27. play the game

Kang Soojin felt better when the medicine worked, although slowly, yet something better than anything. She couldn't open her eyes, they were drooping and rightfully so with the medications she was given, but she could hear faint noises. And not just any noises, angry, frustrated and worried Han Seojun noises.

"Ya," She managed to speak up when Seojun asked the school's assigned doctor whether or not Soojin would be alright soon for the tenth time, "Han Seojun, you need to shut the fuck up before I do that myself!" That made the doctor chuckle while Seojun narrowed his gaze at the girl laying on the bed with discomfort and painful grunts.

"And how are you going to do that?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest, "you cannot even stand."

"I don't have to..." Soojin scoffed, hand holding her heavy head, eyes still shut, "I just have to tell you to go back to class."

Seojun stood back as the doctor wrote something down for the girl, "I am not going to class, not with you almost dying like that..."

"I wasn't!" She croaked, and regretted screaming immediately with the pain in her throat accelerating.

"Aigooo, aigooo, Kang Soojin turns out you are the one who needs to shut up." For that Soojin had managed to squint and seeing Seojun chuckle at her misery, she shut her eyes again. 

"You can leave," the doctor, a intern of the nearby hospital, a woman in her twenties looked at Seojun, with a determined nod, "she needs a nap and she can join class, if she feels well enough." Seojun nodded back, thankful to the doctor for the help. 

"Take care, rest well." Seojun waved at the girl who was already asleep, from the way she remained still, the medications overpowered her senses. He sighed, turning towards the door but turned back again, "she is really going to be fine, right?" Seojun asked, a glimpse of the old Seojun who lost his father and best friend was evident in that question. "Nothing will happen?"

The doctor chuckled, she could sense the nervous boy, "she is going to be fine, it is just stress and common cold." She watched Seojun look at the sleeping Soojin with a hopeful glance, "you are a very caring boyfriend, its so sweet to see boys being so kind." She then retreated to her stack of papers and Seojun was about to correct her, but did not. 

There was no point in correcting a stranger about what their bond was. 

So Seojun walked out, thankful that Soojin was just stressed and nothing major, and while he crossed the kids that broke out for lunch, he could feel their pointed gaze on the back of his head. He glanced at them, once or twice, but they would not budge. Upon entering his half empty class, he went straight to his desk and rested his back which hurt with all the Kang Soojin weight he had carried. 

"Is Soojin okay?" Su-ah approached the boy, and he very lazily opened his eyes, nodding. "What happened?" 

"She was faking it." The girl from two desks ahead said with a chortle and a scoff, "Kang Soojin is not to be trusted."

"YA!" Seojun yelled, but was cut off from another classmate.

"Why are you so agitated?" Seojun noticed Suho and Jugyeong were also present in class, supposedly waiting for him to return, "Soojin is a class bully, she can very well fake it, for sympathy." The boy from besides her said, others agreeing. "Is it true Han Seojun, are you dating that bully?" 

Han Seojun was seething, not only were they wrong, they were stupid in pinning one mistake of hers over all of her good deeds. His hands fisted, white knuckles and clenched jaw was never a good sign for Seojun and Suho picked on it immediately. "Let's not," Suho said, standing up, Jugyeong and Su-ah nodded, "if she is sick, we hope she is okay."

Seojun however was not done, "YA, Ki-Tae," He called the boy who earlier spoke, "did you forget when you got low scores and your parents were called, it was Kang Soojin who helped you with her notes for the next term because your parents asked her." That shut him, and Seojun looked at the girl, "and you, were you not the one who begged Kang Soojin to lend you her new coat because it was from a popular brand and she gladly exchanged for your old one?" The moment Seojun said that, the girl walked away from the group and Seojun sat back, running his hand through his hair.

Ungrateful brats.

"I did not know that you and Soojin are close..." Jugyeong pointed, it was weird that Seojun knew so much about Soojin while they were hardly interacting with each other. 

"We are not," He corrected her, out of everyone, he did not want Jugyeong to misunderstand his relationship with the cold girl. "It's just... I hate..." He groaned, startling the people around him and banged his arms on the bench. "Why are you all here? Go eat your lunch." 

"You have to eat lunch too," Suho raised his arm towards the boy, only to get a weird look from Seojun. 

"You expect me to hold your hand like a twelve year old girl?" He scoffed, only to get Suho to raise his arm towards him and flick his shoulder. Seojun got up rubbing his arm, Jugyeong and Su-ah supressing their smiles, "YA! MICHASO?" 

"You expected a hug?" Suho tilted his head, meeting Seojun's scornful eyes, "gaja, there is hardly time left for us to eat." Seojun once again, groaned aloud, nevertheless he walked behind Suho, the girls behind him in a straight line. 

"I don't want to eat."

"Gurae, you watch me eat." Suho shrugged and although bickering, the two managed to reach the cafeteria, Jugyeong smiling at the duo.

"Don't mind me," Su-ah linked her arms with Jugyeong, walking behind the quarelling duo, "but are they not like an old married couple?" She joked, completely oblivious to Jugyeong who lately felt a lot like a third person between the old friends.  

She only hoped their friendship would always remain supreme.

"LEE SU..."

"Yes?" 

"You are a jerk."

"Well, takes one to know one."

"Aish"

That settled the matter as they sat for lunch, Seojun eating almost half of Suho's lunch and felt better when he was back with his friends. Sure, he still loved Jugyeong, and he had been avoiding the duo to not feel miserable, but he missed the both of them. 

But not as much as the sick girl upstairs.

"You feeling better?" The doctor asked, Soojin nodded, the half hour nap helped her feel a bit better if not worse, "well, I did not know you are Dr. Kang's daughter." She said, only for the girl to stiffen, "he said he will be visiting soon, so rest for a while." However, Soojin felt the suffocation come back to her, so she did what she always did.

Run away.

She picked her bag, covered herself with the coat and stuffed the hoodies in her bag as she readied to leave, surprising the doctor. "Wait, you should not leave, you are still un-"

"Gomawo," Soojin bowed, as she sniffed, running her hand through her hair, "but I gotta go. Can you tell my dad that I feel much better so he needn't visit?" She hurriedly requested the intern doctor who was still processing the pace of events. With that Soojin walked past the kids loitering around, tears in her eyes as she felt so pathetic to walk away than face her father but the inner kid was scared that he'd hit her in front of the kids and that would end her for real. 

And the other kid within her who would have loved having her father fuss over her, pamper her, tell her it was all okay, that made her cry. She reached the washroom, weak and scared as she sat in one of the stalls, rather fell as she curled up. Were all parents like this or she had did something bad in her past life to get this? 

Jugyeong's father, Seojun's mother, even Suho's father who made amends with him, they all flashed in front of her and she felt sick to her stomach. It was unfair how they all got the best families and she had to be all by herself. 

Unfair was not even the right term for this. 

Soojin held her stomach, silently crying as she always did, pathetic little shit, that was what she truly was. 

Will she be okay? 

Soojin stopped crying, when she remembered Seojun worrying and fussing over her. The way he carried her to the office, walking the stairs, gave her the hoodie to keep her warm and lately, being a chingu she never had. 

"Have you heard? Han Seojun was on a date with Kang Soojin last weekend." The hushed whisper was audible to Soojin who heard the girls from outside the stall.

"OMO," The other one replied, disgusted by the idea, "Seojun Oppa? With that girl?" She scoffed, "Ani, no way. I mean, why would anyone date her, she is so evil." Soojin clutched her skirt, truth never felt bitter than in that moment. "Stop lying."

"ANI, there is a picture of them too." 

Soojin waited for either of them to speak, she presumed they were zooming in on the picture to be sure that it was in fact the Kang Soojin they hated. "Aigoo," The former girl spoke, even more in distaste, "I cannot believe, why would Oppa be with her? You think it has something to do with her status?" 

"YA, stop before I break your pretty faces." 

That was Seojun's little sister, Soojin recognised that sharp voice. She knew the junior hated her and rightfully so she did not expect to be defended. They had a good bond, the Han siblings, Soojin could see that, she was envious of them as soon as she saw them and felt so lonely. Truly, Seojun was gifted a good family and Soojin could only be jealous.

"Stop spreading rumors about my brother," Go-woon pulled the mobile from the girl's hand, deleting the picture of the duo which was Seojun looking at Soojin while she was studying. With the way he was eyeing her, Go-woon could tell how her brother was invested in the latter, but she ignored that. "My brother would never do anything to demean anyone." The bell rang and that ended the conversation, the three girls moved out and Soojin sighed.

"Ya, that is not how soup is made!" 

Soojin regretted even trying to do something nice of the sick boy who was under the effects of the painkiller, his mother and sister were not at home when she had dropped him and now she had to make him the soup he was whining about. 

"Just drink whatever I make, else you will find your pretty face all distorted!" Soojin yelled at the boy who was standing besides her as she stirred the stew, Seojun immediately covered his face. Soojin smiled, she just could not help but smile. "Here you go," She served him the soup but he asked to cool it down, only for him to yell at her for infecting it with her germs.

She got up frustrated by the whining sick kid, but Seojun held her wrist, "jo-hayeo," Soojin's breath hitched at that confession, she turned to see Seojun looking at the soup, hand still holding hers. "I like her," He sighed, teary eyed, "I really like Lim Jugyeong, I just cannot not like her." 

Soojin could feel his pain, the way his one sided love was a reflection to hers, but she wondered how Seojun could sit through all of that with a smile. Seojun left her hand and finished the soup, sniffing and sneezing in between while Soojin poured him a glass of water. 

"Mian-hae, Soojin." Seojun said again, "But I am going to break your heart."  He met her eyes, sighing, "I feel so lightheaded, argh." 

"You are going to break my heart?" Soojin asked, gulping, "how?"

She knew the answer to why.

"I don't know YET." He said, mindlessly, sleep making him drowsy, "but I will, I will break your heart. I will and you will feel the same pain Jugyeong felt when you betrayed her. I will break your heart." He said, holding his head, "although, for now my head is hammering inside..." Soojin watched the boy sleep on the table, her scrunchie in his hand, which he had adamantly taken from her only because it reminded him of Jugyeong. 

Soon his mother arrived and Soojin took a leave, refusing any sort of gratitude and although, sick herself, she watched Mrs. Han tend over the grown boy like a little kid. She rubbed his back, hugged him and wrapped him in a blanket, all while cooing at the boy who was murmuring stuff to his mother and Soojin walked out of the house.

How is Seojun going to break something that has been broken beyond repair already?

She would like to see him try, surely, if he does want to try breaking her heart.

Soojin snapped back, walking out of the stall as she washed her face, rubbing her hands all the while as she thought about the conversation Seojun had forgotten about. Two could play the game, but she did not want to, because she was tired of the games.

She was tired of everything.

And if Seojun wanted to break her, then be it. 

What else could she lose?

_

reminder to vote and drop your comments, helps me write better and faster.

also, if you want to see what it would be if Soojin and Seojun dated in the show, watch OUR BELOVED SUMMER, the way it reminded me of this duo.