University of Wonderland

Chapter Fifty-Three

"Why did you prank me?" I asked, hoping I could get answers out of her before she tried to get them out of me.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't be so arrogant. We painted all the roses red. Though I can't say I'm upset we did yours."

"What does 'all the roses' mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Every rose in the city."

I remembered the ring of white roses guarding City Hall. Lead weighed down in my stomach. So Minho did get them to do an environmental task. Shin-Hye would certainly be checking on it, and most likely she'd think I did it. She'd probably even reason I'd hit my own house to throw her off the scent. not good. "Why'd you -"

Just then Mr. Card came out holding two plastic, pink flamingos and green tennis balls. "Be gentle with them." He held the flamingos out to us. "They're decorations for the Homecoming dance."

On a normal day, using flamingos for mallets would've been the craziest thing to happen.

We searched the lawn for a private section, but most of the students had spread out, standing in gossiping twosomes, spending more time talking than playing. Now I understood the rush for the equipment. It wasn't because they were eager to play; it was because they were eager to slack off.

"The roses were the prank? The one on Neverland University?" I dropped a tennis ball on the grass in front of the gym and tilted my flamingo face down, practicing a golf swing without making contact.

"Obviously." Hyuna rolled her eyes, then focused on the flamingo in her hands. "But also personal. So did Minho ask you or not? Because you two looked a little cozy at the table that morning."

"Why do you even like him?" The question flew from my mouth without consulting my brain first. Lips, you're on my list. "And I don't get the prank. What does it even mean? Our color is red."

"Neverland's color is red, too." She lined up her flamingo with exact precision, like it might win her the trophy. "We did their school first, and then Minho said it was too obvious, that they'd know it was us, so we did the seniour lounge here next, to make it look like they retaliated and -"

"You broke into the school?" I didn't want to resort to blackmail, but if she had really seen those pictures on Minho's phone, then I needed something on her to keep her mouth shut.

"No, I have a key. All the class presidents do. It's one of the perks of being awesome." She dropped the flamingo and bent over. "I wear it to keep it safe." She pulled down her socks, revealing only her ankle. "Huh, well, it was here last night. I must have forgotten to wear it today. I do that sometimes."

I stared at her ankle,a dull ache pounding in the back of my head. She had use it last night while Minho was there. And now the key was missing. It didn't take a forensics report to determine this wasn't a coincidence.

I may have stumbled onto that giant clue, but I patted myself on the shoulder for my sleuthing skills. Maybe Minho wasn't the only one with the CIA in his future. Or, well, he would probably be working against the government.

"Okay, so you did the school." I tried to keep my voice steady. She was talking, and I wanted her to keep doing that. "But why my house?"

"It was only fair." Hyuna practiced a swing with the flamingo, air swooshing. "After all, you destroyed my house. I owed you the same courtesy."

I swallowed. "I didn't. I don't know what Minho said, but -"

She snapped her head at me, hair slapping her face. "Jinja? (Really?) You're going to deny this? I alreay told you I've seen the evidence."

Gulp. Guess that explained the photos she'd seen. 

She pointed the flamingo at me. "Come to think of it, I let you off the hook. You still owe me. So tell me about this Homecoming thing with Minho. Did he ask you or not?"

"He didn't ask me, no. I just got the feeling he was doing the prank then."

Hyuna let out a relieved sigh. "Obviouly not, since we already did it."

"Right," I said for her benefit. I didn't believe for a second that Minho's plan ended at painting flowers.

"Why do you even like him?" I asked again. It was so nonsensical; I couldn't comprehend it.

"Because he's cute. And he's really funny, all those things he says."

We were talking about the same Minho, right?

"And other reasons." She looked away, a smile tugging at her lips. "I've had a crush on him forever," she admitted. "There's just something about him."

Yeah, his crime streak. Or his insanity. "Take your pick. I readied a witty quip but let it fade on my tongue. She was right, I had destroyed her house. I should make it right. "Hyuna, you need to know." I tapped the tennis ball with my "mallet." "I think Minho's using you."

She snorted. "Using me how? Because he told me he loved me."

Right, because Minho saying something like that wouldn't get him farther with her, in secret plans or otherwise. "He has something planned, and it's not good. I think you should break up with him."

"Aish, I knew it." Hyuna whacked the flamingo so hard, she decapitated it. "I knew there was something going on with you two. Did you dump him or something? Is that why he convinced me to get revenge on you?"

So it wasn't her idea? Now that was surprising. But not the part about Minho being behind it. The side we had briefly coexisted on once again separated into opposite battlefields.

Hyuna started to walk away.

"Wait!" I yelled after her, heart pounding. "The pictures you saw. Please don't say anything!"

She considered this several minutes. I thought my lungs might explode from withheld breath. "I should probably press charges. But I know you'd do the same to my friends." She huffed. "Stay sawy from my boyfriend and I'll forget what I saw."

If only it could be that easy. Because something told me that whatever Minho was planning for Homecoming wouldn't exactly make her fall more in love with him. And if he turned her off, what loyalty did she have for keeping my secret?

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