CHAPTER 20

Lee Yumi’s POV :

I was taken back to the present when I heard the bell ring. Lunch time’s over but I didn’t get to eat a lot.

I started fixing my bento and a smile just seems to go over my face. I was already smiling without even realizing it.

I remembered Midorikawa Yuuki again… I actually didn’t expect him to be really kind. I thought he was just a plain irritating guy that is basically a phony. I thought that all he does is act cool and make girls fall for him. I thought that he’s just a cold, mean, and stupid guy…

But after being with him, I saw that he was more than that.

He’s unexpectedly kind, sweet, and very innocent… he’s like a cute little kid…

WAIT---I just realized that all I’ve been doing is think of the guy and praise him! And it’s actually scaring the hell out of me!

I’m really losing it! I can’t seem to stop myself from liking him more and more.

“This needs to stop!” I whispered to myself as I tried to shake the thoughts of Midorikawa Yuuki off my head.

I sighed before I stared out the window just in time to see a freshman boy run towards the school with a cake in his hands and a big smile plastered in his face.

And just like that, I remembered him again…

*FLASHBACK*

“I told you, break the eggs carefully! Look! The eggshells are all over the mixture! How can we eat that if it’s full of eggshells?!”

I yelled at the Faker guy beside me who keeps on breaking the eggs directly into the batter. Now, it’s full of eggshells and I doubt if it’s still even edible.

“How stupid can anyone get?! Ugh!” I massaged my temples in frustration. And I don’t know why but Ryo-oppa and Yuki just keeps on smiling while looking at us.

“The eggshells will just melt later on! Are you stupid?! Sheesh. Doesn’t she even know that?” he even whispered at himself as he started mixing the flour, the milk and the eggs with their eggshells.

“Who told you it’ll melt?! Geez! You’re making me go crazy!” I yelled again.

I tried to get the mixing bowl from him but he just wouldn’t let it go. We looked like we’re playing tug-of-war now… He’s not letting go of the bowl while I wouldn’t stop grabbing it from him too. And before I get to process what had happened, we were already staring at the mixture that fell on the floor in front of us.

“Uwaaaa~!!! It’s all your fault! Look at what you’ve done!” I was really shouting at Midorikawa Yuuki then and he was just staring on the floor wide-eyed.

And I didn’t really expect what he did next…

“Gomen…” he softly said as he looked away. He started massaging his nape as he bit his lower lips in embarrassment. He really looked guilty and sad.

He looked like a little boy who felt guilty about having done something bad. And he just looked oh so adorable!

WAIT! Did I just say that?!

“No!” I yelped making all three of them look my way.

“I… I-I can’t just leave it like that! You ruined everything! Ugh. This is why I hate having you around! Sheesh.” I didn’t really mean to say that but having all of them, especially Midorikawa Yuuki, look at me like that was too much pressure.

“Yumi! He didn’t do it on purpose, okay? It was an accident…” Ryo-oppa said as he started cleaning up the mess.

I looked at Faker dude and saw him looking at me… And to be honest, I wanted to take back everything I said earlier because he looked really hurt.

He was looking at me with his grayish-brown eyes that looked so sad and pained, his lips were moving like he was going to say something yet he remained silent.

“I—“ I was supposed to apologize for being rude to him but I was cut off when he sighed and sadly smiled at me.

“I’m really sorry, Yumi. You’re right; I really shouldn’t be here...” Then he slightly bowed and went to talk to Yuki. After a minute or so, he started gathering his things.

“Yuuki, are you sure you’re going? Just don’t mind Yumi, she’s just not in a good mood.” I heard Yuki say.

“It’s obvious that she’s not in a good mood because of me… And besides, I just stayed here to make sure she’s okay and that she’s not sick anymore. Well, I guess she’s all better, so there’s no reason for me to stay. And I really don’t want to ruin this day for all of you.”

I saw him smile and pat Yuki’s shoulder, then he looked back and saw me looking at him. Our eyes met for what felt like a lifetime, but before I can even move or breathe, he already looked away.

Ugh. Spell guilt! Capital Y-U-M-I…!

When Faker guy was almost by the door, I felt Ryo-oppa gently push me forward.

“Oppa?” I asked.

“Yumi, I know you’re scary but you’re not mean, right? Okaasan didn’t raise you to act like that. I don’t like Midorikawa Yuuki, but I don’t like what you did to him as well. You should have seen how he looked like last night when he brought you here. He was worried about you, and what you did isn’t very nice at all.”

Ryo-oppa looked really serious. And honestly, I understand everything he said. I really am not evil but I don’t know why I can’t stop myself from being annoyed with Midorikawa Yuuki. It’s like everything he does, even the tiniest things, affect me too much.

I looked back at Ryo-oppa before I grabbed my jacket and followed the Faker guy. But before I can go out the door, Yuki held my arm and smiled…

“You’re really affected with him being here, right? *sigh* I know you’re worried that you’ll start liking him more than you planned to but…but pushing him away and being mean to him doesn’t solve anything. He has nothing to do with your personal issues or our family problems so don’t blame everything on him. Please, at least try to be nice to him. He’s still my friend, Yumi-ssi…”

Then he let me go and walked away. Ouch. I felt even more guilty now… Yuki and Ryo-oppa’s right, I’m the one with issues so it’s really not nice to blame it all on him. He’s been trying to befriend me and all I did was push him away.

Sigh.

I was about to go out when it suddenly started raining…

“Oh heck. Faker guy…! Tsk.” I went back to grab an umbrella and ran to look for the Faker guy.

***

“Sheesh. Where the heck is he?! He’s not by the bus stop… Ugh. I thought he was going home?! Where can he be now? Wait… don’t tell me he got lost again?”

Oh no… With that stupid guy’s poor sense of direction, he might really get lost. Ugh. And when that happens, no one else would be blamed other than me!

“Where the heck are you, Faker guy?!” I ran around to look for him. I went to the park, the riverside, even the small chapel near our house but he’s still not there.

“Damn it. Where are you…?” the rain was heavily pouring and I can’t still find the guy… I was really getting worried now. I didn’t know it would be so scary thinking of what might happen to him if he got lost in this weather.

Sh*t. He might have went through the woods and got lost there! Because before you get to the bus stop, there would be two pathways, one leading to the bus stop and the other less traveled path would lead to the woods. And knowing how stupid the Faker guy could get, he might have taken the other way. Tsk.

I started shivering, it was cold and it was raining and I was getting scared. I ran as fast as I can heading to the two pathways, but before I even arrived there, I heard a voice making me stop on my tracks.

“Just give us your money and we’ll let you leave, Punk.” One scary large guy said. He looked like one of those ugly thugs on television and he was with four other guys. There were gathered around a guy that was just silently standing there.

I was about to go and ask for help when I saw who the cornered guy was…

Faker guy…!

“Hey! Are you listening?! Our