Chapter Four

"Ahn Na Ri, are you listening in my lesson?" the teacher targeted her once again, as she used her meter rule to give the whiteboard a few hits. Most of the students turned back to look at her, discussing about how bad her attitude was. Na Ri was just sitting on her seat, surprisingly looking out of the window. She didn't even noticed everyone's stares as she contemplated about how to deal with Jongin. 

The teacher was feeling sheepish when she didn't receive an answer, wanting to admonish her about respecting the teachers but instead, cleared since she knew it wouldn't be a wise choice to waste time on her now. It was the last period.

"Ahn Na Ri, see me for a moment outside the classroom after lessons," she simply stated before she continued to teach for the last few minutes. Na Ri was just biting her tongue as she kept her eyes fixed on his classroom that was on the second level from the window. There's no way I'm going to let him escape so easily.

Just before the bell rang, her eyes widened as she patently saw how Jongin's class was dismissed, everyone leaving the classroom. The familiar figure came out from the classroom as well, walking past the corridoor to the stairs. Na Ri's hands grasped on to the hem of the table as she watched his figure disappear when he walked down the stairs.

She snapped her head to the front and realized the teacher was still talking, making her roll her eyes as she grew anxious. Damn it, why is she not dismissing us? She shook her leg as she bit her lips, eyes watching the second hand of the clock tick slowly.

"So when acids react to reactive metals, they form — " Na Ri stood up from her seat out of the blue, astounded by what she just did as well. The teacher's mouth fell slightly open as she was interrupted by Na Ri. 

"Ahn Na Ri. What are you doing?" She asked with her stern voice, feeling that she was disrespecting the teachers. Na Ri was going to say something as she opened but words got stuck in . Everyone's attention was on her as her eyes wavered. She swallowed before just throwing her bag over her shoulder and hastened out of the classroom.

"Ahn Na Ri! Where are you going?" She heard the teacher's voice from inside the classroom but she ignored it as she dashed for the school's entrance. She scanned around as she looked for Jongin. It wasn't even long before she saw him with a group of guys at the street. She sneakily followed behind them, carrying her bag properly. Furthermore, she fished out her sunglasses from her bag and put it on. 

She stuffed both her hands in her pockets as she focused on looking down while following from behind. She would ften steal glances at them to make sure Jongin was still there. She didn't even realize where she was going as she followed them blindly. They were just similar to any boisterous group of teenage boys you would often see on streets, often playing with one another and was very noisy.

It was until they stopped in their tracks at the traffic light. She quickly scrambled off to a pillar of the shelter and hid behind it, peeking at them. Jongin waved to them while holding onto one of his bag's strap, then turning around and walking the opposite direction of the rest that walked past the traffic light. Na Ri seized the opportunity to tag behind him to see where he was going to.

It was easy to not lose track of him since he was tall and slim, walking flawlessly like a model. She stopped when she looked up to see that he entered a public library. She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. Without much hesitation, she went in the library as well. The air con's air blew at her as she felt a shiver down her spine.

Na Ri looked around as saw him going to an aisle of book, instantly hiding behind to observe his every actions. She narrowed her eyes on him, watching how he pick some books and held it with his arms. He turned around while scrutinizing the summary of one book and walking to the table.

He put his bag down and settled down on the seat, beginning to read the book. Na Ri speedily bolted for the seat behind him, putting her bag down with her eyes set on him. Some people around her casted her a suspicious look which she brushed off. She took out her phone as she pretended to use it while eyeing him meticulously.

Unfortunately, a few hours past by as Na Ri was experiencing a body ache while still keeping an eye out for him. He was just sitting comfortably at his seat, totally absorbed in the book. "How can someone even read for this long?" she muttered to herself, putting her chin on the table as she scrolled through her phone while heaving sighs.

Just then, Jongin closed the book, causing Na Ri to beam for a second. He stood up quietly from his chair before taking his bag and swinging it over his shouler, walking away with his books. He made his way to the counter to officially borrow it before he headed for the exit. Na Ri made a mental cheer to herself since she has never liked libraries or books.

She still stalked him from a few meters behind, walking on the street. The sky was already dark since it was the evening. She yawned to herself, her eyelids slightly dropping as she took slower steps. She saw that her shoelaces were untied and quickly bent down to tie it. 

However, after she tied it and looked up, she couldn't see any signs of Jongin. She cursed to herself, scurrying forward while holding to her bag straps. She ran her fingers through her hair, realizing that he disappeared. "Damn...where did he go?" she asked no one as she glanced here and there.

"Just when are you planning to follow me until?" A voice startled her as she quickly snapped to the direction where the voice came from. Jongin stepped out from the alley he was in, the shadow revealing him as he casted Na Ri a ridiculous look. He raised a brow at her since her actions for the whole day were really confusing him.

Na Ri cursed under her breath again, figuring out she was caught red-handed and that he knew for quite a while now. She faked a cough and covered , not wanting to answer his question. She unknowingly just stalked him for the whole of today and it just wasn't something she would actually do.

"Are you interested in me or something?" Jongin took another step closer, keeping his dark gaze on her as his eyes sparkled from the dark sky. His hands were in his pockets as his eyes turned into slits, waiting for her answer. But since Na Ri didn't answer, he thought for a moment before he clasped both his hands together.

"Ah...Is that why you were acting weird earlier?" he asked, his hands returning back to their positions in the pockets before he took yet another step closer to Na Ri. Na Ri, however, didn't back away since she wasn't feeling afraid or anything. She was still perceiving every actions he was doing, trying to distinguish whether or not he was actually the guy from the club.

"To gain my attention?" he prepended, cocking his head one side. Just by looking at his outfit, it could clearly show her the difference. His tie was perfectly on, not loose or anything with his top button buttoned. Na Ri watched him wordlessly, staring at him which made him feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. He cleared his throat under her intense stare, taking a few timid steps back. Na Ri furrowed her eyebrows more seeing how he acted.

"I-I think I've misunderstand you for someone else," she reluctantly let those words slipped out of . As much as she wanted him to be the guy from the club, she was pretty sure now that they weren't the same person. Besides, he was being a model student for the whole of today. Na Ri bit her lips, hating to admit that she was wrong.

"Is it that hard to apologise?" Jongin snapped back, not satisfied with the response. Both of them turned silent for a few minutes before Jongin decided to break the silence. 

"That's why I loathe girls like you," he said out truthfully, making Na Ri clenched her jaws. She was quite stunned by his unexpected words but the way he said it was as if he was classifying her as a group of people that he would hate. She clucked her tongue while her hands held onto her pocket tightly.

"I'm not interested in dating so I hope nothing like this happens again," he ended with some sort of warning before walking past her without even waiting for her to respond.

Na Ri blew air out of her cheeks, frowning as she shut her eyes in annoyance. Stomping one of her feet, Na Ri turned around harshly, making her way to the bus-stop to get home.

"So much for one dude..." she mumbled while kicking the ground with her shoes. What am I doing anyways? Stalking this bastard for nothing. Just forget about him, Na Ri! But then...if he's not the guy from the club, I wonder what the guy from the club is doing right now?

She lifted her head to see her bus that has arrived. She stood up hastily and went up the bus. Finding an empty spot, she plopped herself down with a sigh, just to receive a call from Cho Rim. She blew air out before picking up the call, placing her phone on her ear. "What now?" she said in a dull tone.

"Ahn Na Ri! Where did you go? The lesson didn't even end and you just left the classroom like that! But damn...you're still as cool as always." Na Ri chuckled while hearing Cho Rim's words from the other line. She bit her lips and looked out of the window before she decided to just tell Cho Rim.

"Hey...you know about Jongin..." she started, her fingers fidgeting with one another.

"Yea? What about him?" Cho Rim asked back, waiting patiently on the other line.

"He's not the guy from the club." Na Ri admitted, her hands reaching over to the rub the back of her neck.

"I told you! It couldn't be him. It's just ridiculous since they are both completely different people," Cho Rim insisted, causing Na Ri to let out a bitter chuckle.

"You sound a little disappointed. He's not really your type anyway, since he's from our school. I mean...you can just forget about him then!" Cho Rim suggested upon hearing Na Ri's voice.

"Yea..." Na Ri's voice trailed off as she kept her gaze fixed on the windows. That's right. I should forget about him then. It's not like he's related to me or anything. Besides, I should be glad that I didn't get involved with anybody from my school.