Ever since that incident with the Chairman, things have gotten awkward between us. And that is an understatement. Being the "shy" girl I very well am, the next few days of school was a continuation of avoiding the Chairman, yet this time, with even greater fervor. I don't know what it is, but the thought of meeting him in the hallways completely rattles me. That is, until something strange happened yesterday.

  I was making my way to school as usual, being swallowed by the school of students trudging to school, when he messaged me. 

  These were his exact words:

  "Hey Jae-Eun!

  I just wanted to say sorry for what happened before Last Club Activity, and thank you for doing the video.

  The Chairman."

  See, he even addresses himself as The Chairman. Seriously.

  Needless to say, even though I was scared to death at the mention of his name, and also slightly annoyed by him, his apology and word of thanks made me feel good. I felt like I had won. I felt like, maybe, I was wrong about the Chairman. Maybe he wasn't so bad.

  And then, I realized that the reason why he would apologize so humbly was because of the video. Surprise surprise, it had garnered over 100,000 views on Youtube. Imagine that! I felt a sense of accomplishment as the one who created it from scratch. Yet, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. If the video didn't do well, would the Chairman have apologized?

  I sigh, realizing that I shouldn't ponder over such insignificant things early in the morning, and continue to trudge forward amongst crowd.

  My heart leaps; walking in the distance is none other than Park Bogum. 

  This was another worry that had been floating around my mind ever since that day: If I should ever see Park Bogum in school, what do I do?

  Do I give a cheery "hi"? Does that conversation we had warrant us as acquaintances? What if the cool kids around him judge me for trying to get on the right side of Park Bogum? 

  Or should I just play it cool and give him a curt greeting? Maybe a wordless one, like a nod of my head or something.

  "Hello, Jae-eun-ah!" 

  By the time I had registered someone calling my name, and by the time I realized that I had just walked past Park Bogum and his friends, I was already too many steps ahead of him. 

  I feel blood drain from my face-- no-- my whole body, as my legs continue stomping forward as if they have a mind on their own.

  I missed the timing. Sure, I could turn back now, but that would just be awkward. And what do I say then? The whole dilemma of how I should greet him hasn't been resolved!

  My mind swirls and swirls, even as I trudge all the way home. I feel as if my soul has left my body.

  I feel stupid for letting such a small incident interrupt the calmness of my life, but most of all, I feel stupid for not saying "Hi".

---

  The next day, my mind is still plagued with this worry. Maybe if I see him again, I could casually greet him with a similar, "Hello, Bogum-ah!" So that, you know, he would know that I'm on good terms with him and that I wasn't ignoring him.

  I shudder. I don't have that amount of confidence to behave on such friendly terms with him. But then again, he was the one who started it! But then again, that doesn't qualify me to be as friendly as he is...

  "ARGH," I yell, and accidentally transfer the frustration boiling inside me to the scoop in my hand. The soup splatters unceremoniously all over the counter and my clothes. I cringe again. I hope no one saw that. 

  "Yah, Jae-eun ah, can you stop embarrassing yourself? You've been muttering and banging your head for a good five minutes now," my classmate across the table interrupts my train of thought. 

  I wince, unable to shake off the uneasiness of the whole Park Bogum situation, and mindlessly chomp on my food.

  "Take these tissues, I got them for you." my classmate says, tossing a pile of serviettes to me.

  "Thank you very kamsahaimnida," I say with a smile, and dab at my wet clothes.

  "Sorry, I was thinking--" I say, giving my classmate an apologetic smile, only to stop short.

  "What? What exactly is making Jae-Eun even clumsier than usual?" my classmate laughs.

  "Oh, the usual," I say, smiling briefly, "The drama club's production is in one month's time."

  I can feel the corners of my mouth lifting up, but inside my head alarm bells are clanging. I stare fixedly at my friend, but Park Bogum's smiling face in my line of vision is very distracting. He's sitting a few seats away, but I am 100% sure that is him.

  "Oh, that's right. But aren't you just the writer?" my classmate asks.

  "Yes.." Don't look at Park Bogum, don't look at Park Bogum, don't look at Park Bogum, "But I have a say in how the actors can better perform the script." 

  "Aish, why do they always make you do so much work?" she says. I can't take it. Park Bogum is facing my direct line of vision. It feels as if he's looking at me, even though he is probably talking to his friends.

  "I know right," I smile, stiffly. Don't think of Park Bogum, Don't think of Park Bogum...

  "Yah, are you okay? You looked super stressed up!" Don't think of...

  "Park Bogum."

  "Huh? Park Bogum?" 

  "Huh?" I repeat. "What about Park Bogum?"

  "You just said..." 

  I internally gasp, and reel in horror. Did I just say his name out loud? What if he happens to hear it?

  My mind goes into a state of mental breakdown as I awkwardly laugh, "Oh, erm, yeah. Park Bogum."

  My friend looks at me questioningly, waiting.

  "He's... He's our lead actor. Yeah. It makes me stressful. Ha-ha-ha!" I say.

  "Of course I know that--" she says, and I stuff a piece of meat into .

  "Just eat, we don't have much time left." I mumble, digging into my food, finally being able to look away from the problematic line of sight. My cheeks are burning, my heart feels like it is going to jump out of my chest. I just hope no one else heard my sudden outburst.

---

  As we're heading to the Tray Return Counter, I see Park Bogum and his friends walking away from it.

  I'm so caught off-guard that I pour all my attention into my friends' conversations, nodding and laughing even though I have no idea what they are saying.

  It feels like everything is in slow motion as Park Bogum breezes by, himself being occupied with his friends as well. 

  When he finally walks past, I heave, finally letting go of the breath I was holding.

  Now it is my turn to be even more confused. Does this mean he really didn't see me? Or did he see me, and choose not to say "Hi" because of how I ignored him the previous day? 

  A pang of disappointment ripples through me. Was that slimmer of connection we built these few weeks gone in just a couple of days? 

  Then again, who could I blame? If he thought that I was ignoring him, he wasn't wrong either.

  "Hey Jae Eun, are you okay? Why do you look so gloomy all of a sudden?" A classmate nudges me.

   "It's nothing... I'm going to the Ladies for a while." I say, making my escape. I need to get a grip of this uselessly small incident.

   I don't know why I am so troubled by this. Maybe it is because for the first time, a popular kid actually paid attention to me?

  That thought troubles me. If that is the case, I'm really such a hypocrite. 

  I sigh, exiting the washroom, while wringing my hands free of water.

  "Oh? It's our Star Writer Jae-Eun!" I hear someone say behind me, and turn around. 

  Everything seems to happen in slow motion as I turn, my eyes landing on an approaching Park Bogum. He's smiling so radiantly that my heart gives a quick squeeze.

  "Wow, I seem to be meeting you outside the washroom quite often..." he says chuckling, as he stops in front of me. 

  "Huh? Yeah... Hi," I laugh, then suddenly freeze, remembering that whole horrible incident of me badmouthing him outside the toilet.

  "Wah," he sighs in amazement, as he begins walking. I follow absentmindedly. "Did you see? The video you made got so many views! You can become a PD for some huge broadcasting channel at this rate!"

  "Haha, PD? Nah..." I laugh awkwardly.

  "Yeah, you probably want to be a writer right? Since you write so well!" He gushes as he falls into pace beside me. Park Bogum really isn't a popular kid for nothing. He has quite the silver tongue.

  "Nope!" I say, grinning cheekily-- finally regaining my Ji Eun mask. "To be honest, I didn't join the Drama Club as a writer. Ha! You didn't know that, did you?"

  "What? Are you serious? Then what did you join the Drama Club as? An actress?" He guffaws, stopping in his tracks.

  I beam at him, waiting for him to stop laughing. Is it that funny?

  "Hahaha... Wait..." He drifts off, composing his expression, "I'm right?"

  I continue walking ahead of him, smile still on my face, but humiliation burning my face scarlet.

  "Yah! Jae-eun ah! Wait for me! You're serious? You were an actress? Yah, how did I not know this? Hey, wait for me!" he yells, jumping and hitting me excitedly.

  "Stop it," I glare, hushing him. "Yeah, I joined as an actress. But obviously, I couldn't garner as big as an audience as the other actors. So I just stepped back."

  At the corner of my eyes, I see Bogum nodding.

  "But hey, now that our club has enough attention, you could try acting again!" He says excitedly. My head snaps right to look at him.

  "Are you serious? Me? Nah, I can't be an actress," I hurriedly say, but he only smiles wider.

  His eyes crinkle, staring at me intensely.

  "Yeah you can! Why not! In fact, I can help you with acting. I'm pretty good." He proclaims, puffing up his chest.

  I stifle a laugh, "That's really nice of you, Mr Superstar. But it's okay. I'm good."

  "Whoa this is really interesting!" he continues on, not registering what I'm saying at all. "Whoa, Lee Jae Eun the star writer AND actress! Whoa, Lee Jae Eun! Lee Jae Eun!" 

  He starts chanting my name excitedly, and I try not to worry about the stares I'm probably getting from other people for being so close to Park Bogum.

  "I'll look forward to co-starring with you next year, Actress Lee Jae Eun!" He grins and pats my back, "I'm running late for class, so I'll talk to you another time!" 

  And with that, he bounces off to class. 

  I stare at his back figure, still smiling from his infectious cheerfulness. 

  But as seconds pass after his departure, I grow worried. He's just kidding right? 

  He won't possibly bug me about acting with him, right?

---

[A/N]

Thank you for subscribing to/reading my story! :> Sorry that my updates are irregular.

See you in the next few chapters! :>

Notelights