Note 1: Mainly Hanbin POV.  Lack of One makes me sad tbh. 

chapter xiii. | doubt

When they pulled up in front of Hayi’s house, no one moved. The hum of the engine was the only thing that filled the emptiness because nothing they could say to each other seemed to be enough. Not with the number of doubts brewing inside of them. 

At some point, Hanbin found himself losing patience. Not because she was still silently fuming beside him, but because he allowed a situation like that to happen in the first place. 

Or maybe that was still jealousy, refusing to free him from its wretched grip. 

“Who is he?”

Naturally, he received no response. Not that he didn’t expect any but it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try again.

“How did you meet him? How come I’ve never seen or heard of him before?” His cheeks felt hot but he ignored it. 

The sound of the seatbelt flying off yanked his attention to the passenger side. A hand was on the door handle and Hanbin saw it coming; her attempt of evasion.

His seatbelt came off too and as if she expected his reaction, she scowled at him. 

“None of your business,” she spat. 

There was a resounding click and all the doors in the car were locked.  

“You’re not going anywhere until you give me something, Hayi.”

Irritation narrowed her eyes into slits. “Why the hell does it matter to you?”

Hanbin matched her glare with ease, placing a hand on her seat. She backed away as far as she could and even though it pained him to see it, Hanbin kept his cool. 

“I said who is he?” he repeated. 

It seemed the long drive did him good, his head no longer clouded and his goals clear. Or perhaps, instead of weariness, he felt numbed by the conflict between them because now Hanbin was somehow finding the will to press her for answers when he couldn’t before. 

A wounded expression crossed Hayi’s face. It was as if she couldn’t believe it herself. A second later, her features straightened out and she was back to being just as cold. 

“I don’t need to tell you anything.” Her voice was calmer than he expected. “So what if I never told you about him? It’s my decision. If you can keep secrets then I sure as hell can as well.”

“So you just want to get back at me? Is that it?”

That seemed to infuriate her, her lid flipping off for a moment. “No!” she hissed. “Jaewon has nothing to do with that!”

Hanbin finally pulled away, his face now as empty as he felt inside. Nevermind how crushed Hayi looked at her slip of the tongue; his hyungs would be pleased with a name he had gotten.

“Are you satisfied?” She sounded defeated. “There. You got his name.”

“No,” he dared to say. “Just stay away from him.”

There was no more after that but it didn’t matter anymore. With this name, they could investigate him and Hanbin could ensure the bastard would never go near Hayi again.

To his surprise, Hayi wasn’t completely done just yet. She shifted in her seat, facing the window solemnly. 

“At least tell me why,” she said quietly. 

Hanbin put his seatbelt back on. “Mino-hyung warned me about him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mino told me not to trust him or any of those people at the party. And we’d be smart to listen. He knows most of the people there.”

“Does that apply to Ki—I mean, Simon as well?” 

He frowned. “They’re all bad news, Yi.” 

Hayi took this in quietly, but the clench of her fist around the door handle wasn’t reassuring. An inner battle seemed to be taking place, but that was not what Hanbin wanted. He wanted her to listen. He wanted her to trust him. 

The doors finally unlocked, and Hayi barely spared him a glance as she clambered out. There was only a small “goodnight,” that the breeze stole from her lips but he heard it, the doubt in her voice. 

It flooded his mouth with a bitter taste, knowing she was hesitating to heed everything he was telling her. Was the Jaewon guy that important to her? For her to be able to brush Hanbin’s concern aside for that guy’s sake?

The likelihood tore him up inside and as he watched Hayi walk away, he could almost hear the foundations of their relationship crumble with each step. 

“Wow, B.I. Some guts you have,” Kang Seungyoon said with a chuckle. “But then again, I expect nothing less from the monster rookie, aye?”

Hanbin grimaced, but it was better than facing the heat of their wrath. Instead of scolding him like Mino did, they gossiped about it with amusement because Hanbin’s actions were interesting if not daring. Nam Taehyun even had the cheek to be proud.

“It’s not that bad. Simon wasn’t even upset,” Jinwoo said, wrapping a bandage on Taehyun’s right forearm.

Hanbin watched them with a spent gaze. He might’ve escaped being chewed out by his other hyungs but he was still being punished. It wasn’t too bad though because he was merely acting as Jinwoo’s assistant and he happened to be the nicest.

“So if he wasn’t, then what?” Seungyoon asked. “Was he jumping for joy or something?” 

Jinwoo ordered Hanbin to get a pair of scissors to cut the cloth.

“Not necessarily. It was more like…entertainment for him.” 

Hanbin watched Jinwoo snip the cloth after securing it. Then, Hanbin was handed the scissors back and he returned everything inside the medical kit. 

“Weird,” Seungyoon said as he leaned back on the sofa. 

Hanbin thought the same as he began to gather the bloodied bandages into a wastebasket. Lee Seunghoon, who was sprawled next to Seungyoon, seemed to think otherwise. 

“I wouldn’t relax if I were you. This is Jay's gang, we’re talking about.” The male didn’t look up from the beat-up Gameboy in his hands. “Anyway, I’m more interested in that girl. Care to elaborate, B.I?”

At this, Seungyoon shot up in his seat. “Oh, yeah! Lee Hayi, right? Holy .”

Hanbin almost blanked at that. Just hearing her name come out of his hyungs’ mouth was strange, but he was uneasy more than anything.

If only he managed to prevent her from coming to that party Mino threw a while ago. Then maybe he wouldn’t have had to introduce her to them and they wouldn’t have known her by name or face.

“She was invited by one of the guests,” he mumbled under their scrutiny. Curiosity burned in their gaze, but unfortunately, he knew no more than they did.

To his relief, Jinwoo finally demanded his presence. “Hurry it up, B.I. We have more stuff to do upstairs.”

Hanbin released a sigh, the eldest’s voice diverting the attention from him.

This room they were in, a basement-turned-lounge area in Song Mino’s house that they frequented, became stifling nowadays as the questions continued. He was starting to get sick of it. 

Not only did the recollections of what happened pissed him off because Hayi was still ignoring him, but he was also exhausted of the unwanted spotlight on him. He never liked being the subject of gossip. In here or in school. 

As the pair both began climbing up the stairs, Taehyun’s voice called out to him.

“Training continues tomorrow,” he said. “But because our dear doctor said I need to recover, Seungyoon will take over for now.”

Hanbin just nodded as Seungyoon gave him a friendly wave from where he sat. 

Once the the door closed, Hanbin allowed himself to visibly frown. At least, Seungyoon was not as merciless as the blonde. Nam Taehyun never held back that the mere mention of his name made his old and new bruises wince. 

“Since you’ll be training tomorrow, do you want me to examine any injuries from last week?” Jinwoo offered.

An anticipated question. After all, Jinwoo was in charge of their health.

He was a medical student, hailing from a family of doctors and currently attending one of the most prestigious medical schools in Seoul. Why he was here was another mystery to Hanbin. But then again, all he knew was their undying loyalty to one another despite their differences. 

Jinwoo and Mino came from wealthy backgrounds while Seungyoon and Seunghoon were more like him. Nam Taehyun was an enigma he had yet to piece together, but he knew that the blonde male was a college drop-out like the Seung brothers.

They were just an assembly of contrasting personalities yet they got along so well.

“I took the pills you gave me so I’m fine.”

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