Chapter 3    

*TRIGGER WARNING*

May 20, 2018

After Minho’s “tutoring” session, Sulli hadn’t seen a single dust particle from him. It was like he was avoiding her, even when she tried to find him, she couldn’t seem to find him. She didn’t have much time to look for him either when she had many exams to take.

She couldn’t deny the fact that she missed him… He didn’t talk much or show any emotion whatsoever. She couldn’t know if he utterly hated the company, feel neutral about it, or enjoy it. With Minho, she just didn’t know.

Yet, he provided company, something foreign to her. Plus she liked how he never pestered or didn’t find the need to talk when it wasn’t important, he talked when he needed to and that’s it.

So this is how it felt to have company…

And right now, she looked for his presence. Today had been her dreaded math exam she was almost sure of failing but using the handy notecard with the needed formulas Minho had written out for her, Sulli actually passed!

“I still can’t believe it… I need to thank him…” Instantly, she stopped. She can’t just give him a verbal thanks, his work was too helpful for just a mere thank you.

“A gift!” Sulli decided. She couldn’t find him anywhere at the moment anyways, so she took the alternative.

But what gift?

Deciding to just go to the nearest shopping center, she concluded on finding something easily there that could match him.

While taking her leisure in walking, she remembered how the boy seemed to be exhausted. His bags protruding to the world and his image dull. She knew Minho wasn’t forcibly alone, but he chose to be by himself. He acted rough and cold, but she knew it was a front.

She could see his anxious tactics, like how his eyes roamed around his environment as if he's nervous. Or his fingers twirling his writing utensils for hours, he was always in an alarming state.

Minho wasn’t lonely, he was cautious and guarded.

… As if he has been hurt.

Sulli knew Minho has gone through things, she could just tell.

But what?

Sulli believes she knows what things now.

Or somehow she has an idea of what… And she doesn’t know how to feel about it.

She feels confused, shocked, and cautious about Minho… She doesn’t want to be afraid of him. She doesn’t.

She chose to be in denial about it, she wants to talk to him about it. At that she slapped herself lightly.

“We aren’t even that close, he’s going to think I’m problematic.” Sulli murmured to herself as she walked away from the classroom she thought the tall boy would be found in after buying him a gift she was much excited to hand him.

However, she found herself in gloom when she found streams of students filing out of class, some recognizing her and looking at her oddly before walking away with whispers, and other’s simply not giving any attention to her as they rushed to leave class, but all in all, she never found the solemn cold figure of Minho’s tall frame in a usual hoodie and his black backpack coming out of the large classroom.

He didn’t go to class…

Standing there in wonder, she couldn’t help but bite her lip in lack of enthusiasm. Maybe all her efforts to thank him were for nothing after all…

Her small crescent eyes widened when she saw the professor and his student assistant still intact inside the classroom, both backs facing her as they seemed to be in deep talks as they faced the window.

Taking quiet steps in, making sure nobody else was in the classroom or around the halls, anyone that could make rumors of her, the girl took a deep breath, deciding to ask the professor about the absence of Minho’s.

Anyhow, what she heard was something that left her frozen and in doubts.

“He’s a troubled kid… not a troublemaker but he’s troubled.” Her silence was a gift at times, it made her invisible to the people sometimes, and that gave her the ability to hear even the small statements between the teacher