GIRLS ON TRACK || Ryeji

Chapter 37: Another Incident

"Sorry, I didn't mean it," she apologized, but I doubt that her apology was sincere.  Tears threatened to spill from my eyes because of the pang that my toes are feeling. Hence, I attempted to blindly step on her foot as a revenge, but unfortunately, I slipped on a stick or something that resembles a stick at my right side and fell on my back with a painful thud.

"Chaeryeong? Did you just step on my leg?" Yuna questioned, sounding provoked since she didn't notice I just fell because of her stupid long legs.  A few moments later, the lights came back on, revealing an alarmed Yuna looming over me and a sobbing Chaeryeong, me, on the stage floor.

"My back!" I cried, glaring at her through my tears. No body, except us, was actually aware of our situation because of the closed curtains.

****

"Chaeryeong-ssi," a senior guy uttered, scratching his nape in a shy manner and placing a letter on the pile of letters I received in a day. "I loved your performance. Hehe." Then, he scurried off.

"Lia noona, here's your favorite strawberry milk." One of Lia's junior admirers put a carton of strawberry milk beside a good deal of treats and letters dedicated to her.

"Yuna-yah!" A guy from another class in the same year as us came and handed her a box of pizza, making her eyes lit up in exhilaration.

"Pepperoni?" Yuna inquired him; both her eyes and mouth agape as she briskly grabbed the box and set it down in front of her. Then, the guy nodded and bid his goodbye before complimenting her performance. "Yum yum!" She licked her lips, eyeballing the poor pizza like a prey, and she brushed her palms against each other, preparing to devour the food.

Subsequently, a group of senior boys advanced to our table with aplomb— one of them slicked his hair back, another winked an eye at us, while the others smirked as they slipped their hands inside their pant pockets. I almost gagged at their demeanor because they were acting as if we would fall for them when they gesticulated their flirty intentions.

"Hwang Yeji?" The tallest and bulkiest guy amidst them pronounced, making sheep eyes at her. "I never knew you would be that attractive on stage as well." He pressed a palm on the table and held her gaze intently, chewing a lollipop at the same time. Next, he signaled one of his friends in a bossy manner to ask for something— a note.

"Call me maybe." He slid the note containing his phone number toward her and left with a wink. Just as he was walking away, I caught Ryujin glaring daggers at his back venomously. If looks could kill, he would be dead already. Soon, she snatched the paper away before Yeji could lay a finger on it, and she tore it apart grudgingly.

"Don't associate with guys like that, Yeji-yah," she warned the cat-eyed girl in a dangerously husky tone, inducing a chuckle from the latter.

"Great, I haven't even received anything from fans like you guys," Somi sulked, poking her food with a fork. "Maybe I should've sung or danced on stage."

"Want some pizza?" Yuna innocently offered a piece with round eyes to the sulking girl beside her, to which the girl accepted halfheartedly.

"Ryujin-unnie, I-I really like your guitar skills and your deep voice," a cute junior girl stuttered, holding out a packet of choco pie toward Ryujin shyly, and she blushed when Ryujin displayed her whisker-dimpled smile as she accepted the snack. "C-can we be close friends if you wanna?"

"Sure, don't be shy." Ryujin stood up, chuckling as she patted the girl's head. "Thanks for the praise and the choco pie. By the way, what's your name?"