– ★ –
â›â› do you think i have forgotten? âœâœ
– 07:40
“you’re fine right, you can go to school right, are you feeling dizzy? you should take these medicines with you”
minghao reassured before he dropped off his sister to school
“no, im not dizzy bro i just fell! im not sick”
“BUT STILL IT’S DANGEROUS”
minghao exaggerated and wanyi just laughed at her brother “relax bro you know me”
“you said the exact words before you left for the party young lady” minghao squinted his eyes at wanyi who gulped nervously
“and..?”
“i knew you were drunk”
“y-you knew?”
wanyi stammered at her words and the older leaned in slightly, and with a whispering tone
“i know everything, NOW LET’S GO!”
“i-“
– 08:08
it felt like everything was back to normal and wanyi just smiled along as she headed towards the lockers
zhanghao greeted wanyi as they saw each other by the entrance
“morning!”
“good morning hao!”
“let’s hope nothing unfortunate happens anymore”
zhanghao remarked with a shrug as they made their way to the lockers
wanyi nodded in agreement and sighed pursing her lips “it won’t”
–
throughout the day, everything seemed to fall into place for wanyi
the familiar routine of school felt like a comforting return to normalcy as they attended their respective classes, exchanged notes, and caught up on assignments
xiao hua’s seat though, was switched somewhere else while wanyi was absent for a while and didn’t even noticed she changed seats
lunch break arrived and as students went about wherever
the specific friend group gathered in matthew and gunwook’s classroom as usual
“GUYS WHY IS MY DAY GOING PRETTY FINE!”
wanyi exaggerated and taerae tugged his non existent long hair behind his ear “that’s cuz im here”
“oh wow-“
“WHERE’S GYUVIN“
“HERE!” the panting gyuvin showed up last and ran towards the tables
“ok let’s eat!”
laughter filled the air as they shared stories and enjoyed their meal together
it was a stark contrast to the tension that had surrounded them in the past few weeks
however, the peaceful lunch was interrupted when a girl with long black hair walked inside the classroom
the new transfer student who had caused so much turmoil, walked confidently into the room and approached the group
the fuck is she doing here again?
gunwook looked at her up and down and his eyes landed on gyuvin’s
idk are you asking me?
gyuvin furrowed his eyebrows and gunwook raised a brow
no but why is hua always everywhere we go
i don’t know?? ask ricky
wait gyuvin, you understand what i’m saying?
i think i do-
the two communicated telepathically and looked back at xiao hua
“wanyi..” she started and bowed “im sorry for what i did and i want to apologize”
indeed, it was evident that xiao hua’s apology came from a place of courage and humbleness
her usual prideful and self-centred demeanor had given way to a genuine desire for reconciliation and wasn’t easy for someone like her to admit fault and offer a sincere apology, especially in front of a group of peers she had once clashed with
wanyi was taken aback “what? why?”
“i was the one who pushed you down the stairs and caused your injuries”
wanyi’s eyes widened in surprise “damn you pushed me?”
wanyi’s memory of the incident was hazy, as she had lost some of the details from that fateful day
hua lifted her head and stared down at the ground
“yeah, please don’t terrorize our friendship again”
the other guys exchanged glances but remained quiet, allowing wanyi to handle the situation
gosh, wanyi is too kind i would’ve bitch-slapped this motherfucker if i were her
gyuvin clenched his fist and locked eyes with gunwook who had the same facial expressions
ikr, wanyi is way too nice
gunwook are you reading my mind?
what the fuck? i did?
the two then glanced back at the girl
the room fell into a brief silence as hua’s confession hung in the air
“friendship? you still want us to be friends?” hua then spoke with a sudden change of tone with a hopeful smile crossing her face
“ofc not,” wanyi chuckled “im talking about my friends here, i was never friends with you” she smiled earning the taller girl to silently grit her teeth
wanyi stated firmly and ended the conversation, turning back to the guys and resuming her meal, leaving xiao hua looking perplexed in her stance
“oh..but i hope you know i’m genuinely sorry..”
“let’s put this behind us now shall we?” wanyi smiled
however, something felt off, a dissonance between her words and the expression on her face
despite her attempt at an apology, hua’s eyes remained blank
known for her manipulative tendencies, her sudden remorse seemed more like an act, a facade hiding her true intentions ; the air hung heavy with suspicion as those around her couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this apology than met the eye
hua’s eyes widened, hurt flickering across her face as she processed wanyi’s cold response
“wanyi, how can you say that?” she exclaimed, her tone filled with disbelief
“i poured my heart out, apologized sincerely, and this is what i get? i thought you understood”
“yeah yeah i get it, can i eat now” was wanyi’s response as hua scoffed in disbelief
seriously, this mf pushed and said harsh things to me and expects to fuckin–
“i thought you could see past my mistakes, but i guess i was wrong”
she spoke with cracked and trembling voices only for wanyi to ignore her completely which made her even more mad
“fine you can ignore me, but i didn’t want things to get physical, and you left me with no choice, i never wanted to hurt you” her tone turned accusatory
“if you’d just stayed away from ricky, none of this would have happened, you’re so ungrateful wanyi”
ricky, who had been silently observing the exchange stood up abruptly slamming the desk loudly; his sharp eyes fuming with all eyes on him
no one had ever seen him angry and it felt odd and new
he then gestured hua to walk outside the classroom
“what?” she asked as ricky approached her “xiao hua, get out of here”
“where are they going?” gyuvin whose mouth was full of rice spoke as the group’s attention shifted to the two figures walking out, curiosity lingering in the air
“i don’t know ask ricky” taerae spoke furrowing his eyebrows in sarcasm because how would they possibly know
“don’t talk while chewi-”
hanbin smacked gyuvin’s arm and gyuvin accidentally coughed intensely and the grains of rice landed on hanbin’s face and uniform
his reaction was immediate and dramatic as he yelled “EWWW! GYUVIN YOU MOTHERFUCKER IM GONNA CHOKE YOU TO DEATH”
gyuvin, clearly caught off guard, attempted to defend himself with a weak excuse
“GUNWOOK MADE A SILLY FACE”
“FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT”
“STOP THE MADNESS”
“KICK HIS BALLS GYUVIN“
–
in a more secluded area of the school, away from the prying eyes of their friends, ricky’s disapproval and annoyance were palpable
his stern gaze bore into xiao hua making her feel uneasy
“did you hit your head or you’re just high” ricky began, his voice laced with frustration “are you plotting some things again, cuz i won’t let you this time”
xiao hua blinked in surprise “what are you talking about?”
“stop your acting you’re not making any sense hua” ricky insisted, his patience wearing thin
hua’s brows furrowed in confusion “i poured out my genuine feelings! you’re always accusing me of stuff” she replied, her tone defensive
“truth or not, i can’t trust you ever”
“then dont! none of your business ricky” she rolled her eyes in frustration as ricky let out an exasperated sigh
“..you would never apologize unless it’s for an act”
“i dont need you trusting me, for me to prove myself”
ricky scoffed at her words and slightly backed away
“what exactly do you want” he asked sarcastically as xiao hua glared at him
but she kept her calm and sighed “i don’t have any, to be honest i didn’t even wanted you.. i missed when we used to be the most popular couple in school”
xiao hua smirked slyly
“i loved the attention when people knew i was your girlfriend”
“i already know that” the taller boy responded, his tone was cold and icy
“oh sorry.. i just missed it you know” hua smiled
“i guess wanyi will be the next popular girlfriend” xiao hua looked at him lackluster and rolled her eyes and sighed “if only…i pushed harder“
ricky’s response was icy and final “you are unbelievable” hua furrowed her eyebrows, her pride stinging from his words
“you have the audacity to say all that, when you got your popularity and modelling career because of me”
ricky continued, his voice carrying a bitter edge “but that’s not my point, don’t show your face in front me again”
xiao hua’s face contorted with a mix of emotions, struggling to maintain her composure but her eyes betrayed her, flickering with a hint of regret
she pretended to not care about the growing relationship between them, but she did care
jealousy seethed beneath the surface like a turbulent storm held back by a thin dam, her eyes, once smug and self-assured, now burned with resentment and fury
the realization that she was losing the attention and status she had once enjoyed
“but ricky, i go here now how can you not see me everyday?” xiao hua laughed bitterly, her eyes flashing with defiance
ricky chuckled, staring intensely into her eyes “what if it’s the other way around?”
just then, someone approached them “you’re the new girl from our class xiao hua, aren’t you?” it was their class 3-3 president, myung jaehyun
hua turned around, flipping her hair “yes?”
“you’re called to the principal’s office,” jaehyun said “prior to drug dealing in school, you’re expelled.”
“WHAT?” xiao hua’s eyes widened in terror as she exclaimed
she turned to ricky, looking horrified, but he remained calm, a smirk playing on his lips
he tucked his hands in his pockets and slightly leaned in, his voice low and mocking “goodbye for good.” he said, before walking off
“ricky shen?!” hua called out to him, her voice tinged with desperation, but the class president pulled her back
“principal’s office, now.” jaehyun insisted, his grip firm as she was led away
ricky’s smirk grew, because he was clearly behind it, it was a risky move, but it had paid off
but it’s not like hua had never done drugs before so it wasn’t a total lie
now, with xiao hua out of the picture, he could finally move on and focus on what truly mattered as he continued down the hallway, feeling a sense of relief and vindication
she watched his retreating figure walk further and further away as tears mixed with wrath and sadness welled up in her eyes and mumbled to herself
“fuck you ricky”
– 16:39
the school hours came to an end as students bustled around the hallways and campus loitering around
wanyi was done packing and without a second thought she headed towards the exit of their classroom ; but a fast hand gripped on her arm
“HEY! where are you going without me” zhanghao exclaimed and the girl looked shocked for a moment
“home?”
“without us?” zhanghao furrowed his eyebrows tilting his head
“you and the guys are too noisy whenever we walk home, besides minghao is picking me up today”
“it’s so early”
“hao, i need to go somewhere it’s ok you have hanbin” she smiled and zhanghao just smacked her head
“why hanbin specifically- yOU KNOW WHAT that’s not the point where are you goi-“
“IM RUNNING LATE BYE!”
wanyi cut him off and ran out the classroom before zhanghao finished his sentences
a sigh left his mouth as he accepted his fate and made his way towards the basketball court
“hey y’all” zhanghao greeted the guys who sat on the bleachers
“where’s wanyi?” gunwook asked and zhanghao eyed him up and down.. offended
“the audacity to ask that when im here”
“what? im just asking”
“she went home”
“BY HERSELF?!” the guys exclaimed
“WHAT IF HUA BULLIES HER AGAIN”
“WHY WOULD YOU LEAVE HER LIKE THAT”
“CHILL! her brother is coming to pick her up aight“
zhanghao calmed them down and they sighed in relief
“why though?” yujin, the youngest asked as he munched on his snacks
zhanghao was silent for a moment before responding
“i don’t know, i think it’s personal”
“can we go home noww” yujin whined as gyuvin was just in time walking towards the bleachers
“so soon?”
“we have to go to the internet cafe remember” yujin frowned at the brunette who smiled at him
“why don’t you just go alone” gunwook smiled teasingly earning laughter from the others
yujin frowned at the older guys but then hanbin suggested and stood up getting ready to leave “ok fine if the baby says so, let’s all go”
“IM NOT A BABY YOU FUCKER”
as the group of 8 made their way to the internet cafe, zhanghao couldn’t shake his curiosity about why wanyi had left early
she usually walk home with him but she was in such a rush
he decided to give her a call, putting his phone on speaker
“sup ma dude“ wanyi picked up the call and responded at last
“XU WANYI”
“what the fuck, why are you so loud damn”
“why did you go home so early today? WITH NO EXPLANATIONS”
“oh that? i needed to atte- WANYI HIIII I MISSED YOU”
wanyi got cut off by someone next to her ; zhanghao furrowed his eyebrows when he heard someone else talking on the phone
“oh hey, i was just talking to zhanghao“
wanyi spoke, having no clue zhanghao had kept it on loud speaker
“who’s that again?” the unknown person spoke and laughed
ricky who was right beside zhanghao was curious and slightly annoyed by the voice of the person ; who was apparently a guy
everyone exchanged puzzled glances as they heard a new voice on the line
ricky then snatched hao’s phone and kept it up to his ear
“who the hell are you?”
“i should be asking you that, are you zhanghao?”
“no? this is ricky”
ricky’s firm response had the person momentarily taken aback
“oh i see hello ricky, you sound quite protective of wanyi” the person said and chuckled
it was clearly not minghao and wanyi spoke on the line as well ; and it seemed the unknown person snatched away her phone and spoke to her friends
“bITCH WHAT? RICKY? GIVE ME BACK MY PHONE YOU BITCHASS”
the guys could hear her words pretty clearly though it seemed wanyi was running around
“wanyi why didn’t you tell me you have boyfriend?” the person who snatched away her phone said as he laughed teasingly
“RENJUN SHUT UP HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND”
wanyi yelled and she finally got her phone back from the person who was so-called “renjun”
“IM SO SORRY FOR THAT”
“renjun? baby who’s renjun?”
ricky tilted his head and slightly smirked and the guys looked at ricky with furrowed eyebrows
“RICKY WHAT?”
“HAH! XU WANYI HAS BOYFRIEND~~” renjun yelled loudly earning laughters from the group who were immersed in their conversation
“RENJUN GO AWAY! uhmm was that ricky who just talked? hehe hi ricky sorry bout tha- XU WANYI IM TELLING MINGHAO EVERYTHING”
the line was distorted for a second and wanyi came back with a nervous tone “that was my cousin hwang renjun i’m really sorry”
“uhh say hi to him for us i guess” zhanghao managed to speak with furrowed eyebrows
“uH- WE’RE AT A FAMILY GATHERING GUYS I CANT TALK RIGHT NOW”
“i see have fun at the gatheri-” zhanghao took back his phone and spoke only to be cut off by the loud voice of his friend
“BYE HAO BYE RICKY”
the embarrassed wanyi ended the call and silence fell upon the group
“damn..”
“why is everyone acting like we didn’t just hear what ricky said?”
“AHEM! RICKY” gunwook cleared his throat wiggling his eyebrows at ricky and nudged him on the shoulder
“it was a joke, move away” ricky pushed him away and quickened his pace but his friends weren’t about to let him off the hook so easily
they followed him as their laughter echoing through the streets
“NUH UH! you called her bAABYYYY”
“RICKY CAN YOU REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID EARLIER“
“SHUT UP!”
“NO WE WONT~”
“OUR RICKY IS A LITTLE TSUNDERE“
ricky covered his ears and ran his way towards the internet cafe only to be chased by them
“ricky! when will you confess to her?”
yujin, the youngest of the group chimed in with an innocent but provocative question
his question wasn’t taken too seriously by the others, but it fueled their excitement and added a new layer to the ongoing joke
“yeahh, tell us how and where and when you’ll confess”
“shut up it won’t happen any time soon”
“aww.. come on! why don’t you give her flowers”
“what flowers does she like?”
“confess with food, easy girls love food”
“ENOUGH!”
amidst the laughter and teasing, gyuvin remained silent, his thoughts a well-guarded secret as he walked along fake smiling at their jokes though it hurt deep inside
he had always cared for the girl way before ricky even did and yet, despite his yearning to express his affections, circumstances and timing had never aligned to grant him the opportunity to reveal the depths of his emotions
gyuvin had, on multiple occasions, openly flirted with wanyi and made his feelings somewhat evident
but no one took him seriously ; him occasionally being a lighthearted and non-committal individual in matters of love in the past
only zhanghao who knew gyuvin’s true feelings for wanyi, observed his friend’s quiet demeanor
zhanghao frequently glanced at him whenever their friends made jokes involving ricky and wanyi, silently acknowledging the complexity of the situation
– 17:47
inside the cozy internet cafe, the atmosphere shifted from the playful atmosphere on the street to the familiar hum of computers and the soft glow of screens
the group settled into their reserved corner, each person grabbing a computer station and getting ready for a night of gaming
despite the lively environment, ricky’s embarrassment from earlier still lingered
– flashback
“renjun? baby who’s renjun?”
“HAH! XU WANYI HAS A BOYFRIEND”
“RENJUN GO AWAY!”
– end of flashback
“why did i even say that” he mumbled to himself and hit his own head
ricky took off his headphones and laid on the desk mentally crying
“shit was so embarrassing!”
“what’s embarrassing” matthew muttered to his friend sitting next to him
“shut up matthew none of your business”
ricky responded in a high pitched embarrassed voice
the worse part was that renjun motherfucker being her cousin FUCK!
he decided to divert his attention by immersing himself in a game, hoping it would distract him from the memory he doesn’t want to recall
“GUNWOOK STOP SHOOTING ME! TAERAE IS THE ENEMY TEAM GAHDAMMIT“
“why is hanbin always lagging”
“bro aren’t we all using the same wifi”
amidst the atmosphere being filled with laughter, screaming and yelling of frustration and happiness ; gyuvin remained quiet and distant, his thoughts drifting back to his own feelings for wanyi
zhanghao, sitting next to gyuvin, sensed his friend’s turmoil and leaned over to him
“hey, you good? you’ve been a bit quiet”
the brunette nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on his computer screen
he had decided that it was better to keep his feelings a secret to avoid complicating their friendship
the evening wore on, and as the games grew more intense, ricky’s embarrassment began to fade away as well
“matthew, have you ever liked someone?”
ricky spoke suddenly and matthew who sat next to him spit out his drink causing him to choke
“w-WHAT? why do you ask? i don’t think so”
“ah, i see just asking” ricky muttered, his eyes never leaving the computer screen
“well, as a normal human being i’ve had crushes before but i don’t think i’ve been committed to relationships or these kinds of stuffs”
matthew responded earning a nod from the white haired boy
“i know you don’t have a lot of experience with love” ricky spoke and smiled cheekily as he finally faced his friend who gave him a not-so interested look
“seriously? HEY! just because i’ve never dated doesn’t mean im not a love expert” matthew exclaimed defending himself
“i didn’t even say anything yet” ricky shrugged “then can you help me with something?”
“sure, if you pay me enough”
“hmm, how about all 8 of you participate”
ricky smiled excitedly and the person on the other side of ricky invited himself to the conversation
“if you pay me i’ll do anything” gunwook muttered
just then the door of the entrance opened suddenly revealing a tall figure
“IM HERE!”
the group glanced at the person in sync, heads perking up in curiousity
“oh, it’s just jiwoong“
“hi jiwoong“
“YAY WE’RE ALL HERE NOW”
“JIWOONG YOU’RE ALWAYS LATE”
– ★ –
im gonna kms
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