His heart squeezed tightly when he saw her sitting on the edge of her seat. was turned slightly down in a frown and part of her hair was covering her face. He walked over to her and placed the chocolate he had bought.

            “Hey, somebody’s looking a little down today.” He tried to go with teasing. Maybe that would take away her poor mood.

            She looked at it and he nudged it closer to her. “Eat some chocolate. Somebody once told me that chocolate will put a smile on anyone’s face.”

            She gave him a wan smile and pushed it away. “I’m not in the mood Myungsoo. Thanks for the offer though. I’m just kind of tired.”

            He looked around. School hasn’t started yet and nobody was there. He dragged a chair towards her and sat next to her. He placed his arms on the table and stared at her. “Wanna talk about it?”

            She bit her bottom lip and Myungsoo could tell that she was trying not to cry. Her eyes were glassy and she chewed her lip in the way she did when she was holding something in. “I told you. School, life, stress.”

            He blew gently across the table, moving a random feather across so that it landed against her arm. “Look at the pretty feather. Don’t you want to feel free like it is? Talk to me about it. Maybe I’ll help you sort it out?”

            She shook her head. “I don’t think so. It’s just I feel so useless. Nothing I do is ever right and I feel like I disappoint everyone.” She grabbed Myungsoo’s arm and looked at him with wild alarm. “I’m going to fail this class so badly. I can’t rely on you for help every time.”

            He straightened and looked her in the eye. “Don’t worry. I have your back. When we go home, just message me whatever you need help with okay?” She nodded, a little unconvincingly but the bell rang and immediately the room was flooded with students. Myungsoo moved the chair back to its rightful place and walked to his assigned seat.

            He kept his eye on her for the entire period. She scribbled notes aimlessly despite her fear of failure. When the bell rang, she left before he could get to her. He couldn’t see her until after school. She was not waiting by their usual spot.

            Myungsoo called her phone. It went straight to voicemail. He sighed. He knew it was a mistake to not tail her to every class. He kicked the gates and thought about where she could be. He decided to call her house but her mother had said she wasn’t home yet.

            He didn’t dare press in case she got in trouble. He thanked her mother hastily and shut off. Myungsoo wandered around town, trying to find her before his own mother called him home. The moment he got home, he went online to try and see if she was on. Thankfully she was.

            “Where were you?” he typed hurriedly.

            “I took a walk.”

            “You left without me. I was so worried. And I went to look for you too.”

            “Oh. Sorry.”

            Myungsoo tapped his keyboard worriedly. These short answers were worrying him. “Is it your parents again?”

            She didn’t respond for a long time and he asked his question again. “Yeah. They won’t stop nagging me and I’m kind of tired.”

            “Ignore them. You’re your own person. And I think you’re a great person, definitely not a failure.”

            “Thanks. I have to go.”

            She logged off right after and Myungsoo texted her. He waited, keeping his eyes anxiously on the phone but no reply came. He slept uneasily that night.

            The next morning, he didn’t see her in class. When he went to his locker, he found a piece of paper with just the words, “Good bye” on them. Myungsoo threw his books in his locker and ran out.

            He kept running until he reached the nearby river. He wasn’t thinking as his feet carried him over. He found her sitting precariously on the bridge, her legs dangling off the bridge. She was pulling absent-mindedly at flower petals.

            Myungsoo called out her name and ran to her. “Get off! What are you thinking?” He was out of breath and near tears.

            She turned her face to look at him blankly. He grabbed her shoulders and she pulled away. “They called me useless yesterday. It’s like they’re just repeating all I know.”

            Myungsoo gripped her shoulders and gently pulled her down. He lifted her and her legs swung over the bridge to land safely. She hung her head and he tipped her chin up.

            “Hey, I don’t think you’re useless. Smile for me beautiful.”

            She in a breath at the last word and peered up at him. He offered her an encouraging smile and she blinked. Myungsoo smiled at her. “Yes, you’re beautiful. We’re going to go back and you’re going to remember my words, okay? And when they ever try to tell you otherwise, come to me okay?”

            She gave a weak nod. Myungsoo leaned in closer and pressed his lips against her. “And that seals our promise.” 

for aegi-girl15

feel better baby ♥