vee

after a few moments, you finally open your eyes and raise your head a bit. from where you sat, you could see hyunjin's evident frown as he noticed a small purple bruise slowly forming on the side of your mouth and a cut up bottom lip.

he stands up and moves forward, the proximity close enough to knock the breath out of your lungs. you almost wanted to look away again, but the intensity of his gaze made it impossible.

hyunjin gently holds your face with his two fingers, tilting your chin up to get a better look. you shy away from him, but he stills you in place. he feels his stomach churn as he stares at the evidence of the fight.

slowly, but delicately, he brushes away a streak of blood from the side of your mouth with his thumb, saying nothing as he continues to examine it.

after a brief pause, your heart skips a nervous beat as the boy looks at you dead in the eyes. his voice is quiet and tense, and despite knowing that he's not one to get pissed off easily, this time, his anger was barely restrained.

“who did this to you?”

“hyunjin,” you swallow tightly. “it doesn't matter now. it's fine.”

he shakes his head. his stubbornness made you sigh, before you wrap your hand around his wrist gently, in an attempt to pull him away.

“i told you, it's fine. it's just a small bruise,” you reassure. hyunjin raises an eyebrow. “and… a cut up lip too, but i swear, i'm okay. this won't kill me, you know.”

hyunjin finally drops his hand, before sitting down on the space beside you. he still keeps his gaze on you, making you slightly conscious as you shift on your seat and frown.

“did you start the fight?” he asks, making you pause a bit. your hesitation makes him chuckle slightly, shaking his head as he lets out a small laugh. “hah. i guess you're the one i should be scolding, then.”

you grumble, rolling your eyes. “they were pissing me off. they can't leave the poor sophomore kid alone.”

he smiles softly. he has always adored your kindness and need to protect—he just didn't like that you get hurt every time you do so. this wouldn't be the first time you got into a fight with the bullies around, but it was the first he's seen you bruised, so he was worried the moment he laid his eyes on you earlier. a few more reprimand slips and you'd be sent to 2 weeks suspension if you weren't careful.

“you shouldn't be going around beating everyone up, y'know,” hyunjin says. “i can't keep bailing you out of detention or minimizing your reprimand slips just because i'm from the council.”

“i don't ask you to, hyunjin.”

he shrugs, “you mean a lot to me, dummy. i'd do it even if you don't ask me to,” he grins, and it was the way blood immediately rushes to your face as your heart starts to flutter. he seemed to be oblivious of the blush on your cheeks though, before standing up and reaching out a hand to hold. “just keep it at a minimum. just don't go around punching everyone who ticks you off.”

this time, a laugh escapes your lips, but you are quick to shut your mouth when you feel the cut on your bottom lip sting, followed by the numbing of your jaw.

hyunjin shakes his head, the bright smile never leaving his face before ushering you to take his hand.

“lunch time will be over soon. let's get you cleaned up at the clinic first.”

you try to ignore the loud hammering in your chest as you reach out to him. your hand envelopes around his gently, as if two puzzle pieces finally finding each other.

hyunjin holds your hand as he leads you back inside the school, humming a soft tune underneath his breath that somehow makes your tense muscles relax. it was the first time you found yourself nervous around him after spending a couple of months with him and the rest of the group. between the two of you, he was more likely to jumble his words or be reluctant, with you being more loud. during conversations, you'd be the one rambling on, talking about things that either made you happy or annoyed.

his presence never made you falter or shy, but this encounter shifted everything from your perspective.

if this is what liking someone feels like, you wouldn't mind giving it a try.