Late | k.ys

14

Yeosang gulped as he waited in front of the school gates.

The bell dismissing the students had rang a long time ago, but he couldn't see Hyesoo anywhere. As he moved to sit on the bench where he left her the note (man, he was still traumatized from that experience), he thought back to the conversation he had with Wooyoung and San during the study hall period.

"Alright, you need help asking Hyesoo out, yeah?" Wooyoung grins mischievously, brandishing a marker around like a magic wand. He had managed to sneak the trio out of their designated study hall classroom and into the empty Geography classroom. "Here, I've got an i—"

"You're asking Hyesoo out?" San's brow vanished under his fringe.

"Um, yeah..." Yeosang scratched his head sheepishly.

Wooyoung raised an eyebrow."Don't ruin my ship." He glared pointedly at San.

"Alright, alright," San raised his hands. "I won't say anything about it."

Wooyoung turned away from San and shifted his focus back to Yeosang. "Anyway, my idea was that you take her out to Illusion Café. It's a nice, friendly place that I'm sure won't give Hyesoo the vibe that you're secretly a kidnapper. It's a compliment!" Wooyoung exclaimed as he ducked to avoid Yeosang's water bottle.

Yeosang swallows as his eyes landed on Hyesoo, chattering animatedly with Yiren. Gathering all the courage he found in his shaky body, he walked over to the girls.

"Hey... um, Hyesoo?" Yeosang started speaking only when the girls' conversation was drifting to a pause. "I—um, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Hyesoo turned to Yiren, who was wiggling her eyebrows. "Stop that. You can go ahead."

"Okayyy," Yiren winked at Yeosang and Hyesoo as she skipped away, looking happier than she did a few seconds ago, for some strange reason. Yeosang could feel his face burning up as he turned back to Hyesoo, who looked equally bashful.

"Wh-what did you want to talk about?" Hyesoo cleared her throat just as her voice cracked.

"A-ah, yeah..." Yeosang rubbed the back of his head. "W-would you like to go to Illusion Café... with me?"

Hyesoo's eyes widened, and the corners of her lips turned up in the shape of a crescent. "Okay."

"Okay?" Yeosang repeats, not believing her response.

"Yeah," Hyesoo shifted the straps of her backpack. "I'll go there with you." She was rather short compared to his height, which meant she had to lean back a little to look up at him. "Right now?"

"U-um, yeah, sure," Yeosang nodded vigorously, still baffled by her response.

"Let's go then," Hyesoo shot Yeosang a nervous beam which eased the jumping jackrabbits holding a party in his insides. He smiled slightly as he followed her out of the school gates.

>~<

"Oh, this place," Hyesoo looked around at the pastel interior of the stout building. "I've always wanted to try this café out."

"You've never been here before?" Yeosang asked, astonished.

Hyesoo shrugged, looking down at the earth. "I... I've never had the time."

Yeosang wanted to ask her why she suddenly looked so down, when a familiar barista yelled at him across the half-filled café. "Hey, Kang!"

"I'm not the only Kang who frequents this place, you know," Yeosang grinned as he approached Joshua, who was wiping a clear glass cup with a rosy pink cloth. "There's Taehyun, Seulgi, Daniel—"