailing behind him wherever he went and maybe trying to earn his attention with the snacks she prepared.

His new views these days were, either accidentally bumping into Haeun and her two friends at the lockers before they parted their ways, or being greeted with her small smile wherever they ran into each other or watching her taking naps in between classes.

Yes, Kim Haeun took a nap.

Sunwoo seemed not be able to adapt that last thing he had been seeing these days. Did he had always had high expectation of an elite student? 

Though she used to be an elite student, still she was a human being right? She did feel tired too - obviously.

But, something about the accidentally meeting in the nurse room that day was still living fresh in his mind. He did ask Eric and Jia  about it, the curiosity was controlling him. Nonetheless, the pair simply said that Haeun was so heartbroken and she suddenly fell sick.

What he meant here, was it even made sense?

The slight shift of the girl sleeping body alerted Sunwoo that he should have stopped staring to not give the girl a bad thought about him.

But she seemed not to care either. 

She did not talk to him as she straightened her body, skimming the class like it was so foreign to her. She did not spare him a look too. Instead, she took out her journal from the drawer and sighed.

She sighed that sound so refreshing yet hurt at the same time, Sunwoo could not resist from looking either.

It was then their eyes briefly met where Haeun pursed her lips weakly. But, maybe the Sunwoo's power was still living in a small part of her head, her watch was seen blinking some big numbers of her heartbeat when she looked at him.

Indeed, it was hard to move on.

Or was it girls things?

It seemed like a yes to him when Jiyeon appeared in front of his school gate, looking more than desperate.

"Did you skip classes?" he asked sassily, arms crossed.

"Maybe", she nonchalantly shrugged, kicking the small pebbles that ended up hitting his legs. "Ah, sorry".

If Sunwoo was the same like any other boyfriends in the world, he probably had laughed, he probably found Jiyeon was cute that way.

But, he was not. He was built differently.

"This is the only day off I got from practice, so I want to rest as much as I can", he said and Jiyeon seemed could have guessed the next thing. "Go home".

God knew how much Jiyeon wanted to retaliate, how much she despised this situation.

"I miss you, Sunwoo. Can't we go for a drink first?" she looked up at him with sadness tinting her orbs that definitely did not go unnoticed but who was she fought with?

"Next time", her boyfriend replied, walking past her demeanor like she was no one, like they had never talked about anything.

Hurt but still, she kept it silent. For she did not want to pressure Sunwoo any further.

To say that Sunwoo did not feel guilty was totally a lie. He did have a little kindness left in his heart which resulting in him lying down on the couch in his living room, facing the white ceiling.

A face suddenly appeared blocking his view, its owner was looking down at him.

"That foggy mind of yours really makes you look miserable", his older cousin emphasized, pulling him up to be seated so that a little space was vacant for him to sit. "At least go change your school uniform."

"Later", the younger sighed, shutting his eyes. "Don't you have anything interesting to tell me today?"

"Of course I do!" Younghoon pulled out his phone from his pocket, unlocking the lock screen. "I was paired with your favourite supermodel".

At that, Sunwoo sat up straight, snatching the older's phone away. That was the routine everytime his model cousin dropped by and that was the only time Sunwoo got to be seen as someone who was in his age.

Getting excited, fanboying over celebrities with that cheeky smile of his.

"Harin noona is so pretty", his eyes became even more bigger as he skimmed the pictures on Younghoon's phone screen. "Is she pretty in real life?"

"So much", Younghoon nodded, contently watching his brother being a small boy with a big fat crush over someone. "You do follow her social media, is it not enough that you seem to be absorbed into my screen?"

"No new update from her", Sunwoo sighed, giving back the device to its owner. "The last post I saw was few months ago. She seemed to go for a holiday with her sibling".

"You even know that she has a sibling?" the older obviously startled, his palm was placed on his chest dramatically. "What a big fans".

Feeling proud of himself, Sunwoo chuckled, scratching his brow with his pinky next. Digging information about someone you loved was a simple work, right?

"If only you did this with Jiyeon", it was then, Sunwoo's smile faded, concreting the older's speculation about his brother. "You two fought, don't you?"

A big sigh again had escaped as the younger slumped against the couch. 

Younghoon knew everything about him, about Jiyeon, about his school and also about the friend he no longer was befriending with.

"I did something", Sunwoo admitted, intriguing Younghoon out of blue in which he unknowingly paying more attention than he always did. "I've let my anger being poured out to someone else".

"Who?"

"Someone in my class", the answer somehow portrayed that Younghoon had no idea about Haeun. "She looks devastated now".

"A she?" the older was doubting his ears, not because the person was a female but the fact a female was controlling the younger's head.

Even Jiyeon was forbidden to live inside Sunwoo's head.

"Sunwoo", he called in which the boy hummed almost immediately. The look on Younghoon's face was an unreadable one, it was shock and inexplainable with a little tint of pain. 

"If someone makes you feel this way, doesn't that mean you're interested in her?"