Strange Hearts || Heeseung

17

Yuju silently watched Heeseung from her seat. He was sitting on his desk, and around him was seemingly the whole class. They laughed and joked, but Yuju couldn't see Heeseung's face because he had his back to her. When she had entered the classroom today, he had ignored her. He hadn't even said hello or smiled at her, unlike Yuju, who had greeted him. Did he find it embarrassing to acknowledge their acquaintance in front of others? What must it be like to be famous and popular, Yuju wondered.

She pulled her hoodie hood over her head and rested her head on her arms on the desk. Even though it was cold today, Yuju felt warm when she thought back to yesterday. She had only managed to sleep for two hours again, but for the entire time, she had been happy—except for the part when her sister, Yuria, had drunkenly come home late at night.

Everything that had happened over the last few weeks might seem little to some, but for Yuju, it was a lot. She had never wanted to make friends—either because of sympathy for her illness or the fear of being betrayed. Above all, she had never imagined that she, of all people, would ever exchange more than a word with Lee Heeseung.

Yuju also wondered why Heeseung wanted to do all these things with her that were in her diary. Even when they first met, it had seemed suspicious to her that he had done so many things with her. Sure, it had been because of the photo, but he could have just threatened her and not wasted time with her, right?

"Yuju, should we meet today at Garju?" Garam asked as Yuju was putting her books in her locker. Yuju felt her gaze on her. She nodded at Garam and tried to walk away, but Garam grabbed her arm.

Yuju looked at her questioningly. Garam was silent for a few seconds, and if Yuju wasn't mistaken, she could see a few tears on Garam's face.

Garam let go of her hand and smiled as she wiped her face with her hand. She looked at Yuju and said, "I'm happy."

Once Garam disappeared from her view, Yuju headed to the girls' bathroom. When she entered, she saw three girls from her class standing at a sink, applying makeup. She wanted to go into a stall, but she was pushed inside, and soon she was in the stall with all three of them.

"You're Yuju, right?" asked the smallest of them, named Jisa. Yuju silently nodded, just wanting the three of them to leave.

"Just so you know, Garam is using you to get a good grade," Hiyeri started. Yuju wasn't surprised. On the contrary, she had suspected something like this.

"We gossip about you every break. Just because she's nice to you doesn't mean she likes you. Garam-chan is our diva, she knows she's better than you," Nako finished, and the three of them left the stall.

Yuju had never expected anything different from Garam. She was the most popular girl in school, and she would never want to have a friendship with someone like Yuju, a freak.

The same coldness extended to their studying sessions. Yuju tried only to talk about the project with Garam, nothing else. Garam invited Yuju for a coffee, but Yuju declined.

"04:21," Yuju murmured, turning off her phone. She rolled over to the other side of her bed and hugged her pillow. She had been trying to fall asleep for three hours, but it wasn't working. She had slept from 11 pm to 1 am, but then she had woken up again.

Insomnia was worse than her sick heart. She had never been able to sleep normally at night. Only rarely could she sleep for seven hours.

Yuju sat up and leaned against the wall when her phone rang. Surprised, she answered without checking who it was.

"Come to the Han River," she heard Heeseung's voice, who immediately hung up. Without making a decision for herself, Yuju got up, threw on a fluffy jacket over her joggers and T-shirt, and left her apartment.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the Han River and saw Heeseung standing there. Tired, she stood next to him and closed her eyes, hoping she could fall asleep while standing.

"You're here," Heeseung's voice pulled her out of her half-sleep. Yuju nodded and let her head drop, but then a question came to her mind.

"How did you know I wouldn't be sleeping at this time? I don't remember ever telling you about my insomnia," Yuju wondered. She shivered a little because of the cold wind until Heeseung moved closer to her, and their arms brushed together.

"You don't have to know about someone's insomnia to recognize that they have it. You've been half-sleeping through the entire school day," he replied.

Yuju smiled quietly to herself. Somehow, it made her happy that Heeseung was watching her in class.

Suddenly, Heeseung handed Yuju a strawberry milk. He pressed it into her hands without looking into her questioning eyes.

"W-why are you doing all this for me?" she stuttered. He kneeled in front of her and tied her loose shoes. Yuju's gaze was fixed on him, but that didn't seem to bother him.

"I don't know," he murmured, standing back up and looking into Yuju's eyes from above.

"Catch me."

Suddenly, Heeseung ran off. Yuju shoved the strawberry milk into her jacket pocket and ran after him without thinking.

"I'm right in front of you, why can't you catch me?" he laughed at her and started walking backward. Annoyed, Yuju tried to catch him, swinging her arms, but suddenly she tripped over a stone.

Before she could hit the ground, she fell into Heeseung's embrace. Her face landed on his chest, and her hands were held in his large, warm ones. Heeseung stroked her head, and Yuju looked up at him.

"See, you can walk normally without getting an attack," he smiled gently at her. Yuju nodded. How had he done it, so her heart didn't hurt?

"The second thing on your wishlist is probably crossed off," he grinned. He bent down toward her eyes and said,

"Now it's my turn to catch you."