13

                                    

                                          
the boys were taken aback, from her response.
                          
she sat with her head low, as the boys look at eachother.
                          
what were they going to do?
                          
"we're sorry, okay? let us help you," chan apologises, "please."
                          
chaeyoung looks at every one of them, finally sighing, "i had a nightmare,"
                          
she says, rather calmly, "of my mother."
                          
they stare at her, not fully understanding.
                          
"she got hit by a car," chaeyoung says, in a monotone voice.
                          
the boys didn't understand why she'd be acting like this. it was just a nightmare, they thought.
                          
it didn't actually happen, they thought.
                          
next day
                          
chaeyoung returned home safely, the night before. she's still a bit tired.
                          
the only thing she wanted to do was sleep. she was unmotivated with everything.
                          
she, temporarily, disabled all her social media, as she didn't want to interact with others.
                          
chaeyoung woke up later than usual today, despite knowing it was a school day.
                          
"i don't want to go.." she mumbled, getting up, regardless.
                          
she changed, taking her time, as she was already late.
                          
by the time she got there, it was lunch. pairs of eyes were looking in her direction as she walks into the campus.
                          
one glare from her would cause their eyes to look away.
                          
"look who finally decided to show up." a girly voice says.
                          
chaeyoung turns around slightly, already knowing who it was.
                          
mina was smirking, scheming her second plan.
                          
she continues walking, ignoring mina.
                          
from behind, mina glares at her and reaches to pull her hair. but, a hand grips her wrist tightly, causing her to stop right before she gets ahold of chaeyoung's hair.
                          
looking up she saw disgusted glares from the boys.
                          
a smile appears on her face as she sees chan, so she goes in for a hug, "oppa!"
                          
it was quickly rejected, as he walks away to chaeyoung, his group following behind.
                          
the girl growls, glaring at the back of chaeyoung's head.
                          
"you'll pay for this park chaeyoung!!" mina exclaims, angrily.
                          
chaeyoung scoffs, ignoring her once again.
                          
but, chan and the boys look back at mina. "pay for what?" jeongin asks, threateningly.
                          
 mina gave an innocent look, "she bullied me the first few weeks of school!"
                          
stray kids laughed, not believing a single thing that came out of her mouth.
                          
"oppa!" she exclaims, clinging onto chan's arm, "i'm not lying! i would never lie to you!"
                          
the leader shakes her off, "don't call me oppa. you're older than me, it's disgusting." he says, coldly.
                          
he walks away, minho staying back a bit, "leave chaeyoung alone, attention seeker." he said to mina, followed with a passive-aggressive smile.
                          
leaving the girl in shock, she stomps away, upset with how her little plan failed.
                          
=
                          
"why did you protect me?" chaeyoung asks, out of curiosity as they gather on the floor of the rooftop.
                          
chan shrugs, giving a light smile, "leader instincts."
                          
the group laughs, chaeyoung being the only one confused on why it had to do with protecting her.
                          
"you're warming up with us now, that's good." hyunjin points out.
                          
chaeyoung looks at him, an eyebrow raised, "who said? but, honestly, you'd probably be the one i'm closest with." she truthfully answers.
                          
changbin questions, "why hyunjin and not chan hyung?"
                          
the girl looks at him, then looking at chan. she couldn't help but notice everything about him.
                          
she paused, not knowing how to answer as she stares at his features.
                          
how did i not notice him until now?
                          
"i don't know either." she says, softly.
                          
the boys look at her, "if you aren't comfortable, you can tell us. we'll back up." hyunjin reassures.
                          
chaeyoung shakes her head, "you're fine, but could chan stay further away from me?" she requests, "it'll take awhile for me to warm up to him."
                          
the girl looks at chan, with blank eyes. his eyes showed regret, apologies not fully forgiven.
                          
the group nods, understanding why, "we'll be your protectors!"
                          
then, they laughed, "from chan hyung."
                          
"secret agents! channie hyung's our enemy!!" jisung exclaims, speaking the fun idea that popped inside his head.
                          
hyunjin and felix agree immediately, "yes! i'll be her personal agent!" hyunjin volunteers.
                          
the rest of the school day was full of jokes and games.
                          
for once in her life, chaeyoung smiled and laughed lightly with the group who bullied her.
                          
she was happy to know that they were all good people behind their tough images.
                          
although she opened up easily to them, she's still quite cautious with certain things. they don't know everything about her yet, as the group never fully introduced themselves.
                          
but, they know the time will come one day.
                          
for now, all they could do was wait, until chaeyoung was comfortable enough with them to trust them
                          
to call them her friends.
                          
a/n
another short chapter but it's cous i updated this one earlier than expected. i hope i can give you guys a longer chapter next update! this month is really busy so will the next so don't surprised when i update a short chapter or update late- like really late.