缘分 y͏u͏a͏n͏f͏e͏n͏ -; j͏u͏n͏g͏r͏i͏

c a i m 該隱

(n. ) lit. "sanctuary"; an invisible circle of protection, drawnaround the body with the hand, that reminds you that you are safe and loved,even in the darkest times

'i think love is about
being your darkest, most destructiveself. to be loved, not in spiteof this but because of it.'
― lang leav

jeongguk glances over to the opposite side of his lockers, hoping to spot the small brunette female yet the corners of his lips curve downwards in disappointment at the absence of her at her usual locker. it has been two days since yerim has attended school, and he is worried. he attempted contacting her via messages and calls, but there was no response as most of his calls only went to her voicemail instantly.

shutting, or rather, slamming his locker door in frustration, scaring his friends, jimin and taehyung, who are by his side and deeply engrossed in their hands phones, one of them, taehyung clutches his chest, "jesus, jeon, can't you be gentle a little?"

"not in the mood," the male mutters back, catching sight of one of yerim's closest friends, sooyoung and immediately strides towards the black-haired female, grabbing her wrist as the she turns around in surprise, before narrowing her eyes.

"jeongguk."

"sooyoung."

both of them exchange short greetings, as the male releases his grip around her wrist while arranging his bag strap on his shoulder, "where is yerim?" sooyoung arches an eyebrow upwards, biting on her lower lips and within that few seconds, jeongguk senses the hesitation from the girl.

"did something happen to her?" he asks immediately, frowning slightly as his heart clenches tightly in anxiety and worry, afraid to hear the girl's reply. sooyoung's expression then hardens, before shaking her head, "no, not that i know of. she caught a cold, that's all."

"are you sure?" jeongguk asks again, finding her answer slightly off. sooyoung then glares at him coldly, "look, yerim is fine, she's alright. just because you're wooing her doesn't mean she needs to report to you wherever she is or how she is feeling, so drop it jeon. she will be coming to school later, just not now."

before the male can even ask why later, sooyoung walks off towards her group of friends, who are huddling closer at another side of the lockers, leaving the male standing there with clenched fists and gritted teeth. he feels helpless ― not knowing where or how yerim is, unable to get hold of her or even getting some decent answers from her group of friends. but he expected it, everything about yerim is so secretive.

"jeon jeongguk," he introduces himself towards the girl, who is staring at the opened book before her. yet, she barely raises her head to return the greeting, simply mumbling softly, "yerim." the male awkwardly pulls back his hand, while taking a seat beside the female, glancing at her curiously.

"do you like not speak?" jeongguk asks after a few minutes of silence, staring at yerim with his puzzled and confused eyes. he remembers her laughing with her group of friends, smiling as their companion means the whole world to her, but other than that, she's always wearing her poker face and barely communicates with any other.

the male then stretches his hand outwards to touch her shoulder when yerim flinches, instantly backing away from him as the male widens his eyes in surprise by her reaction ― not something he was expecting at all. "w-what do you want?" she asks, tripping over her own words and before jeongguk can even reply, he notices a purple bruise around her right wrist as the sleeves of her jacket slip downwards.

"your hand..." he points towards her right wrist, as the female instinctively pulls her sleeves down harshly, hugging her arm closer to herself as she glances away from the male. "it's nothing," she mumbles, before grabbing her books and hastily stuffing them into her bag. "look, l-let's just spilt the project. you do the first, and i do the second and we can just merge them together," she mumbles and rushes off, before the male can even stop her.