31

Choi Jaewon stood still as the bus moved. A few passengers wobbled around but her feet were firmly stuck to the ground, mind elsewhere.

In her hand covered with skin now pale, rested a white envelope addressed to her from Soonchunhyang Hospital.

(A/N: This is a real hospital in Seoul, South Korea and I have really sad memories here 😔  )

Paper stuck to her hand by the tight grip she had, Jaewon firmly pressed the stop button and got off the bus.

As she entered her not so amazing house, she reread the letter and threw it into the trash can.

Her father stole some drinks and had drunk alcohol again, leaving him in a worse condition than before.

She had to pay even more now.

Jaewon brought out her school computer before sitting down on the couch, the same couch where she had found her father passed out multiple times before.

She finished typing her unfinished email about not being to attend school for sometime and sent it before shutting the laptop.

❅ ❅ ❅

Choi Yeonjun sighed before putting his second lunchbox back in his bag.

It had been a while since Jaewon had come to school.

He kept bringing two lunchboxes just in case she came but so far, nothing. No one except the teacher's seem to know where she had gone to.

Jaewon hadn't informed him, the rest of TXT, or even Beomgyu who was, surprisingly enough, not very worried about her.

Choi Beomgyu was simply occupied. What being popular really meant was starting to come upon him and he was starting to wonder if he was doing something wrong.

He wasn't very communicate with the popular kids anymore and he wondered why. Jisoo still talked to him although he found her to be a bitch and she was still not with Kai.

In all honesty, Beomgyu barely noticed Jaewon's absence.

Why? Because he barely spent time with her anymore.

Sure, they would come to school together but she would talk to Soobin as well then. Sure, they had classes together, but the teacher was trying to make them learn stuff and not let them talk. Lunch was the only place they could have talked freely but he always left her during that time.

It was his fault, deep down he knew it. But what could he do? Ditch everyone and stick with her even when being popular was his life goal?

No thank you!

❅ ❅ ❅

Choi Jaewon trudged home tiredly, nearly tripping on a rock as she headed back towards the place she hated most.

Well, second most.

Hospitals were always the place she hated as she had spent a lot of time there crying over her mother's body. Now, she had to cry over her father's.

Life sure is great

Rolling her eyes, she pushed her key into the lock but when it didn't budge, she kicked down the door.

"OH!" came a gasp and she immediately grabbed nearest thing she could find, a flower pot with a dead plant, and held it firmly against the direction of the sound.

"Chill, it's just me!" a familiar voice gasped again before he stepped into the light.

At the sight of Choi Yeonjun, Jaewon dropped the plant pot, flinching as it nearly crushed her foot in the process.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, once recovered from the shock.

It felt wrong to talk any louder in such a dark night with only Yeonjun around.

Choi Yeonjun noticed how tired Jaewon looked at once, the bags under her eyes made it clear.

Although to him she still looked beautiful, Yeonjun pushed her inside the house and forced her to sit before searching for the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" he heard her voice call but didn't answer.

Yeonjun finally returned back to Jaewon who was sitting on the small table in the living room in front of the couch.

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows when she noticed the bucket of water he was carrying.

Choi Jaewon felt her cheeks turn a little red when Yeonjun crouched down in front of her and carefully took off her shoes and socks before gently placing her feet inside the water of the bucket.

At the contact of warm water hitting her skin, she flinched a little but felt relaxed.

"I saw this in a video somewhere. Helps relax your body." Yeonjun finally spoke, looking up at Jaewon.

Their eyes met and they both looked away, blushing a little as they were already familiar with this position thanks to the pharmacy trip a while ago.

"Thanks." the girl finally muttered and Yeonjun nodded stiffly, cheeks noticeably pink.

After a few minutes had passed, Jaewon looked down to see Yeonjun half asleep. Glancing at the clock and noticing it was well past midnight, she sighed and looked at Yeonjun again.

He must be tired

Slowly, Jaewon pulled her feet out of the water before standing up. At the sudden movement, Yeonjun flinched before looking up and standing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." she mumbled awkwardly.

"It's fine." he replied with the same awkwardness.

A few seconds of silence passed before Yeonjun finally spoke.

"Why haven't you been coming to school?"

They both headed over to the couch and took a seat as Jaewon let out another sigh.

"I've been busy." she replied, voice quiet.

"With what?" Yeonjun asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Stuff." she answered, rolling her eyes a little.

When Jaewon had told Soobin about her problems, she had been in a upset state and needed someone but now, she was okay and her mental state was fine even if she was tired. She didn't want to tell Yeonjun about her life too.

Why?

Because Jaewon was scared. What if Yeonjun didn't accept her the way Soobin did? What if Yeonjun was mean to her and told everyone? What if Yeonjun-

Jaewon stopped herself from thinking and looked at Yeonjun.

This blue hair weirdo has been nothing but nice to her since they met, how could she think so low of him?

He deserved to know.

"I've been working. To earn money." she answered his question truthfully.

Yeonjun's eyes widened in surprise as it was clearly not the answer he was expecting.

"Why? Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

A little startled by the sudden concern and questions, Jaewon slightly blushed before shaking her head.

There was something about Yeonjun that always seemed to make her blush. She was always second guessing bad decisions around him and he somehow always ended up being the one to see her 'vulnerable' side.

Her relationship with Yeonjun was different compared to her relationship with others, she could feel it.

"My dad's alcoholic." Jaewon blurt out without thinking.

Yeonjun's eyes became wider if that was possible as he continued to stare at her, some pity now sinking into his mind.

"He's been hospitalized so I'm trying to earn money to help him."

"Oh." that's all Yeonjun could say.

Usually, as the oldest member, Yeonjun was good at comforting people but with Jaewon? She always made him so speechless and breathless, he often lost words around her. This time however, he couldn't speak due to the shock he felt.

Jaewon had never mentioned having an alcoholic dad. She had never mentioned anything about her private life actually.

Did Soobin know all of this?

Well, Soobin did but Yeonjun didn't know that.

Without giving it a second thought, Yeonjun reached forward and pulled Jaewon into a hug. The girl froze at once, cheeks turning bright red as she registered the fact Yeonjun as hugging her. Reluctantly, she returned the hug, wrapping her small arms around the male's built torso. She buried her head against his chest and couldn't help but let out a sniffle as she felt herself become more emotional.

Jaewon simple couldn't understand why life was so cruel to her.

Life had taken away her mother, her old friends, her father, money, happiness. How much more could life take from her?

With a start, she realized life could take away Beomgyu. It could take away TXT.

It could take away Yeonjun, the man hugging and comforting her as she cried in his arms.

again

The same way she did when she nearly jumped off the school building.

Not Yeonjun, please

Jaewon sobbed, desperately clutching onto Yeonjun's shirt tighter. Yeonjun didn't budge and instead held her close as she cried.

Never would he let go of her. Never would he let Jaewon be alone.

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(A/N: I wanna know who you guys ship in this story. Comment and lemme know.)