Chapter Twenty-two

“Are they fighting over Kai?”
“They’re really good friends. I don’t think so.”
“But remember, Seohyun Nixon betrayed Park Chorong for Luhan before, and they were also supposed to be friends.”
Kris’s ears perked up at the mention of Seohyun’s name. He was walking along the hallway with his cousin on the way to their classroom and two girls were walking and chatting behind them. Kris slowed down.
“And I heard that Kris Janus also declared that he used to be deeply in love with Seohyun Nixon but decided against it and confessed his love for Jung Yoona instead. The relationship between those two girls is complicated so it’s not very surprising if they fight over Kai Kim. Added to the fact that both were acting strange―”
Kris abruptly turned around, facing the two girls and cutting the one talking midsentence.
“Did you see them?” Kris growled at the two girls who were alarmed to know that Kris Janus was right in front of them.
Upon hearing his cousin’s low voice, Myungsoo realized that Kris had fallen behind him. He turned back and walked to where he was.
“W-what?” The girl stuttered.
“Kai and Yoona and Seohyun. Where. Are. They?” Kris impatiently asked. He knew that Kai was Seohyun’s first love and for a long time, the younger boy had been his bitterest rival for Seohyun’s affection. And now, was he also getting Yoona’s attention?
“Atthecafe!” The other girl said in one breath.
Kris gave them one final glare and marched to the cafeteria with long, fast strides. Myungsoo shook his head and decided to follow Kris, not liking the idea that Seohyun might have turned to her first love for comfort after Myungsoo broke her heart.

The café was draining from people when they got there since it was almost time for first period, so it was easy for them to spot Seohyun, Kai, and Yoona. They were sitting at one table and on one bench, huddled closely with the boy in the middle!
Kris, with flaring nostrils, angrily stomped toward the trio while Myungsoo calmly strode behind him, though his heart banged against his chest. It was the first time he would see Seohyun up close after what happened.
“It’s almost time for first period. Why are you both still here?” Kris immediately threw the question a bit crossly.
The three looked up at Kris’s looming figure and Seohyun was the first to respond. Spiteful words simply came out of naturally. “You should ask yourself the same question, smartass.”
“We were almost at our classroom when we heard students talking about you. They said you are still here.” Kris shot back.
“Well, if you reached the classroom, you would have noticed that we beat you there because our bags are already there. We just went out for some fresh air because we talked about... who was it again?” Seohyun dramatically paused, as if to ponder. “Oh wait! I remember… YOU!”
Kris face grew dark as he leaned his long upper body across the table, palms resting on its surface. Yoona was the closest to him so he had to lean to reach Seohyun’s glare. “I know you hate me so much, Nixon, but I’m asking you not to be bratty about what’s going on between Yoona and me.”
“Yeah. Because the Nixon brat is famous for ruining couples like what she did to Luhan and Chorong?” Yoona was the one to react this time, her expression hard and her posture stiff.
Seohyun’s face softened when Yoona said that. Kai worriedly stared at Yoona who looked like she was about to cry. Kris stood straighter, wondering if he had said something that insulted Yoona.
“That’s not what I meant, Yoona…” He trailed off, not sure what he really meant when he said that. He did not know how to apologize for almost insulting his girl’s best friend. “It was just a slip of the tongue. Seohyun hates me, we hate each other not in a deep sense, but I just don’t want any misunderstanding between us. I mean we had just started.”
“Don’t you trust my faith in you?” Yoona asked him, casting her eyes down.
“And what made you think that I would be against you? If my friend likes you, then I’d be happy to support her. What kind of person do you think am I?” Seohyun decided to speak, summoning her coldness back in order to lighten the seriousness of the situation. Kris was right: he and Yoona had just began and it was not right to be fighting at the very beginning.
“Cold?” Kris honestly said.
“Thank you for the compliment. Now, let’s get back to class. You should also go, kid.” She stood up and patted Kai’s shoulder.
Yoona and Kai also stood to leave. And as they squeezed their way out in between the table and the bench where they previously sat on, they finally realized Myungsoo’s presence. He had been standing quietly behind them, hands inside his back pockets as he patiently waited for his cousin.
And then, Seohyun froze. As in literally froze. She realized then that she was not ready to face him. When she was with Luhan, she honestly believed that she might have moved on from Myungsoo because she felt those unexplainable feelings toward Luhan. But when she finally saw Myungsoo Janus, alive and real in front of her, all the heartaches came rushing back to her, shaking her entire being, her heart banging wildly against her ribcage. And she could not move. Not even a single finger.

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When Luhan got to school, he wanted to give Seohyun a call and ask where she was at that time, but he decided against it. He did not want to look like some clingy, possessive boyfriend. He was not even her boyfriend. So he simply made his way to the cafeteria, knowing that at least one of his friends would be there.
Sure enough, as he entered the café, he immediately spotted Lay and as he made his way to them, he recognized two familiar faces from another table – Seohyun and Yoona. He was glad that Seohyun decided to come to school, but he still did not go to her, no matter how much he wanted to. Aside from the fact that he (still) was not her boyfriend, she and Yoona seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. He did not want to interfere.
So he approached Lay’s table with Jessica, and sat beside his friend. “Good morning!” He smiled at the two of them.
“Good morning, Lu.” Lay greeted.
“Good morning, we were just talking about you.” Jessica smiled at him.
“Oh really? I hope it’s nothing bad.” Luhan joked.
“Oh it’s far from bad. It’s a good thing actually. Lay was telling me that you came to visit Seohyun yesterday when she was absent. And now, look at her! She’s in school and is enjoying with Yoona.” Jessica happily declared.
“I have to thank you, Luhan. Whatever it is that you did to make her feel better.” Lay sincerely told Luhan, glancing at his sister’s direction. “The maids told me that you visited, but they made sure to stay away from both of you to avoid interrupting. So, what is it that you did?”
From across the table, Jessica slapped Lay’s arm hard and the younger guy held his injured skin, yelping briefly.
“You should not be asking those private questions, Lay, even if Seohyun’s your sister! If she wants to share it to you, she would’ve told you. Obviously, she wanted to keep whatever it is between Luhan and her, so stay away!” Jessica reproached him.
Luhan laughed at his friend’s reaction. It was the first time a girl acted like that toward him. Jessica was not the first ‘noona’ that has been associated with Lay, but she was the first to scold and hit him. Also, Luhan was giddy at the idea that Seohyun wanted to keep something just between the two of them. He glanced to Seohyun’s direction and chuckled as he saw her laughing at Yoona’s red, embarrassed face. He wondered if she was teasing Yoona about Kris.
“Seohyun shared everything with me. She was not secretive or aloof or reserved. But recently, she was acting strange. Like she was someone else. Her attitude made a 360 degrees change. And she has been like that ever since the incident with…” Lay trailed off, catching Luhan’s attention.
The latter slowly turned his head back to them. Lay could not seem to look at his friend after realizing what he had said. Jessica stared at Lay, then at Luhan, feeling the uneasiness in both men. Luhan bowed his head and stared at his hands on his lap.
Jessica cleared and spoke up. “Actually, I noticed the same change in Yoona at the same time Seohyun did. She became… how should I put this?... gentler and kinder? I mean she was not evil before, but now, she rarely gets mad― no scratch that. She NEVER gets mad.”
Luhan looked up from his hands and back to Seohyun’s direction. Jessica and Lay were correct. Ever since his failed confession to C