With the girl being conveniently distracted by a small group students, she walked on with a false sense of security as she strongly believed how there was absolutely no way for herself to magically attract the unwanted attention of-

“Oi, Park Chorong!”

Well… she was obviously wrong.

Luck was definitely not on her side today.

As soon as her own name travelled to her ears, Chorong shut her eyes tightly while footsteps grew louder, the timid girl not wanting to face whatever- or in this case, whomever- that was approaching her way.

It only took around three seconds for her to sense a presence standing right behind of herself, with the words ‘hey Chorong-ah’ forcing her to turn around.

Her heart was pounding uncomfortably within her chest while she met the eyes of Yoon Bomi, her lips barely squeaking out a response. “Y-Yes…?”

“If you’re free after school today, meet me by the front gate at 3:50.” the delinquent blurted out of nowhere before striding right back to her clique, not even sparing another glance back at the extremely confused girl.

As Chorong was left without a chance to even refuse, she could only stare at Bomi’s retreating figure with a slightly agape mouth.

She only snapped herself out of it when she realised she was being stared at, the piercing gazes belonging to the intimidating one’s squad.

That was her cue to remove herself from the scene, and she ultimately fled with multiple questions unanswered.

All she knew was the fact she won’t be able to concentrate on any of her remaining classes.

And she was 100% not looking forward to what’s waiting for her after school.

She knew that regardless of her decision, the stubborn and unpredictable female was going to be waiting for her arrival by the meet-up spot.

Unfortunately for herself, Naeun was preoccupied by some unknown business and couldn’t accompany her to whatever the troublemaker had in mind.

For the first time in a long time, she was to face her fear alone.

“You’re finally here!” Bomi exclaimed happily the moment she caught sight of Chorong, her eyes glistening in pure joy. “I legit thought you’ve escaped out of the back and that I was going to be here all night.”

Chorong silently cursed at herself for not coming up with that idea herself, but it was far too late for her to be regretting her life choices.

She had already presented herself to Yoon Bomi, and there was no way for her to escape from this situation now.

Even if she managed to gather the courage to make a run for it, the chances for her low-stamina self to out-run the athletic-looking female was very slim.

“Um… do you need s-something from me…?” the timid one quavered before Bomi’s gaze, unable to meet her eyes without glancing away every two seconds.

“Hmm… just your time.” Bomi replied coolly while checking the time on her phone, carelessly shoving it back into her school bag before tucking both hands into her blazer pockets. “Don’t worry about anything and just follow me, Chorong-ah.”

Every fibre within her body was against that idea, yet Park Chorong found herself obliging to the girl’s order.

She still had no clue to why her presence was demanded for, but her legs had already started walking.

She paced herself so that she was slightly trailing behind the other girl, the two currently strolling along the streets without a single word coming out of either one of their mouths; the only sound that was filling their silence was Yoon Bomi’s hums, who’d take ‘secret’ glances at her crush every now and then.

Of course, Park Chorong caught her every single time, but she pretended she saw absolutely nothing for the sake of her nerves.

It was only after six minutes of nonstop walking that proper words were spoken aloud.

As expected, Yoon Bomi was the one to break the silence in between themselves. “Do you drink coffee?”

“H-Huh?”

“Coffee. Do you drink it?”

“I… I don’t take in caffeine after lunch.”

“Well, how about hot chocolate?”

“Um, I-I suppose that’s okay…?”

Before Park Chorong realised it, they were already stopping their tracks in front of a café.

Bomi took a glance through its large windows and cussed under her breath at the sight of the long queue, turning back towards her crush with a low sigh. “Well, I don’t want you to suffer with me in there, so just take a seat out here while I go buy our drinks, yeah?”

And once again, the girl took her leave without waiting for a reply.

Chorong found herself freezing on the spot upon experiencing an internal dilemma.

‘Now is the perfect chance to escape’, she thought at first, yet she dismissed the idea as fast as she came up with it,

She simply couldn’t bring herself to leave Bomi like this, especially when the girl was obviously trying her best to be nice.

Hence, the model student took a seat at one of the outdoor tables, relaxing her legs as she patiently awaited for the girl’s return.

She stared at the ground and zoned out for a bit, only to soon find a pair of shoes stopping right before her own.

They were a bit too big for it to be a girl’s size.

She slowly followed the long limbs upwards, ultimately meeting the eyes of an unfamiliar man.

The guy and his friend were already grinning back at her, and she could tell they were trouble.

It didn’t take long for her pulse to increase its pace, with sirens now blasting loudly within her mind.

“What’s a cutie like you doing out here all by yourself?” the guy before her purred, triggering the appearance of her goosebumps. “You should be enjoying your evening, not just sitting here all bored-looking and alone.”

“Yeah, why don’t you join us for dinner?” the other chimed in whilst looking her up and down, with Chorong leaning backwards as discreetly as possible. “We were just on our way to this bar with great food and drinks. I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

This wasn’t the first time Park Chorong had to deal with unwanted attention, yet it was her first time dealing with it alone.

Usually, she’d have Naeun by her side, and it was the younger girl who’d talk their way out of such situations.

Of course, she wanted to be able to fend for herself too, as she didn’t want to constantly rely on her friend nor anyone else in the future.

However, even when she was trying her very best to be independent and strong, no words came out of when she parted her trembling lips.

became uncomfortably dry, while her eyes were threatening to spill tears.

She felt suffocated, and she could hear nothing but the ongoing sirens in her head…

And the additional sound of a husky growl.

“ off, she’s mine.” Bomi warned as she stomped towards their table with both hands full, triggering Chorong to experience a wave of relief.

The guys were now glaring at Yoon Bomi for her unfiltered entrance, with the further one decreasing the distance in between themselves.

“Oh really now?” he scoffed while physically and metaphorically looking down at the girl, “She doesn’t seem like the type to be into dykes.”

“Even if she is,” his buddy joined in with a loud snicker, “I’m sure we can change her mind by giving her a better time in-”

The man never got to finish his sentence.

He definitely didn’t see it coming, but he actually interrupted himself-

All because Yoon Bomi had mercilessly splashed an entire cup of hot coffee on his face with a single swift motion.

The man who taunted her first was now frozen on the spot in pure terror, his friend’s painful screams piercing his eardrums.

His brain has yet to process what he had just witnessed, but Bomi was already getting impatient.

She smiled ‘sweetly’ as she gradually raised her other hand, hissing through her ‘big grin’.

“I’ve still got another one here for you, pal.”