"Alright. Well you gotta get out of here, young man."
Areum wasn't sure what to do. She was afraid that he would lock her in again so she slowly made her way to the door. She heard the conversation between them and rolled her eyes. 'He's such a good liar' she thought to herself and put her hand on the doorknob. Hearing footsteps leave the gym, she opened the door and peeked outside.
The janitor was walking in the front with Mingi following from behind. Mingi turned to her and raised his palm signaling her to stop.
He went after the janitor. "You can unlock the main door. I'll just grab my bag from the classroom." He said smiling.
"Alright." The janitor said walking away. "I need to get something from the trunk. I'll meet you outside." The janitor said.
"Okay." Mingi turned around and put on the shirt that the janitor had picked up for him.
He headed to the classroom but immediately turned around when he saw that the janitor was out of sight.
He ran to the medic room and grabbed their stuff then ran back to the gym.
Areum heard the two leave and she waited inside the gym for him. After spotting him, she ran up to him and got her bag. Swinging it around her shoulder, she looked up at him. "So...what's the plan?" she asked tilting her head slightly to the side.
He ran his hand in his hair and sighed deeply. He looked at her. "I guess you'll have to survive today at school." He laughed. "I'm joking." He said pulling her out by her hand. He took her to the main door and looked around. "he's in the parking lot. Just hurry out and leave." He smiled pushing her forward. "I'll distract him." He said running to the lot without looking back
Areum's eyes widened at his first comment, she sighed of relief knowing he was joking. Once the two got outside, she waved goodbye to him and ran to a nearby park.
Mingi looked at the janitor who was lifting heavy boxes and smiled at him. "Do you need any help?" He asked hoping that the answer will be 'no'.
"No. You should get home." The janitor said smiling back. Mingi sighed and nodded at him. "Have a nice day!" He yelled as he ran off grabbing his phone from his pocket. He called his chauffeur and waited in front of the main door.
His chauffeur came a few minutes later and he jumped into the car. "Don't tell anyone you picked me up here." Mingi said then leaned back in the seat as he looked out of the window suddenly noticing Areum in the park. "Stop stop!" He said making the chauffeur stop the car abruptly. He rolled the window down and looked at Areum. "Need a ride or a phone?" He asked looking at her
Areum noticed the sunset in the distance. It was getting a bit chilly as well. Her phone was also dead and her house was not walking distance at all. She saw Mingi in the car and walked over to him and grinned. "Mmm a ride, I don't want to freeze to death," she said with a chuckle. "My house is a bit farther away from here, is that okay?" she asked, the wind was blowing hard and she couldn't see without having strands of hair flying everywhere.
He chuckled and nodded. "Of course. I put you in this situation." He said. "Jump in." He said looking at her then rolled the window up. He removed his bag from the seat and placed it between his legs as he opened the door for her from the other side.
She got inside the car and sat down. Giving the driver her address and making sure he put it in correctly in his gps she leaned back and crossed her legs, placing her bag over her lap. After a few minutes, they arrived at the gated neighborhood she lived in and she turned to Mingi. "I can get off here, my house isn't too too far from here. Thanks and I also hate you at the same time for what happened today" she said with a chuckle. Opening the door, she left and greeted the security guard as he opened the gate for her.
He nodded and smiled. "See you tomorrow!" He said stuffing his earphones into his ears. He looked at the driver. "Drive home." He said and leaned back in his seat.
After walking for a few minutes, she arrived home and had unlocked her door to get inside. Walking in, her parents were sitting in the living area. "Hello Areum, where were you again? The library right? And why are you wearing those clothes..." her father asked her. "Well, I was at the library with one of my classmates just catching up on work, and I spilled coffee on my clothes so I had to change out of it" she said nervously and ran upstairs to go into her room. She noticed the blazer was laid on her bed and she stuffed it in her backpack. Walking over to her charger, she charged her phone and went inside the bathroom to wash up.
Mingi entered his house sneakily but was caught from behind as he was just about to step up on the staircase. "Song Mingi."
He sighed deeply when he recognized the voice and turned around smiling. Hana.
"Why are you sneaking? And what's with your clothes?" She asked scrunching her eyebrows as she had her arms crossed.
"I was playing basketball with the boys. I got all sweaty and remembered that I had my p.e clothes in my bag so I changed into them." He smiled.
"You stink. Go wash yourself." She said going upstairs. "I'll be waiting in your bedroom." She said as he watched her nervously from behind.
Once Areum was done with her shower, she went to go change into different clothes. She told the maids to wash her uniform and p.e uniform. Walking downstairs, she went to sit with her parents. "So, how was your first day?" her mother asked looking at her. Her father looked up from his phone and nodded, "Right, how was it?" Areum cleared her throat and sat up straight, "It was pretty okay..." she said softly. Her parents looked at each other and then turned their attention back to her. "I heard from one of the moms here while we had an outing that, the Song families son goes to school with you as well," her mother said staring at her. "Oh? I didn't know that" Areum lied and flashed a smile. She stood up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water for her dry throat.
Mingi went to his bedroom and the bathroom that was his own. He had a shower and came out with a towel around his waist. Hana smiled and walked up to him, placing a hand on his cheek the other on his chest. He pushed her away gently and went to his closet. "What are you doing here?" He asked in annoyance as he grabbed some clothes from his walk-in closet.
"I just wanted to see you." She said walking up to him but the door was shut to his walk-in closet. He locked it and changed his clothes inside it before walking out. "now that you've seen me, I guess you can go home." He said.
Hana pouted and looked at him as he sat on the bed. "Mingi." She said. "Your parents are downstairs." She said raising her eyebrows.
"Alright. Time to go home." He said looking at her as he stood up. "Give me a kiss." She said making him cringe. "I won't go if I don't get it." He looked down at her and sighed then leaned down for a quick peck. "There. Now let's go because it's getting dark. I'll let my chauffeur drop you at your house." He said pushing her out of his bedroom by her shoulders. "See you tomorrow!" She smiled and waved at him. He closed the door and sighed deeply hearing his mother greet Hana on her way out.
Areum overheard her parents talking while she was drinking her water and getting a fruit bowl out to snack on. "I heard the Song family has a handsome son" her father said with a chuckle. That made Areum cringe and shake her head, 'Handsome? Sure, but an asshole' she thought. "I haven't seen his face but at the banquet he was quite tall and had broad shoulders, I bet Areum would have a crush on him if she didn't know who he was" her mother said laughing. Areum rolled her eyes and ate some of the fruit she had. Her parents kept talking about sons from other families and who would be a good match for Areum. Unfortunately, her parents knew it wasn't possible knowing that Areum had high standards when it came to guys.
Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Mingi immediately ran to his bed. He lied down and grabbed his phone when a knock was heard on his door. "Mingi." His mother said from outside.
"Come in!"
His mother stepped inside his room and smiled. "I heard you and Hana are together." She said sitting in the bed next to him.
"Mom, don't even dream. We'll not get married." He said not giving her a single look.
"Then why are you dating her?" She asked confused.
He sighed deeply. "Mom."
"Oh you must be embarrassed to say how much you love her."
'oh yeah. So much love.' he thought, shaking his head as he watched her leave his room. "Sleep well!" She smiled, closing the door behind her
Areum finished her food and the maids had cleaned up for her shortly after. She said her goodnights to her parents and headed upstairs to go into her bedroom. Walking over to her phone, she put on some music and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. After finishing all of that, she went to her bed and lied down, staring up at her ceiling. She thought about all that had happened earlier that day and she laughed. It was her first day and it was already crazy. Getting under her covers, she turned off the lamp next to her and shut her eyes, letting the slow music play as she fell asleep.
Mingi put his phone away and closed his eyes suddenly remembering them in the props room of the gym. He smiled to himself then realized how creepily he was smiling. He shook his thoughts away and pulled the covers over him.
Mingi's father was about to leave the house the next morning when he caught Mingi by his car. "Mingi. Make sure to treat Hana properly or else we'll lose the friendship with the Kang's."
'friendship.' he repeated in his head as he was wearing his shoes. 'more like business-ship'
"Yeah, dad. Don't worry."
Mingi went out of his car and saw Hana running to him from afar. He sighed deeply and prepared himself to smile. Since he obviously wasn't smiling after seeing her.
"Good morning." She said grabbing his arm. He looked at her and was about to frown but turned his lips into a greasy smile. "Morning." He said forgetting the 'good'.
It wasn't that good after all. They walked into the hallways of the school together making students glare from here and there. And the gossiping began
Areum woke up and found her uniform and gym clothes on her desk where the maids have put. Slowly sitting up, she walked over to her bathroom and noticed she woke up earlier than usual. After putting on her clothes and makeup, she did her hair in a different style that day. It was curled at the end and she usually would just leave it to be straight but decided to spice things up. After collecting her belongings, her bag was stuffed with Mingis blazer and she left it in there so she wouldn't forget to return in. Going downstairs, she ate her breakfast knowing her parents would wake up late. She headed out and got into the car and her chauffeur drove her to school.
All the students were talking about one thing and one thing only. Mingi and Hana. It didn't bug Areum that much that there was so much talk so she kept going on with her morning. She passed by Mingi and saw Hana clinging onto him, she was going to wave to him but decided not to and headed into the classroom. Placing his blazer on his desk, she went to her seat and got all of her stuff out.
Hana's words were going through his first ear and out of the second. They got to his classroom and she left a kiss on his cheek before leaving. He sighed deeply and felt himself free. Like a prisoner who was locked and finally got out.
He went to his desk and noticed the blazer. Picking it up from his desk he looked behind him and smiled. "Thanks." He said putting the blazer in his bag. He turned away and sat down on his seat suddenly letting the chair hang on two legs as he pushed himself backwards. He leaned his elbows on her desk and looked straight forward. "I bet you had nightmares about that murder in the dark room." He smirked teasingly.
Areum looked at him as he was entering the classroom. She listened to what he had to say, she sarcastically laughed and then stopped and looked into his eyes. She pushed him forward, making his chair almost fall. "To inform you I didn't! I had a good night's rest, how are you and your little lady friend? You guys are the talk of the town right now" she said crossing her arms.