Yeji's P.O.V
"Yeddeong!" Ryujin bolted toward me and lifted me up from the ground, spinning the both of us. I had to stifle my yelp since I was taken by surprise. "I did a good job, right?" She asked as she put me down.
"You did a great job, Ryuddaeng." I emphasized the word great, cupping her cheeks, and stared down at her since I am the taller person between us. "So, that was the song you were practicing in secret, huh?"
"Where's the fun if I told you? And I wanted to surprise you," she reasoned adorably, receiving a bunch of uwus from me, and I squished her cheeks until her lips puckered.
"Aww... I'm touched," I cooed at her like she was a baby and leaned in, eyeing her irresistibly cute duck lips.
"Yeji-yah, Ryujin-ah!" The other four girls exclaimed and pulled us into a group hug, unintentionally destroying our little moment, but I don't mind that much because I really appreciate the hug. We all hopped around in a circular motion like a merry go round, not caring about the weird looks given by other students.
"You guys were amazing!" Somi praised enthusiastically after we pulled apart. "I'm sure we'll all pass!"
"Can't wait to act in a play that's written by you as well, Miss Playwright," Lia flattered Somi in a sincere tone, earning a playful nudge from the latter.
"Let's go to the cafeteria now!" Yuna ejaculated with animation, punching a fist in the air like Supergirl. We all laughed at her silliness.
****
Chaeryeong's P.O.V
The more I walked, the more my backbone and toes ached. Thus, I halted behind the girls, rubbing my back to ease the aching a little bit, which didn't go unnoticed by Yuna, who knows what happened to me when the lights went out after our performance in the hall— who also happened to be the long-legged culprit.
"Are you oka-"
"Please just stay away from me a bit," I cut her off in vexation, and she looked away, scratching her nape in guilt. Then, she shuffled away from me with big, heavy steps.
"What's wrong with you two again?" Lia queried, knitting her eyebrows, thus catching the attention of three other girls.
"Nothing," I answered in a neutral tone, dismissing her question, and removed my hand from my back. "Don't mind us. It's not a big deal." They don't look convinced, but they shrugged the matter off, while the tall girl seems to be repentant.
On the spur of the moment, the lights went out and the curtains closed just after our gig. Hence, I panicked due to the darkness and I felt my way around with my hands outstretched like a visually-impaired person. I could hear screams and shrieks from the students below the stage.
"Everyone, don't panic!" Mr. JYP exclaimed. "Just stay where you are. The generators will be ignited soon."
Then, a hand groped my butt, startling me. "Yah! Get your hands off my hips!" I snapped at Yuna, who's also blindly feeling her way around.
"I can't see anything!" She complained, hastily removing her hands from me. "You too, stop squashing my face!" So, I got my hands off her face, not before I pinched her nose out of irritation, earning a satisfying yelp from her.
"Ouch!" I yowled owing to the stabbing pain in my toes, and a weight that was on one of my feet was lifted after hearing my voice. "Did you just step on me on purpose?!" I barked.
"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?"
"You can call me Mihii," she replied with a bow. "S-see you later, handsome unnie." As soon as she blurted out, she dashed off, blushing like a tomato.
"Well, that's gay," Somi commented nonchalantly, eliciting a gasp from all of us.
"Nah... it's impossible. Maybe she just admires me as a role model?" Ryujin denied, sitting down beside a moody-looking Yeji. Simultaneously as her butt touched the bench, a group of squealing junior girls came.
"Ryujin sunbaenim, you were so cool on stage!"
"We really enjoyed it!"
"Will you play the guitar for us next time?"
"You're so handsome and pretty! How is even that possible?"
"Can you be our bestie?"
They babbled so incessantly that Ryujin couldn't even respond to them at the moment.
"Please accept our gifts," they requested her as they placed numerous letters, snacks, chocolate boxes of various assortments, cartons and cans containing different types of beverages and etc. Immediately after they finished, they scampered off with more high-pitched squeals, leaving Ryujin dumbfounded.
"Why does Ryujin have more fangirls than boys?" Yuna whined, biting her pizza. "I want fangirls too." She gobbled up the last piece of pizza and sighed, most likely thinking about obtaining fangirls like Ryujin, hence I rolled my eyes with a scoff.
"Can you be our bestie?" Yeji mimicked one of the fangirls in a mocking tone; glimpses of jealousy and possessiveness visible in her feline eyes.
****
I went straight to the girls' restroom after returning from the cafeteria. Ouch. I still feel that stabbing pain both in my toes and back, making me limp out of the cubicle uncomfortably. Suddenly, the door barged open and Yuna came in, looking concerned for my state.
"Are you really okay? I saw you limping, so I followed," she asked me softly, taking a few more steps closer to me, and I backed away in annoyance.
"Well, thanks to you, I'm totally fine," I answered cynically, enunciating the word fine. "Now can you move out of my-" I couldn't finish my sentence because I was lifted up from the ground in a bridal style.
"Nope, you're not fine," she discerned, staring at my perplexed face as she carried me out of the restroom. "I'm taking you to the infirmary."
"Put me down, you idiot!" I demanded as soon as I found my voice again, receiving a grunt from her.
"I'm gonna tolerate you because you're hurt, Lee Chaeryeong," she growled, managing not to throw me down albeit my squirming and writhing. "Stop being so stubborn unless you want me to hurl you into the wall," she threatened. From my peripheral vision, I saw Taehyun gawking at us, so I averted my eyes to his direction and shook my head in denial to his misinterpretation. Nevertheless, the boy just sent a weak smile to me, nodding melancholically as he walked away. I sulked against Yuna's chest while being carried to the infirmary— my brain malfunctioned at that time, so I forgot I was in the arms of the enemy.
Yuna set me down on the infirmary bed as gently as she could, with Nurse Nayeon by her side.
"What happened?" Nurse Nayeon questioned in scrutiny.
"She fell on her back. And I guess her toes also got hurt since I saw her limping," Yuna informed in solemnity.
"She stepped on my toes, Nurse Nayeon," I reported vengefully, and Yuna let out an exasperated sigh, resting her hands on her waist. "I also slipped on her legs."
"You're lucky because my tolerance level is high today," she murmured.
"I'll go get the ice packs to stop the swelling," Nurse Nayeon told us and left the cubicle. We stayed in an awkward silence until she came back with two packs. "Here, apply these on her back and toes." My eyes widened in shock the moment she handed them to Yuna.
"I can do it myself," I reassured her, trying to reach over for the packs, but the nurse already gave them to Yuna, who also looks as nervous as me.
"You can't reach your back by yourself, Chaeryeong-ah," Nurse Nayeon deadpanned, hence I shot her a pleading look.
"Can't you do it ins-" A student's exclamation interrupted my request.
"Nurse Nayeon?" They shouted from the outer side of the room.
"Aish, these kids." Nurse Nayeon clicked her tongue, ignoring my whimpers, and she walked out of the cubicle.
"Lift your shirt up and lie on your stomach," Yuna demanded, dragging her her feet toward me as she held the ice packs.
"What! You pervert!" I raised my voice at her and covered my chest using my arms in panic.
"Gosh. Didn't you hear what Nurse Nayeon said? I need to apply the pack on your back," she reasoned in frustratedly, rolling her eyes to the back of her sockets. Thus, I did as she told. I felt a shiver run down my spine the instant my bare back is exposed to her.
"Where does it hurt?" She queried, pressing the cold pack on my back and shifting the position of it until she got to the area of my wound.
"Yes, right there," I approved, feeling the coldness seeping through my injury.
****
Lia's P.O.V
Remaining my composure despite my heart hammering in my chest, I twisted the door knob of the baking and pastry club. I dragged my feet toward the tall guy, who's turning his back on me due to the fact that he's busy with something else. He turned around when I faked a cough to get his attention.
"Soobin?" I uttered; obviously surprised to see him there. "You're joining the club too?"
"Um... I'm actually the new leader of the club for this year," he clarified, not daring to meet my eyes. Oh yeah, what'd I expect? His family owns a bakery. Of course, he would have been a member of this club since the very beginning. Maybe he knows how to bake as well. "What brings you here?" He asked, gradually facing me.
"Oh, I came to sign up for the club," I replied, displaying my eye-smile. "Where do I register my name?"
"Write your name and class right here," he slid a paper toward me on the table, containing a list of new members. Therefore, I scribbled down my name and class before sliding back the paper back at him.
"See ya around then," I bid my goodbye cheerfully and left the room after he nodded.
Hmm... There's something about him that I can't put my finger on. However, I just brushed off the thought and proceeded to make my way to the class.