chapter threeTension

“OK, so do you guys have any ideas? I was thinking that we could just continue with Soohyun’s idea, which is to do our own arrangement – a medley of songs. Seeing as the group concept is individualism, we can have each section of the piece representing our personality. Mmm?” Jason, the leader of the group, suggested.

“Hey, we can even have our own solos then.” Someone chimed in excitedly.

Another girl murmured her agreement.

“I’ve already started putting some songs together, but I’m still working on the transitional sections. Plus, I need another song for Eunjung’s part.” Soohyun said. “I’ve got it here on my ipod, so you all can listen and tell me what you think.”

“We should have group sections as well, to tie up the performance. Otherwise it will be disjointed and we’ll be marked down.” Eunjung offered, in a quiet but authoritative way. This earned her several looks of surprise. The fact that she was participating in their dance performance was curious in itself. Many times in the past, Eunjung had insisted on working alone. This was the first time she had listened to the teacher with no argument.

“So, that’s settled then.” Jason said, being the first to fill in the silence. “I’ll go talk to Mr Aubrey just to confirm it and then we can get started on choreography.”

With that, he bounded off, leaving everyone to stand there awkwardly.

12:37pm

It was lunchtime. As students filled the cafeteria Eunjung quickly nabbed her usual spot with her tray of sushi and a carton of chocolate milk. The moment she sat down, though, she noted an unwelcomed presence. Kim Hyunjoong. He was the school’s ‘popular’ guy and the well-known rival of Eunjung. They had a complex relationship –it was always about one-upping the other and so their interactions were like a game of push and pull. The animosity between them ran deep but there was also a hidden respect for the other.

He sauntered up to her, leaning forward. “So... I hear you joined the new kid’s dance group. How did that happen?”

“It happened.” Eunjung replied tightly. She wasn’t in the mood to put up with him today. Especially after the last incident had resulted in her suspension.

“Are you sleeping together?” he asked, making her skin crawl. At the corner of her eye she noticed the object of their conversation as he too found a place to sit in the Cafeteria. Unable to help herself, she traced his movements, wondering what it would be like to–

“Oh, it seems as if I’m right. Imagine that.” Hyunjoong said with amusement, noting her reaction. Instead of slapping the cruel smile off his face, Eunjung met his gaze steadily.

“What about you and Jaeha? I hear things between you two aren’t doing too well at the moment.” Her voice was condescending. At that, Hyunjoong narrowed his eyes. “Oh, it seems as if I’ve hit a sore spot. Imagine that.” She added sarcastically, using his earlier words against him.

“I’d thank you not to mention that.” He all but growled in her ear.

“What a shame… your gratitude means nothing to me.” Eunjung replied, examining her nails. She looked up. “If that’s all you had to say, you can go now. I’m a little busy.”

“What? Being a loner?” he said, scoffing. “That’s rich.”

He walked away and Eunjung flipped him off, muttering something that would have gotten her a detention in class.

“What was that about?”

Annoyance stirred in Eunjung.

“God, what does it take to have a peaceful lunch these days –” she cut herself off, startled to find two very soft eyes staring at her. Soohyun. “Oh...”

She hadn’t even realised he was there... and he had asked her a question. Her gaze flickered towards Hyunjoong’s retreating figure as she recalled the main topic of their conversation. She cleared awkwardly. Probably best not to mention that. She concluded internally.

“It was nothing really. He’s just a git.” She supplied, thinking of ways to deflect the conversation. “Why do you want to know?”

“I don’t.” He answered honestly. “Really, it’s your business. I just wanted to start a conversation.”

“Well... that’s a lame conversation-starter.” She grumbled.

“But it worked didn’t it? We’re talking now.” He countered with a small grin, sitting opposite her. “So, do you always sit by yourself?”

“Well, it’s either this or detention.”

“So...”

“So, naturally I prefer detention.”

Soohyun chuckled at that, eyes sparkling with a twinge of curiosity as he considered Eunjung. She seemed to be startled not just by his reaction but her own. It was as if she hadn’t expected to joke around in the first place.

“Because there’s no one to harass you, right?” he guessed.

For a split second, Eunjung stiffened and her expression grew dark. To others, she might have appeared intimidating, but Soohyun thought at that moment she was very, very vulnerable. It occurred to him that a lot of people misunderstood her and she never bothered to correct them.

“Yeah,” she said letting out a humourless chuckle, “You could say that.” But at that moment, she seemed to check herself and straightened, “Plus, it’s good for catching up on sleep.” She added.

Soohyun decided not to question her about it.

“I’ll bet.”

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Eunjung asked the question that had been playing on her mind for a while. Her gaze flickered to Soohyun uncertainly as she swallowed a mouthful of sushi.

“Why did you come here?”

Soohyun blinked quizzically. “Hmm?”

“I mean, you’re not sitting with your friends.” Eunjung started to elaborate. “Surely you didn’t come over here for no reason.”

“Ah, so you presume I have an ulterior motive.” He replied, nodding, “I guess I’ve been outed.” He said, leaning back on his chair with a sigh. Eunjung’s eyes narrowed.

“I was going to discuss the dance performance with you, but I’ll save it for next time.”

Now it was Eunjung’s turn to be surprised. “Next time?”

“Yeah, you have a bit to catch up on for the choreography. Since you’ve missed out on two weeks of school, you’ll need extra dance practises and some time to pick a song you like. When you do, then we can find a way of incorporating it into the performance. I still have to discuss it with Jason though, seeing as he is the leader.”

“Right. Well ok then, I’ll check my timetable to see when I’m free.”

Soohyun said nothing. Instead he seemed to be watching her closely; he noticed how the tension in her body eased slightly after he had explained himself. It was a miniscule change, but nonetheless a good one. If he was going to work with her in their dance performance, he needed her to open up a bit. Apart from this was the fact that they had not started off on a good note. He was curious about their strange meeting, yes, but more so about her.

“What is it?” Eunjung said cautiously, trying to gauge Soohyun’s reaction. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Soohyun, who was ostensibly deep in thought seemed to snap out of it instantly. There was a pause before he leaned forward, resting on his hand.

“You don’t trust many people do you?”

The question was rather odd, considering it had nothing to do with their previous conversation however, Eunjung seemed rattled by it. After a moment’s consideration, she too, leaned closer.

“For good reason.” Though Eunjung wasn’t certain, there seemed to be an almost flirtatious note in her voice. She scolded herself for it, wondering if her behaviour was due to a lack of sleep. Perhaps it was even something she ate for breakfast?

“Why?”

“You sure do ask a lot of questions.” Eunjung pointed out.

Soohyun was quick to answer her. “I stand by my question. Besides, I am a curious person.”

“Ok... well, why is it hard for others to keep a promise?”

 “Without trust, words become the hollow sound of a wooden gong. With trust, words become life itself. Think about it.”

The bell rang just as Eunjung was about to reply, signalling the end of lunch. As Soohyun got up, he collected both of their trays, but not without some protest. As he started to leave, he seemed to hesitate, and after some deliberation turned back to Eunjung.

“My locker is outside room 19, meet me there after school and we can figure out if we have any frees at the same time. Is that alright?”

Eunjung schooled her features into a mask of indifference. “Sounds plausible.” She muttered, sweeping past Soohyun to get to her next class. Only when she was certain he couldn’t see her, did she allow herself a small smile.

* * * * *

Later that day, when classes had finally ended, Eunjung tried to convince herself that she didn’t need to meet up with Soohyun. What was the point anyway? They could easily see each other tomorrow. No. She had to see him, because they had agreed. Besides, it was only for the sake of the performance. Yes, it was for the group performance. They had to do well.

Eunjung was having doubts by the time she made her way to room 19. What if he wasn’t even there? She paused. Why did it even matter to her? It would be his loss, not hers. Shaking her head slightly, she started walking again. When she finally reached room 19, she leaned against the wall tiredly, about to rest when she heard a familiar high-pitched giggle.

Startled, Eunjung’s eyes snapped open as Jaeha came into view... with Soohyun.

She was clinging onto his arm, whispering in his ear and attempting to move closer – if that was even humanly possible. Soohyun coughed uncomfortably at the attention, causing Eunjung to scoff. Jaeha fawned over Soohyun, causing him to back up and politely decline, but she was having none of it. He tried to gently pry hers arms away, whilst avoiding any other contact until the point where he finally grew frustrated. Eunjung smirked, as a thought occurred to her.

“It’s alright, you can tell her now.” She said, surprising everyone with her presence. Soohyun looked up at her in surprise. “There’s no reason to hide it anymore.”

Eunjung unhitched herself from the wall, walking towards the pair purposefully.

Soohyun blinked in confusion. “Hide... what?”

 “Yes, I’m curious too.” Jaeha said with thinly disguised contempt. “I think there’s nothing going on here, except Eunjung being her delusional self. You should probably not associate with her –she’ll just ruin your reputation. Ok, Oppa?” She asked, tugging Soohyun’s arm.

Eunjung had just about had enough. Gaze unwavering, she pushed Jaeha aside and stepped forward. Before anyone had a chance to ask what she was doing, Eunjung cupped his face in her hands, pulled Soohyun closer and kissed him.