Paperclips - YJH

Eight

"Mom, were... were you stalking me?" I asked her, feeling a wave of fear and betrayal wash over me at once, but I managed to keep my calm, knowing that the situation would be worse otherwise.

"Stalk is the wrong word; quite hurtful. I was just observing you." Mom says it in a calm tone, almost as if she were keeping her emotions in too, like me.

"Don't you trust me with my own life?" I look at her again, searching her eyes for answers.

She doesn't budge. Staring back at me, she inhales deeply before taking the photos out of my palms. "I thought you were over the teenage rebellious stage? I guess not," she sighs as she looks at the pictures. "Anyway, if this young man is not your romantic interest, who might it be?" She questions me again, pointing to the pictures of Jeonghan.

"He is my classmate." I reply, knowing that I could potentially endanger him if I reveal who he is to me. I know how far my mother can go, and knowing that she was tailing me all this time made me really uncomfortable but I chose not to comment on it.

"Both of you seem too close to be just classmates. Be honest with me, Y/n." She fixes her glasses and patiently waits for me to answer, but I can sense her patience slowly running out.

"I'm not lying." I responded, looking down, hoping she would stop talking about this.

"Alright," She takes a deep breath in, "I believe you." Mom says before throwing all the photos to the fireplace and folding her arms in place, "But I know my daughter is smart enough and won't approach that boy again, right?" She looked at me with an 'answer me' expression and a smile that scared me. I knew I had no power here, so I nodded.
____

It's the next day, and I'm back at my college dorm. I was dropped off by my mom's favourite driver. After I've sent that man back, I head towards my room. As soon as I entered, I felt several pairs of arms engulf me in a tight hug. My roommates.

"Y/N! Why didn't you tell us you were going??" Yumin, My roommate asked me with a concerned expression.

"It was a rushed decision. I'm sorry," I smile at them, "I'll tell you in the future." I calm her and the others down and unpack my stuff.

Today was a Sunday, and that meant it was the day to study. I quickly took a shower and sat down with my books. That's when I got a call, and I sincerely hoped it was not Jeonghan. But to my bad luck, it was. It was the one person I was hoping to avoid. I ignored the ringing phone and tried to focus on my book. The call stopped ringing after a while. I was glad, but the next second I heard a notification pop up. He's probably texting me. I picked up the phone and read the text.

"Hey, are you back?"

I just reply with a thumps up emoji and switch off my phone, hoping I wasn't being too rude but also rude enough for him to get the hint and stop texting me.
____

It's Monday, and I walked into my first class of the day. I sat in a different spot this time, closer to the window, hoping I'd be able to get some cool air during the lecture. I was staring out the window when I felt a presence next to me. I turned to see Soonyoung. He looked at me for a second, then at the wound on my elbow.

He pointed at the wound and said, "You owe me, remember?" His tone was both playful and serious.

"Yeah, whatever." I roll my eyes in response. My tone was playful as well, and I made sure to express that by laughing afterwards.

Just then, the door opened, and I saw Jeonghan walking in. As soon as his eyes laid on me, the corner of his lips curled up, and he waved subtly. I blinked twice, looking at him, and went back to the conversation I was having with Soonyoung.
____

Jeonghan felt slightly dejected at the reaction he received from Y/N. However, he tried to be understanding and thought of the possible reasons behind this interaction. He saw that the seat next to it was taken by Soonyoung, so Jeonghan dismissed the idea of sitting with her. He walked to the empty seat behind Y/N and Soonyoung and took his seat comfortably. 

As time passed by, Jeonghan could not help but watch as Y/n and Soonyoung laughed and poked fun at eachother throughout the class. He wondered when they both got so close, and he wasn't exactly positive about his thoughts, either. Jeonghan couldn't focus even when his friends who sat beside him were talking to him. 

After that silent treatment he received from Y/n today morning, he had made up his mind to talk to her about it later. Jeonghan wasn't a type to delay or deny his feelings and thoughts, afterall. 
____

Classes for the day had come to an end and I was walking out of the University. My plans for today was to go to the library and study but before that, I decided to visit the café.

I felt someone join me as I walked towards the café. I turned to see Jeonghan, who was sipping on a milkshake.

"Where are you going?" He inquired, knowing this is not the usual path I take after college hours.

"Library." I reply monotonously as I continued walking. I quickly pull out my earphones and plug them in before he talked again. His mouth opened and closed as he saw what I was doing.

He evidently slowed his pace and was left behind as I continued walking, not caring about him eventhough I badly wanted to turn back around and pull him to the library with me. I couldn't see his expression and I decided not to as I headed towards the library.
____

Y/n was now playing with Jeonghan's mind. He was utterly confused as to why she's acting like this, and he really hoped that he was imagining things. Wasn't it just  a week ago that both of them were having late night snacks together in the store? Didn't they have a conversation about his family just 2 weeks ago? Why did Y/n change in an instant like this, even when he did no wrong, or so he thought.

Thousands of questions flooded Jeonghan's mind as he walked back to the dorm after he realised she was purposely trying to avoid him.

He knew that he had done no wrong and eventhough they only knew eachother for a month, he had realised that she was the straightforward type, so she would've told him if he had done anything wrong.

Eventually, Jeonghan came to the conclusion that she must be going through something mentally, or at home. He also has days where he just wants to shut off the entire world as well, and he respected that. Maybe she just needs some space, he thought to himself.