CHAPTER 25

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Everyone had heard about what happened between Luhan and I by dinner that night. If someone didn’t know who Kim Jisoo was, they sure did now. I was easily identifiable with my black eye.

The day after my confrontation with Luhan was a nightmare. There were whispers of my name all over camp. As if that wasn’t bad enough, even some of my friends couldn’t stop gushing about what happened.

At drama club, Hakyeon and Hongbin wanted to know the details. Luckily, when I told them I didn’t want to talk about it, they let the subject drop. However, Hakyeon wasn’t above working my black eye into our improvisation practice. Gongchan and Hongbin had gone right along with him too.

By the time drama club ended, I was done dealing with everyone. I literally ran to the dining hall for lunch just so I could beat the crowd. I wanted to be in and out of there as fast as I could. I got my food and went to my usual table, which happened to be empty.

Unfortunately that was where my luck ran out. With in a few minutes the guys started to arrive. First was Gongchan, then Kyungsoo, and then Minseok with Leo and Baro. I could hear Baekhyun approaching the table before I could actually see him. He was talking animatedly to Luhan about some song they were doing for the singing club. Luhan looked disinterested about what ever it was. I secretly hoped he was bored out of his mind. Even the slightest amount of suffering was karma that he deserved.

"My people!" Baekhyun announced their arrival to the table.

The over excited boy elbowed Luhan's tray as they were sitting down. "Sorry Lu," he sang as Luhan’s water bottle toppled off the tray and onto the floor.

I held my breath and watched what could only be described as “a scene from a movie” unfolded before me. Luhan set his tray down and turned around to stop his bottle from rolling away. As soon as he moved to pick it up, two boys, busy in conversation, rounded the corner by our table. Of course the one in front didn't see Luhan until it was too late. Luhan stood and the kid reeled back. The fruit cup on the edge of his tray went flying. Luhan was hit.

The boy started apologizing profusely, as if his life depended on it. There was no hint of emotion on Luhan's face as he flicked fruit chunks off the front of his shirt. I wanted to get up and guide the boy away from our table before he started pleading for forgiveness. It was embarrassing to watch. It was an accident and he was reacting as if he'd just done it on purpose.  

I hadn't noticed that someone shoved a pile of napkins to the center of the table in front of Luhan's spot. I watched as he slowly reached over for them. An alarm instantly went off in my head when his hand never made it close to the stack of paper. Luhan's hand went straight for his own fruit cup.

Panic raced through my mind. I knew he wasn't going to generously offer the boy his food. That's just not how these situations ever ended. I wanted to tell the boy to go. I should have screamed at him to run. I couldn't force the words out. It was my self-preservation kicking in. After my last run-in with Luhan, I knew there'd be repercussions for getting involved. Stay quiet and you stay safe.

Luhan maintained his straight face as he raised the cup above the boy's head. The contents spilled. An audible gasp was heard. It was as if the whole room was watching. Fruit juice ran down the boy's face. At least it wasn’t more than a fruit cup. The situation could have been a whole lot worse. Sure the boy’s eyes looked wet, but he was strong enough not to cry over this, right?

The boy's friend quickly ushered him away from the scene and all the curious eyes. Luhan took his seat at the table, looking unconcerned yet somehow satisfied with his actions. I quickly looked between the others at our table, waiting for someone to scold him. Baekhyun would surely be the first to speak up. Maybe it would be the blunt Kyungsoo or sensible Minseok. Someone needed to say something, yet no one did. It was like a horrible repeat of the soccer game!

My frustration had built up so much that by the time I realized what I was doing, it was too late to stop. I had plucked a piece of food from my tray and flung it across the table. Luhan flinched and shook his head as the thing hit his cheek and fell to the table.

He observed the food before scanning down the table. He passed by me for a second, only return and quickly lock onto my angry gaze.

"Did you just throw this at me?" he asked a bit surprised.

"So what if I did?" I shot back, trying to sound as nonchalant as I could.

"Jisoo," Gongchan, sitting next to me, whispered in warning.

"What's wrong with you?" Luhan asked as if I was stupid or something.

That's exactly what I was, stupid. My thoughts were stupid and the action I took was stupid, but it was too late to keep quiet now.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you, you jerk?" I threw another piece of food at him.

"Jisoo, stop," Gongchan reached for my hands that were grabbing for more food.

"No, you stop," I snapped at him before turning back to the problem at hand.

"I throw food and I get told to stop? What about this jerk, hmm?  What he did was wrong and you all know it,” I was yelling at everyone sitting at the table now. “Were you all just going to act like it didn't happen?  He embarrassed that kid to the point of tears over an accident!"

I threw a large clump of rice, most of which Luhan was able to swat away.

"So, what's your deal, huh?" Luhan asked irritated. His rigid posture did nothing to hide his anger. "You always have to play the hero. Initiation night, the soccer game, and now this. Just drop the act, kid," he rolled his eyes at me.

"There's no act here," I retorted, throwing something else.

Luhan snatched the piece of food out of the air and threw it back at me. I flinched as it hit my chin.

"No, no. Don't deny it, Jisoo. I know exactly what your angle is. You're one of those really quiet kids that always try to mind their own business but get unwanted attention. You came to camp thinking that your days of getting hurt were over. You were going to leave that person behind and become the cool kid you always dreamt of being. No one here would second-guess your personality when they didn't know you. Quit trying to be the righteous hero when you know that you’re an insecure weirdo."

Luhan's words stung as if they held some sort of truth. He had learned a bit out my hard time at school thanks to Minhee, but that didn’t mean anything. He didn’t know me. I didn’t want to be the cool kid or the hero. I didn’t want to reinvent myself. I just wanted to feel like me again. I wanted to express myself freely. That was the only angle I was playing.

As if on cue I was met with a face full of cold food to cool me off after the heated words. My eyes widened in shock. Baekhyun was struggling to reclaim his half empty fruit cup from Luhan, who was finally reaching for a napkin.

My hand immediate