"I-I think - I think we lost him" I pant, slowing down because I didn't think I could run anymore. I would faceplant if I took another step.
Both of us come to a stop gradually, panting and huffing.
I am standing, barely, holding onto the tree for balance because I am sure I will fall if I don't. Yeonjun is breathing hard, both his hands on his knees as he tries to get his breathing to come back to normal.
After a beat of silence, Yeonjun looks up at me, his pink hair sticking to his forehead from sweat and his eyes twinkling in the darkness. He has a big smile on his face. Probably the most genuine smile I have seen him with.
His smile makes him look like a childish boy, with some sort of innocence coating his features which most of the time is missing.
He looks beautiful.
I shake my head to get rid of the light-headedness and I stand up straighter against the tree to gain some semblance.
"That is the most fun I have had in a long time" he laughs and I just stare at him in shock.
"You do realize that we just barely escaped the guard and had he found me with you, I could have been expelled" I reason but he stands up finally and looks at me.
"You came in from a different direction so I assume you were planning on escaping alone. Why did you come back for me?" he asks.
Yes, why did I come back for him?
Because I was stupid, that's why.
I don't answer him because I don't even know what to say.
"And for your information, I would have been expelled before you if I got caught," he says casually and starts walking.
Almost mindlessly I start following him as well.
"What do you mean by that? And where are we going? I think we should head back. My bicycle is still at school!" I yell after him, my legs almost giving up still trying to keep up with his long stance.
Damn him and his long legs.
I hear him sigh loudly and then turn to face me again. I come to an abrupt stop, losing my balance but his hand is on my elbow keeping me up.
"What are you going to say to the guard when he asks you why your cycle is still at the gate? What will you say when he asks you where have you been?" He asks and I open my mouth and close it a few times like a fish but no words come out.
I did not think of all that. I have never been in a situation of such trouble that I had to hatch a plan to get out of it.
He smells funny and his eyes are brimmed red but there is still that twinkle in his eyes. I remove my hand from his grip and take a step back.
"I am sure till now most of the students have left the campus. There is one guard who suspects there was someone and I am sure he has informed the others on duty to keep an eye out for any possible intruders or even notorious students who are up to no good" He speaks suggestively and I glare at him.
"So what's your plan, Sherlock?" I taunt and he smirks.
"My plan is nothing. I have my bike parked in the next block. I'll walk till there and I'll see where I can go from there" he shrugs.
"I heard a lot of 'I' and not a single 'we'" I argue and he laughs.
His sentence makes it sound like he knew there was a possibility that something like this would happen and he took all the precautions beforehand.
"Because there is no 'we'"
"So what? You're just going to dump me here after I helped you? My god, you're such a jerk! I should have run away without you" To say I am angry would be an understatement.
I helped him against my better judgment and I got involved in it even when every bone in my body told me not to and this is what I get.
They are right when they say no good deeds go unpunished.
"So you admit that you were running away and were about to throw me under the bus" he points a finger in my direction and I roll my eyes.
"Forget it. I'll figure something out. Clearly, I am not an expert delinquent who can foresee what would happen in a situation like this so this is all a little new for me. But I'll figure something out" I storm off in one direction blindly.
"The exit is that way" he yells and I turn to see him pointing in another direction.
I huff in frustration and walk in the direction he pointed at.
I stomp my feet angrily with each step. It is more so because I contemplated calling San but when I checked my phone, it was dead.
Why do I still own this metal stone?
I groan frustratingly again and I hear a chuckle a few feet behind me.
I narrow my eyes and I hope for superpowers that allow me to throw daggers behind my back hitting my target perfectly.
"Groaning again and again will not really help with the situation, you know that right?" the devil with pink hair speaks from behind me.
I whip to face him and glare at him with all my power.
"Why are you following me?" I ask and he raises his eyebrows in surprise and his lips form a natural pout that makes him look cute and handsome at the same time.
I want to punch his mouth.
"What do you mean? My bike is at the end of the trail. I am walking towards that" he shrugs and I groan again and start walking again grumbling and cursing him under my breath.
Slowly I feel him take longer steps and reduce the distance between us till he is walking side by side.
I keep my gaze forward and ignore his presence the best I can.
"What got your panty in a twist?" he nudges my shoulder with his and I try to throw as many daggers as possible with my eyes.
"Just contemplating my bad decisions to help out someone" I shrug and he snickers.
"How do we always end up in these situations?" He voiced the question I have been asking myself ever since we shared our first encounter in the alley behind Hive.
"We have a knack for finding each other in the worst of situations" I agree with him and he smirks. We walk in the same direction in silence for a couple of minutes before he breaks it again with his voice.
"Thank you" he speaks in a small voice and I stop in my tracks. I can't believe that I am hearing the words from THE Choi Yeonjun.
My wide eyes and open mouth must have given away the shock I felt because he stopped and turned to me to roll his eyes.
"No need to be overdramatic and I am not repeating it" he points at me.
"I will not ask you to. I am too surprised you said it the first time. I think I fell somewhere along the path and maybe I am hearing voices" I rub the back of my head.
I surely did hear wrong.
He huffs and rolls his eyes. "I would have been kicked out of the school if I got caught tonight. Thank you" He said those words again. I pass him a shocked look again he nudges me away.
"What do you mean? You're one of the Royals. Why would you get into trouble? I would have been kicked out" I say confused by his statement.
He lets out a bark of a laugh. "Please don't call me Royals. It makes me want to puke" he bites out but there is a tinge of hurt in his voice. I am not sure if should I let it go or prod him further.
Till now whenever I have brought up the topic of Royals with anyone, everyone has been weary to talk about them. Soobin also kind of gave me a gray answer earlier tonight and it made me more confused than ever.
And now Yeonjun was making an effort to talk to me, however weird effort it might be, I could see that he was trying to talk to me in a normal manner and that is more than any of our past interactions so I took that as a win.
So I decided to push a little further.
"Why? At first, I was confused and I am going to be honest - I did not know who any of you were but after spending time in this school, I got to know who the five of you are. You're one of them, right?" I ask and he stiffens beside me.
"I am not. Don't believe everything that you hear. Most of them are baseless rumors" he bites out, colder than ever.
I can feel him shutting on me. At this rate, we'll go back to the way we were and I regret pushing this but I continue. Maybe if I continue, I'll prevent him from closing up.
"I know most of them are rumors. I mean you are scary and all but I am sure you're the leader of a mafia gang right? Right?" I make up the statement and it does what I was hoping.
I see a faint smile at the corner of his mouth and he glances in my direction from the side.
"I like that rumor," he says and I snort.
"Of course. That's so you" I tut and shake my head.
"The more interactions I have with any of you, the easier it is for me to forget who you are and wearier because I know who you are. It is a complex feeling" I confess honestly.
When he looks at me, there is a sense of understanding in them and that is new for me.
"I understand you more than you would think" he speaks mirthlessly and something tugs in my heart.
"This is probably the most real conversation we have had till now," I say and he smiles at me.
"As you said before - we have a knack for finding each other in the worst of situations. Also, as time goes by you'll only get more weary as you fill your head with more and more rumors" What he says leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Don't you think there will not be rumors if you and your friends and brothers state the truth?" I ask and he holds my hand to stop me from moving ahead. I turn to face him. There is a strong emotion in his eyes but I can't point out what it exactly means.
"They are neither my brother nor my friends," he says as a warning. A warning that I should not repeat it ever again.
"I am not sure about everyone, but Beomgyu seems to care about you. He, Kai, and Taehyun came looking for you at the café, the night you got hurt. I don't know anything about what is going on between you all but maybe you'll not be so angry if you took the initiative to talk" I reasoned with him in a small voice.
"Gyu is the kind of person who doesn't like seeing someone left behind. And while they waited, did they also tell you who did that to my face?" he raises an eyebrow in question but I keep quiet.
I felt like I opened a can of worms and it was too late to put it all back in and close the lid.
"The Golden Boy you seem to hang out with so often. Soobin. He has a way with words. Try not to get too attached or swayed by him. He is trained to a T to get his way. Try to hold your ground otherwise, you'll only end up being a pawn in their masterplan. A piece of advice" he bites out.
My eyes are wide and my mouth is hanging open. I don't even know how to comprehend what Yeonjun is saying.
Soobin did that to him?
The sweet boy with bunny teeth?
The boy who went out of his way to help me and bought me a new uniform and who was so embarrassed about being drunk at the party?
That explains why Yeonjun was so angry about Soobin sleeping on his bed. That explains his hostility towards Soobin.
This conversation was way too real and I didn't know how to process this information.
The realization slowly hits me and reminds me of my first day of school. The conversation I overheard between Yeonjun and... Soobin.
I don't think I can look at him without reflecting on the hurt he might feel. The words echo in my mind and even though it seems like a distant memory, this event happened at max a month ago.
"We should head on. It's getting late"
I break away first, staring ahead. I can hear the noise of the street so we must be near to the end of this hill.
After that Yeonjun will be on his way and I'll be on mine.