SURVIVING WITHOUT A PHONE WAS much harder than Iris had thought it would be. She didn't know how dependent she even was on her little mobile device, until it was taken away from her ( which was all thanks to that jerk that kidnapped her ). She couldn't talk to her friends or family as she initially did, and now had to stick to using the home landline, with extra caution as there was a of her mom potentially eavesdropping here and there.

When Iris had explained to her mom that her phone had broken, she demanded for an explanation. There was no way she could tell her the truth and that she got kidnapped because she got caught in the crossfire between Seojun and some gang, and that during that kidnapping, the leader broke her phone when she tried calling the cops for help. So she lied and said she had dropped it on a flight of stairs.

Though it wasn't the best lie, Suho was there with her as he had insisted on dropping her home, despite her making it clear that she'd be alright, and he even added onto the lie to make it more believable. More so, he covered for Iris and came up with some reasoning on her whereabouts throughout the night.

So instead of Iris getting grounded for a couple weeks and even in some serious trouble for missing her curfew, she was let off with a warning, especially since she had managed to acquire the groceries her mom had asked her to get ( which was all paid and brought by Suho, despite Iris refusing and telling him that she'd figure it out, despite her phone breaking, and her losing the ability to pay with her phone ).

So yeah. Iris was somehow able to get away with all the chaos, unharmed and in no form of trouble whatsoever.

Iris had to admit that it was hard to adjust to this new change. But she eventually got used to it after a couple of days. As much as it sucked, Iris decided to remain patient as her parents had said they'd get it repaired in a couple of days. Surprisingly, through this time, she got more into reading again.

Though before, when Iris had her phone, she would read through apps like Webtoon, or even use online websites. But now that she had to use actual books to read, she found herself enjoying the experience much more, and tended to engross herself into books as much as she could.

Even at school, during her breaks, Iris would often be situated in the library, roaming through different books to take home for the day. Her friends found it slightly strange that she was a becoming a bookworm all of a sudden, but nonetheless understood when they were reminded of the fact that her phone was currently of no use. Sometimes they would accompany her when Iris was planning on going to the library, other times they didn't.

This was one of those times where they weren't with her, and god did Iris wish someone was with her to help get off a book she was trying to get from the higher shelf.

It had been ten minutes, ten minutes since Iris had spotted a book she'd heard so many good reviews about, perched up on a high shelf, out of her reach. There was nobody around Iris that could help her get it, and it had been made very clear that she couldn't step on one of the chairs by the desks, so she was struggling aimlessly as she tried getting it.

After attempting to jump on her tippy toes and reach for the far away book for what seemed like the fifth time, Iris frowned as she stood back up straight, wondering whether she should just pick out another book and call it a day.

However to her surprise, she felt a presence behind her, and when she looked up, she saw an arm grab the book she'd been struggling to acquire.

When Iris turned around in surprise, she saw that standing before her was none other than Han Seojun, "Lors!" he said with a grin before his eyes followed where Iris' were looking at, "Are you trying to get that?" he asked.

Iris nodded, "Yeah."

Iris should've known better than to have any hope or to even assume that Seojun was there out of the goodness of his heart because instead of Seojun handing Iris the book she'd been eager to acquire like she thought he would, he simply laughed as he placed it on an even higher shelf, now completely out of her reach.

"Have fun." he patted her arm before turning around and exiting the place.

Iris rolled her eyes at the actions, now offended, "Seojun!" she called after him.

As Iris stared at the book that was away from her reach with a frown, she decided to go with her original plan and to just check out some other book as it would be impossible to get ahold of that book after what Seojun did. But just as she turned around, a familiar voice called out to her, causing her to stop in her tracks in confusion.

When Iris turned around, she saw that it was none other than Jaeon. But what she took immediate notice of was of, "My book!" she exclaimed, and Jaeon laughed softly before handing it to her, informing her that he'd taken it off the shelf for her anyways.

Iris smiled, grateful for his actions, "Thanks-" she said before trailing off as she tried recalling his name, until it hit her, "Jaeon! Right?" she asked.

Jaeon nodded, "So we meet again."

When the two fell into an awkward silence, Jaeon perked up, deciding to start something, "What do you got there?" he asked as he pointed at the book in Iris' hands.

Iris didn't say anything but only held it up to show him the title, and when he saw the name, his face lit up, "Oh I love that one!" he exclaimed, "You should check out its prequel. It goes so much more into depth about the characters." he added.

The two talked about the book Iris had acquired for a bit, before they began talking about their different classes and how they'd been. Though there were a couple of times where awkward silence washed over them once again, Iris didn't mind and she found herself actually having a good time.

Throughout their conversations, it seemed that there was something consuming Jaeons thoughts. He finally spoke what it was that was after their conversation of them discussing their favorite lunch meals during the weekdays came to an end, "Are you doing anything tomorrow afterschool?" he asked rather directly.

Though Iris was somewhat taken aback by how upfront he was, she thought about his question for a moment, before shaking her head, "Not anything that I'm aware of." she answered before tilting her head with a glint of curiosity in her eyes, "Why?"

Jaeon smiled, before explaining, "Well I have an extra ticket to the baseball game tomorrow, and was wondering if you wanted to join me?"

It took a moment for Iris to process what he was asking, and she wondered if it was the same baseball game she'd been begging Naelea to go with her to weeks but was unable to due to her new part-time job.

"The one with Hyunjin?" she asked trying to confirm her suspicions, and when Jaeon nodded, Iris couldn't help but get excited at the thought of attending his game and seeing him in real life playing. "Yeah! Of course."

"Great." Jaeon said seeming relieved by the brunettes answer, "Give me your number and I'll text you the details." he stated as he took out his phone.

Iris was about to give it to him, until she realized something. "Actually Jaeon, my phones kind of broken at the moment." she stated, explaining that she'd cracked the screen, but didn't go too much into detail about how that had happened given that he probably wouldn't have believed her.

"But you know my friend Sua, right? She and my friend, Jugyeong, are also going. So just text her the information and she can pass it on to me." she explained as she gave him Suas number instead, who she knew wouldn't mind, if she explained to her about the situation they were in.

By the end of their discussion and exchanging of numbers, the grin on Jaeons face couldn't seem to falter one bit, "Sounds like a plan."

--

"No way you have a date with Jae!"

Sua, Naelea, Soojin and Jugyeong stared at Iris with widened eyes as they each took into account of what she was telling them.

After the conversation with Jaeon, Iris found herself making her way to the cafeteria and inform her friends of the situation, mainly Sua as she had given her number to Jaeon so that she had somewhat of an idea on why he was contacting her in the first place. To say the group of four were excited was an understatement. They were livid, especially Sua- who had called it since Day One.

"Keep it down." Iris ushered, not wanting too many people to know about the hangout, "And it's not really a date. We're just going-"

Before Iris could finish her sentance, Soojin cut in, "As friends?" she asked with a sly smirk making its way on her face, "That's what they always say."

Though she was never one that liked investing herself in other peoples relationships, she couldn't help but be somewhat thrilled for Iris when she had heard of the news of their hangout. In doing so, she couldn't help but tease the girl as much as she could either.

Iris sighed upon the girls comments, "Come on Soojin. You too?" she asked, but the girl simply stuck her tongue out playfully, before going back to studying.

This time Jugyeong spoke up, "Well I think it's great that you're going together." she said as she clasped her hands together, "Jaeon seems like a great guy." she stated.

Truth be told, she was thrilled for Iris as she seemed excited for the upcoming hangout, and she had also sensed something between the two when they had first interacted a couple weeks ago. But she was also happy because if things went well for Iris and Jaeon, then that meant Suho could go back to paying attention to her once again as lately he'd been very distant, and could only seem to pay attention to one thing no matter the situation or setting, and that was of the very person sitting in front of her.

Though Jugyeong knew it was wrong to feel such a way, she couldn't help it. It's not like she intentionally fell for her friends crush.

She found out about Iris' feelings way after she herself had developed feelings for Suho, and no matter what she did, she couldn't seem to rid of those feelings. They were just constantly looming there at the back of her mind, asking when she'd act upon them and fess up.

With Iris moving on, and out of the picture, maybe the guilt would finally be gone . . . right?

Sua squealed as she hugged Iris, "I'm so excited! I can't wait to get you all prepped up for the date."

( note: any spelling errors or mistakes indicate that this chapter has not been edited yet )

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