It was almost lunch time and just like yesterday, everyone was going to crowd Jungwon once again. But he saw it coming.
Before the bell had rang, he prepared himself, putting his wallet inside his pockets.
He did not want to be trapped by students who constantly sought his attention - so he had a plan to leave as quickly as possible.
*RING*
That's his cue. As soon as he heard the bell ring, he immediately got off his seat and out the door, not giving anyone a chance to keep him in the room.
Minji on the other hand, was laughing at him. Despite other people thinking that Jungwon was being mean to her earlier this morning, she knew that he was only teasing her - because he himself said it.
But it made her think, why the sudden change? Was it because she told him she eagerly wanted to be his friend? She thought - was it because of that that Jungwon changed his attitude to her?
Whatever the reason may be, she was thrilled that Jungwon is interacting with her. Her hopes of being friends with Jungwon rose up.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to go with him? You're his guide aren't you?" Niki asked Minji as he approached her.
She kept forgetting that she had responsibilities of guiding him and making sure he was comfortable at school.
"Oh right! I keep forgetting!" Minji grunted as she face-palmed herself.
She hurriedly fixed her things and placed them back in her bag, before leaving as soon as possible to catch up with Jungwon.
"We'll be at the usual place!" Sunoo shout to Minji - which she replied with a thumbs up.
---
Silence filled the table as two men were staring at each other. One sometimes looking away, finding the situation awkward - while the other one kept looking dead into the eyes of the other.
"It was only a joke..." Sunghoon said timidly.
"You make sure of it. If I ever find out that you're really only being friends with Minji to use her..." Heeseung said.
He made that "you're dead" gesture at Sunghoon before taking another bite of his pizza.
Meanwhile, the people who told Heeseung - Jay and Jake - were laughing at Sunghoon.
"Snitches." Sunghoon said under his breath as he rolled his eyes at the two.
After a little while, Jay gently tapped Jake's arm - telling Jake to say something.
Among the three of them, Jake is the most comfortable in talking to other people. He was basically like their spokesperson.
"So...uhh Heeseung hyung, how long have you been friends with Niki and the others?" Jake asked.
"I've known Sunoo since we were little, he was my childhood friend. Our parents are friends.
Then I've known Niki and Minji for about three years now ever since they went to this school."
Once again, they were all very silent. It was hard to communicate without Niki - their mutual friend.
They had a few small talks here and there, but they weren't that talkative yet because they haven't known each other for a long time.
It's only been 5 minutes since they were waiting for the others, but to them it felt like hours.
Until Niki and Sunoo finally showed up.
Everyone who were seated greeted the two and vice versa.
As Niki and Sunoo sat down with their hyungs, Heeseung noticed that they're missing one person.
"Hey, where's Minji?" he asked.
"Oh, she said she'll catch up. She just has to go with Jungwon." Sunoo replied
"Who?"
"Jungwon. The guy Minji bumped into this morning."
"Oh...him." Heeseung said with a squint.
---
"Thank you."
Jungwon bowed his head to the cafeteria lady after he received his lunch.
He was all set for his lunch break. He needed nothing more than himself, his food, and his appetite.
He sat down at an empty table - hoping he would have time alone by himself.
But he's Yang Jungwon, the new kid in school who everyone found very attractive. He obviously would never be left alone.
"Hi~" a girl said as she suddenly sat on the chair on the other side of the table.
Unlike the other people who tried to grab his attention, this girl was different. She had a flirty tone.
She was obviously hitting on him.
But he was not having it. He does not know this girl or what she wants. The only thing he does know is that he wants her out of his sight.
He ignored the girl's greeting and continued to eat his lunch.
"I'm Kang Eunbi-"
"So?"
Actually, Jungwon didn't mind having a few people wanting to be his friends. He didn't mind that at all.
What he did hate however is when people only want to talk to him because he is handsome - or they want to flirt with him after seeing him for the first time.
"I heard you're new here. Why don't I show you around new boy, what do you say?" she said in a very flirty tone.
Not only that, but her hands crawled across the table. She was trying to make physical contact with him.
"First of all, if I did want a tour, I would have already asked my actual guide." Jungwon said as sternly as he could.
"And secondly, I'm not interested in helping popular-cheer leader-social media influencer girls, cheat with their popular-jock-athlete boyfriend." Jungwon added.
"I- I'm not- How did you-"
Jungwon rolled his eyes before taking another bite of his lunch.
"I'm a people person. I can tell."
And just as Jungwon had expected, people were looking at them.
"You really need to leave. It's only my second day, I don't want to be involved in your shenanigans."
Little by little, the gossips of students across the cafeteria grew louder. Jungwon could even hear some of those coming from nearby tables.
"Hey!" the voice of a man was heard from across the cafeteria.
Jungwon sighed, he knew this would happen.
The man that shout walked as fast as he could to Jungwon and the girl, taking big steps - asserting his dominance through his movements.
"You better back off buddy, you wouldn't want that pretty face of yours to get hurt." The man told Jungwon.
This made Jungwon exhausted. He wasn't even scared of the boy who was much taller, much bigger, and much more muscular than him.
To him, the big bully with his two other bully friends just looked stupid.
"Just take the girl and go." Jungwon said, unfazed by all the things that were happening.
"Who are you anyway huh? Trying to steal my girlfriend?!" the boy said.
"Listen, I didn't do anything and I don't really care what you have to say, so just leave."
The boy scoffed, he was angered by how Jungwon talked back to him.
He cracked his knuckles, getting ready to beat Jungwon up to teach him a lesson.
Jungwon laughed, finding the threat stupid.
"I don't know...I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jungwon said with a little smirk.
Everyone in the cafeteria was in shock. Countless students were looking at the scenario. Some were gossiping, some were recording.
Everyone was on their feet, wondering how things would end up.
At that exact moment, Minji had arrived at the cafeteria building. She has been looking for Jungwon for the past few minutes, and when she finally found him, unfortunately he was in a bad situation.
Minji ran as fast as she could, squeezing her way through the crowd surrounding the scene.
The boy along with his friends started going neared and nearer to Jungwon.
Meanwhile the girl was at the corner, looking at the mess she had made.
Jungwon wasn't scared. He didn't even flinch once.
Instead, he continued to eat his food, that is until the bullies flicked his tray and plate away. Jungwon's food went falling down to the floor.
Jungwon sighed and closed his eyes, gathering up his patience and inhaling deeply.
After a few seconds, he opened them.
He stared right into theirs.
"Leave. This will be your only warning."