7. breathtakingly good

"So you guys ran away from the goons, and then?" Suho enquired, watching Seojun as he stood across from him.

"And then we landed here." Seojun carefully skipped the part which would have made the atmosphere all the more tense. Soojin looked at him and he did too, and after a minute of silence, Su-ah yelled.

"They are still standing down." She pointed from the sill and they all rushed towards the window, Soojin seated behind. "Ottuke?"

"Ya Suho, glare at them." Seojun spoke in a hushed voice as Suho and Lim Jugyeong looked at him, "your icy glares are enough to shoo everyone away." To that Seojun and Jugyeong chuckled, sharing a high five while Suho only glared at the duo.

The other classmates were eyeing the goons who stayed behind, watching them and the leader yelled. "Ya Han Seojun," To that Seojun ducked, and Suho shook his head. "You and your girlfriend better watch it. I'll wait here till forever if it means I'll get back at the both of you." Su-ah shut the window immediately while the others were baffled at the news.

"Girlfriend?" Jugyeong asked, frowning, "Han Seojun-ah," She pouted, hitting the guy lightly on his stomach, "you dating someone and you didn't tell me?"

"Wae wae," Seojun ran his hand through his hair, "why should I tell you, are you the dating police?"

"Ani, I'm your best friend." Jugyeong smiled at the dumbfounded guy who only stared at Jugyeong and her one smile was enough for him to forget about everything else. It hurt so much to see her with someone else, even though it was his best friend. "I have the right to know."

"Aniyo," He pushed her away by placing his hand on her forehead. "I don't even know you, crazy lady."

"Crazy? Lady?" Jugyeong gasped, ready to hit Seojun who shielded his chest with his hands. "Ya!"

Soojin on the other hand sat in the corner of the room, eyeing the group of friends having fun, especially Jugyeong and Seojun. She felt a pang in her chest when she saw Suho smiling at them, and realised how she could have also been on the other side than here.

Su-ah however was the most crossed, because Soojin had somehow disrupted their evening and she looked at the girl, "Kang Soojin," She garnered attention from the disinterested girl. "Why are you here?"

That stopped the chaotic duo from bickering and a tense atmosphere remained static in the closed room. Soojin gulped, to hear her full name from her best friend was a blow, and she knew she deserved it.

"She was with me." Seojun spoke from besides Jugyeong, "we ran from the..."

"I'll leave," Soojin interrupted him, standing up and holding her hands as firm as she could. "I know I'm not wanted here."

"That's because we don't associate with backstabbing bullies." Su-ah said, and Seojun was sure he could hear a pin drop in the other room. It was dead silent and Jugyeong tried pacifying Su-ah but the latter didn't listen to anyone. "You're not wanted here because you don't deserve to be here." Su-ah was hurt, Soojin could see that, especially the way she was fighting her tears as she spoke.

It was rage and insults for the others, but for Soojin, it was tears of heartbreak.

After all Su-ah had been Soojin's only friend since middle school and they were peas of the same pod.

"mianhaeyo," She said with no emotions and a straight face, "for all the trouble." She headed towards the door only to be held back by Han Seojun who had held her wrist. She turned to meet his eyes, a little confused, a lot upset.

"You're not going down." He stated, refusing to let go. "They are still waiting for us, especially you." Soojin held his hand, trying to get off from his hold but Han Seojun's stubbornness surpassed hers.

"Then I'll leave." Su-ah picked her bag, but Jugyeong didn't allow her to, holding her bag.

"Su-ah-ah," Lim Jugyeong pleaded, "don't go, we can still have fun like you planned."

"I think it would be better for Soojin to leave since..." Suho's voice echoed through Soojin's mind. "She can rent the other karoke room, that would do everyone good." Han Seojun was about to speak but Soojin beat him to it when she very quickly got out of the karoke room, sighing in absolute terror.

She was really close to an emotional breakdown. She rubbed her hands, the way she felt so icky and dirty, she could rub the skin off her hands to get out of this mess.

Han Seojun on the other end took his bag from the sofa, placing it in his shoulder. He smiled at the group and got out off the room, not before wishing them fun. The moment he got out he saw Soojin rubbing her hands, and if they would be stones instead of her hands, there'd be a fire by now.

"Kang Soojin," He held her hand, interrupting her aggresive action. "What's... Why are you..."

Soojin pulled her hand back, she was so angry at the moment that it did feel Han Seojun was looking at the mirror. "Don't you ever hold my hand again, you get that." She gritted her teeth, words sharper even though her tone was low. "And this is happening because you cannot stay out of trouble."

Han Seojun hated when he was talked down, especially by the girl who didn't even deserve being with him. He wanted to degrade her with even more insults than what Su-ah did but he also wanted his plan to work. Ending it now would do nothing to satisfy his anger, he just had to wait to humiliate her later.

"I told you to leave." He reminded her, with a warning voice, he was trying his best to be calm. "I told you, didn't I? And you stayed back, you punched him, I was handling it."

"He spoke stupid things about me." Soojin replied, matching his gaze, "I don't care, no one speaks to me this way and gets away with it." She was growling if Han Seojun could put it in words.

"So you can't take it when people demean you, but you can do it to others?"

Han Seojun didn't want to, but he just couldn't hold it back and that did the deed, Soojin stopped instantly. Her breathing was in synch with her rapidly beating heart and she lowered her hand which was pointing at the tall guy. She took a step back, and Han Seojun watched a tear drop from her eye and hit the floor.

"We're done." Soojin said, the lump in her throat making it difficult to speak. "I don't want the extra marks anymore." She turned, holding her bag only for Han Seojun to hold her arm again.

"You're not leaving." He pulled her towards him, infuriating Soojin even more. "I won't let you."

Soojin shook her arm but his grip was tighter. "Ya, you want your face broken too?"

"If you do anything to my face, I'll never forgive you." Seojun's face was his biggest asset and Soojin's biggest trigger, she rolled her eyes. "And the only reason you should not go down is because of the-"

Before he could finish the statement, he heard the muffled voices of the gang who were now tired of waiting and were heading upstairs. Soojin and Seojun looked at each other instantly and the latter pulled the girl to the nearest karoke room, and locked it from the inside. Soojin dropped the coin and clicked on the first song in the playlist and increased the volume whilst Seojun's ear was rested on the door, trying to get a grasp of the boys.

"Start singing." Seojun said, softly but Soojin shook her head. "Sing."

"I am not going to sing, my throat is parched."

"Aish," Seojun took the mic from her hand and cleared his throat, and before she knew it, Seojun had started singing to the song which played in the background. And when the first note of his melodious voice hit the room, Soojin gawked at him, eyes widened and mouth ajar as he sang. His eyes were shut, enjoying the song and her gaze was stuck on him.

Since when did Han Seojun sound so good to her?

He wasn't just good, he was breathtakingly good.

She snapped out of it when Seojun opened his eyes and switched to another song, turning she opened the door slightly to see whether or not the gang was still there and fortunately they weren't. She sighed, sitting down on the sofa as she watched Seojun complete the song and he sang it way better than the orginal singer.

On the last note, Soojin's hands almost clapped for the boy but she resisted it and only kept staring at him.

"I know, I know." Han Seojun ran his hand again through his hair, Soojin noticed how often he did that. "I sing well, and you're completely starstruck."

"Aniyo, I'm not starstruck."

Seojun chuckled, walking closer, "then why were you stunned, am I too handsome for you now?" He bend a little to come face to face with her, "Or did my voice finally reach through your heart." He smiled and Soojin pushed him back.

"My heart doesn't melt with songs and charming faces." She took her bag, and walked past him, "and I meant it when I said we are done. I'd rather sit through my father's..." She hesitated a bit, "I don't care about the marks anymore." Which was a complete lie, Seojun could tell since for Soojin, marks were everything, but he let her walk away.

He needed some cool-off period too, especially since the fact that he felt sad when she cried. He wasn't supposed to feel for her, not pain, not concern, yet he did. And this was bothering him.

He sat down again and continued singing the next song, that way he could take his mind off her but even so, she was on his mind, and he was running in hers.

_

Soojin had wandered off the homework for the fifth time. The earlier fight with Seojun, his words, his voice and his stupid warm touch was driving her insane. She never was someone who could be affected by a guy, Han Seojun to be specific, it was always Suho for her but now that things kept happening between them, Soojin hated how much she thought about him.

And that incident which Seojun left out while narrating the escape run.

"Why are we running? You did nothing wrong!" Soojin claimed, as they ran through the isolated lanes. Han Seojun had held her hand like his life depended on it and the adrenaline rush she felt was like a breath of fresh air.

"I know, but they don't care." He replied as they crossed the road hurriedly, the guys following them on their bikes. "Aish, we have to go through..." He pulled Soojin to an alley, and they went all sort of ways, turning left, right and left again until the came to a close end. The bikes couldn't fit through the lanes and hence the gang were now following them.

"Now?" Soojin asked, when the faced the dead end of a wall.

Seojun looked around, and in the spur of the moment, he squeezed in the narrow alley which was sort of a camouflage, Soojin pulled by him.

"Don't make any noise." He whispered and although it was evening, the narrow alley was dark smelly and creepy. They both couldn't fit in it, hence Seojun stood behind Soojin, holding her close to him as they waited.

And then when the gang arrived closer, Soojin felt something move at her feet. "What was that..." She was horrified and felt the urge to scream but Seojun held her by her stomach, one hand covering her mouth as his face rested on her head.

"It's just me." He lied, he knew it was a rat, or worse, a raccoon but for the sake of their safety, he lied. Holding Soojin closer to his chest, they held their breaths, listening to the gang and were thankful for their fading noise.

Soojin never had anyone wrap their hands around her like Seojun did. He had completely bear hugged her, and very much so, she felt safe in his arms even though there was some kind of animal here with them. His pounding heartbeats were matching hers and she gulped, nervous.

Once they were gone, Soojin immediately got out of his hold and stood out in the open air, breathing. She looked at the boy who stood like a statue in the alley.

"Ya Han Seojun, they're gone." She said, trying not to be concerned about their awkward moment. "We should head to the karoke centre, it's nearby-"

"It was a rat." Han Seojun screamed, disgusted as he stepped out, yelling as he patted his legs like the rat was still in. "Rat, argh." He was disgusted and scared more than she was. "It touched me!"

His yelling caught the attention of one of the boys from the gang and the duo had to run again.

What's happening to me, Soojin wondered as she looked at her hands, the one which held Han Seojun's.

She had fun after a long time. And that fun was associated with a handsome boy and his childish ways.

_

A/N is anyone even reading this :⁠0