sunscreen

⋆ 𐙚 ̊.CHAPTER 10 ✶⋆.˚

🇽​​🇴​, ​🇪​​🇻​​🇪​​🇱​​🇾​​🇳

MINHO NARROWED HIS EYES, watching Evelyn with a mix of suspicion and amusement. "You're way too smug right now. What are you plotting?"

Evelyn shrugged, stretching her arms lazily as she walked. "Nothing. Just wondering how long it'll take before you start begging to go back. What was it you said last night? Oh right—'hiking is an assault on my entire existence.'" She mimicked his voice, tilting her head dramatically.

Minho scoffed. "That was before I knew I'd be stuck with you at the back of the group. Now I've got a new problem to deal with."

Evelyn shot him a sideways glance. "Yeah? And what's that?"

"You," Minho deadpanned. "Your energy is completely off. I mean, sure, you're still annoying, but something's... different."

Evelyn faltered for half a second before forcing an eye roll. "Wow, insightful. You should consider a career in therapy."

"I'm serious," Minho pressed, scanning her face. "You've been weird ever since you got here. First, you show up out of nowhere. Then you act like it's the most normal thing ever. And now, you're actually agreeing to come on a hike? That's suspicious."

Evelyn sighed, suddenly feeling the weight of everything Minho was implying. She hated that he noticed things, hated that he wasn't completely wrong. But she wasn't about to let him see that.

"Maybe I just wanted to enjoy some fresh air," she said casually, nudging a stray rock on the trail with her shoe.

Minho snorted. "Right. And I love hiking."

They walked in silence for a moment, the sounds of the forest surrounding them. The sun filtered through the trees, dappling the dirt path with warm patches of light. Up ahead, the others were still in sight, but far enough that Evelyn felt like she had a small pocket of peace.

Minho glanced up at the sky, adjusting his sunglasses again. "You know, the worst part of all this isn't even the hike."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then what is?"

Minho groaned, rubbing his temples. "I already regret talking to you."

"You always regret talking to me," Evelyn pointed out.

"Exactly."

"Well," she said, kicking at a loose rock on the path. "At least your skin hasn't melted off yet."

Minho scoffed. "Yet. Give it time." He adjusted his sunglasses dramatically, then pulled a small tube of sunscreen from his pocket and started reapplying it.

Evelyn blinked at him in disbelief. "You brought sunscreen on a hike?"

Minho shot her an unimpressed look. "Of course, I did. Do you think this complexion maintains itself?" He gestured vaguely at his face. "I'm not about to let the sun undo years of hard work."

Evelyn let out a laugh. "You're actually unbelievable."

Minho smirked, smoothing the sunscreen over his cheekbones. "And yet, here you are, stuck with me."

Evelyn rolled her eyes and picked up her pace slightly, but Minho easily matched her stride.

The trail started sloping upward, and Evelyn could already feel the burn in her legs. She wasn't out of shape, but this was not how she had planned to spend her morning.

Minho, meanwhile, groaned dramatically. "Okay, this is it. This is how I die."

Evelyn snorted. "Oh, come on. You're barely even trying."

"I shouldn't have to try," Minho whined. "My body wasn't designed for this. Some of us have athletic limitations, Evelyn."

Evelyn smirked. "Yeah. It's called laziness."

Minho placed a hand over his chest in mock offense. "Excuse you. This is called prioritizing my health. Over-exertion leads to premature aging. But you wouldn't know about that, would you? Since you're already showing signs of getting old."

Evelyn stopped mid-step and turned to glare at him. "Excuse me?"

Minho grinned, clearly enjoying himself. "Well, I mean, you did slow down. And all that sighing? That's what old people do when they get tired."

Evelyn scoffed. "I slowed down because this hike sucks."

"Sure, Grandma," Minho said with a smirk. "Do you need a walking stick?"

Evelyn shoved him—hard. Not hard enough to actually send him tumbling, but enough to make him stumble a bit on the uneven path.

Minho let out an exaggerated yelp. "Assault! I'm being attacked!"

Evelyn groaned and turned forward again, speeding up just to get away from him.

Minho, however, had other plans. He jogged forward and fell into step beside her again. "Admit it. You'd rather be anywhere else right now."

"Obviously."

"Then why'd you even come?"

Evelyn faltered for a second. That was a good question.

Because Kitty had begged her? Because Q had convinced her it would be fun? Because she didn't want to be alone in the dorm while everyone else was out?

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I figured you wouldn't be here, so it'd be tolerable."

Minho gasped dramatically. "Wow. The disrespect."

Evelyn grinned. "You'll live."

Minho hummed in thought. "You know, for someone who claims to hate my presence, you sure do spend a lot of time around me."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't have a choice."

Minho wiggled his eyebrows. "Or maybe you secretly enjoy my company."

Evelyn gave him the deadliest glare she could muster. "I would rather hike this entire mountain twice than voluntarily spend time with you."

Minho smirked. "We'll see about that."

Evelyn sighed. This hike was already turning out to be a nightmare.

And they weren't even halfway through yet.

BACK AT THE DORM

As soon as they returned to the dorm, exhaustion hit Evelyn like a truck. She kicked off her shoes at the entrance, not even caring where they landed, and immediately collapsed onto the couch with a groan.

"That was awful," she muttered, closing her eyes.

"You say that like it wasn't a voluntary decision," Minho quipped, flopping onto the other end of the couch with a dramatic sigh. "I, for one, would like to personally file a complaint against nature."

Q, on the other hand, was practically glowing. "Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad."

Evelyn cracked one eye open and shot her a look. "It was that bad."

"I think it was great!" Q chimed, stretching his arms. "Fresh air, good exercise... we should do it again."

Minho turned his head sharply. "Absolutely not."

Dae let out a small chuckle, taking a seat on the armrest of the couch. "It wasn't terrible. Plus, we got to see some cool spots."

Evelyn groaned. "I don't care if we saw the Gates of Heaven—my legs are killing me."

Q rolled his eyes. "Drama queen."

Minho scoffed. "Excuse you? I have every right to complain. I have never—and I mean never—sweated this much in my entire life." He gestured vaguely at himself. "Do you know how damaging this is?"

Evelyn smirked. "I don't know, Minho. I think I see a freckle."

Minho gasped, immediately grabbing his phone to check his reflection. "Where?!"

Q burst into laughter. "She's messing with you, dude."

Minho glared at Evelyn, who simply gave him an innocent smile.

"Evil," he muttered, putting his phone away.

Q sat down beside Dae, clearly trying not to smile at their bickering. "Well, I had fun."

"That makes one of us," Minho mumbled.

Evelyn shook her head, leaning back against the couch. "Next time, I'm staying in bed."

"Next time?" Minho echoed, horrified. "You're assuming there'll be a next time?"

Q grinned. "Oh, there will be."

Minho groaned dramatically, throwing his head back. "I hate all of you."

Evelyn smirked. "Right back at you."

Soon, her expressions changed at the thought of Kitty, who practically ran a marathon down the hill saying she had something important to do.

"By the way guys, where do you think Kitty went?"

"Wherever it is, I think it's about her potential brother." Q replied.

"Anyway, Q you're having a movie night with Florian tonight, right?" Evelyn smirked at Q.

"Yeah..." Q went all shy mode at the mention of Florian's name.

"Well, in that case, I'll make sure these minions are out of your way." She whispered, looking at Minho who was fast asleep on the couch, and Dae, who just entered the bathroom.

The sun had set, casting a warm golden glow through the windows of the dorm. Q was pacing anxiously in the common area, constantly checking his phone as he awaited Florian's message.

"Evelyn," he said, stopping in front of her with the most serious expression she'd ever seen on him. "You have to keep them away."

Evelyn smirked, arms crossed. "Relax, Q. I got this. Dae's already on his way to Yuri, and I'll take Minho somewhere far, far away."

Q let out a relieved sigh. "You're a lifesaver."

Minho, lounging on the couch, raised an eyebrow. "Wait, where exactly are you taking me?"

Evelyn gave him a mischievous grin. "To meet someone."

Minho narrowed his eyes. "I don't like surprises."

"Too bad." She grabbed his wrist, yanking him up from the couch. "Come on, drama queen. Let's go."

Minho groaned, dragging his feet as she led him out of the dorm. "This better not be some weird social experiment."

The moment they arrived at the small café near campus, Minho froze mid-step, his entire body going rigid.

Evelyn noticed immediately. "Okay, what was that?"

Minho didn't respond, his gaze locked on the person sitting at the corner booth. A girl with dark hair, soft features, and eyes filled with something unreadable. Hanni.

Evelyn felt her stomach drop at the sudden tension that filled the air. When she had reached out to Hanni, she had thought it would be a simple, fun reunion. But seeing Minho's reaction? That was not the reaction of someone seeing an old friend.

Hanni looked up at that moment, her eyes landing on Minho. Something flashed across her face—anger, regret, something Evelyn couldn't quite place.

Minho exhaled sharply. "You knew she'd be here."

Evelyn blinked. "Yeah? She's our childhood best friend?"

Minho clenched his jaw. "Not anymore."

Before Evelyn could process his words, Hanni stood up. "I didn't think you'd actually come."

Minho scoffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah, well, I didn't exactly have a choice."

Evelyn's gaze flicked between them. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

Neither of them answered. The tension between them was thick, suffocating. It was more than just an old grudge—it was something deeper. Something painful.

Evelyn frowned. "Seriously? You guys were inseparable before I left. What happened?"

Hanni's fingers curled into fists at her sides, her lips pressing into a thin line. "Maybe you should ask Minho that."

Minho's eyes darkened, his usual playful arrogance nowhere to be found. "You know why."

Hanni let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah. I do."

Evelyn looked between them again. "Okay, no. Nope. You two are not doing this cryptic telenovela thing. Someone tell me what the hell happened."

Silence.

Then, Hanni grabbed her bag. "Forget it. This was a mistake."

She pushed past them and walked out of the café, her head held high but her steps hurried. Evelyn turned to Minho, expecting an explanation, but his jaw was set, his expression unreadable.

Minho exhaled through his nose, his voice quiet. "Let's go."

Evelyn stared at him, realization settling in. Whatever had happened between them—it wasn't something small. It was something huge.

And she was going to find out what.

They walked in silence for a while, the crisp evening air wrapping around them as they moved through the quiet streets. Evelyn kept sneaking glances at Minho, who was uncharacteristically quiet, his usual sharp remarks nowhere to be found.

Finally, she had enough. "Okay, what the hell was that?"

Minho didn't look at her. "Drop it, Raven."

She scoffed. "Like hell I will. You and Hanni used to be best friends. And now you're acting like she's a stranger you owe money to?"

Minho let out a short, humorless laugh. "Trust me, it's worse than that."

Evelyn grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop walking. "Minho, talk to me. What happened between you two?"

He clenched his jaw, looking anywhere but at her. "It's not that simple."

Evelyn crossed her arms. "Try me."

Minho sighed, running a hand through his hair. "After you left, Hanni and I... we had a falling out."

"No kidding."

He shot her a look before continuing. "It wasn't just a stupid fight. It was... bad. We said things we couldn't take back. Things that changed everything."

Evelyn frowned. "Like what?"

Minho hesitated, his fingers tightening into fists. "She thinks I betrayed her."

Evelyn's stomach twisted. "Did you?"

His expression hardened. "I didn't mean to."

Evelyn waited, but Minho didn't elaborate. She could see it, though—whatever had happened, it still haunted him.

She softened slightly. "Minho... if she thinks you betrayed her, then that means she cared. A lot."

Minho's lips pressed into a thin line. "Yeah, well, some things can't be fixed."

Evelyn exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "You don't know that."

He looked at her then, something vulnerable flickering in his eyes before he shut it down. "Just drop it, Ev."

Evelyn studied him for a moment before sighing. "Fine. For now."

They started walking again, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavy between them. But Evelyn wasn't going to let this go.

One way or another, she was going to get to the bottom of it.

ruka:

helloooo lovely girlies im back with this filler (kinda) with something important at the end. what do you think might have happened between minho and hanni after evelyn went to the US?