False Impressions I Book 1: Lee Heeseung

Chapter 10: Distantly

Looking at something she unknowingly dropped, Heeseung couldn't help but chuckled soundly. Choi Aerin is not only unbelievable but ridiculously clumsy. Beyond the mess of the trauma kit sprawled beside him, Aerin's mobile phone also laid freely on the floor. She never gets to realize she had lost something while taking her way out.

"Tsss. Miss pretty is so clumsy." Heeseung chortled in amusement.

He never thought lying on the floor, thinking about nothing at all will feel like a reward he ought to find. He didn't have so much leisure in the last four years after he debuted. 

But her eyes.

There she goes again. Invading his thoughts that fast and easy. It came in quite unawares, like a thief in the night.

"Ah, fuck--" Heeseung groans.

"What the hell, Hee?"

Yuki arrived, flustered and about to break it. He shakes his head seeing him motionless on the wide floor space.

"Relax. I'm still alive." Heeseung chaffed.

"You're giving me a hard time, like seriously."

"Sorry. Don't be too hard on Sunghoon. I'll take all the blame. Leave the boys out of this."

Yuki clicked his tongue and intensely jibbed his head. "I don't know what to think anymore. What are you thinking, Hee? Choi Aerin is the antagonist here. Why go this far for someone who attempted to destroy your name?"

Heeseung smiled, followed by a titter. "I can't believe you're asking me that when I'm the one who wanted an answer, Yuki."

"What?"

"Aerin's questionnaire. Did you give it back to her?"

"W-Well, yes. Not personally, though. I couldn't find her anywhere so I just slid it right to her door."

"You what?" Heeseung shakily laughed. "So this hullabaloo started because you failed my request. You're at fault of all this mess, Yuki." 

"I can't believe you're taking your current state as a form of joke. You're sliding down, Hee. You're losing fans, real fans. You have to strike back, work harder, come back even more stronger. And to tell you the truth, I don't know how to strategize on your behalf anymore."

"What do you mean by more? Flirt even more? Go way overboard? Kiss a fan?"

"You're talking rubbish, Hee."

"What do you think I'm doing now? Who practiced at this hour though? Literally killing myself." Heeseung chimed remembering Aerin's words.

"Honestly, you'll get fried even before you can bounce back. Come on, get up. You need sleep."

"I can't get up. It hurts."

Yuki jumped to get to him. "Did Choi Aerin hurt you?! What did she do?!"

Heeseung laughs even more. "Don't be such a dope. My knee hurts. Pull me up. Let's head to the hospital first, can we?"

Taking a route to seek medical attention suprises him. Stubborn as he is, Heeseung would certainly shrug off the injury. But those eyes that looks like pleading suddenly took a notch on his froze up brain, hence the abrupt he didn't see coming.

Having Yuki pulled him up to stand, Heeseung grabbed Aerin's phone and kept it steady inside his pocket. Giving it back to her will rip the snag. He can see her again. Heeseung jolted from the last thought.

No fucking way.

"Are you okay?"

"Choi Aerin--" he started.