❝ chapter nine: waiting
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                                   chapter nine of forever mute, a -byungkitty-  storyline

We were now seated on the steps of the school main entrance with Sunggyu sitting next to me and Sungyeol on his other side. It was getting a bit chilly and I shivered, bringing my legs up to my chest. I looked up to see the sky turning gray.

"You must be curious as to why Myungsoo actually sticks with you as your 'guide partner'," Sunggyu asked me, breaking the silence. "He could just ignore you and leave you alone, but it's weird why he doesn't do that, right?"

I nodded and hear a faint scoffing sound from Sungyeol's direction. The older ignores him and continues to talk while taking out his phone. "Here, take a look. Is it at all any familiar to you?" He holds the screen up for me to see and I try to focus my eyes on the picture.

It's a bit blurry but you could still see the figures in the photo pretty well: I could see a younger-looking version of Sunggyu and a short-haired looking Sungyeol standing next to Myungsoo, who looked the same as he did now. On his other side was the others, Sungjong, Hoya, Dongwoo, and Woohyun, and in the front sitting on the ground was... was me....?

No, it wasn't me, but it was someone who looked like me. She had the same hair and almost the same face, only she looked more younger and lighter-skinned. Her hair, of black instead of brown like mine, was straight instead of wavy and a few inches longer.

"That's Jin, Myungsoo's so-called 'first love'. Not something you'd expect, huh," he smiled quietly. "But that really is him, and you really do resemble her. That's why Myungsoo hasn't gotten rid of you yet."

Jin? That was the name written on the cover of that one textbook he lent me, I thought to myself. I looked back at the photo and studied Myungsoo. He looked different, somehow, as if his aura was more bright and happy. And he was actually smiling instead of scowling. He actually looked kind of... cute. Without that sinister smirk on his face, he looked like a normal person.

Sunggyu looked down at his watch and abruptly stood up. "I have to go run an errand for someone. Sungyeol, you stay here and answer any questions Ye Jin has. Being his best friend out of all of us, you should know a lot about him." He turned to me and waved. "See you later, Ye Jin."

With that, he walked down the steps and left the two of us to be alone. I glanced over at said tall student but he just turned the other way. I had no idea why he didn't like me, but I wanted to try and talk to him, even if he wasn't willing.

Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a notebook and a pen. I wrote a sentence down and tapped his shoulder. When he didn't turn around, I tapped him again. No response. Sighing, I smacked his head with the notebook. He turned around with a loud, "Yah! What was that for?"

I found myself smiling, to be honest. What was up with these guys and having to use violence to get their attention?

I held up my notebook to him so he could read it. How are you and Daeyeol?

He raised his eyebrows, maybe surprised at the fact that I'm trying to start a proper friendly conversation with him. "Why do you want to know?"

I rolled my eyes and wrote down, I'm trying to be nice, just answer me.

He scoffed again but I could see him shifting his body posture towards me. "Daeyeol's doing fine. I hear he has a thing for your sister? Or was it your cousin?"

Cousin, I quickly scribbled down, and he nodded. "He's an idiot, what good are girlfriends, really..."

Huh, I thought he was a ladies man? Why, what's wrong with that?

"...Well," he hesitantly said and trailed off, not finishing his sentence. He looked away from me again and I could see him tense up a bit.

Is it because of Myungsoo? I quickly wrote and held it up to his face. I'm guessing his old girlfriend made him change or something...?

Sungyeol's head snapped back at me and I withdrawed my extended arm to bring my notebook to my chest. He eyed me with slightly squinted eyes and I raised my eyebrow. "Just so you know, I'm still against you knowing anything about us," he replied, yet still continued. "But... yeah. Myungsoo used to be a normal kid. We all used to be, like best friends and stuff. Then he had to go get a girlfriend and when she left him, he... changed. Like his personality took a 180 degree turn and became all quiet and cold. We don't even do half of the things we used to do together anymore."

I took a minute to process what he just said and tapped my fingers on my notebook. Did you feel betrayed when he did that?

Sungyeol looked at me again, pausing for a moment before he waved his hand, gesturing for me to go away. "You're asking way too many questions. Go ask Myungsoo himself and see if he'll tell you."

He stood up as well and walked up the stairs, going in the opposite direction as Sunggyu. I looked down at the questions I wrote on the piece of paper and smiled. Sungyeol was exactly like my younger brother; maybe that's why I felt the need to be annoying and naggy.

I sighed and stared at his retreating figure. My younger brother didn't really like me, so he'd never talk to me. Even if we did, we'd only exchange insults and complaints, nagging the hell out of each other. Because of this sibling-hate thing, I never really got to know my own brother very well.

How depressing, I thought to myself and looked up at the sky. What else is there for me to regret?

Well, I do regret looking like this Jin girl. If I looked like someone else, maybe I wouldn't have to deal with this. But what exactly did she do to turn Myungsoo into such a jerk? Sure, lots of guys are dumped by their girlfriends, but doesn't it seem weird that Myungsoo, according to Sungyeol, changed completely after that?

I cupped my chin in the palm of my hands and leaned against my knees, getting a full blast of the chilled breeze and shivered, goosebumps forming on my skin. It was strangely quiet and peaceful... Too bad it wouldn't last for very long.

"How long were you going to plan on waiting for me?" I turned around and saw Myungsoo leaning against the wall, arms crossed and legs planted on the ground. He smirked when he saw me and I turned my back on him.

I was about to get up when he walked over and sat down on the step above mine. Surprised at his action, I stared at him while he settled down into a comfortable position. Myungsoo locked his gaze on the trees on the other side of the schoolyard and stayed silent, so I just decided to do the same.

He didn't say anything else until several minutes after. "I get into fights all the time."

I turned over to look at him. What was he talking about...?

"I guess throwing punches release my emotions, you know?" Myungsoo continued, and I realized he was talking about this morning. The bruises on his face were still there and visible. "I still feel like while doing it, but it gets my mind off of things."

What was bothering you then? I signed. He just shrugged, but I had a feeling I knew what he was thinking of. Should I ask him about Jin right now? Or should I wait until another time...?

"But yeah, that's all you need to know. So don't be surprised if you ever see me around like earlier. I don't think many guys walk around lookng so ed-up over in America, right?"

He stood up and looked down at me. "That's all I wanted to tell you. Tutoring time would already be over right now, so... yeah. You should go home."

I got up as well, not realizing that it had already gotten this late. When I looked at the sky and then back at him, he was already walking down the steps and to his own home. I watched his back and took a long breath.

That was the most Myungsoo has ever said to me about himself.

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✉(A/N);

Made somewhat an effort to update in time for precious Dongwoo's birthday ♥ LOL that was my previous author's note for when I planned on updating a week ago, but never got around to it ^^ ; Well, here's a late, short, and lacking fill-chapter-like update for precious Dongwoo's birthday + support for Ailee and Myungsoo's scandals + Tasty's comeback + "Jin's debut" ♥