MY BOO┊hhj [ ✓ ]

48

48
<--->

"okay, before you blame us for your break up just hear us out because we love you so much that even aliens can't determine how much love we feel for you-"

"-can you be serious?" areum sharply cut in, placing a hand on her forehead as she breathes in. "we're going to find him first and then slowly explain in all one set. got it? there's no time to rehearse the lines you've created for us."

seungmin defeatedly sat down after standing up for so long. he let out a sigh and rested his forehead on his arms. it has been exactly over thirty minutes since areum was over at his house. this was worrisome.

"i know, i know," seungmin says, "but he was bound to find out sooner anyway so that was a warning for us. and if you think i'm regretting what i did for him, i don't. i will never regret what i did even though it seems selfish and plain mean."

areum forced a tiny smile. "we're cleaning the mess we made."

<--->

hyunjin sat still on the small swing. his long legs stretched out in front of him as he ignored the aching pain in his heart. all he needed to do was think. he wanted to clear his mind from earlier today. they just got back from their trip and it was exhausting him how maci told him what she wanted to say and left him quickly behind.

the silent atmosphere allowed hyunjin to focus on himself. it was dark by then and not that many people were out. the air was cold, brushing his dark locks as his brown chocolate eyes fluttered shut. he inhaled in deeply before exhaling. what was he going to do now?

he was so determined to confront seungmin and areum, but now he felt miserable. he was numb like before. he couldn't feel anything.

"i know your relationship with maci wasn't the best," he heard chan's voice ring in his mind. "and it wasn't the best experience, but take it as something you can learn from. yes, maci broke your heart, but you can understand the feeling of being heartbroken."

hyunjin smiled sadly. he felt a different kind of pain, not the pain when maci broke his heart.

"you see, hyunjin, you don't have to be afraid to love again."

hyunjin didn't know why chan's words were stuck in his mind.

"chan told me some advice about my relationship problems," hyunjin muttered to himself. "now i am in need for some advice about friendship." sighing, he shook his head and finally looked up from the ground.

he was more than shocked to find two familiar figures standing in front of him.

seungmin and areum looked out of breath as their mouth opened to catch some air. areum was staring at him intently with a sharp gaze as seungmin's expression softened at the sight of the boy they were looking for.

"hyunjin," seungmin breathed out, gulping down the lump in his throat. "we need to talk to you."

hyunjin forced a smile, suddenly feeling bitter. "you could've talked to me earlier, but you don't need to. maci already told me everything. i know your plan before so if you came here to apologize then go ahead. that's all i need to hear. your apologies and then you can leave."

"i get it that you're hurt right now," seungmin began, "but you have to listen to us. we did something terrible to you and we won't forgive ourselves if we don't say anything to you. so please, listen to us, hyunjin? please?" as much as seungmin didn't want to cry, here he was, desperately begging his friend as tears stung his eyes.

areum kept quiet at seungmin's side. she only stared at hyunjin with her sad eyes, making him feel troubled. his heart was a mess. his mind was a mess. he didn't know what to do.

"i should be mad at you guys," hyunjin spoke up after a few minutes of silence. his two friends stood nervous in front of him. "but i'm not. i actually got to talk with myself. i'll forgive you two, but i won't so easily make you two think that i wasn't hurt by what you did. friends can argue and make mistakes with each other, but what matters, in the end, is if both sides want to keep their friendship after dealing with hardship. and i admit, i do want to keep our friendship, but what about you two?"

"we do," areum admitted quickly. "be mad at us all you want, but we can't let a precious friend go. we can't let you break off our friendship because it means so much to us. our selfish acts have hurt you, bad."

hyunjin found himself scoffing. "your actions told me otherwise. and your words may convince me, but i can't forget about what you guys did. as i said, i will give you two a second chance. why? because some people deserve second chances. consider you two lucky."

hyunjin stood up from the swing as a sigh left his lips. seungmin and areum backed a few steps away to give him space.

"i'm sorry," areum softly apologized, biting down on her bottom lip to prevent herself to cry out of guilt, frustration, and sadness.

seungmin glanced at areum and grabbed her hand before turning to look at hyunjin. "i'm sorry too, hyunjin. we both are." hyunjin glanced down at their locked hands quickly and looked back up at seungmin and areum. something lit inside of him and he was suddenly furious.

breathing in, hyunjin smiled a little, "it's okay, really. seungmin, can you give me and areum some space? i need to discuss with her about something."

seungmin shared a look with areum as his gaze held concern. he was hesitant to leave areum alone because he didn't want hyunjin to blame areum only. areum gave him a gentle smile and nodded her head as if she was saying she would be fine by herself. seungmin eventually gave in and dropped their locked hands.

"okay, i'll go," seungmin said and turned to hyunjin. "don't just blame areum, alright? i was part of this too."

hyunjin had to stop himself from chuckling out loud and nodded his head. "i won't. you trust me, after all, right?"

seungmin smiled. "i trust you." he waved a little at areum and grinned at hyunjin before leaving. he might as well use some spare time to think over his actions as his mind was still processing.

areum nervously waited for hyunjin to speak first because she knew he had something to say by the looks on his face. standing in silence, hyunjin came at areum with opened arms and attacked her in a hug.

"it's okay, it's okay," hyunjin murmured into her ears quietly, setting his chin on the top of her head. "we can go through difficult times together. i know how sincere your apology was and how sincere seungmin's apology was as well."

areum wondered how forgiving hyunjin could be, and it struck her to think how soft his heart was. she was truly lucky to have hyunjin as her best friend. she couldn't ask for more.

managing to shed a few tears, areum told herself that she shouldn't be the one crying in this situation. hyunjin heard her soft and muffled sniffles and pulled away. he looked over at her face, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

"i have one last thing that i need to say to you, but i understand if you can't return it back," hyunjin told her with a small smile. "areum, i know this is abrupt, but i like you. a lot. and i am willing to take things slow with you."

author's note
should she say yes or no?

btw, the book is coming to an end! two more chapters to go. :(

and i'm really not that good at writing how characters make up so it may seem off and weird