Spring Moon

41

My plan of running away was a failure. Kevin managed to unveil my thought as he ran after me, catching me satisfying my nausea in a bush, a stream of tears dripping from my eyes at the bitterness in my throat and the clench in my heart.

He stayed with me there without saying anything and just comfortingly rubbing circles on my back until I could catch my breath again and finally stop the tears.

The very least I expected from him afterwards was a press to tell what had happened but it never occurred.

Instead, he said, "I didn't bring them with us here to see you running away. If I'm not the person you can tell your feelings, you still have them. Why must you endure it alone?"

Nonsensical.

If I were about to choose to whom should I tell my feelings, Kevin Moon would be the first on the list.

Contrary to being the one who gave the idea of cooking as the first thing to do in this place, I turned the table to be the person who never got to eat. Upon reaching back to the dormitory, I passed out after taking my medication and did not even wake up at any noise from outside.

I did hear Chanhee scream because some bugs were chasing after him but my eyes won't open. My eyelids were too heavy to flutter open so I just continued sleeping without worrying about a thing.

And the twist was, I woke up in the middle of the night, finding out that Faye and Evelyn had gone to sleep after a tiring day. Tch, I just wasted the first day here.

Carefully, I stood up and slid open the door just for my body to pass through. The darkness outside greeted me which made me doubt my decision to come out. I wasn't really good at handling darkness.

But, then, I just noticed now that there was a lamp post near the lounges chairs, the orange light romantically illuminating. And, Kevin was there on one of the chairs with his iPad.

I made my way to him without hesitation. The drag of my feet along the soiled ground must have alerted him because the next second, he whipped his head in my direction- a slight surprise on his face.

"Hey... are you hungry?" The first question left his mouth. Well, it was expected, right?

But, I shook my head.

"I'm not..." I breathed out, slowly plopping down on the chair next to him.

"How come? You haven't eaten anything yet, Ivy," he complained. "Stay here, I'll take out the foods we left for you."

He was about to get up when I pulled his hand and forced him to sit back. Of course, he was dissatisfied but at one point I managed to assure him well.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" I questioned, watching over the new picture he drew on his iPad - the starry night view.

"I suck at sleeping," he replied playfully. "So, I draw this for you to paint later."

I smiled, peeking up at the dark sky with stars hanging next. This would never fail to be my comfort space. The stuffiness in my chest instantly went away just at a simple glance. But, it also had been a weapon to my weakness.

The weakness of spilling everything out.

"Earlier, Sangyeon called me," I found myself talking willingly. "I threw a bait for him to tell me about Daisy. How fool I was to invite myself into my own pain."

Kevin remained silent but his sigh was too loud to ignore. He must have felt angry as well at my own decision.

"Can I tell you something?" I looked into his eyes and he nodded with pursed lips. "The real reason why I refused to see Daisy to discuss this problem is because I'm scared."

Kevin frowned, shifting in his seat to focus more on me. Then he asked, "How so?"

I shut my eyes, a bit scared of spilling the truth. Everything that would be coming out of my mouth right now had never been disclosed to any of the boys. This would mark the first time and I was scared of the perception Kevin would have.

"For numerous times of her rebellion on us, I've been her target, I am the problematic one in her eyes. And she thought Faye and Evelyn were just following my track," I looked on my lap. "But, she didn't realize that she's the problematic one, not us. She was too sensitive and had gone overboard with that feeling."

"What exactly happened recently that has driven her like this?" Kevin asked away.

"We... overlooked her text."

"What?" Kevin scoffed. "Just that?"

"And maybe... there was one day she'd gone on a trip with her boyfriend and the three of us hung out together without telling her. So..."

"Wait... wait... even you guys told her about the plan, she couldn't make it," Kevin scoffed, looking distressed. "So she was so mad about it that she started this war online? I mean, this is so ridiculous, Ivy."

I know, we know.

I sighed. "Had only we known that she would do this, we shouldn't have accepted her again when she apologized last time. Damage's been done."

Kevin slumped in the chair, defeated. I was sure none of this had ever happened in a male circle, he must have been so shocked to hear. Because I vividly remember being shocked when I first found out about this.

In the comfortable silence engulfing us, I looked up at the sky, hoping to recover from all these unwanted feelings and God had prepared something comforting for me.

"Oh, shooting star!" I exclaimed amusingly upon seeing the single meteor dashed across the galaxy. Excitedly, I turned to Kevin and said, "Do you believe that whatever wish we make at the shooting star will come true?"

"No, I don't," I pondered at his remark, knowing best that there was a continuation. "I only believe in one star who I call my starlight. She's brighter than any star in the sky. And so far every wish I make upon her will always come true."

Immediately, the smile on my face outstretched, popping up my cheekbones until it felt so hurt. Heat flushed to my cheeks and I could feel them burned. His remark was so strong on me that even though it felt cringe I couldn't stop to flutter.

My toes curled up when I said, "Then, we're the great combination of the universe - the moon and the star."

Kevin then gasped, "Wait... is my catchphrase approved? Thank God... it's hard to impress an author."

I cackled. He was so silly and random which I'd never seen before. Day by day I could break open his petals one by one and saw a new side of him. And I loved it.

"What should I do after this?" I sighed to the sky. "Should I work in Evelyn's cafe? I don't think other places will hire me to work. Not after all the scandalous posts Daisy made."

"Why do you think you can't write again?" Kevin questioned as he leaned closer to me. "You can still write on a different name or we can create another platform for you. Do you forget who am I? I was the one who established Moonlights."

"And you're going to establish something new for me?" He nodded at my question. "No, Kev... You've done so much. Besides, if I go with a different name, people can find out because each writer has their own colour in their writing."

"But, I'm not going to see you stop writing," his gaze was so sharp that I was scared it could cut me open. "Remark my words, love... If I need to step up for you, I will."