The whole afternoon, Yeonjun was out of form during practice. He was troubled by some thoughts and unable to concentrate.
After practice, he received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Yeonjun. It's me, Lisa".
He was unable to explain why the moment he heard her voice, his heart drooped dejectedly. He let out a gentle exhale. "Oh".
Lisa's voice was a little embarrassed. She said softly. "Yeonjun, can you do me a favour?"
"Yeah?"
"My phone is with Jungkook. Can you help me to retrieve it? I don't want to see him".
Thinking about on the message he received that afternoon, Yeonjun finally understood why it was so strange. So it was Jungkook who sent it....That explained everything.
His mood lifted instantly.
"Sure" he replied in a resolute tone. However, he remembered how Jungkook seemed like someone difficult to handle and added, "What should I do If he refuses to pass it to me?"
"Eh....If he refuses to pass it to you, tell him that his contact details will start appearing on advertisement leaflets for treating infertility and related scams. See if he still won't pass it to you then".
Yeonjun rubbed his forehead. "Okay...."
The two of them conversed for a while more. When they were about to hung up, Yeonjun suddenly asked, "My phone number did you memorized it?"
"Yup, it's not something difficult to do".
Every year, the school would assign phone numbers to the new batch of incoming students. Students of the same batch received numbers that were similar to each other. The first seven digits of Lisa and Yeonjun's phone numbers were the same; only the last four digits were different and memorizing them wasn't difficult.
Even though it was a simple thing, Yeonjun was still a little happy.
After saying goodbye to Lisa, he headed to the ice hockey rink to find Jungkook. Jungkook had coincidentally ended his training and was walking out with a few others. The shortest member of the ice hockey team was over 1.8m. Standing alone in front of them, Yeonjun's figure was petite in contrast.
"Senior, I'm here to help Lisa get her phone" Yeonjun got to the point straightaway.
With both hands in his pockets, Jungkook looked at him impassively. "Tell her to come herself".
"If you don't pass me the phone, your contact details will start appearing on advertisement leaflets for treating infertility and related scams".
Yeonjun spoke in an extremely even tone while making this bizarre threat. The effect was astonishing and Jungkook's teammates burst into laughter; one of them even started to double up with laughter and had to hold onto the shoulder of the person next to him.
Someone raised his thumb at Yeonjun. "You've got guts".
Jungkook did not have to rack his brain to know that this must be Lisa's idea. He really had to applaud that scoundrel for having a mind that was a bottomless pit of wretched ideas. He supposed that this could be considered a talent she was gifted with.
Furthermore, every time he met her, he would helplessly be infected and turn into a lunatic as well. This was the scariest part....
With a darkened expression, he fished out the phone and passed it to Yeonjun.
As Yeonjun took her phone, Jungkook suddenly raised the corners of his lips. "Go and ask her why she doesn't dare to get it herself".
"Thank you, senior" Phone in hand, Yeonjun turned and left.
Jungkook's teammates were gossiping about Yeonjun.
"Who's that?"
"A new student from the figure skating team. Apparently, he is young prodigy. When he came, he had his own team".
"That amazing? Compared to my Ice God, who's better?"
"Don't be an idiot. How do you compare apples with watermelons?"
"I like watermelons".
"I like kiwis"
....
Jungkook felt his ears hurt from their clamour.
____
That night, Lisa did not have dinner with Jungkook. They also did not study together.
On the second level of the library, Jungkook was a little bored after finishing his assignments. Thus, he began to flip though the books on the shelves.
As he browsed, he saw a familiar-looking book. He thought for a while before remembering Lisa reading it previously.
It was the biography of a Lisa dynasty princess. The cover looked rather innocuous. After thumbing through the book for a while, his face heated. He mumbled. "That rogue".
At night, the rogue barged into his dreams.
This time, she did not flee. If she did not flee, what did she do?
He did not know; he could not explain clearly. He only knew that she was at his side. He could smell her scent and was fully enveloped in it as if he had sunk into soft cloud. She drew near and spoke into his ears, her body tangled with his. As for her hand? What was her hand doing? He did not know....
His dream was a series of chaotic fragments. However, what his body felt was so vivid that it seemed real. The joy, the delight, the....
When he woke, Jungkook opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes filled with a confused haze.
It was already daybreak. However, the curtains were drawn. The room was dim and his roommates were still sleeping. Snores filled the room. Eunwoo appeared to be eating something in his dream and smacked his lips in between snores.
His three roommates were making much noise as a symphony orchestra.
Jungkook moved a little and felt cold sickness beneath him. He shut his eyes and placed his hand over his forehead.
His head hurt.
____
While attending lessons in the morning, Jungkook received a WeChat transfer notification from Lisa.
She had transferred him 37,550 yuan.
Looking at this number, Jungkook drew his brows together.
A message notification from Lisa came in: "Use it to buy bones, Ice Dog. Count it as my debt to you from my past life"
Jungkook: "I was just fooling with you"
Lisa: "....???? What do you mean?"
Jungkook: "I said, I was just fooling with you. You don't have to pass me any money".
He sent this message and proceeded to transfer Lisa a sum of money as well; it was the pay that he should have given her.
Lisa suspected that this was another of Jungkook's schemes. She hesitated for a moment before concluding decisively that one should not be too greedy for petty gains. There were way too many cautionary tales on television which showed people being swindled due to greed.
Therefore, she did not accept the sum of money.
Lisa: "Jungkook, let's not ever meet up again in the future".
Jungkook: "Still embarrassed?"
Lisa: "Screw off"
Lisa: "What I mean is to prevent any bloodshed that could happen when we meet. It's best for us to not have any contact till the day we die".
Jungkook: "What about the singing competition?"
Lisa: "Just withdrew from it".
Jungkook: "No way. I don't like do things halfway".
Lisa: "Just admit that you want to play the cello for me. Alright, I'll give you another chance. If you dare to pull any tricks again, I'll kick you out straightway".
Jungkook: "Yeah right, who's the one pulling tricks...."
Thus, the two of them gathered together again during lunchtime.
However, there was another person with them: Yeonjun.
Lisa felt a little awkward at seeing Jungkook again so soon. She lowered her eyes and focused on her meal, refusing to look at him.
Beside Lisa, Yeonjun was also engrossed in eating.
With the both of them lowering their heads in silence, it felt like they were primary school kids repenting on their mistakes.
Jungkook sat opposite them. His eyes flickered between Lisa and Yeonjun several time. In a slightly interrogative voice, he asked, "What's the meaning of this?"
Lisa did not want to look at his face or meet his eyes. She spoke with her head still lowered. "The meaning is that Yeonjun would be our background dancer. With his dance background, he'll have no problem following the dance moves from an online video. I've already downloaded one. When the time comes, you'll play the cello while he'll dance and I'll sing. With this arrangement. we'll definitely dazzle the entire audience. Once we win____"
"You'll treat me to bubble gum?" Jungkook cut in before she could say it.
"Ah?" Lisa finally raised her head. She stared at him in surprise. "You only want bubble gum? I was originally planning to split the prize money evenly".
Jungkook: "...."
....
Jungkook did not expect Lisa and Yeonjun to team up so quickly. What more could he say? If he opposed their decisions, they would definitely vote to kick him out.
Next, the three of them arranged for a time to practice. Both Jungkook and Yeonjun were extremely busy. As before, they could only use the period right after lunch to practice. Two days later, Lisa managed to book a dance studio located at the basement.
In order to save time, they planned to cycle over. There was just one problem: Yeonjun did not know how to cycle....
Jungkook was stronger than Lisa. Therefore, the responsibility of fetching Yeonjun over fell on his shoulders.
Truly, he felt like beating someone up.
Yeonjun had not only a dance background but an excellent physique. He learnt the basic dance that they had selected from the internet rapidly. On the first day of practice, he could already dance out the entire dance from start to end rather smoothly.
Jungkook played the cello while Yeonjun danced. As for Lisa, she stood at the side and sang while holding a pencil case as a mike.
"When will the bright moon appear again?____
I raised my wine cup and ask the clear sky____
In the celestial~palace____
What year is it now____"
There was only one thought in Jungkook mind: Hang in there, we can still win.
Yeonjun stumbled a little. As he regained his feet, he turned and flashed a glance at Lisa.
Lisa beamed at him.
Yeonjun pursed his lips and returned the smile.
However, his smile was a little forced.
Looking at them exchanged glances, Jungkook snorted. He abruptly changed the tune and started playing "The Moon over a Fountain".
As she sang and sang, Lisa felt a wave of melancholy washed over her and thought that she should be holding a bowl in her hand. She suddenly stopped and looked at Jungkook. "Hey, Jungkook, you're out of tune".
Jungkook thought, Impressive, you actually know what tune is.
Without batting an eye, he replied, "Sorry, I remembered wrongly. Let's continue"
As they continued.
Afterwards, whenever Lisa and Yeonjun exchanged glances with other, Jungkook would seamlessly switch from playing "Wishing we last forever" to "The Moon over a Fountain" as an extremely effective distraction method.
Lisa was very annoyed. She put her hands on her wrist and paced the floor anxiously. "Is there any way to hack the speakers? We'll find a cello soundtrack and play that instead. When the time comes, just pretend to move the strings".
Jungkook remarked, "I recommend you to lip-sync. When the time comes, just pretend to move your mouth".
At the side, Yeonjun was a little stunned. "Doesn't this mean that I'll....be the only one putting in real effort...."
Poor Yeonjun.......