03

Hei had been staring at this new addition to their usual spot in the library for so long but couldn’t bring herself to ask either Kyungsoo or Sehun about her in case she ends up offending her. Hei wanted to be considerate; she’s never been rude to anyone for no reason. Except for that liar.

The girl with the bouncy bob cut had been chewing bubble gum for so long that Hei wondered why wasn’t her jaw aching yet. She blew a giant bubble and popped it in Hei’s direction.

  “Please stop being freaky.” She said and Sehun snickered.

  “There’s a very high chance that she doesn’t remember who you are.” He explained and pinched Hei’s cheek in adoration. “She carried you back to your room after you chugged three cans of beer and passed out.”

  “Is she really such a bad drunk?” she asked and both the boys nodded in sync.

Hei just smiled awkwardly and the girl stretched her hand forward for a shake.

  “Reintroduction. Im Nayeon. Applied chemistry major. Same year.”

  “Kim Hei…economics major. Do you know what year I am?” she asked genuinely.

  “Yeah. Second-year.” Nayeon shrugged. She wrapped her gum around her tongue and blew a bubble again.

  “You were yelling it over the noise of firecrackers.” Sehun pushed his sunglasses up his nose to hide his recurring dark circles but it just made him look ridiculous.

He had a tiny burn on his arm when one of the sparks from the spinning wheel landed on his skin two nights ago. Hei brushed her fingertips over it and Nayeon handed her a small tube of hand cream to rub over the roughness. Hei stared at her instead. She was gracefully pretty yet she also looked like she would pick a fight with strangers just because she was bored.

  “Are you okay with hanging out with us? You don’t seem like—“

  “A delinquent?” Nayeon finished her sentence and Hei nodded. She scratched her temple and thought of the best possible answer to Hei’s curiosity. “I’ve given someone a permanent scar over the right eye. Does that count?”

Hei started laughing. “You’re so…honest. I like you.”

  “And you’re so weird.” Nayeon looked at Hei with a face of disgust that turned into a full smile. “I like you too.”

Nayeon blew another really giant bubble that Kyungsoo poked his finger into and popped it over her face. She patiently removed the pink sticky gum away from her nose and cheeks and then hit the back of his head with a loud snap. Kyungsoo frowned. Hei and Sehun tried their best to control the laughter forming in their throats. Everyone had always been so scared of even lifting a finger at Kyungsoo because he was so intimidating and this girl just shattered his skull.

He rubbed at the spot, eyebrows still tense. “Did you just hit me?”

  “I sure did.” She stuck the gum to the underside of the table and folded her arms, turning her entire body towards him.

Hei figured it out and side-eyed Sehun mischievously. They could literally see Kyungsoo’s crush on her developing into a fatter one as he frowned at her but his eyes kept glancing down to her lips.

  “I loved that. Do it again.” He said at last and Nayeon didn’t hesitate as she hit the side of his head this time. Yup, he’d found his perfect sadist girl.

  “He’s enjoying it,” Sehun whispered to Hei and she nodded in agreement. “Now I know why he invited her to the cliff so suddenly.”  

At the mention of that night, Hei remembered the liar trying to while kissing some girl with her scarf tied around his hand. Hei was so creeped out by his antics that she didn’t even bother going back to ask for her belonging. She had really begun to wonder if he’s a psychopath.

  “Isn’t your boyfriend gonna join us?” Nayeon asked and Hei narrowed her eyes in confusion.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “Oh? So why’s that guy looking at you like that all the time?” she asked, bringing out a small pack of skittles that she shared by dropping some in their palms.

  "Who?" Hei asked, chugging them as a whole in .

  "The one with the glossy doll-like features." She tried to describe as she put the colorful packet back in her bag.  

  “She’s right. Baekhyun’s been ogling you like crazy ever since we came back.” Kyungsoo nodded.

  “He looks at you like he’s gonna swallow you as a whole.” Nayeon added further.

He’s actually psycho, oh god. Hei thought and shook her head in minor fear. “Why won’t he leave me alone anymore?”

  “Want me to deal with him?” Kyungsoo asked as he dug into his pockets for his brass knuckles. Nayeon stopped him before he could go on fracturing Baekhyun’s cheekbone and pulled him back by his arm.

  “Calm down, bad boy. He doesn’t seem malicious. But he does seem very…” Nayeon smirked at Hei. “Conflicted.”

  “I don’t know what you’re suggesting,” Hei said, knowing very well what Nayeon