Chp.34 | HEADS UP

I stretched, yawned and sat upwith my eyes still closed. Then I remembered that I had slept at Jung Sang’s place. Quickly opening my eyes, I realized that I was once again, sleeping the wrong way. I checked the alarm clock to see that it was 8:00 o’clock in the morning and panicked.

Tugging impatiently on the blanket, I blurted, “Jung Sang! We’re late for school!”

He grumbled something under the pillow and refused to budge.

I leaned forward and grabbed the blanket from him. “Yah! Wake up!”

My yelling and tugging didn’t work. There was still no response. He slept as still as a rock. I bet this guy could sleep through a house fire---and if he died from it, he wouldn't know either.

Starting to get fed up, I snatched the pillow from his head, and placed both my palms against either side of his face, turning him toward me. When I settled my eyes upon him, I almost couldn’t recognize him due to the ugly bruising around his right eye.

Covering my mouth in surprise, I thought about how he might have gotten that bruise.

1) He walked into something in the middle of the night on his way to the bathroom
2) The spirit caused it(Unlikely)
3) I had probably knocked him in the face while I was the state of sleep(Most Likely)

Seeing that I was sleeping the opposite direction, I concluded that it was my fault. I might have kicked him unintentionally. That would also explain my moving-around-bit. Was it possible that he couldn’t feel the pain? But then again, Jung Sang is a deep sleeper. He probably can’t feel a single thing.

When Jung Sang opened his eyes to look at me, I could barely see his right eye beneath the swollen lids. He resembled some raccoon; only that he was cuter. I suddenly felt guilty. Well---only a little bit.

“We’re not late, dummy. That clock is two hours ahead. I still haven’t fixed it yet,” he mumbled under his breath.

However, the sight of him forced me to break into an immediate cackle. I had to hold onto my stomach because it hurt so much from laughing.

He grabbed his pillow to toss it at my head, cutting off my laughter. “Why are you laughing?”

“I had a good dream,” I quickly answered.

He just looked at me with a blank expression, so I added, “About beating someone up.”

“Who?”

“Just some handsome boy who turned ugly once I struck him.”

“That’s funny to you?” he asked with an irritated expression. Lifting his head inches from the pillow, he gazed down at his feet. “Sh*t. My foot feels wet.”

Aigoo! I bet I drooled on his foot too.

He sat up abruptly, looking at his foot. “You drooled on my feet?” he asked incredulously.

So perhaps my knocking-him-in- the-eye wasn’t the only thing I did.

He placed his foot near my face. “Aish! Wipe it off. But you might want to wipe the side of your face first.”

I sniffed and pinched my nose. "And you might want to wash your feet first."

"What? He looked at his foot. "It only smells because you drooled on it."

Growing embarrassed, I quickly wiped the side of my mouth with the shirt I had on. It wasn’t my shirt, why should I care?

He made a disgusted face. “Yah! That’s my shirt!”

“So?”

“So? You probably contaminated my pillow and now my shirt too?!”

I raised my own voice to match his, pushing his foot away from my face. “Since when did you become such a germ freak?!”

“This is the last time you’ll be sleeping over.”

“Shut up. It’s not like I wanted to sleep here in the first place.”

“A person like you should sleep in a casket, that way you can’t move around so much. But then---you'd probably die from drowing in your own pool of drool.”

“Yah! Are you saying that I resemble some kind of corpse?!”

“You looked like one last night.”

“Shut up. At least I don’t look like a raccoon!!”

His brows rose in question. “What? A racoon?”

He threw his legs over the side of the bed, heading out the door.

Give him five seconds and we’ll never hear the end of it.

I counted up to four when it happened.

He stormed into the room like a raging bull---or shall I say---like an angry raccoon and pointed at his face in disbelief. I squealed in response, scrambling off the bed and holding a pillow to my chest as a shield.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY FACE? DID YOU DO THIS?!”

“No,” I replied, trying to hide the guilt in my face. “And why should you overreact? You don’t care about your face!”

“You punched me while I was sleeping?!”

I could feel a pout coming on. My voice sounded small when I said, “Even if I did, I really didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean---"

“You’ll pay for this!”

“I’m sorry. I really am. Are you gonna hurt me?” I asked, cowering away from him with the pillow raised above me, bracing myself for some kind of abuse.

Then I heard laughter erupting from him.

My boyfriend was laughing at me.

This time, I tossed the pillow at him, cutting his laughter off. “What’s so funny?”

He fell onto the bed, leaned on his elbows, and turned to regard me. “I guess you can say that we’re both eliminated from that dumb contest, huh?”

“What?”

“The prettyface contest is today.”

---

Turns out my loveable boyfriend had snucked a call to my parents last night, informing them of my whereabouts and apologized on my behalf.

When I went home that morning to change into my uniform, they invited Jung Sang inside for breakfast, and acted like nothing happened. My mother however, tried to probe about whether we slept together or in separate rooms. My father inquired about Jung Sang’s black eye, and all I did was watch Jung Sang the entire time, finding that I was falling deeper for his unpredictable character. Jung Sang didn't have any charms but somehow, he had charmed my parents into liking him too. Jin Hyung, on the other hand sat and ate quietly in silence, averting my death stare until my parents left us alone at the table. That's when he started sticking his tongue out at me.

Lee Yoon Tae woke up late and his hair was still damp when he arrived at the table. However, he appeared to be more presentable because his uniform was worn properly.

“So what do you think, Ji Won. You think I’m gonna win since it looks like the both of you are disqualified?” Yoon Tae inquired, bringing out a hand mirror to look at his reflection. “Sh*t. I spot a zit.”

Yoon Tae was being an again. He only likes to rub things in people’s faces.

“Your eyes look puffy. Why don’t you try using Ji Won’s eye cream?” Jin Hyung interjected, purposely mocking our cousin.

Yoon Tae pushed Jin Hyung’s head. “Dummy. I’m not gay.”

“But you’re in a gay contest.”

Jung Sang nearly choked on his food.

Yoon Tae turned to regard him with a serious expression. “I guess that makes all of us gay then, right Jung Sang?”

Jung Sang placed his utensils down and said, “Look, if you still want out, I could always ruin that pretty face of yours. It’s still not too late.”

So after that match, I guess Yoon Tae and Jung Sang were back to their usual bickering.

“Nah. I like to win,” Yoon Tae said, getting out of his chair. “And thanks for the compliment.”

---

They probably got physical. That would explain Ji Won’s ugly face.”

Park Jung Sang may be hot, but he has the worst temper. He is probably the best fighter in our school. No one wants to take him on.

Lee Ji Won deserves it. You can’t always have it your way.

We walked in side-by-side down the hallway, having the students stare at us with curious expressions and whispering things behind our backs. One guy kept staring, which forced Jung Sang to grab him by the collar of his uniform, pinning him against the lockers.

“Wanna look like me?”

The fearful student shook his head.

“Then quit staring at my girlfriend.”

And all along, I thought he was defending himself. It was sweet of him, but he really didn’t need to scare the guy.

The student cowered and asked, “But that’s Lee Ji Won, right?”

Immediately, I lowered my head in embarrassment.

“Lee Ji Won, keep your head up. Don’t lower it!” Jung Sang snapped at me.

I quickly lifted my head up, forgetting my place. Jung Sang had told me before we entered to keep my head up; otherwise they would find reasons to talk about us.

“Yes, that’s her.”

“W-w-what happened to her face?”

My neck was beginning to feel sore.

“None of your business,” Jung Sang answered, pushing the guy aside.

Another girl stepped into our path, questioning Jung Sang as if she knew him. “Rumors are circulating that you like to beat your girls, oppa. Is that true?”

I didn’t like how she phrased her question. If I had it my way, I would have clawed her eyes out and have her rephrase that question again.

“Rumors are rumors. What does those rumors gotta do with you?” Jung Sang countered in return.

“I was just curious.”

“Yeah? Curious, eh? Go stick your plastic nose somewhere else.”

The girl’s jaws dropped wide opened in shock. Some of the students started to laugh at her and I found myself smiling like an idiot. Flustered with embarrassment, she fled like a wounded dog who had just got kicked by its master.

I could feel my head starting to lower again. Jung Sang didn’t have to look at me to tell me, “Yah! Keep your head up!”

I complied, allowing Jung Sang to lead me past all the students. I admired him more for what he did that day. Like the others, I couldn’t stop looking at him, not for the same reasons as they were; I stared because I was learning more and more about him as time grew and my admiration for him grew too.

---

Lunchtime came. The winner of the contest was finally announced inside the cafeteria.

“Lee Yoon Tae! Lee Yoon Tae!!” all the girl chanted in unison. “Lee Yoon Tae!!”

My smiling cousin bowed to show his appreciation. “Thank you. Thank you. But remember girls, I'm better looking than Jae Joong from DBSK. Got that?”

Apparently, Lee Yoon Tae was the only contestant left who was still qualified, so that makes him the undisputed winner. I don’t think he was proud to be the winner; he just liked the fact that he could rub it in Kim Tae Woo’s face, so I wasn’t so proud of him either.

I stood beside Jung Sang who was busy looking at his phone, text messaging someone. He placed his phone aside and tightened his jaw. Anger shown in his eyes. It wasn't a good thing.

I had to ask. “What’s wrong?”

He ignored me as his eyes searched the crowd of students, landing on Kim Tae Woo. Tae Woo stood at the back of the cafeteria with a couple girls surrounding him.

“Why are you looking at him like that?” I questioned him.

He didn’t answer me; instead he strode directly up to Kim Tae Woo. They just stared at each other until Jung Sang grabbed at Tae Woo’s collar and punched him hard in the face, knocking him against the wall.

I went to grab for Jung Sang’s arm, but he jerked away, yelling at Tae Woo. “What the did you do to her?!”

Some of the students started to gather around us and my heart started to race a hundred miles. The animosity Jung Sang had towards Tae Woo wasn't normal. Everyone in school knew the two were best friends.

I really couldn’t understand what Jung Sang was angry about, so I decided to intervene. My guess was that Jung Sang was still angry about what happened last night.

Tae Woo rubbed at his jaw and wiped the blood from his chin and he then looked at me, answering, “I did nothing.”

The way Tae Woo looked at me, did he try to imply something?

Jung Sang pulled me aside and added a kick to Tae Woo’s gut. Before Jung Sang could do anything more, I quickly placed myself between them. “Listen. If this is about last night, Tae Woo and I did---"

Jung Sang cut me off by yelling in my face. “Move!”

“No.”

“I said move!”

“NO!” I yelled in return.

“THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. NOW MOVE!!”

I cringed and felt someone’s arms drawing me aside. “Ji Won. I think you should stay out of this.” It was Yoon Tae’s voice. He held me back from Jung Sang.

Jung Sang drew Tae Woo up against the wall. “What did you do to Hye Min last night?”

My heart dropped. It was Shin Hye Min that he was worried about. They were fighting over her. It had nothing to do with Tae Woo leading me to the bar. It had nothing to do with me.

Tae Woo, with his bruised and bleeding lip, replied, “What do you want me to say? That I screwed her last night? Is that what you want to hear?”

Jung Sang drew his fist back and slammed it against the wall next to Tae Woo’s face. “If anything happened to her. You’ll pay for this.”

Jung Sang turned his back on his friend and started to walk away, forgetting that I was still standing there. I called to him. “Jung Sang, wait.”

He stopped on command.

Tae Woo took his chance to question Jung Sang. “If you liked her that much, why the hell did you let her go? Why?!”

I wanted to know the answer to that one too.

“Because of you. Because she chose you.”

After all these times, he still liked her. How the hell was that supposed to make me feel? Did he even consider my feelings? Did he think about her more than he thought about me?

I remember last night's words. If it means anything to you, I dream about you every night."

Was that a lie?

Tae Woo prodded further. “And you? Who do you choose now, Jung Sang? Ji Won or Hye Min?”

Jung Sang didn’t reply. He walked away with his head up, acting as if the world never existed to him.

I don’t think I’ll ever come to understand Jung Sang. One moment the light casts itself upon him, making him shine brighter than a star and within the next, he bathes himself in darkness, shutting everything and everyone out.

He had shut me out that time. He made me feel like a stranger. A stranger, and nothing more.

Yes folks, Lee Ji Won broke down and cried again.

Gosh, I’m beginning to hate myself for crying so much.