Episode 11: From a friend to a rival

(His POV)

“Be my girlfriend then” I said with no hesitancy

I felt her body twitch to some extent, and she tried to pull her hands away from mine but I tightened my grip on them and fixed my eyes towards hers:

“This doesn’t m-make any sense!” she protested as she casted her look to the side and blinked. “I-I mean…”

“I know it’s so sudden… but”

And I thought back at what happened just sometime before:

*Flashback*

(1 hour ago)

I was in class gathering my stuffs and getting ready to leave when some of the girls gathered around me, and kept asking me so many questions and I just forced a smile and dodged answering any of it. I was trying to find an excuse for me to escape the situation and luckily, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out, and checked the sender’s ID.

“Oh great… it’s that guy” I sighed.

“Who is it! Oppa! Tell us!”

I just flashed them another perfect smile then started to make my way through them, apologizing and saying that I had to go and meet the headmaster; a father and son meeting.

Yes, I pretty much believed that all this fanclub thing wouldn't exist if not for my fortune and father's name.

“Kya!!! Good luck oppa!” They waved at me cheerfully and didn’t follow after me and I was really grateful.

I opened the message, thinking that it might be some prank knowing how annoying Minho was and how he liked to mess around but I ended up reading it.

“What the?” I gaped.

‘Your friend Jin is attempting suicide’

The first sentence was enough to give me goosebumps.

I immediately called him without reading the rest:

‘I knew you’d call’

“You better not be messing around!”

‘No, I promise I’m not’ his tone sounded overly grave. ‘I miraculously made it in time, I was able to save her and stop the two bastards but Jin couldn't take the shock... ending up in a  mentally-collapsed state'

"And you left her alone?!"  I found myself screaming.

'C-Calm down, you almost made me deaf! Didn't you read the message? I told you that she threatened me that she’d kill herself if I don’t leave her alone so I had to do as she asked’

I couldn’t believe what I heard.

‘I reported the two guys and the academy caught them, they'll be expelled'

That isn't enough, they must get punished for their indecency, but for now...

“Where is she now?”

Cold sweat started to run down my forehead as Minho told me her current location and I was about to hung up but he uttered with a cold tone:

‘Don’t hung up just yet and listen… now that I made sure about how much you care for that girl… don’t think that I’m going to leave anyone of you alone…’ his voice became darker ‘I'm going to pay you back, old friend’

I immediately hung up on him and took off running, I wanted to find him and punch him so hard in the face for what he said but now, finding Jin was more of a priority.

It was very careless of me to show Minho how much I cared about her. She had that feeling around her that made me want to protect her...

I admit it, ever since this morning I couldn't stop thinking about her staying with Minho last night. I never in my whole life got my mind occupied by some girl, and it was very unbearable.

Yes... I have some feelings for her, whether I liked it or not.

However, now I know for a giving that Minho will try to get back at me for a stupid thing that he misunderstood long ago, and try to make me suffer the same way he thinks I did to him… I lost his trust and I don’t think he’ll ever believe me or want to listen to me ever again, like the old days...

Minho and I were the bestest of friends back at middle-school, we were called the golden pair and we were very popular with the girls and respected by the males. Everything went wrong ever since that girl transfered to our school.

Minho fell for her at first sight, and I was happy for him, he kept talking about her all the time and being the good friend I am, I listened to him and encouraged him to confess his feelings. But the day he went to meet her, she actually came to see me in class, and with no hesitation kissed me in front of everyone, said that she wanted to go out with me and that she joined our school just to be by my side,

I was too shocked and thought that rejecting her in front of everyone would've been very harsh so I asked her to give me some time to think about it…

I thought I might as well tell Minho about what she did, but I was too late, because everyone at school kept talking about that stupid kiss, and the girl started rumors already, and of course… Minho heard all about it too.

He came the next day to my house when I was leaving to school, the shiny glimmer of his eyes vanished and I could no longer see the old friend I always knew in him. He turned to a completely different person and fought with me. He didn’t give me any chance to explain things to him, and just punched and kicked me without holding back. And from that day on, he stopped talking to me, and changed schools even… our friendship ended like that and I felt very guilty for what happened.

Yes, I knew that now, and because of my stupidity and my excessive kindness, Minho would never come to like any girl ever again.

And indeed, during my last year in middle school, I learned that Minho turned into a heartless playboy, luring girls and making them fall for him and then breaking their hearts and that he was very rebellious and a troublemaker in his new school. It was like his sole way to extinguish the fire of resentment that surged within him. Because only I knew that it was already hard for him to forget about what his mother did to him and his father back in his childhood, and how tough it was for his small heart to mend after it, yet again, I was the one responsible for hurting him all over again.

The only thing that I couldn’t forgive him for though, was his way of treating all the other innocent girls, but being the stubborn boy he was, telling him to stop would only have the opposite effect.

That's how painful our past was; A burden that I've silently carrying on my back for 2 years now… and yet, here we are today meeting again in the same academy… and no one knows what will eventually become of us.

But the only thing I’m certain of is that he’ll do his best to hurt Jin, and I won’t allow that to happen!

So true, it’s not only that I really want to protect Jin, but to put an end to Minho’s foolishness as well.

*End of Flashback*

____________________________

 (Her POV)

Why’s my heartbeat this unstable?! It’s drumming like mad!

I needed some answers, I’m not stupid! It’s not like he suddenly fell for my inexistent charm or anything of the sort! There must be some hidden reason behind this confession.

Still…

I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip.

Deep inside, I felt an unexplainable grief.

“You don’t have to be nervous about it!” he uttered, dragging be back to reality.

“Who said that I was nervous in the first place!?” I defended, pulling my hands away from his.

“You were shaking like a leaf”

“I wasn’t!” I retorted

“Fine, but still, you should agree to it, please” he held my shoulders.

“D-Don’t get any closer!” I put my hands in a defensive pose in front of my face.

“Oh, sorry” he let go of me, and I could see that he wiped the tip of his nose as if to hide his embarrassment.

“But don’t worry, we’ll be only pretending, it won’t be real” he said somehow cheerfully.

It’s just as I thought…

I dropped my head down and smiled.

Yes, Jin, it’s not like this prince would really have feelings for a plain, almost boy-like girl.

“Does this mean that you’re agreeing?” he sounded happy.

I nodded.

“Yes, I’m glad we’re only pretending! Haha, just as I thought!” I laughed.

Liar

“Oh, that’s good to hear” he started to get up from his sitting position. “I promise that it’ll be good for both of us”

“Haha, I don’t know about that” I scratched the back of my head.

Yeah… I bet it has to do with him having enough with the girls chasing after him and that’s why he looked for a girlfriend.

And I ended up accepting.

“I’ll go and call the doctor to check on you”

“No need! I’m really ok!” I showed the ok sign with my hand, but he messed my hair and said:

“You don’t need to act all strong in front of your boyfriend”

“Eh?” I glanced up at him and he nodded at me.

No, even though he doesn’t mean it, hearing that still gave me a feeling of safety.

Then he went out just as he said. And the doctor came a short moment after.

___________________________

“I’m glad it wasn’t a big deal”

Jin was helping me stand up now that I was a bit drowsy because of the medicine I got.

“Yes, I just need to rest for now the doctor said” I tried to steady myself but I felt very exhausted and almost fell down, if not for Jin’s help.

“Easy there” he caught me in his arms, and I felt my eyelids becoming heavier and my limbs numb. “Hey, Jin?”

When he calls my name like that...

I just buried my face in his clothes, and closed my eyes.

“Are you that tired?” his voice was getting further and further.

“I feel… very… secure…like this”

I fell asleep in that state…

*******To be continued.