bookshop (dreamcatcher)

11

This chapter is a little bit angsty, I'm sorry!

-After Suayeon went to the cafe-

"Bora? You here?" A voice shouted.

"Yeah, wait Yubin, I'll just wash up and I'm coming." Yubin was startled by Bora suddenly walking through the doorway to the living room, looking devastated.

"Hey, what's up, Bora?" Yubin asked softly, the book she was reading long forgotten.

"Siyeon..she.." Bora tried to say. Yubin guided them to the couch and wrapped an arm around Bora's shoulder, which began to shake with small sobs.

"S-Siyeon found out." Bora finally said, and collapsed onto Yubin's chest, crying uncontrollably. Yubin was slightly shellshocked. Between muffled sobs Bora murmured, "She hates me."

"Bora, I'm sure she doesn't hate you." the blue-haired girl reassured. The shorter girl sniffled and began to cry harder. Yubin's sweatshirt was absolutely saturated in Bora's tears before she managed to speak again.

"She does hate me! I deserve it; I bullied her for so long..." Yubin sighed and ran her fingers through Bora's hair absent-mindedly.

"She doesn't know the real reason you bullied her, though."

Bora shook her head and whined, "I gave her a fear of subways by bullying her. Yubin, you don't understand, she was shaking and everything. I felt so, so horrible." Bora's bottom lip was slightly protruding in a cute pout, and Yubin had to resist the urge to kiss the pout away.

"It's, just," Bora continued. "I feel so guilty. And now I'm pretty sure she hates me. I actually thought she also had a crush on me, but Gahyeon and Handong really had to come and ruin everything. I was planning to confess yesterday, you know."

Ah.

There it is.

Yubin thought she must've been completely delusional thinking even once that The Kim Bora would ever reciprocate her feelings. She didn't even have anything particularly interesting about her. Yubin was just an introvert, always with a book. Perhaps her introverted mannerisms were undesirable, certainly, she didn't know. She had nothing against Siyeon. Bora had had a crush on her ever since she transferred to their high school, and the infatuation had never lessened. Yubin remembered Siyeon as a charismatic young girl, who just so happened to be victims to two (three?) nasty bullies. She was pretty popular in the school otherwise, participating in talent shows and whatnot. Yubin was just an ordinary, token nerd. Not bullied but not really liked either. Bora was pretty much her only friend throughout high school, and she was just the sage advisor to Bora most of the time. Not that she minded that back then, but now her advice she gave Bora to talk to Siyeon again through that chatting app was backfiring dramatically.

"Yubin~" Bora wheedled with a small tug on Yubin's sweatshirt. "What do I do?"

The blue-haired girl just shrugged. "What any sane person would do- talk to her. Explain everything, and maybe she will understand."

"I did talk to her. But I was an idiot, and I didn't bring up anything to do with the cafe. I can't call her again, can I? This is completely hopeless; what am I meant to do..." Bora groaned.

Yubin smiled sadly. "Come here." She hugged Bora tighter and hummed, "You just need to be brave, Bora. "

But Yubin was a coward. At least that's what she thought of herself. She thought quite the opposite, in fact. She was afraid; if she had confessed her feelings when they sprouted back in high school, she thought that everyone definitely would be in a very different position than they were now.

So, she decided, at least in this moment.

She would be a little brave.

A little selfish.

She looked at Bora lying down on her chest.

She smiled and whispered softly, "Bora."

"Yes, Yubin?"

"I..."

But Lee Yubin was just a coward, after all.

"I'm a bit cold. Let's go upstairs."

-

How are you guys doing? It's been months and I'm sorryy :(( I've just been focusing on some other stuff. But bookshop is back, and a little bit angstier than before!! I hope you like it. Don't bring yourself to feel too bad for Yubin, she'll find her match eventually. Spoiler alert: it's Gahyeon and Handong.  Yes, I do know they are bullies.. but I won't reveal anything. It's a story for the next chapter. Also, this book is not solely SuaYeon anymore, the subplots have made sure of that. 

~N