Storm. || Zen/Hyun Ryu

[14]: you.

5 days till moving day (if you don't remember, reader mentioned in chapter 5 that they were going to move into another house)

"Hey mum, I have a question."

She hummed in response, indicating that she was listening.

"If one of your classma-- er, friends happened to be homeless, what would you do?" I questioned straightforwardly, tilting my head a bit.

Her eyes shot up from her book to me, confusion written on her face. Her lips part as if she was going to say something but no words fall out. "Why would you ask--"

"I don't know, just think about it. What would you do?" I repeated in an impatient manner. Mom shrugs and folds the corner of the page she was reading before closing her book.

"Well.." She starts, in the midst of her thoughts. "I'd give them money," she simply states, zero sympathy behind her voice. I frowned a little bit, disappointed at her blunt response.

"But...." My voice trails off, still at a loss of words. "It's your friend!" My voice unintentionally comes out strained and defensive.

I didn't mean to raise my voice, but her answer left me somewhat annoyed. "Wouldn't you want to do more though..?"

Mom sighs, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "I don't know [Y/N]... Why are you asking me this?" I remain silent, unsure of what to tell her.

Both her eyebrows lift up, making an eager look on her face. I mentally roll my eyes, knowing that she wasn't going to drop the topic.

"I um.. kind of know someone who ran away from his family...?" I admit, my statement coming out as more of a question.

Again, there is no hint of sympathy or concern visible on her face. It was her turn to raise her voice, "His? What are you even suggesting we do about it?"

"... Let him move in with us?" I answer hesitantly, scared for her reaction.

A look of disapproval forms on her face. She shakes her head before letting out a loud and clear "no".

I instantly protest, "But--"

"No, [Y/N]. It is not my job to serve and take care of another individual! I work my butt off every day, and maybe even night to support just the two of us! Imagine how much more I'd have to spend with another person-- plus the fact we're going to live in a more expensive house!" She yells, nothing but anger shown in her expression. I could tell she had a long day at work, since she usually had a lot of patience.

She takes a few breathes in attempt to calm down before continuing, "[Y/N], your friend is the one at fault here for running away."

A gap opens between my front and bottom teeth, making an o shape. I offered her a grimace of disgust-- directed exactly at her. I couldn't believe my ears.

"How could you just say that?" I choked out, taking a step away from her. My eyebrows lower into a sad expression.

An awkward and uncomfortable silence settles in the air. I thought about defending Zen a little more, but we both knew we were too tired to argue further.

I simply sighed before leaving the room, "I'm going to the rooftop."

* * *

I rested my arms against the edge of the balcony gate, my eyes so focused on the night sky that every pain and trouble living in the back of my mind had temporarily faded away. The fact that Willow was ignoring me, the fact that Hyun is homeless, the fact that my mom and I had a disagreement-- were almost forgotten about in my mind when I looked at the sky. The scenery was so intoxicating-- almost like a drug.

'Drug,' I reiterated in my head. Drug-- cigarettes-- Zen.

And then all of it came back so suddenly-- all of the problems and hurt had completely clouded all my thoughts once again.

"Why do you even bother?" I remember him asking.

Why did I even bother? For all I knew, I could have just left him by now and went on with my life-- but still, I didn't. Yet, what was holding me back?

I slid my phone out of my pocket and dialed Zen's number. I needed to talk to someone.

After a few seconds, the line connects.

"Hey," I greet casually. ".... Sorry, were you busy?"

He chuckles, and I could perfectly visualize his smile. "No, what's up?"

"I don't know.. I just needed someone to talk to," I say, and it hits me how stupid that sounded. "I-I'm sorry, you have enough problems.. I'm just being really dumb. I'll just hang up-"

"No, no, no! Go ahead, I don't mind. I'm glad you called me," He tells me, and it takes me less than a second to realize he was being completely sincere. My heart flutters at his kindness.

I thanked him before moving to the topic of my mom and I. I told him all about how mom answered my question, about how we raised our voices at each other-- and especially about how she said it was his fault for running away.

I hated myself for making him even more upset, but he just kept reassuring me that it was fine despite the cracks in his voice.

Sorrow invaded my chest. I came to the conclusion that he deserved none of the bullshit he goes through, but a question stays in the back of my mind.

"Hyun, if you don't mind me asking.. Why did you run away?" I ask, gritting my teeth.

I hear a sad sigh on the other line, which is the last sound he makes before we both drift into a silence. The question must have been too complicated to answer-- especially to someone he's been friends with for less than a week.

".....Let's make a deal." I tilt my head in confusion at the sudden topic change, but I listen anyway.

"Remember when you said the view of the rooftop during the night time was better than it was during the daylight?"

I hummed in response, "Yeah, I'm looking at it right now."

"Show me the view and I'll tell you all about why I ran away," He says, and I can almost hear him smile. My heart flutters again and I don't know why.

"...I can arrange that," My lips curled into a playful smirk.

Zen chuckles,"Okay, I look forward to it... Good night, [Y/N]."

"Good night, Hyun..." I say back, before hanging up.

I place my phone back in my pocket. A blush spreads across my cheeks and I start sweating and fanning myself. The air had suddenly became so hot and I had no clue as to why.

God.. what are you doing to me, Zen?