SOOBIN | 10 Things I Hate About You ✓

twenty-five

SOOBIN
aera where are u?

please tell me where u are

i cant leave u alone like that

i know u can see my messages

aera please let me explain

[seen]

soobin shoved his phone in his pocket as he paced back and forth at the bus stop. the purple-haired boy was desperately trying to hold himself together as he worried about aera.

meanwhile, aera has completely isolated herself. her legs brought her to the place she called the Tenth Stop.

the place where she first opened up her heart to him, the place where cherry blossoms bloomed.

the place where she felt safe with a person she could trust.

however, the place only showed sticks and branches of the trees left as the cherry blossoms had disappeared with time.

aera sat underneath the tree where soobin and her had their picnic. aera clutched her legs closer to her small body as she let out her pained sobs.

nothing ever went right in her life. it was always her fault and she didn't understand why.

the sound of her phone kept dinging as countless messages were spamming her. however, aera couldn't care less.

she just wanted to cry and cry and cry until she had enough. she didn't want to be alone but she had nobody.

she wanted jeno or jaemin to comfort her and tell her it's okay. she wanted mark to stop fucking around with her feelings.

but most of all, she wanted soobin to tell her that what was happening was just a absurd nightmare. aera wanted him to love her just as much as she does.

aera cursed at herself in between sobs, knowing that the bet was made to intentionally hurt her. she felt like a fool for trusting him.

it was not long before the silence she had succumbed herself to was interrupted by the familiar scent of tobacco and vanilla.

soobin.

"aera, please let me explain," soobin pleaded as he crouched in front of the petite girl.

she looked so broken and tired to the point soobin's heart physically hurt.

aera quickly stood up, shaking her head and walked away from the boy.

"please aera," soobin pleaded as he caught up with her, stopping her in her tracks.

"are you happy now?" aera looked up at soobin as her eyes started brimming tears.

"no i'm not aera. i tried so hard to get myself out of it but my feelings kept pushing and pulling," soobin tried reassuring but aera only felt her heart aching even more.

"you must be happy right? m-mark can help you with whatever y-you need," aera stuttered as she tried giving a small smile.

"no, please don't do that," soobin pleaded as aera tried her best not to cry in front of him.

"i-i'm glad you're going to be okay but p-please leave me alone from now on soobin. i just might fall for you even m-more," aera choked back on her tears as she repeatedly wiped them away.

"aera, please let me expla-"

"there's no point in explaining. isn't it o-obvious enough that i-i know?" aera said with her voice hoarse from crying.

soobin felt hopeless knowing that the girl he has come to love and admire was hurting.

hurting because of him.

"f-from today onwards, we're strangers," aera said finally before taking off the sweater she wore over her head; the sweater that belonged to soobin.

aera handed soobin his sweater and walked away from him, her heart breaking into tinier pieces with every step she took.

a part of aera was telling her to turn back and forgive him but she knew it was the idea of him that made her addicted.

addicted to the way he made her feel warm, to the way his dimples immediately brought a smile to her face.

god, there was an infinite number of reasons why aera would love someone like him.

but for now, the girl remained broken and freezing as she made her way back home in the cold.

soobin, on the other hand, felt like shit.

complete and utter shit.

he didn't understand why his legs didn't move to run after her; run after the girl that made a whole month seem livelier than his usual gloomy years.

the girl that was bold enough to talk to him.

someone who actually noticed his presence.
for once, he felt warm when he was with her. he didn't feel isolated from the world.

he used to hate how the sun shone but he enjoyed it when it shone on them.

because he finally could see her; her, who he needed the most.

park aera.