CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: Cheering you up

{ "We'll be doing this my way." } * Click for BGM!

For the next few days, Hyejung was acting a bit different. Quiet perhaps. 

She didn't chatter or say much at all, even when Exo-K was having a heated debate about which was better: chochopies or fried chicken. Unfortunately for D.O., the majority of the boys voted for fried chicken. But anyway...

Out of all of Exo-K, it was Kai who first noticed Hyejung's different demeanor. It seemed natural for him to grow a bit concerned.

"Hyejungie-ah~" Sehun cooed, tugging cutely at the hem of Hyejung's loose white t-shirt. The tomboy and Exo-K were strolling towards the gymnasium, all dressed and ready for PE.

Hyejung sighed, shrugging Sehun off, "Sehun, cut it out please." she mumbled.

"B-But-!" Sehun stammered, but he suddenly shushed himself when Suho gave him a stern, warning eye.

The maknae cleared his throat. "You've been a bit moody lately, Hyejungie. I don't like it." he pouted, making the other boys nod in agreement. 

"It's true, Hyejung," Baekhyun agreed. 

"Mhm. It looks like something is on your mind," D.O. voiced out, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his shorts. 

Hyejung bit her lip for a moment, shrugging her shoulders which looked more like a slump. "I don't know. Just tired, I guess. Y'know, work and all."

But in all honesty, that wasn't everything. Aunt Jae's poor health condition has frequently been on Hyejung's mind nowadays. Being the stubborn person she is, Hyejung chose not to say a word about it to the boys; she didn't want to burden them.

The Exo-K boys hesitantly nodded, but Kai didn't buy it. He furrowed his eyebrows in question, but shook it off for the time being as the seven of them strode into gymnasium.

Coach Park, the PE teacher, blew his shrilly whistle. "All right, everyone! I'm going to divide everyone into two even teams." he tucked a red ball underneath his arm. "We're going to play dodgeball!"

The vast array of students broke into abundant chatter and talking. Girls scurried about to lock arms with their best friends, hoping they'll be picked to go on the same team. 

After about five minutes, the two teams were chosen. Hyejung, Kai, Baekhyun, and D.O. were on one side of the gym while Chanyeol, Sehun, and Suho were on the other. 

Kai coolly stretched his arms out, and Hyejung stared at him with a strange face as she stood there plainly.

"What the heck are you doing?" she bluntly asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Stretching." Kai mused. "You should know, Hyejung. You do it all the time in dance class." he stood up straight, looking at her with a charming shine in his eyes.

Hyejung eyes rounded, and she turned her body so she was facing Kai directly. "Are you stalking me or something?" she accused. "Because dude, that's honestly creepy." she shivered. 

Kai coyly leaned his face in, tilting his head with a smirk. "Oh, Hyejung. Stalking is such a strong, hurting word." he placed his hand over his heart with an exagerrated hurtful expression. Hyejung felt her stance get slightly weak at the closeness, but she kept a strong glower towards the latter.

A light, pondering sigh escaped Kai's lips. "I was just...gazing is all. Innocently, mind you," he murmured, in light, sultry tone. Hyejung raised an eyebrow, gulping. 

Without warning, a ball was randomly thrown directly and hardly at the side of Kai's head, and this definitely caught him off guard. He stumbled to the side, falling right on his . Snickers were heard from across the room, and Hyejung couldn't help but burst out into laughter.

"YAH, KKAMJONG! Don't be flirting with my Hyejung, arasso?!" Chanyeol abruptly bellowed, all the way from the other end of the spacious room. "I got my eye on you, you nasty ert!" he pointed two fingers to his own eyes before shooting them to Kai.

Kai rubbed his head with a wince, giving Chanyeol a deadly glare. "You're going to pay for that, Chanyeol!" *And who said she was yours? Babo.* he shook his head with a huff. 

Coach Park rolled his eyes at the childish scene. "All right, students! Ready...start!" he loudly blew on his whistle. 

Like a fierce pack of wolves after a bone, all the students ran at full speed toward the center of the gymnasium in an attempt to snatch a ball. Almost immediately, students from both the left and right sides were abruptly attacked and sent to the sidelines. 

One of those people was Suho, who got shot in the s