Our Story | HaJeongwoo

Our Beginning | Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Out of Curiosity

It's been a week since Haruto and Jeongwoo last spent time together.

A week has passed since Haruto saw the unreadable expression Jeongwoo had when he said the female's name-Hana.

There was no day that the questions left his mind. Dusk until dawn, it kept him occupied. No matter how hard he tried to distract himself.

Haruto groaned. "Why am I even thinking about her!" He whispered in frustration.

"Why do I even care about a female name? And what does she have with Jeongwoo?"

Rather than empathy, an annoying and provoking laughter spread throughout his room. Haruto is currently in a video call with his seniors in the band club.

Choi Hyunsuk, an accessory addict drummer and the oldest among them. Park Jihoon, a bright red haired bassist. And Hamada Asahi, the silent pianist and the only Japanese member.

"Guys, guys, who's gonna tell him?" Jihoon hardly said, trying to calm himself from laughing hard.

Hyunsuk smacked Jihoon's shoulder. "Stop. You look stupid and disgusting at your state right now."

Meanwhile, Asahi just stared at Haruto from the screen, in his own train of thoughts.

" You've been thinking of who that girl was from a week ago. You're familiar with the name but haven't seen her yet, yeah?" Hyunsuk asked, checking if he got it correctly.

Haruto nodded at him, shoulders slumping and pushing his face further into his pillow.

Hyunsuk sighed, "Why are you even putting that much time and thought for a name that you said you don't care about?"

Jihoon, who calmed down a bit, rolled his eyes. "Of course he cared! He would've just shrugged it off if he didn't feel weird about it."

"Like what, Jihoon?"

Jihoon looked at Hyunsuk with a 'duh' expression, "Haruto likes his best friend for life."

Haruto snapped his head up. " I do not! Since when? I'm just curious! Why would I like him? That... No." He argued, eyes shaking.

Haruto's mind raced like a hamster on a wheel, each thought chasing its tail. His fingers drummed a nervous rhythm on the table as he tried to focus on the conversation, but his gaze kept drifting to the window.

"Actually, I overheard something a month before..." Haruto said hesitantly .

Hyunsuk and Jihoon exchange a curious glance. Asahi maintains his usual calm demeanor, but his eyes show interest.

"Spit it out, Haruto. We're all ears." Hyunsuk said.

Taking a deep breath, Haruto stammered. "Well, I was passing by Jeongwoo's locker and I accidentally heard him talking to someone on the phone."

"Ooh, juicy gossip!" Jihoon exclaimed excitedly.

Haruto ignored Jihoon and continued. "He mentioned Hana, but this time... it was different. He sounded... I don't know, worried? Concerned?"

"Perhaps you misunderstood?" Asahi quietly said.

Haruto shakes his head. "No, I'm sure I didn't. He was saying something about Hana getting in trouble, or something bad happening to her."

"I don't really know what to reply after that." Hyunsuk said, looking at Jihoon and Asahi but earning nothing.

"It's fine," He stuttered. "Besides, I - this.. this is just out of curiosity, I swear." Haruto looked away while his hands formed fists under the pillow.

"Uh-huh, let's pretend I believed that, Haruto." Jihoon replied boredly.

"Why not ask him about it?" Asahi finally said something again after staring for at least thirty minutes since the call started.

"Instead of thinking 24/7 for seven days straight which I believe will continue on, why not man up and ask him yourself?"

"Asahi," Haruto sighed. "It's not as easy as you think it is..."

"Bold of you to assume that I said that was an easy thing to do."

"I-" Haruto was dumbfounded and was about to say something but he chose to let it go and close his eyes. "Y'all aren't helping."

"I say, you confess to Jeongwoo first and ask about that female name or whatever it is that's been bugging you." Hyunsuk suggested, leaning his face on his right hand resting on the table.

"What? No! Asking about her is just.. embarrassing as hell!"

"So you do like Jeongwoo." Jihoon teased, giving a high-five to Hyunsuk as they both chuckled.

Haruto looked at them in disbelief.

"Guys. I do not like him, okay? That's it. End of the conversation."

"You're caught red-handed, Watanabe." Asahi said. "Besides, it's clear as day."

Hyunsuk nodded. "Took you three years to realize how much you like him."

"I can't believe I fell for something stupid." Haruto muttered.

"Well, you're stupid, that's first. Second, you're in denial. Lastly, you're both." Jihoon replied with a big smile on his face before a flying pillow landed on it.

" Do you ever shut up? You're not making any sense." Hyunsuk bickered.

"News flash. Not everyone sees me the same way you do. And I am helping." Jihoon squinted his eyes, shoving the pillow back to Hyunsuk.

Asahi and Haruto sighed at the sight of them.

Haruto crossed his arms. "You're supposed to help me solve my problem, not us watching you bicker."

Jihoon and Hyunsuk glanced at him and stopped pushing each other.

"We're trying to help you but how can we help if you're still in denial of your own feelings?" Jihoon said seriously, his face turned stern.

Hyunsuk agreed. "We suggested plenty of things you could do but it's clear that you still don't know whatever state you're in."

Haruto looked down. To be honest, he really doesn't know. All he knew was his heart was clenching everytime he thought of Hana's name or thought of a scenario about Jeongwoo and Hana.

"I know you already have an idea of what's happening to you and what you're feeling about that, towards him." Asahi comforted, giving an assuring smile.

"Just listen to yourself, Haruto." Hyunsuk assured him. "Follow what's on your mind."

"Close your eyes and ask yourself." Jihoon suggested.

Haruto followed. He closed his eyes and asked. He knew he couldn't like Jeongwoo, he didn't.

"It said," Haruto muttered. "I'll just stick back and stay where I am."

He opened his eyes to see his bandmates stare at him with blank expression.

"....."

"That's what it told me. Is that right?" Haruto tilted his head to the right, attempting to read their expression.

Jihoon was the first to move and reached towards their iPad. "Yeah, I'm done with this shit."

And the call ended.

"Wha- Hey!" Haruto yelled. "Those guys, I'm asking for help and they ended the call."

He groaned and laid on his bed, messing his hair in frustration.

Ding! A message was sent.

It read, "Solve your problem, Haruto. You won't listen anyways. Talk to us when you gather your thoughts out."

Haruto was one hundred percent sure that Jihoon was the one who said the first, Hyunsuk was the second sentence, and the last was from Asahi.

His friends were right. Haruto needs to know first what he really feels about Jeongwoo. Is he just in denial and has growing feelings for him or he's just really curious.