under your umbrella.

11

closing the umbrella we shared, yeoreum and i safely made our way to the gymnasium. the lightning strikes visible in the dark sky, accurate to my prediction based on the grey sky since the beginning of the day. we're lucky yeoreum always pack her umbrella with her, mainly because she walks to the bus station every day to go to school.

entering the enclosed area, our eyes caught on the entire football team being there on the bleachers. they're probably there because practice got cancelled over the disallowing weather. amidst the crowd, there sat seungyoun, eyes caught on me and yeoreum.

uncaring of his surrounding, he stands up, blocking the view of his teammates who are watching the taekwondo practice. not staying there long due to the tempestuous voices coming from the boys, he run to us. heaven knows why but i refuse to be focused on it due to two reasons; i planned to see yohan today and my ego causing me not to speak to seungyoun.

"haerin." he calls. not in front of yeoreum!

yeoreum and i exchange looks as she nods in affirmation, "i'll go find us a seat."

"go sit there, yeoreum. near those guys. i need to borrow her for a second." seungyoun points the direction for yeoreum as she nods and take her leave. there i stand in front yet not facing seungyoun, mind fully blank on what to say as i only wait for him to say something.

"i know you're mad, haerin, but i really didn't mean it that way. it was careless, i should've worded it better. i-" the shaking pupils averts my gaze, "i should've known my place before talking to you that way. yeoreum was worried about you and it made me feel responsible to tell you that. truly, i didn't mean to assume you're that kind of person."

sighing out of relieve, i look to his face. "well, we talked and i already figured that out through her. i'm sorry, too, for overreacting. i should've been seeing through your perspective and hear your explanation on that yet i cut you off and chased you out. honestly, you're right. i'm too privileged to be thinking i'm not enough for anything."

"you didn't overreact. as correct as i was, it's also wrong to make a vague statement as if i knew you that way. truthfully, you're more than just a daughter of a rich man. you're smart, talented and possibly a good leader." he states, "also, you're a good talker, that's more than enough proof you're leader material."

as if the weight of the world has lifted from my heart, i put on a smile on my face, "thank you for talking to me first. i really needed that."

"why? wooseok?" not really him, but sure, he is also one of the reasons. "you still haven't talk to him?"

i shake my head, "nothing related to him. it's yeoreum. if we didn't make up so soon, yeoreum probably wouldn't want to go this weekend. i told her what happened between us and of course, she'll not let me come near you. she cares about me too much and i feel like she'll be burdened over this whole situation."

"still, it's my fault. shouldn't have dragged her into it." scratching his nape, he runs his hand through the back of his head, "yeoreum's not at fault. she's worried about you being friends with people she barely know. that's why she talked to me about you, saying you're too introverted, too kept to self and picky when it comes to people. she thought the issues was your wealth and intelligent, people are intimidated by you."

"well, she's not fully wrong. i'm bad at making friends but i can assure you, it's not because of money. i don't know how to make first moves and i expect it to come from other people. i am not picky, i am just uneasy around new people." i retorts, somehow feeling offended by the points made.

my words manage to gain a giggle, "then prove it. prove that you're capable of breaking free from those stereotypes."

"again, thanks for talking me out of it. i'll try my best to change." giving him a confident smile, i gain a reassuring eye smiles from him.