Chapter 3: Strange

 

Since I was little, marks were the only thing that could move my heart.

 

No matter who, or what, I had absolutely no interest.

 

This...

 

is all there is to this world.

 

But recently...

 

It seems as if there's something wrong with me.

 

Kwon Yuri.

 

That juvenile delinquent.

 

That annoying guy.

 

I can't take him off my mind.

 

Hmm. Today potatoes are, 16,599 won. After deducting 30% profit margin, one bag is 700g.

 

Hmm.

 

The price including tax is 138...

 

"Hey! How are you? Its rare to see you so sluggish! Is there something troubling you, Jessica?!"

 

"If Dad had a better way to calculate the unit price, then I wouldn't have to do something like this."

 

Recently, no matter what I'm doing,

 

I can never concentrate.

 

"Mr. Park, please don't stick half price stickers on the items." I said at the old man who was the cashier of the grocery store.

 

Ah.

 

Even though deep down I clearly know what the reason is.

 

--- 

 

"Re-test?" Yuri's head shifted up to the ceiling while Ms. Boa is hiding behind the room's door. 

 

Seriously, how can she not be used to Yuri going to school.

 

I mean its been a long period of time since he came back anyway.

 

"A-anyone who failed a single subject in the midterm examinations m-must do a re-test. Kwon Yuri, not only did you forget to write your name, you also got a zero in every subject, so you can't skip the re-test!" She shouted.

 

"Sica, will you be taking the re-test?" He asked me.

 

"No way. I'm number one in exams."

 

"Then I'm not going to do the re-test either!" He said, messing his hair again.

 

"Oh I see."

 

I grabbed Yuri's examination papers and took a look.

 

These examination papers...

 

If he wrote his name on them,

 

would his marks have been higher than mine?

 

CLUCK! CLUCK! CLUCK!

 

Wait, what was that?

 

Oh, maybe im just imagining things.

 

Suddenly, i heard feather rustling.

 

"HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!"

 

I heard Yuri's laughter and out of curiousity I planned on looking and 

 

What the heck is a chicken doing in the classroom?

 

I threw piercing glares at Yuri and he stood up and grabbed the chicken.

 

"Be-because! When I came, I-I saw this guy running around in the rain, so I-"

 

Recently, everyone has already gotten to Yuri's individuality.

 

The owner is Kwon Yuri of 1-B
If you mess with it,
prepare to die.

He placed the chicken in a box with that note plastered, making all our other classmates scare

 

"What? Did Yuri do this?"

"Uwaaaa! That made me jump!"

 

Even I have felt a revolution within my heart.

 

*poke*

 

"YAH!" 

 

Damn you why are you poking me when I'm in the midst of talking to myself.

 

"Why are you ignoring me, Sica? I was calling you for a while, but you don't respond!" He said while playing with his ballpen.

 

I'm starting to think of his every move and action!

 

Gosh! Jessica, what is wrong?!

 

Last time's spectacular scene..

 

Yuri kissed me out of the blue.

 

That's obviously justified.

 

After all, from the past up until now, I've never been so intimate with others.

 

If I was to ignore him, that would be really strange!

 

"HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!!!"

 

Thank goodness he ran off to his chicken being played by our other classmates or else he might see me blushing or hyperventilating maybe.

 

"Don't bully my chicken, s!" He furiously shouted.

 

Even though it seems like he doesn't understand at all.

 

What is this all about?

 

Simply, if I put all the pieces together,

 

it looks like I'm in love with Yuri.

 

I've run into a difficult problem.

 

Classes finished and as usual he walked me home. It was raining so we opened up our umbrellas. Mine was sky blue, and Yuri's has mickey mouse drawings.

 

"Yuri!"

 

"Hm?"

 

"In the past, did you say that you love me? Is it the romantic kind of love?"

 

Oh great, Jessica Jung, straight to the point.

 

"Yes, Sica, I love you!" He blurted out while grinning at me like a little boy.

 

"Whatever you want me to do, I'll do anything you say, Sica!"

 

What's got to do with it?

 

"Je-Jessica!"

 

Huh, who's that?

 

Poor girl, fell on a poodle of mud.

 

"Please..."

 

"Please teach me how to study!!!" She shouted, her eyes full of determination.

 

And so, the three of us ended up in a okonomiyaki restaurant.

 

"My name is Tiffany Hwang." 

 

"Oh!" Now I know why this girl is so familiar.

 

"You don't remember me? We've been classmates for a while..."

 

"By the way, for a while, Yuri has been glaring at me fiercely...soisthatchicken." She said, while trembling.

 

"Ignore him. He's just looking out for you." I said, as I served myself a mouthful of okonomiyaki.

 

"So, coming back to what we were talking about, if I don't get through this re-test, next week I'll have to stay behind for after-school tutoring!"

 

"But on that day I have a very important get-together so I must not fail the re-test!" She said, with a bit of okonomiyaki in the side of her lips.

 

"Therefore, Jessica..."

 

"I REFUSE." 

 

"You refuse so quickly. If it's something I can do, I'd want to rely on my own abilities..."

 

"...but unfortunately, I'm an idiot with no redeeming qualities!" She buried her face on her palm, exaggerating a fake cry.

 

Honestly, she clearly has written an answer for every question, but still managed to score zero...

 

this is the first time I encountered such kind of testpapers.

 

"Sorry. You have nothing to do with me. Furthermore, since you know that you are an idiot..."

 

"...be a good girl and go to after-school tutoring!" I bluntly said as I stood up.

 

"Right! That's all I have to say! And thanks for treating us, Tiffany." I said as Yuri and I walked towards the door.

 

"WAIT...Wait a moment!" 

 

"Oh, the rain stopped." Yuri said as he was patting the chicken.

 

"I beg you!"

 

"There's really no way I can go to after school tutoring..." she pleaded while walking toward us.

 

but...

 

"Urgh!! Ackkk!" She coughed up and was looking pale.

 

"Are you okay?" I asked after Yuri and I succesfully took 20 steps away from her.

 

"Yah! You don't have to move so far... Sorry it looks like I've just eaten too much!" She said, wiping with her pink hanndkerchief.

 

"Eaten too much? So back then, you were forcing yourself to eat?"

 

"B-BECAUSE GUYS PREFER GIRLS THAT DON'T EAT MUCH, RIGHT?"

 

"So if I do that, guys will think I'm really cute, right? So guys really like me but because of this, girls always hate me..."

 

"Really? I love Sica even though she eats lot." Yuri interjected and is not helping.

 

"Let me show you this!" She reached out for something in her bag.

 

She showed us a white Sony vaio laptop and opened a kind of social networking site.

 

"The important meeting that I just mentioned, it's because I wanted to take part in the meeting set up by this friends website!"

 

"Even though I have never met these people...but, they're my good friends."

 

"I understand." Yuri said while nodding his head.

 

"So that's why you don't wanna go to after-school tutoring?!" I asked.

 

"I still refuse."

 

"You're a demon." She said while she's biting her hanky and was pleading me again and again.

 

"Hey, Tiffany!"

 

Now what's Yuri going to say again, he's not helping here.

 

"I can guide you through your studies!" He said, while holding Tiffany's laptop.

 

"R-REALLY?!!" Tiffany rushed towards Yuri with sparkling eyes.

 

"Yeah. Leave it to me..."

 

Huh? What is happening here?

 

"...but Tiffany,"

 

"I'm only going to help you if you let me go to this fancy meeting you're telling."

 

So that was what he was aiming for all along?

 

"Tiffany, I'd encourage you to reject him." I told her even though I know there's nothing stopping these two nutheads.

 

"Okay! Yuwreeee! Anyone can go to the meeting!" 

 

Yuri was smiling like a crazy person when he knew he can come along.

 

"If I go to that meeting, can I make new friends?" 

 

"OF COURSE! OF COURSE!"

 

"Oh! But you can't fall in love with me! It'll cause complications, Yuwreee!"

 

"Don't worry! There's no way I'd fall in love with you!"

 

I don't know what's going on here...

 

---

 

It was a rainy night and Yuri pulled me to Fany's house. 

 

"So let's start with Math, Fany-ah."

 

"PLEASE TREAT ME WELL, TEACHER YURI!!!" Fany shouted.

 

Why did they have to choose this place?

 

Yuri showed an example of quadratic equations  to Fany, he wrote it down in the whiteboard.

 

"Okay? This is how to factor quadratic equations. Look carefully! First it's like this..."

 

Tiffany patiently listened, nodding at every word Yuri is saying...

 

"...next, it's like this!"

 

He factored out the equation and the question was solved.

 

"I DON'T GET IT, TEACHER YURI!" She said, messing her brunette hair up.

 

"Again, you only need to remember the english, chemistry and history books by heart and you'll be fine! The end!"

 

Good luck on that teacher, Tiffany.

 

Fine, right now is the chance to be away from Yuri.

 

I went outside and munched a cupcake while staring at the clouds.

 

Hm?

 

I feel like something is staring at me.

 

What was that just now?

 

Oh it's the chicken that Yuri brought in school.

 

Is it challenging me in a glaring contest?

 

Well you got the wrong opponent, chicken.

 

I glared at the chicken for a minute and my heart almost jumped out when it suddenly started clucking loudly and flapping its wings.

 

"Jessica!"

 

Oh Yuri.

 

"Have you seen that girl?"

 

"Tiffany? I haven't."

 

"Damn. Where did she run off to?"

 

I cant help...

 

but...

 

To start feeling restless again.

 

"Is-is she doing well?"

 

"Even if your're thinking about changing my mind, I won't agree!! I'mdefinitelygoingtothatmeeting!" He growled like a 3-year-old kid while he played with the chicken.

 

"I've never thought about that, ! I don't even care." I shouted.

 

"...do the two of you really want to go to that meeting so much?"

 

"It doesn't matter whether it's you, or Tiffany. Actually, there's no need for you to care about how others view your likes and dislikes."

 

He stared at me and smiled.

 

Damn that send me chills.

 

"...Jessica, as expected, you are sharp."

 

What was his expression just then?!!

 

"Sica, have you ever felt hollow?"

 

Huh?

 

"Completely empty..."

 

"...absolutely nothing..."

 

"...pitch-black."

 

"I hate that feeling."

 

"Oh. But I don't feel the same anymore."

 

"Because I have Jessica by my side."

 

The Yuri saying those words...

 

It seems like his eyes can't see anything,

 

Even I can't come into his view.

 

--

 

In the next days, Yuri has been patienly teaching Tiffany and helping her in her homeworks.

 

I passed by our room and saw them still having a lesson.

 

I guess Tiffany really is dedicated to pass.

 

Oh well...

 

I guess I'll be on my way to the library...

 

Without Yuri.

 

As expected, there's something wrong with me.

 

Before this,

 

I would have never thought about things like this.

 

How exactly I'm seen as in other people's eyes...

 

I must study! The end of term exams are approaching!" I scribbled some important things in my notebook but ended up screwing it.

 

Why can't I concentrate?

 

"Jessica!"

 

Huh?

 

A strange guy with pale skin wearing a baseball uniform showed up in the window near my table.

 

"Who are you?" I asked.

 

"Eh?"

 

"You should remember the faces of your classmates by now! I'm Kim Taeyeon! You can call me Taeng."

 

"Oh... what's up?"

 

"Nothing really! It's only that I have feelings towards you!" He said while grinning like a kid.

 

"Why?"

 

"Because I love you!" He said.

 

"Liar."

 

"Hahaha! You saw through it. I almost thought that I was a good actor!"

 

"You're so obvious."

 

"Anyway, Jessica, you're so close to Yuri... so I've been wondering what kind of person you were."

 

"Exactly what did you do to make that truant obediently come to school?"

 

He asked with a bit of anticipation.

 

"Well... I don't know exactly what he's thinking either..."

 

"In the end, it's also fine to leave him alone! But it's only that he wanted to be friends!"

 

"I was in Junior High with Yuri..."

 

"...did you know? During the three years in Junior High, he never attended any lessons at school!"

 

WHAT?

 

...Oh! But... That might have really happened. SinceweretalkingaboutYuri.

 

"If it wasn't for you, I guess he wouldn't be here." He showed me his smile with gratitude.

 

"TAEYEON!"

 

"GET BACK HERE!"

 

"OK, COACH!"

 

"I'm going now, Jessica!" He let go of the grid of the window and disappeared.

 

---

 

I went back to our classroom and found a dead body on a chair.

 

Oh, my bad.

 

It's just Tiffany after all.

 

"Uh... Tiffany? What are you doing? andwhere'sYuri?"

 

"...please leave me alone... I'm only feeling a little despair..." She said with her gloomy voice.

 

"YURI! YOU CAN'T BRING CHICKENS TO SCHOOL!"

I heard Miss Boa trying to confiscate the chicken from Yuri again.

 

Tiffany was sobbing beneath her desk.

 

"There's definitely no hope for me... The things that Yuri taught me went straight over my head, and also there's little time left... in the blink of an eye, I had no idea where he ran off too..."

 

"Enough! A student's duty is to study properly!" I said.

 

"Hmph! School is a joke! The 'ONLINE ME' is the real ME!" She shouted.

 

"The online me... has a bunch of friends on her side, and trusted by everyone... in that world, I am only an ordinary girl who worries about looking after her hair."

 

"Things that happen in the online world are not real."

 

"Please leave me alone!"

 

"Intelligent people like you who have a heart of stone will not understand!"

 

I-I didn't...

 

"It's fine even if it isn't real..."

 

"...I only wanted to get close to other people."

 

"Being separated from other people...is really lonely."

 

I reached out my Mathematics book and pulled a chair to seat in front of her.

 

"This one...and...this one...also this one...as long as you put the important ones you revised into these places, there shouldn't be any problems getting through the re-test!"

 

"...I generally understand the teacher's style of questions so as long as you can grasp these important points, you won't fail, Tiffany."

 

"Uh...uh...Jessica?"

 

Despite this...

 

she still have a bewildered look...

 

But I finally felt that

 

I seemed to be able to understand that mood of hers.

 

"You definitely have to sail through..."

 

"...the re-test." I smiled at her.

 

"Je-jessica...Jessie!!!" She shouted as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

 

"But tomorrow is the re-test, are you ready?" I asked.

 

"Eh?" I can sense she still want me to stay and teach her but I got more important things to do.

 

"Okay, then, I must be goi---"

 

Tiffany grabbed my wrist and stopped me.

 

"You're almost at the point of no-return, Jessie."

 

---- 

 

"NO SLEEPING!!!" I shouted.

 

Being made to stay up late to study with Tiffany irritates me.

 

I should be having my deep slumber by this time.

 

"WHY CAN'T YOU MEMORIZE THESE TYPES OF FORMULA?!!!!" I continued to raise my voice and slam the desk with a rolled newspaper.

 

"HellSica...." Tiffany said while holding onto the desk like it was going to save her from my rage.

 

"Why did you pick here to study? Canyouletmegohomeandsleep?" GD said while yawning like a lazy dog probbably being jealous of Yuri who is silently sleeping on the couch.

 

---

 

I don't know if it's my hard work that paid off, somehow Tiffany didn't need any after-school tutoring.

 

Kwon Yuri: 100

Hwang Tiffany: 32

 

This was the results of the re-test.

 

"It's the highest score in my life!!!" Tiffany gleamed in joy while swaying her test paper around.

 

Afterwards, on monday...

 

"Thanks to Yuri, the meeting was messed up!" Tiffany threw her hand bag while glaring at Yuri.

 

"Hmph. I don't want to go to that kind of meeting again!"

 

"Apart from not being able to chat with the girls and not surrounded by a flock of boys, everyone on the club's website is treating me coldly since Yuri started a fight in the meeting!

 

She said while she buried her face in her palms.

 

"HEY, YURI!!!!"

 

"How many times have I told you, DON'T BRING THE CHICKEN!!!"

 

It was Ms. Boa carrying Yuri's struggling chicken.

 

Yuri was surprised.

 

"Oh, I forgot!" I facepalmed myself when I remembered something.

 

Taeyeon said that he was willing to take the chicken home to look after.

 

"Ok, I like chicken meat!"

 

---

 

After so much had happen, finally everything has been settled.

 

"Hey, Jessie! Hahaha! Look! Yuri is looking for you!" Tiffany said while pointing down at Yuri.

 

"Be quiet! If he finds me, he'll bother me to death!"

 

We were on the rooftop of our schools building.

 

"It must be so tiring. Ah, I'm going to buy us some drinks! As a thank you for teaching me." She said.

 

I closed my eyes and decided to sleep..

 

It's finally peaceful...

 

Ever since...

 

I got involved with those people...

 

I've felt very tired.

 

No One's P.O.V.

 

"Jessie, I bought fruit juice!"

 

Tiffany found Yuri beside Jessica. He signalled Tiffany to be quiet and smirked.

 

Tiffany blushed and decided to give them privacy.

 

"Yuri, go for it! <3 "

 

After an hour, Jessica went back to her senses when she felt something different.

 

"YO!" Yuri said.

 

Jessica found herself lying on the ground with her head on Yuri's right leg. She sat up immediately.

 

"Yuri! When did you get here?!" Jessica asked and took a look in her wrist watch. 

 

"Oh my gosh, classes!" She was about to stand up but...

 

"Don't worry. Carry on sleeping." Yuri pushed Jessica's head back down with his palm.

 

Jessica's P.O.V.

 

"Why didn't you wake me up?!"

 

"Because I saw that you were sleeping so soundly. I think it's really cute!"

 

Damn cheeks don't give it away. Don't blush. Jessica control yourself.

 

This guy... is he joking all the time?

 

We spent another hour on the rooftop with that position.

 

I was looking at the sky while thinking some things in my head...

 

...it's the first time that I skipped a class.

 

The weather is really good today.

 

I suppose in the past, I definitely would not consider it...

 

The afternoon sky on the rooftop...is surprisingly so blue!

 

The world... has become so vast!

 

Those sounds of students chattering, leaves being shoved away by the wind, bird's chirping...

 

I once considered it to be noise...

 

What I can hear right now is unexpectedly so relaxing...

 

So comfortable.

 

"Yuri!"

 

"I'm truly glad that I met you."

 

He gave me that smile that could melt a million girl's heart but only I can see it.

 

I sat up, my back facing him...

 

"...in the past, I was only interested in studying, but I feel that the way I live my life right now... appears to be even happier!"

 

"I like you, Yuri."