Three more classes went by and finally, recess started. Of course, I had a huge amount of time to watch how the guy beside me acted when he wasn't in his cat hybrid form and the results were a little surprising but also just as expected. Juyeon was very quiet during the lectures as he decided not to open his mouth at all unless a teacher asked him a question, mainly because he was trying to hear the conversations of every student that were inside the room. He told me that he wanted to get to know the people who harassed me before doing... whatever he's been planning to do. He doesn't really tell me stuff about himself, which is a little suspicious of him.
He used to be so expressive when we were both in my bedroom.
Oh, god. That sounded too wrong.
Now, the two of us were heading towards the cafeteria, carefully watching our ways as I didn't want to bump into anyone. I'm sure he knows about that, too.
"Have you eaten anything yet?"
"... Hmm?"
He hums in response, turning to face me as he tilts his head a bit. He probably found it unusual that I asked him about something that he'd usually ask.
"Well, I haven't really... eaten... anything yet?-"
"Okay, I'll buy you a meal."
I reply casually, taking my wallet out of my pocket as we both finally step into the cafeteria. I point towards an empty table, telling him to stay at that place since no one is around and he immediately goes in that direction. As I walked towards the counter, I stopped at the end of the line and waited for my turn to order food, leaning on the rails that kept the line of students from being all around the place as I heard the familiar snickers once again.
That was when I realized that Chaeyoung and her friends were just right behind me. A finger taps my shoulder as I turn around, seeing Chaeyoung raise an eyebrow.
"Have a new boy to flirt with just like how you did with mine?"
She asks, resulting in all of her friends laughing along as I do the same. I've been thinking about what Juyeon told me earlier and maybe it's a good move.
"Oh, I'm just showing him around here unlike some people. Why don't you do your job as a student counselor, Chaeyoung?'
I asked with a tone flavored with sarcasm and bitterness, as usual, causing her to roll her eyes. She just wouldn't stop bugging me all day. I don't actually know what motivates her into doing stupid things like this. I didn't even steal her boyfriend at all. I'd never do something like that to anyone.
In fact, she framed me that I stole her boyfriend and she was fully aware that it was to get back at me for... I don't know! Sleeping in class because of the existential crisis I have every single night? I'm losing my mind because of this! Well, at least the cat-boy is still here to guide me.
If he will actually... do it again?
"Also, why can't you just stay away from me? I know the truth, Chae."
I respond, calling her the nickname Jungwoo used to give her to test her patience a bit.
"Your boyfriend had problems and instead of helping him, you pushed him away. Then, when he begged you to come back, you decided to have him all to yourself and chose to use him against me. The result of that bullshit you did to him? He left you all alone. You have nothing but your brainless friends who would suck off of your reputation around the campus. If you're that smart to come up with such rumors and evidence, that means you're also smart enough to choose your boyfriend over your useless jealousy."
I said, pressing my finger against her shoulder harshly as it caused her to let out a groan in annoyance. I crossed my arms, staring at her for a while as I later stared at her friends. They just had the same reactions to everything.
"Was I right or wrong?"
I asked, tilting my head as I pushed my tongue against my cheek, waiting for a response from her. She only breathes out before crossing her arms, later shifting her shoulder as a signal for them to leave. As they leave the line, I watched them make their way to the table where Juyeon stayed, causing me to furrow my brows. I couldn't leave the line yet since I wanted to get some food for the cat but these people just had to ruin it!
'Now, what are they planning to do?', I thought as the rush of panic destroyed every single thought I've had for today.
"Miss, may I take your order?"
The lunch lady asks as I turn around, staring at her pretty eyes for a while before gulping.
"Uh... Breakfast meal for two and two colas, please."
I say as I wait for the lunch lady to list my orders. She later smiles to herself, looking at me with an excited look.
"Did you finally start going out with him?"
She suddenly asks while arranging the rest of her materials, causing me to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"With who?"
"Kim Jungwoo?"
I forgot that not all people knew that I wasn't dating Jungwoo at all. I even forgot that this rumor had been going on for a long time now. Great, what would they think of me once I told them that Chaeyoung, the student counselor, faked it?
"Him? Oh, I'm not interested in him."
"... Then, who's this for?"
She asks, curiosity shown in her eyes as I look back at wherever Juyeon is just to make sure I can keep my eyes on whatever Chaeyoung is doing with him.
"Uh... Um... For the new student, right there."
I respond, pointing towards Juyeon's direction as she nods enthusiastically.
"That handsome, nice boy! You're friends with him?"
"Yep! He's really nice..."
I was a little startled at the sudden nice encounter. I wondered why the other school employees were nice towards me unlike the teachers and administrators, I guess? I mean, they reported the news to my aunt without even clarifying anything from me, telling them their perspective instead of mine when I hadn't even explained myself yet.
Well, I guess they did that because I didn't clarify anything either.
But I told them that I didn't do it, though? Yet they believed Chaeyoung instead. Maybe this school had a lot of biased opinions because I was new here and I definitely didn't interact with anyone that much.
I'm not liking the fact that everything I've been afraid of happening is happening now.
"Here is your order, Y/N. Have a nice day!"
She says as she places the tray of the food that I ordered on the counter, causing me to take some cash out of my wallet to pay her. I waved goodbye to the lunch lady before making my way back to the place where Juyeon was staying at. There, I saw him looking uncomfortable around Chaeyoung. Well, he'd be feeling okay if Chaeyoung wasn't banging her hand on the table every time she gave him a compliment about his looks.
Well, isn't that a little ironic? Angrily claiming that I "stole" her boyfriend as if she's not flirting with a random boy right now.
"Move aside... That's my seat."
I said, pushing one of her friends away as I tried to balance the weight of the tray with only one hand. The plates almost fell off but it was worth the risk. Juyeon widens his eyes at me, later shifting towards the left side as he gives me space to sit at.
"Ah, you're back here already? Ruining my day just like before? You're such a wonderful person!"
Chaeyoung exclaims, clapping her hands sarcastically as the boy sets his fork down slowly. He didn't seem motivated to eat even if his stomach was literally rumbling earlier. Juyeon turns his head to Chaeyoung, leaning his chin on his knuckles as he stared at her in a threatening way. The gaze was similar to what he gave me before but this one had no warning whatsoever.
"First of all, she didn't ruin anything for you. You are your own cause of the shame you've been feeling. If you're just smart enough to ignore your shallow thinking similar to a spoiled brat, you wouldn't have been feeling like a toddler who didn't get what she wanted because mommy didn't allow her. How much of a coward are you to hide behind your lies instead of admitting you're wrong?-"
"Juyeon?"
I called his name the moment I noticed how the girl was already feeling uncomfortable. Despite how blank he told her those words, those same words were sharp and it might've hurt her inside. I didn't really know what was going on inside Juyeon's mind but he seemed to be pissed at her. Imagine having an empty stomach and witnessing someone call someone he knows horrible names and such? He must've been upset, too.
"Uh, I think you should go... He seems pissed already."
I inserted myself into the situation, not wanting it to get worse as Chaeyoung scoffed with pride on her shoulders.
"For the record, your new friend's a fucking asshole."
She says, getting off of the seats with her friends as they leave the two of us alone. Juyeon glowered at his plate, almost hesitating to eat after what happened. Not even a word escaped my lips because I just couldn't believe that he'd say things like that at such a fast and aggressive pace.
It was pretty unexpected for him to do that but, what can I do? I don't know him that much either.
However, I need to know more about this dude since he's basically here to help me because of unknown some reason that he just wouldn't tell me. I assume that the reason must be related to my origins or something that I don't know.
"Are you mad?"
He asks with a rather softer tone, causing me to raise an eyebrow.
"Not really but what was the point of that?"
I blurt out, not knowing the exact words to tell him as he lets out a sigh.
"Are you not impressed?"
He asks once more, his voice getting more silent as he slouches his posture before taking a deep breath. He lifts his head up and faces me with a slightly dulled look on his face. I wasn't impressed by how he hurt her feelings but I was kind of amazed by the fact that he was a lot more straightforward and less "quirky" towards others this time.
He was dead serious, not even a smirk was shown on his face and it was scary.
"Impressed? I mean, I am kinda surprised but... damn, you are a lot different earlier from how you are acting right now."
I say back, scratching the back of my head as I proceed to take a bite out of my sandwich.
"So, you are impressed?"
"... Sure, you can say that but I don't know."
I say in between munching as he gives me a cheeky smile, later eating off the last bites of his breakfast. I knew he was so hungry earlier since he finished off that plate really early. I wonder why he didn't eat before school.
Did he think that school hours don't last long?
"By the way, why didn't you eat?"
"I... Well... I didn't have enough knowledge about the ways of purchasing food in this new land."
I almost didn't understand what he was saying because of the many words I had to go through in one sentence.
"Just say 'buy', please."
"Pardon me, Y/N, for I am still learning about the... very shortened terms for such words."
He says while nodding, furrowing his brows as he probably tries to think of the reasons why we have "shortened terms for words". Juyeon turns back to look at something, completely shifting the upper part of his body without hesitation. I didn't know what he was looking at but he seemed so determined, causing me to tap him on his shoulder, curious about what goes on in his head.
"What are you looking at?"
I asked as he turned around towards me once again, quickly locking eyes with me.
"You seemed like you were enjoying your conversation with that lady at the cafeteria. What did you talk about?"
He tilts his head once more with an innocent stare as a mischievous smile later creeps upon his face, causing me to raise an eyebrow. I knew that he probably listened to me when I was back in there. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms at him yet I wasn't mad at him for doing that.
I just found it funny.
"You listened to us talking about you, didn't you?"
"I had no choice but to do that, Y/N. Besides, you already know how I am towards you... especially you..."
Juyeon snickers as I jokingly let out another sigh, shaking my head before taking a sip of my cola.
"Do you like cola?"
"I don't recognize it but let me try, I guess?"
He shrugs as he stares at the can for a while, causing me to open it for him. I didn't know what the culture was inside Underland but how can they not have cola? As I hand him the can, he proceeded to take a long sip from it, later widening his eyes in curiosity.
"It's... It feels-"
"Like bubbles popping?"
I ask as he immediately nods in response, taking another long sip as I smile to myself. He's adjusting to the new world he's staying in and I think that's a good start. But I still have to know what his purpose is. I looked down at my wristwatch, checking the time before looking back at him as I noticed how he enjoyed drinking cola. I just know he made different faces of amusement out of it.
"Hey, we'll have to go back to class in fifteen minutes, is that okay?"
I ask, doing an 'okay' sign with my right hand as he nods in approval.
"... Okay."
Juyeon says back, nodding to himself as if he's trying to understand the meaning behind it.
"The word means that you agree."
I say, helping him learn about the "terms" as he flashes me a smile that only expressed nothing but awe. Fifteen minutes had gone by and the two of us made our way back to our seats as we both sat down at the backseat of the classroom silence. The ambiance around us was quite peaceful, considering that the birds were chirping and that the wind felt cool this time instead of the sun almost blinding me but something still made it awkward.
We didn't even say a word to each other when we came back here and he seemed like he was waiting for me to talk to him.
"You are too silent, Sweetheart. What's bugging your mind?"
He finally breaks the silence between us, staring at me with a persuading yet gentle look on his face. I soon noticed how much he kept on pouting whenever he wanted something. Well, to be honest, nothing but the awkward silence is bugging me a lot.
"Don't call me a sweetheart, I'm warning you."
I answer with no hesitation, simply covering up the fact that the awkward silence made me feel awkward until he started this conversation.
"I speak nothing but the truth. I can play with most of the truth, though?"
He teases with a smirk appearing on his face as he tilts his head in a playful manner, slightly hinting at the fact that he really was powerful while playing it off as a metaphor at the same time. It wasn't much of a surprise for me that he's playful since he's basically a cat who is different from the other cats in this world because he has powers and has a human form that might be permanent, too. This time, he's a lot nicer than I've expected.
He was an annoying, persistent prick before. Well, he's still persistent but he's not that much of a nagger anymore, which is good.
"Too shy to talk? Don't be... I don't bite unless you tell me to."
I raised an eyebrow at the things he's been saying. He doesn't bite unless I tell him to? Now, why would he tell me that during a peaceful moment between us?
"Sorry?"
My voice echoed around the room, causing the other students to lift their heads up and stare at the two of us like we were the kind of people who'd end up being frowned upon by society's expectations. It was normal for him to say things like that even if he really flirting. That's all based on what I've observed.
He's most likely joking about the things that he says as he has never touched me before. Yes, he did brush my hair with his hands and held my hands but he never landed a finger on everywhere else, which was odd because he's a supernatural being and he had the power to do that.
"You've gotta stop saying things like that here, Juyeon."
I warned him with my brows furrowed at his mischievous smirk, gritting my teeth at him for a more convincing threat. Juyeon didn't seem like he would easily feel shame, almost seeming like he embodied the feeling of it. Just like what he's said earlier, it seemed like he was experienced in provoking people to get what he wanted.
Now, that scares me a little. What if he's not to be trusted at all? What if this is all just a little puzzle he wants to cheat on?
"You wouldn't want a bland and boring friend, would you?"
"We are not friends... You're just a guide to me, I guess?"
I answered, not wanting to give him what he wants as he crossed his arms.
"You still don't trust me?"
"I trust no one."