32

Jaemi sighed. She couldn’t concentrate after yesterday’s incident.

She bit her lip and lowered her head as she walked past students.

She accidentally bumped into Chanyeol and she looked up.

They both locked eyes and Jaemi froze.

She looked up at Chanyeol. She had so much to say. She wanted to explain to him and clarify everything up but she wondered if Chanyeol was even going to listen to her.

Chanyeol looked at her with those pair of eyes that showed indescribable feelings.

He just stared at her.

“Chanyeol..” Jaemi whispered. She wanted to explain. But where does she start?

She took in a deep breath. “Chanyeol, It’s.. It’s not what you were thinking. There was a bee in the hallway and it was chasing after me and all of a sudden Baekhyun just dragged me into the storeroom and ..” she said everything in one breath but her voice faltered at the end. “And.. and it may seem ridiculous and.. we were in the storeroom and..” She frowned, biting her lip.

“And Baekhyun kissed you,” Chanyeol said. Jaemi looked up at him. “I didn’t know what to do! I just stood there, frozen. I thought of kissing him for what he did for me but it was wrong. Because gratitude and pity, isn’t love.” Her voice softened.

Chanyeol wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug.

Jaemi blinked in surprise.

He closed his eyes. “Jaemi..” he whispered.

“Chanyeol..“

“You don’t have to say anything. I know. I understand, and I believe you,” he said in a gentle and warm tone.

“You, do?” Jaemi broke the hug. Chanyeol saw her eyes sparkled with surprise and hope.

Chanyeol took a step closer and reached for her hand.

“I’ve thought carefully, and clearly. The other time I said I love you in the pit, I wasn’t lying. I really do love you. And I’m going to show it to you,” he said in determination, looking into her eyes deeply.

Jaemi’s lips curved into a small smile as she shyly looked up.

He took out this coin that was always in his pocket and brought it to her eye level. “Ten years ago I saw you, and you gave me this lucky coin. And I know this lucky coin will bring us together. I’m going to tell Baekhyun, because if the three of us continue like this, none of us will be happy, trust me.” He kissed her cheek and she smiled, hugging him.

“What, are the two of you, doing?” Baekhyun asked.

They broke the hug and looked at Baekhyun who was coming out of the trees’ shadows.

“Baekhyun..” Jaemi whispered and she softened.

Chanyeol grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly, assuring her. *I got this.* Chanyeol looked at her and she nodded.

“I asked, what are the two of you doing?” he said even louder, his brows furrowed.

 Chanyeol took in a deep breath and walked towards him with Jaemi’s hand in his.

“Baekhyun, don’t be like this,” Chanyeol said.

“How can I not be like this?! You stole Jaemi-“

“I didn’t steal Jaemi! Jaemi belongs to neither of us! I just want to say what I need to,” he said calmly. “I like Jaemi. I love her. When I realized Jaemi was dating you, my heart felt heavy. I felt so lifeless. Jaemi, too.”

Baekhyun looked at Jaemi, surprised.

“You were oblivious, right?” Chanyeol said.

“If I kept mum, none of us will be happy. I won’t be happy, Jaemi won’t be happy, and you won’t be happy seeing Jaemi unhappy.”

There was a moment of silence before Baekhyun spoke up.

He clenched his fists tightly. He glared at Chanyeol. “I want to have a duel with you.”

“Game on.” Chanyeol let go of Jaemi’s hand and took a step forward.

“Usual thing.”

Chanyeol nodded.

Jaemi looked at them in confusion.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol unbuckled their belts and ped their pants.

Jaemi eyes widened in shock and immediately stopped them. “Yah! What are you doing?” she yelled, baffled and they both turned to look back at her. “Peeing.”

“Peeing?!”

“The person who pees the furthest wins. That’s what we always do to have a winner,” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun nodded. “We’ve been doing this for years.”

Jaemi gawked at them and sighed. “How can you decide my happiness based on your, pee?” she asked and they bit their lips.

“Hurry up and zip up your pants! It’s embarrassing!” she hissed at the both of them and covered her eyes.

She bit her lip and stopped herself from laughing. “I’ll give you three months’ probation. During these three months, we are not allowed to meet each other unless it is coincidental. In school, if we bump into each other, we can only greet each other, no conversations except every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, since we need to concentrate on our studies and exams,” she said and both of them nodded their heads eagerly. “DEAL!”

The school bell rang and they all parted ways, slowly back to their respective classes.

--

Within that three months, Jaemi could concentrate on her studies with the help of Eunmi and the lack of distraction of the love triangle.

On the other side, the two competitors were tortured and distracted by the absence of Jaemi. They sighed and lay their heads on the tables, dreading for Friday to come.

When winter came, it also marked the last month of the probation.

Eunmi and Jaemi walked down the hallway.

“There’s one more month before the probation ends, after it ends, what are you going to do?” Eunmi asked.

Jaemi stopped in her tracks. “I, don’t know.”

“What? You don’t know?” Eunmi asked, pulling her to one corner. “Hold on. Who do you like now?”

“Chanyeol,” Jaemi said instantly.

“Miss, then what is that probation for when you already have your answer!” she asked in exasperation.

They both sat down at a bench and Jaemi sighed. “You see, Baekhyun is being really adamant. No matter how much I say, he just won’t listen.”

Eunmi nodded. “That I can understand..” She tapped her chin. “Have you not have any feelings towards Baekhyun before?”

Jaemi looked down at her shoes. “Baekhyun, is really nice and caring. But, he never gave me the chance to do something. He always plan, and had everything arranged for me. So I never needed to make a decision. I guess that’s why, I don’t harbour any feelings towards him.”

“On the other hand Chanyeol makes me feel comfortable and relaxed even though at times he is unpredictable.” She smiled.

Eunmi looked at her grin and shook her head. “Aigoo, our Jaemi is in love~” she cooed.

--

They walked passed a group of students.

“Eh, I heard that a student met with an accident.”

“Who?”

“I think it’s someone from the student council. He was wearing a tie.”

“Oh yeah, I heard that too! There was blood everywhere at the scene! So gruesome!”

A girl ran towards the group. “Guys! Big news! I heard that it was Chanyeol! He was cycling on a road-“

Jaemi stopped in her tracks. Chanyeol?

 She turned to face Eunmi. “Did I hear, wrongly? Did they say, Ch.. Ch.. Chan-“

“It’s, Chanyeol,” Eunmi whispered, looking at Jaemi’s pale face.

Jaemi dropped her books. “Chanyeol.. Chanyeol..” She gulped.

-----