Hold Me 4: There is Something

BGM: Heize - You, Clouds, Rain

“Are you okay?” Sungjae shouted from across the basketball court.

She can feel a warm liquid flowing out from her nose…

Oh her goodness gracious, it is so embarrassing.

She wiped it off immediately.

“Hey…” He was about to kneel down in front of her.

Her heart thumps for a bit as she realized he was so close to her.

No wonder, none of her friends tried to approach her and just giddily observing the two of them interacting.

Attracting attention is the last thing she needed… and her bleeding nose is not a sight to be seen by everyone. So before he can wipe it off from her, she ran away as fast as she could.

Sungjae was too baffled to say anything as he sat down alone… being left alone by her.

Now, he was too embarrassed to even react before he started to burst into an amused laugh.

“Yaaa… why are you laughing?” Peniel asked him.

“Don’t you think she is cute?” He grinned.

Peniel face went unreadable by a minute.

Because Sungjae actually genuinely laughing and smiling. Like he was finally living again.

***

Joy spent no time in calming herself down after she went to the school clinic.
She paced back and forth to no end, fanning her burning cheeks.. when she realized the blood stain on her hand.

Memories…

Accident….

She closed her eyes, trying to contain the loud thump on her head as it beats painfully. Once the noise subsides, Joy found herself being swallowed by the loneliness of the day as if once again she was all alone being wrapped in a blanket while watching people walking around in black clothes, mourning the loss of her beloved parents.

In no time, she found herself being into a vortex again.

A smile decorating on her face was wiped from existence, not knowing that Irene, her friend, was attending to her.

She was too busy staring at the empty space as her fingers curled into the cigarette box in her pocket.

Irene finally went out from the room when Irene saw Wendy was about to come in.

“How is she, I thought she just needed to get her nose treated?”

Irene worriedly shakes her head... “It happens again.” She sighed. “She is off to another place we can never reach… she always has.”

Sungjae who tried to find the right timing on to visit Joy, accidentally overheard them and silently backing off, thinking about the girl he only just met.

Soon after, he walked into the room, she was smiling brightly again… proudly showing the tissue shoved into her nostril to stop her bleeding nose.

“Can you even breathe?” He asked laughingly.

“If I can’t, what would you do?”

“I will do a mouth to mouth resurrection technique.”

She smiled at his joke.

But her eyes…

She was looking to some other place like she was spacing out.

 “Are you even okay Joy?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Well, except being embarrassed by the whole school it is.”

She wasn’t open yet to the idea of letting him be more present in her life. She prefers him staying there with some distance without being intrusive but yet, still comforting. Sharing the same fate does not make her open to a quick possibility of showing her vulnerable side to him, it seems.

“W-wait a minute.” Joy suddenly reached her hand to grab his arm. “Why do you laugh at the first place when I got hit by the ball? It was mean!” She pouted.

He laughed. It seemed that the latter was somewhat comfortable enough with him to even use a natural aegyo with him.

“Why I laugh?” He caressed his invincible beard on his chin. “Well, it is because you are cute. I don’t know a person could even get hit by a ball these days.”

Just like that, a soft red tint was seen coloring her cheeks.

It was the first time he had seen her blush. She has always looked so far and so hard to reach. Like she has a world of her own and she just left her body here while her mind floated around.

She was an enigma...

But now, the girl in front of him was honestly just cute.

Just like that, he lifts his hand and pats her head.

“Kyeopta.”

Joy girlfriends were peeking from outside as they giggled to themselves, closing the door gently careful not to be heard by those two who was inside in their own world.

 “I don’t recall him being that playful… I mean I know Joy is cheeky but this is just... No… This can’t happen.” Wendy shook her head vigorously, disapproving the sight in front of her.

“Is this a blossom of a beautiful romance?” Seulgi chirped happi