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__« I don't know if I should be happy about this or extremely worried. »

 

__Junhong tilted his head, perplexed. Next to him, a curious Jongup nodded then narrowed his eyes.

 

__« Me neither. He really confuses me... »

 

__The object of their attention was none other than their beloved leader. For the past few days, his behavior had been source of much concern and questioning for his dongsaengs, to say the least. He wouldn't lose his temper so often anymore neither would he be vexed over little matters anymore. A strange and satisfied smile had even replaced his usual frown.

 

__« Is he actually alright or is it the calm before the storm ?

__- Maybe he's playing a trick on us ? »

 

__Junhong shook his head : it wasn't like their hyung to play such games with them, especially for that long. No, it was definetely something else, and it bothered him not to be able to find out.

 

__« I wish I knew what's going on inside his head. He's creeping me out, acting all... happy. »

 

__As he was pronouncing this word, the two friends held their breaths while looking at each other with horrified faces. That only thought gave them shivers. Something was definitely wrong, that man before them wasn't the Bang Yong Guk they knew. He was someone else.

 

__« I'm sure he's hiding something. »

 

__The maknae agreed with a suspicious stare, eager to uncover the truth.

__Not far from there, Yougjae and Daehyun were watching them, amused. With a knowing look, they suddenly got up from their seats and joined them. Passing an arm around their shoulders, they started to snigger.

 

__« Our hyung is fine, you stupid dongsaengs. »

 

__Not really convinced, Junhong and Jongup turned to them and raised an eyebrow. Daehyun shook his head with a giggle.

 

__« Aigoo, you guys are even more clueless than him.

__- What are you talking about ? Jongup frowned.

__- Do you know what's up with him ? »

 

__Of course, they did. And it was pretty serious indeed.

 

__« Unfortunately, it's something very simple, my friends. » Youngjae explained with a solemn face.

 

__He turned to Daehyun to let him give the verdict.

 

__« I'm afraid the great Bang Yong Guk is falling in love. »

 

*

 

__Feeling her legs trembling, Chae In took a deep breath before knocking on the white door. She waited for the soft voice to answer before walking in.

 

__« Hello, Doctor Jung, she tried to smile but failed.

__- Ah, Chae In-ssi. Thank you for coming so quickly. Please, sit down. »

 

__She bowed and sat in front of him. She felt a weight in her stomach, as if she knew what he was about to tell her and it already made her sick just thinking about it. Uncomfortable, she squirmed on her chair, trying hard not to fall apart any second.

__The doctor stared at her for several seconds before starting to speak. His heart ached at the sight of her marked and tired face. He looked down and took a deep breath.

 

__« I suppose you may have already guessed why I wanted to see you today. »

 

__Chae In swallowed with difficulty before slowly nodding.

 

__« It's about your brother's condition. I'm afraid the last examination didn't give promising results... »

 

__She closed her eyes and breathed deeply while trying to fight back tears. Although she was expecting it, hearing such frightening words was each time more deconcerting, and she just couldn't get used to it.

__He waited for a few seconds and when she seemed to be ready for the rest, he continued.

 

__« There is no improvement in spite of the different treatments we tried. If it goes on like this, it will be too dangerous for him. We are going to try one last time, but you have to be prepared for your brother to be operated on. »

 

__Chae In felt her heart sink in her chest. Her head ached and tears were burning her eyes.

__Of course she had already considered transplant but she had never imagined it would come so far, especially not that fast. This possibility scared her, because she knew what it implied : they would need to quickly find a compatible donor and it would cost a lot of money, which she didn't have. She buried her face in her hand and sighed.

 

__« Meanwhile, the dialyses are going to be more frequent, which means Chin Ho will have to spend even more time at the hospital. »

 

__She nodded and said it was not a problem, she would take care of it and try to reach an agreement with his school. Grimly, Doctor Jung took off his glasses and crossed his hands on the table.

 

__« Chae In-ssi. You're aware that this will require a lot of time and money. Have you considered talking to your parents ab-

__- I apologize but I'll stop you right there, Doctor. I think I already asked you to leave my parents out of this matter and to not mention them in any way. I will take care of it myself like I always did, but thank you for your concern. »

 

__She was radical when it came to her progenitors. They had never been there for them, it was too easy to ask them for money when she needed it. She had never asked them for anything and she was not going to start. She didn't want to rely nor depend on them. No matter how hard and painful it was going to be, she would go through it alone and stay by her brother's side right to the end.

__Doctor Jung knew it was useless to go on and argue,. He had exepected such an answer but at least he had tried. She looked up and give him a weak smile to which he nodded in understanding. He found her situation truly saddening but admired her strength and determination. He realized how long and difficult it was going to be for her and her brother, and it was unfair to put such a heavy weight on such young shoulders, so he thought.

 

__« Please don't lose hope, Chae In-ssi. Your brother is in good hands with us. I can only promise you I'll do my best to help you both. »

 

__Chae In nodded and thanked him several times. He smiled and shook his head.

 

__« I am only doing my job. Thank you for taking such good care of him. »

 

__She nodded with a weak grin before getting up. She bowed then walked out of the office, and it wasn't before she was out of sight that she eventually burst into tears.

 

*

 

__« You're working overtime now ? »

 

__Chae In looked up and saw a smiling Minhyuk coming her way. She grinned back, already feeling better. He sat in front of the bar and ordered a cappuccino. He observed her as she was bustling about preparing it. Noticing the dark rings under her eyes, he frowned. She hadn't been her usual self lately, though she always pretended nothing was wrong. He was worried about her as he could feel something was making her worry. He sighed while keeping his eyes on her. She still looked beautiful to him, that went without saying. He wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh every minute that was going by, and he would do everything he could to make it happen.

 

__« I'm replacing a colleague for tonight, she explained while serving him. It's tiring but at least I'll make more money this month. »

 

__He nodded and cheered on her with a warm smile, not without recommending her not to work too much and take care of herself sometimes.

__Besides the fact that he was incredibly handsome, what Chae In liked most about Minhyuk was his cheerful and bubbly personality. It helped her a lot when she felt down and she was really thankful to him, even though she didn't show him. She felt lucky to have such an amazing friend.

__Since there weren't many customers at that time of the day, Chae In came to sit next to him and they kept chatting for several minutes. She missed these little talks with him and she enjoyed every moment she could spend with him and get to know him better.

 

__« By the way, did you convince Bang Yong Guk to do the contest ?

__- Yah, who do you take me for ? she answered, satisfied. Of course I convinced that stupid jerk. »

 

__Minhyuk giggled and patted her arm.

 

__« Aigoo, our Chae In is the best~ What did I tell you, I knew you could do it.

__- Yes, thank you for trusting me, Director Lee~ »

 

__She prentended to bow and he laughed. He took one last sip of his coffee before paying.

 

__« I have to go to soccer practice, sorry.

__- No problem, go. I don't want you to be late because of me. »

 

__Minhyuk put his jacket on then grabbed his sport bag. He looked up and stared at Chae In for a few seconds. She frowned with a questioning look.

 

__« It was nice talking to you, it's been a long time. »

 

__Surprised, she blinked then grinned before nodding in agreement.

 

__« See you tomorrow, pretty girl~ » Minhyuk winked before turning around and walking away.

 

__Chae In giggled and felt her cheeks turn red. Fortunately, he couldn't see her. He was definitely making fun of her, right ? She shook her head and sighed before getting back to work.

 

*

 

__Dance. Dance, and dance again. Dance, and keep on dancing.

__It was the only thing that could truly calm her and make her forget her worries for a while. She would let the music flow through her veins and feel the rhythm with every heartbeat. She would let the melody guide her movements in a perfect harmony and empty her mind. How long did she stay in that room that evening, she had no idea. All she knew was she wouldn't stop before her legs stopped supporting her.

__The pounding of the music echoed inside the school walls. Yong Guk suddenly froze for a second and listened carefully. Who could still be here at this hour ? That was all it took to arouse his curiousity, and a minute later, he was already getting closer to the sound, silently walking through the corridors. As he was approaching the source, he realized it was coming from the dancing room.

__He suddenly found himself strangely hoping to find her. That thought took him off guards and destabilized him for a moment. Why would it even be her ? There were dozens of other students who could still be practicing this late. However, this intuition didn't leave him.

__He eventually peeked through the opened door and saw the one he was expecting. His heart skipped a beat as he watched her. He couldn't explain what was happening to him, his feet just wouldn't move anymore. She had captured all his attention in a single second, and now he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She was so graceful, so confident, so beautiful.

__He let out a nervous laugh as he thought about the dancing battle. It sounded so ridiculous as he was observing her, she had clearly nothing to prove to anyone.

__He didn't know how much time passed by, but at one point, the music stopped and so did she. Her chest rose under her heavy breath and he could see her whole body trembling as a sign of her intensive training. He frowned, suddenly starting to worry. She put a hand on her forehead and stumbled, as if she was about to collapse. Confused, he instinctively ran to her and caught her just before her body hit the ground.

 

__« Yah, Im Chae In ! »

 

__He tried to shake her and patted her cheek. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked all around her before landing on his face. Suddenly realizing the situation she was in, she immediately got a grip on herself and got back up before pushing him away, embarassed.

 

__« What's wrong with you ? You shouldn't push yourself too hard, you know ?

__- Just mind your own business, Bang Yong Guk. What are you even doing here ? »

 

__He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

 

__« What ? Yah, I just saved your , you ungrateful girl. What if I hadn't been there, huh ?

__- I didn't ask you anything, I was doing perfectly fine. »

 

__He laughed and shook his head. That girl was really something, always acting all proud and tough in front of him. And why in the world did she have to be so stubborn ?

 

__« I'll take that as a 'thank you, oh my great savior Bang Yong Guk'. »

 

__She sniggered and decided to ignore him. She sighed before grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat off her face. Her head suddenly ached and she closed her eyes, wincing. Yong Guk frowned and started to hold out his hand but changed his mind. After a few seconds, she grabbed her things and started to walk away. He watched her back and bit his lip: something felt wrong.

 

__« Yah, Im Chae In. »

 

__She stopped and he noticed her shoulders slightly shaking. He saw her clench her fists and lower her head.

 

__« Are you okay ? » he frowned.

 

__Without even waiting for an answer, he caught up with her and grabbed her wrist before turning her to him. She immediately hid her face with her hand while trying to escape his firm grip. However, he didn't miss the tears silently rolling down her cheek. He sighed and clenched his teeth, obviously getting angry.

 

__« Crying again ? I'm really gonna believe you're doing it on purpose just to attract my attention. »

 

__With her free hand, she hit his arm, which made him giggle. She looked really cute to him at this moment. He recalled the first time he had seen her cry and realized she had the same look, weak and hurt. And he felt the same as back then, a wish to protect her so she never cried again.

__After a while, he gently put his hand on her face and slowly wiped her tears away.

 

__« I already told you not to cry in front of me, he ordered with a serious tone. I hate it. »

 

__His deep voice gave her shivers. As he was staring deeply into her eyes, Chae In felt her whole body freeze. She couldn't move nor say anything, like Yong Guk's gaze had rooted her to the spot. His warm hand was still her cheek and her tears had stopped flowing. Time seemed to slow down, but she could still see his face getting closer to hers. She felt powerless, as if he had bewitched her. Why couldn't she control herself ?

__Brrrrr, brrrrrr, brrrrr !

__Chae In blinked and immediately took a step away, finally escaping Yong Guk's grip. Snapping out of it, she looked down and grabbed her phone : it was time to go to the hospital, otherwise it would be too late to visit her brother. She wiped her cheeks before turning to him. As her eyes met his, she felt confused. What had just happened ?

 

__« I-I have to go. »

 

__She put her bag on her shoulder but before she could turn around, he grabbed her wrist again.

 

__« Do you want me to drop you off ? »

 

__Surprised, she narrowed her eyes. She tried to read in his eyes but failed.

__Slowly coming back to herself, she smirked, staring at him with her usual fearless look.

 

__« No thanks, I'd rather take the bus and die on the way. » she said before turning around.

 

__He sniggered, glad to see she was back to her old self. She walked out of the room and disappeared from his sight. Several seconds later, Yong Guk's steps broke the silence as he was leaving in his turn, turning off the lights.

__And it was like nothing had happened.

 

 

 I can't explain what you were doing to me, but I slowly started to change, little by little...

Did you feel it too ? (Him)

 

 

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» Ȧut hør’s nøte.

Hello dear readers~

I apologize for this chapter being so late but I had exams...

Nevertheless, I hope it won't disappoint you !  ^^

As always, thank you very much for your comments & support ♥

 

 

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