Lunchtime

Dara was worried. Her phone remained eerily quiet, setting her nerves on edge. It was the first time since their date that Seunghyun hadn’t message her back. She tried to rationalize it, telling herself he was busy with his own school’s pep rally and preparing for the game that night, but her heart wasn’t convinced. Deep down, she knew if he wanted to message her he would have.

“Would you stop staring at your phone?” Bom asked when she didn’t respond, Bom plucked it out of her hands and pushed it into her own bag. “This is for your own good. I won’t have my best friend developing an ulcer over some guy.”

“You said you would give him a chance.” She accused.

“And so far he’s failing. Badly”

Dara sighed and pushed her half eaten sandwich away. Everything seemed to be compounding on top of each other. The big game tonight, Bom hating Seunghyun, Seunghyun hating Bom, Dongwook oppa and Seunghyun hating each other. The situation with Jenny, Seunghyun ignoring her. It was enough to drive a girl mad. A part of her wanted to hide in her room and bury the herself under covers, blocking out the insanity that was her life.

“Listen, if this Jenny thing is really bothering you I can look into it.”

Dara turned to Bom. She didn’t like the glint in her eyes. It was far too impish for her liking. “Look into it? How?” she asked suspiciously.

“Let’s just say I have some connections.” Bom whispered to her.

Dara look at her with obvious doubt. “Connections? Care to expand on that?”

“I’ve already said too much.” She said gravely.

Her suspicious rose. This sounded like a bad gangster movie. “What exactly are you planning on doing? Hang out there with Scofield and Derek Morgan at Trojans?”

“Be quiet!” Bom sent a furtive look around before leaning in even further. “Do you want people to hear you?”

“That depends on whether or not you belong in a mental ward” Dara answered.

“I can get you answers. I just need five batteries, a bottle of aspirin and twenty dollars.”

“Because that isn’t shady at all” Dara rolling her eyes.

“Do you want to find out who this Jenny person is or not?”

Of course she do! She was dying to know!! But she wants to know it from Seunghyun . But since he hadn’t…

Her fingers drummed against the table top. Decisions. Instinctively, she looked over to her brother. He was sitting with his football buddies, laughing and joking. Immediately, his lighthearted attitude dissipated at his gaze landed on her. His posture straightened, his eyes travelling down to where Seunghyun’s ring hung around her neck.

“Alright” Dara said, “I’m in.”

Excellent! Ill contact my informant”

“Do I even want to know how you know this person?”

“it’s best if you’re left in the dark”

Dara let it go. She picked up her sandwich but found she still couldn’t eat. “I need to get out of here. Want to come?”

“Go where?”

“I don’t know lets go to the mall.. Just out of here I don’t want to see Dongwook oppa keep on glaring at me”

“Ok.. let’s go” Bom gathered her things and they started walking out of school.

As they walk their path out. There is a tall, hooded figure standing in their way. It’s a guy. She assumed it was a boy because of the broad shoulders and large feet. He pulled back the black hood and scowled.

Shocked.  She whispered. “Seunghyun?”

“My gosh!” Bom grumbled in an exasperated tone. “The guy turns up everywhere. First, in the resto and now school. Cant he just stay away instead of haunting me like the Ghost of Christmas Present?”

“Wouldn’t that be the Ghost of Trojans Present?” she asked. “And I think he’s haunting me not you.”

“Semantics”

It wasn’t, but Dara let it pass. She hurried over to him. “What are you doing here?” she asked, pushing him into a corner. She looked around wildly making sure no Bruins were around. She was sure they know who he is once they saw him.

“The better question is why the hell didn’t you answer my texts?!”

“What texts?”

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the past fifteen minutes, Sandara.”

“You were trying to get a hold of me?”

Seunghyun shrugged off her hand. “I thought you would at least have the decency to answer after dumping me like a sack of hot potatoes.”

“Dump you? I--”

“Save it!” he snapped. “I should have known better. You’re a Park after all.”

The warm affectionate feeling she experienced from seeing him earlier instantly doused. In its place stood a flicker of annoyance that started to grow. “What does me being a Park have anything to do with this?”

“You’re obviously trying to throw me off my game. Tell me.” he moves closer to Dara. “Was that the plan all along? Switch phones and make me fall for you? Then dump me before the football game?”

Infuriated Dara let out a strangled huff. How dare he question her! She’s never not once given him a reason to doubt her intentions. If anything she should be the one asking that. She opened to refute the claim, but he powered on.

“Well let me tell you something, SAN-DA-RA!” he sneered, his tone dripping with condescension. “I refuse to be dupe again. Once was enough”

Her anger is rising. She was about to say something but once again she was beat out, this time by Bom.

“Once was enough?” Bom asked, pushing her way between them.

Seunghyun’s lip curled into a snarl. “You again?”

“Trust me the feeling is mutual, peanut bigot!” Bom put her hands on her hips. “Now, what is this about being duped again? Does it have anything to do with Jenny?”

The anger drained from his face, leaving behind a stunned expression. “How do you know about Jenny?”

The way he said her name was a punch to the gut. She didn’t even know the girl and she already hated her. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Dara snapped, covering up the hurt she was feeling.

“Did your brother tell you?”

“No! And I wasn’t dumping you! I sent that text because I wanted to talk about Je-“ she couldn’t say the name. It physically pained her to do so. “That girl.”

Frustration exploded over Seunghyun’s face. “You don’t tell someone ’we need to talk’ and nothing follows if you aren’t planning on breaking up!” he bellowed the last few words.

“That’s what you sent him?” Bom asked, shaking her head.

Fe