Chapter 5

It was lunch time when they were gathered altogether again. WooHyun sat excitedly on their lunch table sitting beside EunMi. They were telling about their classmates and their classes. It wasn’t really something new after all, it was a brand new start for all of them.

SungYoon stood up. Hoya got alarmed and stood up after her, “What is it Stephanie?” he asked.

SungYoon then smiled at him softly. “I am going to get something to eat. Do you want to join me Howon?” she asked calmly. Hoya smiled and waved his head. “Do not worry too much for me.” She said and started walking towards the line of people getting their lunch.

She stood there, holding a plastic tray getting fruits and drinks not only for her and her family. “Hi, you’re Kim SungYoon right?” a male voice asked from behind her. She looked back and saw Lee ChanHee behind her.

“Hello Lee ChanHee.” She replied with a short bow.

He smiled at her widely. “You can call me Chunji. That’s what everyone calls me.” He said, flashing his pearly whites once more.  “We’re in the same homeroom right?” he said and she nodded in reply. “I hope we can be good friends.” He said to be returned with a small smile.

SungYoon walked towards their table and settled the things she bought. “You can all take whichever pleases you.” She said, taking a bottle of water and an apple and took a bite out of it. “What other classes do we have together?” she asked no one in particular.

“We all have math together and free period.” WooHyun replied, handing over a piece of peeled orange to EunMi. “How about you L, how are you classes? You mostly don’t have company right?” WooHyun asked him.

MyungSoo shrugged in reply. “I have been sensing that we are not the only of our kind here.” He said simply. “Again, we have to be careful.” He said, glancing over another table. “There is a boy that would not stop looking at you Stephanie.” He said then pointed his head slightly to the left.

SungYoon looked at the table and saw Chunji with a couple of friends, but it wasn’t Chunji who was looking, it was someone else. She noticed he had very dark eyes like she had but she wasn’t so sure yet. She glanced back at L and saw him looking at her intently. “We will not jump to conclusions L. I will not loose any of you again.”

After class, L was already waiting outside Hoya and SungYoon’s homeroom class. Hoya came out first with SungYoon trailing behind, Sunggyu standing beside her. She suddenly turned her gaze to L who had a curious expression. “I am going to Sunggyu’s house this afternoon. We have to work with our Pride and Prejudice dialogues.” She said, explaining why he was walking with them.

MyungSoo gave her a warned look and she complete understood. They walked further down the hall and was joined by WooHyun and Eunmi who looked like they just came from their PE class. “Oh… Hi there! I’m Nam WooHyun and this is Hoya’s sister, Lee EunMi.” WooHyun said, noticing Sunggyu’s presence.

“Kim Sunggyu.” He said with a smile as they walked towards the parking lot. “My car is over there.” He said, pointing to a red Toyota Camry, then turned to SungYoon. “I’ll wait for you there.” He said and she replied with a curt nod then followed her friends to their car.

She stopped in front of a black Camaro to which L turned around to look at her. “Stephanie, be careful.” He said with a warned tone. “He’s… he’s not…” he couldn’t bear to finish his sentence, he was affected too. “You know what I speak of.” He said but was cut off as SungYoon raised her hand.

“I know L. I know that he is human. And I will be careful.” SungYoon told him sternly. She took out her copy of the Pride and Prejudice then gave her bag to MyungSoo. “I know it was my fault, the last time. But I will make sure that nothing will go wrong this time. I will not loose any of you.” She told him.

For the first time in half a year, a smile came on L’s lips. He walked towards SungYoon and hugged her. “I’m just worried about you. I know how much you miss him.” He said to a whisper that only she could hear, and their friends. He handed her a cellphone and nodded, “just call if you need anything. We’ll just be at home.” He said.

SungYoon nodded and said her farewells to her family then walked towards Sunggyu’s car. She found him talking to his friends.

“You should introduce me to her!” one whined out to Sunggyu.

Sunggyu suddenly smiled in amusement. “SungYeol, are you that confident that she’s going to like you?” he asked, feeling a little protective of her.

“She’s bound to. I’m very charming.” The one called SungYeol replied confidently.

Another one suddenly smirked. “How about a bet then?” he asked.

“You hyungs are so bad.” A younger one perked up. “She looks really pretty you know. But she looks… lonely.”

“Shut up.” Sunggyu muttered as soon as she was near enough.

She stopped directly in front of Sunggyu’s car. “Did you wait long? I apologize.” She said and gave a curt bow.

“No, not at all.” Sunggyu replied waving his hands in the air. “By the way, these are my friends.” He said, motioning to the boys he was talking with earlier. “That’s DongWoo, SungYeol and his brother SungJong.” He said, pointing to each one respectively. “This is Kim SungYoon.” He said, introducing her. She gave then curt nods. “Well, we better go.” He said to SungYoon then turned to his friends. “See you guys later.” He said then helped SungYoon get into the passenger seat and he sprinted to the driver’s end.

They got to his house under 15 minutes. He parked his car out in the driveway and opened the door for SungYoon. She muttered a thank you to him and walked with him to the front door. He hesitated opening the door then turned to SungYoon. “My mom is a bit weird when I bring girls over so… Sorry about it in advanced.” He said then opened the door and walked inside. Not noticing that the girl wasn’t there on his side any longer.

SungYoon hesitated at the door. She couldn’t enter the house, not without a proper invitation to go inside. These were one of the rules that she had to play. How was he going to tell him? She pulled out her phone and pretended to text someone just in case he comes back.

And he did. He saw her, pressing on her phone, possibly sending a text message to her family. “Hey,” he called out softly and she turned to him. “Do you want to come inside?” he asked with a small smile. As if the bars on the door were lifted, she nodded and stepped inside the house easily. Sunggyu turned to her apologetically, “Sorry the house is a bit messy today.” He said.

They continued walking until they reached the living room. “Hi mom.” He said, giving his mom a peck on the cheek. “This is Kim SungYoon. She and her family are the ones who moved in at the house down the street.” He said. “We’re going to be working on our English drama class.” He explained.

Sunggyu’s mother’s eyes lit up. “Hello dear! It’s nice to meet you.” She said enthusiastically. She held out her hand but SungYoon responded with a curt bow. “You’re a pretty one. It’s rare for Sunggyu to bring home girls, you see. I sometimes wonder if he’s ever going to get a decent girlfriend.” His mom said, narrowing her eyes on him.

Sunggyu was surpised as SungYoon laughed melodiously. “Thank you for the wonderful compliments. I would think that it would not be a problem for Sunggyu to find himself a woman. He is a fine young man after all.” She said, a smile still on her face.

“Well, this has been sufficiently awkward. You two can stop talking about me like I’m not here.” Sunggyu said. “We’re going up in my room.” He said to his mom then turned to SungYoon.

Before they even moved an inch, Sunggyu’s mom called out to SungYoon. “Please, stay for dinner. I insist.” She said.

“I would be delighted to Mrs. Kim.” She replied and smiled.

The two of them were reading quietly in Sunggyu’s room. He would casually glance at her and saw her eyes glued to the book. “So, I was thinking we can also watch the movie adaptation to see how they carried out the lines to better get into character.” Sunggyu said conversationally, closing his book.

SungYoon finally tore her eyes away from her book and looked at Sunggyu with the same vacant expression. “That would be fine for me as well.” She replied, closing her own book.

As Sunggyu stood up to pop in the dvd, a knock came to the door. SungYoon stood up and opened it. Sunggyu’s mom came into view with a smile. “Dinner’s ready. Eat first then you two can get back at your project.” She said then turned to leave.

The two of them followed Sunggyu’s mom to the dining area. Sunggyu insisted for SungYoon to sit down while they prepared. Sunggyu went towards the kitchen behind the counter, helping his mom with the servings.

“I think she’s very beautiful.” Sunggyu’s mom suddenly opened up, thinking SungYoon couldn’t hear their conversation.

“Mom.” Sunggyu whined out.

“What? It’s my opinion.” His mom replied. “Though the way she talks, it’s very… formal for a high school student.” She added. “Not that I’m saying it’s wrong. I like a daughter-in-law with manners after all.”

“Mom! She might hear you!” Sunggyu said again.

SungYoon had to smile from where she was. “Most unlikely.” His mom replied. “You should ask her out.”

Then there was silence. You could only hear the clanking of china. “You think so?” Sunggyu asked.

She could hear them slowly approaching. She turned to see both of them walking towards the table, setting down the food. SungYoon smiled as she watched Sunggyu’s mother fuss about Sunggyu’s eating manners and other things. She hasn’t seen this kind of thing for a while now. She smiled and answered politely when she was asked and she couldn’t help but feel Sunggyu’s eyes on her.

After the meal, they talked about their project some more and decided to continue the planning tomorrow and to also watch the movie. “Mrs. Kim? Thank you very much for welcoming me in your home and for the wonderful meal.” She said and gave another curt bow.

“You have to come back okay? It’s been a pleasure having you here too.” His mom replied. “Yah Kim Sunggyu! Walk SungYoon home! A beautiful girl like her shouldn’t be walking alone at night.” She called out to him.

“I am! I am! You don’t need to tell me.” Sunggyu replied, walking ahead out of the door. The two of them walked in silence. “Again, sorry about my mom.” He said as they walked on the street. “It gets so embarrassing when she does that whole ‘girlfriend’ thing. I mean, I’ve had girlfriends before but she’s usually so picky about them.” He said. Then he noticed that the girl was just quiet. “Are you okay? You’re awfully quiet. But then again, you always are.”

SungYoon gave him a sheepish smile. “Forgive me. I tend to listen more than speak.” She told him. “Your mother is wonderful, you need not be ashamed for her. Thank you again for the great meal. I will see you in school tomorrow.” She said and waved at him to say goodbye.

She watched him leave and enter his house before turning to the shadow in front of her house. “I should have known, the princess Stephanie has graced us with her presence again.” A voice said as he stepped out of the shadow.

“Ricky.” 

hello guys~ if you've noticed, I've included new characters in the story and it's TEEN TOP! (YAAAAAY!) and I'm slowly bringing up the story and I'm hoping you guys are liking it so far. 

Please please do leave comments below. I'd appreciate any sort of input or comment on the story. :)

-listeningsoul