October's Sunshine • Jeong Yunho

04

Time skips and seeing that Soomin hasn't talked to him at all and distanced herself from him, Yunho starts to give up on her. He starts ignoring everyone else too and tries to stay as much as he can in his room, not wanting to see anyone.

Seeing him like that, the boys start to get suspicious.

One day Mingi and Seonghwa tried talking to Yunho but his father argued with them.

"What do you want to talk about with Yunho? Don't you see how he is because of you all and that little bitch Soomin? Get out. He's not allowed to see any of you anymore."

Those words still give Mingi nightmares. Yunho was his bestfriend. Not being able to talk at all with him made him mad.

Soomin is in a horrible state as well after everything happened and stays in her room all day, only talking to her best friend Soyeon.

———

"Some people would say it's both's fault because they didn't talk this out, some would say it's Soomin's fault because she got too jealous for no reason and didn't talk to him about it, and some would say it's Yunho's fault because he didn't explain to her what is happening and let her go without talking. But in reality, it's no one's fault." Hongjoong said as he sat on the sofa.

Mingi sighed and groaned. "Seeing my sister and best friend like that makes me go insane. We can't even do anything about it. Soomin is locked up in her room and only stays and talks with Soyeon, Yunho's dad won't let us talk to him or see him. What could we do about this whole shit?"

Jongho thought a little bit and cleared his throat. "What if we talk to Dahyun? I bet Yunho's dad lets him see and talk with her."

"Wait that's a good idea. Jongho you're a genius." Hongjoong said.

———

Soomin was sitting in her room, doodling in her notebook as Soyeon was thinking about something.

Her friend was worried for her. Soomin hasn't been eating in the past week and was always staying in her room, depressed.

Soyeon got up and went to the kitchen. She came back with two bags of chips and some zero coke.

"Let's watch a movie. What about Barbie?" She said as she sat down and handed the girl a bag of chips.

Soomin shook her head and laid back in the bed.

"No Soomin you are not gonna cry again and then sleep and wake up 6 hours later and do all of these again," Soyeon said angrily and smashed her arm, playfully.

Soomin chuckled at Soyeon's attempt to lighten the mood. "Alright, alright. Barbie it is."

As they settled in to watch the movie, little did Soomin know that a plan was in motion to bring some clarity to the tangled mess of emotions that surrounded her and Yunho.

Meanwhile, the group of friends gathered to discuss their strategy. Jongho proposed, "We need to find a way to talk to Dahyun without Yunho's dad intervening. Maybe we can catch her somewhere outside school, like a coffee shop or a park."

Hongjoong nodded in agreement. "We have to be careful not to escalate the situation. It's a delicate matter, and we don't want to make things worse for Yunho or Soomin."

The plan was set in motion as the friends divided tasks to discreetly gather information about Dahyun's whereabouts and schedule.

———

The boys decided that Mingi, Jongho and San should talk to Dahyun. A few days later, they spotted her at a local coffee shop.

They approached her cautiously, not wanting to startle her.

"Hi Dahyun," Jongho greeted with a friendly smile. "Mind if we join you for a moment?"

Dahyun looked a bit surprised but welcomed them with a nod. "Sure guys, take a seat."

The boys sat down and sighed, all of them looking at Mingi to start the conversation.

"So, how's things going with Yunho lately?" Mingi asked casually.

Dahyun hesitated for a moment before responding, "Well, it's been a bit challenging. His dad has been quite strict, and Yunho is going through a tough time. We're trying to figure things out together but he has been staying all day in his room and from what I heard he is crying a lot and doesn't eat. I don't know at all what happened to him."

"Should we tell her everything and the truth..." San whispered and Jongho nodded.

"Look Dahyun..." he started, "there is this girl, Soomin, Mingi's sister, my best friend since we have been little and Yunho's friend. They have been friends for the past 10 years and lately, things went horrible in their friendship. Since that day you came to school to us to ask about him, Soomin's heart was broken because she liked him for the past two years."

Dahyun nodded and listened carefully, sometimes taking a sip of her coffee.

Jongho took a deep breath and continued. "Since that day she has been distancing herself from him and now they don't talk at all, ignore each other, and Soomin, as well as Yunho, is staying in her room all day, crying, not eating, and on short terms, is depressed. She isn't even talking to any of us, besides her best friend Soyeon. We wanted to talk to you because we don't know what to do about them anymore and you're the only one who can talk to Yunho at the moment. His dad won't let us see him or talk to him."

The girl nodded again and sighed. "I understand the situation and I'm feeling so horrible for Soomin. In the past, Yunho told me some things about her and she seems so sweet and nice. I will try my best to help you guys. I'm going to Yunho's house later to have a quick talk with him. Do you guys wish me to say anything to him from you?"

"From us just tell him we are worried for him and that we wish the best for him. And if you could talk about this situation with him, as fast as you can." San explained and the other boys nodded.

"Alright then. I have to go now. Bye, boys and wish Soomin the best from me."

The boys smiled and said their goodbyes to Dahyun as she left.

"And now we wait..." Jongho said and ordered a coffee.