IMPORTANT: Taecyeon's thoughts
                     Yuri's thoughts

Chapter 10

Author’s POV

Yuri was teaching Jessica the basics of the paper-folding art or origami in simpler terms. He sat himself beside Jessica and from there he guided the latter in making the simplest forms of the said art. Yuri felt at ease with Jessica’s presence. He liked the way Jessica’s hand with occasionally graze his during their little lesson. It made him feel a heart-stopping sensation and it was strange for him to feel this way from such a simple accidental gesture. Overall, he felt satisfied with how everything was going but he had something in his mind that he wanted to ask.

“Do you trust me?”

She immediately stopped folding the paper she had in her hand. The cheerful and light atmosphere around them suddenly shifted with the verbalization Yuri’s question. He didn’t quite expect her to react like this. He was simply curious about the matter and so he asked her.

“Trust… is a big word. I’ve only known you for a couple of days so I wouldn’t really know yet.” She replied with a monotonous voice.

From that, Yuri learned that she had trust issues. Just the mention of the word itself, made Jessica evidently uncomfortable. Making Jessica trust him was Yuri’s ultimate goal. He knew that if he had it then everything else would fall into place.

“I just wanted to ask that’s all.”

Silence surrounded the two as they continued with their origami lesson. Yuri observed Jessica’s work, he was impressed. For a beginner, she was really good.

“Is this your first time? Judging from your work, I’d say you’ve had experienced before.”

Yuri tried to lighten the mood up. That short talk about trust really got the mood spiraling down.

“Definitely my first time. I’m that good, huh?” Jessica grinned.

“I didn’t say it was good.”

Jessica shot Yuri a glare to which the latter responded with his usual expression. The two decided to have an impromptu staring contest. Everything was going good until, Jessica suddenly bursted out in laughter. Yuri kept his gaze on Jessica in amusement. Even the way she laughs captivated this young boy. Stirring away further from the trust talk, Yuri remembered about their little promise on Friday.

“On Friday I’ll pick you up, okay? Go home first then I’ll just text you….”

“Do you have soccer training on Fridays too? I could just wait for you here.” Jessica offered. If it weren’t for her ridiculous request, then Yuri wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble. The least she could do was wait for the boy to finish his training, if ever.

“Yes but I won’t go. I need to drop by somewhere on Friday so just go home first then I’ll pick you up.”

Jessica felt stings of guilt. What was she thinking when she asked Yuri to go with her shopping? It was evident that Yuri was a busy person. She should’ve known. After all, Yuri was part of the main family so he’s most likely busy with some of the preparations needed for the party on Saturday.

“Are you sure it’s okay? I mean you don’t have to come with me on Friday. I’ll still go. Tiffany went by our place yesterday to give out an invitation.”

“It’s fine. After thinking about it, I’ve come to realize that it’s only fair that I go with you since I’m the one who troubled you to go on Saturday. And yes, I know that you would’ve attended anyway since I’m sure that Tiffany would’ve invited you but still I got to you first.”

Jessica didn’t argue anymore, she didn’t retaliate. Instead she gave Yuri a genuine smile. Spending time with Yuri was something she wouldn’t pass up anyway. It was because the boy was enthralling. He had a way with words that just makes her insides melt.

They again filled the air with their random conversations. Jessica would ask Yuri something about him and the latter would either say nothing or utter the words “I don’t know.” Most of her questions were about Yuri’s preferences in things but the boy doesn’t really have any of those. Through this, Jessica learned that Yuri wasn’t picky at all. He would be okay with anything thrown at him. Although he had his opinions about certain things, he kept them to himself.

“You’re the passive type, huh?”

“Maybe.”

Jessica was yet to be aware of Yuri’s extensive ability to turn the odds to his favor. It was Yuri’s hidden talent, the only trick up his sleeve. Yuri was gifted in more ways than one but the most useful one would be his capability to analyze everything. With this he is able to make any situation go the way he wants it to be.

“The ever so mysterious Yuri strikes again.” Jessica said.

“It depends on how you see it. Sure, it can come off as me being mysterious but if you look at it in a different light, it could also be that I’m just really clueless about myself.”

Jessica took in Yuri’s words but didn’t really think much of it. She regarded his reply as one of his witty remarks.

“Right. Whatever you say, Mr. Kwon.” Jessica smiled at Yuri.

As their conversation went on so did time. Other students started coming and so Yuri returned to his seat which was behind Jessica’s. When Kris showed up, Jessica apologized for leaving without him. Sensing that whatever it was had something to do with Yuri, Kris didn’t ask further. And as follows, everybody was in class. Including, Taeyeon and Taecyeon who happened to come in together.

Taecyeon kept his promise to Jessica, he did not arrive late. He was hoping that he’d arrive early enough to take the seat beside her but to his dismay when he arrived, she was already there which meant that Kris was already sitting on the seat he oh so desired. If only they didn’t live together or at least didn't go to school together then he wouldn’t have a problem with snagging himself some time with Jessica. Little did he know that on that morning, the two cousins did not arrive together.

Their homeroom class started with Sun Hee’s announcement about the much awaited Culture festival.

“Good morning, everyone. So yesterday, all faculty members were given the memo about the upcoming Culture festival. This year’s theme is all about the camaraderie in students. And so all of the activities will be carried out in groups.” 

A series of murmuring went on. Everyone was looking forward to yet again experience this joyous festival. The Culture festival features various activities that highlight the many cultures in the world. Student performances were the main attraction of this festival. This was a week-long celebration were everybody forgets all the stress they get from the academe.

“As you all know, one of the main highlights of this festival is the sky lantern-making. The seniors are in-charge of that this year.”

The sky lanterns have their own special meanings to the students that made them. It was a tradition for the students of Whimoon to make a wish or set a goal on the sky lantern. Letting it fly up in the air, implies making a promise to achieve that wish or goal and also it sends a message of being persistent with chasing one's dreams.

“So since the theme this year is promoting the camaraderie in students, this particular activity will be done by partners. Two students will collaborate to make one sky lantern. Of course you all know that this also calls for everybody to be creative in designing their lanterns.”

Everybody in the class got even more excited. Two particular boys were thinking of the same thing or rather the same person. Both Yuri and Taecyeon, wanted Jessica to be their partner but of course the manner of how everyone will be partnered together is in the hands of none other than their homeroom teacher.

“I’ve thought about how I would group everyone up. We’ll do it randomly through a game of chance. This will give everyone a chance to get to know someone new."

I have to think of a way to rig the game somehow so that I can get partnered with Jessica or I could just ask the person who’ll be partnered with her to change places with me. That would only work if it’s anyone besides Yuri though...

Taecyeon was deep in thought. He knew that Yuri wouldn’t budge if he was the one who’ll be able to get Jessica as his partner. After yesterday’s events, Taecyeon thought that seeing Taeyeon and Yuri yesterday was no coincidence if it was then it was a rather sick one, he thought.

Whilst Taecyeon was contouring up ideas, Yuri kept his cool. This boy, unlike the other one, wanted to see through this game of chance their teacher was talking about. Yuri decided to leave it up to his odds to figure this one out. He was definitely tempted to try and tamper with whatever game their teacher had in mind but ultimately he held it in.

I wonder how my odds are against this one.

“I’ve prepared this for today...” Sun Hee then brings out the little box she had in her bag.

“…Inside this box are pieces of papers with numbers on them. Everyone will get the chance to randomly pick one out. You will be partnered with whoever that has the same number you’ve picked.”

Like Yuri and Taecyeon, everybody in their class had someone they wanted to be partnered with. Whether it be their long-time crushes or their best-friends. Basically, everybody felt that surge of excitement.

“It would be so damn funny if you actually get partnered with Jessica, I mean what are the odds, right?” Taeyeon quietly whispered.

“We’ll see.” Yuri responded nonchalantly.

Sun Hee started to call everyone alphabetically. Each student was to come up front to get a number from the basket. Once everybody had their numbers, Sun Hee started with the roll calling.

“Okay once I call the number, the two whom have it, please stand up.”

As Sun Hee called out the numbers, two students would stand up and every time it happened, a series of cheer and even howling occurred among the students. It’s their way of teasing the partnered individuals. After 8 turns, it was finally Yuri's turn.

“Number nine?” Sun Hee announced.

Hearing his number, Yuri stood up. He looked around the classroom and it seemed like no one was standing up except him.

“Who’s the lucky person to be partnered with Mr. Kwon? I repeat we are now on number nine.” Sun Hee emphasized on the last word.

Hesitantly, the girl in sitting in front of Yuri stood up. She slightly hung her head low for she knew that this would yet be another cause for their classmates to talk about them.

“Ah, it’s you, Ms. Jung.” Sun Hee smiled.

When Yuri saw Jessica stand up, he raised his eyebrows in amusement. Certainly the odds were with him that day. He looked over to his right onto the next column of seats to see Taecyeon’s reaction, it was a mix of shock and frustration. He even had his fists balled up.

I bet he wants to beat the living out of me.

“Alright so for group number nine, it’s Mr. Kwon and Ms. Jung.” Sun Hee said as she wrote it on the board.

The roll call continued until everybody’s name was on the board.

1. Bae Suzy and Shin Wonho
2. Kim Ravi and Meng Jia
3. Song Victoria and Wang Fei
4. Jang Wooyoung and Park Seyoung
5. Kim Taeyeon and Son Naeun
6. Lee Sungyeol and Nam Woohyun
7. Cha Hakyeon and Kim Dasom
8. Yoon Bora and Lee Jongsuk
9. Kwon Yuri and Jung Jessica
10. Ok Taecyeon and Wu Emma
11. Wu Kris and Kim Woobin
12. Jung Nicole and Jung Jinwoon
13. Hwang Chansung and Lee Junho
14. Park Jiyeon and Lee Jieun
15. Kim Yura and Hong Jonghyun

After the assignment of groups, Sun Hee proceeded with their lesson. Taecyeon was still locked up in his frustration. He couldn't accept the way things went because he refused to believe that out of all the guys in their class, Jessica got partnered with Yuri.

This is too much of a coincidence. Yuri must’ve done something… He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary though. We all picked from the same box…. ARGH!

Taecyeon unconsciously slammed his fist onto his desk, creating such a loud noise that disrupted the class. Everyone looked his way. It took him a few seconds to assess the situation.

“Is there something wrong Mr. Ok?” Sun Hee asked.

The boy in question looked around only to find everybody’s eyes on him. He quickly apologized for his actions. Sun Hee then continued her lesson to which everybody listened to. Meanwhile, Yuri sighed and shook his head. Taeyeon saw this and couldn’t help but ask her friend. She had a feeling that Yuri was thinking of the same thing as her.

“You think it’s because of the whole partnering thing?” Taeyeon whispered.

“I don’t think, I know it is. It’s pretty obvious, really.” Yuri uttered, not tearing his gaze away from the board.

“He’s a pretty bulky guy, you know. Better watch your back, man.”

Yuri ignored Taeyeon’s comment and instead focused in on the lesson that they were having. He wasn’t worried about Taecyeon picking a fight with him. God knows that Yuri hates seeing, let alone being involved in a physical fight. However that doesn’t mean he was incapable of such. In fact he was knowledgeable of various fighting styles within the Martials arts. He picked it up a couple of summers back. Yuri had nothing to do over the vacation so he randomly enrolled himself in a martial arts class. His trainer saw his potential and so he was then engaged in more complex fighting styles to which the boy successfully conquered.

As for Jessica, she couldn’t focus at all. She was blankly staring at their teacher. Their teacher’s words were just passing by her, she failed to process them. Jessica was too engrossed in her thoughts and worries. Of course she was glad that Yuri was her partner but her worries caught up to her. This is basically adding fuel to the fire.  She could put up with people talking about them, she was reassured with Yuri’s words earlier but along with that, he was also able to hook Jessica’s fear, her fear of getting attached again. Jessica thought the she had everything under control but she was wrong. All of her recent actions have proven that she was so far off from being in control. Even when Yuri unexpectedly confessed, she was so sure that she didn’t think of it as something serious to ponder over but then she proved herself wrong by thinking about that little confession over and over again and even analyzing it to get what it meant. When Yuri invited her to that party she could've declined but she didn't. It wasn't because she knew that Tiffany would've invited them anyway, it was because she couldn't say no to Yuri. She couldn't control herself, especially when she had asked the boy to come with her to look for an outfit for the said party. It was as if whenever she's in front of Yuri, she turns into this different person. A person who has completely forgotten the scars of her past and more importantly, a person who was willing to trust again. Jessica was slowly inching her way to break her most important rule ever and the fact that she only had 3 more other rules makes her even more appalled that she couldn’t keep them all.

1. Be invincible
2. Never fight back
3. Don’t be a burden
4. Don’t get attached

--

Author's Notes

HI GUYS!!! This is a short update but I hope you guys like it! 

79 subscribers!! YAY!!

1583 views!! YAY!!

21 upvotes!! YAY!!

Thank you to everyone!! Please do leave some comments! You can say anything, really haha! I would love to read your opinions~

Oh and btw, My name is somewhere on the list of students I typed in! I wonder if anyone can guess it hahaha! 

Peace! -ymllama