"It is good to see both of you normal again" Saehi side hugs us both at the lunch table and San scoffs. I laugh.
Things have been back to normal between me and San since our conversation after my date with Soobin.
Getting Woojin to forgive the both of us was a task but we bribed him with lots of ice cream and I traded a few of his closing shifts with mine and we were good.
San and I even suggested that Saehi and some of San's friends meet Woojin and we could all hang out together.
Anyway, mid-terms were approaching fast and we'll not have much time to hang out anyway next month so it was nice to plan before that.
Woojin was a little unsure as to how other students from Royals High feel about him but we convinced him that any friend of ours is a friend of his as well.
"I'll meet up with you guys after school then?" I ask and Saehi and San both nod.
"What plans do you guys have?" I jump at Beomgyu's voice.
"None of your business" Saehi snapped before I could say anything. I had forgiven Beomgyu but Saehi was still angry at Beomgyu.
She even had a verbal fight a few days back with him about cutting off Taehyun's balls and then feeding them to Beomgyu.
That conversation still warrants an unwanted laugh from deep inside me. I tried to explain to her that she didn't have to be angry on my behalf and I was over it but she was angry at Beomgyu because he didn't do anything when Taehyun made that comment and muttered about how some things never changed.
I wanted to ask her about it further but San and Hongjoong diverted the topic and it was soon forgotten.
"Hi, Beomgyu-" I turn to greet him but stop before I finish my sentence and my eyes are wide as I take him in.
He cut and dyed his hair. He was in his school uniform with the leather jacket on top but he looked so different.
His once long black wolf cut was gone, his hair much shorter from the back. He had his hair in a middle part and the color was shiny copper. The color complimented the maroon shine of the leather.
"Wow. You look different" I state and he dramatically flips his hair and I hear Saehi snort beside me.
Beomgyu's eyes narrow instantly and the smile on his face is strained. I have become familiar with this expression of his.
It is when he is annoyed.
It is funny how I can easily tell when either of the Choi brothers are angry.
Soobin's dimples do not show up even when his eyes and lips are stretched into a smile. Yeonjun's eyes become slits and a scowl turns down his lips. Bepmgyu's eyes become hard and the strain of his smile becomes visible.
I shake my head at myself because I can't believe I have spent enough time with each of the brothers to study their expressions accurately.
Beomgyu smirks, clearly unfazed by Saehi's snort. "Thanks, Yuri. I thought I needed a change. What do you think?"
"It's...different," I reply cautiously, not wanting to offend him. I was just getting used to seeing him without the silver streaks in his black hair and now he changed it up again. He looked like a whole new person.
Saehi, on the other hand, doesn't hold back on her comment."Looks like someone raided the hair dye aisle at the local drugstore," she comments with a smirk of her own.
Beomgyu raises an eyebrow, his annoyance more apparent. "Well, at least I can pull off a change. Unlike some people who are stuck in their ways since kindergarten."
Beomgyu turns and ignores Saehi, his copper hair falling slightly over his eyes. "Different good or different bad?"
"Just... different" I nod and he smiles.
"I am not the only one who got a makeover. Yeonjun? Come over here" Beomgyu beacons someone in my direction and I tense up even before realizing it.
"What happened?" I feel his voice more than I hear it and I want to smack myself for reacting this way.
The last conversation between us was when he basically congratulated me on my date with Soobin and left abruptly.
I was hoping I never had to interact with Yeonjun because if he got to know what a disaster the date with Soobin was, I would never not be the end of his jokes.
"Oh, just the fact that Beomgyu and You decided to get a makeover together." Saehi grins mischievously.
Yeonjun changed his hair color?
Did he also get a haircut?
Did he do something else?
I gripped the table so that I didn't jump to turn around and look at him.
I can't imagine Yeonjun without pink hair. It was a part of his identity. At least for me.
Did he color his hair the same color as Beomgyu? Was Yeonjun also also in a copper-colored mullet or did he chop his hair as well?
I try to picture Yeonjun in a variety of hair colors and styles as I take my sweet time turning around in my seat to look at him.
Nothing could have prepared me for the person who stands in front of me.
Yeonjun is not wearing the leather jacket and has his shirt folded to his elbows and his tie is loose around his neck.
But his face. His hair. I can't look away from him even if I want to.
He dyed his hair black.
Raven black.
He also chopped his hair short from the back but kept it long in the front, long enough that it would cover his eyes. But right now they did not cover his eyes. His hair was styled perfectly, parted in the middle as it fell to the side of his temple in a simple wave.
The dark of his hair contrasted starkly with his pale skin and he looked striking even in the cafeteria with not the best lighting.
He did not look like a student.
He looked like the model companies would hire to pose as students for advertisements.
"Close your mouth or else he will think you're drooling" Saehi whispers just loud enough for me to hear and I snap back to reality.
Instead of meeting his eyes, I focus on Beomgyu.
Yeonjun looks Beomgyu up and down, his eyes narrowing in mock suspicion. "I did not get a makeover and I did not get this haircut willingly"
Beomgyu shoots Yeonjun a deadpan look. " Willingly or not, you cannot deny the dark hair adds a certain mystery to your looks"
"I would do some good with mystery. It's not as if my entire life is already not on the school tabloids" Yeonjun snorts.
"Mystery or not, you guys are just a bunch of drama kings." Saehi swiftly changes the topic when she sees Beomgyu frown at Yeonjun's comment.
The lunch table banter continues, with Saehi effortlessly diverting the conversation to more lighthearted topics.
Beomgyu and Yeonjun both join in and soon the tension from the initial hair reveal dissipates.
Even San relaxes into the conversation and I smile at him, grateful that he is trying.
What nibbles at the end of my mind is why are Beomgyu and Yeonjun sitting with us.
As we chat about school, upcoming exams, plans, and everything and nothing all at once, I steal occasional glances at Yeonjun.
His new look is captivating, and it's hard to believe this is the same person who used to sport vibrant pink hair.
As the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch, we gather our things and head to our respective classes.
I can feel Yeonjun's eyes on me at times, but I resist the urge to meet his gaze.
There's a strange mix of curiosity and anxiety bubbling within me.
What does this makeover mean for him?
Was it a way to cope with something deeper?
Was it just a spontaneous decision?
But he said that he did not do it willingly. So then who forced him to?
Why was he forced to change his hair?
"So, are we meeting up after school?" I ask, looking at Saehi and San.
"Yeah, I'll be there," Saehi nods and picks up her tray.
San adds, "Count me in too."
"Wait, what plan? Why am I not included?" Beomgyu pouts and I just look confusingly between San, Saehi, and Beomgyu.
Saehi aggressively shakes her head in a no, silently but definitely not subtly telling me not to tell Beomgyu about our plans.
Beomgyu scowls and stands in front of me blocking Saehi completely and giving me the puppy dog eyes.
"We were planning on meeting up with our friend in Hive after school," I say in a small voice and Beomgyu's eyes light up.
"New friend? Have I met them? I am always up for meeting new people. I'll meet you guys outside the main gate then" Beomgyu smiles and I hear Saehi groan.
Just as we are all about to leave for our respective classes a voice calls out.
Yeonjun chimes in, "Mind if I join you guys?"
I just look at Yeonjun with wide eyes. Did he just volunteer to hang out with a group of people?
He seems more of the lone wolf type, only in gatherings because he was forced to so I can't understand why he would say this.
My surprise is not in solitude because Beomgyu raises an eyebrow, "You, voluntarily joining a social gathering? I must be dreaming."
Yeonjun playfully shoves Beomgyu, "They have good mint-choco icecream"
After saying the statement Yeonjun glances at me but I quickly look away.
I am not ready to stare at this new-looking Yeonjun.
Did he change his personality along with his hair?
"It's a plan then" Beomgyu claps his hands.
A/n: What do you think will happen next?