At school the next day, Minji looked around for Soonyoung but as usual he couldn't be found. They had Music on that day but he didn't turn up. 

 

Now, Minji was walking towards the exit of the school, hoping to maybe catch him at the florist's. 

 

"LEE SEOKMIN YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!" A low voice called from the field. Minji whipped her head around to look and she saw a shirtless Seungcheol chasing around Seokmin who had his shirt in his hand. Minji cringed at the scene but decided to approach the group of boys. Maybe they knew where Soonyoung was.

 

"Hey guys," Minji sat down on the bleachers next to Hansol and Chan. They were both sharing a bowl of cold noodles. Hansol popped a kimbap in his mouth and Chan drank some soup. 

 

"Yeah?" Chan asked, mouth full. 

 

"Do you know where Soonyoung is?" 

 

Chan started choking on his food. Hansol slapped his back and pointed to Seunggwan, shooing Minji away. 

 

Minji asked Seunggwan the same question. He looked up from his Math worksheet and shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her. 

 

Okay, Minji thought. She approached Junghan and Dongjin who were playing a dumb game of rock paper scissorts. She asked them the same question. The boys looked at each other and replied with hesitant "no"s. 

 

Minji knew that these boys were lying to her. 

 

"Seokmin, where's Soonyoung?" Minji had had it. She went to her last resort which was the blur Seokmin. 

 

Seokmin looked at her and simply said, "Oh he's at the hospi-" 

 

Seungcheol slapped his mouth shut. 

 

"He's at the hotspot," Seungcheol tried covering for Soonyoung, "You know that place for wifi?" He pulled his shirt away from Seokmin's hand and muttered something to Seokmin. 

 

"Seungcheol, a hotspot isn't a place," Minji told Seungcheol patiently then she turned to Seokmin,patting his head, "Thank you,"

 

Seungcheol glared at the younger boy, muttering, "You dip, we promised Soonyoung," 

 

"At least I know what a hotspot is," Seokmin shot back. Seungcheol grabbed Seokmin's collar and the younger boy gulped, immediateley apologising.

 

Shaking her head, Minji turned to go, leaving a dumbstruck Seokmin and an annoyed Seungcheol behind. 

 

 

"Damn it, where is it?" Minji dugged through her school bag, in search of her bus card. However, her search proved futile. 

 

Puffing her cheeks, she sighed loudly. She decided that she had no choice but to walk to the hospital. Besides, it was only a few blocks away and she needed some exercise. 

 

Hiking her bag up higher, she started her quest to look for the boy who made her smile and hopefully, bring her sunshine back. 

 

Walking on the streets of Seoul was surprisingly relaxing if one just focused on the little things like the flowers that were growing in the cracks on the road, they were strong. The little things like how the stores in the small alleys looked like they'd been given up on and how they were so run down but they still looked beautiful. A different sort of beautiful. This was why she liked being alone sometimes, it gave her time to think and appreciate. She liked that.

 

Minji looked up at the sky and was greeted with different shades of gray, indicating the incoming of rain. She quickened her pace for she didn't have an umbrella. 

 

Standing at the traffic light, Minji waited to cross. A few drops of rain pelted her, she ignored it. The few drops turned into a drizzle, she used her hand as a "roof". The drizzle, however, soon turned into rain. 

 

"But these are new.." She sighed audibly, frowing at her sneakers.

 

Before she could dwell in her misery, she felt the rain stop all of a sudden. Puzzled, she looked up and saw a yellow umbrella. She turned to the side and saw a boy. He had his hood on but she could tell that he was young, about her age. 

 

The traffic light flashed the green man. The boy held out the umbrella to Minji. She stared at it hesitantly. He shook it, getting quite impatient. So Minji did. And the boy dashed across the road, holding tightly onto his hood, his black converse splashing the water in puddles as he ran. 

 

Minji stared at him. She wanted to follow him but the hospital was just a few minutes away.

 

-----

 

Soonyoung picked up his pace, he didn't even care anymore whether his favourite pair of sneakers got soaked in water or if he'd slip and fall because of the treacherous weather. He just needed to get the steamed buns. 

 

Pushing the glass door open, he fished out a few notes and slammed them on the table. 

 

"Can I have 2 steamed buns? And please hurry," Soonyoung told the girl at the counter. He was very jumpy.

 

The girl must've sensed his urgency because she rung up the 2 buns in a flash. Soonyoung thanked her quickly and ran out of the store. 

 

"Please.. just wait.. I'm coming," He squeezed his eyes shut and whispered before running off to see her. 

 

------

 

Minji looked up at the building in front of her and winced. She hated hospitals. Just the thought of the clean white walls, the very stale smell and the beeping machines made her uncomfortable. 

 

She wondered why Soonyoung could possibly be there. There was many possibilities, 1) he was visiting someone, 2) He was hurt (which she seriously hoped it wasn't the case) or 3) He liked being in the presence of ill companions and noisy machines. 

 

Walking along the corridoors of wards, Minji searched everywhere to find a tall boy. She was almost done with the first floor but he was no where to be seen. Sighing, she decided to take a seat on on of the plastic chairs. 

 

She leaned her back against the cold walls and closed her eyes. Her mind lingered on the picture of the boy with the very familiar Chuck Taylor's dashing across the street. Could it be? She shook her head, pushing that thought away. There were plently of other guys who had the same shoes. 

 

Glancing at the yellow umbrella that she was tightly gripping onto, she smiled, "If it wasn't for you, I'd be drenched by now," 

 

Minji decided that she needed to continue her search so she got up and brushed her jeans, heading up the stairs towards the wards on the second floor. 

 

She was about to head towards the left but she heard cries coming from the other side. She turned the corner and bumped into a glum looking doctor. She bowed politely. 

 

"Poor boy, lost his grandmother," The doctor pointed behind him. Minji nodded slowly and the doctor patted her back, walking away. 

 

Sure enough, as she got closer, she saw a boy in jeans kneeling down beside a covered body, his shoulders shaking as he cried. A woman, who Minji assumed was his mother, wiped her tears before patting his back, trying to comfort him. Minji knew that she should give the family a little privacy but she couldn't help but watch so she hid behind the wall. She watched as the doctor told them something and began to wheel the body away. The boy refused to let go and it took a lot of effort to pull him away. Minji pitied the family with all her heart and she turned away, leaning against the wall. This was also one of the reasons why she hated hospitals. 

 

Deciding to continue her search, she began to walk towards the wards when she bumped into someone. 

 

She started to apologise but when she looked up she was met with a pair of dark brown eyes, "Soonyoung?" That familiar pair of dark orbs, once bright and cheerful were now shadowed and sorrowful. 

 

She expected him to shove past her and continue running to wherever he was planning to but he just stared at her. For a moment, it was silent between the two. It was almost as if they were apologising to each other. 

 

 

 

Minji was taken aback but she hugged him back quickly, rubbing his back trying to soothe him as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. She could hear his quiet sobs.

 

 

 

Soonyoung looked back down at her and gave her an eighth of a smile, "Thanks. You're the only person who thinks that," 

 

Minji stood on the toes and whispered, "Let's get out of this miserable place," She grabbed his hand and they interlocked fingers. 

 

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