Sitting silently around the table, the three girls looked at the wretched Chaewon as she finished her story. It was way past telling her it would be okay. She shed a tear or two during her narration, but she had the devil-may-care expression smudged on her face throughout.
"It doesn't matter," Chaewon said. "I've gotten over him. It was just a drunk mistake"
The three other girls exchanged concerned looks. They knew better than to believe Chaewon's untruths of 'I'm okay'.
"Lies," Sarang confirmed. "All lies."
"What do you mean?" Chaewon asked, confused and defensive. "I am okay. It was just a hook-up. I wouldn't even walk the same ground as him if I were sober last night"
Chaewon got up from her chair, grabbing her belongings from the table. "I've got a class to attend. Later, ladies"
They watched her long brown hair sway the lengths of her shoulder as she walked away, not turning back. Her white and pink skirt and her white shirt seemed to fade further and further away and disappeared altogether, leaving Ari, Sarang, and Hyejin alone in the now empty cafeteria.
"What do we do?" Ari asked the other two. Sarang's laced fingers around her neck unraveled and she sighed, placing her palms on her forehead. Hyejin's stiff posture relaxed, and she gave out a small huff, the thing she always did when she was stressed.
"We don't leave her to herself," Sarang suggested - more like declared - to her friends. "She's gonna be in a very dark place all by herself"
The other two nodded their heads. They decided it was a good time to go to their classes since they were already running late. The deal was made; pick Chaewon up from her Chemistry class as soon as they got out of their own.
After bidding her byes to Sarang and Hyejin, who would go to Biology and Arts classes respectively, she ran her hand through the front of her hair and picked up her pace in the direction of the Astrophysics classroom. The loud buzz of the huge class could be heard, which meant the professor wasn't there yet.
She looked up from her white sneakers intertwined with black shoelaces, which were weaved up in a complex way Ari was afraid to undo. Instead of the door of her classroom, she saw blackness and experienced excruciating pain. Her books slipped from her clutches and she landed on the floor on her butt.
She had bumped into someone, alright. But that someone wasn't just someone.
"Shi- I'm so sorry," the boy said, fumbling. He collected Ari's books impatiently as she got to her feet. She took the books from his hands and he apologized multiple times, bowing hastily at her.
"It's okay," Ari chuckled at his clumsiness and soft nature. "Are you okay, though? Did I hurt you?"
"Nah, I'm good," he said. Ari nodded at him and there was silence for a few seconds before the boy spoke, "Name's Jay. Park Jay. Do you have a name or can I call you mine?"
Ari burst out into a burst of huge laughter at his statement. "A pick-up line guy, are you?"
"Could say that," he said, rubbing the nape of his neck shyly.
"I'm Ari," she said, holding out her hand for a handshake.
Jay's smile quivered. Ari's hand remained outstretched.
"Lee Ari?" he asked. His matt black hair was parted sideways in a messy way that he kept pushing back with his palms. His black denim jacket hung loosely around his torso and underneath he wore a plain white shirt. His huge black and white sneakers elevated his already-tall figure in front of Ari. He was painfully good looking and Ari couldn't hold his gaze without color rushing in her cheeks every five seconds.
"That would be me," she replied enthusiastically. "How do you know though?"
"Ah, never mind about that," Jay matched Ari's vibrant energy, finally shaking her hand. "I know everybody and everything"
"Wow, okay, I guess," Ari expressed. "I'm kinda running late to class. See you later?"
"Yup," Jay said, throwing a finger gun at her, making her chuckle again. She watched his soaring figure fade into the emptiness of the hallway when she realized she was dangerously late and mentally slapped herself and moved her grounded feet to the class.
Ari's pov
"A project," the professor stated, "is something to grade your creativity. A group project, however, is something to grade your teamwork and coordination skills"
Everybody groaned. That was the fifth project we received this month.
"Because this is the fifth project already, I decided to reduce your workloads, and hence, the group project. Now, I want everyone to select their partners, and by the end of the class, if anyone is left out, we'll pair them up with each other. I will announce what the project is actually about then."
I decided I was going to be 'left out' like the loner I was.
Okay maybe not, but I barely knew people in my own class. I talked to a few guys and two girls but they already seemed occupied among themselves to even notice me. I should stop craving attention.
Thirty minutes passed and almost everyone was paired. Except for a few geeks who always sat at the back of the class and never interacted with anyone but the teacher.
And of course, there was me.
I got up from my place a few times but an uncalled social anxiety hit me every time seeing everyone mingling with each other so well. If only I weren't so introverted. At times like these, I hated myself for my skittish personality.
"Alright, kids, there seem to be some changes in the project plan," the professor called out. "We shall be doing it with the fourth-year students as well"
He hung up a call on his phone and darted his eyes around the class. "For those of you who haven't found a partner yet, you have another chance"
I almost squealed in relief. I knew people from our senior year. Even though we didn't know the project, I could tell we would work better with the seniors, considering they were the brains and beauty out of the two years.
"They must be here any time," he announced.
The eerie hallways mid-classes started buzzing with the noise and chatter of students and one by one, they entered our class. The seniors were always the confident, smart ones in our department. Everyone looked up to them and wanted to be them. Some were even obsessive stalkers. Some were simply fangirls trying to hit on the good-looking people.
Heeseung was, in fact, one of the latter seniors.
As he entered, some of the girls on either side of me started squealing and whispering among themselves. Heeseung simply waved at them with a stoic face. His eyes darted over the girls when he locked eyes with mine.
A spark of electricity buzzed between us, even from that distance. It lasted for two seconds before hatred gushed inside me and I rolled my eyes at him. His expression turned into a scowl, his big, deceiving eyes boring into mine. He ruffled his ebony hair into a mess as he walked further into the classroom, interacting with the professor and greeting his juniors.
I was so caught up in having homicidal thoughts about Heeseung, that I didn't notice Jake behind him. He had a permanent puppy smile on his face, which was cute, but it contradicted his outfit which screamed mafia and bad-boy gangs. He hadn't noticed me yet, maybe he had forgotten I was in the same department as him. Nevertheless, I didn't want attention from him anyways. Not after that night.
The chatter died down when the professor stood up from his table and acknowledged the class. "I might want to tell you more about the project," he started. "It's a fresher's party organization that you will be doing together, that is the third and the fourth years. Now, I don't want any conflicts arising as there are limited spots for each activity. So come forth and sign up for an activity that you want to help organize. We shall form a group that way"
The class started whizzing with excitement. It was a sheer subject of probability for the fangirls to land up on the same team as their crushes. And for me. I could end up with a team of people I despised...
I shook myself from my train of thoughts when the professor started speaking again. "This will be an assessment to judge your teamwork and effort. The team which manages to attract the most number of first-year participants in their activity wins. You decide what you wanna plan."
*
I walked to my dorm with sloppy steps and a messed up head. I recollected the events that dominated my day: Chaewon's confession about Heeseung, bumping into Jay, the joint project, my team that I had ended up in, me running away from Jake whenever he approached me...
My phone's notification buzz interrupted my thoughts. I pulled it out of my pocket with the energy of a sloth and swiped my screen unlock.
Sunghoon has invited you to a group with unknown. accpet\decline.
*you accepted the request from Sunghoon. Send your first message!*
Sunghoon:
hi ari!
unknown:
remind me why I'm still here.
Sunghoon:
that's heeseung by the way. he means to say he's glad to see you
Mr.My Computer:
i did not intend to say that to Pretty Face whatsoever.
me:
glad to hear you think I'm pretty. I wanna barf looking at you
Mr.My Computer:
what makes you think I'm dying to look at you?
me:
your obsession with the nickname 'Pretty Face'. I like to believe you're jealous I'm prettier than you.
Mr.My Computer:
oh please. I have girls swooning over me every second of my day. I might have a few in my room as we speak. How many men have you got, Pretty Face?
Sunghoon:
okay stop. we're here to discuss our project. not fight over whose pretty and who's got more people in their rooms.
though I think Ari is prettier than you, Heeseung
Mr.My Computer:
did you forget about all the games I bought you, Park?
Sunghoon:
ANYWAYS. let's talk about the project. @ari, any ideas?
me:
as long as we don't have Mr. Rich Guy breaking into our conversation, I think I do have some.
I spewed all of my ideas into the group chat as I entered the dorm building. Sunghoon followed my lead and told his ideas as well, though I had to say he had a rather creative brain. We could mix up mine and his and I knew it would be a total hit. Unless, of course, Heeseung didn't do anything except judge my ideas and say they would never work. Most of the time I and Sunghoon ignored his messages, but at one point I considered kicking him out of the group if it weren't for my professionalism. He was intolerable as hell.
We would never get along.
This was going to be one hell of a ride.