Chapter 9 – Answer

 

Somehow Yonghwa managed to get Seohyun to go home for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday were spent in the boring café with Jin Man dealing with customers that thought they were the kings of the world. There was just no reason for anyone to be that irritating. If it wasn’t illegal to murder people, Yonghwa was sure there would have been a few bodies sitting outside the shop. The dreaded day called Monday rolled around the corner and ruined everyone’s good spirits. Because, comon, who likes Mondays? He supposed anyone that liked Mondays was surely a masochist and liked people inflicting pain onto them.

“Annyeong!” a cheerful voice called from in front of him. His usual walk to school had been interrupted by one of those people, people that liked Mondays. Well, he couldn’t say that for sure, but the tone of the person greeting him seemed happy enough. “How was the weekend?”

“Did you put a tracking device on me or something or are you just that good of a stalker? Seriously, your ability to annoy the hell out of me at any time and place of the day is astounding…” Yonghwa grumbled. Seohyun just ignored his snide comments and fell into step alongside of him. “We’re you waiting for me or something?”

“No!” Seohyun exclaimed defensively. “I was just… passing… by?” Her statement sounded more like a question, but that was probably due to the embarrassment she felt. She didn’t want to feel like a stalker or anything, but when she thought about it, that’s what she was doing. Seohyun already memorized the exact time that Yonghwa would arrive from his usual path to school and would wait for him every day. After all, they did have 70% of their schedule together. “I think we will get the answer to our question today.”

“Our question?”

“Yeah, they’re announcing where we will be going this year on the trip,” she answered in her still happy voice. Yonghwa noticed the way she didn’t get angry or flip out at his cold demeanor. It seemed to him like he had lost that battle of wits and he wouldn’t be able to get her to back off anymore with his attitude. “I hope we go somewhere fun. Remember, you better keep your promise.”

“Arasso, arasso…” he replied quickly. “How about the science fair, are we all set for that? I haven’t been able to take data on the plants since we started. I’ve been pretty busy doing other things. Have you been going?”

“Yeah, they seem fine. By Friday we should have the results and put it on the presentation. I’m sure we will be 1^st place no matter what.” Yonghwa could only scoff at her enthusiasm. Disappointment was a feeling he knew all too well. Life had put obstacles in front of him since he was a child so he knew by now to not hope for anything. If he hoped for something, it would only lead to disappointment. He always expected the worst, because that way he would never be caught off guard. Pessimism wasn’t a good thing, but it kept him from lying to himself.

“Oh, Yonghwa-shi~ good morning,” a flirtatious voice cooed. “I haven’t seen you at lunch for the past week. Are you going to be able to join us this week? It seems we have a few people that miss you at our table.” Kim Yu Jin, better known as Uee stood in their way to the front entrance. As usual, her honey thighs forced the attention of everyone’s eyes to shift to them. Seohyun could feel her temper rising at the mere presence of the girl she was in a bitter rivalry with.

“No, we have work to do on our science fair project. He can’t go to lunch with you,” Seohyun acidly responded. Uee  was slightly taken aback from Seohyun’s answer. Even if they were rivals, Seohyun usually kept her calm.

“Bingo! She’s burning with jealousy because I’m taking her followers away,” Uee thought smugly.“Just you wait Seohyun, I’ll rule this school alone. I won’t stop until you become a complete and utter social outcast.”  While Uee thought her evil thoughts, she flashed Yonghwa the brightest smile she could. Forcing all her aegyo into one smile was slightly degrading, but if it got the job done she didn’t care.

“Oh, is that true Yonghwa-shi? It’s a shame that you have to work so hard on this project. I would really love for you to come sit with us.” Uee managed to put emphasis on any sound with the letter ‘U’ in it to puff out her lips as if giving a kiss. Surprisingly, she had Yonghwa hanging off of her every word. It was almost like taking candy from a baby.

“Don’t listen to this stalker right here. I can go sit with you guys,” Yonghwa answered in defiance. “We have to work on it, but we don’t have to do it during lunch.” Yonghwa’s glare forced a blush out of Seohyun. In truth, she didn’t really mean to answer for him, but it just sort of came out of . “Yah, daddy’s little girl… since when is your name Yonghwa? Don’t answer for me again or I’ll give you an earful.”

“Arasso! If we lose at this science fair, don’t blame it on me. Hmph!” Seohyun stormed past Uee, slightly pushing her to the side. Yonghwa continued to bask in the glory of Uee’s smile shyly, while Uee tried even harder to win him over. Seohyun turned around to see Yonghwa’s lovey dovey eyes for the girl she desperately wished would just disappear. Every day she saw that, her hate for Uee would grow more and more.

“So I’ll see you at lunch today?” Uee asked with a slight pout. “I’ll be waiting.” Uee turned to leave, but looked over her shoulder and gave Yonghwa a cute wink. Needless to say, Yonghwa had to gather all the strength in his body to keep himself standing. Even Jung Yonghwa, the stone-hearted ice prince, had a weakness for a pretty girl. If anyone were to find out, his image would be completely shattered. He supposed nobody would find out since he kept it quite under wraps. Obviously, not enough under wraps if Seohyun found out, but he had no idea.

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“Good morning class. As rumor has it, today we will hand out the details for the trip the senior class takes yearly. In past years we have taken students on some very fun trips, and this year shall be no exception. I’m happy to announce that we will be going on a trip to a few cities in Japan this year. First we will start our stay in Tokyo, and then move onto some more cultural and rural towns.” The whole class began to chatter in anticipation. Conversations began to fly across the room about how much fun it would be, but Shi seonsaeng, the iron-fisted calculus teacher would have none of it. A quick slam of her ruler onto her desk created peace once again in her classroom.

“Seonsaengnim, when are we leaving for the trip?” a male student from the far side of the room asked.

“We will be going on Monday, September 13^th. As today is August 30^th, you will have two weeks to prepare. Please have all your paperwork and money turned in by the Wednesday before that to ensure that everything is in order. If you aren’t allowed to board the plane on the 13^th, too bad so sad, you’re staying here in Korea. Alright, I will be back in a few minutes so just complete your exercise on the screen.” The inconsiderate teacher left the room, once again creating a state of chaos. As they had been a few minutes back, the class began to plan out their trip to Japan. Japan wasn’t too exotic or anything, but if you didn’t know how to have fun in Japan, something was wrong with you.

“Are you happy with that decision?” Yonghwa spoke to the girl next to him. Ever since he entered the classroom, Seohyun had been sulking at her desk. Her head was resting on the wooden surface, facing away from him. Once again her ability to switch through her emotions so quickly left him speechless. Just a few minutes ago she was being her usual giddy self and suddenly she was being darker than he was.

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask your new friend if she likes it…” Seohyun bitterly responded.

“Ugh, I don’t even know why I bothered to open my mouth. Suit yourself then. Are you sure you’re not on your period? You’re being awfully moody this morning. Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?” Yonghwa should have known better than to argue with a moody girl that was angry at him. Then again, it was too much fun to get her riled up over nothing.

“I’M NOT ON MY PERIOD!!!” Seohyun yelled. Her hands quickly slapped over when she realized she had just yelled that at the top of her lungs. “Aish, Jung Yonghwa… you’re a jerk you know that? Don’t talk to me anymore!” The entire class stared at the angry girl with amused faces. It wasn’t every day that someone could get Seohyun so angry. Yonghwa must really know how to push her buttons.

“Jeez… you need something to control your emotions. You can’t just let them spill out all over the place like that. Whatever, I’m done arguing with you. Just be ready to talk to me on Saturday when the big day comes.”

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“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the annual Science Fair competition held by the Scientific Society of Korea. Today we are commemorating the 40^th anniversary of our grand tournament that hosts works from some the most brilliant and talented young scientists in the nation. We have people here representing cities from far away such as Busan and even the island of Jeju.” The announcer was met with a thunderous applause from the hordes of students and observers present in the spacious gym of Daewon Prep.

“We would all like to thank our proud sponsors, the staff at Daewon, for allowing us to host this event in their magnificent gymnasium. Also, in light of our 40^th anniversary, the sponsors here have decided to double the prize money that is awarded to the first prize. Instead of our usual 2,000,000 won prize (around 2,000 US dollars) we will be giving a 4,000,000 won prize (around 4,000 US dollars). Now, prepare yourselves students for the judging. Winners will be announced in a few hours so don’t leave us before then.”

“Yah… we better win this prize now. 4,000,000 won? That can buy you so much stuff while in Japan. Alright, so let’s win first prize. Fighting!” Yonghwa rolled his eyes at Seohyun’s usual enthusiasm. It had taken her almost a week, but she was back to stalking him and annoying him as she normally did. “Yonghwa are you even paying attention to me? The judges are going to come around so be ready to present it to them.”

“Aish… this is too much work. Do it all yourself. What a damn drag,” Yonghwa groaned. A frown made its way onto Seohyun’s face in response to his uncaring attitude. The boy was clearly not in the mood to be criticized by a group of old men that would surely ask a ton of questions in response to their project. Even if he did have any possible answer to a question they could ask, it didn’t take away the fact that it would most certainly be troublesome for him.

“Yah, take that bored expression off your face right now. Here they come, be ready for it!” As he had called it, a group of four men walked towards them and carefully took apart their presentation with their eyes. So far it seemed so good. Yonghwa paid close attention to their muscle movements in their faces and it didn’t seem as if they found anything wrong with their work. If anything, their work exceeded the work of everyone else’s. Earlier Yonghwa had scouted out the competition and found some interesting work. Even if everyone had the idea of the century, their ideas were hardly feasible. It seemed like some people just chose something because it was complicated, but it could never be implemented in real life.

“Well, well, I see you too are quite the bright couple we have here. I would have never thought to see such compelling and interesting findings in a high school science fair. Your experimental design seems to be rather well planned and your findings are excellent. You even made it so your idea was feasible in the real world. I must say I’m impressed with this work,” the man that seemed to be the head of the group explained. The three men standing behind him nodded in agreement to his explanation. Seohyun felt like jumping for joy at the compliment, but decided against it.

“Kamsahamnida seonsaengnim,” the pair of students responded. After a small bow on their part, the men took a few more notes and headed their way. From a distance, Yonghwa could tell they were not happy with some of the presentations. He laughed at the students that thought a super complicated project would get them recognized.

“Daebak! We are so going to get first place,” the still excited girl exclaimed.

“Keep your pants on, we still don’t know if there’s someone else that can beat us. Just wait and see until the results are out. I’m bored so I’m going to sleep. Wake me up if someone comes around.” Yonghwa hadn’t been getting too much sleep lately, even if the doctor had ordered it. What better way to pass the remaining two hours they had before the final judging than sleep?

Seohyun spent her two hours calmly staring at the sleeping person sitting in the seat next to her. It was rather loud in the gymnasium but she supposed that he was tired enough to sleep through all of it. His hair became a little messy from laying on it and her hand began to move towards it. The soft texture of his hair surprised her when her hand finally made contact. Slowly she began to run her hand through his hair gently, rubbing the messy strands back into a good position. Even after she fixed his hair, her hand continued to run through his black hair.

“Seohyun, is it time to get up already?” At his question, Seohyun’s hand shot back towards her as if she had just touched a hot stove. Yonghwa slowly raised his head and rubbed his eyes to see the judges still walking around and evaluating a few remaining projects. “Aish, why did you touch me? Do you know what personal space is?”

“You had… a bug, yeah a bug… there was a bug in your hair. It was a fly and I had to get it out of there,” Seohyun lied lamely. Yonghwa was not in the mood to argue so he just stared at her as if she had three heads. “Um, I think they’re going to announce the winner soon, so just stay up.”

“Kind of hard to go back to sleep after you woke me up-”

“Well ladies and gentlemen, it seems that the judges are now ready to give their verdict. First and foremost, we would all like to thank you all for coming out here today. Be assured that even if you do not win a prize, we all appreciate your efforts to contribute to science at your young age. If science is your calling, please continue to follow it even if you don’t succeed at first. Now, I will pass on the microphone to President Lee of our society.” Applause erupted from the crowd eagerly awaiting the judgment while the elder man walked across the stage.

“Thank you all for coming. Now, this year I have seen many interesting projects. However, some are too interesting. For these kinds of competitions, it is not only the project that is intricate that wins but also the project that can be used to help mankind. Although you all have put in a valiant effort, there are a few that caught my eye. Will Miss Kim Yu Jin please come up to receive the second place prize.” A tall girl walked from the large crowd to the man holding the microphone with a forced smile. As usual, she was only second best. It had been like that even in school. Uee was always just under Seohyun in terms of grades and it was something she did not like at all.

“Eh? Uee entered the competition? Did you know about that?” Seohyun asked the now interested Yonghwa. Seeing that he was now completely awake at the mention of Uee, Seohyun once again her irritated state.

“Ani,* I didn’t know that she was entering. She is at the top of our class right? It makes sense that she got a prize,” Yonghwa praised in the best way he could. It wasn’t completely a praise, but it was as close to a praise that he would get. He had never once complimented Seohyun once which made the fire inside her grow even more. Yonghwa’s applause for Uee was close to becoming the straw that broke the camel’s back for Seohyun.

“Miss Yu Jin had an excellent project on the effects of acid rain on aquatic ecosystems and the intense research she did on it left me quite speechless. However, since the project lacked a bit of feasibility to be implemented in the field, I could not award her first place. Regardless, I commend your efforts and would love to continue to see you work in theirs field in the future.” Uee gave the judge a deep bow and left the stage to head back towards the table where her project was set up.

“Now, for the first place I would like to have Jung Yonghwa-shi and Seo Joohyun-shi come to the stage. These two had an interesting experiment on removing pollutants from soils with a combination of plants that absorb toxins known as hyperaccumluators. For a science fair of this level, it is rare to see such an experiment. I enjoyed examining their project and am definitely looking forward to these two have a contribution on science in the future.” Seohyun kept her composure as she walked up towards the stage. If a few hundred people hadn’t been watching her at that moment, she would have ran all over the place screaming wildly.

“Kamsahamnida seonsaengnim,” the pair replied in unison for the second time that day. A glass trophy passed from the man’s hands into Seohyun’s along with an envelope which they supposed was the money. Seohyun could only stare at the crystalline statuette that had been awarded to them without words.  However that would change once they were free from the watchful audience.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaa~!!!!!!! We won! We on! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!” Seohyun squealed while running around in circles.

“Is it that big a deal? Stop running around before you drop that trophy and shatter it. Comon, let’s get this stuff picked up so we can go home,” Yonghwa ordered. He was happy that he won the prize, but he hadn’t really been too committed to the effort anyways. Winning was a bonus, but since he wasn’t anticipating it, it wasn’t a big deal for him.

“Omo! Yonghwa-shi! Chukhahae! Congratulations on winning the award. I see you must have worked really hard in order to win that prize. I had no idea you were so smart. I should’ve asked you to be my partner for this. Well, second place isn’t so bad is it?” Uee giggled in a fake voice. Unfortunately Yonghwa was too infatuated with her smile to notice.

“Well, I’m not that smart or anything,” Yonghwa shyly responded. “Congratulations on winning a prize. The competition here was no joke.” Seohyun rolled her eyes at the consolation he was giving Uee. If Yonghwa knew how to push Seohyun’s buttons, Uee was a pro at it. Seohyun could not comprehend how someone could be so fake and evil like Uee.

“Ahem, aren’t you guys forgetting someone? I worked hard on this too,” Seohyun spoke out.

“Oh, I’m sorry for not noticing you. I was too busy noticing how smart Yonghwa-shi is. Oh, Seohyun, Seung Ri came to cheer me on. I’m sure he would love to see that you are also here. I’m surprised he didn’t go visit you sooner,” Uee pointed out.

“Um… I didn’t tell him I was doing this,” Seohyun admitted embarrassedly.

“You didn’t tell him about this yet you’re his girlfriend? Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Uee teased while shaking her head. “Comon Seohyun, you have to treat Seung Ri well or he will leave you. Oh, there he is now. Seung Ri! Seohyun is here, come see her!”

“Oh, Seohyun ah! Congrats on winning the first prize. I’m so lucky to have such a smart girlfriend.” Seung Ri ran up to the still angry girl and placed a small peck on her lips. “We were just heading to get lunch, do you want to come?”

“Uh, I think I’ll pass. I have to do a few more things today. You go on ahead.”

“Aw, I’m sure Seung Ri will be lonely without you. Yonghwa-shi you’re coming too? I don’t want to eat with Seung Ri alone, he’s too damn annoying. Seohyun, come along so you can keep Seung Ri company. We will have a blast.” Uee flashed another brilliant smile that could captivate even a gay man. Seohyun didn’t even know how she was keeping her temper in check. If Uee made it to see the light of another day, it would be a miracle.

“Um, if it’s not too rude of me, I’ll take your offer,” Yonghwa politely replied.

“Alright then, let’s get going!” Uee yelled happily. The four teenagers moved towards the entrance of the gym in order to grab a bite to eat. Seohyun tried her hardest to stay as close to Yonghwa as possible. Yonghwa, not enjoying the close company, kept pushing her to the side. Uee took advantage of the situation to position herself close enough to him to touch him. Yonghwa looked over at Uee with a look that was almost a smile. Needless to say, Seohyun was basically at her breaking point.

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After almost an hour, the group of high school students finished their simple meals at the classy café they decided to eat it. It was certainly classier than Jin Man’s café where he worked at, but it was still casual enough to not be considered a restaurant. A few sandwiches and bowls of soup had been consumed, leaving them full and lazy.

“So what do you plan on using the money for Yonghwa-shi?” Uee asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t really know yet. I’ll see what I can do,” Yonghwa replied.

“You should come to the Japan trip with us. You’ll come right? I’m sure it will be tons of fun. I’ve been to Tokyo a few times so I’ll be sure to be your tour guide,” Uee cutely offered. Seohyun just sipped her drink to cool off. Seung Ri was next to her, so she couldn’t risk him asking questions about while she was so angry. Even she had no answer to that, but it was better to not even get into that situation.

“Yes, I will definitely go. I will be in your care,” Yonghwa responded quickly. Seohyun almost choked on the liquid flowing down but she passed it off as an accident. She had to resort to making a bet with him to get him to go on the trip. It infuriated her that all it took was a simple question from Uee to get him to go.

“Yonghwa, don’t you have to be at work soon?” Seohyun growled. The straw in her drink was now completely misshapen from her grinding teeth. If she couldn’t get Uee to stop being such a flirt, she was sure she would storm out of the café, not without first ripping a few strands of Uee’s hair out.

“Ah, that’s right. Well thank you for coming to lunch with me Yu Jin-shi. I will see you at school on Monday. Annyeonghigyeseyo.” Yonghwa completely ignored the pair sitting next to him and left them to continue their conversation.

“Ah, I have to go give him something that he, um forgot. Seung Ri, I’m sorry but I have to leave for now. I’ll call you sometime later alright? Bye.” Seohyun waved goodbye, ignoring Uee in the same manner that Yonghwa had just ignored her.

“Aish, Uee, what the hell are you doing?” Seung Ri asked once Yonghwa and Seohyun were out of earshot of them. “Are you kidding me? Why are you up so much to that poor bastard? He’s letting it get to his damn head, I can feel it already. It’s bad enough you bring him to the table at lunch, but now you make me sit with him on my time off? You’ve got to be insane.”

“Seung Ri, it up and be a man. Do you think I’m having fun degrading myself for him? I’m sitting here smiling and acting like a fool just to get him to come over to our side. You saw how the drool was running down his mouth for me. I have him right where I want him,” Uee chuckled.

“We’ll keep me the hell out of your plans. I can’t stand seeing that idiot any more than I have to,” Seung Ri complained.

“Why is he such a problem? I haven’t even seen him say a word to you. Unless… you’re kidding…? That was the guy that handed your to you almost a month back?” Uee asked in disbelief. “I’ve never seen you hate someone like that unless they beat you in a fight. He is isn’t he? Ahahahaha, you idiot, how could you have lost to him?”

“He caught me off guard, but that’s not the point. I can’t stand that arrogant piece of trash, so kindly stop bringing him around me. He annoys the hell out of me and I have to hold my fists down to prevent myself from killing him.”

“My plan is working so I don’t know how much more I’ll keep that idiot around. Gyuri came back to our table ever since he’s been sitting with us. Some of his little followers have even come to our side. Hell, you even got Seohyun herself to sit with us. I’d say using that retard was the best plan I could have had. Don’t worry, I don’t actually plan on becoming friends with him,” Uee scoffed.

“Whatever, just keep him out of my way or else I won’t hesitate to knock his sorry out.”

“What about you? Why can’t you keep that of a girlfriend in check?” Uee asked in retaliation. “The little girl keeps getting in my way and I’m not enjoying that. Did you see how she looked at me the whole time we were eating? She looked like she was about to rip my head off.”

“You earned that hate. You’re a to her so she’s just repaying the favor. Anyways, I’m not keeping her around because I actually care about her. I could have more fun staring at the tiles on the ceiling rather than dating her,” Seung Ri admitted. Uee laughed at the situation Seung Ri was placed in. Even if he was ‘dating’ her, it didn’t look like he was having fun with it. “My old man keeps forcing me to date her so I can’t back out now. Seohyun’s dad would most likely come after me and kill me if I hurt her. Like you, I’m only keeping her around out of convenience.”

“So, are you going to hang out with her tonight or are we going to do our usual Saturday night thing?” Uee asked the spiky haired male in front of her. For anyone else listening into their conversation, they would think the two were dating. The manner in which Uee had asked if they were doing their ‘Saturday night thing’ could only mean one thing.

“Screw her, she’s the most boring girl I’ve ever met. She won’t even give me the goods. Any other girl would’ve already sold me her soul,” Seung Ri explained. If only Seohyun and Yonghwa could hear what the evil pair was saying. Each one of them was being used to further the goals of their enemies, yet they were too occupied with their feelings to analyze the situation. “I’ll call you tonight so we can do our stuff. If Seohyun calls I’ll just make an excuse as to why I can’t go.”

“Alright, whatever you say…”

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“Yonghwa, why did you say yes to Uee so fast? It took me almost an hour to convince you to go, even with bribes and a bet. How come you agreed to go on the trip immediately when that stupid Uee asked you?” Yonghwa was not having another argument with the fuming girl. "Why are you so nice to Uee but you treat me like crap? What has Uee done for you since you've got here? She's a bad person and you need to realize it. I've done nothing but be nice to you, yet you won't even give me one positive word. I don't get you Yonghwa."

“Go away already. I don’t have to answer to you since you’re nobody. If I want to go on a trip to Japan, I can; if I want to answer yes to Uee, I can; if I want to jump off a cliff because Uee asked me to, I can. I hardly see why that’s any of your business,” Yonghwa reasoned. Seohyun, having no strong argument, decided to keep shut. “You've done nothing but nice things for me? Does getting me in trouble all the time sound like you doing me a favor? If you want to do me a favor stop following me and go home. I’m not in the mood to deal with you.”

“Can you answer me one question first?” Seohyun knew the answer to the question, but she desperately wanted to hear the response from his mouth. No doubt, it would get her even more anxious than she already was, but she needed to get it all cleared up. “Do you like Uee? Don’t even evade the question or lie. I’m not going to buy it. Just tell me straight up if you like her.”

“I like Kim Yu Jin, is that what you wanted to hear?” He stated as soon as she finished speaking. “There, are you happy? I admitted to liking Uee, is there anything else you need to hear or can I go now?”

“No… that’s all I needed to hear.”

 

 

Author’s note: Bleh chapter and the next one is sure to be as boring since I need some filler. I’ve been going too fast and I’d say I’m a few chapters too early to go to Japan. I also had to throw in some Seung Ri/Uee action or else they’d find no place in the story. Anyways, sorry for the late update even though I had time. I had something to do and didn’t get to writing until pretty late. I’ll also update after I get done with school tomorrow, so be ready for it.

Korean words:

Chukhahae - congrats