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CHAPTER TEN

Weeks pass, and things have been stagnant every since the appearance of Lee Naeun. Minhyuk seems to have stopped making moves on me more than a week ago and we no longer pay attention to each other during class unless absolutely necessary. Naeun, on the other hand, keeps trying to get in between my lunch meetings with Chanyeol. I’m not even kidding when I say she’s trying too hard.  In fact, she was furious when she found out our meetings were scheduled every day during said time. She questioned Chanyeol about not making time for her, like he was already– like he would even agree to become–her boyfriend. And it did seem like she got a little bit cold to me, but she still tried to remain friends and apologized whenever things got beyond the line.

Physical education, as I had predicted it to be, had become a living hell. It was completely difficult having to pretend that I actually knew how to swim, and the guy beside me during laps (a Chinese gentleman named Zhang Yixing) was nice enough to match my pace whenever the instructor blew on the whistle. He said he would swim together with me, so that I wouldn’t be afraid. Though, I was so scared the first time because I panicked and ran out of breath in the middle of the pool, and I had to grab on to Yixing-sunbae’s board shorts. He pulled me all the way to the other end and back and I was so sorry that I promised to buy him coffee sometime. It made me regret and ask myself why I didn’t just raise my hand on the first day when Professor Jung asked us whether or not we knew how to swim. I don’t really know if I’ll survive this class.

To top it all off, Minhyuk had been transferred to our class because apparently all the other P.E. classes were full and they had nowhere else to put him. I know he stopped bugging me and Chanyeol ever since Naeun came along. He probably felt secure that his cousin was distracting that giant so much that he could just get me if he tried. And I’m gonna say it again, that he stopped following us but…BUT I can feel his eyes on me every damn time during P.E. and English lit. It’s a good thing he’s on a different team in P.E, or else I would be forced into unnecessary (and unwanted) interaction with him. Every time he approaches, I try to keep myself occupied by asking Yixing-sunbae questions about how to swim. He was teaching me secretly and I think that because of him, I would be able to survive this class. At this point, I don’t even give a crap about acing it. I just want to make it.

And today, which is a Tuesday, I am walking to school once again to prepare for English lit class. I did find the class kind of entertaining. Mrs. Kwon had a lot of knowledge to share and things to teach, and as the days passed I began to notice that I have become her favourite pupil. Well, if that’s what it was. I don’t know when that happened or if she noticed whether or not I was paying attention to her. (And of course, I was, so I would be able to explain the things Chanyeol asked me later on.) She always called me to recite and she always read my pieces in class along with some others. I never had a hard time in her class. And I was doing something I liked, which is probably where I get the drive to get to school early in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

But there is something else to look forward to every day. And somehow, this something has grown on me and bit by bit I found myself looking forward to it.

I rack my brain hard to try and think about it but I just can’t point my finger at what that extremely good thing was.

As I reach the front of the gate, however, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket which makes me halt in my tracks and pull it out. It was a call from none other than my pupil– although I’d prefer to call him apprentice even though he has no intention whatsoever of pursuing a career in writing– Park Chanyeol.

I tap the green icon on my screen and put it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Haneul.Hey there!” I can’t see him, but my head starts painting out the image of his toothy smile. “Listen, I can’t meet you for lunch today.”

Excuse me, what?

He can’t meet me for lunch today?

My smile drops. And I don’t know if it’s because I don’t get any free food, or because I worked so hard rewriting my notes until two in the morning for him that I felt my effort being wasted. Maybe it was something else, but whatever it was it made me hella annoyed. I didn’t even have to act like this. It’s not like we were something really big.

“Why?” My tone turns cold, and I’m not sure he notices it.

“Sorry… It’s just, Naeun won’t leave me alone. So I said we can eat together once. Just once. And she promised to knock off for a while…” I don’t respond, expecting him to say something else, because he is ditching me for Lee Naeun.

And wait, why am I even mad?

I was basically forced into this tutoring job (if you could call it that). Actually if he asked me again, maybe I would want to back out. Am I bummed because he’s ditching me for her? Why should I be? Besides, one point for Naeun and a whole lot of points for me.

Okay what? Now I’m counting points. Why am I even mad? After this supposedly just once meeting, I get to keep him all to myself.

What did I just think about?

I groan, messing my hair up as I let my frustrations show.

Why would he even go with a person he doesn’t like!

“You’re not mad, aren’t you?” his deep voice cuts through my thoughts and I debate on what to do.

“No,” I finally say. “Well, if that’s all you had to tell me, you could’ve just sent a text message. Don’t worry about it. I’ll maybe see you tomorrow.”

I can hear him say something after that as I take the phone away from my ear, but I it’s not loud enough for me to be able to understand it. I stare at the screen that notified me of the ongoing call, and I sigh. Something is definitely wrong today… with me… and him… or maybe just me.I sigh as I tap the red button and the line goes dead.

He tries to call me a second time.

But I put my phone on airplane and quickly pocket it before heading in.

* * *

Chanyeol’s hand dejectedly slumps down on the bed and he pushes his phone away from him, finally having decided to give up calling Haneul. He woke up so early just to call her just before her class begins and tell her that he agreed to go out with Naeun today outside the campus. It took him so long to muster up the courage to do so, too. But what choice did he have? The girl was so insistent on going out with him and he got so tired of her pestering that he agreed all of a sudden.

He didn’t think he would be able to go back to sleep again because it seemed like she was angry about something.

Why would she be mad?

Could it be that she was actually looking forward to spending time with him? Could it be that she was disappointed at him for choosing Naeun over her? Maybe there was something he said that she didn’t like. If there was, he would make it right. He couldn’t have it like this. He didn’t like the idea of the woman he liked being angry at him, especially since he hasn’t really done her any wrong ever since the coffee incident.

What could it be?

His eyes lit up.

Could it be that she was… perhaps, jealous of Lee Naeun?

Chanyeol slapped himself left and right as laughter escaped from his lips. That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. Why in the world would Haneul be jealous of someone like Naeun? That girl? She doesn’t even have a chance. He wouldn’t date Lee Naeun if she was the last person on earth. Therefore there would be absolutely no reason-

Wait.

Maybe there was.

Chanyeol laughed out loud once more.

Absurd, he thought.

It was so entertaining to think about.

But at the same time, his heart warmed at the thought of Haneul wanting to spend time with him.

(If, that is, what she wanted to do. At least, that’s what all the facts pointed to.) A gentle smile crossed his features. It made him very happy just thinking about it. How delighted he would be if Haneul herself admitted that she did enjoy his company. It’s like things were falling into place all too fast.He always hoped to someday be able to make the feelings he harbored for her mutual. But he found it quite funny, because he really hasn’t really started making those feelings obvious. It amused him and he didn’t really know why, yet it made him happy all the same. He just hoped that what he was thinking is true and that he wasn’t being a delusional bastard.

He slaps himself once again, remembering that he agreed to go on a lunch date with Naeun.

“I should get ready for class. Goddamnit.”

Just then, he receives a message from his roommate.

<Messages                                   Byuntae Baekhyun                                    Contact

Today 09:13 AM

Lol way to out all the sunshine outta your chick

Like you’d want her to you d(e)ck

Love u man

‘,’ Chanyeol laughs before placing the phone down on his table. He doesn’t bother to reply. Then he realizes he mentioned a girl.

He sends him a message.

<Messages                                      Byuntae Baekhyun                                     Contact

Today 09:13 AM

Lol way to out all the sunshine outta your chick

Like you’d want her to you d(e)ck

Love u man

Such a wonderful poem Baek

Wait

What the hell are you talking about

Ah Nevermind

I’ll fix it later

* * *

“Oppa!”

Ah. There she is.

Lee Naeun walks into the cafeteria, her four-inch heels (that she started wearing to be able to at least, reach up to Chanyeol’s height) clicking to the beat of the pop song that was booming from the cafeteria speakers. She seemed excited to see Chanyeol and it looked like she couldn’t wait to run up to him and grab him, but she retains her class and composure. She continues walking as if the world is her runway. A smile appears on her face when she meets Chanyeol’s eyes.

“Oppa, hi,” she says as he stands up. “Are you ready to go?”

He just nods and leads the way to the student lot to go get his car.

* * *

Naeun chooses to eat in a Japanese restaurant and she was relieved that she asked Haneul yesterday what type of food he liked to eat. The girl didn’t know how her new friend could’ve possibly gotten ahold of information like this, which she couldn’t do despite knowing Chanyeol for a longer time than Haneul did. But now that she knew it didn’t matter to her.She sits up straight as she organizes her mind. Then her eyes light up minutes later.

Chanyeol enters after parking his car and he sits himself across from her. A smile instantly graces her features.

She calls for the waiter first, staring at Chanyeol and waiting for him to strike up a conversation. And then the menus are brought.  The only conversation they have is about their food. Naeun was not very happy about this.

The first five minutes are shrouded in awkward silence and keyboard sounds and text message tones. No one made a sound until the drinks and some of the food arrived. Chanyeol refused to look up to meet Naeun’s eyes and it seemed like he was busy talking to someone else. Naeun, on the other hand, felt a bit offended even though she was generally used to his kind of treatment from Chanyeol. But he couldn’t stay that way for long, as he was still the nice person he had always been, so he looks up at her and takes a sip of his drink and starts talking about random things like he does best.

She smiles when her eyes meet his.

“Oppa,” she starts. “Thank you so much for agreeing to go out with me. It’s good that you agreed to ditch Haneul-sshi, if only for an hour.”

“No problem,” he smiles, or at least tries to. “What did you do during break?”

And like Haneul’s situation, Naeun began talking away. She listed all the things she did during the time school was out, constantly mentioning that it would have been more fun if she did it with Chanyeol. She also didn’t leave out occasionally saying that she should try those things again another time with him. Chanyeol, on the other hand, only nodded in response and answered briefly when he was asked questions. He didn’t take her eyes off of her for the longest time, thinking it was impolite to leave her hanging when she was the one who invited him out. He did, after all, agree to eat out with her. This was also his responsibility. Besides, it’s not like Lee Naeun meant any harm. Her intentions, to him, seemed purely good. It’s just that she was too obsessed with him that it suffocated him sometimes. And Park Chanyeol, of all people, did not like being tied down.

The food arrives in the middle of Naeun’s long talk and the first thing Chanyeol’s eyes drift over to is the pork. Naeun motions for him to get his serving first, knowing that this boy was one who had an appetite as big as he was, and so he did. Chanyeol ate in silence, mostly, because Naeun did all the talking. This was always how it went around her. It wasn’t that he had nothing to say. In fact, when they first became friends, he said more things than she did. But now, he just didn’t have anything he wanted to say to her and he was a little unsure. He constantly mentioned how good the food was, so as not to make her feel like his mind was elsewhere, and she started talking about that too. She just seemed to have something to say for everything.

“Oppa, thank you again for making time for me today. I’m really happy because of that… Even though I know you were meeting Haneul for academic reasons,” she takes a sip of her drink.

He nods and smiles gently. “No problem.”

“My cousin is probably keeping her company,” she says and Chanyeol’s ears perk up. But she starts talking before he gets a chance to say anything.

“You know, if you had trouble with academics, I could’ve helped you.”

“Oh, it’s okay. Haneul is doing a great job at it!” He laughs, but somehow Naeun doesn’t find anything funny.

“But oppa, I studied in the states when I was a child. I can do it better than her.“

“Naeun-“

“No, oppa. What do you see in that girl? Should I change my hair to look like hers? The color isn’t even that good. And she’s so quiet. Gosh she won’t even look at me sometimes when I speak. You need someone who can keep up with you and stuff. Right? And I’ve known you for longer. I just don’t understand why-“

Her sensitivity and jealousy were showing way too much. Just the mention of another girl’s name and her control began slipping away in seconds.

“Can you please stop that?” Chanyeol snaps at her as he puts his fork down.

And so was his. The mention of the same girl and he couldn’t keep his emotions in check.

“Oppa!” she frowns. “What did that girl do that changed you so much? Did she drug your bubble tea? Did she hypnotize-“

“Stop it.”

Chanyeol stands up and Naeun looks at him as if to say ‘where are you going?’ She wasn’t even scared although a furious six-foot giant was hovering above her, and Chanyeol was a person who rarely got mad. It’s just that he couldn’t take Naeun, of all people, trying to change his image of Haneul. He wanted to tell her she studied in the states too. He wanted to tell her that he liked that she was quiet because all he needed was someone to listen. And he really didn’t care who knew who longer. Since when did things like those matter?

“I thought you were her friend,” he deadpans and she finds his back is facing him. “Be plastic all you want, but if you make an enemy out of her, I won’t forgive you.” And with that, he walks away.

Naeun is left speechless, staring after Chanyeol, chasing him with her eyes because her body refused to move an inch. Tears form in her eyes. Never in her life had Lee Naeun experienced such embarrassment. Never in her life as she been turned down or rejected.

It’s all because of her, she thinks. She changed oppa.

“I am going to destroy her.”

i hate naeun's character, and i wrote her. sobs. haha. typical oppa clingy. anyway, here it is. thanks to you all who subbed and commented!! seeya! | pstd. 150813