Chapter 20
Accidental Love
A normal school day where she won't be the centre of attention was what she was hoping for that day. But it was clearly impossible when everyone saw her walking in with the one and only Kim Jongin that every girl was dying for. Even in class where she was sitting with Jongin, the stares and whispers just won't die off. Jongin would send them glares but it wasn't enough to make them completely shut up. She wasn't able to focus in class. First, having her date by her side who kept fiddling and playing with her hands. Second, the judging and intimidating stares from her classmates were making her pressured.
Thank god she made it through the first half of the day but she prayed to god that she'll hopefully survive for the rest of the afternoon. It was lunch time and of course, Jongin insisted on going with her. She had no choice but to go with it since there won't be a point for her to reject when she's gonna end up with him, again.
"I need to go to the washroom first. You can go ahead first. I'll meet you there." he sent her a wink and walked off cooly—to the men's room. That was really unnecessary, but what would you expect from a tease like him.
Areum stood at where she was as her eyes didn't leave Jongin's back. How am i supposed to go there by myself? She asked herself. She didn't even thought through it and decided to stay at where she was, since Jongin would pass by there anyway. She might be a coward but she just didn't like being in a place where everyone else was against her—especially when she has no one by her side.
She let out a mere cough that she was still recovering from as she walked back and forth in the hallway, looking at the ground and kicking the air to kill time. It has only been a minute but to Areum, it somehow seemed like an hour has passed. Everytime someone passes by her, she immediately tensed up and prayed silently that she wouldn't get into trouble. But then again, she was expecting it to happen.
And as if she saw it coming, the three familiar queenkas approached her and surrounded her in a tiny circle. "How dare you Cho Areum?" Jina spat as the other two maintained their ignorant faces that would definitely put Jongin's patience to a test if he saw it.
Oh god.. I knew this would happen no matter how much i try to avoid it..
"I thought i warned you.." Jina inched closer, causing Areum to take a step back.
"But i guess that wasn't enough, was it?" she smirked. Areum was too caught up in her thoughts of the possibilities that could happen to her, that she didn't realize that a crowd was beginning to form. Out of nowhere, the students came rushing to the hallway when a particular student witnessed the scene and immediately informed the entire cafeteria.
Jina pushed Areum that she banged onto the hard wall. Then she took out her phone from her pocket, unlocked it and then shoved it into her face. "What is this!?" she shouted in fury, pointing towards the photo of her and Jongin walking hand in hand, to and back from his house.
Areum kept quiet and bit her lip. She was trembling but she didn't want to be defeated this time. She wanted to show Jina that she too can stand up for herself. But how can she, when she was already shaking infront of her?
"You f***ing !" Jina slapped her across her face with a loud pang that managed to make the crowd silent. They were as startled as Areum was but for them, it wasn't something new to watch.
"You don't deserve him, b*tch!" Another slap.
"A girl like you don't deserve any guy!" Another slap.
"Stop trying to act like a princess here and go back to where you came from!!!" A final slap that made her fall to the ground.
Areum finally let out a tear that she's been holding back from the beginning.
"WHAT THE IS THIS?!" She heard a familiar voice shouting and all she wanted at that moment was to be in the latter's arms.
Jongin came bursting out of the crowd. He looked at the pathetic state of Areum and sent a cold glare to Jina. The other two girls had already scattered into the crowd, seeing how frustrated and boiled he looked.
He marched towards Jina and cupped her chin harshly. "I don't know what the is wrong with you but don't you dare lay a finger on her again." he spat.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?" he released her as she scoffed to herself, glaring at Areum who was getting helped up by her knight. What an attention seeker.
Jina actually really liked Jongin, genuinely. But the way she acts around him shows otherwise. She acts all flirty and cute only infront of him. Who wouldn't think that she was just trying to get his attention for her own benefits? She was living behind two different masks.
She made it seem as if she only wanted him for his looks. But that wasn't the case. She genuinely and sincerely had feelings for him but how she acts around him and even not around him, doesn't attract Jongin even the slightest bit. And what she did to Areum, only makes him hate her even more that he doesn't want to see her face again.
When Areum was up, Jongin grabbed her hands tightly but gently and led her out of the school. But before he could do so, a fist came flying into his face and within seconds, he landed harshly on the floor.
"What the ?" Jongin cursed as he wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and looked up towards the source of his bleeding lips.
He stood up and came face to face with a male student, which he had no idea who he was.. "Who the hell are you?!" Jongin asked furiously and grabbed him by the collar. Then his eyes travelled to the latter's name tag. Lee Taehyung, it showed.
"How dare you talk that way to her!" Taehyung shouted and Jongin swore he almost passed out from his breath that smelled like his been smoking 5kg of cigarettes. And with that, another punch landed on his left cheek.
Jongin was about to sent him a hard punch and pour out his anger towards him through violence, but Areum's screams cut him to it.
"STOP IT!" she cried, causing both the males to stare at her sympathetically. Taehyung may seem really rude, but his actually a really nice person. The only reason he started the violence was because he didn't like the way Jongin treated Jina. And you guessed it, Jina was his crush. But unfortunately for him, his feelings weren't returned unlike the other two.
Jongin released Taehyung from his grasp as he watched Areum run out of the school. He sent a glare towards Taehyung as well as Jina before catching up to her. Only then, the crowd started to dissolve when the entertaining drama ended for them.
He grabbed hold of her which caused her to stop in her tracks. She was shaking terribly and he felt it through her hands. She was still crying and it only made him feel guilty seeing her that way. Unplanned, they found themselves standing right infront of his luxurious car. Jongin pulled her to face him and cupped her face, grazing her wet cheeks.
"I'm sorry Areum.." he placed his forehead on hers as he continued caressing her cheeks.
"What did i do wrong Jongin? Why do they hate me so much?" she said in between her cries. He pulled her into a tight hug that only made her cry even harder. She buried her head into his chest, soaking his uniform from her tears but Jongin didn't mind. If that makes her feel better then it's okay.
She pulled away from the hug and touched his bleeding and bruised face. Jongin flinched from her touch and squeezed her hands. "I'm fine.." he reassured her but his appearance didn't convince her a bit.
Jongin wiped her tears away and she sighed. "I'm sorry Jongin.. I'm so sorry you have to go through this.. This isn't your fault at all." she said in between her sobs.
"Maybe, if i hadn't came here at first, it wou-"
"Hey hey, shhhh.." Jongin shushed her before she could become anymore absurd. "This isn't your fault Areum. Heck, it's none of our faults. They're just being immatures. But i'm sorry.. Because you're hurting." he felt so bad that he hated himself for leaving her and letting her go through the pain that she didn't deserve. She had done nothing wrong to deserve this kind of treatment.
She smiled bitterly and caressed his bruised face. She sighed, "I want to go home."
"And home is where we're going right now. This place is full of worthless s." he added while glaring at the building before him.
Then he opened the door to his car and led her in. Being a gentleman he was, he pulled the seatbelt and fastened it for her before getting into the drivers sit.
At home
Jongin removed his coat and threw it to one side as he led Areum to the living room. "Stay here." he told her and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water for her.
Seeing how damaged his face looked, she couldn't just sit back and wait. The guilt was eating her up. So she stood up and went to the kitchen to where Jongin was. She didn't care about the scoldings he might give, all she knows was she needed the first aid kit to treat him.
"I told you to-"
"Could you please help me grab the first aid kit?" she cut him off and pointed towards the uppermost cabinet.
"I told you i'm fine Areum.." he sighed.
"I'll get it myself then." she was about to grab a chair to help her reach for the kit, but Jongin went behind her—that her back was touching his chest—and easily took out the kit for her. Then he crooked his neck to the point that his face was beside hers and brought the kit in front of her that it looked like he was giving her a back hug.
She blushed and grabbed the kit. Then she held onto Jongin's hand and pulled him towards the sofa in the living room. She didn't even bother to take a sip of water and opened the kit. She took out a medicated oil and some cotton wool to begin the treatment.
She sat close to Jongin that their laps were rubbing against one another. She poured a little bit of oil onto the cotton and began pressing it lightly onto the cuts, starting from the one that was on the corner of his lips. He flinched slightly at the burning sensation.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized almost immediately and continued, a little more gentler and careful this time. His corner of his lips turned into a curve when he saw how concentrated she was in treating him. And it was only making her job harder.
"Stop smiling." she frowned slightly and lightly hit him on the shoulders. He rubbed his shoulders and said, "How can i when you look so cute.." he admitted.
She glared at him playfully and continued her task. Jongin stared at her. From her sparkly eyes, to her sculpted the nose, then to her reddish-pink cheeks. He instantly felt guilt rush all over him once again. He brought his hands to her cheeks and grazed them. "Does it hurt?"
She shook her head and said, "I'm sure you had it worst than me.."
"I'm sorry.." he apologized.
"Stop apologizing already..." she sighed and paused her actions.
"I can't Areum.. The last thing i want to see is you getting hurt. I never wanted you to go through this. But.."
"Jongin-ah.." she said soothingly.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you when i should have. I promise you won't have to go through pain ever again."
"Areum... Everytime you get hurt, it only makes me realize how i truly feel about you. And that feeling has made me want to be with you more. It makes me want to protect you and never see you getting hurt again. I just want to see you smiling to the point that you don't know what tears are.. That's how i feel about you now."
He inched closer to her that they could feel the warmth from each other's breath. "Stay close to me, and i promise that you'll forget what 'sad' even is."
He moved closer, completely closing the gap between their lips in one swift movement. She was hesitant at first but slowly returned his kiss as their lips started to move in sync. It felt as if there was a crowd cheering around them, and fireworks being ignited behind them. He scooted closer to her and grabbed her by the waist as they continued pouring out their feelings through the kiss. Her first kiss. So this is how it feels...
In that one kiss, she then knew what was behind that cocky smirk of his. It only made her feelings for him grow into... Love.
She pulled away, gasping for air. He felt disappointed at the sudden lost of contact on his lips but decided to let it go. He smirked and stared at her lovingly. "I think i'm inlove."
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