The Hideout I Need

Chapter 21: I wouldn't want you catching a cold in the rain

This particular late-August school day seemed like it went on forever. You know the days. It wasn't even like the subjects were that hard or anything, the day was just incredibly boring. Maybe it was because Hyeong-jun just wasn't used to sitting in the front of the class yet. And alone, at that. The new seating chart sucked ass, in his opinion. At least Se-rim had a seat behind Jung-mo, and Tae-young still had the window seat at the back. Hyeong-jun missed sitting back there with him, but maybe it was for the better, so he could concentrate on school instead of his crush and whatnot. It had already been two or so weeks since school started though, so if he was still bored now without Tae-young he would probably continue to be. Thank god it was Friday today.

The moment the school day finally ended, Hyeong-jun let out a huge sigh as if he had been holding his breath. He just couldn't wait to go home so he could take a nap or whatever. The weekend was well-deserved. As he got up from his seat he noticed Tae-young left in an incredible hurry. Huh, weird. Must've been late for some kind of academy or after-school class.

Hyeong-jun took his sweet time packing his things together, it wasn't like he was in a rush. The day was quite dark, so he wondered if it was just the sun setting earlier or if the drizzle from a few hours ago had elevated. He walked over to the window, expecting dry weather.

Shit. It's raining way too much. He cringed at the memory of him scoffing at Hyeon-ah when she told him to bring a jacket that morning. She was definitely gonna ridicule him for this later. He let out a sigh hoping the rain would miraculously stop within the 2 minutes it would take for him to exit the school building.

"Hey, Hyeong-jun," Se-rim walked towards Hyeong-jun's at the window, "Se-kwon, Jung-mo, Won-jin and I are all going to the PC-cafe. Wanna join us? We're all splitting a cab."

PC-cafe? That would be at least ₩1000 for one hour — and knowing his friends they were gonna spend more than an hour there. They were definitely also going to be buying snacks. And to add the taxi fee on top of that...

Hyeong-jun smiled awkwardly, "Ah, the thing is, I want to, but..."

Se-rim smiled, knowing what Hyeong-jun meant, "It's fine, no worries."

Se-rim was the only one of the four who knew about Hyeong-jun's financial situation. Hyeong-jun would've normally kept it a secret as a matter of his pride. Since Se-rim was already friends with him back when his parents passed away, it wasn't necessarily an easy secret to keep. But he managed to keep it quiet around Jung-mo, Won-jin, and Se-kwon. Of course, the three of them knew about Hyeong-jun's parents, but they didn't know about his finances. For all they knew, Hyeong-jun only worked part-time to save some extra pocket money, not to pay for rent and food and all.

"I would pay for you, but I'm almost out of money as well," Se-rim said with a little chuckle, however, a little quieter.

"Ah, no, it's fine," Hyeong-jun reassured with a smile, "You guys would just kick my ass in League of Legends anyway. They play way too often." He shook his head with a playfully disapproving look on his face. To be fair, they did play way too often.

Se-rim let out a chuckle at that comment. He patted Hyeong-jun on the shoulder. He and Jung-mo gave a little wave as they walked towards the classroom door, "See you on Monday then!"

Hyeong-jun waved back with a smile.

The rain didn't stop, by the way. Hyeong-jun stepped out of the school, standing under the sheltered part of the school's entrance. Most students had already left, many of them getting on the bus that just made its departure from the bus stop.

Maybe he could wait until it stopped raining? As soon as that thought popped into his head, the rain somehow seemed to pour down heavier. There might as well have been a lightning strike in front of him to signal there was no use in waiting. Yeah, it would probably be hours before it stopped raining. Geez, what a day to cycle to school. And he even did it because he was so sure that the weather would be good all day.