emotions | love alarm

19 ~

Chapter Nineteen

Sun-oh could feel the hushed whispers of the people talking about him and could also feel the lack of his person next to him. Ae-ri didn't just miss a day of school—she had to be close to the brink of death to truly feel the need to miss a day. For her to not have come meant that she wasn't well and that alone had him anxious.

His mind couldn't help but spiral with all the possible reasons why she wouldn't be feeling well and with every theory came a sinking feeling in his stomach that kept growing. What if she had broken a limb? Or contracted a deadly disease? What if she was in the hospital?

He closes his eyes and reassures himself with her message. She was just sad.

The lunch bell rings and the class disperses, everyone casting glances every now and then towards Sun-oh who from an outside perspective looked extremely unhinged; his eyes were wide, his energy giving off stress, and he kept fidgeting nervously.

He jumps out of his seat and decides that if he wanted to finish the day off without feeling this awful he would have to physically see her and cure her ailment. He would do whatever it took to make sure she was healthy.

His eyes look down at his wrist as he grabs his jacket and slides on his shoes. Sun-oh had roughly an hour to leave, check on Ae-ri, and come back.

***

His knuckles rap against the door of her house and he huffs, wiping the sweat off his forehead. Running from the school for a solid ten minutes wasn't the best idea he had ever had but he would do anything for her. Already he could feel his anxiety lessening just from being in closer proximity to her.

Amara opens the door and graces him with a smile, "Sun-oh, how lovely to see you, how are you?"

"I'm okay, thank you. It's a pleasure to see you too. Is Ae-ri home?"

***

Ae-ri's thoughts had been surging through her brain nonstop since her existential crisis this morning and it was beginning to get painful to exist in her body. She had done a 300 piece puzzle, read ten chapters of a book, finished a WebToon, and planned out the rest of her week all within about four hours.

After that came the tears of frustration.

She despised feeling emotion and even more than that she despised feeling like she was not in control. Loss of control meant irrational ideas and feelings that were reckless.

She feels fresh tears prick her cheeks and she sighs, feeling a hollow feeling begin in her chest and rise to her lips in the form of an exhale. She was bored and under-stimulated but she couldn't bear the thought of doing anything.

She floats in her pool, watching and analyzing the different types of tiles that were on the ceiling. Her mind ached and she couldn't find peace in anything she did. It was perpetually uncomfortable in her mind and there wasn't a second that passed where her thoughts stilled.

She sighs and gets out of the pool, plopping down on one of the lounge chairs that were in the room. She places her towel so it's covering her head and folds herself onto her legs.

"Honey?" her mom calls out.

"Yes?"

"Sun-oh is here to see you."

Ae-ri lifts her head from where she lay and watches as Sun-oh pops into the pool room. He was wearing his school uniform and he looked stressed; the school day wasn't over.

Why was he here?

She walks around the pool and watches as his eyes slip over her body and he blushes. She hides her smile and tilts her head as she stops a few inches away from him. They look at each other with a questioning gaze.

"What's up?" she greets him.

He puts his bag down and hugs her, "What do you mean what's up, I have missed you."

Her thoughts fall still for the first time today and she lets out a sigh of relief. His arms melt her into a puddle of disoriented goo and she tugs him closer, and lays her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

Sun-oh's fingers slip across the fabric of the towel but it's not enough for her—she wanted him
closer. She slides the towel off and feels her stomach flutter as his hands slip past her waist, to the skin at the small of her back.

"I have missed you more," she admits quietly.

***

"So what causes it?"

"I just can't control my thoughts every now and then and it gets overwhelming sometimes," Ae-ri says as she comes out of the bathroom. She had taken a quick 7-minute shower to get the chlorine off her body and was now looking forward to spending some time with Sun-oh before he had to leave.

Sun-oh sat on her couch, his eyes analyzing her and wanting desperately to fix whatever it was that was bothering her. She seemed different, almost like she was on the edge of snapping.

She sits down next to him and he frowns, wanting to feel her much closer.

"You're too far," he mumbles before guiding her onto his lap. He swings her legs around so she's straddling him and he tugs her into his chest, his fingers slipping under her sweater.

She relaxes into him and closes her eyes, listening to his heartbeat and finding immediate relief from the chaos that was her mind.

"What can I do to help?" he asks softly.

"You've already helped just by being here."

"Really?"

She nods her head.