Seo-jun sits on my desk and listens as I tell him about something random that comes to my head, I just really like talking if I'm being honest. "Mm, that's really cool," He nods.
"Are you even listening?" I pout and cross my arms.
"Of course, you were talking about baby elephants and lionesses," He nods and I uncross my arms.
"You've been saved this time but next time you won't be so lucky," I wag my finger at him and he laughs and squishes my cheek.
"Cute," He smiles and my glare returns.
"Omo!" I hear an exclamation next to me and I turn and see Si-hyun looking at the two of us. "Are you two dating?" She points between us, "Is he the one who gave you flowers?"
Ji-young gasps, "I thought it was the boy you brought to the school fair!" I shake my head. I look around to find and escape when the perfect distraction materializes at the door.
"Jjoo!" I point and they all turn around to the door to see Jjoo and Su-ho walking into the class hand in hand. They all make sounds of surprise as they stare at the adorable couple.
"Why does my courting you have to be a secret?" Seo-jun whispers to me.
"Everyone thought you liked Jjoo so it would be awkward,"
"It would not," He glares and pouts. "I'm telling them,"
"What?" He sticks his tongue out.
Su-ho walks Jjoo to her seat and pulls out the chair for her and I look up at Seo-jun and rest my elbows in his lap, "Why don't you ever do that for me?"
"Stand up," He orders and I frown before standing, he pulls the chair that I had just tucked in out and gestures for me to sit down, I laugh and sit in the chair and everyone's cheers get even louder.
"I thought you two weren't together!" Hyun-kyu exclaims and holds a fake mic out to Seo-jun who had just reseated himself on top of my desk. Seo-jun fakes grabbing the mic from him and holds it to his mouth.
"We aren't," Everyone makes noises of disappointment, "But I like her!" The cheers arise again and I hide my reddening face. "But she doesn't like me," The noises of disappointment start again, "Yet!" Everyone cheers more and Seo-jun hops off my desk proudly as Mr. Han walks into the classroom. A downhearted and tired Mr. Han makes his way to the podium and looks at all of us and we all bow in greeting.
"Let's go home now, guys," He nods at us and I jump up immediately.
"Thank you, Mr. Han!" I salute and start grabbing my bag.
"But, Mr. Han, school just started," Someone behind me says, I turn around and glare at them but before I could continue leaving the school Soo-ah grabs my arm and sits me back down in my seat.
"Yes, I know," Mr. Han sighs and everyone looks at each other in confusion, Mr. Han's eyes finally land on someone behind me, "You're not supposed to be in our class so please stand up," My eyes widen when I realize he's talking about Jjoo.
"Mr. Han," Hyun-kyu points at Jjoo, "She's Im Ju-kyung,"
"Yes, I know," He nods in a daze and looks back at the floor, he finally processes the words and furrows his eyebrows together, "Im-Im Ju-kyung?"
"Yes?" Jjoo looks up at him.
"Ju-kyung-ah, is that you?" His face grows concerned and Jjoo nods with a slow smile on her face, "Ju-kyung-ah..." He coughs out and closes his eyes, facing his podium, "Ju-kyung-ah, I'm so glad you're back," His expression quickly grows relieved, "I mean- I was- I was so-" He makes a sound of pain, patting the middle of his chest, "I was so worried about you," He turns around and faces the board and we all look at each other in confusion, I turn towards Jjoo and mouth, 'Is this about Hee-kyung unnie?' and she nods and mouths, 'I think so,' back.
"Don't cry!" Someone calls out and I turn my attention back to Mr. Han.
"I'm sorry guys," He sniffles and turns back to us. "I just can't believe Ju-kyung-ah is back," His voice quivers and he puts his head down in his arms and cries more.
"Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry!" We all chant and hit our fists on the desk, he finally looks back up and avoids eye contact with us.
"I'm sorry," He gulps. "That's it for today!" He cries and walks out of the classroom.
At the next break, Jjoo and I were in the bathroom and she washed her hands as I touched up my makeup beside her, the bathroom door opens and my glare follows Soo-jin as she walks to the sink next to Jjoo, "I can't believe you thought of coming to school like that," Soo-jin says as she washes her hands.
"What?" Jjoo stops and looks at her.
"Are you trying to put on a show in front of everyone in school?" Soo-jin holds the sides of the sink and looks at herself in the mirror before turning to look at Jjoo. "Were you so desperate to attract attention?" I'm gonna sock this bitch. "Have you suddenly become brave now that you're dating Lee Su-ho?" I'm so close to actually punching her teeth out. Jjoo opens her mouth to respond to Soo-jin's insults when someone bursts through the bathroom door.
"Ya! Kang Soo-jin!" Soo-ah stands at the door, panting, she stalks over to us and throws her paper at Soo-jin, "Are you serious?"
"Soo-ah," Jjoo and I say breathlessly, looking at the small girl.
"Soo-jin," Soo-ah looks at her, the disgust and disappointment clear on her face, "You're the worst. You should be on your knees apologizing to her on your knees, but instead what did you say?" Soo-ah glares, "Did you seriously say that to her?"
"Why should I apologize?" Soo-jin gestures.
"Because you were the one who uploaded the photos and video!" I respond and Soo-ah nods.
"At first, I tried to understand," Soo-ah continues, "I figured you might've gotten angry because you had feelings for Su-ho. So I thought you'd be regretting it by now. Ju-kyung-ah wasn't coming to school so I thought you might feel bad for her and worry about her!" Tears fill Soo-ah's eyes and the back of mine starts stinging, warning me my tears might appear as well, "So I wanted for you to apologize to her. But were you always such a horrible person?"
"Yes," Soo-jin stares her dead in the eyes, "Turns out I was," Soo-ah's tears fall out of her eyes and she runs out of the bathroom. Jjoo and I both death glare at Soo-jin and look at each other, nodding before following Soo-ah out of the bathroom and down the hall.
"Soo-ah-ya!" I call as all three of us run into the gym. "Wait!" The people playing basketball on the court stop as we run into the middle of the game and Jjoo grabs Soo-ah's arm.
"Soo-ah, let me explain," Soo-ah whips her arm out of Jjoo's grip.
"Let go of me," She tries running away but Jjoo wraps her arms around Soo-ah.
"I'm so sorry for not telling you," Jjoo says, her voice dripping with guilt. "I was just worried we'd no longer be friends if I told you," Soo-ah pushes Jjoo's arms off of her and stands in front of her.
"Ju-kyung, what'd you take me for?" Soo-ah pouts. "Do you even think of me and your friend?"
"That's why I couldn't tell you," Jjoo rubs her hands together.
"But you told Kang Soo-jin and Eun-ah!" She continues, "You told them everything but you kept me in the dark. You thought I'd turn on you if I saw your bare face? I know I may seem a bit thoughtless at times but how could you think I'd be so shallow?" She exclaimed and tears ran down her face.
"I'm sorry, Soo-ah," Jjoo cries and tears spring to my eyes too. Soo-ah and Jjoo stand there and stare at each other awkwardly.
"Group hug?" I suggest and we all hug and cry on each other.
"I was so eager to help you get a boyfriend," Soo-ah says through tears, "But you didn't even tell me you were dating Su-ho, did I have to find out through the online school community?"
"I'm sorry Soo-ah," Jjoo's grip on the two of us tightens, "I love you two so much,"
"I love you guys too," We all cry harder and hold each other. After a good ten minutes of crying someone pats us on the shoulders and we all break away, sniffling and look at the guy.
"I'm sorry but we're playing a game right now," He says awkwardly and points at the people around us, we all bow and apologize, still crying and go sit in the stands.
"What do you think made her become like that?" Jjoo asks.
"Nothing made her become like that," Soo-ah replies and I nod and rest my head on Jjoo's shoulder and she pats my head comfortingly. "She just chose to become that kind of person. How could she do that to you?" Soo-ah frowns. Jjoo sighs and Soo-ah turns towards the two of us, "Kang Soo-jin decided to let go of our hands, I guess we didn't mean anything to her," I blink sadly and sigh, sitting up and leaning back in my seat.
Soo-ah turns Jjoo towards her and holds her cheeks, "Let me look at you," Soo-ah examines her face closely, "Why did you try so hard to keep it a secret?" Soo-ah let's her eyes flicker across Jjoo's face.
"You know what I think?" I ask and they both look at me and I take Jjoo's face in my own hands, "You look exactly the same, all you have to do is take care of your skin,"
"Exactly," Soo-ah nods in agreement and grabs Jjoo's face again, "Start going to a dermatologist, drink a lot of water and start taking vitamins. Then it'll get better, don't worry," Soo-ah nods and Jjoo nods back. Soo-ah pinches Jjoo's cheeks and shakes her a bit, "Now you better tell me everything from the start, got it?" Soo-ah let's go of Jjoo and she massages her face, "Who was the first person to confess? Is he nice to you? Is he Lee Su-ho, that sociopath, mean to you?" Soo-ah shakes her and Jjoo looks overwhelmed.
She takes a second and smiles, processing her questions and shakes her head, giggling, "No, he's not mean to me,"
"You have no right to smile yet," Soo-ah pinches her cheeks again, "You need to tell me every little detail!" She shakes her by the cheeks, "We'll have to stay up all night, okay?"
Once that ends and Jjoo goes back to Su-ho and Soo-ah goes back to Tae-hoon, I find Seo-jun. I rest my legs on Seo-jun's lap on a bench outside and tell him about the Soo-ah situation. "And now I'm really happ—" I turn to the left at the sound of crying and take my legs off Seo-jun's lap. Seo-jun stands up and walks up to the crying boy and touches his arm.
"Hiya," Seo-jun looks at him, concerned, "Are you okay? Are you crying?"
"Hyung!" Ju-young exclaims and looks at him, "What am I going to do?" Ju-young hugs him and continues crying, Seo-jun looks at me in surprise and I hide my laugh in my hand.
"What?" Seo-jun asks, not hugging him back. "Did you get rejected by Go-woon?"
"I like her so much," Ju-young shakes a bit, "But she doesn't like me at all. My heart flutters every time I see her so how can I stay friends with her?"
"You're right," Seo-jun nods.
"I know I'll be good to her if I become her boyfriend," Ju-young cries harder.
"Exactly," Seo-jun says and I frown confused, I thought he didn't want Ju-young to be Go-woon's boyfriend.
"I never knew how painful it was having a crush on someone," Seo-jun wraps his own arms around Ju-young and I hide my surprise, he pats his back comfortingly and my surprise grows.
"But you know what? A person who tries everything has no regrets," Ju-young backs away and faces Seo-jun, "Now that I've been rejected after officially asking her out, I think I can finally move on," He continues crying and I pat his back. Ju-young covers his eyes, bows to us and runs away. Seo-jun stares at me for a few seconds after he leaves and I tilt my head at him in silent question, Seo-jun shakes his head, walks up to me and gathers me in his arms.
"Much better than hugging Ju-young," I laugh and wrap my arms around his neck, "You smell a whole lot better too,"
"You're so weird," I snorted and hit his back.
"Only for you," I can almost hear the wink in his voice.
filler chap next chap will be more interesting heehee
thanks for reading, see u guys next chapter, mwah
- lise