Redamancy

49

Changmin suddenly shrieked - a loud dolphin sound ringing through the cafeteria. His furious eyes immediately searched for Soobin across from him who was covering both of her ears, worried that she would lose her hearing ability.

"Dammit, I can't hear my voice," Kevin next to Changmin started singing in different octaves before he glanced over the cause of the mess. "Must you scream? You just wake my spaghetti up from their deep sleep."

"Kev, your food is not alive," Soobin soullessly said, clicking her fingers beside her right ear in the process.

"Oh, they aren't?" Kevin pondered, dead serious with his joke. As he heard the small laugh escaped Soobin's lips, then only he felt satisfied and turned his attention back to the squirrel-guy-with-dolphin-voice. "What's new, boy?"

Changmin might be exaggerating his reaction. Surely, the tremble of his body when he took a sip of his drink was no need. But, they said, drama sometimes would be needed in a dull life.

"Chae is trending worldwide," he said which then Kevin questioned with a thick 'What?' and the girl herself was blinking in confusion.

However, it wasn't that hard for Chae Soobin to recall what had happened in her life these few days to finally realize what her friends were talking about.

"Legal action?" Kevin pondered after reading the news linked to their female friend's name. "It says here that your father will take action on false accusation thrown on you and Jacob. Wait! Does that mean... your father has found out?"

Soobin sighed, slumping against the chair. Now, she felt the courage to lift her head higher in public without worrying about the weird stares and murmurs from all the onlookers. Even right now, there were still ugly voices whispering among themselves about the sudden article published, but she wouldn't be scared to glare back at them.

For, her father was protecting her - as he should.

"He received some tips from Anonymous. And, that's how he found out."

"Wow..." Changmin clapped like a seal which made Soobin think that he seemed to be collecting animal spirits inside his small body. "Don't get me wrong. I'm happy for you. This should've happened earlier. So that someone like Juyeon could be rid of."

"In the end, your mother couldn't handle it by herself," Kevin added, nodding at every word he let out.

"Hey!" Changmin slapped Kevin's arm. "She never could handle it either. She thought she could handle it."

"Exactly..."

"You two are badmouthing my mother in front of me," Soobin scoffed, jolting up in the process signalling her friends that she was ready to leave which they immediately gathered around their belongings. "Your audacity... needs to be praised."

"I can say that you are the best stepdaughter who ever existed," Changmin said as Soobin leaped around the table to join the boys on the other side.

She was about to pull her smile at the joke the boy made, the corner of her lips was ready to lift but then fell back upon seeing the glimpse of someone familiar walking in their direction.

Sunwoo elegantly walked in, his fierce gaze darted forward but then swiftly shifted to Soobin as he sensed the girl's on him. She probably was delusional because, for a brief moment, she thought Sunwoo would stop for her.

He did not.

He even dodged her to avoid any contact with their bodies which truthfully hurt the girl. She shouldn't have turned around to see him, but she did watching him fist-bump Eric at one of the tables, his goofy smile that she had been missing flashed ever so sweetly.