“Why did you skipped school yesterday! Do you know how worried I was after I received that text?” Sunhi nagged during lunchtime next day. “And what’s with that huge bandage on your forehead?”

“Ran into a pole, no big deal.” Minji poked her food absentmindedly.

“A pole?” Sunhi raised an eyebrow. “You really are an idiot.”

“Whose an idiot?” Someone plopped on the chair next to Minji.

“K-Kim Jonghyun!” Sunhi shrieked and covered . Minji just stared at him blankly. Shrieks and giggles could be heard from every direction. Apparently, spotting the school idol in the cafeteria was a rare sight.

“Hey there.” Jonghyun smiled sweetly. “I didn’t see you a school yesterday, Minji. Are you feeling okay?”

Sunhi, feeling the strange atmosphere between those two, decided to leave them alone for a while.

“I should go. I just remembered I have something to do. See you later!” She picked her tray and left the table.

“You traitor.” Minji muttered.

“So.” Jonghyun continued the conversation. “Why were you absent yesterday?”

“I ran into a pole.” She explained once again.

“A pole, huh?” Jonghyun said. Then he grabbed Minji’s arm and pulled her sleeve up, revealing the small bruises that decorated her wrists. “That must have been one violent pole.” As he observed her injuries, his eyes turned so cold that he seemed like a complete different person.

Minji pulled her hand away from Jonghyun’s and covered her wrist with her sleeve once again.

“It’s funny how stupid you think I am.” The boy chuckled. “But it’s okay. You have the right to think whatever you want.”

“You’re not going to ask what happened?”

“I think I have a pretty good idea…” He stared at Minji’s eyes so intensely it sent chill down her back.

“I-I have to go.”  She stuttered while getting up from her chair and walking hastily towards the exit. She glanced back at him one last time before disappearing into the crowd.

‘There was something weird about him today. He seemed so…scary? And what’s with those eyes. God, I still have goose bumps all over my skin.’ She thought while making her way back to her class.

On the other hand, Jonghyun sat calmly at the table where Minji left him. He pulled out his cellphone and made a call.

“Come pick me up after school.” He ordered. “And bring the leader of the main division with you. Do not let anyone see you. Got it?” Then he hung up and slipped his phone back in his pocket.  

When Minji walked home that afternoon, she was still thinking about the weird encounter she had with Jonghyun earlier that day. She hadn’t even been able to eat her lunch properly.

“I’m starving.” She murmured. She looked around for somewhere nice to eat, and eventually opted for a small western restaurant she usually passed by. She went in and took a table at next to the window.

She hadn’t even read the menu when she heard someone tapping on the window.

“L?”

Sure enough, L stood outside the restaurant with his hands in his pockets and grinning mischievously. He didn’t hesitate to go inside and take a seat at Minji’s table.

“What’s up.” He greeted.

“Um, hi?” Minji looked confused at his new lunch companion. “What are you doing here?”

“Just passin’ by.” He shrugged and reached for the menu. “I saw you eating alone and thought ‘why not?’”

“Where are the others?”

“Home, working, sleeping. What? Do you think we’re Siamese or something?” He answered without removing his eyes from the menu.

“I was staring to believe it.” Minji murmured.

“Are you ready to order?” A smiling waitress approached their table.

“I’ll have a double bacon cheese burger with large fries.” L ordered and handed the menu to the waitress.

“And you, miss?”

“I’ll have the same as him.” Minji smiled politely. The waitress wrote down the orders and went back to the kitchen.

There was an uncomfortable silence as soon as they were let alone. Minji kept shifting in her seat while L seemed completely relaxed. He kept looking out the window, but Minji could feel him glancing at her every few minutes or so.

“I don’t trust you.” He said all of a sudden.

“Huh?” Minji furrowed her brows.

“You jumped in the middle of a fight to save Henry, you act as if you were concern for the other boys, and you even returned Taemin’s bike.” He started numbering, raising one finger at each statement. “People don’t do stuff out of kindness, much less for people like us.”

“People like you?” Minji laughed. “Please, enlighten me. What do you mean by ‘people like you’?”

“Gangsters.” L said bluntly. “Don’t act as if you don’t think of us as lower trash.”

“Look.” Minji said. “And you think rich people are worth a damn?”

“Oh, please.” L rolled his eyes and leaned forward. “I’m not as naïve as Taemin and Henry. I know how you high-class es are like.”

Minji leaned forward as well, leaving just inches between her face and L’s.

“You come in here, disrupt my lunch, insult me as if you actually knew me, and I’m the judgmental ?” She scoffed. “You don’t know yourself very well, do you?”

For a moment, Minji thought she was about to get punched in the face. L’s poker face made it hard to choose between running away or staying. Then the waiter appeared with their orders.

Minji half expected for L to leave, but instead he started to gobble down the food. She started taking a few bites as well, but cautiously in case L decided to really break her nose.

“Minji! Is that you?” A couple of girls with the same uniform as Minji approached the table and bowed politely.

“Um…hi?” Minji gave them an uncomfortable smile. Anyone could tell that she had no idea of who those girls were.

“We’re from class C.” One of them explained. “We just came over to say hi. Please send our regards to your father.”

“I will.” Minji promised. The girls said their goodbyes and sat in the table behind L.

“I can’t believe we said hi to her!” One of the squealed loud enough for L and anyone else to hear. “But who was that guy?”

“Is that a uniform from a…public school?” The other one answered, outraged.

“The wealthy Jeung Minji with a commoner? What the hell is she thinking? I never thought someone with the Jeung name would fall so low.”

L tightened his jaw and swallowed hard. Minji, even if she was not sure of why, could tell he was very pissed. Then it was his turn to glance at her. He was sure she would feel embarrassed to have been seen eating with a gangster. He was just waiting for her reaction to prove that all wealthy people are the same.

“L” Minji put down her burger and wiped .

I knew it, L scoffed.

“I’m sorry about what I said before.” She said softly.

“Huh?” L stared at her in disbelief.

“Yeah. I was out of line.” She admitted. “So don’t be angry, okay?”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Minji was confused now. What was he expecting her to say?

“Are you listening to what those stuck up chicks are saying?!”

“Are they bothering you?” Ready to stand up, Minji pushed her chair back. “Want me to tell them to stop?”

“NO!” L half shouted. Minji froze in her seat.

“Then what is it?!” She said frustrated. “Why can’t you just say it clearly?”

L groaned and scratched his head. How can this girl be so thick headed?

“Aren’t you angry at those girls for trash talking?”

“Oh, I get it.” Minji smiled. “You thought I would be embarrassed after hearing all that stuff about me being ‘low’ and stuff.”

“Aren’t you?” L frowned.

“Why would I? I don’t even know them.” Minji shrugged. “Wow, I can’t believe how superficial you think I am.”

L stayed silent.

“You obviously don’t like me so I should just leave, even if I was the one who got here first.” Minji threw her school bag over her shoulder and left some money in the table to pay for her food. “Bye.”

“Wait, aren’t you paying for mine, too?” L asked shamelessly.

“Are you crazy? You can pay for your own stuff.” Then she turned around and left the restaurant.

“Weird girl.” L chuckled as he finished the last fries in his plate.

-With Jonghyun-

“Let me ask you something, Choi Chunji.” Jonghyun crossed his legs elegantly. He was sitting on the back seat of a car. Next to him sat a nervous looking man who was bandaged all over. He was at least ten years older than Jonghyun, but he was still pale with fear.

“Y-yes sir.” He said.

“Are you by any chance mentally retarded?” The boy asked him coldly.

“Of course not.”

“Deaf?” He asked again.

“N-No, sir.” The older man replied.

“So that means you deliberately ignored my orders, am I wrong?” Jonghyun voice was mild, but somehow it still felt like razor blades against one’s skin.

“I-I.” The man stuttered.

“When I named you head of the Blood Tiger’s main division I never expected you to be so incompetent.”

“My apologies, sir.”

“I clearly told you not to lay a finger on Jeung Minji, but you still did as you pleased.” He stared with at the man with his dark eyes. “And on top of that you managed to get defeated by those trashes.”

“But, sir, they had an insane fighter. His name was Henry and he single handedly wiped out the remaining men. If it wasn’t for that girl, I would be dead by now.“

“ENOUGH. You even got her involved in the fight?!” Jonghyun snapped, causing the Choi Chunji to flinch. “Driver, stop the car.”

Just as he ordered, the car came to a halt.

“Get out of my sight this instant, you imbecile.” Jonghyun told his pawn. “You are a disgrace for the Blood Tigers. I’ll think of what to do with you later.”

The man didn’t hesitate to open the door with shaky hands and jump out of the car.

As the car sped away, Jonghyun calmed himself and closed his eyes. How dare he disobey a direct order from the leader of the Blood Tigers?, He thought. Somehow his thoughts drifted away from that incident and he ended up thinking about Jeung Minji. When he heard his arranged date had turned him down, he decided to let it go. He didn’t have time for some whiny girl, after all. Until he heard some interesting news from his informants, that is. He was told that the Deadly Six had been seen with a girl which, after extensive research, turned out to be no other than his former date: Jeung Minji. Now he was definitely interested in her. Why was such a high-class girl doing with the Deadly Six? He had to find out some way or another. That same day he spoke to her for the first time at school, and once again got rejected.

Without noticing, a smile appeared in Jonghyun lips while thinking about those past events. With Minji’s face in his head, he peacefully fell asleep in the back of the car.