He's Still The One

Spartace: School Love Affair

"Jong Kook hyung.. What are you doing here? ", she asks with a blank expression in the face, still surprised to see him. 

He holds his umbrella tight and says, "I told Kwang Soo i'll follow whenever i got the chance. "

"What about Jong Han? "

"She's with my aunt. ", he says. "Come on and let's go to the others. " He steps away from the doorway to give way to her. 

She steps out of the telephone booth and walks with Jong Kook under his umbrella. 

They walk around the Amusement Park, sharing one umbrella and keeping close to each other to avoid getting wet while searching for the others. 

The spot the others inside a coffee shop, so they both get inside. 

"Jong Kook-ah.. You're here. ", Jae Suk says, surprised to see him. 

"Yeah, Hyung. ", he says and joins them in the table. 

"Noona, Eun Hye volunteered to fetch you from the telephone booth. ", Kwang Soo says anxiously. 

Ji Hyo's brows furrow. "Really? I did not see her. "

"There she is. ", Seok Jin says, pointing the door's direction. 

They all turn to where he points and sees Eun Hye, smiking as she heads to them. 

"You missed them.", Kwang Soo says. 

"Yeah. ", she just says. Ji Hyo notices that hee smile is dry, unlike earlier. 

And Eun Hye joins them without even glancing at her. 

"I'm sorry, Eun Hye- Eonnie. ", she says. 

"It's alright. ", she says and sips from the straw of her strawberry frappe. 

"Noona, what do you want to drink? ", Joong Ki asks. 

Ji Hyo stands up again. "It's okay. I'll go buy one myself. "

"How about you, Jong Kook oppa? ", Eun Hye asks. "I can buy you both---"

"It's okay. ", Jong Kook cuts her off, as he gets to her feet and faces Ji Hyo. "Come on, Ji Hyo-ah. "

"Ou.. ", she says as she follows him towards the counter. She catches a glimpse of Eun Hye's face on hee way, and Ji Hyo can see that she's a bit surprised, as if she did not expect him to refuse her offer. 

"You look so free today. ", Jong Kook says when they arrive in the counter, his eyes glancing on her upperwear. 

She looks down and sees that she is still wearing Kwang Soo's jacket which is too big for her. 

"Oh, this is Kwang Soo's jacket. ", she says. 

"Oh. ", he says and faces the cashier, who asks for their order. "What's yours, Ji Hyo-ah? "

"Chocolate frappe please. ", she says to the cashier. 

"Make that two. ", Jong Kook asks, making Ji Hyo look at him. "What? ", he asks, as if asking her what is weird with a tall, tough-looking guy wanting some chocolate frappe. 

She gives him an innocent look and shakes her head, keeping the thought to herself. 

They immediately get their order and goes back to the others. 

"Ji Hyo-ah.. ", Jae Suk calls as she sips her frappe. 

"Mm? ", she answers without taking off the straw as she bends to reach it over the table. 

"Did you have fun today? ", he asks. 

Her eyes brighten as she smiles and nods cheerfully. 

"Yah, are you sure you're a girl? ", Kwang Soo asks. 

She sits up straight and glares at Kwang Soo darkly. 

He scooches away from her. "I mean, Noona. I was supposed to say Noona at the end. ", he explains quickly. 

She looks away and goes back to sipping her drink. 

"What about Eun Hye-ssi? Did you enjoy coming here? ", Seok Jin asks. 

Eun Hye smiles and nods. "Thanks for coming. ", she says, but Ji Hyo can see where her eyes is focused. 

Towards Kim Jong Kook, who is busy watching his frappe go down as he sips throught the straw. 

Ji Hyo never expected to see such childish behaviour from him. 

"The rain had stopped pouring. ", Gary says, looking out of the window. 

"Let's go to a karaoke room and sing! ", Dong Hoon suggests. 

"I like that idea! ", Kwang Soo agrees and slaps the table excitedly. 

But his hand hit Jong Kook's cup, making it tumble and the content pours out.. 

into Jong Kook's pants. 

He hastily makes the cup stand up and pushes his sit backwards to avoid the dripping liquid, but it had stained his pants already. 

Ji Hyo quickly pulls out her handkerchief from her pocket and holds it out for him, the same time that Eun Hye also holds hers out, too. 

Ji Hyo, thinking that Eun Hye is more likely to give her hanky to Jong Kook, retrieves her held out hanky. 

But she is surprised when Jong Kook snatches it off her hand and wipes it in the stain. 

Ji Hyo's eyes widen as she watches what he did, then she looks at Eun Hye, who avoids her gaze and returns her hanky back to her tote bag. 

Jong Kook hyung must have not seen Eun Hye's hanky.., she thought. 

They exit the amusement park and head to the nearest sing-along place, where the guys vent out their frustrations through rock songs and ballads. 

Ji Hyo is still not used in the wild atmosphere, so she is just watching them. 

Jong Kook takes a seat when he gets tired of dancing with the others. So Ji Hyo transfers next to him. 

"Hyung.. ", she starts. "How is Jong Han? ", she asks within the noisy room. 

His brows furrow and he yells, "What?"

She leans closer and speaks in a louder voice, "I SAID HOW IS JONG HAN? "

"SHE'S FINE! ", he answers with the same volume of voice. "Don't-----!"

She does not hear what he says after, and she frowns, puzzled. 

"I CAN'T HEAR. ", she says. 

She stiffens at what he does next. 

He simply leans so close to her so that his mouth is now only an inch away from her ear. 

"I said, don't go to her if you're just gonna disappear on the next day. ", he says, his breath making her ear warm. 
"WHY~~~~!", she whines after she faces him. 

"You don't know how stubborn she was when you stopped seeing her! "

"But i wanna see her! "

They both stop talking when they realize that the music has gone out. They look uo and see that the others are already looking at them. 

"Yah. What are you two doing? ", Dong Hoon asks. 

They both inch away from each other. 

"We're just talking. ", she says. 

"You can talk some other time! ", Gary says and pulls her up and they start singing again. 

After that fun evening, they all bid goodbye to each other. 

Eun Hye offers Ji Hyo a ride, which she gratefully accepts. 

They wait for a while outside a cafe for her car to arrive. 

"You seem to have enjoyed the day. ", Eun Hye says. 

Ji Hyo smiles. "So much. I never had such fun in my life. "

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it. "

"Thank you, Eonnie. ", she says. 

Eun Hye smiles. "Don't mention it. But.. i noticed that the boys seems to care a lot about you. "

"Eehy. They don't. I mean, not as much as you thought. "

"They do. And i'm quite envious, you know."

"I hang out with them for no reason. ", she says. "And why would you be envious of me? "

"It's because they treat you as one of them. No expectations. No pressure. They just.. let you be you."

Ji Hyo pauses, thinking about what Eun Hye just said. She is, somehow, right. 

"They care about you, too. ", she says. 

"I know, but it seems like.. different. "

"Yeah. You're special to them. "

"No, i'm not. ", Eun Hye says. "They don't tease me like they do to you. They don't wprry about me when i'm not around, like they do when you're not. "

Ji Hyo stares at her, trying to know why she wants a bunch of guys to when it is nothing but annoying. 

"And they don't come when i tell them to. Well, at least, one of them. ", Eun Hye adds. 

Staring at Eun Hye, she can see that there is sadness in her eyes as she says the last sentence. 

"Who does not come when you call them? "

She smiles sadly, and Ji Hyo somehow gets the message. 

"Jong Kook hyung? " , she asks. 

"Mm.", she answers sadly. "I noticed that you guys seem to be close. Closer than to the others. "

"Ahh. That. ", Ji Hyo says, chuckling. "We're not that close---! "

"He does not usually talk to girls, you know. "

"Yes, he does. ", Ji Hyo argues. 

"Well, not in the way he talks with you. "

Her brows furrow. "How does he.. talk to me? "

"In a gentle way, like he is talking to his own younger sister. "

Ji Hyo, having her brain confused for quite a while now, has gone impatient of trying to figure out what Eun Hye is teying to say. 

She is not rwally the type who keeps to herself whenever she is curoous about something, os she just goes straight to the point. 

"What are you trying to say, Eun Hye eonnie? "

Eun Hye smiles. "Quick and frank. As expected. ", she says. 

"You can tell me directly. "

"Well, you see, i seem to like Jong Kook oppa until now. "

Ji Hyo stares at Eun Hye.. 

waiting for more words Eun Hye will say, but Eun Hye just stops there. 

"I don't get it. What does it have to do with me? ", she says, puzled. 

Her friend stares at her, her brows furrowing in wonder. 

"Don't you like him? ", Eun Hye asks. 

Ji Hyo's brows furrow, as if it is a ridiculous idea. "Not romantically, i guess. "

"Then why does he always go to you more than the others? "

Because his sister loves me as an eonnie,  she wants to say. But she does not see why she has to. And for her, it's weird going around saying,  oh, we're close because his sister loves me. 
"No. He treats all of us fairly. If you feel like he does  come to me more, then you should ask him about that. ", Ji Hyo says, still in a respectful tone. 

But she is surprised to what she sees next. 

Eun Hye smirks. "You really know how to wiggle your way out, Ji Hyo-ssi. Now i know why you're the top student."

"Eonnie.. ", she says hesitantly as she stares at Eun Hye, finding the sight weird. That smirk seems to be so out of place in her on her face. 

Eun Hye smiles again, sweetly. "You cleared that out of me, okay? You only see Jong Kook oppa as a friend. "

She does not answer, her mind still processing why did Eun Hye say that to her. 

Is it just to inform her? 

Or to warn her? 

"Come on, Ji Hyo-ah.. My driver is here. "

And they ride the car toward Ji Hyo's house in silence. 

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mongji23
sorry for updating so late.

Comments

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mongxjihyo815
#1
Chapter 37: please update 🙏
pururrple #2
Chapter 36: Hii i’ve read your stories on wattpad and i love them! Hopefully you’re the same person😆
shazam7 #3
Chapter 35: Thanks for the update authornim :D
ccfncff #4
Finally an update
Thx y authornim
Desileem2 #5
Chapter 35: Thanks for the update!
Dreamer_KatieM
#6
Update soon please :)
binglxt #7
Liking the school setting :) Looking forward to your update!
Popkuajahh #8
Chapter 21: Update soon please
SerafinaYY #9
Chapter 21: Looking forward to your update!!!! It's really a good story.
Bluefeather_88 #10
Thank you for this story, dear author...to be able to experience high school life is certainly a blessing :)