Close to You
by abbyeepinkish11 | shabbypinkish13

 

 

 

Chapter Six.

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                As she stood by the far end of the bleachers, under a roof where the lights could barely reach the place, a smirk was evident on her face while her arms were crossed in front of her chest, eying the young man with the brown hair that reached his shoulders and the young woman, whose head was bent forward. From afar, she could hear the sobs of the young woman, whose face is now being caressed by the young man in front of her.

 

                She then buried the nails on her fingers down to her skin out of anger, heaving a sigh. Soon, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Alarmed, she turned around, holding the stranger's hand, about to toss hm—whoever he was—in the air.

 

                “Wait, hold on!”

 

               Recognizing his voice, she immediately shrugged the thought off and released her grip onto his hand before returning to the couple at the soccer field, ignoring the young man beside her. At first, he tried charming her, putting his hands on her waist as he moved his lips to her neck, breathing heavily onto her skin while waiting for her to respond. Instead, she struggles against his grip as she removed his hands off her, clicking her tongue. She faced him afterward.

 

                “What the hell's wrong with you?”

 

                Hearing her raise her tone at him, the young man opened his mouth out of puzzlement. “What are you talking about? I thought we're already dating.”

 

                “I only told you that we're dating. I didn't say that I allowed you to put your hands around me.” she coldly replied before fixing her hair. She sensed a glare in her eyes at that moment, thinking that her watch must have contacted with something reflective. Curious, she searched where the glare was coming from using her watch, and as she squinted her eyes, she was able to see something despite its small stature.

 

                A smile started to dawn upon her lips. “Perfect. And I know the perfect girl for the job.”

 

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                After leaving the school, Donghae decided to treat me to dinner somewhere near the school. He even asked me where to eat, and I smiled at him, telling him that anywhere is fine. We ended up eating at a small eatery where they serve rice cakes, boiled intestines, kimchi, noodles, and some meat. It was my first time going to that place, and I get to share it with him.

 

                Although the room was quite smoky due to the food that is being cooked, and it was almost filled with mostly men, I kept on telling Donghae that everything's fine. He would always ask me if I was comfortable and if I wanted to go to another restaurant with less people, but I told him that it was alright.

 

                While waiting for our food to arrive, Donghae started a conversation. Leaning forward, he propped his arms on top of the table as he looked at me in the eyes, asking, “So, why don't you want me to see the other pages of your sketchbook?”

 

                I held my breath at that moment, without even knowing, as I averted my gaze from Dongae. His stare was just so... powerful, that he doesn't even know how much of an impact it has on me. Hoping that I wasn't blushing back there, I started thinking of excuses at the back of my head to answer his question. “W-well, it's because it's not. Yet... ready.” I smiled in a sheepish manner. I didn't want him to know what lies beyond that sketchbook of mine.

 

                He then looked away, raising both of his eyebrows, unconvinced. “Maybe it's .” he faced me afterward, bearing a serious look on his face. “But you don't look like a person who likes to draw .”

 

                I widened my eyes upon hearing his statement. “!? I don't draw ! I've never even seen another person and... why would you think that I'd draw stuff like that?”

 

                “But don't artists do that sometimes? They have to draw a person.” he leaned back into his chair.

 

                I curved my lip at him. “Maybe you've forgotten the fact that I'm not a real artist.”

 

                “Yeah, but you should be one. Imagine—if you could draw that one sketch of me flawlessly, what more with other people?”

 

                I chuckled at his complement, covering my teeth with my hand. “You're in a good mood today, huh?”

 

                “Actually, I called my mom a while ago and she said that my father's financial problem with regards to his hospital bills are already relieved since his company's supplying him with life insurance.” he stated, his smile never leaving his face while his eyes sparkled when he talked about his father. “I admire my father. I look up to him; even though he has his own faults, he's a righteous man.”

 

                I grinned upon hearing what he said just now. “That's great.”

 

                He looked so innocent throughout the time when we talked about his father. I could tell that he was indeed a great man just by looking at Donghae's eyes, and how they depicted great admiration for him. He was hopeful that his father would get better someday.

 

                “How about you? What's your father like?” Donghae asked me, his face bearing a hint of curiosity.

 

                “My father?” I said, glancing at the ceiling above me before answering him. “I admire my father too. As of now, he's working at Busan as an engineer. He visits us once or twice a month. He's a very doting father. Whenever I'm with him, I'd feel deep inside me that there's someone out there who truly cares for me... and that, for once in my life, I wouldn't feel like I'm a burden to someone. He's the reason to why I don't even start a fight with my mom. He makes me see things in a brighter perspective than what's in front of me, and he'd always tell me to find hope even in the smallest of things.”

 

                “He seems like a great person as well.” he commented.

 

                Not so soon after that, the waitresses started serving our food—spicy rice cakes, noodles and grilled beef. As we snapped our chopsticks, Donghae said, “You can eat more if you'd like. It's my treat.”

 

                Just as we were about to eat our meal, a waitress came to us, holding a cup of sundae that's good for two people. I crinkled my eyebrows in puzzlement, recalling the food that we had ordered, and it came to me that we didn't order one at all.

 

                “Excuse me, miss, but we didn't order this.” Donghae politely informed the waitress.

 

                The waitress shook her head with a smile. “It's alright. You're a really cute couple, that's why.”

 

                I widened my eyes once again. Couple? Donghae and I? I can't even imagine Donghae and I as a couple. But, thinking about it, he's a guy, and I'm a girl, and we're eating dinner... and he said that he's paying. But isn't it normal and it only represents the blooming friendship we have between us, and not some fantasy romance or something? Perhaps in the Western countries, people would mistake us as a couple. Influences these days...

 

                ...but just the thought of people assuming that we're a couple excites me deep inside. I'm timid, to be honest, and I don't really like expressing my full emotions in public. But I think my face is already red and my heart just couldn't contain the joy that it feels upon hearing from the waitress that we're a couple. And not just a couple, a really cute couple.

 

                Curious to how Donghae would react, I watched him intently as he nodded at the waitress and smiled, receiving the cup of sundae before laying it on the table. He then faced me, “I guess dessert's on the house.” he shrugged his shoulders. “A cute couple, huh? That's a first. Im Yoona, have you ever liked someone before?”

 

                I was already chewing on the noodles inside my mouth when Donghae asked me that question. I let out a “what?” despite my mouth being full of noodles. Surprised, I accidentally choked on the food that I was eating. I quickly grabbed the glass of water on my right and drank it right away. Upon facing Donghae, he was already laughing at me.

 

                “I'm guessing you like someone, huh?” he asked, assuring the fact that I did. “Who is it?”

 

                I gulped. “Even if I do like someone, would I bother telling you who he is?” I told him, bearing a sly smile on my face.

 

                He shrugged his shoulders. “I was hoping.”

 

                “Why would you be interested to know the identity of the person I like anyway? All I can ever do is stare at him from afar while he's unaware of my existence—.” I observed Donghae's reaction upon hearing what I said just now. Even though I stopped speaking, it looked like I had given away the answer to his question—who is the person whom I like?

 

                His expression didn't change. However, he looked a bit shocked compared to a while ago. “You like someone even though they don't know that you're there?” Donghae repeated, earning a light nod from me before he continued. “That must be hard on you, huh? But how would that be possible, anyway? Staring at him from afar? Won't that make you a stalker or something?” he asked, returning to his bowl of noodles as he ate.

 

                Without anything else to say, I smiled.

 

                He glanced at me afterward, and a few seconds later, he was already observing half of my body. “You know, if you'd let your hair down, you'd look like a carefree girl.” Donghae stated, gesturing the way I should fix my hair with his hair. He then pointed his index finger at me, specifically my black specs. “And those glasses of yours are hiding your eyes. Have you ever tried removing them or using contact lenses?” I shook my head in reply.

 

                Donghae leaned forward, reaching out to my glasses as he gently removed them from my eyes. Because of this, I wasn't able to see Donghae's reaction clearly. But it took him quite a while for him to speak once again.

 

                “You look better without your specs. I'm pretty sure that whoever that guy is, he's pretty lucky to have you looking out for him, even though he's totally unaware of your existence. It's like, you're his guardian angel.” he uttered, handing my glasses to me as I opened my hand upon receiving it. I couldn't help but smile at his complement on how I look better without my glasses, and the irony in his words wherein I'm fully aware of, and unknown to him.

 

                As he returned to his seat, I looked away while my lips just curve themselves up. “How I wish I could be... his guardian angel.”

 

                He slurped on the ramen that he was eating, chewing it until he had finally swallowed the contents in his mouth before saying anything. “You can be. But all you did was stare at him from afar, like what you just said. Why don't you walk up to him and tell him that you like him?”

 

                When I heard his question, I felt a wave of extreme emotions crashing, piercing through my heart. I couldn't exactly describe it, but it felt like my heart has sunken deep inside the ocean, sinking and sinking, unable to find a stable ground to lay upon. The way down isn't going smoothly as well, and it has caused an impact to me that my face starts to scrunch up into bitterness, but I never ceased smiling. Not now, not while Donghae's here.

 

                “If it was easy as it sounds, I would've done that a long time ago. Three years ago, to be exact. Or maybe, I should've just walked up to him when I had seen him for the first time.” I said in a soft-spoken manner, my eyes having nothing to focus on until I shift my gaze at Donghae. “But I think I prefer it this way, now. Actually, he's starting to notice me a bit.”

 

                Donghae then hummed, sounding like he's glad about the results so far after taking a sip from his glass. “That's good. He can finally see how great Im Yoona is.” he started getting a few bits of beef from the plate laid at the center of the table. Watching him being comfortable around me decreases the tense and pressure that I had once felt before. But there was another thought so deep that lasted throughout our meal, and that is, “I really hope that you could see how great I am.”

 

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                When our meals have ended, Donghae and I went on separate ways. It was nice having dinner with him, but unlike the usual excitement that I'd feel whenever he's beside me or that fuzzy feeling I feel that makes me wonder whether I'm blushing or not, I saw a different side of him tonight. It feels good knowing that he trusts me, and that I've started to trust him as well. Rather than seeing him as the Lee Donghae that I've fallen in love with, I saw a Lee Donghae who can act as a friend, knowing that he'll be there to support me.

 

                Arriving at my house around 9PM, I took a bath and changed into my pajamas before studying until midnight, since I skipped the academy tonight. In the midst of my studying, my phone rang—it was a text message, particularly an MMS. As I laid the apple that I had bitten in my hand on the table, I held my cellphone using both of my hands. The sender had his number hidden, and upon opening the MMS, I was absolutely appalled at the picture that the MMS had. I gasped, and the next thing I know, my cellphone was already on the carpet floor.

 

                I crinkled my eyebrows in puzzlement, wondering how something like this could happen. Although I couldn't think properly at that moment, I thought that the picture might have some clues in it so I reached for my cellphone that was laying on the ground. After gazing at it for a few seconds, I noticed the key to my locker, laid on top of Donghae's sketchbook of his designs. I immediately looked for my key, which I had inserted inside the pocket of my skirt. I even searched in other places and rummaged through my bag, praying that it wasn't my key. But it seemed like it was, since I never found it that night.

 

                Upon taking another look at the MMS, I saw a message attached to it, stating:

 

 

“If you don't follow my commands, I will reveal Donghae's secret before all the students at Paran.”

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“I will leave a note for you tomorrow morning, and something that I'd like you to wear at school, which you will find inside your locker.”

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“Don't even think of telling this to anyone, especially Donghae. You wouldn't want to crash your hopes and dreams, would you?”

 

 

                Who is this person? I thought to myself, lowering my head as I fret about what might happen tomorrow.

 

                I wasn't able to sleep throughout the night. Every time I glance at the digital clock on my desk from my bed, it felt like an hour had just passed me by, until the shortest hand on the clock stopped at 6. I decided to get up and dress in my uniform before heading to school.

 

                Of course, the thought of being absent today didn't slip my mind. I'm afraid, panicking as the train moves closer to my school, its pace getting faster and faster until it stops at the station. I couldn't tell whether I was shuddering in fear or frozen all throughout the ride for all I could ever think about is Donghae's secret, and how I could do my part in keeping it as a secret.

 

                I forced myself to release my grasp on the pole attached to the ceiling, and I dragged my feet to school, sensing that they're somehow heavier today than all of the days that I've walked to school. Even though I didn't want to make it obvious, I just couldn't hide it.

 

                After passing a few blocks in order to reach the school, I arrived by the rows of trees whose leaves were starting to turn to the warm colors that defined autumn. I paused for a moment since he was the very first person whom my eyes had laid upon at that place, and when he felt that I was staring at him, he turned to my direction, and from afar, he raised his arm in the air, waving his hand at me with a smile on his face.

 

                Panicking, I turned my back at him as I started trotting my way to the lake, where I could simply hide myself from him while I'm on my way to school. Although there were many students who are on their way to school too, his footsteps were so clear, like he was the only one there; his footsteps, being louder than how it usually is... or maybe, it was just me.

 

                When I had finally gone away from the rows of trees and standing on the grass near the lake, I walked my way to school, hoping that Donghae wouldn't see me.

 

                I don't think I could face him today, and the next day, and the days that follow. Though I'm concerned of the fact that he will lose his trust in me once he finds out that his sketchbook is in the hands of someone whom I'm unaware of, I'm more worried with how he'll react—his feelings will be hurt, his reputation will go down the toilet, and it would make me feel that I'm not a friend, but more of a burden to him.

 

                But who ever said that I was useful, anyway?

 

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A/N: I didn't follow the teaser in Chapter 4. *le sighs* I've decided to add a twist to what may happen to Yoona in this story. Trust me, it ain't that good, but it totally adds to the drama and thrill! :D Thank you for the comments pplz--you inspire me! And the subscribers, you guys are Awesome, with a capital A~! :))))) Btw, I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been busy these days and out of the blue, I wanted to write this chapter. No spoilers or teasers for now, guys! I'm sorry, but my ideas for the next chapter as of the moment are quite lousy. I'll just surprise you (if I can, lol)

...but expect the teaser in chapter 4 to happen very soon. I'll keep this story as realistic as possible—meaning, life can be ridiculous at certain times.

@Melinda: Glad to know that you sound really interested in the story. :) Thank you for the comment and the support. Fighting! ^^;;
@sushisoju: Hope you liked the YoonHae moments here! :)) And as for Seohyun, hmm, maybe, maybe not... won't be giving out hints. As for the teaser last Chapter 5, it will happen soon. It's just that I've thought of adding a few twists to the story to make it sound more interesting. :DD Anyway, thank you for commenting! ^^;;
@DiamondCutiePie: One of your favorite YoonHae stories? Omo, I'm flattered. :)) I'm glad you find the YoonHae moments sweet too. :D Updated and thanks for commenting! :))

Comments are ♥. So do comment and subscribe! ^^;;

Love you guys! :)) ♥♥
♥SAB aka my-violinprince

 

PS: To VIPs, can you recommend me any good Big Bang variety shows? LOL I recently got into the fandom.

PPS: Do you guys know how to make more karma points besides commenting on other ppl's stories? I wanna change my username here on AFF. To add to it, I'm not that much of a reader.