Fragile | Seonghwa

8

You stand shocked and whack Yunho on the arm hard. "Are you crazy?" You're still in disbelief. "Well, after knowing you for years, I thought I saw something different in your eyes when you talked about him but maybe I was wrong" he shrugs. "I mean, I promise it's not that obvious to anyone else but to me..." he drifts off and suggestively looks at you. "You're out of your mind" is all you say as you roll your eyes and leave him behind, walking out of your front door. 

You arrive to the lab on time this time and you figuratively pat yourself on the back. Seonghwa hasn't arrived yet but his friends on the other side of you have. You glance at them and notice that they've been staring at you, as you make eye contact with them instantly. You flash a weak smile to avoid looking rude, but the boy with soft brown hair and beautiful features returns a glare, while the boy with black hair and red streaks gives you a smirk. You could've sworn that his smirk was filled with something more than just friendliness, so you uncomfortably look away as fast as you could. 

Of course, Seonghwa is friends with people who also don't know how manners work. You turn your head to look for Yunho at the other side of the room but instead make eye contact with Seonghwa making his way to his seat. You smile, but he simply pretends like he didn't notice your gesture. Of course, why did you even get your hopes up? 

"Hey Seonghwa, where did you go yesterday?" the brown-haired boy softens up as he speaks to your lab partner. "Oh, I was just practicing... football" he awkwardly says. You roll your eyes and mumble, "Yeah, football my ass-" which earns you a sharp kick from under the table. 

Unfortunately, although he didn't hear what you said, the brown haired man noticed you. "Who are you." he blankly demands, not even in a questioning tone. "Now now Yeosang, that's no way to treat such a beatiful young lady!" the black hair with red streaks chuckles. Now you know the light brown hair is called "Yeosang". "My name is San, but you can call me whatever you'd like" The man who you now know to be called "San" throws you a wink and you try not to cringe. 

You uncomfortably tense as San grabs your hand delicately to shake it, and you feel Seonghwa beside you do the same. "No need to get so friendly with my partner. Go away now" he orders. San giggles once again, but this time you don't hear any humour or any light hearted feelings in his laugh. He shows off his charming eye smile and appealing dimples to Seonghwa before meeting his gaze with yours, something much darker in his eyes as his smile starts to drop and his grips starts to tighten. He stills for a moment before letting go of your hand and returns to his seat. You get a violent shiver down your spine as soon as he's gone.

You have a bad feeling about Seonghwa's friends and decide that it would be the best idea to avoid them completely.

"Don't mind them at all, they mean no harm" Seonghwa mutters beside you, without even looking in your direction. You show a slight smile, reassured you still have him by your side, feeling a sense of security and protection, although you don't believe him one bit. San's face from moments ago lingers in your mind, making you feel on edge. You decide to ignore it for now.

"Read the lab manual for instructions and begin the experiment!" Yonghwan announces. "If you need help or anything else you can call me over"

Seonghwa turns to you. "I hope you read the manual because I didn't" he follows this statement by gesturing to you to begin and quite possibly do the whole experiment yourself. You let out a sigh and begin the most basic procedure: preparing a microscope. 

After a few minutes of you preparing the microscope alone and Seonghwa observing you, you're finished. He doesn't say a word before lightly pushing you to the side to take a look at the sample you had prepared. You prepare to protest but feel yourself trapped in your spot once again, just like the evening before. You get distracted by his beautiful side view and you feel relieved that he can't see you staring at him.

You watch his long eyelashes delicately flutter as he tries to focus. You can tell when he finally sees something interesting, as the corners of his mouth curl up into a smile. You come to the realisation that he hasn't smiled at all so far in the lab, making this the first time. You feel entranced by his soft smile, wishing he could show it off more.

He turns to you, still smiling from ear to ear. "Take a look at this! It's so cool!" his excitement makes your heart flutter slightly and you let out a light giggle, which seems to snap him out of it as he suddenly straightens up, his face dulling once again. 

"Sorry. You can look if you want" he suddenly quietens, his face turning sour again. Your mood deflates a bit but you nod and make your way to the microscope anyway. Instead of paying attention to the sample, you can't stop thinking about the man beside you. You recall the way he was beaming, unbelievably delighted by the simplest thing. You assume he really loves this subject, which comes as a bit of a shock to you. You hadn't really seen Seonghwa as one to be interested in science of all things. And you can't even lie to yourself, something about this contrast in him allures you somehow. The fact that he's so good at dancing- it makes you go crazy.

You don't realise you're smiling until Seonghwa's voice grabs your attention. "It's pretty interesting isn't it" You turn your attention to the grinning Seonghwa beside you and grow flustered, causing you to straighten up a little too violently, which leads you to knock the slide off the microscope, the sample shattering on the floor between you and your partner.

You and Seonghwa stand stunned, and your face turns a more vibrant shade of red by the second. You cover your face with your hands, too afraid to see the dirty look Seonghwa is probably giving you. You feel scared he's going to scream at you again and you know you can't stand that at the moment. "I heard a shatter- oh" you hear Yonghwan beside you, most definitely seeing the mess in front of you. "It's fine! I'll sweep it up very quickly, just be careful next time" 

You slightly uncover your eyes, taking a cautious peek at Seonghwa. You feel shocked at his face. Instead of anger, he's covering his mouth trying his best to hold in laughter. At the sight of you peeking between your fingers, he finally loses it and starts to laugh with his whole chest. Your cheeks taint rose once again, embarrased for a different reason this time. 

The rest of the giant lab continue their tasks, unaware of what happened at your side of your bench. Everyone except for San, that is. You try your best to pretend that you can't see him, but you notice him staring at you from the corner of your eye. You struggle against his gaze to keep your attention on the laughing Seonghwa in front of you.

You have a very bad feeling about San.

A/N

I just wanted to say thank you so much for 100 reads! It may not seem like much but it really means a lot to me, I hope the story is alright. Again, thank you <3