True Beauty: An Alternate Universe

Chapter Seventeen

Suho:

Everyone gathered around us as I let go of Jookyung. Sooah apologised profusely to her and hugged her tight. I looked towards the sidelines, seeing Soojin get up to walk away. Taehyun, who sat beside her, reached out a hand helplessly, his face full of confusion. I walked quickly over to him, "What's wrong?" I asked. He shrugged, "I don't know she just walked off but she looked pretty upset. You should check on her," he replied. I followed her into the woods, staying at a distance so she wouldn't notice me. Soojin turned a corner and stopped in front of a grassy hill. I stood behind a bush, watching as she crouched under a tree. Sobs broke the silence, piercing through the air, tears streamed down her cheeks. My heart ached. She was rarely ever seen this vulnerable. Every ounce of my body was telling me to go to her, hold her close, wipe the tears from her face and whisper comforting words in her ear. I stood still, her sleeves clenched in her fists, her body shaking with the breeze. I sighed, and took steps towards her.

Soojin:

The cold wind was blowing against me. I felt myself shiver even though my body was red hot with anger. I felt fabric brush my back and got up quickly, whipping my body around. It was Suho, his jacket draped over my shoulders. "You'll catch a cold," he said gently. I wiped the tears from my face in a hurry. How long had he been standing there? "Why do you care?" I asked coldly, turning away from him. "Because I care about you," he replied. My breath hitched in my throat and I had to stop myself from gasping. No, no I can't let my emotions play a part in the conversation. I took the jacket off and threw it back at him. He caught it with a shocked expression. "I don't need you to care for me and I don't need your jacket. Go to Jookyung, she might actually want it," I huffed. He blinked, "Wait, is this about Jookyung?" he asked, a smirk tugging at his lips. What was he smiling about? I chose to not reply, and took a few steps backwards.

"Soojin are you jealous of what happened on the court?" he asked, his smirk growing into a grin. My mind was racing to find the right words, "I don't know what you are talking about," was the best I could come up with. He stepped towards me, "You know I don't like her right?" he said, chuckling. "Why are you laughing?" I said, anger lacing every word. He stopped laughing, "You know how difficult it is? Walking around the school with you, watching every girl confess their feelings to you? You know how confused I've felt? I sleep in your bed, in your arms but I don't even know how you feel about me. You give me so many signs yet I've seen you hold Jookyung close twice already! You can't tell me you haven't seen the look in her eyes when she stares at you," I paused when my back hit the tree, Suho inched closer with each sentence. I took a deep breath, relaxing my tone, "I know I sound like an absolute idiot right now and I shouldn't be jealous. If you are happy with Jookyung then I can't stop yo-" I stopped.

Suho's face was a breath away from mine, his body pressed up against me. His hands reached up to my cheeks, brushing away the tears. I didn't realise I had started crying again. "I don't like Jookyung, Soojin," he said, his voice barely a whisper, "There is only one that has my heart, and it's you," he smiled. I looked into his eyes, they reflected the stars above. He leaned down, his lips barely brushing against mine. I tilted my head up, closing the gap. We kissed under the moonlight, a kiss full of love and longing for each other. My hands twisted around his neck, sinking into his hair, his arms gripped my waist tight as if he was afraid I would run away. He pulled away, searching for my reaction. I smiled softly, and he chuckled, kissing me once more. Suho wrapped his jacket tightly around me again and we both laid on the grass, staring at the stars. "That one looks just like you," he said, pointing to the brightest one in the sky. "Oh yeah? Why's that?" I asked with a giggle. "You brighten up my world," he said, turning his head towards me.

I scoffed, "Don't be so corny," I said, but secretly I liked it. He chuckled. We fell into a comfortable silence, looking up into the sky. "Soojin," Suho began, breaking the silence. "Hmm?" I replied. He flipped himself over, his body on top of me, his eyes staring down. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he asked. I smiled up at him, "I thought you would never ask," I said. He smiled wide, placing a peck on my lips. "Oh but," I started, his face dropping instantly, "Could we keep this a secret for now? You know how people are they might make a big deal out of it, especially Sooah," I said. He sighed, relieved, "Of course, anything you want. Let them figure it out slowly," he grinned. "I like that idea," I lifted my head slightly, and kissed his cheek. Suho helped me up off the ground and we walked back to the campsite, hands intertwined with each other. When we made it back out of the trees, we let go as Taehoon ran up to us. "Where have you two been? We've been so worried are you okay?" he asked, out of breath.

"We're okay no need to worry," I replied. Taehoon led us over to the group who was waiting in front of the cafeteria. "Oh my god thank goodness you're okay!" Sooah said, hugging me, "Come on let's go inside we're late for dinner," she said. We all ran up the steps and into the dining hall. They served Korean fried chicken today. We all ran to a table before it was taken. Suho sat down next to me and Jookyung sat down on his right. We ate and chatted, the air buzzing with laughter. "I can't believe tomorrow is our last day here," Sooah said. "I know right today went so fast," Sihyun replied. "Hey Soojin," Hyunkyu said through a mouthful of food. I looked up from my plate. "Who's jacket is that?" he said, pointing to the one I was wearing over my sweater. Suho paused, his spoon making it halfway into his mouth. Sooah ran around the table and looked at the tag, reading the name written on it. "Lee Suho!" she read. The whole table gasped in excitement.

"She got cold. In the woods," Suho replied nervously. Everyone 'oohed' and Sooah was taking photos again. I hastily took off the jacket and gave it back, focusing on my meal. I saw Jookyung eyeing me from behind Suho. "They would look so good together, I can see it now," Taehoon said with a dreamy look in his eyes, "Suho and Soojin, Saebom High's it couple. Possess both brains and beauty," everyone shouted in agreement. I scoffed, rolling my eyes playfully and glancing at Suho who was holding back a laugh. He looked at me for a brief moment before turning back to his chicken. I went in for another bite as well, but dropped my fork when his hand rested on my knee under the table. He had a proud smile on his face, and rubbed his thumb gently across my leg. I smiled to myself as well, blushing at his touch. When we finished our meals, everyone went to the bathrooms to prepare for bed. I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth and did my skincare. 

This time I allowed Sihyun to put a face mask of me as it didn't have an animal print. Jookyung still refused to use one, muttering something about sensitive skin. When everyone finished we headed back to the cabins, excited to retreat to our warm beds. Before I made it to the steps, I spotted Suho standing behind my cabin, beckoning me to come over. He ducked his head back in when the other girls raced up behind me. "You guys head in first, I think I left something in the bathroom," I lied. They all nodded and closed the door behind them. I looked around to see if anyone was watching, and slipped behind the cabin, ducking under the windows. "Hey," Suho said when he saw me. "Hey," I replied, "What do you need?" I asked when he didn't continue. "Just needed to see you. Didn't think you would go to bed without saying goodnight now did you?" he teased. I smiled shyly. He smiled back, pulling me into a hug. "I miss sleeping next to you," he admitted, his voice vibrated against my skin as his head rested on my shoulder.

"Me too," I said, patting his head. He was like a big baby when he was comfortable. We pulled away and he placed a soft kiss on my lips. "Goodnight, make sure you get enough sleep alright?" he said. "Alright," I replied, giggling when he kissed my forehead. He ran off while I slipped back around the cabin and through the door. "You done Soojin?" Sooah asked. "Yep!" I replied, feeling a little giddy, "Hit the lights," I said, tucking myself in. Sooah turned the lights off. My phone vibrated softly next to me and I pulled it out. It was a message from Suho. I smiled when I opened it. It was screenshot of his lock screen, it was set as the photo we took from the waterfall. I quickly changed mine as well, setting it to the one we took with the hand hearts and sent a screenshot back. He liked it, "Remember, don't let anyone see your phone!" he said with a smiley face emoji. I sent him one last text before turning my phone off and getting out from under the covers. I turned around, about to get to sleep when I saw a figure slip out the door of our cabin, closing it silently.