Chapter Nine: Of Storms and Rainbows

Mondays means sleepy eyes, grouchy attitude and laziness. True to its meaning, that’s the kind of atmosphere that fills the entire school in this particular Monday morning. Ten hears that Jackson threw another party last night, which probably explains why everyone look so dead.

Johnny went to the party but Ten didn’t. Instead, he spent his Sunday morning taking care his sister and father and spent the evening in the forest, taking pictures of the sunset sky and trees. Compared to anyone else in this school, Ten has a bright mood. Though, of course it doesn’t show on his face.

However, this morning, there is someone else whose mood and energy is even brighter than Ten’s.

Im Nayeon sashays through the school hall. Face glowing, raven hair falls down her back in lazy curls and radiant smile on her cherry lips. Her aura easily dims everyone around her. Beside the Queen is her friends, Jungyeon and Momo, who look just as happy. In Nayeon’s hand is a transparent folder with a single white paper inside.

Somehow, Ten smells trouble.

“Well,” Johnny mutters, traces of drowsiness disappears from him when he sees Nayeon walking past him. “What is she up to now?”

“Definitely some unnecessary trouble.” Ten answers, eyes following Nayeon with mild interest.

It’s undeniable that something makes Nayeon seems so much happier than she has ever been since the start of the new semester. Her chocolate eyes are filled with fire and soon enough, Ten realizes what kind of unnecessary trouble he will witness soon. Those fiery eyes are locked on someone. Someone he knows well.

From the other side of the building, Seulgi and Wonwoo just entered the school. Oblivious to their surroundings, the twin walk towards their lockers, sleep and drowsiness still evident on their faces but even then, they still look like they’re walking in some sort of runway.

Nayeon’s eyes lights up even more and she quickens her face before stopping exactly in front of the twins.

They stop for a moment, Seulgi blinking back her sleepiness when she sees Nayeon in front of her. But before Nayeon can say anything, Seulgi only shrugs as she parts with Wonwoo, walking past the Queen before rejoining Wonwoo again.

This, doesn’t dampen Nayeon’s spirit.

“Well, well, well. The subject of this morning’s drama is here!” Nayeon says, voice elated and the smile never leave her lips.

“Oh, no.” Seungwan whispers from Ten’s side. Worry etched on her face.

Again, the twins don’t brush her. Instead, they keep on walking, much to Nayeon’s dismay.

“I won’t be that confident if I were you, Kang. How dare you walk into our school as if you own this place? After what’s been happening to your little family? Honestly, you have no shame at all.”

The twins stop. The crowds stop. Even time seems to stop. It’s ten minutes before class but right now it seems that the only thing that matters are Nayeon, Seulgi and Wonwoo. Ten watches as Seulgi’s jaw clenches, but other than that, he senses no other emotion from the girl. Wonwoo doesn’t even show any emotions at all. Instead, he scoffs before turning around to look at Nayeon in the eye.

Seungwan let out a soft gasp, her hand covering as she stares at Seulgi in fear. Ten arches an eyebrow. Does Seungwan know something about the twins that the rest of the world doesn’t? She must have.

“Oh? So you’ve done your little homework in digging about the dirt in my family? Good job. I appreciate your dedication, it seems that you’re so obsessed with my family matters. I’m not surprised. So go on, then, share with us what you’ve got. Tell me the news you’re so desperate to share, Nayeon.” Wonwoo challenges.

“Wonwoo.” Seulgi threatens, giving a warning look to Wonwoo, but the older ignores her.

Nayeon shakes her head. The girl opens her folder, takes a picture of the paper inside and in a few seconds, rings of notification can be heard from all the smartphones in the vicinity. She had shared the news with everyone else in this school, if not the whole town.

“Oh, honey, you call me obsessed? Everyone in this town deserves to know how their favorite, perfect family turns out to be just another ed up family. How does it feel, huh? How does it feel when your father kicked your pretty little mother out of your big, precious castle and left you for another woman he’s been ing for years?”

“You want to know how it feels?!” Seulgi shouts before Wonwoo can stop her. “Trust me, when that falls upon your stupid family, oh, you’ll know exactly how it feels, Nayeon.”

The blonde walks towards the raven haired girl. Rage in her eyes and her hands shake from the overwhelming emotions she felt. “You are messing with something that shouldn’t be messed with.” Seulgi warns. “Laugh all you can, ing laugh while you still can, Nayeon, because I swear to God I’ll drag you down myself from that throne you’re sitting on and throw you into the mud so you’ll know your place.”

“Oh, you didn’t like what I did?” Nayeon replies bravely, stepping closer until she’s almost nose to nose with Seulgi. “I told you to know your place, but you didn’t listen. You brought this upon yourself, Kang.”

“Stop it!”

It’s not Seulgi or Wonwoo who screams the words. Son Seungwan has stepped forward. Fear is clear in her face, her fingers trembling, but her eyes say something else. They are burning. “What is it with you?” her question is directed at Nayeon. “What did Seulgi ever done to you? Because her family is the only thing you can attack her with, you decided to do so? You’re the lowest, Nayeon!”

“Seungwan, it’s okay.” Wonwoo says, his hand on Seungwan’s elbow, motioning the girl to return to her place. “Don’t worry about it.” However, he avoids Seungwan’s eyes as he shifts his attention back to Seulgi.

“Seulgi, enough. Let’s go.” Wonwoo wraps his hand around Seulgi’s shoulder. However, Seulgi wriggles out of his grasp, eyes set on Nayeon and face contorting with anger.

“I will repay what you did ten times harder. I’m going to make you suffer every day to the point where you wished you’d never been born.”

“Seulgi.” Wonwoo warns, tugging her harshly as if trying to kick some sense into the angry girl.

Nayeon scoffs. “You can’t touch me, Seulgi.”

And this time, The Queen manages to pull of her revenge. Im Nayeon laughs happily before walking back towards her class, smiling like the angel of death who’s just a soul from a living.

***

During the recess, the only thing people talk about is the Kang and Nayeon’s fiasco. Many wondering the credibility of Nayeon’s story, she gave them a picture of Kang Seokwoo, Seulgi’s father, exiting his apartment building with a woman who looks just a few years older than Seulgi. However, many jumps into the bandwagon, adding spices into the story, making it more confusing to everyone of what they should believe. Some just don’t care and don’t give a flying .

“Has anyone seen Seulgi? Or Wonwoo?” Seungwan asks frantically as the group is sitting together at their usual place in the cafeteria. “The just… disappeared when the bell rings.”

“No clue.” Ten replies. He realizes the twin disappears when the recess bell rang, noticing the bags are missing from their seats. They are probably no longer in the schoolground right now but how they managed to get past the front gate is beyond him. It’s difficult for students to leave school grounds during school hours.

“Was it true? What happened to their family… is it true?” Taeyong asks in worry, looking at Ten, to Seungwan, to Johnny as if hoping that someone would object Nayeon’s revelation and call out her lies.

Sadly, Johnny crashes his hope. “It’s true, the family managed to keep the media quiet about Taeyeon leaving Seokwoo, but they certainly won’t keep quiet about Seokwoo’s affair.” Johnny murmurs as he puts his phone on the center of the table, showing a news report.

“Famous conglomerate and businessman Kang Seokwoo Spotted with Actress Lee Hyunhee.” Seungwan reads the headline aloud. “Well, .” She curses, slumping on the seat beside Taeyong.

“Do you know something about Seulgi’s family that we don’t?” Johnny asks.

“Even if she knows, it’s not her place to tell.” Ten replies, tearing his gaze away from Seulgi’s phone. “There’s a reason why Seulgi and Wonwoo don’t tell us about their family and it must’ve been more than just to protect their pride.”

Johnny arches an eyebrow. “Wow, you seem to be forming some compassion towards them.”

“Shut up, Seo.”

Seungwan let out an exasperated sigh. “She did tell me a few things but not… this!” the brunette buries her face in her hands. “I should’ve guessed.”

“You shouldn’t.” Ten contradicts. “Guessing means you’re prying into her business.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” Seungwan mutters forlornly, picking at her veggies with a hollow expression. “I have to find them.”

Johnny stares at his meal, feeling a bit sad. Of course, like Seungwan has said, he should’ve guessed. Heck, they all should’ve guessed. Of course Seulgi, Wonwoo and her mother moved to Yeongsan all the way from Seoul was caused by not a good reason. Of course Seulgi and Wonwoo rarely never talks—heck, they never even talk—about their father. Of course during the game night only their mother who was present.

“Have you tried contacting her?” Taeyong suggests.

“She won’t pick it up.”

Ten purses his lips, analyzing the situations. “It’s best give them some time alone.” He concludes. Everything becomes clear now, the reason why Seulgi and Wonwoo always seem so aloof and detached but present at the same time, all this time, Seulgi and Wonwoo are just humoring them. Their smiles, their brand name items, their words, all of them were just a façade to entertain everyone around them.

“Ten’s right.” Johnny nods. “Seulgi and Wonwoo are not the type to talk about their problems. That’s one thing for sure, after all the s going on. I think it’s better if you go to her after school’s finished.”

Seungwan bites her lower lip, thinking hard. How could they easily say that? What if Johnny and Ten were wrong? She has seen numerous people who actually needed someone to talk to but because they were afraid to reach out, they ended up feeling worse, caught in their own thoughts and fears and worries and ended up crumbling down.

“Luckily the last period is a free time.” Taeyong tries to comfort her. “Which means it’ll only be a couple of hours before we can search for them.”

“But what if—“

“They’ll be alright.” Ten calms her down. “Even if Seulgi is a very impulsive person, she has Wonwoo to keep her grounded. Trust me, when someone’s at their lowest state, even the wisest solution can’t get into their heads because they’re too distraught to think clear. Give them some time alone, some space. It’s the only thing they needed now.”

***

When their last period ended, Wonwoo picked up is phone, making Seungwan extremely relieved. He’s home but Seulgi still needed time to clear her head so she stayed out. Then, the call ended before Seungwan could ask about Seulgi’s whereabouts.

“I’m still worried.” She let out a soft sigh, running her fingers through her brown locks.

“If Wonwoo’s chill about it, it means Seulgi’s quite alright to be left on her own. That’s one thing to be sure.” Johnny pats Seungwan’s shoulder to comfort her. “Wonwoo will never leave her alone if she’s in a worse state, right?”

Seungwan nods, “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

“Johnny’s right. Ease up, Wan.” Taeyong smiles. “If you’re still worried, we can search for Seulgi. We can use my dad’s car.”

“Can we? Don’t you have your basketball practice?”

Taeyong shakes his head. “It’s alright. Coach won’t mind if I missed one. There are more important matters at hand right now.”

So they split up. Taeyong and Seungwan go to find Seulgi together. Ten, on the other hand, still thinks it’s wiser to leave her alone.

“So it’s you and me, huh?” Johnny asks, adjusting the strap of his backpack.

“You go first. I still need to pick Tern up from the daycare.” It isn’t a lie. Ten always picks Tern up after school when his dad’s too busy to do so. Today, it’s one of those days.

A soft smile appears on Johnny’s lips. “Alright, you do what you gotta do. I’ll notify you when we find Seulgi.”

“I’m sorry.” Ten apologizes. He figures he’s not being a good friend right now and he hates himself for it. “I should’ve…”

“It’s alright, Tenny. Your sister needs you more than we do.” The boy punches Ten’s shoulder lightly, telling him to ease up a little.

Ten smiles. “Alright, see you later, Seo.”

“See you later, Ten.”

***

The sky bleeds red when Ten finds Seulgi in the middle of the forest. How ironic, he didn’t intend to find her, but he did. His sister Tern wanted to see the forest on their way home, so they went. Now, the baby is sleeping soundly on his back and before him, a blonde haired girl is sitting recklessly on a rock, her uniform skirt pushed up and tainted with dirt, a sketchbook on her lap. Below her are a couple of crumpled up papers from her unfinished or scrapped work.

He notices her sharp, chocolate colored eyes are red. She was crying.

“Oh,” Seulgi notices his presence. “What, are you going to mock me like everyone else at school? What is it?” she challenges, her eyes hardening.

“Does it ever get to your head that sometimes people go to the forest for sightseeing or doing other productive things rather than chasing after you?”

She seems to be taken aback by his words, Ten regrets it almost instantly but keeps his composure. However, Seulgi seems to give up. Hanging her head low, she let out a sigh. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. Sorry.”

Ten shakes his head, a bit surprised to see Seulgi’s flame die so quickly. “Seungwan’s worried sick. She’s looking for you.” He finally says.

“Does she? That’s lovely.”

“Everyone else, too. Johnny and Taeyong. Even Jaebum, too, I heard.”

“What about you?” Seulgi asks boldly. Brown eyes locking into his dark ones and Ten sees pain. “You found me here, but were you looking for me?”

Ten wanted to say no, his ego begs him to say no, yet he can’t deny that he actually planned to take Tern with him as he explored the town for a bit to find Seulgi and that he’s actually happy that Tern wanted to explore for a bit before going straight home.

“I am.” He answers truthfully.

To his surprise, a smile blooms on Seulgi’s lips and then a giggle and Ten feels stupid.

“I didn’t know you have a sister.” She choose to comments on the baby carrier Ten is wearing. “How old is she?”

“She’s three.” Ten replies, “Cover up a little, I can almost see your freaking underwear.” Seulgi's skirt is pushed up unti it's dangerously close to her nether regions, showing her milky white thighs and Ten has been focusing his eyes on his own shoes all the damn time. 

Seulgi rolls her eyes but straightens her skirt nonetheless. “Relax, it’s not my underwear, it’s my safety pants. Besides, why do people even freak out, it’s just underwear. You won’t react like this if I’m wearing a bikini. People wear underwear everyday, so it’s normal if you accidentally see it. Besides, it’s not like I’m literally showing my p—“

“God damn it. I get it, just shut up.” Ten shakes his head at her sudden blabbering.

“Hey, don’t curse in front of the baby.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

Seulgi rolls her eyes again before scooting a little. “Here, take a seat.” She says. “Why do you even search for me anyways, didn’t Wonwoo tell you guys I’m okay? Sheesh.”

Ten takes a seat beside her, careful not to wake Tern up or step on the crumpled papers around them. “Funny you say that. Do you think you can fool everyone with your mask?” he asks her, shoulders pressed against each other and eyes locked onto hers. “You’re breaking.”

Seulgi tenses up almost instantly, tearing her eyes away from him and a frown is forming on her face. Ten feels like he’s seeing a distraught little fox. The walls she has built is starting to crack. It’s going to crumble soon.

“Shut up.”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s not my place to do so.” Ten apologizes, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees.

Seulgi let out a soft scoff. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m breaking.” She laughs mirthlessly. The whole situation is ironic. She shows her weakness, for the first time, the one thing she decides never to do, never to let it show. Yet right now she admits she’s breaking to a person who probably couldn’t care less about her well-being.

Ten bites the insides of his cheek, uncomfortable by the situation. If Seulgi still has strength to fend her walls, he’d gladly let her do so. He doesn’t want to be the one who forces her walls to crumble. If any, it would’ve been better if it were Seungwan who’s here, not him.

He tries to change the subject. “I didn’t know you draw.”

“Yeah, there are lots of things people don’t know about me.” Seulgi replies dryly. “It’s the only thing I do now. The only thing that I love that’s doesn’t have any memories of my stupid, worthless father.”

Ten immediately regrets his choice of topics.

However, Seulgi keeps on talking.

“My father’s an .” She stares at her sketchbook, fiddling with the papers. “I… he has been cheating on my mom with that… that gold-digging for almost two years. He has been ing her for two damned years. When my mom confronted him, he…”

Seulgi stops, her voice shakes and her eyes become so hollow that Ten can’t almost bear to look at them. “He did terrible things. But in the end, my mother managed to get me and Wonwoo out of that hellhole and here we are.”

He chews his tongue, confused of what to say or what to do. He feels like a trespasser, an intruder and if he could, he’ll forget everything he had just heard. But he knows he can’t.

“You know you don’t have to tell me all of this, do you?” he looks at her unsurely.

“I know. But… I don’t know, I have this stupid urge just to spill whatever’s in my mind. Maybe I’ve been holding for too long, who knows.” She replies, voice void of any emotions. “Ironic isn’t it? Here I am telling all these stupid stories yet you don’t even like me.”

Ten doesn’t give her any reply. Instead, he chooses to look at Seulgi in the eye, taking in her beauty. The girl stares back at him bravely, not intimidated by his strong gaze. Even with her hair disheveled, tear-stained cheek and puffy eyes, she still looked so beautiful. He studies her small, pointy nose, all red from crying. Her defined jawlines and her long, slender neck. Her sharp eyes inviting him, alluring him. Her smell intoxicates him until he can no longer smell the humid soil, the scent of pine, only her citrus scent.

“Why are you wavering?” he asks, voice almost dropping into a whisper. “All this time, you’ve been humoring us, entertaining us. The only thing you and Wonwoo showed us are your outer layers, you’ve never let us look deeper. You think you can’t show us your worries, or your fears, you think you can never, ever show us any of your flaws. Do you know it is your own self that forbids you to do that? It’s not that you can’t show any weakness, but you chose to forbid yourself to.”

That is probably the longest sentence Ten has ever spoken to her and the most eventful. Seulgi’s eyes lose its boldness as every of his words sink into her, her body getting more tense word after word. 

Yet Ten think he’s right. Just like Seulgi, he chose not to show any weakness. Oh, the irony, despite him constantly detesting the girl, deep down, both of them are just the same. The same broken people trying to cope with life.

“What do you want?” her voice wavers weakly.

Ten shifts his gaze to the trees above them. “I want nothing. You’re free to live your life as you want to. I’m not going to tell you what to do, that’s not my job.” He muses. “Though, if I dare to say, if you already chose to build a strong fort, then you should defend it with all your might. Don’t crumble unless you’re at your breaking point.”

Seulgi stares at him again, unsure. “If you can’t solve your problems by yourself, don’t try to shut people out of your life. You’ll only end up destroying yourself with your thoughts.” he finishes, his voice making the hair on her nape rise.

“Do you think I can’t handle myself?” she challenges, offended.

“No. In fact, I think you’re very adept in solving your own problems,” Ten refutes. “But you still couldn’t control your emotions.”

Much to his surprise, a soft smile forms on her lips. “Stop reading into me. I hate it.” Her word betray her expressions.

Wrong. Ten observes, but he’s not the best at reading people around him. The reason why he easily figures Seulgi out is because they’re both the same. He feels like he’s looking at another version of himself. The same broken person with a dysfunctional family, betrayed by the person that they loved dearly. The same broken person who's not whole, who's left with a gaping, fresh wound that refuses to heal.

“Point taken.” He replies.

Seulgi let out a soft sigh, wondering why over all the possible people to find her, it just have to be Ten. He's probably hating her even more for troubling him with her worries. Well, she already has enough people disliking her, back in Seoul and in Yeongsan. She's used to it. “Your sister, what’s her name?”

Ten grumbles softly. “It’s Tern.”

“Tern? Thai people have unique names.” Seulgi comments, leaning back to take a look at little Tern who’s still sleeping soundly on Ten’s back. “She’s pretty.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

Seulgi let her gaze linger on Ten for a bit, before looking at the sky again. The red has become dark purple, soon, night will cover the whole horizon. “It’s getting dark. We should go.”

“Yeah, we should.” Ten agrees, propping himself off the rock and standing up. He watches as Seulgi carefully pushes herself off the rock before picking up all of her crumpled papers, shoving them into her backpack and carries it on her back.

“Wow. I honestly forgot how I got here,” she whistles, scanning their surroundings as if she just got there for the first time. “Please tell me you know the way out.”

Adjusting the strap of the baby carrier and his backpack, Ten looks back to the pathway where he came from. “Yeah. I knew this forest like the back of my hand. Let’s go.”

He was about to walk when Seulgi suddenly interlocks her fingers with him. He freezes upon her touch, upon feeling the coldness of her hand, contrasting against his warm one. “The heck?” he blurts without thinking.

“I… don’t want to fall down, okay?” Seulgi defends herself, voice rising an octave higher than usual. “…Your hand is very warm.” She says again, muttering under her breath but Ten hears it.

“Yeah, well, your hand is ice. Now, come on.” He grunts before tugging his hand a little, motioning Seulgi to move.

The rest of their journey is spent in silence. The only voices are their soft breaths, their footsteps on the loamy soil and the rustling leaves. Ten can feel Seulgi’s small hands gradually becoming warmer. Their walk is leisure and slow, not wanting to rush and risking slipping on a slippery soil, yet his heart is beating fast that his chest almost hurts. He hopes Seulgi doesn't hear it.

When they reached the town, Tern wakes up, muttering gibberish and yawning widely. Seulgi stares at the toddler fondly, warmth spreading in her eyes.

“Do you…” Ten looks at the girl, hesitating. “Do you want me to accompany you to your home?”

She’s taken aback by his question, eyes staring at him innocently before breaking into a smile. “Don’t worry. I know my way home. Besides, you have to hurry home and feed little Tern.” The girl rubs Tern’s head affectionately before planting a soft kiss on Tern’s cheek. “I’ll see you sometimes later, Terny. Don’t forget your Seulgi unnie, okay?”

“Ew, I forbid you to be friends with my sister.”

“She seems to like me though.” Seulgi teases, her eyes lights up when Tern gives her a childish laugh.

“Don’t get your hopes up, she laughs at everything.”

Seulgi chuckles before meeting Ten’s eyes. “Thanks, for today. I know you don’t like me, I know you hate it when I hang out with you guys and Seungwan… but thank you.” She says softly, tilting her head to the side as she gives him a warm smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ten. I’m going to go home and plot my revenge for Nayeon.”

She waves then and turns her back, walking towards the opposite direction, her hair swaying as she moves. Ten watches her figure, his throat felt dry and he’s hesitating.

“I don’t hate you.” He says, loud enough for her to hear him.

He sees her stopping, probably surprised at his statement. Seulgi turns her head back and gives him a bright smile. “Yeah, right. See you tomorrow, number Ten!” the girl laughs freely before walking away, steps lighter than before.

Ten let his gaze lingers on the retreating figure, a smile forming on his lips. “Yeah, let’s go home, Tern.” He says, somehow feeling more elated than ever before making his way home.

***

Author’s Note:
I WAS SQUEEZING MY BRAIN SO HARD TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER ARGH
But anyway! Our tenseul moment is finally here *clapping* *cheering* *cries in Japanese* *wipes tear away*
I’ve been so busy this weekend because I’m celebrating the Good Friday and had to go to church from Thursday to Sunday. DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH MY ASSIGNMENTS IM SO SCREWED
But GUYS hv you seen Irene’s airport pictures in Taiwan she’s so beautiful my heart hurts. Plus, ikon is coming back after being shipped away to Japan for almost an eternity, they are finally having a comeback. Lordt my heart is not ready for this sweet, sweet reality. I’m so friggin broke but I have to save money to buy their albums cries I want to be rich.
Ahem, anyway, guys! I hope yall have a nice weekend! Happy Good Friday and Happy Easter to those who celebrate it <3