11

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It has been four days and Gyujin can see the change of Yeorin's spirit.

Before they started hanging out, she was unsure, hesitant and very doubtful, but now, the more time they spent together, like walking home together or staying over at his house he could see how her mood started lifting.

Sure, she was still shy and timid but more confident to ask for something or just simply talk to him.

He was relied to see her like this. His heart churned whenever he saw Seongjun bring out her quiet and closed-off self but when it was just the two of them, she was a shy and adorable girl looking for kindness, patience,and affection.

And he was more than happy to give it to her.

The more time they spent together, the more he started to realise his feelings started to grow for Yeorin.

He knew he has to be patient and careful with her, after what Seongjun did to her, she needs time, trust, and reassurance to know he's not going anywhere. That he'll wait for her for as long as she needs him to.

His thoughts were interrupted when someone clasped his hand.

It was lunch time in school, he was on his was to the cafeteria when his hand was suddenly held.

It felt warm, small and familiar.

Yeorin.

Looking to his right, he saw her small figure, clutching his hand in her smaller ones as her eyes stayed on the ground, hiding her face with her bags.

"Would you......have lunch with me?" She asked timidly, hiding her shy face.

She was so eager to ask him to join her for lunch all morning, and finally gathered the courage to walk up to him when she saw him walking down the hall to the cafeteria.

Gyujin was surprised by her question, it was sudden and unexpected from her, but he still felt half she still asked him with the small amount of bravery she had.

He gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

"Yes, of course." He replied.

She grinned at his response and looked forward, avoiding his eyes as he stared at her adoringly.

They soon reached the cafeteria and stood in line. There weren't many people in front of them, it was quick for them to have their lunch tray in their hands filled with the delicious meal of the day.

Yeorin looked around and saw an empty table somewhere in the middle. She gently nudged him and motioned him to follow her. He did without questioning her, they placed the trays on the table and sat next to each other.

"How's been your day?" He asked, trying to start a small, comfortable conversation.

".... It was good." She muttered and stuffed a big bite of rice into her mouth.

He watched as she ate like a hamster, her cheeks puffed out cutely while she chewed slowly and carefully not to choke. He chuckled at her lightly and continued eating.

"What's your favourite flower, by the way?" He asked out of the blue, surprising the quiet girl.

"Lilies. Why?" Her answer was small and simple but not rude.

He didn't mind her short answers, he never did. But he noticed she started speaking more freely around him, so he believed she just needed time to warm up fully.

"Just curious. I never asked you this basic question, so I did it now." He answered it smoothly, but secretly he had another reason to ask this question. "Why is that your favourite flower?"

I dunno. They just seem so gentle and clean." She shrugged but her eyes showed a little shiny spark. "They smell really good too."

"I suppose they do." He nodded alongside her.

"What colour do you like?" He asked softly.

"I like the ones that are dark pink in the middle and white on the outside." She subconsciously wiggled in her seat at the mention of the flowers.

"Yeah..... they're really pretty." He replied but in reality, he was staring at her.

Just as she was about to ask how his day went, Seongjun and his group appeared out of nowhere. Panic started growing inside of her when she made eye contact with Seongjun, making her gaze drop to the ground obediently.

The group sat around them, caging both teenagers in a circle. Gyujin actually felt Yeorin tense up beside him, bringing him into an alarmed state.

"Hey, why is the floor so slippery?" A guy asked jokingly and dumped his food filled tray all over Gyujin.

Soup, rice, tofu, everything on the tray fell on Gyujin's hair, wetting it up immediately.

Yeorin stared at the scene with wide eyes, her heart hammering in her chest painfully hard.

"Oh no, are you okay?" The same guy asked mockingly.

"Damn, dude." Someone commented from the group.

Gyujin stayed still, waiting for the humiliation to end. At least they didn't do that to Yeorin, he thought as he sat motionlessly while the others laughed.

"This bastard always eats his lunch with his freaking head." Yeorin stomach sank as Seongjun eyes flickered to her.

She swallowed her food, she was fidgety, trying her best to mask her discomfort under his sharp eyes.

"What's your deal with this freak?" His low voice cut through the chaos like knife as he asked her.

She stayed quiet, knowing she couldn't speak until he allowed her to.

"Answer me, cupcake." His voiced was calm but she knew better, he was raging inside.

"J-Just having l-lunch." She stuttered, barely hearable.

"Right. Make sure that's the last time. You don't want to find out what his punishment will be if you don't." He growled into her head, making her flinch.

Gyujin clenched his fist on the table, his knuckles turning white as he felt anger overtake his body, yet he didn't let it show. He stayed completely still, but his breathing picked up as he listened to the taunting words that belittled Yeorin.

"And let me just say.... If I catch you near that loser one more time, his heart won't be the only one breaking." Yeorin was shaking heavily by this point, feeling nothing but fear.

However, what she didn't know was a certain girl was watching this from the other side of the cafeteria, nearly breaking the chopsticks in her hand as she watched her crush place a lazy arm around Yeorin.