happy 1k, my loves <33

-----

Chapter 17

"Yangyang? Dear?" The boy looked at the door to see his mom holding a tray with snacks on it. "Can I come in?" He nodded and quickly removed his earphones.

His mom placed the tray on his study table as she sat on the edge of Yangyang's bed. He stood up and sat beside her.

"Is something up with school these days? You've been coming home earlier than usual," she asked, patting his shoulder. "Not that I have forgotten that you went home at nine in the evening, though." She asked, using their mother tongue.

The boy scratched the back of his nape as he thought of the words to say. "Everything's alright with school, don't worry..." he said and tried to smile at her.

She raised a brow and looked at him, "You're my son. You aren't fooling anybody here aside from yourself," she chuckled. "Now spill."

Yangyang laid on his bed and sighed, "I don't know what's happening with me, mom." He stared at his ceiling for a couple of seconds before his mom replied.

"I can't tell you anything unless you give me context, you know?" She chuckled.

"Well, you're aware of my unrequited feelings for Yiyeon, right?" He asked. "These days, I've been avoiding her. Honestly, I don't know why, but I want to clear my mind and get rid of these feelings as soon as possible."

"Why get rid of it? Why won't you tell her? Wouldn't it be easier than forcing those feelings to stop?" She asked with a smile on her face. 

"I... It's just better this way, mom," he sighed and sat down. "Besides, I think she still has feelings left for her ex-boyfriend, Jeno."

"Isn't Jeno also your friend?"

Yangyang nods. "That's why it's difficult. I also want to tell her how I feel. I mean, I'm ready to get rejected. I know my place. I'm just her best friend and will always be her best friend."

His mom ruffled his hair and smiled at him, "You know, it's perfectly normal to feel that way. But don't you think that it would be better if you tell her? I know that you want to get rid of those feelings, but you won't be able to get rid of them if you don't say them."

Yangyang stops talking. 

She was right. He has to tell her.

Not that Yiyeon wouldn't know, anyways. Yangyang knows that someone will tell her, one way or another.

And he's bracing himself for the heartbreak he would feel after.

His mom stood up, "I'm just here to give you some pieces of advice. It's your life, anyways. Your choice." She smiled. "I'm always here for you no matter what happens, okay?"

"Thanks, mom."

***

Yiyeon got off the bus and walked towards the school. She had developed the habit of leaving the house earlier than Hyunjin because he wakes up late. Not that Hyunjin minds, anyways. She had her earphones on. Both of her hands were in her pockets, shielding them from the weather, which gets colder as days pass by.

She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that certain people were pacing back and forth by the gate. She would have turned away if those people were fans of Jeno, but she knew these people really well.

One of them stopped walking and looked at Yiyeon.

Yiyeon could not move as the girl immediately rushed towards her to lock her in a hug. The rest of the people followed.

"Aren't you supposed to be waiting for Yangyang?" She scoffed.

Yejin pulled away from the hug.

The other girl was surprised to see her friend crying.

"I... I'm sorry, Yiyeon," she said as she wiped her tears away. "I'm a couple of months older than you, yet I act as if I'm twelve years younger... I'm really sorry."

Yiyeon looked away as she removed the plugs on both of her ears. 

"Unnie," Jeongmin started. "We heard what happened... are you alright?"

"Lots of things happened, so what do you mean by that?" Yiyeon raised a brow.

"Do you have an idea on who did that to you?" Yejin asked. "The locker incident..."

Yiyeon froze. She looked around as she leaned closer, afraid that someone else would hear their conversation. "How did you guys know?"

"It's not important, noona," Sungchan said.

Jeongmin held her hand, "Noona, let's report it to the dean." She pleaded. "We don't want you to get hurt anymore..."

The older raised a brow. "Wait a minute," she said and took a step away from them. "I think you guys are mistaken here. Shouldn't you be yelling at me instead? I thought you were mad at me?" She scoffed.

They all looked down.

"In our defense, it's just Yejin," Daewon muttered, causing Yejin to step on his foot.

"We... I'm truly sorry about that." Yejin looked down. "My feelings got the best of me, and I didn't even notice that you were hurting. I got too scared to apologize.."

"I hope you aren't mad at us, Yiyeon-ah," Daewon said. "Trust me, none of us are mad at you. I'm not quite sure about him, though."

"About who?" She asked.

"Yangyang..." Yejin answered.

Yiyeon took a deep breath before looking at them one by one, "Tell me everything that I need to know because I might lose my mind thinking about what I did wrong!" She said, her fists clenched to her sides. "I still have no fucking clue why you guys did that, yet here you guys are, talking about Yangyang."

"Unnie, I don't think we're the right people who should tell you," Jeongmin said as she looked at someone from afar.

Yiyeon looked behind her—to where her friend was looking at. To her surprise, standing there was the person who they're talking about. Liu Yangyang.

The boy paid no attention as he continued walking past them.

Sighing, Yiyeon followed him.

"Yangyang."

He stopped walking.

He turned around to throw them a glance and raised a brow, "What?"

"C-Can we... talk?" Yiyeon asked.

He did not answer and just continued walking.

"Liu Yangyang!"

"Fine."

- tbc.

boop beep boop. short update!!!