𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘. Han Seojun

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 - 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐃 flown over Areum's head. After Seojun's slight outburst, the only important thing that had happened during the weekend was her mother being allowed to come home.

Areum picked her up on Sunday morning and has been taking care of and helping her mother ever since. But once again it was monday and the girl had to go to school "Anything happens you call me." she told her mother.

Her mother almost snorted but nodded "I'm not a little kid Rumi. Go and learn something at school, I can take care of myself." and she was out of the door quickly. She walked to school alone that morning, as the girls made no prior arrangements in the group chat.

Now that she thought more about it, she did seem to get less and less messages from the girls, but she shrugged not wanting to overthink anything. The first few classes went by quickly and once again there was ruckus in the lunch room.

Her friends went first to the lunch room as Areum went to pick up a drink from the vending machine. Then as she walked inside she saw her two childhood friends looking like they were about to kill each other.

She didn't understand what had gotten them to this point but she was definitely startled when Seojun punched Suho so hard that his lower lip started bleeding. Areum felt distraught at the action and everything around her began to spin.

In panic, she rushed out of the room, drawing attention to herself before finding a bathroom in which to hide. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and she could not get enough air. She slid down to the floor panicked, and breathing roughly when Soojin came rushing into the bathroom.

"Areum, hey look at me." she said as she took Areum's trembling hands in her own and snapped her fingers in front of Areums' face "Just focus on me, come on. You have to calm down." the other girl stared at her with wide and red eyes, unable to breathe.

But as she focused on her friend at least the world around her stopped spinning. "Come on follow my breathing." Soojin said as she put Areum's hand on her own lungs urging the other girl to follow her. Areum had a bit of trouble doing so, but eventually she calmed down enough.

Once Soojin saw this she slid down beside the other girl, letting out a hard sigh "Thank God you're alright." she mumbled and Areum looked at her with wide, trembling eyes "How'd you know I was here?" she asked through hiccups.

Soojin helped her stand on her feet and dusted her off before speaking "Once you ran out of the cafeteria, I ran after you." she paused to give Areum some paper towels and makeup to clean herself up "I saw how panicked you looked and could not leave you alone."

Areum nodded and wiped her face, trying to look somewhat normal "Thank you." Soojin smiled through the mirror and squeezed Areums' hand for comfort "What are friends for Areum-ah?"

The two girls soon enough made their way back to the classroom where some eyes were on Areum and some were not. The four eyes that were on her are those of Jugyeong, Sooah, Suho and Seojun. Her friends and the two idiots who caused her to have a panic attack.

She sits down in her spot and says nothing except a small thank you to Soojin. She can feel the intense stares coming from both behind her and beside her but she does not give them even a glance. They were responsible for her panic attack in the end.

The class went by rather quickly and as soon as the bell rang for the break Sooah and Jugyeong ran up to Areum with concerned faces. "Are you okay? We saw you run out of the lunch room." Sooah said looking Areum over to check for any injuries.

Areum wanted to question them on why they hadn't come out to help her as Soojin did but held it inside herself "Yeah I'm good, just needed some air." the two girls nodded but carried worried expressions.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Jugyeong and Areum nodded once again "I can assure you I'm fine, nothing wrong with me except I'm hungry." due to her panic attack she had not even gotten a bite of her food and she was regretting it now.

But before she could get up and go fetch something to eat, Seojun put a sandwich and her favorite drink on her table. She raised an eyebrow at the action and the boy dismissed her "Eat up or I'll drag you after school." he said before sitting down.

"Jerk." Areum muttered but opened the sandwich to eat while her two friends watched Seojun with disbelief in their eyes. "He acts out of the ordinary around you Areum." the said girl only hummed as her mouth was full "Maybe he likes you?"

Areum choked on her food and Jugyeong had to pat her back in order for her to breathe properly "What? Why would you say that Sooah?" the other girl only smiled teasingly "I mean he does not make fun of you for one."

Areum scoffed but Jugyeong joined in "He's also much nicer to you than he is to us." the girl pointed to herself "Well at least to me." Areum wanted to roll her eyes but coughed "Nah, you have it wrong. We're just childhood friends, nothing more."

"That's what you think Rumi." Sooah said and Areum gave her a look "Where did you hear that?" she asked about the nickname. Only a certain number of people was given the privilege to call her that, and Sooah and Jugyeong were not in that group.

Sooah pointed to Seojun who was now sleeping on his desk with a confused look "I heard him call you that recently." she then furrowed her eyebrows "Do you not like the nickname or?" Areum shook her head "No, I would prefer if you just called me by my name."

Then Jugyeong butted in "Maybe we can give you a new nickname you love!" and so the two girls discussed about the nickname they wanted to give Areum while she ate her food. Honestly she preferred them to call her by her given name.

But she had no will to argue with the two girls, so she let them do their stuff. She texted Seojun a thank you as he was sleeping and made a mental note to repay him later on.

(𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 ♡ 𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒)