love game; ℓ.н/ ρ.נ

chapter 17, everyone knows

"Stop acting like kids," I said. "It's getting late for school, go back to your homes"

"Yes, go back to your home, Jay," Heeseung spoke.

"She said homes. That implies to you too," Jay snorted. "Besides, you spent way too much time here last night. I bet you did something out of the odds, right Jia?"

I stared at Jay with a blanked-out mind. The little event of Heeseung drunk-kissing me last night flashed before my eyes, and it felt like it was happening all over again.

"He wasn't sober," I articulated, without saying anything else.

"So he did something," Jay guessed. "Don't tell me it was-"

"That's it," Heeseung barged in. "This is where you stop and turn around and leave"

"Don't you dare-"

"Enough!" I shrieked, startling Hwan who was standing behind me. "Will you two stop with your childish arguments?! I need to get ready for school, so both of you leave, right now!"

I breathed out. There was silence for a good second.

Behind me, I felt Hwan tug at the hem of my shorts, the thing he always does when he's scared.

"Noona, please don't shout," He said softly. "I'm scared"

I looked into his terrified eyes. He stared back at me holding onto my shorts as if pleading for me to calm down.

"I'm so sorry baby." I lifted him up in my arms and hugged him. "It won't happen again. I promise"

I lifted up my head from Hwan's shoulders to look at Heeseung and Jay. They were standing beside each other as if they were not going to pluck each other's hair a minute ago.

"Well?" I asked. "Don't you two have something to do?"

"We'll leave, yes," Jay put forth.

Heeseung started at Jay, infuriated, and brushed past me towards the door, and in the process, he muttered something like "Sorry" and banged the door behind him, leaving me and Jay alone.

"Kid," Jay muttered under his breath after Heeseung. He turned towards me. "You wanna walk to school together?"

I sighed, giving up on kicking men out of my house. "Wait for ten minutes"

I and Jay walked to school in silence, sipping coffee on our way. Coffee definitely helped in getting over the awkwardness that was there between us. A thousand thoughts raced a thousand miles in my head. Why were Jay and Heeseung always so mean to each other? Was it because of me? What did I ever do to ruin their friendship?

And like Jay read my thoughts, he snapped me back from my trapped mind. "It's not your fault, you know"

"Huh?"

"It isn't the same between me and him any more," Jay said staring at his shoes as we walked. "And it's not your fault if that's what your thinking"

I turned my head to look at Jay. He melancholically smiled at me.

Before I could say anything, we reached school, and Jay opened the door for me.

"Thanks," I muttered.

Jay dramatically bowed at me and I chuckled before walking inside, followed by Jay. We walked towards our usual path to the hallway, where our lockers were.

We entered the locker room, which was unusually very noisy, especially in the morning. Jay covered his ears curtly and I strolled inside, confused.

Many things happened at once. My coffee slipped from my hands, spilling all over the floor as I gaped at the scene in front of me, the entire crowd went dead silent and the morning bell rang, indicating the first period.