Unlikely Duet - Ch. 10
Genre: Fluff, Angst
Length: +6k words
NJZ Minji x Male OC
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Yuno’s POV
Like a cliche, gray clouds gather in the sky, promising a downpour on a day like this—the day I hit lower than rock bottom. The only silver lining I can find in all this shit is finally being able to see Minji after what feels like forever. I just wish her parents weren’t also here.
“Here,” Mrs. Kim says, sliding a paper cup of water and a wrapped pastry towards me. “You should eat.”
The coffee shop, in all its efforts to appear lively and casual, just feels like another wing of the hospital—quiet, heavy, and full of people barely holding on. I take the flimsy paper cup and sip at the stale water. The pastry stays untouched. I'm not sure I can stomach it right now.
“Thank you,” I utter, not quite meeting their eyes. The usual disdain in them doesn’t feel as strong today.
Minji fidgets with her hands under the table. Everything that happened after she found me in the hallway went by in a blur. Part of me still can't believe that it's really her. The other part of me wishes she didn't find me in such a sorry state.
Mr. Kim clears his throat. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” I stare into the empty paper cup, rolling it idly in my hand. “It’s my dad. He…” My voice gets caught in my throat. I grit my teeth in an effort to compose myself. “...He’s sick."
A beat of silence passes as my words slowly sink in. “We’re sorry to hear that. Truly,” Mr. Kim offers.
I just nod, unsure of what to say. A heartfelt apology feels so foreign, especially coming from him.
“How is his condition?” he asks.
“Stable, I think,” I mutter. “He’s breathing.”
“Breathing is good,” Minji utters, her voice so soft I almost miss it. She opens her mouth like she wants to say more, but decides against it in the end. As small as they are, those words mean more than anything.
Mrs. Kim slides the untouched pastry closer to me. “You need to eat something if you’re going to be there for your father,” she says, not unkindly.
I glance at her with uncertainty. The lack of iciness in them feels especially jarring. Nonetheless, I take the pastry, offering a small yet grateful nod.
“We should get going,” Mr. Kim says as he glances at his watch. As Minji’s parents head towards the exit, Minji’s lips quiver as if she wants to say something.
“U-um,” she stutters, “Father, may I—”
“I’ll bring the car around,” he says, wearing an expression I can’t quite read. “It looks like it’s about to rain.”
“Don’t take too long, dear,” Mrs. Kim adds, sparing us a brief glance.
Minji lets out a long exhale as her parents exit, leaving the two of us alone to speak. There’s so many things I want to say to her, yet so little time.
The first thing that comes out is a small, “Thank you.”
She lets her lips lilt into a gentle smile, the mask she wears in front of her parents melting away. “I haven’t even done anything,” she says.
“You’re here.” I let out a short breath. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t found me.”
Minji’s eyes turn glassy as they peer into mine. “I’m sorry about everything. You don’t deserve any of this.” She leans forward a bit, her expression growing stern. “And you better not say you do, because you don’t.”
I can’t help but smile at her remark. “Okay. I won’t.”
“Good.” Her eyes soften and I get lost in them like a maze I don’t want to escape. The last time I was able to stare at them like this feels like a lifetime ago.
“How are you holding up?” she asks. “Every time I see you, you seem so… tired.”
I sigh, my body sinking into the chair. “I am,” I admit. It’s been forever since I’ve been able to properly eat or sleep. My sanity is holding on by a thread and I can barely control what's left of me these days.
Minji tentatively reaches out, interlocking her fingers with mine. Every muscle in my body loosens as our palms mold against each other like puzzle pieces. Who knew a touch could be so gentle?
“I… don’t know what this means,” I utter, staring at our intertwined hands. “But I want to know.”
Minji’s lips quiver with hesitation. I wonder if that was the correct thing to say. Was it too soon? Should I have just kept my mouth shut? Before I can linger on the thought for any longer, a black car rolls up to the front of the coffee shop. From outside, Mrs. Kim waves at Minji to leave.
Both of us jolt our hands back in fear of being caught. Why does this have to feel illegal? Why is it so hard just to hold her hand?
“I have to go. I’m sorry,” Minji mutters, a sigh drawing from her lips. “I really, really, really want to talk more, but…” Her gaze falls to the ground.
“It’s fine,” I breathe. The words feel bitter on my tongue. “You should go.”
Minji reluctantly trudges towards the exit, looking back just one more time. I can see it in her eyes, all the things she wants to say dancing at the tip of her tongue. It feels comforting in a way, knowing that I’m not the only one who feels like this.
“Bye, Yuno.”
“Bye, Minji.”
I watch her car leave until it's nothing but a black dot in the distance. Once again, I'm alone.
I sink into the chair, the weight of everything pulling me down. But, for a single fleeting moment, resting in Minji’s palm, I felt like I could finally breathe. Like fate threw me a damn bone for once.
The unopened pastry sits idle in front of me. Tentatively, I tear open the plastic wrapping and bring it to my lips. It tastes… stale and cold—but it’s enough. Enough to make me realize that, despite it all, I have to keep going. Too much is at stake if I give up now. And I’m not ready to say goodbye to the people around me, the ones that saw a reason to stay that I haven’t been able to find in myself.
So, I force myself to chew through the tough pastry. Because I need to eat something if I plan on moving forward.
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The brief talk I had with Minji yesterday didn’t change much. It didn’t magically make my dad recover overnight. It didn’t erase Sunghoon from existence. But at the very least, it made me feel a little lighter. The problems I’m facing are my own, but I have people around me now—people that care enough to make my burdens more bearable.
And right now, there's two people that I've been pushing away for far too long.
My footsteps echo throughout the empty hallways as I walk towards my locker. I’m never at school this early, but I need a second to breathe before I face Yujin and Winter. I’ve been a shitty friend to them these past few days, stumbling around like a zombie while pretending that everything’s fine. Yujin’s constant worry, my outburst against Winter, I need to apologize for all of it.
“Hey.” I hear Yujin’s voice approach me from the end of the hallway. Winter trails behind him, like she’s bracing for another outburst. “We got your text. You wanted to talk?”
My gaze falls to the ground, unable to meet their eyes. “Hey. Yeah, just… sorry. For everything.” I suck a breath in through my teeth and release it back into the air.
The air between me and them is silent and distant. Maybe I really have fucked things up for good. “When shit hits the fan, I shut down,” I continue, fist balled inside my pocket. “Don’t talk for days, sometimes weeks if it’s that bad. It happened back then when… when my mom died.” I feel the words tangle up in my throat, threatening to choke me, but they need to know the whole truth. They need to know why I am the way I am. Why I’m so bad at shit like this. If I’m gonna be better—for them, for Minji—they need to know the truth.
“Back then, it didn’t matter. There was no one around me I could talk to. Everyone knew me as the shy kid with no friends, so on the outside, I seemed fine. My dad did the same. I would always find him staring at pictures of mom. He wouldn’t cry, just… stare. Like if he stared long enough, she’d step out of the frame and everything would turn back to normal.”
The first few nights after mom died were the worst. When the news finally hit that she succumbed to her injuries, dad and I both shut down. We were all we had left, but neither of us could bring ourselves to talk about her openly. The house we had lived in our whole lives felt so hollow without her. She was in everything—the couch she fell asleep on during movie nights, the kitchen that was filled with the smell of her cooking, the hallways lined with memories that I’m still grieving.
A shaky breath brushes past my lips as I fight to hold back the tears. “Before you guys, I had no one. Once dad got a hold of alcohol, there wasn’t a single person I could talk to about any of this. And I was fine with that. Or, at least I thought I was.” My nails dig into my palm, a desperate attempt at keeping myself together.
“It’s why I got into so many fights—there’s no space to think about anything else when your life's on the line. Over time, my reputation grew into what it is today. People avoided me, like saying the wrong thing would make them my next target, and I continued on like this because I had no fucking clue what else to do.”
I let out a long sigh, the weight of everything I’ve kept inside finally lifting off of my shoulders. Even as the ghosts of my past claw at my chest, a sense of relief washes over me. Like I can finally breathe again. “This isn’t an excuse for the way I’ve been acting, I just… thought you guys should know.”
Before I even have a chance to think, I feel two pairs of arms wrap around me tightly.
“Dude…” Yujin says, his voice a mere whisper against my ear. “I’m so sorry.”
“Me too,” Winter adds gently, squeezing my shoulder. “No one deserves to carry all that alone.”
I open my mouth, ready to brush off their comments with an “I’m fine” or an “It’s not a big deal”. But instead, I say, “Thank you. For being here.”
I pull them close, careful not to crush them in my arms. The three of us stay like that for a while, not caring about the weird looks from students passing by. When we finally let go of each other, something in me feels different. Lighter. Like I’m truly not alone anymore.
Yujin looks at me, brows knit together. “So, what happened that made you shut down like this?” he asks.
I explain everything—the banquet, the kiss, Sunghoon, Minji’s parents, and what happened with my dad. The entire time, they just listen, letting me pour out everything that’s been keeping me down. It really does feel good to have friends.
“Wow…” Yujin sighs. “I knew something was off, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Why didn’t you tell us all this earlier? We could’ve done something to help you.”
“I don’t know,” I utter regretfully. “I didn’t want to burden you guys with all this shit.”
“You’re not a burden, you’re our friend,” Winter says softly.
“Thanks.” I look her in the eye. “And sorry for my outburst yesterday. You didn’t deserve that.”
Her lips curl into a small smile. “It’s okay. It was… scary, but I know you. We both do. And we know you wouldn’t hurt us unless you were hurting yourself.”
I truly don’t deserve these two.
“Oh!” Yujin exclaims suddenly, pointing at my face. “Are you crying?”
“What, I’m not—” I brush my eye, tear droplets rubbing off on my finger. Sniffling, I wipe them away, hoping that’s the last of them.
“Come here, man.” Yujin, arms outstretched, tries to hug me again, but I keep him away with my arm.
“Get off of me, I’m not crying—”
“—Don’t fight it, we’re here for you, bud—”
“—Yujin, I swear to fucking—”
“—C’mon, love me!”
The hallways begin to fill with chatter as the first period draws nearer. Winter giggles to herself, ignoring my pleas for help, while I try to keep an annoyingly persistent Yujin at arms reach. I should be annoyed, but for the first time in a while, I feel normal. Happy, even. Happy in a way that I haven’t felt in forever.
“Yuno.”
I whip my head around to see Principal Geier looking at us, holding a serious expression.
“Winter. Yujin. Good morning,” he greets with a nod.
“G-good morning, s-sir.”
“G’mornin!”
“I just need to borrow Yuno for a moment,” Geier says. “There’s some things we need to discuss.”
Winter and Yujin exchange uneasy looks, but I put a hand on their shoulders, squeezing them for reassurance. “I’ll be fine,” I tell them, and for once, I mean those words. “I’ll see you guys later.”
I shoot them a grin before following Geier along the familiar route to his office. Whatever he has to say, I’m ready for it. Fate be damned.
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“Sit,” Geier says, his tone gentler than usual. I expect him to bring up what happened with Sunghoon. Knowing that prick, he probably snitched to get me suspended or something.
“How are you doing these days?” he asks, catching me off guard with his sincerity. “I’ve noticed you’ve looked a bit down recently. Everything alright?”
“Uh…” I’m not about to dump all my emotional baggage on the principal of all people. “I’m doing better now,” I utter.
“Good, good,” he nods, hands folded on his desk. “Back there, are they your friends? Winter and Yujin?
I feel a smile creep up onto my face before I can stop it. “Yeah, they’re my… best friends.” The words sound foreign yet pleasant coming out of my mouth.
“Hey, that’s great to hear.” Geier grins at me, which freaks me out a bit. I’m much more used to the angry tomato he turns into than whatever this is. “It took a while, but you found your people.”
“Yeah, I guess… So, what is this about?” I ask, skepticism in my tone.
He scoffs, offended. “What, I can’t check up on my students? I’m the principal for pete’s sake, this is my job, Yuno.”
“Right.” I still can’t quite shake the feeling that something is off here.
“Look, I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but if there’s anything you would like to discuss while you’re here, I’m happy to listen.” He leans forward in his chair like he’s half-expecting me to suddenly pour my heart out. I’d rather he just yell at me at this point.
“Uh… Nope. Nothing,” I say.
“Nothing?”
I shake my head. If he wanted me to dump my entire tragic backstory on him, he should’ve come a minute earlier in the hallway.
Geier leans back in his seat with a defeated sigh. “Fair enough. Get back to class,” he says as he waves me off.
As I gather my backpack off the ground, I stop—as much as I hate to admit it, he’s saved my ass more than once. The least I can do is throw him a bone.
“I guess… I could use some advice,” I mumble reluctantly.
“Yeah?” His eyes light up just a smidge. “What’s going on?”
“My dad is… unwell.” I clear my throat, pushing each word through. “I don’t really, um, know what to do or, like, say to him, I guess? He’s been doing better recently, but then this happened, and now… I’m terrified.” My vision blurs as tears threaten to pour from my face. Fuck. I’m trying not cry in front of my principal of all people, but it’s the truth—I am fucking terrified. Even if he’s stable now, what if something bad happens later? What if, on top of all the shit that’s been going on lately, I lose my dad after I just got him back?
I can’t go through this again. But I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to stop it.
Geier lets out a heavy sigh into the air, his expression noticeably darker. “I’m so sorry, Yuno. I can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through,” he begins, slowly, calmly. “It’s hard not to feel powerless when it feels like your world is collapsing all around you. But I can promise you this—you are not alone.”
He leans forward in his chair, making sure that I hear every word. “You have a support system, Yuno. Lean on them. Don’t try to shoulder all these problems alone, because you aren’t alone. You never are. And speaking as a father, I can tell you right now that all your father needs is you. Be there for him. Show him what he needs to fight for.”
I wipe my tears against my sleeve as his words hang in the air. God dammit—he’s not so bad at this whole “principal” thing after all. “O-okay…” I mutter, sniffling.
Geier scribbles his signature on a slip of paper and hands it to me. “Here’s a pass. If you need anything else from me, you know where I am, alright?”
“Yeah.” I take the pass from him and trudge towards the door. “Uh, thanks, Geier.”
He gives me a final nod as I shut the door behind me. In the now empty hallways, I lean against the wall, getting my bearings for a quiet moment. Christ, when did I get so emotional? I feel like I’ve shed more tears in the past two days than I have in the past couple years. Thank God no one burst into the room while I was being a big fucking cry baby.
I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, probably my friends wondering what Geier wanted. But as my eyes scan the notification, my jaw drops to the floor in utter shock.
Minji: hey :) meet me in the music room after school?
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The end of the day can’t come fast enough. As soon as the final bell rings, I jump out of my seat and sprint all the way to the music room. Having never been anywhere near the music room, I get lost a couple times, but it doesn’t matter. I would scale the entire world on foot if it meant Minji was somewhere waiting for me.
I skid to a halt outside the door as I finally find it, tucked away in a quiet corner of the campus. Taking a second to catch my breath, I gently push the door open, finding Minji sitting in front of a grand piano. Her slender fingers lightly dance along the keys as she sways her head to a song playing through her earbuds. Golden afternoon light cascades from the windows and rests on the soft skin of her cheek. I almost cry again from the mere sight of her—she’s so beautiful.
Finally, after staring at her for way longer than I probably should, Minji notices my presence, her lips curling into a soft grin. “Yuno.”
I feel my chest tighten from the sound of her voice. “I, uh, got your text.”
“So you did.” She pats the spot next to her, inviting me over.
The last time we were this close, we were in a dreary coffee shop on a rainy day after I just went through one of the worst experiences of my life. But now, we’re here, in the sunny quiet where no one can disturb us. Our own little pocket of the universe, even if it’s just for a fleeting moment.
“I didn’t know you played,” I comment, glancing at the piano keys.
“Kind of,” she breathes. “I used to come here all the time when I was a freshman and teach myself piano whenever I had free time. Sometimes the music teacher would come in and teach me a song or two.” Her smile widens at the memory. “But after I became student council president, I haven’t been able to stop by as often. I was never that good in the first place, but it was always fun to learn something new. Something that my parents didn’t force me to do.”
“I’d love to hear you play.”
“Maybe.” She gazes longingly at the piano, fingers brushing against the keys just light enough so that they don’t make a sound. “Y’know, I never really wanted to become student council president.”
My brow raises in surprise. “Really?”
She nods. “I don’t regret doing it—I like being able to help people on a larger scale and trying to make things better from the inside out—but this was always what my parents wanted me to do.”
“Huh,” I breathe, letting her words sink in. “What do you wanna do?”
“I don’t know,” Minji sighs. “I mean, I do know, I’m just not sure if I have the courage to do it.”
It’s entirely unfair that someone as talented and hardworking as Minji has to go through all this shit. It makes sense for me, but what did she ever do to deserve this? Tentatively, I reach for her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. Her eyes widen at me, cheeks turning a rosy pink, but she doesn’t pull away.
“You’re stronger than you think,” I say softly, looking into her eyes. “I know it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but I believe in you.”
Minji’s lips curl into a smile, and I swear it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. “That means a lot. Thank you.” Her gaze falls down to our hands, still tenderly intertwined. “I guess we should talk about what this is.”
I gulp nervously. “Do you want me to let go?”
She shakes her head. “Do you want to let go?”
“No,” I admit. I’d much sooner cut my own arm off then willingly let go of her hand.
“Good.” She gently squeezes my hand in hers. “So I guess this means we’re… dating?”
As much as I would like that, it just doesn’t feel right. Not yet, at least. “I'm… not sure,” I utter.
Minji lets out a long sigh, her thumb gently caressing the back of my hand. “Honestly, me neither. Things have been so hectic lately that the thought of us happening just feels… unreal.”
I nod in agreement, but I can’t quite quell the gnawing insecurity in the back of my head. After everything that happened, we’re finally here, together, but the thought of messing it all up before we even start scares the hell out of me.
I like Minji. I want to be her boyfriend. I want to hold her hand and keep her close and be hers in every sense of the word. Fearful yet determined, I suck in a deep breath. “Maybe we can start things slow. No labels, just us,” I suggest sheepishly. “I… like you, Minji. A lot. And I really don’t want to mess this up.”
Minji bites her lip, failing to fight back a smile as her cheeks turn as pink as cherry blossoms in spring. “You’re stronger than you think. I believe in you,” she teases. “And I like you too, Yuno. A lot.”
As those words grace my eardrums, I feel my heart burst out of my chest, growing wings and flying to the Heavens above. Eat shit, Sunghoon. This girl—this beautiful, amazing, smart, kind, angel of a person—said that she likes me. I don’t care about what her parents think, or what those other rich fucks think, or what anyone else in the world thinks.
Minji Kim likes me. And that matters more than anything.
“Uh, do you have to be anywhere soon?” she asks, a shy look in her eyes.
“Not for a few hours,” I reply. “Why?”
Minji offers me one of her earbuds. “I told my parents I had a student council meeting today so they won’t expect me home for a little while. Do you want to listen to music together?”
As if I could ever say no to her. I take the earbud and place it into my ear, watching as Minji scrolls through her playlist. After a second, the sound of a gentle piano plays straight into my ear, making my body sway side to side. As each note plays, I feel my body growing lighter and lighter, like I might float away if Minji’s grip wasn’t tethering me to the ground.
Outside of these four walls, things are still a mess. My dad is in the hospital. Sunghoon is still creeping around somewhere. Minji’s parents still don’t approve of me. But right now, none of that matters. It’s just us. Not quite friends, not quite dating—something in the middle that’s uniquely our own.
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Dad’s condition has improved since I last saw him passed out and barely breathing. The doctor says he won’t be 100% for a couple more days, so I’m making an effort to visit him when I can. Like Geier said: ”Show him what he needs to fight for.”
“Are you sure these flowers are okay?” Winter asks, a vase full of pink carnations in hand. “I don’t even know if your dad likes pink.”
“It’s fine,” I reassure her. “He’ll love them.”
“It’ll really stand out against all these white walls, don’t you think?” Yujin adds with a chuckle. Hospitals never fail to make me feel some type of way, but at least I’m not alone this time.
As we enter my dad’s room, we see him scraping down the remnants of a jello cup while watching a rerun of Jeopardy on TV. “Hey kiddos,” he says, his eyes lighting up once he notices us.
“Hi, dad,” I say, mirroring his grin. “I brought some friends from school, Winter and Yujin.”
Winter nervously sets down the vase on his bedside table. “H-hello, Mr. Lin. We got these f-for you.”
“Thank you! How’d you know my favorite color was pink?” my dad jokes. Compared to how he was on day one—just barely clinging on to life—seeing him so animated puts my mind at ease.
Yujin approaches him, hand outstretched. “It’s nice to officially meet you, sir! I must say, you’ve done a fine job raising your son!” As nice as the sentiment is, I can’t help but cringe on the inside.
Dad matches Yujin’s energy, shaking his hand with the same fervor. “Did I?” He glances at me, and for a moment, I can see a crack in his expression. It’s just a mere flash, but I know what it means—all the regret of not being there for me these past couple years is still eating at him from the inside. “I can’t take all the credit. His mom did most of the work. Isn’t that right?”
I shake my head and quickly change the subject. “How are you feeling, dad?”
“Amazing, if you can believe it.” He reclines back in his bed, his hands resting behind his head with a content sigh. “They got all the streaming services here, and I get as many jello cups as I want.”
“Even the lime ones?!” Yujin asks, his eyes widening as if all-you-can-eat jello is the epitome of luxury.
“Absolutely, my friend,” Dad chuckles. With how sociable he is, it’s a wonder how I’m his son. “So how’d you two meet Yuno?”
A flash of panic hits me. “Well, uh—”
“He beat up my bully for me.” Yujin beats me to the punch, casually explaining my violent past in less than a dozen words.
“He… did?” Dad glances towards me with an expression I can’t quite read. Disappointment? Anger? Confusion? Maybe all of it. My gaze falls to the side, cheeks burning with shame.
“M-mine too, technically,” Winter adds. Well that’s just great.
An awkward tension hangs in space between me and my dad and I can’t bring myself to meet his eyes. Part of the process of becoming a better person is coming to terms with the fact that I did shitty things, noble intentions or not. I hurt people. I probably put them in this same exact hospital. Maybe even the same bed my dad is in at one point in time.
This feeling sucks, but I have to come clean eventually. I can’t keep my dad in the dark forever, right?
“Yeah,” I utter carefully. “They were being bullied, and no one else would do anything about it, so I… stepped in.”
My dad doesn’t say anything right away, leaving me to guess what he’s thinking.
‘When did I raise such a monster?’
‘Your mother would be so disappointed in you.’
Something along those lines, probably.
"So, that time you came home with all those bruises…" my dad mutters, putting the pieces together.
I nod. "These guys were threatening Winter. I didn't want her getting hurt, so…"
A tense moment passes. And then, a laugh.
"You really are your mom's son," he chuckles.
"What?"
"Oh yeah, she was a real firecracker when she was your age." My dad's eyes wash over with this dreamy look as he recalls the past. "She couldn't stand bullies. Half the time, I was there to calm her down, but if I wasn't? Oh boy. She once took down five other girls by herself and walked away with nothing but a broken nose!"
Yujin, Winter, and I exchange confused looks. "Mom was really like that?" I ask.
"You should've seen her, Yuno! If it weren't for your grandma forcing her to become a nurse, I bet she would've been a world champion MMA fighter!" he guffaws.
To think, my own mom, who I only remember as being kind and compassionate, used to be just like me?
I imagine what she must've been like in her younger days. Was she enraged by the lack of action from the school? Did she take matters into her own hands to protect others, even if it meant getting herself hurt? Did grandma ever scold her for always getting into trouble? If Mom was still alive, would she have scolded me the same way? Or would she see part of herself in me?
I'll never know. And yet, I feel closer to her than ever.
"Wow!" Yujin stares at me, all starry-eyed and awe. "Your mom sounds so cool!"
"Oh, she was the coolest!" Dad lays back with a satisfied grin. "But that's a story for another time. Sorry kiddos, this old man is getting a little tired."
"Can we come visit you again, sir?" Yujin asks.
"Of course."
"It was a pleasure meeting you," Winter says.
"Likewise." He lets out a long yawn, his eyes fluttering shut. "Take care of Yuno for me, will ya?"
I roll my eyes. "See ya, dad."
"See ya, son."
The last thing I see before we shut the door is my dad's resting face—so peaceful. So alive.
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Minji's POV
Yuno and I are something.
More than friends, not quite dating yet—just something.
The thought of it is enough to force a smile out of me. A couple months ago, I never would've believed I would be part of something, let alone with Yuno, but now, our little something is all I can think about.
I know we said we would take things slow, but my god, all I can think about is holding his hand. They're so warm and a little rough around his knuckles, I could trace his calluses for hours. And the way his eyes dilate whenever he looks at me? So cute. I feel like I'm going to burst into a billion specks of light just thinking about him.
But alas, all good things must come to an end.
I barely have enough time to kick off my shoes before the smile is wiped off of my face.
"Welcome home, dear," Mother greets me from the living room. Next to her are the Parks, and that slimy gremlin that they call a son.
I muster up the most convincing smile I can. "Hello, mother. Mr. and Mrs. Park. Sunghoon." Why does he always have to be here at the most inopportune moments? Not like there's ever an opportune moment for him to be around, but I digress.
"Why don't you join us for some tea?" Mother offers.
"I'd love to, but I have a, uh, bio test I need to study for."
"Why don't you have Sunghoon join you?"
Ah. Just great.
"Mrs. Park has been telling us all about Sunghoon's tutors," she says.
"If you'd like, I can get you in contact with them," Sunghoon adds with that cheesy grin.
"Thanks, I'll, uh, think about it," I mutter.
I trudge up the stairs with Sunghoon in tow. As soon as the door shuts behind us, his grin drops, revealing the true slime ball underneath. He can stay here to keep up appearances with our parents, but I'm not speaking to him if I can help it.
"What? You're just going to ignore me now?" he scoffs.
I do just that, idly scrolling through my phone.
"Fine. Be that way." The room fills with a tense silence. I can feel his eyes burning a hole through me, but I don't dare look up from my phone.
"You know what," he begins again, "you're lucky that I haven't said anything to my parents about Yuno's attack against me." Sunghoon touches his throat where Yuno had choked him just days ago.
I know what he's doing—just trying to get a rise out of me. I won't give him the satisfaction.
"I could have him expelled!" he all but yells. "He attacked me, Minji! And you're siding with him? What is your deal?!"
Any louder and our parents will storm upstairs to find out what all the ruckus is about. Will he really go that far? Who knows what this psychopath is capable of?
Sunghoon rakes his hands over his face, clearly irked by my silence. "One more slip up from him and I'll get him expelled in an instant, do you understand me?" he growls.
"Touch him and I'll choke you myself," I say before I even have the chance to think about it.
He laughs. "Oh, I'd love to see you try."
"Ugh, gross." I scoot away from him. "Why can't you just leave us alone?"
Sunghoon's eyes grow wide. "'Us'? Since when we're you two an 'us'?"
"It… doesn't matter," I stutter.
"Are you two… dating?"
I bolt to my feet. "Get out of my room."
"Minji—"
"Get out."
"You are making the biggest mista—"
"I'll scream," I threaten. I'm not sure what exactly screaming will accomplish, but it seems to be enough to get him to back off.
He scoffs. "Maybe I won't even need to do anything. Eventually, he'll screw this all up himself." The door slams behind him, and I'm finally left alone.
Sunghoon can say whatever he wants. I'll protect Yuno with my life if I have to. This is my first something and I'm not gonna let this slime ball take that away from me.
I collapse back onto my bed, phone in hand. With how much of a roller coaster life has been lately, I need a good distraction.
Minji: heyyyyy
Minji: we should hang out tomorrow
Minji: mall?
Hanni: YAHHHHHH lets go!
Danielle: I'm down
Haerin: ye
Hyein: sounds like fun!
