Yuna saw a look of sadness flashed in Yewon’s clear orbs when she said those words. She wanted to step forward and comfort the visual arts student but she was afraid she would only scare her more and cause her to retreat again like the previous time. Yuna thought a lot throughout the remaining semester break. She concluded that Yewon was confusing but she loved a challenge. She was confident she would be able to break the barriers Yewon had built around herself without going over the boundaries the latter had.

“You’re too kind,” Yewon said in a soft voice, her fingers clutching tightly onto the straps of her bag. The younger girl was looking restless and Yuna wondered why. “I— I need to go.”

Before Yuna could say anything, Yewon had her heels and walked to the entrance in a hurried manner with her head down. She heaved a long, dejected sigh as Yewon’s silhouette disappeared from her sight after the latter made a right turn.

“Who was that?” Seokmin, Yuna’s classmate and duet partner for the mini concert, asked.

Shaking her head, Yuna gave the guy a small smile, a smile that she rarely shows unless she was feeling sad. Her friends— close friends— noticed it but they dare not ask as the last thing they wanted to do was to dampen Yuna’s mood further when she was just fine before she approached that student whom they had never come across before in school.

“Let’s just go for dinner now,” Yuna said and walked ahead of them.

“Don’t you think there’s something wrong with Yuna?” Yerin whispered to Eunha that was sitting right beside her.

They weren’t being discreet at all. Yuna heard the question but she chose to pretend that she did not hear it, not being in the mood to socialise with her friends. She could just use the ‘I’m-just-tired’ excuse if they asked her upfront anyway. However, she knew some of them would not believe her. Especially Eunha, her roommate and best friend since they were seven. She was sure her same age friend would ask her the very same question once they return to their dorm.

Yuna found it amazing honestly. How Yewon was able to change her mood almost instantly. She usually had no problem interacting with people since she was naturally friendly but with Yewon, it was different. She found it harder to talk to her. The sophomore seemed to have lots of secrets kept to herself that she was hard for Yuna to read at one glance.

“... Yuna? Yah, Choi Yuna,” Yerin prodded Yuna’s cheek lightly when she did not respond. “How long more are you going to play with your food?”

Turning her head to face her friend, Yuna stared at her blankly as she continued to mindlessly poke on her noodles with her chopsticks. Yerin sighed softly and shook her head, looking at Eunha after. “I think you should take her home. She doesn’t look too good.”

Eyes widening quickly, Yuna placed her utensils down and waved her hands in front of her friends. “I— I’m fine, guys! I was just… thinking. Yeah… thinking about our upcoming concert. I hope it’ll be a big success this time since we’ve managed to gain a lot of attention during the year end concert last year,” she rambled.

“I’ll take her home,” Eunha announced and stood up from her seat. Raising an eyebrow at Yuna, she signalled for her friend to follow after her. With a pout, Yuna muttered an apology to her friends and slung her bag across her shoulder. She was too exhausted— mentally and physically— to argue further. Linking her arm with Yuna’s, Eunha dragged her long time friend out of the restaurant.

~.~.~

“Okay, what’s wrong with you and who was that person you’re with earlier on in school?”

Yuna let out a groan and slumped on the sofa as soon as they entered their apartment. It was just as she expected, Eunha bombarding her with questions as soon as they get home.

Yuna sat upright on the sofa and hugged a pillow. There was no point in lying to Eunha. The latter knew her too well to know when she was lying or saying the truth. “That person earlier on is the one Professor Im told me to help out during semester break.”

Eunha furrowed her brows, trying to remember. Her demeanor softened when she recalled the story Yuna told her on the day itself when the incident occured. “Ah, you mean the visual arts major that ran away from you all of a sudden?”

Yuna nodded firmly. “That’s her.”

“She’s really cute.” Eunha gave her housemate a sheepish smile when she saw the latter looking at her judgingly. “Okay, that’s not the point here.”

“Do you think it’s possible for me to get close to her?”

Eunha settled down beside Yuna and pulled the girl in for a side hug. Yuna automatically rested her head on the girl’s shoulder and sighed softly.

“Well, the Choi Yuna I know won’t give up so easily,” Eunha smiled slightly as she let her head rest on Yuna’s. “What makes you want to be close to her anyway?”

“She seems lonely.”

“Maybe, she just prefers to be alone?” Eunha sounded unsure of her own words but she wanted to know badly what sparked Yuna’s interest to want to be friends with the visual art major.

“I don’t think that’s the reason, Eunha. I think there’s something holding her back but I… I can’t seem to figure what it is and that’s why I want to get to know her better. I want to know why she’s secluding herself from others.”

Yuna sounded extremely determined that Eunha was not able to say anything else.

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