The Way It Is

one

"Since when did being your cousin become my job?!" Yiyeon raised a brow and packed her things.

Hyunjin scoffed, "All you see is Jeno," he said which made Yiyeon throw a piece of her eraser at him. "Aish! Get lost!"

She went to the library to sketch to Jaemin, who was also the newspaper team's head.

"Well, that was quick," Jaemin chuckled the moment she saw the sketch Yiyeon gave him. "You do know that our doors are open all year round, right? You can join us anytime."

Yiyeon shook her head, "Maybe not now. I want to focus on my studies."

"Too bad, then," Jaemin sighed. "I guess we won't be able to find someone as creative as you."

She chuckled, "You guys can call me when you need help anytime if you want." She said, which made Jaemin smile. "It's the least I could offer. I'm truly sorry, Jaemin."

"Really?! That's good then!" Jaemin smiled and placed her work inside the folder that was on the table. "You can go to Jeno now. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

Yiyeon was taken aback, "I think you get it all wrong..." she said and pressed her lips into a thin line.

The brown-haired boy raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

"We... Jeno and I... aren't dating—not anymore," she said and looked down.

Jaemin's eyes widened and bowed repeatedly, "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" He said. "I-I thought... you guys..."

Yiyeon just nodded and sighed, "I thought so, too. Everything happened quickly." She said and picked her things up. "I'll get going now, Jaemin-ah."

"Yiyeon-noona?" The girl looked back only to see Chenle, one of Jeno and Yangyang's teammates-slash-best friend, looking at her confusedly. "Why are you still here?"

She smiled, "I just gave something to Jaemin, that's why." She said which made Chenle nod. "Have you seen my cousin?" She asked.

The boy nodded, "He was packing his things earlier. He'd probably be on his way to where your car is parked right now." He said and smiled. "I'll get going, noona! I still need to go and get my Statistics handout."

"Take care, Lele!"

She can't help but think about everything that happened while walking.

How she met Jeno, how she fell in love with him, and how they fell apart.

"Yiyeon-ah, why do you always frown?" Jeno raised a brow. "You're not like the girls who want to date me. I mean, they always try to make themselves presentable for me to notice them but you, my girlfriend, are really different."

Yiyeon snorted, "If you want them then go and date them instead," she said and stood up.

She was about to go somewhere else but Jeno stopped her from doing so. "Where do you think you're going?!" He asked, wide-eyed.

"I don't know. It seems like the person I'm with likes someone else's company," she rolled her eyes.

"There you go again," Jeno pulled his hair out of frustration. He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders, "I just said those because I want to see you smile more often. In our 7 months of dating, I think I only saw you smile once."

Yiyeon took a deep breath, "Because smiling is somehow associated with happiness."

"And what is happiness supposed to do with this?" he raised a brow.

"I'm scared to be happy," Yiyeon said, looking at him in the eyes. "Because every happiness is associated with sadness, and every time I become happy, it gets taken away after..."

"Why do you think of that?" Jeno asked worriedly. "You do know that I'm always with you, right? So don't worry, okay? Just focus on now and let's be happy. You and I. Together."

Yiyeon didn't notice that she was already at the parking lot. Hyunjin wasn't there yet. Maybe their coach talked to him for a while.

She heard footsteps approaching her.

"Hyunjin-ah, what took you so long?"

She can't wait to tell him the news that she'll be helping the newspaper team even if she wasn't an official member.

"Hyunjin?"

She looked around and saw someone else.

Things be damned, it was Jeno.

And he was with someone else.

Too much for being happy this day.

- tbc.