Counting on Stars // NCT Ten

At Home

Byeol didn't feel like doing much after she got home. She ordered some orange chicken for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies. She wasn't in the mood to dance, she couldn't practice piano, and she couldn't concentrate on rereading the few books she had, so she settled for the most intense thriller mystery movies she could find, hoping it was enough to keep her distracted from her thoughts. The chicken was delicious as well, as is all takeout, and the wonderful tastes lifted her spirits even more. But neither the movie nor the food could match how relieved she was when she heard a knock outside her door fifteen minutes after the end of school.

Byeol moved her panda plush to the side of the sofa and stood up. She glanced at the mirror by the entrance, fixing her couch hair, and opened the door.

"Someone ordered hot chocolate?" Ten said with a warm smile, holding out a cup and a sugar cookie. He was in the same clothes as before and still had his backpack, so Byeol guessed he really had come straight to her house after last period.

"I did, but what's this?" She smiled and looked at the blue-and-pink cookie as she took both the sweet treats from him.

Ten glanced at her hand, now encased in a cast, and responded as they walked inside. "An apology."

Byeol's smile faded and she turned around to face him as he took off his backpack, setting it down by the couch. She put the treats on the table nearby and they looked at each other for a moment.

"Ten, you need to stop blaming yourself for other people's actions." She said, staring him right in the eyes. He looked away.

"But what if I was the cause of their actions?" He asked quietly.

"Well, of course you are," Byeol deadpanned and he glanced at her out of surprise. She rolled her eyes, saying, "I'm not dumb, Ten, I know Elaena is doing all of this stuff to me because she's jealous that I'm friends with you or something. You're so popular; half the girls look at me with envy and the other half look at me like they wanna commit murder." He chuckled at that.

"But whatever it may be," Byeol continued, "the stuff Elaena does is entirely her fault. She had the choice not to, and her choices and actions reflect who she is. Not. You." Ten lifted his eyes to the girl, blinking slowly as he took in her words.

"I still feel bad that you're taking the worst of it, though," He said.

"That's my fault for not distancing myself from you once I found out about your popularity." She responded, and Ten's heart immediately fell to his knees. It was new, actually. All the girls usually run after him, and now, here's the first one to run away from him. Byeol sure was something different.

"Oh... I see... I-I understand if you don't wanna hang out anymore, then..." He said, deflated like a balloon, and looked at his feet. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so affected- they only knew each other for barely a month anyways.

"What? No, hold on, I think I said something wrong," Byeol frowned. "Let me finish: it's my fault for not distancing myself once I found about your popularity because now I can't bring myself to go away from you no matter what. We became friends and I know the rest of your group is nice and I have Julia but you..." She paused for a moment. "You just... I dunno... get me." She said, and he nodded, feeling similar. She immediately pointed at him and said, "See? What I just said made no sense but you still understood. And the things with our parents and the fact that you love to dance just as much as me; I guess we just have a lot in common? And I'm glad. I know it's only been a month but out of all the places I've been, I've never met someone like you. I still want to be your friend, no matter what Elaena does to me." She confessed, slightly blushing. "Not in a weird way or anything, but you're just so valuable to me because this move has been the worst one ever and I'm still struggling but you make things so much easier. So, please, don't be sorry. Don't be sorry for anything, Ten. Because I have so, so, so much to thank you for." She ended, her eyes shining.