If I Fell

Chapter 4

It had been at least three or four days since Hyeonji and Kwangmin had started 'dating', but the buzz of it is still fresh in the school.

Hyeonji finds out more rumors than she'd ever imagined about Kwangmin. According to the loud girls two lockers down in the locker room, he has been in at least ten other relationships, gotten three of them pregnant, sent one of them to the emergency room, and may or may not be an orphan who sells his body on the streets to pay the bills. Hyeonji stops listening to them after the last one because no matter how gruff or how much like an orphan-selling-his-body Kwangmin may look, she's positive that none of those could possibly be true. Kwangmin is shy when she's straightforward, and stutters when he's introducing her to people. I refuse to believe that he's anything besides misunderstood.

That doesn't stop others from believing, though. People are constantly asking her what he's actually like, and she can only reply, "Very sweet." She doesn't know how she feels about him, honestly. Although they'd made a pact to convince everyone of their relationship, and act close in public, Hyeonji isn't sure if they're actually friends. It's hard telling how someone feels when your whole relationship with them is based on lying to others.

Hyeonji is cut out of her thoughts as her phone rings shrilly. In the middle of class, she realizes. Don't look down. Don't let anyone know it was you. She looks around suspiciously like the rest of her classmates, copying their stares back at them.

"Miss Song." Her teacher's voice rings through her ears. She realizes just how close to her desk he was standing when her phone went off, and she flinches. Why didn't I turn it off? And, who is texting me during class?

"Yes, sir?" She asks politely, looking up at her teacher with innocent eyes. The look on his face, though, confirms that he doesn't believe her.

"Would you prefer I read your message out loud and confiscate your phone, or for you to read it and then give it to me?"

She can feel the mocking in his tone. Hyeonji has been told her whole life to not think lightly of teachers and not to be rude, but God she hated when they did that. Embarrassing you in front of the whole class was just mean.

Hyeonji hears some laughs from the teacher's comment, and she can feel Chanwoo's stare burning into her neck.

"I'll read it, sir." Hyeonji sighs out.

"Standing up if you could, Miss Song." He adds on, and he moves to stand beside her. Hyeonji stands, all the while ignoring the way her legs wobble.

Hyeonji reaches towards her backpack, pulling out her phone from the front pocket, and she unlocks it, sliding down the notifications bar with caution. From the icon, she can see it's a text. When she sees the contact, though, her throat closes up. Dear God, please don't let this boy text anything terrible.

Staring at the picture (taken from the yearbook) of Kwangmin makes her want to throw her phone across the room. Hyeonji can feel her teacher's eyes scanning the text, making sure that she doesn't lie about the contents.

From the Idiot Kwang: Do you want to come over tonight?? My sister wants to meet you. Pick you up after class honey~