~[JOSHUA]

This is so frustrating.

"Oppa, can you get me an ice-cream please?" Yerin said clinging onto my arm.

I wanted to throw up on her face right now.

As unfortunate as it was, her house was in the same direction as mine and now I'm stuck here.

"Stop calling me oppa, you're barely a week younger than me. And no, I'm not getting you anything because I just wanna go home now." I said reluctantly.

"But you are a week older than me. So I should call you-"

"Okay fine! But please don't-" I pursed my lips before continuing, "Don't squeal out. It makes you look like a weirdo. Now if you kindly excuse because I'll be going in."

Her face dropped. Still with a wide grin she said, "O-okay. Um.. you're coming to my house at 5 p.m. right?"

"That's what I was told."

"Alright. Come timely oppa! I'll be waiting for you."

If only I could rip her throat right now.

"I'll try." I tried to reply as calmly as possible.

I was about to enter into my house but again heard her screaming, "Bye oppa! See you soon."

Can I hurl a stone at her?

I shook my head brushing off that damn idea as I finally went inside.

Taking my shoes off I headed upstairs towards my bedroom.

I tossed the bag in one corner and jumped over my bed.

I slid my hands into my pants pocket and took out my phone.

My lips automatically curved into a smile as I tapped open the chat with her.

Haeyoonie :

Hola !

Amigos esperádòs?

...

I don't understand alien
language sorry

skskskskskssks

That's Spanish, idiot

Kekekekekeke

You know that you don't
have to flex your language
skills

(-_-)

But it's funnnnnn

Especially when you get
angry with it

...

You're being a meanie right
now!

But it's funny when you
turn tomato red in anger

(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

.

..

...

....

What are you trying
to do

Next time we meet

I swear

I'll

Type your thoughts
in one sentence gosh

Don't butt in

I can't help if my butt
is large

Save that big butt
for your wifey

Tsk

I clicked my tongue as a devilish comeback popped up in my mind.

But ultimately, I didn't let it go as per my plan because I felt it might be inappropriate for her.

I started typing again.

How was your
day

Did Jeonghan pick on
you??

Ah it was pretty okay

No he was calm throughout the
day

Are you fr?????

Yoonie you can tell me
if he did something to you

I'm being honest Shua

He didn't do anything

And what will you do,
if he messes with me?

That's my business

Not for you to know

You know what?

You sounded like a psycho
mafia right now

What if I am one?

;)

WHAT !!!?!!!??!

Lmao I was kidding!

Damn you took it seriously!

Anyways, you're done with
your project right?

No

I'll be going to his house
at 8

Oh okay...

An unknown wave of insecurity and tension hit me.

Should I perhaps give you
company over there??

No no!

It's pretty okay

I'll be fine by myself

Really?

Absolutely.

Don't worry about me
so much

How did it go with Yerin?

How would you like it
when someone calls you
oppa

Um... I'm a girl

How would I know lol

Damn girl, she makes me
feel like a grandpa

I swear if I could rip her throat

Or atleast push her off a cliff

Okay okay young man

Save your intrusive thoughts
for some other time

Lmao you and your thoughts
scare me sometimes

Glad to know that

*imaginary hair flip*

Hey btw

?

I can't come today

Oh I know that

How come??

I do not recall telling
you anything

Oops-

I might have eavesdropped
your conversation

(⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠)

Lmao

You're a observant little
pie you know

But hit me up or call me
right away if you need
anything, alright?

Aight

Roger that sir

Good girl

ᕙ⁠(⁠ ⁠ ⁠•⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠•⁠ ⁠ ⁠)⁠ᕗ

Seen.

I left my phone and started getting ready as it was almost 5 pm.

Time to visit hell is nearing.

Finally the door to hell appeared in front of me.

I reluctantly knocked.

"Come in!" A female voice was heard from inside.

I slowly made my presence inside.

It was a huge house, not gonna lie. The theme was beige. I was flabbergasted by the expensive designs and furniture scattered throughout the living room.

"Don't just stand there please feel yourself at home. Now c'mon." Yerin dragged me upstairs.

Twisted the doorknob she opened another room. This room had a pink and white theme decorated by plushies and random yet cute doodles and stickers.

"What would you like to have?" she said diverting my attention to her.

"Nothing. I'm full. I'll just start the project right away."

"O-okay. Here's your seat." she said pulling out a chair.

I sat down and started to take out my laptop, notebook and pen.

"I'll be downstairs for a few minutes. Is it alright?" she said placing her hand on my shoulder.

I took a glance at her hand ay first and then to her face. Politely removing it, I said, "Yeah okay."

"Alright." I could sense the dismayal in her tone.

Tsk.

And that's how, she left the room.

The same thing as usual. It's just me who does the project while she just "oppa"s me out.

I have absolutely no words to describe her cringey and annoying behaviour, so yeah, I worded it as "oppa".

I sighed and continued my work.

It's better this way. Atleast I don't have to deal with her annoying ass.

Even though I wanted to text Haeyoon right now to kill this eerie silence, I backed away from it for I knew that once I start chatting with her there's no sooner end to it.

I chuckled and continued googling stuff.

Around 40 or 45 minutes later, I heard the door open. I didn't even turn to take a look at the guest for the weird strong scent of perfume already gave me knowledge of who it was.

"How far are we?" her strong stench hit my nose like a bullet.

"Almost done with the search and now I just need to-" I suddenly stopped midway when I felt her fingers running over my neck as she stood behind me.

I was about to remove her hand when suddenly she brought her face too close to my neck.

I knew what was coming through and instantly jerked away from her while I stood up.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SEO YERIN!? HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND!!?" I said as I looked at her in disbelief while packing up my things.

"Ow! Why are you shouting, handsome? You're making it seem as if you didn't enjoy it..." she staggered with her words while encircling her hands over my neck again.

This shit is dangerous.

I creased my face when the weird odour suddenly engulfed me, "Yerin have you been drinking?"

"Yeah. A 20 year old Möet. You want some?"

"Yerin you're 17 and drinking already!!!" I pushed her away harshly, "I need to inform this to your parents."

I was about to leave the room when suddenly I heard her laughing like a maniac.

"What's so funny now? Aren't you afraid of the punishment you'd be getting for this?"

"Ah sorry...I was laughing because I was just imagining the condition of your dear little friend in school after you complain." she got up and started walking towards me again as she sarcastically blurted out her last words.

Tilting her head she tried to sound sarcastic but actually came out sardonic as she spoke, "Do you know why I started drinking in the first place?"

I won't buy any of her words.

But, would I?

"Because your friend decided to push me off the bleachers because my boyfriend, or let me say, my ex-boyfriend dated me and not her! Out of fucking jealousy she pushed me off the bleachers!! Good thing Chaewon saw and I was instantly hospitalized. But because of that, Minhyuk.....he broke up with me!!! He fucking broke up with me because of Haeyoon!!"

She was crying and panting hard from screaming so much.

I guess I would have believed if I had not seen her true intentions for myself that day.

I folded my arms over my chest and asked quietly, "Are you done?"

She stopped wiping her tears and gave me a look of disbelief.

"I asked are you done with your melodrama?" anger laced over my voice.

"Oh so my life story was a drama too you, huh?"

"Well, shouldn't it be so? Afterall, you gave value to your life only when he did. After he left, you tossed your worth into a trashcan like an empty coffee cup. What should I conclude more of this."

I paused for a while and spoke again, "By the way, the story was quite cheap. So I'd appreciate if you do not butt in Haeyoon's business. Or else, you better be ready to say goodbye to your pretty face forever." I hissed out my last words and went out of her damned house.

'A perverted psychopath' my mind repeated the words on my way to home.

...

I returned to my room and flopped down on my bed.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I called her without a second thought.

I needed her serotonin boost so fucking bad right now.

Unfortunately she didn't pick up.

"...must be busy.." I kept it down and turned on the TV instead watching whatever just to cool off myself.

...

TIME SKIP~9:45 p.m.

I grew worried as she didn't call me back.

"Is she really that busy at Jeonghan's...?" my thoughts were beginning to eat up my brain.

"But isn't it a bit late now?"

"Is she gonna walk home alone after this? No Jeonghan wouldn't be that inconsiderate, would he be?"

"But he can't stand her for a second."

Without thinking any more, I called her again.

"The number you are calling is currently switched off-"

"What the fuck?" I was utterly shocked.

Why would she switch off her phone.

I wasn't getting a good vibe of it so I immediately called Jeonghan.

"What-"

"Where's she?" I asked in a dark octave.

"I don't know."

"What the fuck you don't know?!"

"Jeez stop screaming into my ears! I don't know where she ran off to!"

"Ran off? W-what do you mean?"

"I-I don't know. We had a quarrel and...."

"And what!? Speak up faster!!" I was losing my shit as beads of sweat were popping up in my forehead even though the air conditioner was turned on.

"And she ran out suddenly! S-she was crying-"

"AND YOU'RE LOUSING OVER THERE!?"

"What the fuck can I do!? I don't know where sh-she could go..."

For some reason my eyes diverted towards the window, only to find it was raining heavily.

I poked my tongue on my inner cheek as I abruptly hung up the call. He was about to say something more but I cannot risk to waste a minute more.

Please stay safe, Haeyoon-ah... I'm coming.

...

10:07 p.m.

~[JUN]

"Junnie-ah can you get me some groceries from the convenience store?"

I was watching TV and felt irritated by her request but I show it.

"You mean like, right now?" I looked at her in disbelief.

"Yes right now. I need to make the dinner."

"But mom it's raining!"

"Use my car and go."

"Mom can't we go with some ramyeon or cup noodles for dinner today? Please don't wanna go out now."

"Absolutely not! We already had 5 packets of noodles this week and I'm sick of it. You are going to the convenience store now. No buts."

"But mom-"

"The longer you argue the latter you will be. There's no change of decision."

I sighed. Grabbing my jacket and car keys, I went out.

"This is so frustrating!" I probably took my anger on the car for I twisted the keys a bit too much that resulted the engine to start up with a mild jolt.

I sighed and drove off.

I was done buying the things mom needed and now I was heading back home. I decided to the route round the city park rather than directly going back home because honestly, I enjoyed watching heavy showers.

I reached the park.

I decided to stop and take some fresh air for a while. I stepped out and decided to take a walk around.

It's been quite a while since I came here.

I was walking around enjoying the rain when suddenly I spotted a figure on the bench.

I was scared shitless as I thought all the possible urban legends that could turn into reality at this moment.

Yet mustering up courage, I gingerly walked to towards it.

It was a human. A female.

Going closer, my heart dropped down to my stomach when I recognized the face.

Haeyoon.

She was completely drenched and was passed out on the bench.

"H-haeyoon? Haeyoon wake up! What happened to you??"
I nervously tapped her cheeks but she was deadass unconscious.

Feeling helpless, I was almost about to call Jeonghan when suddenly I noticed a figure running towards us.

Joshua.

He was surprised to find me there but suddenly dropped on his knees when he saw the passed out Haeyoon on the bench.

"H-haeyoon!! Hey hey wake up! W-wake up champ you can't be sleeping here!!" I could feel his broken voice.

I gently tapped his shoulder and spoke, "She is unconscious I guess. Take her to my car, I'll drop you guys off at...?"

"My house." Joshua spoke, his eyes red from crying.

"Okay." I nodded my head and was about to help him carry her but I was kind of shocked when he suddenly picked her up in bridal style and ran towards my car.

Making sure both of them were alright, I started the engine. It was eeriely silent.

Midway through the drive, I decided to break it for it was unbearable.

"How did all this happen?"

After a minute of silence he finally answered in a shaky voice, "I don't know. She had gone over to Jeonghan's house and he said they had some quarrel and she ran off."

I stayed silent. This didn't sound good at all.

"I bet it was about what happened in school today..."

"What do you mean? What happened today?"

"Didn't she tell you?"

He shook his head.

I sighed.

"Well let's just say, Jeonghan, Mingyu and Soonyoung behaved rudely with her." I used the word 'rudely' intentionally because I could already feel Joshua would lose his temper if he gets to know the exact thing right now.

Afterall, he is head over heels for her.

Joshua usually stays calm and gentle but at times his anger sparks out.

And trust me, his anger isn't something to mess with.

He could murder someone in the most notorious way possible in a fit of rage.

And Haeyoon was a pretty sensible spot for him.

Speaking of which, he had been weirdly quiet during the whole ride. I could see the anger in his eyes even though he was looking out of the window with his one hand wrapped around her in a supporting manner as she continued being unconscious over his shoulder.

We reached his house.

Opening the door, he was about to step out when I suddenly spoke, "Joshua after you're done, can you come down for a second?"

He nodded his head and picked her up in bridal style as he went inside his house.

Around five minutes later, he came back.

I stepped out of my car finally and faced his bloodshot red eyes.

He was fiercely angry at this moment.

"Didn't you say anything when they were talking rudely to her?" he blurted out. Considering his condition, I would say it was still so calm of him to talk like that.

I sighed as I answered, "You know how Jeonghan is. He doesn't like anyone crossing his paths..."

"Fine." he looked away.

"But Joshua," he faced me again, "can you promise me something?"

"Depends on yours demands."

I sighed.

"Can you promise to gatekeep her, all the time?"

"What are you trying to say?"

I placed my hand over his wet shoulder and I spoke again, "Look friend, I can understand what you feel about her right now. Believe it or not, Jeonghan felt the same about her, once upon a time. But then... everything shattered."

"I never knew when people like someone they treat them as trash. Stop feeding me with lies, Moon Junhui! I'm sick of this!" he brushed off my hand, a bit harshly to be honest.

"I'm not talking about that. What I'm trying to say is that... don't let her go. Even a lifetime of regret won't make you feel less guilty if you choose to ignore it. Learn by watcing Jeonghan. Yes he indeed hates and humiliates her but, I can feel that somewhere, he does regret his decisions and now that he understands that he can't turn back time and chooses to go with the flow."

"At least he could do the bare minimum of behaving himself! How would you explain that??"

"There is an explanation to that too. He chooses to ignore her but sometimes he feels the sudden urge to talk to her. But he's afraid of falling for her again because he believes she drowned his sister into the pool that night, which is not true. We all tried to explain to him but-"

"Drowned at the pool? What do you mean?"

"Um...I don't know if I should say that to yo-"

"Spill it out Junhui. I need to know every detail of this bullshit. I knew it was a fucking rumour."

I pursed my lips debating on whether to tell him or not when suddenly my phone rang.

Couldn't be a more accurate timing.

The caller id lightened up with mom's name.

"Hey man, I gotta go now. Mom's calling me. Just, stay by her side always, please." I said as I started the engine and bid him goodbye and drove off.

"I hope everything goes well..."