The Student Body President was all but a total parasite all weekend, watching over Sujin as if his life depended on it (and in the Headmistress' own sick way, it kind of does).
Wherever Sujin went, Jake was there. On Saturday morning, when she'd agreed to grab breakfast at The Plaza with Sora and Sunoo - he was there. Later that night, when she'd visited the library to get her History homework done - he was there. The following afternoon, when she'd decided to treat herself to some basking in the sunshine, bumping into Riki mid-soccer practice - surprise, surprise, he was there.
And it would be one thing if he were minding his damn business. But no matter what he was preoccupying himself with at any given moment, Sujin would catch glimpses of the boy peering over and watching her like a hawk. Almost as if he were waiting - wanting - for her to get caught out on Strike Three.
Like hell she'd give him the satisfaction!
★
͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏ ͏͏͏͏͏͏⠀⠀ ... And now we're all caught up.
After a long and tiring weekend, Sujin wakes this morning significantly grumpier (if that's even possible) and later than usual.
So far, she's been relying on Sora as some form of a human alarm clock to shake her awake in time for breakfast. But yesterday, the older girl had mentioned something about needing to attend an early-morning meeting with her photography club, so Sujin is only mildly surprised to awaken to an empty room.
She is also not-so-mildly, more-so-horrifically surprised when she sees the time - 8:47am.
"Shit!"
With less than thirteen minutes to spare before first period, Sujin miraculously manages to brush her teeth, wash her face, wrangle the mess of her bed hair into a ponytail, and shimmy into her school uniform. After haphazardly throwing all her books into her tote bag, she all but sprints out of her dormitory and toward the main building in a record-breaking four minutes. (And fifty-one seconds, to be exact.)
Still in the process of catching her breath at the door of her classroom, Sujin reads the time off a clock mounted against the wall - 8:59am.
Thank god, she sighs.
Maybe today's my lucky day.
She pushes the door open, grimacing as soon as she's met with the prying eyes of everyone in her Math class. This includes Jay, who's sitting by the door with an amused grin curling at his lips. And, as if the girl's day isn't already off to a sour start, the only available seat left in the entire classroom just so happens to be right next to him.
Never fucking mind.
Sujin hauls her bag over the table, sliding into the seat with a grumble.
This next hour better be over soon...
Alas, not even five minutes into the lesson, Jay is already leaning over to direct a whisper in her direction.
"First missed alarm of the semester, huh?"
She draws her lips to a tight line.
"I'll take that as a yes." He chuckles under his breath.
Sujin wordlessly keeps her eyes on the whiteboard.
In her peripheral vision, she sees Jay bend over his desk to unzip his bag, and he pulls something out after a few seconds of rummaging around. Careful not to attract the attention of their teacher, who has his back turned from the class as he jots down a particularly complex equation on the board, the boy slides the object onto Sujin's own desk.
She looks down to see that it's a chocolate croissant wrapped in clear plastic.
Her brows knit together in confusion, and she finally turns her head to the side to give Jay a quizzical look.
He shrugs, "It's not good to skip breakfast."
Momentarily stunned by the act of kindness, Sujin pauses to look between the boy, to the croissant, then back to the boy again.
"It's not poisoned, if that's what you're worried about." He laughs at his own joke, "Take it, really. It's on me."
A couple of beats pass in silence before the girl slips the pastry into the pocket of her blazer with a hesitant smile.
"Thanks, Jay."
"Don't mention it."
He throws her a lackadaisical grin of his own, and the two redirect their attention back to the front of the classroom.
For the rest of the lesson, Sujin finds herself silently pondering the chocolate-flavored peace offering. Going back and forth, then back and forth again, and again, and again, on whether or not she's prepared to fall victim to the Park boy's whimsy.
There's a stubborn part of her that remains angry at Jay for talking about her behind her back that first day they'd reunited. And she's still not entirely sure if the school has molded him into another one of their puppets over the years.
But the fact still stands - he's not been anything but nice ever since. And it may just be her empty stomach doing all the talking, but she sure could do with a buttery pastry right about now.
So let the record also show: Maybe, just maybe, Jay Park is starting to weasel his way into her good books.
SAGE'S SPACE! 🗯️
i went back to uni last week and it's been absolutely battering me, third year really is no joke 😞💔 i'm trying my best to keep updating at least once or twice a week for you all though. i just love this book so much it's impossible to stay away for too long !!!
til next time, sage ♡
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