A/N: Hello again folks. I know that the end of the previous chapter made you curious, sorry hahahaha. The next chapter will still bring the repercussions of this one, but I decided to divide them in order not to delay posting them even more. 
I still thank you for the subscriptions and comments. It's nice to see your opinion about what is going on.
Anyway, I hope you are all well and if you are not and want to talk, feel free to message me :))
For now, until next time.

Irene knew exactly what Jackson intended with that speech. For most of her school life, the boy had tried to have something with her. At first he held back because they didn't have any contact or even hang out with the same circle of friends, but after she joined the cheerleading squad it was inevitable that she wouldn't be introduced to the boy. And although she had nothing against him, Irene couldn't pretend to enjoy his company either. At least, not in the way he wanted.

She had already turned down several other requests, and this was probably exactly why he had decided to ask her like that. The boy must have thought that she would not reject him in front of all those people. But if Irene thought anything worse than publicly humiliating someone (even if unintentionally), it was being forced to do something she didn't want to do. Especially by a boy who had heard more no's than she could ever remember.

Taking a deep breath, Irene turned her eyes to the audience. Some were anxiously awaiting a positive response from the girl; after all, a romantic cliché between the team captain and the cheerleading captain still had some appeal. Others didn't seem to care about a positive outcome, but were still curious about how it would all work out. In the middle of the crowd, she spotted Seulgi with an unreadable expression on her face and quickly looked away - she couldn't and didn't want to think about what was going on in the girl's mind at that moment.

Finally, she faced the only person inside that school gym who knew her better than even she knew herself. Joohyun had her arms crossed with an expression split between surprise and concern. If she had been in any other situation, Irene would have laughed at her sister.

Turning her eyes to the boy a few meters in front of her, she realized that the confidence he had initially displayed was beginning to be shaken as time went by. She smiled slightly. Silence prevailed for a few more seconds and then, Irene simply turned her back and left.

-

As soon as Irene left the gym, the whispering started.

Joohyun also wasted no time and quickly went after her sister. Without a second thought, she headed straight for the parking space where Irene had left the car earlier that day. She was sure that Irene wouldn't want to have to explain herself inside the locker room, but she also knew that her sister would never leave her alone to catch a ride with someone.

As soon as she spotted the car, she picked up her pace to catch up with it as quickly as possible. Joohyun got into the passenger seat and stared at her sister. Irene looked upset.

"Do you want me to get your things from the locker room?" Not knowing exactly where to start or if that would be a good time for them to talk, that was all Joohyun could ask.

"No." Irene sighed, seeming to calm down once she realized she was in her sister's presence, "I'm sure Sooyoung or Nayeon will take care of it."

"Okay." Joohyun replied and faced the windshield.

At that moment, some people were starting to leave the gym towards their respective cars.

"Let's just get out of here." That was all Irene said.

-

The car