[Discontinued?] Emotionless Colors | Kim Chaewon X Male Reader Chapter 20

“Y/N! Just taking a stroll. You know.” She replied, looking away as a little smile appeared on her face.

“With a backpack?” He answered.

“Oh this? I just came back from the campus. Haha…” Y/N could notice her laugh wasn’t sincere, averting her gaze away from his.

Noticing her unusual behavior, he gave a blank stare that would make her feel of being accused. It was pretty obvious even for him she wasn’t acting normally. Feeling pressured, Yena gave a fake smile and asked.

“You don’t believe me, do you? Ya. I’m not lying!”

“I never said I don’t believe you. I’m just curious as to why you’re not acting like your usual self. But now that you mention it, it would make sense if you were lying.”

“I’m not! I got my book here, see?” She placed down her backpack and took out the book she uses for taking notes in class. Though it doesn’t seem that books were the only thing in the bag, due to how filled it looks.

“Yeah but this isn’t the bag you usually use when going to campus. Isn’t it supposed to be red-colored?”

“I… uh…” She started to feel nervous, unable to let a single word out of her mouth. Being caught felt too much for her. Even though Y/N could not yet understand those subtleties, he knew his friend was having a hard time at that moment, so he just did what he knew. Out of nowhere, he placed his hand on top of her head and soothed her.

“You should gather your thoughts first, before answering my question. It’s not that hard to give an answer, is it?”

Yena froze in place, her eyes locked onto his and he could notice her eyes shaking. It was not the first time Y/N saw that gaze.

Is she having the same feeling as she felt before when I met her that day?

“Does this have any connection with when your parents fought before?

Yena was about to shake her head in denial but then gave up. It was senseless trying to keep it hidden. She lowered her gaze when she felt tears appearing in her eyes. There was silence for a few seconds but the sound of a zipper brought her to her senses. Y/N hovered his jacket over her shoulders.

Y/N remembered something he wrote in his notebook days ago.

‘People get mad or stressed if they’re forced to do things they don’t want to.’ And pasted over this line, a sticky note with also something written on could be read. It said: ‘Sometimes it is just a matter of time and place‘.

“Let’s look for a seat. This backpack must’ve been heavy.” He said, lifting the backpack off the ground.

Yena felt surprised by his friend’s reaction as she held onto his jacket and followed him to a nearby bench.

She had been walking for a while but only now realizing that her legs feel numb. She lifted her legs and started swinging them nervously. She didn’t have the courage to answer his question just yet.

“You do remember what I told you on that day, Yena?” Y/N said taking Yena by surprise. I’m here whenever you want someone to listen to you.”

The memory from when she broke down in front of him came to her mind. Her eyes started to shake again. Her mouth slowly opened, and replied.

“…I do.”

“Then tell me.”

“You want me to?” She asked, looking into his eyes.

He nodded back and she chuckled at how serious he looked when he did it.

“At least I’m glad that now you’ve gotten an idea on how want works.” She said rubbing one of her eyes but now with a sincere smile, a smile that he’s not conscious of.

“You can say so. Now, tell me.”

She started telling him how her parents fought once again when she was upstairs, doing her responsibilities as a student. She took a glance from the stairs, and saw them bickering once again due to some nonsensical reason.

She decided that she had enough, and felt like running away from her home at that point. She packed in a few of her clothes as well as books she uses to go to campus, and managed to walk out of the house without being noticed.

After walking for half an hour, she finally realized that she had nowhere to sleep in. She took her phone out and hesitated on calling one of her friends for help, not wanting to become a burden to any of them. And That’s when she bumped into him.

“Won’t you get into trouble once your parents found out?” Y/N asked.

“Could be. Or maybe…” She changed her tone to a more playful one. “Once they find out that I ran away, they’ll start to panic and start looking for me together and they will forget they ever had any fights! Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?” She tapped her head with some excitement in her voice.

“Or, they could get mad because you ran away from the house, and blame each other for not keeping an eye on you correctly.”

“Yeah… that too…” A sigh went out, as she looked down once more. His answer felt colder than the wind that just blew past them.

“.. who am I kidding. Not everything is gonna go the way I want, right?” She showed a weak smile as she stared at the night sky. “I don’t know what I was expecting to happen by doing this. I don’t really feel like being there tonight either.”

“I’m sorry that I can’t sympathize with you, Yena-ya.” Y/N said.

“It’s okay-“

“But what I do know is that it’s all gonna be okay.” He patted her head again, before she could finish her words.

“Thank you for the head pat.” She giggled. “It kinda makes me calm somehow.” Y/N felt relieved at her answer.

“That’s better. It feels like I’m with a stranger, if you’re not your usual self.”

“It also feels good to be able to talk about my problems.” She said, stretching herself with a more relaxed expression on her face. “Thank you for listening, Y/N.”  She noticed him taking his phone out.

“Who are you calling?” She asked.

“We need to find a place for you to stay. It’s late already”. Y/N put his phone back into his pocket. “I forgot that it’s dead.”

Yena looked at Y/N with a confused expression that he ignored.

“Why not try asking Yuri or Chaewon?” He asked

“No! I don’t want them to know about my situation, remember?” She answered, shaking her hands.

“Alright, do you have some money with you?” He asked.

She took her backpack and started looking inside the front pocket.

“Money for what?” She asked without stopping looking inside the pocket.

“A hotel, of course.” He answered bluntly.

Yena’s face turned red.

“I’m not going to a hotel!” She said, feeling embarrassed. “It could be dangerous. Also, It seems that I forgot my wallet at home…”

“So you don’t have anywhere else to stay, do you?”

“Nope.” Yena answered resignedly, looking at the floor.

“Looks like my place is the only one left. Mine”

His answer made Yena’s eyes widened, never would she ever thought of Y/N offering that choice.

“Eh? Seriously? You’re letting me stay at your place?”

“Where else would you go?”

“…right.” She sighed. She felt reluctant to go to his place. knowing that his parents might not agree to her request. Then again, she didn’t want to go back to her house to witness the war that’s going on. She ended up choosing the latter.

“Let’s go to your house, Y/N.” Without being told, Y/N picked her backpack onto his shoulder.

“I’ll be bringing this with me.” He offered, as she happily agreed.

“Thank you.” She replied.

“I’m only saying this just in case, but what’re we gonna do if one of our friends spotted us being together?” He asked.

“I’ll be the one doing the talking if that happens. I’ve prepared my answer.” She said confidently, though Y/N wasn’t fully convinced.

“I see. Well can you at least tell me about it?”

“No. I don’t think I will.” She giggled, before silence fell upon them once again as they continued.

The streets were almost empty by that time except for the occasional sound of a car passing by. But instead of feeling lonely, it felt peaceful. So much so that it made Yena forget about her issue for a moment.

As the lights of another car passing next to them cast their shadows on the wall, she noticed their height difference. For a moment she thought her bag was quite big and heavy, but here’s Y/N carrying it so effortlessly.

Is my backpack that light for him or is it just his cold expression that makes it seem like he’s putting no effort?

She looked at him repeatedly as he kept walking, unaware of her gaze. Normally she would feel the need to start a conversation but it was different this time. It was probably because Y/N didn’t seem bothered by the silence that she could just go with it. Not that it bothered her either.

She glanced at him once again, this time feeling curious. What could be passing through his mind right now? Judging by how he acted before, she could say that he was making some progress with his emotions.

Some heartwarming sensation made her put the negative thoughts aside.

“Yena-ya.” Y/N’s eyes met hers, surprising her.

“Y-Yeah?”

“That’s my house over there.” Y/N said as he pointed to one of the residences around the corner.

By now, it wasn’t that far as it’s only a few meters ahead. Only their steps and Yena’s bouncing backpack could be heard around the neighborhood. Most of the people were already in their houses by the time they arrived.

She let out a yawn as they neared his house. It had been a long night, but things seemed a little better now. She felt much calmer. At least until some familiar voice broke the silence. 

“Y/N? Is that you?” The voice came from behind, sending chills down Yena’s spine. She turned around, and was not prepared for who she was about to face.

_________

Where could he be…?

Chaewon had already walked twice around the neighborhood, and found no signs of Y/N being out in the night. She muffled her hair, before opening her phone to see whether there were any calls or messages. There were none.

Why isn’t he contacting me?!

She groaned, putting her phone back onto her pocket.

I’ll just walk around the block once more, and go home before it gets colder.

She marched, and noticed that there were a couple walking not far from where she was.

Could that be? …nah. There’s no way it could be him. He would never walk around with a girl. Unless…

She decided to follow them from behind, as she tries to identify the couple and confirm whether it’s someone she’s familiar with. After turning around the corner, the streetlight shone under them revealing the figure that was in front of her. This made her become able to see the side profile of their face, as she called them out.