Colors ♡ Kim Hongjoong

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 22

Date: November 27

"Yeona," Wooyoung's gentle and singing voice awoke me. "You fell asleep during the movie."

Sitting up, I ran a hand through my hair. I looked around to find everyone but Changbin gone. I must have been asleep for a while. My eyes darted to the clock which told me it was past midnight — my birthday. Something jumped in my chest.

"Thanks for waking me up," I stood, dropping the blanket on the chair. "Where is Yeo?"

"Oh he already went to bed," Wooyoung waved his hand in the air. Changbin chuckled to himself, helping tidy up the living room before he left.

I rolled my eyes, "And he didn't even think to wake me up?"

Joining them, I folded the blankets and picked up pieces of trash from the party. I guess that his parents were already asleep by now, and so were mine. Changbin would be getting home late, and I wondered when everyone else had left. After everything was clean, I went home and got some sleep.

Everyone wished me happy birthday as I entered school the next morning. A few classmates had even brought me gifts which was surprising considering how horrible I had been lately. What was weird though was that Hongjoong was missing from class. While enjoying the strawberry milk someone gifted me, I overheard someone say he wasn't feeling well.

I hid my expression, knowing well that something must be wrong because he had been completely fine last night. Perhaps he would show up later but...if he was using the sick card, then probably not. Did it have something to do with his family situation?

For lunch, I chose to eat outside with Yeosang and Wooyoung. Students passed by and wished me a happy birthday, asking if I had found color yet. Not yet. Realistically, I might not for a while. Sometimes it took a few years. For now, I enjoyed time with my boys.

"Still no color for you either?" I asked Wooyoung.

"Nope, I think she's hiding," he said nonchalantly.

Yeosang dug into his food, "I would too."

"Excuse me?" Wooyoung's head snapped up, and he furrowed his brows. I grinned and patted his shoulder to relax.

"Relax, it's fine," I comforted, "She's probably not even here, or you haven't crossed paths with her yet."

Wooyoung suddenly stood, moving his arms animatedly, "From now on, I'm going to stare down any girl I see."

"No, don't do that," Yeosang warned, "You'll totally creep her out. She might be your soulmate, but first impressions still matter."

"She can learn to love me," Wooyoung sat down, shrugging and making us laugh.

For the rest of school, I did my best to pay attention but I found myself glancing at every boy that passed in the hallway. I tried to be subtle, but maybe Wooyoung was right to think that way. Although, I imagined him not being so subtle. I couldn't even begin to imagine what his reaction would be when he finally found her. I guess it would depend on how long it took to find her.

During literature class, I sat by myself since Hongjoong was absent. I worked on smaller edits when the time came to work on the project. I was a little annoyed that he didn't show up today. Maybe it was self centered of me, but he could have at least wished me a happy birthday if he knew he wasn't going to be here. Sighing, I scratched out a sentence and rewrote it. My pen movements were sloppy and careless. It would have been nice to have someone to work with.

The familiar ache had found its way back into me today. It filled my head and my chest. It must have been partially my fault, because if I was honest, I was a little anxious about meeting my soulmate. What if he was a stranger? What if I barely knew him? What if...he didn't even like me?

My eyes widened. What if I was too much or too little for him? What if he didn't like how study focused and ambitious I was? What if he was the exact opposite of me and was reckless and didn't even try with his academics? I placed a hand on my temple, feeling the pain in my head sharpen.

"Yeona?" The teacher had been strolling around class and had paused by my desk. She whispered, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking."

"Think very intensely by the looks of it," she chuckled before moving on.

I made it through the rest of the day but it was painful. In humanities, I nearly doubled over my desk in pain. I don't know how I managed to keep myself together but as soon as I grabbed my bag and left class, it hit me even worse. I saw Seonghwa and Yunho in the hallway and they greeted me, making comments about how fun Wooyoung's birthday party was. I forced a smile.

"Where is Hongjoong today?" I asked, glancing between them.

"His grandma is in the hospital."

"He's sick today."

I blinked, "Say what now?"

Seonghwa and Yunho had answered in unison and froze, staring at each other. Seonghwa placed a firm arm around Yunho and exhaled a weak laugh.

"Hongjoong's grandma is in the hospital so he's not feeling well today," he gritted out. "He's not sick."

Frowning, I observed the two, "You know...I hope everything is okay with his grandma, but you make a lousy pair of liars."

Wooyoung came bounding over and slung an arm around my shoulder, "I thought Hongjoong was sick today but I just saw him in the practice room. I'm glad he's feeling better, but he totally missed school!"

Seonghwa and Yunho's faces completely fell. I furrowed my brows and gently pushed Wooyoung away. Something wasn't right and I could feel it. It was like I had known all day that Hongjoong wasn't actually sick. It was too suspicious.

"Where are you going?" Wooyoung called after me.

I didn't look back, "To find Hongjoong."