~ Chapter Four ~

The room fell in silence for a moment. “Wow seriously?” Kyungsoo mumbled as Jongin took another bite of his food. “That really , where did you hear that from?” Jongin swallowed while twisting his chop sticks.

“Some girls in our class,” was his muffled reply as he continued chewing on his food. Chanyeol flinched at his answer. He knew exactly which girls Jongin was referring to, but how did they find out? Was it even true or some stupid lie they made up? No one ever seemed to talk to Chinsun or even give her a chance. Had she done something wrong in the past that made everyone look away? Chanyeol was very curious. He really wanted to know the reason behind these things. “That was so good Kyung! God I'm so full now!” Jongin said, snapping Chanyeol out of his thoughts.

“Thanks!” Kyungsoo smiled as he finished the last of his meal.

--

“Alright everyone! Have a good day and wait outside near the busses! We'll be getting everything ready in about ten minutes!” Miss Kim announced right before the bell rang. Everyone in the class, including the teacher, jumped out of their seats and excitedly made way to the door. They couldn't wait for the ski trip.

“I'm going to meet Kyung, see you later!” Jongin waved as he patted Chanyeol on the back and left the room. Chanyeol chuckled at how hyper his friend was feeling today and happily got up from his chair to meet Miss Kim and Chinsun at her office. The tall boy looked around the emptying class to see if Chinsun had left or not and surprisingly she hadn't. She was seated tightly at her desk packing away the her books in the handbag she always carried around.

Knowing that the two of them would be going to the same place, Chanyeol decided to accompany her to their destination only as a friendly gesture. With perfect timing, he walked up to her desk right when she was about to leave.

“Hey,” he greeted. Chinsun jumped at his deep voice and turned around to the source. She looked around in shock as the other students began staring at the scene. Nervously, she glanced up at Chanyeol and pointed to herself, asking if he was referring to her. Chanyeol chuckled at her very odd behavior before nodding. Chinsun flushed a deep red color then bowed in hello. “Let's go, we can't be late,” Chanyeol told her as he turned to the door. The two of them stepped out of the class and down the busy hallway of the many happy students. Most of the teens glared at Chinsun in a mocking way once they noticed the taller boy walking with her. Chinsun ducked her head lower following at a far distance from Chanyeol. The noise level in the area started to hush into whispers as the poor girl passed. Chanyeol suspiciously turned around and noticed how far Chinsun was. “Hurry up,” he called to her as he glanced back to the front. Chinsun in a breath of air as she quickly trailed behind him.

Once they reached Miss Kim's office, they saw their teacher wearing a black coat, already there to great them.

“Hello you two! Put these on real quick and let's get a move on!” she said while handing them two big black coats with the word 'STAFF' written in red just on the front, just like the one she was wearing. “Okay, so we have to hurry now and meet up with the rest of the teachers and pack the bags into the busses!” she announced, leading them down another corridor and out the door.

As the cold wind hit their faces and the sun gleamed in their eyes, they saw three yellow busses stationed next to the school all in a line. Many teachers wearing the same jackets as they were, were packing the luggage and suit cases at the bottom of the bus where the storage was kept.

“Chinsun, go help out Miss Choi over there,” she pointed to the first bus where two teachers were working, “and Chanyeol you go to the bus right behind it! I'll be working on the other one! Now go go go!” she cheered and ran off. Chinsun jogged over to where she was assigned while Chanyeol did the same.

“Hey Chanyeol!” a teacher waved as he reached the second bus.

“Mr. Gim!” Chanyeol smiled as he bowed to his teacher from last year.

“It's nice to see you helping out!” he laughed as he chucked a blue suitcase in the storage area. Chanyeol just smirked in return then lifted up a bag and got to work. The suit cases and school bags soon thinned out as they were safely put inside the buses. Students began making their way out of the school and lining in front of each vehicle.

“Chanyeol!” someone called. The tall boy turned around to the third bus and smiled when he saw his two friends. He walked up to them while stuffing his cold hands in his pockets. “Having fun?” Jongin teased as Chanyeol came to a stop.

“Shut up.” Chanyeol laughed as he stood beside them.

“Where's the loner girl?” Kyungsoo wondered as he peeked over Chanyeol. The taller boy just shrugged his shoulders as their teacher waved her hands while jumping up and down to grab everyone's attention.

“Alright! Listen up! Everyone get into a single file line, there aren't assigned seats so take whatever's available!” after hearing that from Miss Kim, all the students began rushing into the yellow vehicles to get the favored seats in the back. “Slow down!” Miss Kim frantically called as the kids started to push each other too violently. Mr. Gim walked over to the mess, standing beside Miss Kim, laughing and shaking his head while observing the amusing scene. Kyungsoo and Jongin snuck into the line pulling the distracted Chanyeol along. The tall boy turned around to check if Chinsun was anywhere outside, but it seemed like she made her way in the bus already. He let a sigh of relief slip out of his lips. He narrowed his brows in confusion. Why was he relieved?

As Jongin yanked him up the stairs of the bus, Chanyeol immediately looked for Chinsun. He didn't understand this feeling, but he just needed to be sure she was safe.

“Found a spot!” Chanyeol heard Kyungsoo cheer as he sat down in an empty booth near the middle of the bus. Jongin grinned as he sat beside Kyungsoo. “Sit there Chan!” Kyungsoo pointed to the seat in front of them. It was occupied by that one girl that kept bad mouthing Chinsun. She was chatting with her other two friends who were placed in the booth just across.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” Chanyeol asked as he pointed to the empty space next to the window. The girl looked up in annoyance, but her creepy glare twisted into a flirtatious wink.

“Sure, go ahead,” she replied, pushing back in her seat allowing more room for Chanyeol to pass through. The tall male awkwardly nodded and slid in the spot beside her, not missing his chance to look at the back of the bus for Chinsun. She quickly readjusted her position and got closer to the handsome boy. “What's your name?” she questioned in a seductive way. Chanyeol unwillingly answered,

“Chanyeol,” he spoke shortly while quickly looking over the seat in search for one particular person.

“My name is Jessica,” the girl spoke, scooting a little closer so that their thighs were touching. Chanyeol ignored her flirting and kept his gaze in search for Chinsun. He couldn't seem to find her, but why was he even worried in the first place? He slowly pulled his gaze away from the bus door and looked out the window. “You know, my friends and I can use an extra roommate for the trip,” Jessica continued as her voice got slightly lower and mischievous. Chanyeol averted his eyes to Jessica who was too close for his liking.

“Sorry, I can't,” he told her with an uninterested look. She cocked a brow in confusion and pouted her glossy lips.

“Why not?” she pondered, puffing out her cheeks and trying to look cute. Chanyeol inwardly cringed at her fail attempt to seduce him.

“I have to room with staff,” Chanyeol explained.

“Oh, are you helping out or something?” she gleamed. Chanyeol cautiously nodded his head in response. “You're such a good boy! But I'm sure you can sneak in our room at night. We'll always have our door open.” She then winked again and turned to her friends to probably gossip about Chanyeol.

The boy just sighed and turned to the window in irritation. Suddenly he felt his phone vibrate. He reached into his pocket and checked his messages.

Annoying :

Dude Jessica literally gave away a free pass to heaven!

Chanyeol scoffed at his friend's text and quickly replied.

Chanyeol :

Why don't you go ahead and take my place then >.>

Chanyeol pressed send. He slumped in his seat trying to get comfortable, knowing that the trip to the chalet was going to be long. He closed his eyes once the bus began moving.

--

Chanyeol's lids shot open once the bus came to a quick stop. He groaned as he sat up properly in the seat. His back ached due to his slouching position he had slept in. Turning to his right, he saw Jessica sleeping soundly as were her other two friends. Looking behind his booth towards Kyungsoo and Jongin, they too were sleeping while comfortably laying on each other. He chuckled at the two weirdos and stretched his back while he faced the front again. The bus was waiting at a red light, patiently for it to turn green. The sun was completely gone while the dark night spread across the sky. He could barely see anything because he was still adjusting to the dark, but he saw enough to realize a slight glow at the front of the bus.

He peeked his head over the rows of seats and noticed someone holding a flash light in their mouth as they focused on something on their lap. Chanyeol squished his eyes to get get used to the darkness while observing the odd person with the light. When he was finally able to see clearly, he recognized it was Chinsun, sitting all alone at the front of the bus, drawing in her sketch book. He blinked several times at the girl then looked down at his lap feeling quite strange because his heart was acting all funny. She looked so peaceful and happy. No one was bothering her or interrupting her work, but at the same time, Chanyeol felt sorry for her. She was alone, there was no one she could talk with. He never noticed how quiet it was. The whole bus was silent, only the distant sounds of a pencil hitting paper was heard and the roaring engine of the bus.

The traffic light then turned green and the vehicle began moving again. Chanyeol saw the light flicker off as Chinsun chucked her supplies in her hand bag. She placed her purse beside the empty space that no one wanted to occupy, and then sleepily looked forward to the road with a frown on her face.

Chanyeol sighed at the girl as he gazed out the window and out into the starry night.

--

“Get up,” Kyungsoo grumbled as he pushed Jongin out of their seat. The tired boy landed on the floor with a big oomph.

“...what was that for?” Jongin yawned as he grabbed either bus seat and hoisted himself up.

“You were literally dead, I had to do something,” Kyungsoo lazily answered as his eyes tried to force themselves open from fatigue. Chanyeol watched as the two zombies and the rest of the students eventually made their way out of the vehicle. He stood beside Miss Kim on one side of the bus exit, while Chinsun and the other male teacher stood on the opposite side, while counting all the kids that stepped out. Once the last student got off, Miss Kim announced;

“I counted thirty, how about you guys?” she asked.

“I got the same thing,” Chanyeol told her as the other two nodded their heads in agreement. Miss Kim smiled and clapped her hands together.

“Alright everyone!” she beamed with her strong voice, which no one really appreciated at the moment, “we have finally arrived at the chalet! Please make your way to the third floor and take any room you wish. Please note that girls and boys must sleep in separate rooms.” Chanyeol heard Jongin cry at that and couldn't help but chuckle at his friend. “Now let's all go!” Miss Kim said and all the students turned to the warm cozy building. Everyone made their way inside, some students were waiting for the elevator while some just took the stairs. Chanyeol decided to take the stairs making it to the third floor in no time. He saw Mr. Gim walk into the first dorm of the hall. He followed his lead and paced inside the room.

“Oh hey Chanyeol!” Mr. Gim waved as he dropped his stuff on one of the bottom bunks.

“Taking the bottom I see,” Chanyeol smirked as he dropped his bag on the floor and ped his jacket. The teacher laughed.

“The bottom's always the best,” he answered, taking off his coat. Chanyeol looked to the other side of the room and saw an unoccupied bunk.

“Is anyone else sleeping here?” the tall boy questioned, hanging his black jacket. Mr. Gim nodded his head as he grabbed a hanger.

“Yup, we're sharing our room with Miss Kim and Chinsun,” he replied, hooking his coat on the metal pole. Chanyeol raised a brow in confusion, grabbing his bag and throwing it on top of his bed.

“I thought we weren't aloud to share with girls,” he stated, climbing the latter and sitting at the top, crawling to the center of the platform.

“Well, since we're all staff and we'll be in charge of this group,” Mr. Gim explained as he untied his shoes, “we've decided that it would be best to share a room and leave more space for the other students.” He finished, placing his boots near the door. Chanyeol hummed in response as he slipped off his sneakers, one by one they fell to the ground. Mr. Gim stretched his arms in the air and yawned. “I'm so tired,” he mumbled, getting inside his blankets. “I'm going to sleep now, goodnight Chanyeol.”

“Night,” Chanyeol muttered back as Mr. Gim switched the lights off. Chanyeol threw the covers over his body. He sunk his head in the pillow as crickets and the low muttering of students echoed in the room. It was peaceful. The room was dark and calm, but only for a moment. It lasted just a short while before Miss Kim came bashing through and light was once again bouncing throughout the walls.

“Aw...” Chanyeol heard Mr. Gim quietly moan as Miss Kim dropped her three bags on the floor of the empty bottom bunk. Chanyeol squeezed his eyes shut at the burning light that pierced his eyes. “Close the door,” the male teacher grumbled as he turned away from the entrance.

“Oh sorry there boys!” Miss Kim apologized as she quickly slammed the door shut, but only to be met by a poor Chinsun. Chanyeol quickly sat up in his bed in surprise as he saw the door crash against her face. The girl tumbled over to the hallway and fell to the ground, cupping her hands over her nose while her bag fell out of her grasp. “Oh my God I'm so sorry Chinsun!” Miss Kim panicked as she escorted the girl to the washroom. Laughter was heard in the hallway as heavy footsteps became fainter and fainter.

By the time Chinsun came back with Miss Kim, Mr. Gim and most of the students had already fallen fast asleep. Chanyeol was on the verge of drifting away when the imagine of a puffy eyed girl came walking into their room.