Chapter 37

Two weeks later.

Tuesday, October 10.

"Yiyeon-ah, wake up!" Yikyung barged inside his sister's room and moved all the curtains aside, letting the sunlight enter her room. "Yah!" He said as he shook his sister awake.

"What the hell?" Yiyeon groaned as she covered herself using the blanket. "Let me sleep, please... I know that it's Tuesday, but we don't have classes today."

Yikyung clicked his tongue and pulled the blanket, "It's not that! Yangyang, Sungchan, and Yejin are downstairs. They're looking for you. So if you want to look presentable, you should stand up and get ready." With that, he stood up and left the room.

The girl's eyes shot open as she quickly stood up, running towards the bathroom to brush her teeth and maybe fix her hair, too. She didn't bother to change into more presentable clothes as she ran downstairs, not wanting to make her friends wait any longer.

"What are you guys doing here? It's 7 am," she said as she approached the three who were busy drinking iced tea, it was probably Yikyung who made it. She hasn't seen Hyunjin yet.

"Yah, don't tell me that you've forgotten that today's my birthday?" Yangyang asked dramatically.

Yiyeon rolled her eyes, "How the hell am I supposed to forget when all that you've done for the past week is to remind us?" She scoffed. "Heck, I'm even the one who'll pick your cake up later."

"Okay, chill! I was just messing with you!" The boy laughed and stood up. "Is Hyunjin awake?"

She shook her head, "If he were, he would have been playing video games already."

 Yiyeon sat beside Sungchan and leaned her head on the shoulder of the younger. "Where are Daewon and Jeongmin?" She asked.

"Daewon-hyung was out for jogging earlier when we dropped by their house. Jeongmin was still asleep when we got there, so we went here," Sungchan replied. 

"Yiyeon-ah, have you looked at your grades for the midterms?" Yejin asked, shaking Yiyeon's shoulder.

Yiyeon sat properly and nodded. "Yeah, last night."

"So, how was it?" Yejin asked.

The other girl took a deep breath and shrugged, "Second in the class."

Yangyang and Yejin looked at each other, "Wait, what?!"

"That's not important now," Yiyeon said. "I'll get changed, and then I'll pick your cake up." 

"I'll go with you," Yejin said.

Yiyeon stood up, "That settles it, then. I'll go and take a bath while you guys could eat breakfast. I'm pretty sure that Yikyung is cooking already."

The three cheered as Yiyeon went back to her room.

***

"You want to tell me something, don't you?" Yiyeon asked Yejin the moment they boarded the bus.

Sungchan said he doesn't want to be stuck in their house, so he already went with Yangyang. Daewon said he'll buy a gift for their friend last minute. Jeongmin, on the other hand, just woke up (note: it was almost noon) and will go to Yangyang's house after lunch.

"How did you know?" Yejin asked, looking at Yiyeon.

The other girl sighed, "Knowing you. You'd rather go with Yangyang and Sungchan and stay inside Yangyang's room and play video games with the others." She said and sent a message to Hyunjin, saying that she and Yejin are on their way to pick Yangyang's cake up. "Tell me what I need to know," she said as she kept her phone in her pocket.

Yejin took a deep breath, "Recently... did Daewon tell you anything?" 

"Do I need to know something?" Yiyeon raised a brow.

She knows that Yejin had liked Daewon even before the six of them became friends. They've been in the same school since grade school. They've been friends since 3rd grade, and now, they're in their second year in high school.

For the longest time, Yejin has been liking Daewon.

Yejin keeps on acting as if she's not bothered by Daewon's actions for the longest time.

And for the longest time, Yejin has been hurting.

"Daewon has been ignoring me..." Yejin said as she fiddled with her fingers. "I don't think I said something that may have offended him, but I don't really know..."

Yiyeon nodded, "Yeah, knowing your attitude."

"Hey, is that supposed to console me?!" Yejin said as she playfully hit her friend's shoulder. "But seriously, I don't know how to talk to him," she sighed. "Earlier, the three of us went to Daewon's house first, before going to Jeongmin's. Yangyang texted him that we'd be dropping by for a bit. He said okay, but then when we arrived, he already left."

"Before he started ignoring you, have you two talked about something?" Yiyeon asked.

Yejin's facial expression changed quickly. "I... remember. He said he liked someone from my class. I don't know, but it didn't sit with me, Yiyeon-ah..."

"Let me guess. You said something you shouldn't have," Yiyeon said. Judging Yejin's reaction confirmed her hunch. "You didn't say anything about your feelings for him, right?" She asked.

Yejin nodded, "I'm scared to lose what we have, Yiyeon-ah..." she said and looked outside the window. "Our friendship's the only thing that's keeping us together. I don't want to risk it."

Yiyeon chuckled, "You know, you sound a lot like Yangyang." She said as she shook her head.

"What do you mean?"

"A couple of days after my birthday, Yangyang and I talked about his feelings..." Yiyeon started. "He said that same reason. Said that he was scared to lose what we have, and he wasn't willing to risk it."

They went silent for a while until they eventually reached their destination.

"I don't blame you guys, though," Yiyeon said when they got off the bus. "Frankly, I never felt the way you guys felt. The best I could do right now is to listen. I can't even say that maybe you're the person he's referring to because if not, that would only lead you on, and I don't want to be that kind of friend."

Her friend smiled and nodded, "Listening is already more than enough, Yiyeon-ah." 

"Give it time, and maybe he'll be back to normal. If not, then try talking to him. I mean, nothing could go wrong, right?" She asked.

They entered the bakeshop and waited for the lady to get the cake they had pre-ordered three days ago.

Yiyeon and Yejin sat on one of the tables and decided to continue their conversation.

"Though I don't really trust how you said that you didn't say anything that might have offended him," Yiyeon chuckled.

Yejin sighed, "I mean, let's say I did—"

"So you did," Yiyeon crossed her arms. Yejin's face was flushed. Yiyeon could only laugh at Yejin's expression. "Damn, I can't believe that it worked."

"What worked?! Did you just hypnotize me or anything?!"

"Idiot," Yiyeon scoffed. "I did nothing. I just made you tell me the truth."

"Just... how did you even do that..." Yejin said as she hid her face in embarrassment.

"I won't bother asking what you said. I'm sure it's no good," Yiyeon said as she stood up. She grabbed the ticket stub and the receipt for the cake. 

She went to the counter and handed the lady the remaining payment and the ticket stub. In exchange, the lady handed her the box of cake and her change.

"Thank you," Yiyeon bowed as she went back to their table.

They decided to wait for a cab that would take them straight to Yangyang's house. The two of them decided that they would just split the payment for the cab.

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at Yangyang's house. Yejin gave the payment to the driver and got off the cab. Yiyeon was already waiting outside the taxi while holding the box of cake.

"Liu Yangyang!" Yiyeon yelled when she saw Yangyang standing by the doorway.

"You guys are finally here!" The guy laughed as he ran towards the gate to open it for them. "Now, Hyunjin's the only one who's missing." He sighed as he got the cake from Yiyeon. "Thank you for getting this, you two."

"No sweat," Yiyeon said as she removed her footwear and went inside the house.

She stood by the doorway and waited for Yejin to remove her sneakers.

"Yiyeon-ah, could you call Hyunjin and ask what time he's coming?" Yangyang asked. "You could also ask Yikyung-hyung to come."

"My brother's busy reviewing for his finals. He's graduating this month," she said. "I'll call Hyunjin, though." 

Yiyeon told Yejin to go inside first while she calls her cousin.

After a couple of rings, he picked up.

"What time are you going?" Yiyeon asked.

"A little later, I think? I'll just wait for hyung who went to the drugstore." Hyunjin replied and groaned in pain.

"Hyunjin? Are you alright?!" Yiyeon asked, alarmed.

The boy chuckled, "Yeah, I'm fine. My stomach hurts, and I've been going in and out of the bathroom since I woke up. Yikyung-hyung went to the drugstore to buy me medicine."

"Are you sure? I mean, you could just stay there and get better. I'll tell Yangyang—"

"And suffer while you guys have the time of your lives? Heck no!" Hyunjin said.

"Alright, fine. But don't force yourself. Give me a call if it gets worse, okay?" She said.

"Alright." Yiyeon heard the door open. "Hyung is here. I'll quickly drink medicine and wait for it to take effect, I guess..."

"Okay, bye, Hyunjin!"

She placed her phone in her pocket and headed inside.

Some of the basketball team members were playing UNO cards on the floor. Yiyeon hasn't fully entered the house, but she could clearly hear how loud the sound system was.

"What the hell?" She said as she watched Jaemin chug down the drink he got from the fruit punch. This guy can't possibly be our editor-in-chief, right?

"Yiyeon-ah, what did Hyunjin say?" She turned around to reply to Yangyang.

He was heading downstairs, but he wasn't alone.

Behind him was Jeno, who looked as equally surprised as her.

- tbc.

the next chapter's gonna be nuts sdhjkhskjg