CHAPTER 10
♚ stop being so slow  ♚
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“We’re friends now, right?”

“That’s a horrible thing to even consider.”

“… Can I punch him?”

Ren looked up from his documents. “Go ahead, you’ll have three months added to your sentence though.”

School was back in session and the first day went considerably well – and by well, unbelievably boring. The only highlight would be me hoping to get rid of my ‘school service’ punishment in the student council room after school.

JR was being a prick about it though.

“You only have two weeks left to go anyway,” he said before handing me a folder. “Here’s your assignment for this week.”

I groaned and took it, opening it up and wincing at the paper. “Library work? Don’t we have like librarians for that… and even student volunteers that enjoy sorting through dead trees?”

“They could use the help,” he merely said. “Now get moving, slave.”

“You even admit that this is forced labor.”

---

“… What are you doing here?”

I was pushing the cart of books towards the back shelves, to place them back in their proper places, and saw Aron seated and leaning by one of the shelves, a book in hand and several stacked up beside him.

“Reading… since, that’s what people do at the library,” he said with a laugh.

“… You read?”

“You’re making it sound like I’m illiterate!”

I took hold of one book and began placing it where it belonged. “No. Not really. Maybe… Just a bit.” He laughed again. “Well, then again, you’re top one for a reason. I guess you have to be a bookworm.”

We accompanied each other in silence after that. After putting away the last book, I took hold of the cart again. Before I could leave though, Aron quickly asked, “How goes things with Ren?”

“… Immovable.”

“It’s because you’re not making a move!... Why don’t you… go on a date or something? Hang out someplace not connected to school at all,” he advised.

I frowned at his suggestion. “Like where?”

“… You’ve never been on a date before,” he concluded with a knowing grin.

I glared at him. “I see nothing wrong in that fact.”

“Then how about we go on a date, for practice?” he offered, raising his eyebrows at me and smirking.

I laughed at his expression. “No way.” He pouted at me – I was resistant due to the fact that I was used to stronger attacks. “You’re fun and all, but I’m going to take your advice. If I’m going on a date, I’d prefer my first one to be with Ren.”

“I never knew you were so romantic!” Aron teased. “Hey, want me to help you out in your struggle to find love?”

I ignored his last words. “Help me?”

---

During one of the breaks between classes, I quickly went towards the back where Ren was seated. I kneeled in front of his desk and rested my arms on it, looking up at him. He regarded me with a raised brow.

“You doing anything on the weekend?” I asked.

Ren shook his head. “No, why?”

“… You must have a pretty boring life. Start living a little.”

“I appreciate your concern.”

---

“Oh, glucose~ Sugar, sugar~ Sweeter than a woman’s lips~ ‘Cause I need you for glycolysis~!”

“What are you singing- please stop,” I said when Aron suddenly began doing what he deemed as singing when we turned the page to the carbohydrates chapter.

“Pretty catchy though, right?” he said with a childish grin. “And my voice is amazing! I should totally try to audition for some idol agency or something!”

“Spare them the horror,” I said.

“This is a very odd sight.”

We looked up and saw Ren by the entrance to the aisle. It was after school again in the library, and I was in the farthest aisle from the entrance by a bookshelf, where Aron usually was.  We were sitting cross-legged on the floor with our chemistry notes and books in front of us.

Aron accepted the papers Ren handed to him. “Thanks, Ren! Anyway, I guess we should cut our session short?” he said, turning to me.

I nodded and stood up, “Yeah. Still have a few files to sort. Thanks.”

“Wait- What?” Ren asked. “What were you two doing? Isn’t this your,” he turned to Aron, “so called ‘special’ study area?”

“Jinah discovered me a few days ago!” he said with a laugh. “So, we usually study up a bit when she comes by to return books for these shelves.”

“You’re slacking on your duties?” Ren asked, turning to me.

I shrugged. “They don’t know that. I get things done five times as quick than other student helpers. I can take breaks.”

Ren was about to say something again before Aron placed an arm over his shoulder. “What’s the problem? It’s just good old studying… that happens to be secluded in a corner of the library. Nothing wrong with that, right?”

“Nothing,” Ren agreed, his voice monotone. “Anyway, get working on those.” He said, referring the documents he handed. “And you, get back to working,” he said, facing me this time.

“Yes, sir!” we both chorused when Ren left.

“… You call that jealousy?” I asked with a raised brow.

“You didn’t notice it?... Want something more obvious then?”

---

“Did you see that trailer on Orange Caramel’s new movie?” I suddenly asked during one lunch break.

Ren smiled and nodded. “Yes! It was a great, wasn’t it? It’s coming out on the weekend, right?”

“Yup!”

There was a moment of silence, Ren waiting for me to say something.

“Anyway, just wanted to make sure you’re aware of the current events!” I said, before turning heel and leaving him.

I thought I heard him laugh, but I wasn’t sure.

---

“You don’t enjoy my company?” Aron asked with a laugh as we began eating.

“… Do you really want me to answer that?” I asked.

“Yes!”

I opened my mouth, but then shut it. “You’re okay,” I truthfully said. “… but I also enjoy Yooyoung’s and Jason’s company. I don’t see why you can’t just sit with us three!”

It was lunch period and Aron and I were seated at a table – just the two of us. “Because it wouldn’t be as effective! You don’t have library duty anymore, so how else can we meet, right?”

This week, I was assigned to again sorting out various documents in one storage room – all about student profiles, this time. The amount of dirt I was getting on students was tremendous, I’m surprised JR gave me the job.

“Why am I following with your plan again?”

“Because you still haven’t got the guts to ask Ren out!”

I grimaced as he reminded me of my lack of resolve. I had approached Ren on a few occasions, but each failed with me chickening out. This was a lot harder than I thought it’d be.

I toyed around with the pear in my hands, trying to come up with an excuse to save face, but then we both froze up when a lunch box of food appeared on the table.

Aron was sitting next to me, and now Ren was seating across me… It worked. Aron’s plan actually worked. Ren smiled at our shocked glances. “I was Jinah’s friend first, I don’t see why you get to eat lunch with her alone before me,” he said.

Aron chuckled. “It’s not about who’s first, right? I mean… I asked, and she agreed!”

“Well, I didn’t really agree-“ I paused at Aron’s narrowed eyes. “I mean, yeah, sure! I totally said yes!”

Ren laughed at our antics.

Before I could finally take a bite from my fruit, Ren suddenly pushed his lunch box forward. “Want to try some? It’s my noona’s cooking again!” he offered with a grin. “No, Aron.”

“I didn’t even ask yet!... Wait – why does she get to try it! I was your friend first!” he complained.

“You’re not a pretty girl.”

“… Fair enough.”

I reached for my chopsticks, but Ren already had a piece of the food in front of me, holding it with his own chopsticks. “I could’ve gotten it myself-…” He jutted out his lower lip, pouting at me. This trick was getting so old, but it always worked despite that!

I leaned forward and allowed him to feed me the delicious food. I was both embarrassed at doing it in front of Aron and happy that it actually happened. “Delicious,” I muttered. Ren was beaming at me. He knew he always got what he wanted, this was no exception.

I raised up my pear again to my lips, but froze when I felt someone lean in towards me. Aron’s face was only inches away from my own when he took a bite into my fruit. He sat back straight and hummed in approval. “It’s real sweet! A bit overiped though.”

I stared wearily at him. “Ask first, you very polite person.” He laughed in reply. I was about to finally take a bite of my own food when the pear was suddenly wretched from my hands. I looked up at Ren in shock.

He threw the piece of fruit onto Aron's plate. “Don't share... You might get infected,” he joked with a smile, but there was no amusement in his expression or voice.

“Am I disease?” Aron responded.

I ignored their banter, my mind too busy on what just happened. I had a total of three – yes, I was counting – indirect kisses with Ren, yet he wouldn’t allow me to eat the same food Aron’s mouth touched?

I placed a hand on Aron’s shoulder, causing the two boys to stop bickering and face me. “Thank you,” I said.

Aron grinned at me. “My pleasure!”

Ren narrowed his eyes at us. “… Oh? What is this? An inside thing between you two? Go ahead, don’t share it with me.”

“Okay, then we won’t!” Aron said with a laugh as he saw Ren’s dejected face.

He quickly turned to me. I looked up at the ceiling to avoid his pout. “Yeah, it’s a secret. Or something.”

“Is that so…?”

Ren did not sound amused in the slightest… yet I felt unbelievably happy that I couldn’t help the smile from forming.

“Thanks,” I said again to Aron.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he replied.

“You two…!”

---

“Classes end early tomorrow, right?” I asked, falling in step with him as we were heading to the gym.

Ren nodded. “Yes. The principal is having some alumni over for some meeting. The teachers won’t be available…” He smiled at me. “Why?”

I frowned at his smile. “What’s wrong with asking?”

“Nothing.”

“So… I’m guessing you had nothing planned for tomorrow afternoon then?” I began.

He nodded. “Nothing whatsoever.”

“…”

“And you?” It sounded like he was close to laughing.

“Nothing… but uh, changing the curtains.”

Ren didn’t bother to hide his laugh this time. “Busy life, you have.”

---

“I’m free? I’m finally free?” I asked.

JR nodded. “You’ve completed your month of school service… unless, you want to help out voluntarily-“

“No way! I’m never going through that labor again!” I said, quickly turning on my heel. I was about to leave the student council room, but he spoke up again.

“… We could use the help.”

I frowned and turned to face him. “What?”

“The school festival is coming up in a month. We’re beginning to prepare for it. I’m sure you have things with your own class, but we’d appreciate your ability to organize all the excess documents and paperwork,” he said.

I sat back down again in the chair in front of his desk. “… Excess?”

“All the initial and important documents pass by our secretary, Ren, first, of course. The ones with the most workload during this time would be our secretary and treasurer… You can help either, but I figured you’d want to help Ren. Though I do notice that you’re quite close with Aron-“

“Assistant secretary? Sign me up,” I quickly said. JR laughed and handed me a paper. “This is only for the school festival period though, got it?”

“Of course. We won’t need you after it.”

“Is that how you talk to someone you’re asking help from?!”

---

“So… do you like western food?” I asked, falling in step with him when I saw him head to the classroom.

Ren glanced at me with a smile. “Yes… why?”

“There’s this new shop by the station that sells some weird hamburgers,” I began… He waited for me to continue. “So… yeah...”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” I paused. “I should probably try inviting Aron there, I guess he’d miss his old local food-“

“Don’t,” Ren merely said.

“Why not?”

“Just… don’t. Shouldn’t you be asking someone else first?” he said.

Did he know? There was no way he would know I’ve been trying to ask him out these past few days. He was Ren! The guy was slower than me! There’s no way he’d take the hint. “… Like who?”

“Jinah~!” he said in a petulant voice, pouting at me.

“What?” I asked. He did that face whenever he wanted me to do something, surely he doesn’t mean…

Ren just shook his head and laughed. “I’m both amused and annoyed.”

“At what?!” He didn’t answer me.

---

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you!” I said with a grin, arranging the papers.

Ren looked down at the documents in my hands. “… So JR wasn’t lying.”

“You don’t want my help?”

He beamed at me. “No, I’d love your help! You’re a life-saver, Jinah!”

We were in the student council room by his desk. JR was doing his own thing at his much larger desk and Aron had several money bills, coins and papers on his own workspace. Minhyun and Baekho were off doing other duties.

Half an hour into our work, Ren suddenly asked, “What are you going to do for our class?”

I looked up briefly, confused. “… What?”

“Our class is doing a café for the school festival, right? It’s what they’ve been working on after school lately. I volunteered to be a waiter for a few shifts since I couldn’t help with preparations because of all this,” he said, gesturing to the piles of paperwork. “You too? I mean, you haven’t stuck around after class to help them out.”

I went back to my papers. “I don’t participate in the school festival. I didn’t join last year, I don’t see why I have to join this year.”

“But this is about the school festival,” he said, pertaining to the documents in front of us.

“I’m only doing this so I could be with you,” I said, not looking up from my papers. When he didn’t respond, I looked up at him to see a shocked face.

Ren laughed and looked back down after he met my gaze. “You say some pretty lame things.”

“That was a nice line, wasn’t it?!”

“Certainly got my heart racing,” we heard Aron pipe up.

“I almost squealed like a little girl,” JR chimed in.

“… I forgot you two existed.”

---

“So this weekend…”

“This weekend…?” Ren asked, a huge grin already on his face.

I glared at him. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?!”

“I just repeated what you said,” he said, eyes wide and innocent… but his huge smile anything but.

“Here, Jinah,” Yooyoung suddenly said when she was by us two at the back of the classroom. She handed me a paper. “I got yours too,” she said, handing one to Ren who nodded in thanks.

It was the quiz from yesterday. I smiled at her, “Thanks- Don’t smile at me like that.”

She didn’t stop smiling like that. “What are you talking about? Anyway, I’ll leave you with Ren here and I’ll go back to my seat all alone… all alone… all alone…” Her voice trailed off as she left us.

“Ignore her,” I merely said as I looked down at my paper, 45/50. I glanced at Ren’s, 50/50. My eyes widened, “Whoah, I guess that rank of yours tells no lies… you’re top five, right?”

He nodded and glanced at my own paper as well. “You do well too… I bet those five points you didn’t get were the questions whose answers were only found in the assignments?”

I nodded. “Yup. How else wouldn’t I know them?”

“You should really start fixing your study habits.”

“My study habits are perfectly fine. I know what I need to know.”

“Apparently not enough if you’re still getting mistakes.”

“Oh, so you’re saying the way I study is wrong?”

“Yes, I have every right to.” He tilted his head, looking completely innocent, but his words were anything but. “I mean, I’m top five. You’re just at eighty-seventh place. I don’t see why I should agree on you being right, when results clearly show otherwise.”

I was surprised he knew my rank, but it was easily overcome by anger. I narrowed my eyes at him. “I can get into the top ten if I try.”

“Oh, really? Prove it then. It’s only been two weeks into the school term. You still have time to bring up your grades… if you can,” he challenged.

“Of course, I can!” I accepted the challenge.

“Then how about we make a bet?” he offered. “If you don’t get into the top, you’ll do whatever I ask you to do for a day.”

I held out my hand for him to shake. “Deal! Then if I do get into the top – which I will – you’ll…”

He placed his hand on mine and was about to shake it, but then stopped and waited for me to continue. “I’ll…?”

“… You’ll go on a date with me,” I muttered.

“Deal.”

---

It was already evening when I placed the last document atop the pile. I stretched my arms and leaned back, looking out the window.

The sun had already set and the sky was dark. There was hardly anyone around the school, only a few club members overstaying – student council included.

Ren looked down at his phone. “Minhyun, Baekho and Aron just finished the meeting. They’re heading home now… We should too,” he said. He glanced at the president that was still at his desk. “Stop being such a JR, JR.”

JR didn’t bother to look up from his papers. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We have tomorrow. Get home,” he said instead of answering the question.

After a moment at staring at his papers, he sighed and set them down. “… Right.” He stood up and frowned at us. “You two?”

“Just a few more things,” Ren said, writing something down. “Just leave the keys on the desk. I’ll lock up. You head home too, Jinah.”

I frowned at his words. “Stop being such a JR, Ren.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” JR said with a glare, obviously offended. His phone suddenly vibrated, and when he checked his text, he sighed. “Perfect timing. I’m heading out now. You two better leave soon as well,” he said in dismissal. We waved in reply and he shut the door behind him.

“I said to head home…” Ren glanced at the window briefly. “No, nevermind. I’ll walk you home. Give me a few minutes.”

I nodded and leaned forward on the desk, resting my cheek on the palm of my hand, not at all bothering to hide my stare.

Ren was gorgeous. I had known that since the first time I spoke to him, but… somehow…

“You’re really handsome,” I said with a frown. “… Stop being out of my league.”

Ren smirked but didn’t look away from his work. “I’ve always been handsome.”

“No, I meant… you seem… more now.”

He had the looks that’d make any girl fall for him. Everyone knew that. Though right now, there was something… different about him. It was like he was glowing. He seemed so much more attractive now.

Was it because I liked him?... But I had realized my feelings since weeks ago, what makes now so different?

“Why?” I wailed, not liking how I didn’t even have a single guess at my own question.

Ren finally met my eyes, bemused. “I look how I always do.”

“No, you don’t! How should I say this…” I believe Yooyoung had the perfect words to describe this phenomenon… “You’re glowing! It’s like you’re some teen in the prime of his youth!”

He rolled his eyes-

“Like a girl in love!”

“I am not a girl.”

“Do guys… glow when they fall in love too?”

“No… and what glow are you talking about?” he said in exasperation. He closed the folder and set it aside. “Let’s head home before you spout any more nonsense.”

I decided to let the matter drop. I reached for my bag and placed it on my lap, but made no move to stand up.

Ren was by the JR’s desk to get the keys. He turned to me and frowned when he saw that I was still seated. “Let’s go.”

I made no move to obey. “But…”

“But what?” he said, already heading to the door. He faced me again. “It’s already late. We should really get going now, Jinah. They’re going to start locking up the school.”

I let out a deep breath and finally stood up, heading to him in a slow pace. Once we were out of the room, Ren began to lock the door.

“I don’t want to go home,” I said with a sigh. “I want to keep you here with me forever.”

At the sound of a click, Ren removed the keys and put them back in his pocket. He then turned to the corridor, not even sparing me a glance.

… Did I say too much-?

“There’s tomorrow,” he said, back still turned… but hand outstretched behind him for me to take.

I smiled and took it.

---

“You’re coming to school on time. You’re doing your schoolwork. You’re even helping the council out… Who are you?” Jason asked.

I looked up from my food and grinned smugly at him. “Wonder Woman.”

Yooyoung laughed. “This is probably as good and super as you get. So I agree with your term. How goes the hanging out with Ren after school?”

I gave her thumbs up. “Great!... Though we mostly just talk about the festival though. I sometimes help Aron out too.”

Jason wiped away a fake tear. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, mom.”

“Anyway, you’ve been really busy lately… it’s been a month since school started again after winter break,” Yooyoung suddenly said. I nodded. “… A month. So January is done.”

“We know the twelve months,” I merely said.

“So what month is it now?”

“February.”

“And…?”

“We only have one month at a time, woman!”

“I meant what happens during February! What’s the highlight of that month?!”

Jason and I frowned. “… The school festival on the last days of February?” he said.

“Idiots,” she muttered. “Valentine’s day!” She took hold of my shoulders. “Unlike every other Valentine’s day, this time you have a guy you like!”

I froze up at her words, the realization setting in.

“You’re going to give him chocolate, you’re going to confess again, and you’re finally going to get him!”

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END CHAPTER 10
♚ hurry up and fall in love with me! ♚

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PREVIEW

Chapter 11

“Those are chocolates filled with your feelings for Ren!”

“Thanks, Jinah! I honestly didn’t think you’d give me chocolates!”
“Of course I would. These are chocolates to poison you. I even planned on getting flowers for your grave.”

INTRODUCING

>▀▄▀▄: LIME (  HER FRIEND ;&; from HELLO VENUS  ) ◜FORMER LEADER OF PLEDIS ACADEMY; DAUGHTER OF PRINCIPAL ◜REGAL ; CLEVER ; PROUD

“You called me out here for a reason, didn’t you? You knew- heck, it seemed like you knew all along. 
You just want someone to affirm your fears. And I just did."

“All hail Nu’est! Woo~!... Little ers those guys are, huh?”

… A part of me almost spoke up in agreement.

---

A/N:

Lime is the same ex-ruler of the school from my special FACE chapter. Chapter 11 will be her real introduction into the story. I'd love to hear what you think of that preview dialogue of hers~ Does that mean more drama? Yes~! And feel free to suscribe for those who haven't yet!