Guts (EXO)

Espy

“Hyerin.”

Hyerin snapped out of her thoughts to look up at Tao beside her. Seeing her surprised expression, he laughed, ruffling the top of her head.

“You know, you’ve been dazing off a lot lately,” Tao said, shaking his head good-naturedly. “Something bothering you?”

Hyerin blinked at him a couple of times before leaving him to continue their walk. They were at a traditional outdoor market near the city and away from their home to buy meat and other ingredients for their dinner in a few hours. The market was bustling with activity and it reminded both Hyerin and Tao of Dongdaemun back in Seoul.

“You didn’t answer my question!” Tao said, wrapping his coat tighter around him as he squinted at Hyerin. He couldn’t see well because of the sun.

Hyerin rolled her eyes. “There’s never a time where something’s not bothering me, Zitao,” she mumbled, picking out assorted fruits. “You should know that by now.”

Tao chuckled. “Then what are you worrying about now?”

She was in the middle of comparing two mangoes when her eyes lowered down to the ground, hit by the thought of that one person who’s been on her mind since the wee hours of the morning.

“I don’t know,” Hyerin dismissed.

“Mhm.” Tao raised a brow knowingly, folding his arms. “It’s Kyungsoo, isn’t it?”

Hyerin abruptly looked up to glare at the boy, her short shoulder-length hair swishing everywhere. She punched him on the arm, embarrassed.

Tao laughed out loud, earning curious looks from civilians. “You’re not even denying it!”

“Shut up, Tao,” she mumbled, burying the lower half of her face into her scarf.

“Oh my god. You’re blushing. Kim Hyerin is blushing,” he said incredulously, lifting her chin to study her face with amusement. “What is happening to the world!?”

She slapped his hand away. “Quit it, asshole!” she hissed, cheeks reddening despite herself.

Tao ruffled her hair. “Aww, that’s so cute! So what’s up? You miss him?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, knowing that she did miss him. She really did.

Tao scowled. “Uhuh.”

Hyerin sighed. “It’s been a month and two weeks, almost three, and I’m just worried about him, that’s all,” she said before bagging all the fruits she picked out. “Who knows what’s happening back there, y’know?”

Tao used his hands to shield his eyes from the sun. “Well I tried asking locals around here about what they think of the takeover and they’re pretty much just as clueless as we are. A bunch of ‘em are really scared of what might happen but they have no idea who started it and why. The media is useless at this point, too,” he said, keeping his voice low. “But that’s besides the point! So you’re worried about him, huh? Do you like him or not?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you miss him.”

“…I guess I kinda do.”

“Well then you do! You do like him!” He grinned. “Don’t think I didn’t see that kiss before we left.”

Hyerin punched him on the arm before handing the vendor the bag of fruit she wanted to purchase. “Don’t ever mention anything about that again!”

“Oh, please, Hyerin. You’re in denial! A part of you liked that kiss and might have been waiting for it to happen for a very long time now,” he said, watching as she pulled out a couple of bills. “Actually you might not even like him. Maybe it’s something more.”