What is Jaesun doing with that girl? Oh wait, you already know the answer to that Mir. But, why is he sticking his tongue down that girl’s throat? Did he get some 180 degree personality change in the last 24 hours or something?

As these thoughts ran through Mir’s mind in a matter of seconds, he was already getting out of his seat and making his way towards the pair locking lips. Zelo watched him with concern yet also confusion. It seemed as if Mir was possessed as he slowly trudged towards that dark corner of the restaurant.

Or maybe, he’s been lying to Minah and the rest of us all this time. Maybe he’s not who he says he is.

When that idea crossed Mir, he was struck with rage. How could someone even dare to deceive other people and act as someone they are not? What frustrated Mir the most was the fact that Minah had truly believed the soft-spoken, timid Jaesun was the true Jaesun.

“Yah! Do Jaesun!” He roared with all the ferocity of a furious lion. At first, Jaesun didn’t stop what he was doing which only made Mir’s angry grow. “Didn’t you hear me? You ing bastard!”

Finally, Jaesun pulled away from the girl and looked at Mir with one eyebrow raised. His posture and expression exuded arrogance. However, when he recognized Mir, a flash of shock and fear appeared on his face for half a second. He contemplated whether he should pretend he was someone else or if he should just answer Mir. The fierce glint in Mir’s eyes made him choose the first option.

“I’m sorry but I think you’ve got the wrong person,” he responded in what he thought was a calm, steady tone. Apparently, Mir had seen right through his lie.

“Don’t with me. I know you’re lying,” Mir growled. “Is this who you really are, Jaesun? Oh, or maybe your name isn’t even Jaesun? Do you like hiding your identity and tricking innocent girls?”

Jaesun gulped nervously. He knew his cover was blown and he was stuck in a corner with nowhere to go. He also knew that Mir could easily take him down if he tried to fight his way out. The girl he had been kissing already became frightened and left him without a goodbye. Just when he thought it was all over for him, Jaesun was bewildered to see Mir backing away from him. He blinked and soon realized that a guy with blond hair was dragging Mir towards the exit. A sigh of relief left his lips and Jaesun immediately got up and went into the kitchen to calm down.

“Hey, I’m not finished with you yet! The next time I see you, you won’t get off so easily,” Mir shouted at Jaesun’s retreating figure. He struggled against Zelo but his friend still managed to haul him out of the restaurant with little difficulty.

“Argh, Choi Junhong! Let me go!”

“No way. The last time you had that look on your face, you nearly killed someone. As your best friend, I don’t wanna have to visit you when you’re behind bars,” Zelo responded firmly. Once they were standing in front of the motorcycles, Zelo released Mir.

Mir’s fists were at his sides but they trembled with the desire to punch Jaesun in the jaw. If Zelo had not been there, he was certain that he would have beaten Jaesun till no one could recognize him.

“So, are you gonna tell me what that was all about?” Zelo asked. He was staring at Mir, tapping his foot on the ground as he waited for the answer to his question.

“It’s nothing.”

“I don’t think that was nothing. I haven’t seen you that angry in a long time. But, if you don’t wanna talk about it now then I’ll let it go.”

Mir looked at Zelo and smiled gratefully. He had always liked how Zelo knew when he should and shouldn’t pry into someone’s business.

“How about we just go back to my place and hang out like old times? You can even stay over for the night,” Zelo suggested. “Besides, if I let you go home now I’m sure you’ll probably find that guy again and beat him half to death.”

Chuckling at the fact that Zelo could see right through him, Mir nodded. “Alright, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

I’ll just deal with Jaesun next time I see him. That bastard is definitely not getting off the hook this easily.

The pair grinned at each other as they hopped on their motorcycles and sped off.

---

The next day came around and Mir was hoping that Minah would bring Jaesun to eat lunch with them. He wanted to expose Jaesun in front of her and the others. That way, Jaesun would never come near them again.

Mir found himself practically skipping down the hallways towards the courtyard. He hadn’t even realized how happy he was that Jaesun would finally be out of his way. The thought of having one less obstacle to get to Minah thrilled him.

He saw Seungho, Joon, Minah, and Jaesun all sitting together. Scoffing at the way Jaesun was sitting so close to Minah, Mir made his way into the courtyard. I’m surprised he’s there. I would have thought he might’ve suspected me of telling Minah what happened yesterday.

The four in the courtyard heard Mir approaching and looked up. Jaesun’s eyes instantly widened in fear. I knew I shouldn’t have come here. Well, maybe if I act innocent then the others will believe me and not him.

“Do Jaesun! You’ve got a lot of nerve to be sitting so close to Minah like that you lying son of a ,” Mir said. Everything seemed to come to a stop as the tension in the air rose.

“Mir, what the hell are you talking about?” Minah responded. She had made up with Jaesun yesterday after school and was just starting to act more comfortably around him again. Now, Mir was accusing him of being a liar? She had no idea what to think about that.

“Jaesun isn’t as innocent as you think he is, Minah. He’s been lying to you this whole time. I saw him at that Chinese restaurant yesterday making out with some chick,” replied Mir.

Minah and the others all turned to Jaesun at the same time. He put on his best poker face and made himself look as innocent as he could.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about. I wasn’t at a restaurant yesterday. I was doing homework at home,” he said quietly.

“See, Mir? Jaesun-ssi was at home yesterday,” Minah responded. There was a slight waver in her tone as she spoke those words since she was uncertain as to whether she believed them herself. Although she wasn’t quite so sure she believed Mir either.

Minah wanted to believe that Mir was telling the truth but she also trusted Jaesun too. Besides, the idea of Jaesun lying about his true identity seemed absurd. How could he do so in the first place and what were his reasons for doing so? She couldn’t think of any reason why he would lie like that.

The sound of everyone’s voices rising in volume like a chorus of war cries alerted Minah to what was going on at the moment. Mir had punched Jaesun in the face and he was now hovering menacingly over the boy who had fallen to the ground.

“Are you still trying to lie your way out of this?” he roared furiously. It was like a volcano had erupted and all hell broke loose. Seungho reacted quickly, moving to restrain Mir by grabbing his arms and bending them behind his back. Scurrying over to Jaesun, Joon helped the boy up to his feet.

Seungho soon found that it was too hard to control an erupting volcano when Mir broke out of his grip and was already at Jaesun’s throat. The unprepared boy struggled against Mir whose hand was holding onto his collar with an iron grip. He thought it was the end for him when he saw Mir’s fist coming towards his face at an alarmingly fast rate, so he shut his eyes and waited for the pain. However, he was surprised when he didn’t feel anything at all. In fact Mir had let go of his collar and Jaesun let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“That’s enough Mir.” Those three words cut into the tension like knives and Minah’s piercing glare made the damage that much more intense. Mir stood frozen with his fist raised in the air, his wrist caught in Minah’s hand as she held him back from unleashing his wrath on Jaesun. Although Mir usually found Minah’s hands to be warm and comforting, now they felt like ice encasing and suffocating him.

“Please…just stop. I won’t stand around and let you hurt someone innocent,” she spoke to him in barely a whisper and it seemed as if the others around them were leaning in just to hear her. Mir opened his mouth to protest but the look she sent him stopped him. Her words echoed in his mind and they made something inside him snap.

“Fine. But you’d better listen to this Bang Minah, as long as you’re friends with that lying bastard you won’t be seeing me around,” Mir spat back. Twisting out of Minah’s grip, Mir turned his back on them and walked away. Joon and Seungho both turned their eyes toward Minah to see how she would react and they were surprised to find her by Jaesun’s side. She didn’t even glance at Mir once he had started walking away.

“Minah, don’t you think you’re being a little too stubborn? Maybe Mir is right,” Seungho said. His eyes shifted to Jaesun and their eyes met for a second before Jaesun turned away.

His only answer was silence. Minah grabbed her bag off the ground, patted Jaesun on the shoulder comfortingly, and then left the courtyard. Seungho could only guess what was going on in Minah’s mind at that moment. She had just made up with Mir only a day ago and now it seemed like their relationship was even worse than before. He watched her go and for a second, he saw the girl with the mask who never let anyone in. He saw the girl who was afraid of everyone else. He saw the girl who was surrounded by people yet still utterly lonely.