Chapter 26

"Rely on me"

While Yeonjun was leaning against the wall in the hallway of his school, he kept staring at the email visible on his phone. 

"If we don't hear from you within a week, the contract will be terminated."

Yeonjun read the sentence again and again, wondering what he should do. If he didn't act quickly, time would run out and this opportunity would pass him by.

While having an internal battle with his own thoughts, he saw his best friend walking down the hallway from the corner of his eye, and Yeonjun quickly put his phone away and ran towards him.

"Taehyun," yelled Yeonjun and watched as Taehyun came to a halt, almost looking like it had sent shock waves through his body when Yeonjun said his name.

"Hey, do you have a moment?" asked Yeonjun after Taehyun had turned around, although his eyes weren't focused on Yeonjun for more than a few seconds at the time, "I really need to talk to you a-"

"I am sorry, now is not a good time," said Taehyun before Yeonjun could finish his sentence.

"I need to… I mean… I will see you later," stuttered Taehyun before he quickly ran off, leaving Yeonjun standing dumbfound in the middle of the hallway.

What is up with him today? thought Yeonjun to himself while staring at the empty spot in front of him where Taehyun had been standing. The weird, low and almost frightened voice from Taehyun kept echoing in Yeonjun's mind, and seeing the way he had diverted his eyes from his, Yeonjun worried something was going on.

Did we have a fight without me knowing of it? thought Yeonjun, but before he could think about it for too long, the bell rang and he decided to let it go for now and hurry to his classroom before the teacher would arrive.

Sitting in a classroom for several hours, forcing himself to focus on the material the teacher was showing, made it possible for Yeonjun to forget about Taehyun's weird behavior for a while, but that was only until the lunch break and everything came rushing back to him.

Before he even started walking towards the Cafeteria, Yeonjun went straight down the hallway towards Taehyun's classroom and he soon saw him walking out of the door and towards him. A smile appeared on Yeonjun's face, he would finally be able to talk everything over with his best friend.

But as that thought entered Yeonjun's mind, he saw Taehyun lifting his head and his eyes fell on Yeonjun, whereafter, in the exact same second, he spun around on his heel and walked away in the opposite direction in a fast pace.

WHAT?

Yeonjun was again standing in the middle of the hallway, filled with even more confusion than earlier in the morning.

Is he actually avoiding me?

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and when the day finally ended and Yeonjun wanted to ask Taehyun to ride his bike home with him, he was nowhere to be found. Not in his classroom, not in the hallways, not outside the school or near the parking areas for bicycles. It was obvious, he had already left. Hurried out of the building the second he hard the bell rang, all so he could avoid the person who was supposed to be his best friend.

Yeonjun gritted his teeth and got on his own bike, whereafter he rode it home as fast as possible, running inside his house and up the stairs, towards his older sister's bedroom.

After swinging the door open so it hit the wall with a loud thud, he looked directly at Yoo Jin who was sitting on her bed with a shocked expression as she stared back at her brother.

"Yeonjun, what on earth are you doing?"

"What happened?" asked Yeonjun, completely ignoring Yoo Jin's question from before, "between you and Taehyun, what happened?"

"W… what?" stuttered Yoo Jin, suddenly feeling her hands getting sweaty, "n… nothing happened…why would you think something has happened?"

"Nothing happened?" said Yeonjun in a firm voice, "then how come Taehyun won't talk to me?"

"I-" started Yoo Jin, but Yeonjun quickly continued before she could say anything else.

"I knew this would happen, I knew it," said Yeonjun, "your relationship would never last, and when it finally broke apart, I would lose my best friend, all because of your selfishness." 

"Yeonjun… please calm down…" said Yoo Jin and tried to remain calm herself while she slowly took a step towards her brother, "you are not losing anyone, everything will work out… somehow."

"How do you know that?" yelled Yeonjun, "I am standing in front of the biggest opportunity in my life and my parents won't support me. I have to get back to the company within the next couple of days and I have no idea what to do. Right now… I could really use a friend by my side… and a sister too." Yoo Jin looked at her brother and took another step towards him. When he didn't move away, she gently put her arms around him and pulled him closer to her.

"I am here for you, always," said Yoo Jin while holding her brother tight, "and I will make sure to help you convince mom and dad, we will figure it out somehow, I promise you." 

For a minute Yeonjun didn't say or do anything, but then, slowly and gently, he lifted his arms and wrapped them around Yoo Jin's body.

"Thank you."

***

It was quiet in the small bedroom where Taehyun was sitting at his desk, staring at the empty page in the sketchbook before him. The pencil was lying next to his hand, but he couldn't bring himself to pick it up, his mind was blank and he had no inspiration to go off.

Maybe I should go for a walk, thought Taehyun and looked out of the window. It wasn't exactly spring yet, but the weather did seem to be a lot milder and when the sun was out, you could easily go for a walk outside, as long as you put on enough clothes.

Taehyun nodded his head after finishing the thought and quickly started gathering his things, packing them in his backpack, whereafter he left his bedroom and walked downstairs, but he didn't get more than halfway down, before he heard his mother's voice call out to him.

"Taehyun, can you come downstairs?" yelled Dan from the hallway and Taehyun, already halfway there, quickly ran towards her.

"Mom, what is i-" Taehyun stopped mid-sentence when his eyes fell on the woman standing outside the door to his house and he immediately froze on the spot.

"N… Noona…" stuttered Taehyun, not sure if she was indeed real, "what… what are you doing here?"

"That is not how you greet your girlfriend," scolded Dan and gently hit her son on his shoulder, "you should invite her in, I will make some coffee, or do you prefer tea, Yoo Jin?"

"You don't have to prepare anything for me, I just need to talk to Taehyun about something, then I will leave," explained Yoo Jin, but Dan just shook her head in response.

"Why the rush, please stay a little longer," said Dan, "I will prepare some coffee, Taehyun, why don't you show her to your room so you can talk?"

"Really, there is no need-" tried Yoo Jin again, but this time Dan interrupted her.

"Taehyun has been a little gloomy lately, please don't leave too quickly, I think he misses you," said Dan and Taehyun's cheeks immediately turned into a bright red color.

"Thank you, mom, why don't you go to the kitchen and prepare the coffee?" said Taehyun and grabbed Yoo Jin's hand, whereafter he pulled her inside the house and closed the door behind him. Dan just let out a slight chuckle and went on her way, leaving the two alone in the hallway.

"So…" said Yoo Jin after a few seconds of silence.

"Let's go upstairs," said Taehyun and lead the way to his bedroom. 

Yoo Jin curiously looked around in the room while Taehyun put down his backpack.

"Were you going somewhere?" asked Yoo Jin when she noticed.

"Not really," said Taehyun cold, "what did you want to talk to me about? You could have just called."

"I wanted to see you," said Yoo Jin and Taehyun's expression seemed to soften for a second, but only for a second until it turned cold again.

"Why?" asked Taehyun.

"Please don't be so cold to me, I am sorry I made you sad, I didn't mean to," said Yoo Jin, "but… no matter how mad you are at me, please don't take it out on my brother."

"Yeonjun?" said Taehyun confused, "I didn't do anything to him."

"He said you avoided him in school today." Taehyun turned silent while he thought back on the day and he suddenly seemed to shrink a few millimetres.

"I might have… unintentionally… avoided him today…" said Taehyun in a low voice while looking at the floor, "but only because it hurt me every time I looked at him. When I see him, I see you, and when I see you, I just… I get sad."

"I know… and I am sorry," said Yoo Jin, "I should have told you how my parents reacted when I told them about you and I." Yoo Jin stopped talking and looked down as well, until Taehyun spoke up again and she looked up.

"What did they say?" asked Taehyun and he could tell Yoo Jin was hesitating, "please, I want to know."

"They weren't exactly… happy…" said Yoo Jin and laughed awkwardly, "if my mom could, she would forbid us to be together, but I told her this was my decision, no matter if they gave me their blessing or not." Taehyun's eyes widened as he looked at Yoo Jin who revealed everything.

"My mom said, everyone in the neighborhood are talking about me… about what a failure I am… not being able to find a job after so long, how hard it must be for my mother," continued Yoo Jin and felt her hands shaking as she spoke, "and now they are saying I am a disgrace for running around with a young man, when I should be focusing on getting a job. I guess I got caught up in what everyone is thinking about me, and forgot about the person who is most important to me." Yoo Jin looked into Taehyun's eyes while forcing out a faint smile, a smile looking lonely and saddened.

"But please don't let it out on Yeonjun, things aren't great at home right now," continued Yoo Jin, "not only because of our relationship, Yeonjun has his own quarrel with our parents, and he could really use a friend by his side." Taehyun suddenly felt a stab in his chest, like a knife being plunged into his heart and it weighed his body down, as he thought about Yeonjun, his friend throughout so many years.

"You are right… I have been acting immature," said Taehyun, "I will apologize to Yeonjun." A relieved smile showed up on Yoo Jin's face and she dared herself to take a step forward.

"Does that mean you forgive me too?" asked Yoo Jin.

"I don't know, Noona," said Taehyun and looked down, "you still… really hurt me." Yoo Jin looked down as well, feeling stupid for thinking it would be that easy to get his forgiveness.

"I know very well you could do a lot better than me, and I know everyone around us will think that too," said Taehyun, "but I am prepared to accept that, because I just want to be with you, no matter what others think. So finding out you don't feel the same way, that the opinion of other people weighs more, it hurts."

"I do feel the same way!" yelled Yoo Jin all of a sudden, "I also want to be with you no matter what anyone thinks, but I am just a coward. I am not as brave as you. But maybe… you can teach me." Yoo Jin looked at Taehyun with pleading eyes and his expression slowly turned softer as he looked at her.

"Do you really want to be with me?" Yoo Jin nodded aggressively.

"Even if people around us talk bad about our relationship?" Yoo Jin nodded again.

"Does that mean we can start going on dates here, instead of sneaking out of town all the time?" Yoo Jin hesitated for a moment but then nodded silently.

"If it makes you happy," said Yoo Jin and smiled halfheartedly.

"No, I don't want to do it if you are only doing it for me-" started Taehyun but Yoo Jin quickly spoke up again.

"I want it too, of course I do," said Yoo Jin in a firm voice, "I just… need a little time… to get used to the thought and gather all my courage."

"You are right, I am sorry for pressuring you like this," said Taehyun.

"You aren't, I have been acting silly and I needed a little push," said Yoo Jin and looked at Taehyun, "thank you, for forgiving me." Taehyun looked at Yoo Jin in silence, until he suddenly moved forward and swung his arms around her, pulling her into his warm embrace.

"Oh my." The voice of Taehyun's mother quickly made both Taehyun and Yoo Jin move away from each other, awkwardly diverting their eyes from each other.

"See, I told you he missed you," said Dan and nudged Yoo Jin in the side, making her blush even more and Dan just laughed seeing her reaction.

"Here, I just came to give you your coffee," said Dan and handed Yoo Jin the mug, "you are welcome to stay and have dinner with us."

"That is very sweet of you, and another time I would very much like to accept your offer," said Yoo Jin politely.

"That is fine," said Dan, "now, I will leave you two love birds again, stay for as long as you want." Dan quickly disappeared out of the door and left the two young people alone.

"So," said Yoo Jin and sat down on the chair in front of Taehyun's desk, whereafter she started sipping her coffee, "at least your parents are happy on our behalf."

"Your parents will come around, I am sure," said Taehyun, "they just need some time." Yoo Jin suddenly let out a silent chuckle and Taehyun looked at her in confusion, wondering what he said that was funny.

"I don't know why I was so afraid of telling you that my parents didn't give us their blessings," said Yoo Jin with a huge smile, "you are so understanding, I guess you are more mature than I gave you credit for."

"I am happy to hear you say that," said Taehyun and sounded relieved, "I know I am still very young and I have a lot to learn, but I am trying really hard to be someone you can rely on."

"I know that," said Yoo Jin reassuring, "and I promise to never keep anything from you again."

Hello everyone!

I hope you liked this chapter, I had some trouble while writing it and I can feel it when I read through it, but I think this is as good as it gets, so I hope you enjoyed it.

I hope you are doing well wherever you are and that you are happy and healthy!

Take care of yourself.

Love, Annalise~