Ji Hyun’s POV

Everyone was acting off lately it and was already too much to just shrug off. I felt like they were hiding something from me. But at the same time I was also bothered about Onew-ssi and how Lu Han reacted to him when he came in view.

I knew that when I got into this I was just going to investigate about who initiated attacks against us and if they knew anything about my existence but now it seems like there is a bigger issue at hand. I sighed and fiddled with the papers that were handed to me by my teacher earlier.

I sighed and looked to my side to see Mark being troubled by the problem he was trying to solve. I laughed at him and told him the answer since the teacher was already practically going to fall asleep in front.

“The answer is the inverse function from the first problem.” I whispered and he looked at me briefly before smiling.

“And she helps those in need. Remember to tell Hyung that.” He whispered and I threw one of my papers at him out of irritation.

“I hate you. You are supposed to make me look like an unsuitable wife you dimwit. I thought we were friends.” I whispered angrily only making him chuckle at me.

“I am also the assigned researcher for you. I need to do my job well pabo.” He replied and I glared at him before groaning in my seat. He must’ve caught on quick to my mood since he suddenly asked what was wrong with me.

“Ya. Ji Hyun-ah. What’s wrong?” He asked me and I only groaned before answering him.

“Not now. Too many ears. I’ll tell you later during lunch.” I said and he tsked before answering me.

“Don’t give me that. You’ll be eating lunch with them and not me. You’re just trying to avoid me.” He pointed out. I looked at him before shaking my head.

“Nope. I am definitely going to eat lunch with you today. I need to hang out with other people aside from them sometimes. Especially since I spend almost every waking minute with them.” I said and he only smiled widely before nodding.

“Okay fine. I guess whatever we are going to talk about seems serious. I’m all in. Where do you plan to eat lunch?” He asked me .

“I found a quiet spot somewhere in the quad. It is one of the abandoned corners there and it has an amazing flower patch.” I smiled and he only nodded before going back to the exercises that we were doing.

_

“So what are we going to talk about?” He asked me when we finally made our way to the spot I was talking about. I only hummed a bit before sitting down on the benches that were here.

“Ya. At least give me a proper answer! And was it just me or was Lu Han-ssi eyeing me too much earlier when we left them in the classroom.” He pointed out and I groaned before answering.

“Actually. It’s not weird because all of them have been acting weird lately. At first it was just everyone except Tao and Lu Han. Then Lu Han starts being nice to me and Tao hasn’t been talking to me often anymore.” I said before groaning for the nth time today.

“Stop groaning. I keep thinking that you’re in pain. Really? Since when did they start acting this way?” He asked me and pulled out his lunch and chopsticks.

“Well. It was ever since the school party. Tell me what exactly did I do that night since it all became blurry in the middle of that damn Jenga game.” I said and he seemed to have frozen a bit and quickly regain composure after.

“Nothing happened that night.” He answered curtly and stuffed his mouth with food.

I glared at him before poking him with my chopsticks.

“What the hell happened?” I hissed and he only continued eating completely ignoring whatever I was saying. I glared at him and kicked his shin.

“Y-YA! What was that for!?” He said and rubbed the sore spot that I kicked.

“Tell me what happened that night!” I said and he only scoffed before answering.

“I told you. I am just your researcher. And if I wish to withhold information from you I will.” He told me with finality and I glared at him.

“If I ask Tao-“ He cut me off before I could even finish my sentence.

“If you were even planning to ask him you wouldn’t be asking me this in the first place. You know it’s a dead end with him as well.” He pointed out and it only made me pout at him.

“You ing meanie. FINE! I’ll drop the topic. Tell me my oh so smart researcher. What do you know about Onew? Lee Onew?” I asked him since I would much rather get at least one of my questions answered than argue with him.

“Uhm. I know his full name is Lee Jin Ki. First grandson? He comes right before Lu Han. The initial heir to the empire until he decided to run off in the middle of night to go to the States.” He said and was starting to recall other information about him.

“I already know that. I want to know more. What reputation does he have that would make someone fear him?” I asked since he could very much be like my Ji Yong Oppa.

“Fear? People fear him? Are you sure that we are talking about the same person right now? As far as I’m aware he is one of the timid members of their family. That’s why there wasn’t much commotion when he backed down. Everyone already pretty much expected it.” He said and looked at me confused.

“Really? Then how come when he came back both Jessica and Lu Han seemed to have had their tongues cut out.” I said and he only looked at me like I was losing my mind.

“Are you sure he was Onew-ssi?” He asked me and I only nodded.

“Positive.” I confirmed only making him look away for a while.

“Well. I am your researcher not theirs. You need to figure that out for yourself since it is practically your job.” He said and I only sighed before nodding.

“Fine. Hey. Which reminds me. How come I have every single one of my classes with you? Well. Everything except my Martial Arts Class and Asian History. There is a fine line between researcher and stalker Mark.” I pointed out and it only made him chuckle.

“Not my fault. The schedule was specifically requested for me. Hey. I could always alter some of it. It isn’t too late to change matriculation.” He said and I only smiled at him.

“Hey. Don’t feel offended. But yes please!” I said and he chuckled before nodding.

“Fine then. I hate some of your subjects anyways. I mean why the hell are you taking up Ethics and Advanced Algebra!? I am a freaking Psychology major and I am taking these subjects up with you.” He said and let out a huff. I laughed and patted him on the head.

“Aww. You can now add to the list of things about me that I am a nerd.” I said and he only laughed before continuing on with his lunch.

_

Here we are again. Asian History. Lu Han and I were busy with our activity regarding the shift in power from the Japanese occupation to the US Military. I groaned when I realized that we were lacking some primary sources.

“What’s wrong Ji Hyun? The activity is pretty easy. So why are you groaning?” He muttered while highlighting some concepts from one of the books we were given.

“We are pretty much screwed Lu Han. We’re lacking primary sources.” I hissed and he seemed to be taken aback by what I said.

“What!? How is that even possible? I have all 10 books from the library’s reserve section. And we are only required to used 10 primary sources for this.” He said and started counting the books on our desk. I shook my head and pouted.

“If they say 10 what they really mean to say is 15. Really? This is mediocre work if we only meet the exact number for references. We need more.” I told him and he only chuckled before answering.

“Pabo. If they did that at your old school they won’t do it here. When they say 10 they actually mean 5. They are not strict in the Social Science department. So don’t worry.” He assured me and flashed me a smile before going back to his book.

“Fine. You could have brought this up last night when you