Jaerin smirked when she saw him leaning against the brick wall with his hands in both pockets. Sneaking up from behind, she pounced on him. Not forgetting, Jaerin also gave him the usual smack on his head. Kris cocked his head to the side and groaned as he rubbed his head. He held back the urge to roll his eyes, knowing who it was.

“You’re going to go bald if you keep doing that.” Jaerin joked as she started walking on.

Kris caught up with her effortlessly; His long legs would have to claim full credit for that. Regarding the school trip incident, the two had actually patched up quickly when Jaerin bought him a cup of caramel macchiato. It was their little childhood pact to make up for one another. Of course, being the softie for her, he gave in without much thought. She did not ask why he was angry that day though. Actually, Kris did not exactly mind because she had always been like that. He just did not know whether it was a good or bad thing. Was it because she thought it would be better not to bring up something unpleasant or is it just that… she didn’t care enough to find out the reason?

“You are spacing out.” Jaerin pointed out.

Kris blinked once, twice before responding, “Am not.”

“Liar.” She remarked conveniently. 

“Same to you.” He replied with a smirk.

Then, a bright red car appeared from nowhere and halted before them. Kris squinted his eyes a little from the sunlight reflecting off the shiny surface. He noted that the car was of an expensive brand and it looked slightly familiar. Ten seconds or so later, someone stepped out. He sauntered over with an arrogant smile plastered across his face. Jaerin and Kris recognized him right away.

“Jaerin.” He called out affectionately, placing his sunglasses away.

Jaerin held back the urge to roll her eyes and looked straight into his.

“What’s up?” she asked.

The guy straightened his uniform and smiled widely. He then walked up to her and slung an arm around Jaerin’s neck, pulling her close to his face. Kris controlled his emotions not to pin him to his beloved red car. On the other hand, Jaerin was not the least intimidated or affected by him. She repeated herself, “What’s up?”

“Want to go out with me?” he asked with a knowing smirk.

“No.” She replied flatly.

Both Kris and Tao’s eyes widened at her reply.

“You do know that you are rejecting me now, right?” he questioned in disbelief.

She nodded innocently before pushing him away gently.

“I got to go. Kinda busy.” She replied playfully before pulling Kris away.

Tao walked over to his car and kicked the tyre harshly. It was his first time being rejected and not to say, by a female playgirl who accepted almost any man that came her way. “Darn”, he cussed.

Kris eyed Jaerin suspiciously as they walked away from the scene.

“What?” she finally asked.

“Don’t you think it’s so unlike you to reject someone like Tao? If I didn’t get my facts wrong, he is like the richest guy in our school.” He spoke in disbelief.

“Esh. I don’t have to be ‘like me’ all the time, do I?” she returned the question and yawned boredly.

“Jaerin, you’re changing.” Kris thought.

“And I’m afraid.” He added in his mind.

─

Lay jogged up to his friend who was playing with his phone while waiting for him.

“Sorry, I’m late.” He said with a meek smile.

Luhan showed him his watch and made a face.

“Sorry no cure. Who were you with anyway?” he questioned.

“Oh. I was with Jaerin.” He answered with a slight smile.

Luhan stopped walking and turned to his friend.

“Park Jaerin?” he asked.

“Yea.” Lay confirmed simply.

Suddenly, Luhan grabbed Lay by his shoulders and checked him from his head to toe. Lay chuckled in amusement as he saw his best friend’s absurd actions.

“Did she do anything to you? Eat you up? Bully you? Cheat your money?” he asked with concerned eyes.

“Hahaha… Luhan, you’re making her sound like a scary monster. She just happened to drop by while I was practicing the piano. And nothing else happened.” He reassured with a light pat.

“That’s all? Oh my gosh. I freaked out. Hey Lay, I need you to listen to me closely. First, she is really not a simple girl. You know, my friend was her ex-boyfriend. He told me that they dated for less than a month and broke up. Throughout the relationship, she merely kept requesting for him to buy her expensive things. When she got what she wanted, she dumped him mercilessly. She even humiliated him before everyone else in school. My friend was so traumatized that he even transferred school. Yixing, I don’t want you to be next victim. You know what I mean? ” Luhan explained.

Lay remained silent the whole time as he heard Luhan out. He had heard rumours of Jaerin from those gossipy girls along the corridor unintentionally. However, he merely brushed them aside for he knew better than to believe in senseless rumours that were based on almost nothing. Now that he was hearing this from his best friend made him stop and think twice. He realized that he indeed knew almost nothing about Jaerin. Maybe there was really something. With that, Lay made a mental note to keep what Luhan said in mind.

“Don’t worry, Luhan. I will protect myself well and won’t get eaten up.” Lay joked lightly.

Luhan frowned a little at his friend’s words but said nothing else.

─

Jaerin crossed her legs as she traced the rim of the glass. She looked over to Kris who was flirting with some other girls at the club. Occasionally, she met eyes with Kris who would look back at her. However, she simply looked away and resumed drinking. She felt the strong alcohol burn a little so she placed it down. Raising a finger, she caught the attention of the bar tender to get another drink of a lower alcoholic content. A semi-drunk guy joined Jaerin and grinned.  

“Want me to buy you a drink?” he asked.

“Sure. Why not?” she answered with a smirk.

“But for starters, can you please get your dirty hands off my thigh? I hate touchy guys. ” she requested as she flicked his hand away.

“Fiesty. I like.” He commented.

Jaerin rolled her eyes and picked up the newly ordered glass of alcoholic beverage. Then, she felt a vibration. Opening her clutch, she removed her phone. A smile lit up her face as she read the incoming text.

To: Jaerin

What are you doing?

Once in a while, Lay would send her random messages like that. She used to hate such messages but somehow, she looked forward to receiving them if it was from Lay. Perhaps it was because he seldom messaged her or perhaps there was more to it. However, Jaerin couldn’t be bothered to discover the reason. She thought nothing much about it, for now.

To: Lay

I’m studying at home. Why?

She almost laughed out loud at her own reply. When she was about to put her phone away, she felt someone moving his hands up her leg inappropriately. Instinctively, she splashed the drink on the guy’s face. The guy stood up and was about to fight back but she swiftly kicked him in the stomach causing him to bend over. Elbowing him on the back hardly, she was certain he would have severe back ache for the next few days.

“Told you, I hate touchy guys. Oh. Anyway, drinks are on you. Thanks.” She said before leaving the bar.

Kris smirked at the scene but did not follow her out. He decided that sometimes relationship resembles flying a kite. You need to know when to pull and when to release so as to get the outcome you want. He hoped he was not wrong on that since that was derived from his many years of experience. However, he was just wondering if it would actually work on Jaerin in the first place since she was not the normal. She is Park Jaerin, a hard catch.

Lay’s eyes widened when he saw the girl opposite the street. He was helping Luhan get some tidbits from the convenience store because he refused to buy them himself. His eyes were glued to the television and he insisted for Lay to do the dirty job. Without a choice and being the nice guy he was, he took the bus to the nearest convenience store nearby.

Although she had some smokey make up on and was wearing a pair of 4-inch heels completed with a black body-hugging dress, he could still tell it’s her. Double checking her message on the screen, Lay looked up at her once more.

“Studying? At home?” he scoffed.  

Turning away, Lay entered the convenience store and sighed. He kept his phone and did not bother to send out a reply to her. The bells attached to the handle of the café twinkled as she entered. The cashier politely served her and she sat near the windows. Jaerin ordered a cup of milk to ease her flipping stomach. She then fished out her phone to check for any replies. Tapping her fingers quickly on the screen, she sent out a new message.

To: Kris

Are you done with the girls? Just get their numbers and meet me at the cafe.
If I don’t see you in 5 minutes’ time, I’m leaving.
 

Kris’ phone rang. He removed it from his pocket and pulled down the notification bar. After he was done reading the message, he smirked. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he stood up. The girls tried to hold him back but failed. Kris paid the counter swiftly before leaving the place. He did not bother recording his number because he only had one girl in mind. The one who texted him and was currently waiting for him at the café. She initiated to find him after all.

What he did not know was she did so because she was neglected by another guy.

Author's Note:
Hello guys! Sorry for updating this only now. I apologise if this chapter is not that up to standard.
New characters have been introduced and I would like to announce at this point that this story might last slightly more than 10 chapters.
I'm not exactly confident to end it within 10 chapters judging from the progress now. But don't worry, it won't be too long. ^^
Ah. Thank you so much for reading 'The Girl who Cried Wolf' up till now...
Please do comment because it really motivates me to write on! Thank you. <3