ELEVEN DAYS.

Yixing's life changes because of a bet his friends place.

 

Genres: Angst

Word Count: 5030

 

 

 

Zhang Yixing was a jerk. There wasn’t any other word to describe him. He couldn’t care less about anybody’s feelings. Hurting girls by playing with their hearts was something he did on a daily basis.

 

So, when his group of friends came up with an interesting task for him, he didn’t hesitate. His friends believed he wouldn’t succeed and he was more than eager to prove them wrong.

 

 

What was the task? It was rather a bet. He had to get the weird loner from their class to sleep with him. His friends were certain it would never happen. The girl was plain weird, she never spoke to anyone. She would often be seen eating alone at the cafeteria. And she definitely didn’t have any friends. Nobody bothered talking to her anyway; they believed it was better to steer clear of her way.

 

 

She wasn’t that bad to look at but it was her odd antics that made people avoid her. They knew something was awfully wrong with her. She would laugh to herself at times not caring if people gave her looks. She would be immersed in her own world and what was worse; she seemed content with her life. One could never find a frown on her face which made everyone wonder how she could remain so jovial all the time. In the end they had concluded that she was a lunatic and it was better to stay away from her.

 

 

Yixing who was slightly apprehensive about the bet tried not to show it to his friends. He wanted to prove to them that he was indeed irresistible and even a strange person like Byul, the loner girl, would fall into his charms. He wasn’t sure how he would manage to do so but he wouldn’t give up.

 

 

“What’s in it for me?” He asked his friends. There wasn’t a reason for him to simply associate with Byul unless his friends had an enticing offer.

 

 

Jongdae, one of his friends, laughed when he heard his question. In fact it was him that had come up with this clever plan. He was a trickster who often loved to play pranks on others. He wanted to see Yixing lose for once.

 

 

“Lose the bet and your darkest secret would be revealed to everyone, Zhang Yixing,” Jongdae laughed wickedly. Yixing’s eyes widened slightly, he knew that Jongdae was the only one who knew his secret. He scolded himself for entrusting Jongdae with such valuable piece of information. Wasn’t he his friend? Why would he want to do something so cruel?

 

 

“Fine. I’ll send you a recording of Byul screaming my name out loud,” he smirked slightly.

 

 

“Good luck then.”

 

                                                                                                                                  ∞∞∞

 

 

Yixing hadn’t expected it to be so damn easy but here he was with Byul, who had been a mess. He couldn’t believe that the lie he spouted actually worked on her.

 

 

He had found her in her usual hiding place in the library. He took the seat opposite hers and stared at her till he caught her attention. Byul, who had been quite immersed in her book, finally looked up to come face to face with Zhang Yixing, the infamous jerk of their university.

 

 

She tried to calm down her rapidly beating heart; no one knew about the biggest crush she harbored for the boy. There was something about him which drew her to him. Although she was well aware of his reputation, he was still perfect in her eyes. She couldn't really explain why.

 

 

Unbeknownst to anyone she would look at him from time to time, hoping to catch a tiny glimpse of his exceptionally handsome face. She loved how his face lit up every time he smiled. The deep dimple that engraved his cheeks made her go weak. Looking at him made her happy, it made her day complete. She didn’t know what it was about him; it was just a charm he possessed that drew her to him.

 

Of course, the girl would never admit her feelings to anyone. She was pleased with merely adoring him from afar. She knew she was an odd being and that no one, let alone someone like Yixing, would want to be with her.

 

 

So, when she found the charming male sitting in front of her, she was perplexed. She didn’t know what he had wanted from her. Did he perhaps get to know about her little crush on him? Was he going to ask her stop staring at him like a creep? She had tried to be as discreet as possible.

 

 

However, the words that came out of Yixing’s mouth were baffling. She wanted to believe that she had been dreaming and there was no way Zhang Yixing was confessing his feelings to her.

 

Yixing bit his lip shyly and rubbed the nape of his neck. He knew it always did the trick; girls always fell for his innocent, boyish charms. 

 

 

“Listen, Byul…I know this may come as a shock to you but I’ve liked you all along. The rest may not see it but I do. You’re a wonderful girl and anyone would be more than lucky to have you in their life,” he uttered his rehearsed lines.

 

 

Byul stared at him wide-eyed. No, this definitely wasn’t true. Why would he want to be with someone like her? But her heart was bursting with happiness, his words somehow made her elated. It was something she had only dreamt of but she knew it would never come true. She felt as if she was going to pass out for she felt extremely light-headed at the moment. She wasn't sure if it was because of Yixing's unanticipated confession or something else.

 

Yixing looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for her to reply. Byul didn’t know what to say, her mind was fogged, her breathing uneven. She tried to calm herself down. No, she won’t pass out, she thought to herself.

Byul finally gathered enough courage to look at him.

 

 

“So…? Do you feel the same way, by any chance?” he asked sheepishly. He knew he had got her, her flushed face said it all. He cheered internally; this was such an easy task. He couldn’t wait to see Jongdae’s face when he told him that he had actually succeeded.

 

 

Byul nodded coyly, she was afraid she would choke on her words if she were to speak to him. Yixing grinned; he could see how Byul’s eyes shone so brightly, almost like stars. He wondered how he had never noticed her attractive eyes. He decided not to think much of it, he would try to finish the task in hand as soon as he could and he’d never have to see her again. 

 

 

“How about a date then?” he asked the girl, hoping she would agree.

 

 

“D-date? Yeah,” Byul stuttered. She was still trying to figure out what was happening but when her eyes caught Yixing’s bunch of friends snickering, looking at their way, she knew. She knew it was some kind of set up. They probably wanted to toy with her feelings. 

 

 

However, the strange thing was that she didn’t mind. If their stupid plan could make Yixing spend at least a few hours with her, she would gladly accept it. In fact, she was slightly glad that Yixing hadn’t actually liked her and that he was just lying for the sake of his friends. He couldn’t like her; she wouldn’t allow it, not when she knew he would end up getting hurt. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Zhang Yixing.

 

 

So, when the date had finally ended in him luring her on to bed with him, she instantly knew what his friends had wanted. She pretended to be clueless and surrendered herself to him, letting him taint her. It would probably be the last time anyway, she thought. She had to admit that she liked it; she loved his warm presence in her. She decided to forget about everything else momentarily. 

 

When Byul had finally managed to sleep, Yixing had taken out his phone and snapped a picture of her body that bore stains, which were proof of their deeds. He didn’t know why it felt so wrong; he had never really cared much about anyone else like this but he couldn’t bring himself to do this to Byul. He knew if he sent the picture to Jongdae, the latter would circulate it in no time.

 

After contemplating a lot, he decided to forward it to Jongdae. He couldn’t afford to let Jongdae spill his secret to anyone else. Glancing at the sleeping girl one more time, he got dressed and left.

 

                                                                                                                                    ∞∞∞

 

 

Byul knew something was wrong the minute she stepped foot into the campus. People were blatantly staring at her and whispering. She decided to ignore the stares and made her way to class when one of the guys wolf-whistled at her.

 

 

“So that’s what you’ve been hiding underneath the rags you wear.”

 

 

She turned abruptly to see what he had meant. The people around her had been laughing.

 

 

“Aw, look at our lost little lamb!” The guy laughed and showed her his phone. She found herself looking at a picture of herself.

 

 

Byul didn’t speak a word. She silently walked towards her class. She knew this was coming, she had expected it but it still hurt. It wasn’t anyone else who had done this to her, but it was Zhang Yixing, the guy with no imperfections. She couldn’t complain; she had brought this upon herself.

 

 

She could see Yixing and his group of friends laughing in the corner. Yixing immediately averted his eyes when he saw her looking at her. She knew he felt guilty. She put on her brightest smile and walked towards them. Jongdae cleared his throat loudly as he saw her approaching.

Yixing gulped nervously, he didn’t know what she would say.

 

 

“Could I talk to you for a second?” Her voice was calm, she didn’t seem angry. Yixing nodded slightly and excused himself.

 

 

She had been smiling and that made him quite uncomfortable. He knew Byul could be quite bizarre at times but he didn’t know how she could be smiling so brightly at a time like this.

 

What she uttered right after made him more confused.

 

 

“Thank you,” she said.

 

 

What could she possibly mean? He had humiliated her in front of thousands of people and yet she was thanking him?

 

“You made me happy for a little while, so I wanted to thank you,” she explained, the smile never wearing off of her face.

Before Yixing could say anything more, she had left.

                          

                                                     

                                                                                                                             ∞∞∞

 

 

Yixing hadn’t really seen Byul after that. He did find her loitering in the halls occasionally but she never made any attempt to contact him. However, instead of being relieved he was rather intrigued. He couldn’t figure out how the girl could forgive him so easily. She hadn’t made any attempts to take revenge neither did she show any signs of hatred towards him.

 

 

Jongdae and the rest of his friends had asked him to meet them at some café. He wondered why they had suddenly decided to hang out elsewhere. He found his friends seated at the table in the far corner.

 

 

As he got closer he could clearly see the girl who had been taking their order. He could see how she squirmed slightly when one of the guys touched her inappropriately. He was furious, now he knew why they had been so adamant on meeting up here. They probably found out that she worked here.

 

 

“What’s the matter sweet-heart is your body reserved only for Yixing?” He could hear the guy say. He didn’t know what came over him; he walked over and  punched his friend square on his jaw.

 

 

“Keep your filthy hands off her,” he shouted.

 

 

Jongdae intervened.

 

 

“Why are you being so defensive? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with her.” He spat distastefully.

 

 

Byul spun on her heels and walked away. Jongdae’s words kept ringing in her mind. Was it possible? No, she couldn’t let him. Her thoughts were broken when she heard Yixing’s voice. It seemed as if he had chased after her.

 

 

“Byul…,” he uttered miserably.

 

 

“Stay away from me!” she screamed. It was also the first time she had raised her voice.

 

                                                                    

                                                                                                                            ∞∞∞

 

 

Yixing never saw the girl again. He would look for her time and again, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. He was worried about her, there was no denying that. He wanted to make sure she was alright. Where could she possibly be?

 

 

He found himself thinking about her day and night. He longed for those sweet kisses he once shared with her. Her lips tasted so sweet, he had wanted nothing more than to kiss them again. That was when he came to the conclusion that he missed her. He wanted to see her.

 

 

When he couldn’t take it anymor