RIIZE | Tuesdays with You 《Anton》Completed✔

Chapter 8: The Other Side

Lola sat at her desk, staring blankly at the blackboard. The words the teacher spoke were muffled, blending into the background noise of a day that felt heavy and endless. Her mind wasn't on school, nor her friends. All she could think about was Anton—the way his hand felt in hers last night and his voice's softness when he tried to reassure her. She wanted to be with him, to hold on to whatever time they had left, but he wouldn't let her. He kept pushing her away from the one part of his life she desperately wanted to understand.

At lunch, Bobbi noticed her odd silence. They sat together outside, where Bobbi had insisted they get food from a café across the street, hoping it would cheer Lola up. But Lola was quiet, her tray untouched.

"Lola, are you okay?" Bobbi asked, her brows furrowing with concern. "You haven't said a word all day."

Lola glanced at her, trying to muster a smile, but it faltered almost immediately. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied quietly, but the words felt hollow as if they didn't belong to her.

Bobbi wasn't convinced. "Come on. You don't even look like you're here right now. Did something happen with Anton? Are you guys... okay?"

Lola stiffened at the mention of his name. She hadn't told Bobbi about Anton's illness, hadn't shared the weight of the secret she now carried. It felt too big and heavy, and she didn't want to burden Bobbi. But her friend's concern gnawed at her, making her feel more isolated than ever.

"No, it's not that... I mean, we're fine," Lola said, her voice trembling slightly. "I just... I don't know, Bobbi. There's so much going on that I can't really talk about."

Bobbi, sensing the depth of Lola's struggle but not knowing the cause, bit her lip thoughtfully. "Well, whatever it is, you know I'm here for you, right? You don't have to keep things bottled up."

Lola nodded, though she couldn't bring herself to explain.

After a moment, Bobbi decided to change the subject. She hesitated but then softly said, "There's something I think you should know. Sungchan... he's been asking about you."

Lola blinked, surprised. "Sungchan?"

"Yeah." Bobbi nodded, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. "He told me he feels terrible about how things ended between you two. He said he regrets being selfish and... seeing you happy with Anton made him realize how much he messed up. He even said he wanted to be better."

Lola didn't respond at first, processing Bobbi's words. Sungchan had always been someone in the background for her these past months, a distant memory of a life she had before Anton came into her world. Now, it felt strange to think about him, especially when her mind was so clouded with thoughts of Anton's illness.

"Did he really say that?" Lola asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, he did. He's been missing team practice, too. I think he's really trying to figure things out."

Lola stared down at her hands, feeling a strange mix of emotions. It wasn't that she still had feelings for Sungchan—those had faded long ago—but hearing about his change made her heart ache in a way she didn't expect. Maybe it was because everything with Anton felt so uncertain, so fragile, and hearing about someone trying to fix their mistakes made her wonder why things couldn't be that simple for her.

Bobbi watched her closely, waiting for a response, but instead of saying anything, Lola felt tears welling up in her eyes. She hadn't cried since that night with Anton, and hadn't allowed herself to break down in front of anyone else. But now, with Bobbi's concern and Sungchan's regrets swirling in her mind, everything came crashing down.

Her shoulders shook as the tears spilled over, and before she knew it, she was crying openly, her hands covering her face as she tried to stifle her sobs.