i won't share you / purinz

frontier justice

That Monday, both Yunjin and Hajoon return to school. Neither one says a word about what happened between them, but between the yellowing bruises on Hajoon's face and Yunjin's expulsion from the baseball team, people draw their own conclusions. By the end of the day, the whole school is talking about the fight between Yunjin and Hajoon, and everyone is making guesses as to the cause. The most popular explanation is that the school busted their illicit fight club that had been meeting every night in the baseball dugout, but Chaewon overhears Kazuha telling a group of underclassmen that it all started when Yunjin seduced Hajoon's mom. When Kazuha sees Chaewon, she makes a kissy face and winks and Chaewon hurries past, a blush burning on her cheeks.

When Yunjin comes into Ms. Park's classroom at the end of the day, she's accosted so quickly by her fan club that she doesn't have time to even glance Chaewon's way. Even after the bell rings and Ms. Park starts the lesson, the gaggle of girls remains crowded around Yunjin, stroking her hair and laughing at every word out of her mouth. This irritates Chaewon to no end, and not just because it's an egregious violation of classroom etiquette that would never be permitted if anyone other than Huh Yunjin was at the center of it. What irritates her most is that all of those pretty, feminine fingers are threading through the same soft hair that Chaewon ran her hands through that night in Yunjin's room, clutching onto the same arms that held her. She starts to wonder just how many of those girls have kissed Yunjin on that very bed, tasted her pink bubblegum on her lips and tongue. She has no right to be annoyed, not when she's the one who pushed Yunjin away, and that thought only makes the whole thing hurt more. When the bell rings and Chaewon speed-walks out, Yunjin doesn't chase after her, and she walks to her mathletes meeting alone.

The next couple of days go by much the same, Yunjin too busy to pay Chaewon any mind and Chaewon doing her best to pretend that she isn't affected. Until Eunchae shows up at the library on Wednesday with a blushing Yunjin in tow.

"What are you doing here?" Chaewon blurts out.

Yunjin looks at her feet, "Uh, Eunchae asked me to come."

"Yunjin always comes," Eunchae says with her usual wide smile, unaffected by the suffocating awkwardness between the older girls.

Yunjin puts a hand on Eunchae's shoulder. "I think ChaeCh-" She swallows, "I think Chaewon wants to get some one-on-one time with you."

Eunchae shrugs, "The more the merrier." She drags Yunjin into the library without another glance, and Chaewon closes and opens her eyes a few times just to make sure it isn't a nightmare before following after them.

Yunjin sits next to Eunchae, across from Chaewon, which Chaewon thinks is meant to be a considerate gesture of giving her space. In reality, it only makes things worse, because now Yunjin is in Chaewon's line of sight and Chaewon's eyes keep accidentally flickering over to her when she's trying to focus on her job. Yunjin is her usual energetic self, full of jokes and way above the normal conversational volume level, and for a moment Chaewon wonders if she has already moved on from everything that happened between them. But when Eunchae turns to her work, Yunjin's smile drops and the happy, bubbly girl that was in her seat a moment ago disappears. She slumps down in her chair and Chaewon can see the red, puffy skin under her eyes and nose. Her eyes, usually so warm and bright, are dulled, like they've been tossed into the washing machine and worn down in the hot water. Chaewon wants badly to reach for Yunjin's hand where it sits on the table, but it wouldn't be fair. The best thing she can do, she tells herself, is leave Yunjin alone and give her a chance to heal, no matter how much it hurts to see her like this.

After an hour of worrying and regretting and trying desperately to keep her eyes from straying Yunjin's way, Chaewon is more than ready to bury herself under her blankets and call Sakura for a good cry, but Eunchae tugs on her hand as they leave the library, "Can we get ice cream?" And before Chaewon can answer, "Please, please, please, please, please."