"Zhong Chenle!"
The mentioned boy lifted his head to find Minju beaming down at him. "You didn't hear me?"
Chenle shook his head, pointing at his airpods he was wearing. "Aah, I didn't even see them." She plopped an iced latte in front of him.
"Oh, thanks, Min." He immediately unwrapped the straw and took a sip of the drink.
"What's up with you?" Minju questioned as she watched him silently drink his latte as he looked around his surroundings.
Chenle placed the drink back down on the table, meeting Minju's gaze. "Nothing's up."
"Really? Because it seems to me like you're looking for someone?" Minju teased, watching as his expression instantly changed.
"No, I'm not. I'm just tired and- And I think I had math homework I forgot about."
"You're a terrible liar, Chenle. Now tell me the tea." Minju leaned slightly closer to hear what Chenle had to say.
However, the boy simply sighed as he played with the straw of his drink. "There's no tea, Min-" Before he could finish his sentence, Chenle's phone lit up with a notification.
He went to grab the device, but Minju was too fast for him. "You're like a child, I swear to God." Chenle rolled his eyes as Minju giggled like a little kid as she unlocked his phone.
"It's from Eun Ae, omg?!" She couldn't contain her excitement. The two of them seem to be talking more now, just like she wanted.
Chenle tried taking the phone from her, but Minju simply pulled away. "She's asking where you are? Now why would she be asking such a thing?"
"Give my phone back, right now." Chenle's voice was stern, clearly annoyed by Minju's childishness.
Minju laughed, finally giving in and handing the device back to Chenle. "Why so grumpy, old man?" She continued to tease to which Chenle only rolled his eyes.
He didn't even bother to respond as he focused his attention to replying Eun Ae's message. Soon Jisung and Sua joined them too, taking seats at the table. "Hello, friends."
"Hi!" Minju greeted, nudging Chenle to get his attention.
"Oh, hey," The boy said before going right back to texting.
This time Minju rolled her eyes, resting her head on her palm. "He's too busy talking to his new girlfriend to even pay attention to us."
"She's not my girlfriend, stupid." Chenle was quick to defend, sending Minju a glare.
She shrugged, completely ignoring his statement. "He even got so defensive when I tried to read their messages. And here I thought we shared everything with each other." Minju dramatically sighed, throwing her head onto Chenle's shoulder.
"Damn, Chenle. What happened to best friends forever?" Jisung teased, causing Sua to stifle a laugh.
Chenle shook Minju off him. The girl feigned offense, resting her hand on her chest. "Did you just friendzone me?"
"What?" Chenle asked, looking at Minju with a confused look on his face. His friends just started laughing at him, which he didn't understand and didn't even feel like trying to understand at that point. "You guys are horrible. The absolute worse."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess." Sua said.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Chenle mocked the girl, pulling weird faces at her.
"Hey! I don't sound like that!" Sua protested, leaning over the table to slap Chenle's shoulder. The boy pretended to be scared but stuck his tongue out right as Sua retracted her hand. "You're annoying."
"You wouldn't want me any other way." Sua rolled her eyes, knowing she couldn't deny that.
The four of them fell into conversation, easily talking about their regular nonsense. "Chenle, you have company." Jisung pointed out, making the other three turn in the direction he was looking in.
Eun Ae stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, eyes scanning through the room. It was obvious she was looking for someone. "Dude, call her over." Sua urged the boy.
Instead, Chenle only seemed to hide away more. Minju, Jisung and Sua all eyed the boy, completely confused by his weird behavior. "I'm going to embarrass myself if she comes over here. Guys, please-"
"Hey, guys." A familiar, chirpy voice spoke. "Oh, Chenle. I was struggling to find you." Eun Ae stated.
"That's interesting, usually you can't miss that big head." Sua commented. Chenle gave her a fake smile, subtly flipping her off. She pulled her face in a mocking manner, before Eun Ae spoke again.
"Anyway, I was just wondering when you'd be available?"
Chenle stared at her in perplexity. Eun Ae chuckled, swiftly tucking a lose strand behind her ear. "The project? Or did you forget already?"
"Oh right!" Chenle exclaimed, finally understanding the question. He could hear Minju stifle her laugh and he kicked her leg under the table, immediately silencing the girl.
Eun Ae watched him in anticipation, and Chenle realized that she was waiting for him. "I'm pretty much free whenever. So, just let me know when you want to get together."
The girl's cheeks tinted pink as Chenle smiled at her. "Okay... I have a few shifts today. So, does tomorrow work for you?"
"Yeah, that's great! Wait, I meant like- It's a good time, not that I had anything planned because I mostly only hang out with these idiots. Not that I wouldn't totally cancel my plans with them to be with you. Work, I mean work with you. Good grades are important and should be top priority-" Minju nudged his foot with her own, cutting him off mid sentence.
"Yes, tomorrow works for me."
The puzzled expression on Eun Ae's face dissolved, immediately being replaced with a smile. "That's great! I'll see you then. Bye guys."
Minju waved at her, as Sua muttered a quick 'bye'. Chenle watched her walk out the door and just as he finally turned back, he found three pairs of eyes glued on him. "I know I'm handsome but can you like not stare?"
"Shut up, Zhong. What the hell was that?" Minju questioned.
"What was what?" The Chinese asked.
"You literally just went full on rambling when Eun Ae asked you a simple question." Sua explained, suppressing a laugh that was threatening to come out.
Jisung snorted, "You started word vomiting, dude."
"I think he should look into speed debating." Minju giggled as they continued making fun of Chenle.
"Yeah, yeah. Make fun of me all you want. That's exactly why I told you not to call her over." Chenle took out one of his notebooks, making a little note about the meet up.
"Why are you scared of Eun Ae? She's literally so sweet." Sua inquired, slightly raising a eyebrow.
Chenle only shrugged, going quiet for a few seconds. "She just makes me nervous, I guess."
Minju and Sua instantly looked at each other sharing a knowing look. Chenle didn't notice as he doodled over his unfinished math homework. Jisung however felt freaked out by the smiles on the two girls' faces, awkwardly shifting on his chair.
"You should ask her out!" Minju announced.
Chenle whipped his head up, dropping his pen. "What?"
"Yeah!" Sua exclaimed. "Just three dates and see how you feel after that."
"Or," Minju continued, "You just hang out with her three or four times, see if she still makes you nervous or whatever you said."
Chenle stared at them in bewilderment, hoping Jisung would save him from this. To his luck, Jisung actually spoke up.
"I actually think that may work, to be honest." Chenle mentally facepalmed, this is definitely not what he wanted. He shot a glare at the younger, making Jisung shrug in response. "They have a point."
"I am not doing any of that. It's one project. We'll probably finish it by dinner."
"And? Just ask her for some help with your other homework or something." Sua suggested, pulling at the loose skin peeling around her nails.
Jisung quickly took her hand, holding it in his own to prevent her from continuing the action. Sua flushed, looking away from the boy as he flashed her a small smile.
"You'll figure it out, Lele." Minju pat Chenle's shoulder as he groaned out of frustration.
"I don't even want to do this. This is peer pressure!" The Chinese whined, roughly rubbing his hand up and down his face.
Minju sighed, reaching for his pen before closing his notebook for him. The warning bell rang, signalling that they had 15 minutes left before having to be at their homeroom. "I'm just trying to help you out."
Chenle grabbed the notebook from Minju's grip, aggressively shoving it into his backpack. "Thanks, but you seriously need to stop meddling in my business. Focus on your own problems first." He slipped his backpack on, leaving the cafeteria and a dumbfounded Minju behind.