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The next morning the trio painfully made their way to class. Haeyi felt a hand tap shoulder when they sat down and she harshly turned towards it.
"Hello," greeted Sunho, brightly.
"Why are you okay?" asked Haeyi, gritting her teeth in pain. He tilted his head, feigning confusion.
He looked to Chaewon, who waved to him. Sunho smiled back with a wave of his own. "Are you okay?" he mouthed to her, referring to the harsh practice they had yesterday.
Chaewon shrugged. "Just a bit sore," she mouthed back before turning around to pay attention in class. She smiled to herself, happy that he initiated the short conversation.
After classes, the squad was gathered in their practice room so that the older members could inform the group about competitions and rivalry. To be totally honest, Chaewon wasn't much of a competitive person and rather enjoyed peace, so it's safe to say she zoned out for most of the talk.
The following day, Chaewon, Sunja, and Haeyi laid on the stage platform out of breath once again.
"What are you doing today?" asked Sunho, looking directly to Haeyi as he sat next to her with his bag.
Haeyi looked at her watch, then pointed at him, "I have a very important business meeting. I'm leaving!"
"Where are you going?" shouted Sunja, still laying down.
"Bye Haeyi!" called out Chaewon, waving bye to her friend.
"Business?" asked Sunho.
"I don't have anything," said Yongil, smiling at Sunho.
"Boring," muttered Sunho, eyes still on Haeyi.
"What's up? Hey, I'm pretty funny," continued Yongil, grabbing his things to catch up with Sunho who began to leave.
Chaewon also sat up, eager to join them, but then she turned around to look at Sunja. She couldn't just leave her best friend behind, who was clearly planning on laying down longer. The dimpled girl sighed, laying back down with her friend, who scooted closer to her.
"What do you want to do now?" asked Chaewon, turning her head to face Sunja.
"Hmm," thought Sunja, "let's go eat." Sunja suddenly sat up, pulling Chaewon with her.
"Let's go, let's go," said Sunja, excitedly. Chaewon simply smiled, the two holding hands as they ran off. Just seconds later they ran past Sunho and Yongil.
"Hey, where are you guys running off to?" called Sunho, making the girls pause.
"To eat," answered Sunja, turning to the boys.
"Want to join us?" asked Chaewon, beaming at them.
"Okay," replied Sunho, returning her smile.
The group ended up at a tteokbokki restaurant, with Sunja and Chaewon on one side of the table and the boys across from them.
"Tasty?" asked Sunho, grinning at the girl across from him. Chaewon looked up from her meal and nodded.
"I really like tteokbokki," replied Chaewon.
Sunho looked down with a smile, "I'll keep that in mind for the future."
"Why?" asked Chaewon, tilting her head, confused. The boy shrugged.
"Just cause." Silence returned as they continued to eat.
Sunho paused again, his eye catching something on Chaewon's arm as she rolled up her sleeves.
He grabbed her hand abruptly, getting a clear view of what it was. A bruise. Well bruises, there were multiple. The other two at the table stopped at his sudden action, looking at the boy confused.
"What is it?" asked Chaewon, confused, but then looked at her arm, freezing.
"What happened?" he asked, looking at her seriously, as opposed to his warm smile earlier.
"Um..uh," hesitated Chaewon, unable to come out with a real answer. "Just from practice." She quickly pulled her arm away and pulled her sleeves down, faking a smile.
"Are you sure?" he questioned.
"Those look pretty bad to be just from practice," added Yongil, looking at the gril concerned.
"Yeah," she reassured, "just from practice."
Sunja, who sat beside her, watched suspiciously. A hunch that something was happening, again.
♬
Chaewon was slumped over Sunja as they finally got a break during practice. Haeyi wasn't present, and neither Sunja or Chaewon knew where she was.
A water bottle was thrusted into her view, she looked up at the person and it was Sunho.
"Thank Sunho," she smiled, sitting up and opening the bottle.
"Of course," he said, sitting down next to her. "Do you know where Haeyi is?"
Chaewon's smile faltered, shaking her head. Obviously, he nodded, clearly unaware of the girl's growing feelings.
That night, Chaewon gets a call from Haeyi.
"Hello," she answers, concerned as to why Haeyi was calling her so late at night. The first thing she hears is sniffles. "Are you okay? Where are you? Haeyi?"
"Are you free right now?" asked Haeyi, clearly crying.
"Of course, where are you?" questioned Chaewon, gathering her things quietly, not wanting to disturb her father downstairs. She began to creep down the stairs, holding her breath. She froze, hearing him move.
It got quiet again. She slowly unlocked the front door and closed it behind her. She let out a breath.
"Can we meet at our convenience store?" asked Haeyi, sniffling.
"Already on my way," she said, running towards the store. The convenience store Haeyi was referring to was the one that the trio always met up at.
By the time she got there, Haeyi was already sitting outside. Chaewon rushed over to her friend, kneeling in front of her.
"Is everything okay? What happened?" she questioned, brows furrowing in concern.
Haeyi met her eyes and instead of saying anything, she bursted out crying. Chaewon stood up and embraced the taller girl in a tight hug. Chaewon stayed silent, deciding that any more questions might send Haeyi into further distress.
After a few minutes Haeyi calmed down. Chaewon had gotten Haeyi a drink and some snacks from inside, in hopes of cheering her up a bit.
"Do you want to talk about her?" she asked, softly, handing Haeyi a bottle of water.
"Jaehyeok," started Haeyi, "he...he didn't even want his mom to know about our relationship." Chaewon just listened.
"He was so," she paused, tearing up again. "I can't believe I'm even crying over him."
"It's okay," said Chaewon, "it's okay to cry. He was an ass who hurt you. It's okay to feel sad Haeyi, your feelings are valid. You shouldn't feel as if you can't cry over him. It's okay to admit that you're hurt." Chaewon was a better listener than she was with words, so she could only hope that what she was saying helped.
