{ chapter f i v e }

Youngji had washed up and gone to bed about an hour ago, but sleep was still eluding her. The internet was bursting with photos of her kiss with Jackson and she could only shut her eyes tightly, hoping that everything that transpired was nothing but a product of her overactive imagination.

However, the internet articles and photos were speaking volumes about how real and serious the reality was. It was a good thing that the pictures were all blurry (perhaps due to the fans’ shock). The quick thinking of the bodyguards and staffs of JYPE really helped shield them from the fans’ eyes. Still, she couldn’t even bear to look at the comments section in fear of seeing a bunch of comments bashing either her or STORM. She could only hope that JYPE would contact her soon so that the misunderstandings will be cleared up and STORM will be scandal-free again in no time.

Her eyes caught sight of Jackson’s hoodie which she carefully folded and currently resting on top of her drawer. She was even surprised with herself when she reached out to wear it. Somehow, the warmth provided by the hoodie helped her fall asleep sometime in the middle of the night.

--

“Youngji-yah! Hara’s already here!” Her mother shouted as she carelessly slung her bag to her left shoulder. “Yeah, I’m coming!” She shouted back before grabbing her phone and inserting it on her blazer’s pocket. She rushed downstairs only to find Hara munching on toast.

“Oh, you’re here?” Hara reacted before standing up. “Come on, we’ll be late!” The elder girl urged before the two of them bade goodbye to Youngji’s mother.

Youngji was fidgeting as she and Hara get closer and closer to school. Hara dismissed it to her being nervous because she snuck out of school yesterday. “Youngji-yah,” Hara called out, placing a gentle hand on top of her shoulder.

“Neh?” She responded, obviously startled.

“Don’t worry too much about sneaking out yesterday. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” She advised. “Okay, I’ll go to my classroom now. I’ll see you later, hmm?”

The younger girl forced a smile and nodded. “Neh unnie. See you!” She waved before walking to her own classroom by herself. Once she entered, she saw that her female classmates were buzzing with life– a very unusual occurrence especially early in the morning. She opted to sit down first before nudging her seatmate, Seo Kangjoon. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Yah, haven’t you seen yet?! And here I thought you’re STORM’s biggest fan!” Kangjoon exclaimed. “Is this a good sign? You’re forgetting about that Tuan, right?” He teased.

Kangjoon was one of her neighbors who seems to think that his life’s purpose was to annoy Youngji. They had been frenemies ever since she could remember. Not a day passes that he wasn’t able to annoy her. On normal days, she would have retorted and bragged about her huge love for Mark Tuan, but she was just feeling nervous and afraid at the moment.

The boy immediately sensed the shift in her mood because of her quietness. “Yah Youngji, what’s wrong?” He worriedly questioned, his concern etched on his face. “Are you not feeling well? Did something happen yesterday when you left?”

Youngji shook her head. “Nah, I’m okay. So,” she smiled happily, “What was that you were saying about STORM?”

“Ah!” Kangjoon grinned before fishing his phone from his pants pocket. He entered “STORM Jackson” on the search bar and the webpage loaded with tons of photos from the lightning fan event. “Here!” He said, showing her the pictures. “Apparently, Jackson Wang kissed some girl yesterday. There are still no news from JYP, but the netizens, especially STORM’s fans are going crazy.” He huffed before taking the phone away in front of Youngji. “Heol. Whoever this girl is, I bet all the 빗방울 are ready to light a fire under her .” He commented as he scrolled through all the comments of netizens.

Youngji felt as if air was knocked out from her. She blinked a number of times before swallowing. “Are… there b–bashers?” She timidly asked and Kangjoon eyed her weirdly.

“Yah, that’s like asking if the Hallyu wave is popular.” He sarcastically responded. “Of course there are! And there are a lot, I’m telling you. Well, considering how popular STORM is…” He shrugged. “I just feel bad for the girl. I hope they won’t realize who she is or else. See these?” Kangjoon pointed at the comments section. “As they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Youngji took a closer look at the comments and it made her gulp.

User #102649 said…

                        YAH WHO’S THAT B****!!1!!1!

User #7843 said…

                        HOW DARE YOU KISS MY WANGKONG

User #54823 said…

                        she’s so lucky gdi. ahhh truly a fangirls dream

User #24897 said…

                        FU** THAT WH*** I BET SHE SCHEMED ALL THAT SO SHE COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF JACKSON. D*** YOU TO HELL B****!1!!

Kangjoon shook his head repeatedly. “Ahh girls are scary. Neh, Youngji-yah?”

--

Youngji instantly fell to her bed as soon as she got home. The only topic that everyone wanted to talk about was the one that she wanted so badly to avoid. Her whole day in school was composed of people wanting to talk to her and ask her opinion about the recent scandal of STORM considering that she was known as their biggest fan– at their school, at least.

She tried hard to avoid them all, using her back pain as an excuse to ignore the other students who wanted to smother her. If only she didn’t cut class yesterday, she would have approached her homeroom adviser and asked to be sent home.

She wondered what her schoolmates would think once they know that it was her– Heo Youngji, self-proclaimed STORM’s biggest fan and Mark-biased– who accidentally kissed Jackson Wang. She hasn’t told anyone about it yet, not even her closest friend Hara. She was afraid of the bashers not only on the internet, but also at school. Still though, she doesn’t want the two boys’ career to suffer just because of her.

Her phone rang and an unregistered number. She gingerly swiped the Answer button before speaking a cautious “Hello?”

“Good afternoon, is this Heo Youngji-ssi’s phone?” An unfamiliar voice of a woman from the other line asked.

Youngji straightened at the formality of the caller. “Ah, neh. This is Heo Youngji. May I know who’s calling, please?”

“I am Baek Ahyeon, JYP Entertainment’s representative. I called to ask when you would be free to make your official statement regarding the issue about STORM?”

“I–I’m free whenever, Baek Ahyeon-ssi.”

“Oh, that’s good news! Can you come by tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll be there after school.”

“That’s great! We hope to see you tomorrow and thank you for your cooperation, Heo Youngji-ssi.” The woman last said before the line was cut off.

Youngji exhaled loudly. She needs to psyche herself up for tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day for sure…

A/N: Heyyy! How are you guys liking the story so far? Aweee comment juseyooo ~~

And a big shoutout to wiltingflower and LeeMarsiglia for the upvotes! Here's Jackji being precious (as usual) for y'all~

Trivia: For Kangjoon's char, I actually contemplated between him and Song Mino from WINNER lol. I considered Mino bc of that time when he admitted on Weekly Idol that he's a fa of Youngji and did a cute impersonation ;D