ᴘᴀɪɴᴛ ꜱᴛʀᴇᴀᴋꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʟᴀɴᴋ ᴄᴀɴᴠᴀꜱᴇꜱ 🖌 ʏᴜɴʜᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

T W E N T Y - S E V E N

As her parents could feel the guilt weighing her down, they started to encourage Y/N to open up to them, telling her that they're there if she need them. Y/N immediately burst into tears and hugged them both, repeating, 'Thank you thank you thank you,' over and over again.

Days went by when they managed to convince Y/N to go to school again, as they saw her grades go up recently and don't want the potential wasted. Her mother had helped her clean up her room and self, buying her more and more care products to look less tired and more refreshed. 

Y/N knees are wobbling as she shut the door to her car, her steps slow-paced and calculated. Groups of teenagers quickly filled up her view as he continued further into the school grounds. Anxiety electrocuted her heart as she stepped inside her homeroom class. All eyes on here, watching, observing. Y/N gulped and took a seat at the far back, averting eyes with the people near her.

Looking up from the desk, she could see a familiar pair, Yuqi and Chuu. They looked happy, giggling and chatting with each other, which made Y/N feel even more lonely.  The second bell of the day rang and everyone got up from their seats. Y/N walked the hallways seldomly until she was stopped someone.

"Y/N..?"

She turned around to find Yuqi following her, a worried look on her face, "You're back.."

"Yeah," Y/N replied coldly, she took a deep breath before attempting to walk away.

"Wait-"

Yuqi placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her around, "Where were you? You were gone for so long.."

"Guess," A self-deprecating smiled appeared on her face, before shoving her hand away and going to class. 

Yuqi stood there, puzzled by what had happened. Her lips pressed into a thin line and walked away.  Y/N stopped in her tracks as she had thought about what she said. Why was she so.. distant?  Yuqi hadn't upset her in anyways; why is she pushing people away? The more she walked, the more she could sense the whispers following her wherever she went, the glances that lingered a little too long. 

In class, she sat quietly at the far end, avoiding any eye contact. The teacher droned on about something, but Y/N's mind was elsewhere. She stared at the board, her vision blurring as her thoughts spiraled back to all the mistakes she had made, wondering if it would ever get easier. Her eyes drooped as time went on, wanting to be anywhere else than here.

At lunchtime, she headed to the library instead of the cafeteria. She couldn't face sitting alone in a sea of people, pretending like she wasn't being judged; hell she couldn't face her friends again, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness.

 The library was quieter, safer. As she walked between the shelves of books, she spotted a familiar figure hunched over a table, Yunho. His crutches were propped against the chair, and he was scribbling something in a notebook.

Y/N's heart leapt in joy but was quickly followed by a empty feeling. He looked so calm, in his own little bubble; she didn't want to disturb his peace. She was going to turn around when he noticed her.

"Y/N!" He held his crutches and limped over towards her.

"Oh no, don't." She walked over to him, not wanting to to accidently hurt himself.

Y/N was right in front of him, her presence sending a wave of joy to Yunho. "Come here, sit." He sat back down and patted the seat next to him.

She hesitated for a bit but eventually sat on the chair, scooching it slightly further away from him when he noticed and pulled her seat right next to him, "Why are you avoiding me?"

"Hm?" Panic seeped into her eyes, looking around to find an answer, "Uhh.."

Yunho sighed, realizing the weight of her anxiety. She was still struggling, and the cracks in her voice made it all too clear. He gently placed the notebook he'd been holding on the table, leaning forward.

"You've been distant," Yunho said gently, his eyes searching hers. "You don't have to pretend with me, Y/N. What's going on?"

Y/N stared down at her hands, her fingers twisting in her lap. "It's nothing," she muttered, but the words were hollow.

Yunho frowned slightly, leaning in closer. "Come on, it's me. You know you can talk to me. Ever since you came back, you've been shutting everyone out."

"How do you know that?"

"Your friend told me," He stated, "That blonde one." Yuqi.

Y/N flinched at the memory. Yunho's gripped on her arm slightly, not in a forceful way, but enough to ground her. He cupped her chin gently and made her face him, searching for any speck of hope left in her eyes.

"I found a way to fix this, hopefully." He grinned.

"Fix what?"

Yunho pulled out his laptop, typing in his password and clicking a couple files before he opened a document titled, 'for her'. And the contents of it were.. Questionable. Articles of Jung Seojun, Principal Kang and a couple of interviews and quotes from other people at school. Oh, it was that kind of evidence.

"W-what's all that?"

"Evidence," He scrolled through the document, showing more and more links, pictures, video tapes and who knows what else. 

Y/N grabbed his hand to stop him from scrolling further, "What are you using that for?"

"It's for you," He said, "I'll get Wooyoung and Taehyun in jail, you won't have to worry anymore."

"But-" Her eyes widened as he look at one of the pictures, showing her smearing his face with paint, the guilt drilling right back at her, "I'll get in trouble too. You don't need to do any of this, I'm fine-"

"Y/N," Yunho grasped her hand tighter, "I know I said I forgave you, and I did but.. It wasn't just me."

"Yunho-"

"Please," He pleaded, "I can bail you out if it gets serious, or I'll pay someone else to do it. On the brightside, the others will be in jail for however long they-"

"Do you even love me?"

Yunho's eyes widened at Y/N's statement, he didn't expect that. "What do you mean? Of course I do-"

"Why are you trying to get me in trouble on purpose?" Tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Please, it's for the better," He instinctively leaned closer to her, "For the both of us, and-"

"You don't care do you?" She stammered, "I've been through all that and you don't give a-"

"I'VE BEEN THROUGH WORSE!"

 Y/N fell silent as the realization hit her, he has been through worse, way worse; and she was the reason.

"Wait, I'm sorry I forgot," She pulled on his shirt sleeve when she noticed that he was grabbing his crutches, "Please don't leave me."

A look of bewilderment and confusion flashed across Yunho's face, "Leave you? I'm not leaving you I just-.. Need a bit of space."

She fell devastated as he got up, tripping slightly as he balanced himself, "See you around?" He tilted his head.

"Let me help you-" Y/N got up and took the bag off his shoulder and walked alongside him.

"You don't need to," He faced her, his smile shining like the summer's sun, "But thanks."