If he thought she would go somewhere with him, he was crazy. She plopped back down onto the bench when her phone rang. She searched through the small outside pocket of her bag and grabbed it. She glanced at the screen and saw the name Areum pop up. Her sister barely talked to her at home, so if she was calling, it must be important. Yejin hit accept and put the phone to her ear. Areum didn't give her sister a second to say hello before she started speaking.

"Dad called me and said Mom left for the weekend. Aunt Jae is taking care of the baby and she'll pick the boys up from school. He wanted me to tell you that you won't have to watch the boys until Mom gets back. Bye," Areum said without a single pause, hanging up after a twenty second conversation. Yejin pulled the phone away from her face and looked at it, curious as to whether this was a blessing or a curse. Her dad didn't call and tell her this directly, so he still must not be happy with her. Even though he doesn't get home from work until sunset, Yejin would rather not be sitting at home when he arrived. The girl looked at Jackson then at the school when her stomach growled.  

"Come on, I'll buy you something to eat," the boy said as he walked closer to her. Although she had no reason to trust him, Yejin had no money to buy food and wasn't the best at preparing anything herself. She thought about it for a second and came to the conclusion that he owed her for everything he's done. Even though she knew this meant they'd probably eat together and she'd be voluntarily spending time with him, her stomach was currently in control.

"Okay," she said, looking at him. He already had his eyes on her face, so he knew she was being serious. This didn't prevent his eyebrow from involuntarily raising in disbelief.  

"Oh well, I have basketball conditioning later so," he said. She looked away, realizing that his offer wasn't serious. It was annoying that he was so moody. Plus she was looking forward to getting free food.

"So after we eat, you can come back here with me and watch. If you want," he said, his eyes shying away from her and resting on the pavement near his feet. Yejin looked up at the boy who now seemed bashful as he stood and rubbed the nape of his neck. No matter how much effort she put into pushing him out of her head, he would always act weird and make her think of reasons for his behavior. The girl had nothing else to do for the rest of the day, and didn't want to go back to her house.  

"Sure, let’s go," she said, now being the one who was staring at the ground. Except she was trying to put together the misshapen pieces Jackson was giving her. As if on cue, the bus pulled up in front of them. Yejin got up and made way to the door as Jackson stayed in his spot, a bit stunned at the situation. The girl looked back before stepping on the bus, awakening the boy from his daze. She stepped on the bus and showed the driver her pass before walking all the way to the back and sitting in the empty seat that took up the entire width of the bus. Jackson followed and sat next to her, making sure to leave a good amount of space between them.  

The girl put in her headphones and picked out a song. She felt Jackson scooting over towards her until he was close enough to steal an earbud.  

"Where do you want to go eat?" he said with bright eyes. The girl looked at him and shrugged her shoulders, not caring. He furrowed his brows before speaking.

"Fine, if you don't care then I don't care," he said before putting in an earbud and sitting back