❝ and my weakness, so i hide them away in my pockets. ❞

꒰ hwiyeon. ꒱

alright, today's the day.

i've waited for my foot to get better so i can walk up to eunjoo like a real woman.

"you're really gonna do it?!" eric exclaimed.

i gestured for him to be quiet, "dude, don't yell."

"..and, yeah, i am." i nodded.

he then smiled at me as he pat my head like i'm his pet or sumn.

"good luck, then."

i smiled back, "thanks."

as we walk through the hallways, on the way to the field, someone went out the classroom we were just about to pass by.

the person almost bumped right into me, but they thankfully halted on time.

i looked up at the person, only to see sunwoo with a towel on his head.

he's on his way to practice, maybe.

"oh, hey, sun─" he completely ignored us & walked away.

rude

"he's so mean." eric huffed.

"do you know why, though?" i asked.

surprisingly, he nodded.

"why???" i curiously asked.

"uhm.. he has some problems." he answered.

it was an unclear answer but i just nodded & we continued on our way to the field.

"i gotta go to my team now, once again, good luck!" eric sent a thumbs up sign.

"good luck too." i also gave him a thumbs up.

he slightly giggled and ran across the field, to where they usually hold their baseball practice.

i looked around to search for the track and field team.

oh, there they are.

i gulped & nervously made my way over to them.

you can do this, you can do this. i repeated in my head.

sangyeon encouraged you to do this, so just do it.

i took a deep breath and that is when someone called me.

"hwiyeon..?"

i quickly turned to eunjoo.

omfg i already arrived to them before i knew it

my heart was raising in nervousness. wait- what am i gonna say?

"ah- uh- i- uhm.." i stuttered.

"greet her like you're just making a new friend." i recalled what sangyeon told me.

i gathered up all my courage.

"hi, eunjoo." i awkwardly smiled.

she looked surprised but her expression softened.

she didn't reply, but instead, she engulfed me in a hug.

i slowly hugged her back, even though i'm kinda embarrassed because of the stares we're getting from the other athletes.

"hwiyeon.. i'm sorry." she apologized.

i shook my head, "no, it's not your fault."

she pulled away from our hug & i could see her glossy eyes.

still as dramatic as younghoon and hyunjae

"i missed you very much." she pouted. "but.. i thought you hated me so.. i tried to be distant."

istg its bcs i ignored her that one time

"s-sorry.." i trailed off.

she chuckled & wiped off her tears, "why are you apologizing?"

she then sniffed. "sorry, i got carried away by your greeting and i don't know why i'm─" she sighed at herself in disappointment.

"i-i just wanted to.. become friends." i said. "er.. again."

she looked lost for a second. but then, she smiled.

"sure." she reached out her hand.

..is that all it takes to make a new friend?

i also held out my hand, shaking eunjoo's.

i was in relief that i finally accomplished it.

"so, uh.. are you gonna watch us practice..?" she unsurely asked.

oh, maybe she feels bad..?

i nodded, "yeah."

her face brightened, "really?"

"mhm."

"and after that.. should we go home together?"

that got me thinking.

what if sangyeon..

wait- no, i shouldn't think about him all the time.

"alright." i nodded.

°

"bye!" i watched eunjoo wave goodbye to her friends.

she then turned to me, "let's go."

we both started walking out the school gates in silence.

it wasn't really an awkward one, thankfully.

"do you wanna go to the mall?" she suddenly asked. "we ended practice kinda early today."

"ah, sure. let's catch up with some things." i replied.

she smiled, "i'm guessing you want to go to the book store?"

i confusingly looked at her.

"what makes you think so?"

she also gave back a confused face, "you loved reading books, right?"

wtf she still remembers that time when i was a nerd (that runs)?

i chuckled, "yeah, i loved literature."

"don't you still do?" she asked.

"well, yeah, maybe." i shrugged. "something else is filling up my mind these days, though."

she stared at me for a while.

"really? what is it?" she decided to ask.

that kind of caught me off guard.

it's not actually 'what', it's 'who'

but i can't just suddenly tell her about sangyeon when we just reunited─

i then heard her hum.

"you're kinda lookin' red." she stated.

"it's not like.." she teasingly looked at me. "you're in love, right?"

hOW─

i kept my cool & shook my head, even though she's spot on.

"i just feel kind of hot." i reasoned and fanned my face.

she just shrugged it off as we arrived at the bus stop.

°

we're finally at the mall & the cool air greeted us.

"let's do something you like first." eunjoo said. "so.. book store?"

i nodded & we immediately made our way to the book store.

"i'm into novels lately, so i might as well buy one." she said.

i turned to her, "really? since when?"

she then scratched her nape.

"i think i got it from you and i kinda missed you so.."

i slightly smiled at what she just said. we missed each other, that goes without saying.

we separated ways as we entered the book store, looking for our own kind of books.

i walked & scanned through the shelves, looking for any book that interests me.

i've always liked writing in the past, aside from running.

i was just writing down my thoughts, letting it all out when i can't let it out to someone.

...eversince my parents died, i'd rather keep everything to myself.

i've always thought that my parents were the only one who understood me.

i stopped on my tracks when a book caught my eye.

'love after the rain'

i grabbed it from the shelf & read the prologue.

i'm gonna buy this.

"oh, hey hwiyeon!"

i quickly turned to the person who just called me.

"hello, sangyeon.." i greeted back.

"oh? isn't that 'love after the rain'?" he pointed at the book i'm holding.

i nodded.

"h-have you read it..?" i asked.

he nodded with a smile. "it's very good. everything she writes is amazing."

"'she'?" i asked almost immediately.

"ah- oh, yeah.. chisa. the one who wrote that." he stated.

my mouth formed into an 'o' & i nodded.

he then looked at his watch, "oh well. by the way, i couldn't drive you home because i need to go somewhere, and i need to go there now."

need to go somewhere?

i'm curious, but.. i shouldn't meddle.

he waved at me as he walked away, "see you at work tomorrow."

i watched him disappear from my sight.

"hey, who was that?" someone whispered from behind.

i jumped in surprise. "eunjoo, what the-"

"hmm? who was that?" she repeated her question.

"th-the manager of the café i'm currently working at." i answered.

she suspiciously looked at me.

"do you like him?" she asked again.

why is she always so spot on─

"um- of course, he's a great manager." i awkwardly laughed.

"you're red." she chuckled.

"you know, hwiyeon," she started. "i noticed that you've changed."

"huh?"

"in the past, you're so mysterious and quiet. i don't know what you're thinking, or feeling. you always wear a poker face." she recalled.

"but now, i noticed that you've gotten more expressive. heck, you even came up to me and talked to me first." she laughed & patted my back.

"let's go pay for these books now."

°