the tutor | choi beomgyu

chapter 25: absent

1:15 PM, Thursday, March 4th, 2022

Hyunjin hadn't showed up to school in four days. You hated to say it, but you were getting worried. Ever since Choerry threw that shoe at his head, he was starting to lay off. Sure, him being distant was good, but completely disappearing? It just felt strange. Days were going by fast and your graduation was only a few months away. Recently, you had been feeling distant too, constantly getting lost in your own thoughts. You just felt like you couldn't keep up with your friends emotions, just cruising through conversations.

"Y/N?" someone saying your name brought you back to focus.
"Huh?" Beomgyu was squatting in front of your desk.
"You okay?" he asked endearingly.
"Yeah," you sniffed. It was just after lunch time and the school announcements said to return to your homeroom class instead of going to your third block one. You weren't really sure why students had to go back to their homerooms, but you'd probably figure it out soon.
"Did you hear what I was saying?" he asked. You shook your head no.
"Okay, well I was saying that we should do something on Friday because I have basketball practice today." he scratched his head.
"I'll see if I can," you said. Beomgyu just stared at you.
"What's wrong Y/N? You can tell me." he picked up your hands.
"Nothing," you choked up a broken smile.
"Was it something I did?" he asked with a worried face.
"Really it's nothing," you said. He sighed, dropping your hands. He then returned to his seat behind you, only looking forward. Crap, you thought.

______

As the school day ended you saw YangYang and Beomgyu heading for the school's gym. They were laughing together, both of them holding a basketball in their hands. You suddenly stopped and looked around you. You searched and searched, but didn't see any of your other friends around. You were alone.

You pulled out your phone and texted your dad asking if you could stay for Beomgyu's basketball practice tonight. He said yes, but that wasn't actually where you were headed.

______

You were far away from the school now, walking down the stairway to the subway station. You swiped your card and continued on to the platform. Once the train arrived and announced that it was going to the neighboring town, you boarded it.

The weather had changed from cloudy skies to straight up misty and foggy. You walked along a sidewalk, breathing in the air. A wave of nostalgia hit you as you took in the smells of the area. It's been awhile, you sighed. You weren't sure whether or not to feel happy after returning to your old town. You felt strange, like you were morphing back into your old self. You kept thinking about Beomgyu's face from earlier, he seemed annoyed at your attitude. You felt bad, you kept pushing him off out of nowhere, and he was just trying to figure out  what was wrong. You crossed the street, inching closer and closer to your destination.

You soon arrived to a familiar place, old memories flooding your head. Those memories were amplified when you opened a door.
"Hi, how are you today?" a man smiled at you.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking." you said. Here you stood in a small convenient store, the same one Hyunjin took you to a year ago. You picked out a pack of ramen and headed towards the hot water station. I wonder where he went, you mindlessly stirred the noodles. I hope Beomgyu's not too mad at me, you added the flavor packets.
"Gloomy out today isn't it?" the man said as you handed him your money.
"Hopefully I don't get rained on," you said in a blank tone.
"Just get home before dark and I'm sure you'll be fine," he smiled.

You slowly walked down into a small park, the white plastic bag in your hand. As a small pond with a bench came into view, you released a sigh of relief and disappointment. Hyunjin wasn't there. Of course, you didn't want to run into him at his special spot, but the fact that he wasn't there made your heart sink. You sat down while untying the bag, that nostalgic smell of ramen floating up into the air. You raised your chopsticks up in the air, gripping the ramen. As you watch steam rise up from the ramen and broth drip down off of it, you began to cry. Bursts of tears flowed down your face uncontrollably, you dropped the chopsticks back down into your container as you bawled.
"What am I doing?" you muttered. Why am I still thinking about you? I'm so terrible to Beomgyu for going here, but I just want to find you, you cried. You sat there for awhile, just crying. You had only just fully realized where you were and what you were doing. You hastily wiped up your tears, removing the ramen container from your lap, and walking over to the pond. You dug in your pocket, revealing a silver coin. You placed it in between your pressed palms, and closed your eyes. I wish that things get better! Please! I just want everyone to be happier, Hyunjin, Beomgyu, everybody! Please, please, you sniffled before plopping the coin into the water. Another burst came. You let the tears flow, your breath was shaky. Let's go home Y/N, let's go back to Beomgyu, you sighed as you wiped your face.

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[HYUNJIN]

Hyunjin pushed the door of the convenience store open as he exited, thanking the store owner. It was getting dark outside, the air was chilly too. He had one earbud in is ear and the other dangling farther down. He made his way down to the near by park, a plastic bag between his fingers. As he approached the bench he immediately froze. There sat an aluminum ramen container with ramen still in it; the lid was to side and the chopsticks sitting in the broth. Y/N?

a/n: GIRL RUN!!!!! HE CAUGHT YOU IN 4K WITH THE RAMEN ITS TIME TO ABANDON THIS MISSION! but yeah very mixed feelings about this. i get that she just wants everything to be fixed so beomgyu doesn't have to suffer with emo hyunjin anymore or sumn but it is NOT translating well.