Chapter 39

"I'm happy for you and Jeno," Yejin smiled as she sipped from her coffee.

Yiyeon sighed and placed her hand on top of her friend's, "Stop pretending you're okay. Tell me what you were supposed to tell me last night before you left." She said. "You were playing with them at the pool area, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah... two truths and a lie..." She looked away. "Long story short, I indirectly told Daewon that I like him," Yejin sighed and looked down. "I don't think he was able to get the message, though..."

"What did you tell him, anyway?" Yiyeon raised a brow.

"Like hell, I'm telling you! You'd only laugh at me!" 

"Why would I laugh at you?!"

Sighing, Yejin looked at Yiyeon, "I told him that I have someone I like. Secondly, I said that I talk about a lot of things with them..." she paused. Then, she continued, "Then he suddenly asked me what did the person I like told me... then I told a lie: He's not the person I like."

Yiyeon's eyes widened, "Knowing Daewon, he's probably whacking his brain trying to figure out who the person is. If not, he's probably still thinking about the lie."

***

"For someone who talks a lot, you've been quiet since we've started training," Mark told Daewon.

The basketball team was ordered to run around the campus for their warm-up. However, according to their coach, the ten laps inside the basketball court were not a part of the warm-up.

Grunts of disagreement left their lips as they started running earlier, but they realized that it wasn't all bad while running.

Daewon shook his head, "Was I that quiet for you to say something, captain?" He chuckled. He returned his attention on the trail as they continued running. "I don't know... I've been occupied since last night. Don't get me wrong. I didn't drink alcohol, but..."

"Was it the game? I don't wanna pry, but is there something wrong with you and Yejin?" He asked. "You don't need to tell me anything about you two, don't worry." 

"It started when I realized my feelings for her, my best friend..." 

He and Mark slowed down.

"You guys can go ahead. Daewon and I are just going to buy some snacks for everyone at the cafeteria," Mark said, ordering the rest of the team to continue jogging.

The two of them walked towards the cafeteria.

"You developed feelings for Yejin?" Mark asked.

The other boy nodded. "I did, and when I dropped hints, I think she took it the wrong way... and then we suddenly stopped talking..."

"I have lots to say, but I think it's for you to find out," Mark chuckled. "Especially when you haven't figured out the lie yourself."

***

Jeongmin could only stare at the couple in front of her.

"It's been a while since I saw this scenario," she sighed and acted as if she was vomiting. "Could you please take your sweetness somewhere else? Thank you," she rolled her eyes.

Yangyang chuckled, "And they say they aren't dating..." he scoffed.

Jeno and Yiyeon shook their heads.

Classes resumed, and it somehow felt new to see Jeno seated at Yiyeon and her friends' table once again. Since they broke up a couple of months ago, Jeno would usually eat with his friends, while Yiyeon would eat lunch at the clubroom or somewhere else.

"We aren't, though?" Jeno chuckled.

Yiyeon suddenly froze on her seat, "Y-Yangyang, are we—"

"Hurting me? Disturbing me?" The boy chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Surprisingly, I'm fine. My chest feels lighter, even." Yangyang smiled. He faced Jeno, "Don't you dare hurt Yiyeon again."

"I would never," Jeno said, smiling at Yiyeon.

"Lunchtime's almost over, but I haven't seen neither Yejin-noona nor Daewon-hyung..." Sungchan said.

"Daewon's stuck with classroom duties... with Yejin... I don't know," she shrugged. "There's a strain between them, but I don't think I'm the one who should talk about it..." Her wristwatch beeped as she stood up, "I'll be going back to our room now. I still have to finish my report." She carried her tray and bid goodbye.

Yangyang sighed, "Knowing Daewon, he's probably gonna get what Yejin means sooner or later."

"They'd probably be together sooner than we think," Jeongmin nods.

"Yeah, Daewon would probably confess to her properly, right? Unlike someone I know who has to pretend as if he's drunk just to talk to the girl she loves," Yangyang scoffed.

All their eyes turned to Jeno, who almost choked on his food.

"You're gonna get me busted!" He said, placing his index finger in front of his lips.

***

The next day

To Yiyeon's surprise, all eyes were on her the moment she entered her classroom. She raised a brow at these people and proceeded to walk towards her seat⁠—where she saw a bouquet of tulips resting on it.

She slowly walked towards her seat, with a smile creeping onto her face. She placed her bag on the floor and studied the bouquet. She noticed a folded note, which had a badly-drawn smiley face on the cover, and she didn't have to guess who gave it. It was from Jeno.

To you, who never gave up on me.

- Jeno

"Someone's smiling like an idiot..."

Yiyeon rolled her eyes, "Shut up, Daewon."

***

"It feels odd that you and Jeno are talking again," Renjun chuckled.

Yiyeon shook her head while laughing. "I was actually surprised when I saw the flowers, too." She said and continued typing on her laptop.

"Jeno wracked his brains out for this," Donghyuck said, appearing in front of Yiyeon's table out of the blue. "Tulips... signify deep love," he smiled.

"Really?" Yiyeon asked.

The club's newest member nodded. "I mean, come on," he scoffed. "I may be new to this club, but I know how you two pined for each other."

"We all know," Renjun laughed.

Yiyeon rolled her eyes, "Are you seriously not going to do your task, Renjun? I'm telling Jaemin."

The door opened, and their editor-in-chief entered while holding a folder and a cup of coffee. 

"Speak of the devil," Donghyuck muttered as he went back to his table.

"Yiyeon-ah, the deadline for that cartoon is moved next week, Tuesday," Jaemin said. "But our adviser said that you should be working on a sports article instead."

"Okay," Yiyeon nodded while accepting the folder Jaemin handed her. "So, what time am I going to go to the basketball court today. I need to catch up with their game⁠—"

"Shotaro and I will cover the basketball game," Jaemin said.

"Then what am I going to do?" Yiyeon raised a brow. She was always tasked to cover basketball, and she wondered why it was changed all of a sudden.

"You'll be covering the volleyball practice match this afternoon with Renjun."

Yiyeon traced the name of the sport that was printed on her guide. It feels foreign yet familiar at the same time.

A gush of memories suddenly flowed inside her mind, and she wanted to run and cry.

It has been a long time.

- tbc.

I have mentioned in one of my announcements that I was planning to write an anime fanfiction here. I have already thought of a Kageyama x oc and a KageHina book, and I'm still thinking if I should do it aaaaaaaaaaaaa