second lead. | 정원

chapter 41.

xli.

Or maybe not.

"Your notes are really neat," Jae complimented, reading Mira's notebook with an amazed expression on his face.

He muttered a few sentences to himself as he read her notes thoroughly, trying to find the difference between the use of present continuous, present perfect, and present simple for letter identification. He was afraid tomorrow's exam might contain finding the structures of a given job application letter, and also finding what tenses they used in each sentence. Jae kept getting them mixed up, and it was starting to bother him.

His eyebrows furrowed, "I am writing to apply for the position of an accountant. That's perfect present- I mean continuous present," He paused and blinked rapidly. "Present continuous," He corrected before continuing, "I have enclosed my resume for your consideration bla bla bla. Present perfect?" The boy nodded his head.

"My past work experience shows that I am able to learn fast from experienced staff," Jae read the sentence in her book. "That's present— present...  what type of present is this again?"

Jae was suffering from English as he ruffled his head in frustration. Mira, on the other hand, had her lips formed into a thin line. She was worried, and it was pretty pathetic of her to not be able to teach him because she doesn't know how to explain properly.

"...I'm just gonna use my gut feeling," The boy spoke, shutting the book close. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry I wasn't much help to you," Mira was disappointed in herself. English was her favorite subject (second to chemistry), but she was bad at teaching languages to others. English has so many different words that have similar meanings to each other, only confusing non-active speakers more.

"It's alright," Jae chuckled. "You helped me with Econ before we started EL anyway. That's enough."

Nodding at his words, both students got up from their seats and left the classroom. It was pretty late and the sky was turning darker with each second passed. Mira quietly sighed, her eyelids getting droopy as she rubbed them to get rid of the sleepiness.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Jae offered, taking his shot. It was his initial plan anyway. "I have my bicycle over there."

He pointed at the biking area, a bright red bicycle waiting patiently to be used for the past two hours under a shelter. He smiled, believing he would spend more time with Mira for a few additional minutes, but it quickly faltered upon noticing another bicycle accompanying his own.

Jae looked around the school premises, finding no one in sight as he heaved a sigh of relief. Perhaps it belonged to a teacher? No other student would stay this long at school, right? Especially if it was during exam week.

"No, it's okay. I can take the bus home," Mira declined his offer, waving a hand as she walked towards the gate to leave. "Good luck for tomorrow."

However, something prevented her to walk further toward the gate. The girl turned around and looked at Jae in confusion, eyeing his hand that was tightly wrapped around her wrist. "Can you let go of me? I need to go to the station before it gets dark."

"U-uh, it's dangerous for a girl to go alone. Let me take you home, or at least escort you to the bus station?" Jae was half-desperate and half-worried for her safety. He had two options to either bring her home or leave her be, but why would he pick the latter if he could do the former? "It's to repay you—"

"I'll take her home."

Another voice entered the conversation. Both Jae and Mira turned to the source finding Yang Jungwon standing not too far from them. A black and navy-colored bicycle was stationed beside him, the same bicycle Jae saw in the parking area that wasn't his.

"You don't know her address. I'll do it," Without another word, Jungwon took her hand in his and dragged her towards the exit gate. The male mounted on the seat, waiting for her to get on but she seemed to be frozen. When Mira finally regained her senses, she cleared her throat awkwardly and sat behind him, adjusting her skirt as she sat sideways.

"Wait!" Jae's voice was heard, the male pedaling his way towards them. "Jungwon, you don't know where her house is either. I'll take her instead."

"Hm? But I do though. I've slept there before," Jungwon informed, ignoring the way Jae's jaw dropped and the surprised expression Mira had on. The dimpled boy's blank stare just made the situation more believable as Jae looked at Mira for confirmation, receiving silence in response. "We'll get going."

Aquarius boy started pedaling away from the school grounds, leaving the other boy alone in disbelief.

Yang Jungwon glanced at the girl for a second before facing front. He turned left. The silence was loud yet there was nothing to do to make it less tense. What was he doing? This was his opportunity to restore their relationship. His chance to apologize. He took another left.

Gulping down the lump in his throat, the male opened his mouth to speak if it wasn't for a sudden bump on the road that made his bike jump. Mira's hands swiftly found their way to his blazer as she held onto them tightly while the bike uncontrollably swerved.

The two teenagers let out a breathy exhale when Jungwon succeeded to keep the bicycle upright. He laughed it off, "Sorry..."

Double meaning.

Mira's grip on Jungwon loosened. She leaned forward to rest her head on his back, her hands lazily grasping onto the side of his blazer as she felt the breeze brush against her skin softly. It took everything in her to initiate this move. She missed it — being close to him, not knowing she made the boy's heart skip a beat, rosy cheeks on display.

"Mira?"

Jungwon pedaled slowly, taking his time to reach her house. The girl didn't respond for a few seconds until she finally did, "Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

"You said that already," She lazily replied.

Jungwon hummed and nodded his head. "Mi?"

It took longer for Mira to respond this time, but he knew she was listening. "I was talking about the trip. I'm sorry for my indecisive act," He apologized.

Silence occurred. The only sound heard was Jungwon's constant pedaling, the sound of people talking around them, and the sound of cars honking in the distance. The male turned right this time, entering her neighborhood. The quietness went on for another minute until Mira broke it. "Jungwon?"

"Yeah?"

"What does that make us now?"