CHAPTER 14
♚ in a fight, 'sorry' isn't enough... ♚
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“You traitors! I hate you both! Don’t ever speak with me again!” Yooyoung wailed.

We were in front of the sheet of our year level’s rankings for the school term that had just ended.

6. Park Jinah
8. Fu Long Fei

… I could never really get used to seeing Jason’s Chinese name.

143. Lee Yooyoung

“Noooo!” wailed the girl at 143^rd place.

“It’s because you focus too much on club activities,” Jason said with a laugh. “If you spent as much time studying as you do training, you’d get high grades, no problem! And look!” He pointed at her rank. “143 is a pretty romantic number, right? A good omen!”

“Who cares?! I was 97 before! Now I’m in the three-digit area! How is that good?!” Yooyoung said, slamming her head lightly on the wall beside the sheets of paper.

The two jumped up slightly in surprise when I slammed the side of my hand in the gap between top five and top six.

“Next school term,” I began with a smirk, “I’m going to break this barrier!”

1. Kwak Aaron
2. Choi Minki
3. Kang Dongho
4. Hwang Minhyun
5. Kim Jonghyun

“That’s one tough barrier. That student council group has been in the top five since first year – the only thing that changes is the order,” Jason said, looking up at the list. “First time JR’s last… I guess the school festival work is really eating up his time.”

Yooyoung patted me assuredly on the back. “You can’t do it. That barrier is unbreakable.”

“Next term!” I said, confident.

She just laughed at my effort and glanced back at the list again. “… Ren’s doing good though. It’s usually 3, 4 and 5 that change. Aron and Baekho always keep the first and second spot… or maybe Baekho’s losing his touch? Hah. I hope so.”

I stared at Ren’s name, wondering the same thing. Aron and Baekho had been first and second respectively for every past school term. JR was the busiest among them, and Ren and Minhyun were the laziest in the group – or what could be considered lazy, but still get into the top.

“I guess our deal made me work a little harder,” Ren suddenly chimed in from behind.

The three of us turned around in surprise. Ren was smiling at us. Baekho was beside him, looking up at the list. He patted Ren on the back in congratulations. “The things you do for a girl, huh?” he said with a grin.

I didn’t like those words. You’re my favorite among the group Baekho, don’t go changing.

“… Yooyoung-?” Baekho began.

But he was quickly interrupted at the tall girl’s sharp glare. “Don’t you dare comment on my rank, mister smart and athletic! Sorry I can’t handle both worlds like you!” Yooyoung said.

“Jealous~!” Jason and I said in unison, smirking at her.

“You traitors!” she said again before leaving us. Jason laughed and went after her to appease our friend. Baekho had quickly followed, no doubt wanting to apologize… Even though he really didn’t say anything wrong-… Wait.

That left me with just Ren in an empty hallway.

“So, since tomorrow’s Saturday… I’ll pick you up tomorrow at nine?” he said, smiling brightly at him.

I cowered at his light. “What?”

“Our deal, remember?”

“Deal! Then if I do get into the top – which I will – you’ll… You’ll go on a date with me.”

“Forget it. Deal’s off,” I said, walking away.

He fell in step with me… I was a bit glad. I preferred that than to him grabbing my hand to stop me from leaving. “I never thought you were the kind to go back on your word.”

“I’m busy on Saturday. Let’s have our date… in fifty years,” I said with a firm nod. “That’s still keeping my word.”

“What will you be doing tomorrow?”

“Staying away from you.”

“Jinah~!” he whined, pouting at me.

I didn’t look at him. He hadn’t used his pout on me since we stopped being friends – I wasn’t sure if it was still effective, but I wasn’t going to take the chance.

“I’ll pick you up anyway!” he said walking ahead.

“I just said not to-!”

“You woke up early,” Ren said, turning and walking backwards in front of me. “You hair is in a French braid today. That must have took some time.”

I shook my head. “I woke up on time. I did it after homeroom since the next period teacher was late.”

He sighed, a bit dejected, but then he gave me another smile. “It looks good on you.”

“Anything looks good on me,” I said as I walked passed him. I could hear his laugh from behind me. I turned to glare at him. “Are you mocking me?”

Ren was behind me now. He took the end of my braid and smiled at me. “I’m agreeing wholeheartedly with you.”

I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what was going in his messed up head behind that smile.

Nothing came to mind.

“As you should!” I merely said. Not liking how I still couldn’t read him, I pulled my braid away from his grasp and left him.

But he followed after me – again.

“Stop following me!”

“We’re in the same class, remember?”

I muttered a few curses under my breath, getting even more irritated as he laughed at my assumption. I quickened my pace but then gasped when he suddenly grabbed the back of my shirt. “What?!” I said, turning to glare at him.

He pointed at the room beside us. “You were about to pass our classroom,” he said with another smile.

“Stop laughing at me!”

“I’m not laughing.”

“You are in your mind!”

Ren placed a hand to his mouth, to hide his chuckle. “You’re very cute when mad. We should keep up this fight of ours.”

“We’re not fighting,” I said, trying to calm down. I didn’t like how he used cute in that context. Me making stupid mistakes and embarrassing myself isn’t cute.

“Does that mean we’ve made up?” he said, eyes bright and hopeful and smile earnest…

… And I’d be a total villain if I were to say anything to smash that happy look on his face.

“We don’t have anything going on between us. You’re a stranger to me.”

… Well, I never was the nicest person out there.

But instead of the dejected face I expected to see, he suddenly held out his hand. “The name’s Choi Minki! But everyone calls me Ren.”

“Very funny,” I drawled out.

“You’re laughing!” he said with a chuckle.

“No, I’m not.”

“You are in your mind!”

My eyes widened as he repeated my earlier words. How very clever of him.

“Jinah~!” I heard my only female friend shout out. Yooyoung went up to us and pulled me into a hug. “Take me away from here! Let’s go far away!” she wailed.

I hugged her back. “Let me guess, Baekho-“

“No! I don’t want to hear your long tangents that are going to be right, anyway! I don’t want to remember it!” she said, burying her face into the crook of my neck.

“… Far away, right? Let’s elope,” I proposed.

Ren blocked the door before we could run away together. “Class is about to start,” he said, secretary persona kicking in.

Yooyoung pouted, eyes narrowed at him. “There’s no stopping the highway of love-!”

Ren crossed his arms and stared down at us.

“… Okay,” she muttered.

“Don’t give in so easily!” I said, appalled.

“You have a bento today…” Ren said, but then he stopped, thinking it over. “My mother comment from before was wrong, so… wait, it means that your father must have been home and made it-!”

“Wrong,” I said, separating my chopsticks. I heard Yooyoung and Jason snicker. I glared at them before facing Ren again. “Why are you sitting with us? Go back to your Round Table, the other knights are waiting.”

“I want to sit with you though,” he said, with another bright smile.

I winced at the light. “I don’t want you to.”

“I don’t mind you here!” Yooyoung said with a grin.

Jason nodded in agreement. “You can sit with Yooyung and me then!... Which technically means, sitting here as well.”

“You traitors!” I said, glaring at them. “You’re my friends, aren’t you?!”

Yooyoung laughed haughtily. “Now you understand my pain from earlier.”

… We both turned to glare at the person that had yet to suffer.

Jason cowered and glanced at Ren. “You see what I have to go through everyday?!”

Ren laughed at the other guy’s plight. “I don’t mind being the focus of two pretty girls.”

Yooyoung’s eyes widened. She placed a hand on my shoulder in comfort, pity clear in her eyes. “… You don’t stand a chance against him. Give up.”

“Be a little more supportive for your friend, will you?”

“It’s raining,” I announced.

“You say it like I can do something about it,” Yooyoung said, also staring out the window at my side.

“I bet you forgot your umbrella.”

I heard her triumphant laugh. She rummaged through her bag. “Well, you’re wrong! The skies were cloudy this morning so I-! Wait…” She slapped a hand to her forehead. “… I left it at the dining table.”

I handed her one. “I brought an extra one just for you.”

She laughed and accepted it. “You psychic!”

“No, I’m just a genius.”

“That clearly lacks modesty.”

“You don’t need that to get by in the world,” I said, looking through my bag for my other umbrella.

“No, I’m pretty sure you do!”

I frowned when I saw a folder in between my notebooks… It was the last work Ren had given me regarding the school festival next week. I hadn’t submitted them since the day I had spoken with Lime.

“Your boyfriend’s here~!” Yooyoung teased with a giggle.

I looked up from my bag and saw Ren smiling at me. I glared at Yooyoung, but she just saluted and ran off. I stood up from my seat… and as expected, he followed me. “You don’t have to walk me home… How many times do I have to say that for you to get it?”

“I will anyway, no matter how many times you say not to,” he said, walking in step with me, his shoulder brushing against my own.

“Stubborn…” I muttered under my breath. I took a large step away from him. “I have something to do. You go on ahead. Don’t wait up.”

“I will,” he simply said.

“Why?” I asked at his blatant refusal of my request.

“Friends wait for each other, right?” he asked, with another of his charming smiles.

I groaned and shook my head. This conversation of ours was getting so repetitive. Wasn’t he getting tired of it? “I said I didn’t want to be your friend, remember?”

“Then let’s be more than friends.”

“… What?” He was joking. He had to be.

“If you don’t want to be friends, then let’s be more,” he repeated more clearly. “You like me, right?”

There it was again. That damn oblivious, slow, dense and insensitive side of his. I know he didn’t mean it to be as bad as I’m understanding it, but it still really, really, really pissed me off.

… Especially since I expect him to follow up with an I like you too.

But he just stood there and didn’t.

I bit my lip and looked down, my closed fists shaking. “I… I really… really want to hit you right now.”

“… Jinah-?”

“Go home, Ren,” I said curtly before running off. I entered the crowd of students going home, glad that I hadn’t told him my destination. I was sure he wouldn’t look for me there either.

I knocked on the door briefly and entered the student council office, closing the door behind me quickly. I was panting at my quick pace. I looked around the room, relieved to see that it was only JR present at his usual desk.

He looked up from his work, surprised at my suddenly barging in. “Jinah?”

“Hey, person I don’t know.”

JR- I mean, the person I don’t know just sighed, but didn’t respond to my denial of knowing him.

I placed a folder on his desk. “Here’s the work that was left with me. That should be it, right? No, wait. I’m not asking. That is it.”

“You’re mad,” he pointedly said, not even looking at the documents I gave him.

“I’m not,” I replied just as quickly. I turned around, resisting the urge to get into an argument with him. But before I could take a step forward, he spoke up.

“I’m surprised, actually… I figured you’d handle this a lot more maturely.”

In a flash, I turned to him and slammed my hands on his desk.

JR merely glanced at his cup of water that almost spilled… Darn it, why am I so weak? I was hoping it’d spill and make a mess. Should I slap it really fast and have him pretend he didn’t see it?

“You’re mad,” he repeated, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I recalled my encounter with Ren only minutes ago. “Tell him to leave me alone,” I whispered, closing my open palms into fists. “Order him to. They follow your every word, right? Scold that student, threaten the other one, stay after school, beat up delinquents, make friends with people you clearly wouldn’t have bothered to-!”

“I didn’t order that last one.”

I gave him a dry laugh. “Of course, you didn’t.”

“I gave the job of fixing you-“

“I wasn’t broken, damn you.”

“Well, your behavior certainly needed adjustments,” he said, irritated at how I had interrupted him no doubt. “Exactly how that task is carried out depends on whoever got that role. It was Ren’s decision to befriend you. My mission was just the incentive.”

“The mere fact that he needed an incentive-“

JR rested his chin on the palm of his hand and stared at me as if he was explaining a very simple concept to a child. I hated that superior-than-you look.  It was a gaze I used – I did not like being on its receiving end.

“You’re in the same class but you’ve never spoken since your detention. He’s the kind you’d see leading in the front. You’re the student that wouldn’t even be present for non-academic events. He’s everyone’s friend. You have your own tight circle-“

“Thanks for reminding me of the great disparity between us,” I snapped. “That’s exactly why that mission just forced-“

“Then how would you have become friends if not for that?”

I didn’t respond, not liking where he was going with this.

“You would’ve never spoken with each other. That mission I assigned to him gave him an excuse to interact with you. What? Would you rather have continued without ever getting to know him? That incentive is what made you friends… Can you honestly say that you’d rather not have befriended him at all?”

“… But the reason-“

“So what if it’s a stupid reason? It’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”

When I didn’t respond, JR finally looked back at his desk. He opened the folder I gave him, checking the documents.

I stood still for a moment, trying to absorb our entire discussion… I groaned and pulled at my braid in irritation, a scowl on my face. “This is so stupid.”

JR looked up at me with a frown. “What?”

“Everything about this situation is ridiculous and idiotic and just… stupid. This is precisely why I should’ve stuck with talking only to my close friends… Ugh!” I clenched and unclenched my fists. I headed for the door and placed my hand on its knob…

I gave a quick glance at JR. He was still staring at me.

“Sorry for adding to your work, mister student council president.”

He smirked and nodded in acknowledgement, understanding my roundabout way of saying thanks for his speech that knocked back sense into me. “I enjoy the work. It’s why I chose this position.” He smile fell and he regarded me seriously. “… What are you going to do now?” he asked.

I smirked. “Be stupid.”

He laughed and looked back down at his desk. “… Go and frolic, idiot.”

“You must think you’re some genius, huh? Looking down on me and giving advice like some-“

“You have a fellow stupid friend to approach, don’t you?”

“… Why am I not surprised?”

Ren held the umbrella in one hand and was hugging himself with his other arm. Despite the cold weather, his smile was warm when he saw me.

“Jinah!” he greeted, as if I was the sun shining on him. Stop making me feel more important than I really am.

I closed my umbrella and got under his, taking hold of it from his cold hand. “How long did you wait for me?” I said as we began walking to my house.

I saw the surprise on his face at my sudden compliant attitude. “Not long!” he said, grinning. That was a lie, wasn’t it? “What were you doing?”

“I had a date with JR.”

He glanced at me, horrified.

I tried to hide my smile at his expression. “I just handed him the leftover documents.”

“Leftover…? You could’ve just gave them to me,” he said, frowning. “I’m going back to school after I walk you anyway.”

My eyes widened. “What? Go back to school! You don’t have to walk me! It’s not even that late and my house isn’t far at all-“

“But I want to be with you a little more…” he muttered.

… There was that familiar flutter in my chest.

After a few minutes, I handed him back his umbrella and opened up mine. “My house is right at the end of this street. Go back to school,” I said, turning my back to him.

I heard him sigh. “Fine... See you on Mon-”

I stopped walking and didn’t even turn to look at him. “Ten.”

“... Ten?”

“Nine is too early.”

“So, since tomorrow’s Saturday… I’ll pick you up tomorrow at nine?”

“…! Got it!”

I couldn’t fight the smile on my face when I heard that lovely laugh of his again.

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END CHAPTER 14
♚ ... you need to know how to make things up again ♚

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PREVIEW

Chapter 15

CRITICAL HIT!
Ren's aegyo was super effective!

“Are you insulting or complimenting me?”
“I like all your faults!”
“… So you are insulting me?!”

“That means you forgive me?”
“... No.”