Miss No Label

   C H A P T E R   T W E N T Y - E I G H T   

POV:

        Monday came and it was time for school again. Being the first day in school after the incident at the party, I expected for the worse. If not for Lay's insistence, I could have chosen to take the bus to school rather than letting him drive. Jiyoung headed to school early with an excuse of finishing up an assignment, yet I was sure she was up to something else. 

        The worse that I expected was nowhere near wrong. In fact, it was almost exactly how I imagined it to be. As soon as Lay parked the car, I took the initiative to get out by myself and not letting him open the door for me. Realizing what I did, he could only scoff and sigh. I took a quick pace, almost desperate to hide my face or better yet, let mighty powers of whatever energy teleport me to my classroom. 

        Lay, who was a few steps behind me, fastened his speed to catch up. He then grabbed my arm, sliding down to hold my hand. "Slow down. There couldn't be any race I was not informed off, right?" He raised a brow, and I knew he was aware of what I was up to.

        All I wanted was to avoid too much attention, yet it was too late to cast some plans on that. Right in time when we stopped the car, eyes were already stealing glances on us. To make things even more eye-catching, Lay's holding of my hand made the crowd glue their eyes on us. Whispers and gossiping vocals were evidently heard from where I was. 

       "So, they're still together?"

       "I thought Yixing was engaged."

       "He could have chosen Feng Sara. Krystal is nothing compared to her."

       "Is that Krystal Jung letting him just two-time her? How cheap."

       "I bet they won't even last a week."

       I wondered if those people did not realize that their whispers aren't in the volume of what whispers are supposed to be, or they are just so insensitive that they felt the dire need to make me hear their mocks. I bet it was more of the latter, and just like that, whether I like it or not, my insecurities were triggered. Don't listen to them. Don't mind them. I repeated on my mind, but my self-esteem dominated me for the most part.

        As if reading my mind, Lay squeezed my hand tighter and began slowing our pace. Then, he paused his tracks and to my utter surprise, glared at a group of buddies who were laughing mockingly. His expression was the usual blank one, but his eyes were in fumes of fire. His other hand was clenched into a fist, and I knew I had to calm him down. Oh no, scratch that, he looked calm, actually, but being the one knowing him better, I can sense an incoming war.

        "Come on, Lay. We don't want to be late." I told him.

        He took one last look at the man who said that I was a cheap kind of girl. He looked at him, from head to toe and scoffed. "A Chinese man might contact you sooner or later. Be on your guard." The man looked shocked for a second or two, then hung or head low. 

         "What would that mean?" I asked Lay as we proceeded our way to our classroom. 

       "He's half Chinese and precisely one of my father's scholars." He explained. "Your soft heart must not worry, Krystal. I was not given a power of pulling off scholarships. It was just some threat I had to cue for him." He paused as we passed by an empty corridor. "And you, Krystal, must not take those nonsense you heard. Are we clear on that?"

        I nodded, feeling somehow in assurance. "Clear. But... can we not attract too much attention? I mean, it makes me awkward."

       "You moved out of our place, and now we even have to set unreasonable limitations?" He questioned. "That's terrible."

       "But Lay..."

       He cut me off as he ran his fingers through my hair. "But... I can grant that for you, given one condition."

       "What is it?" I was filled with curiosity. The way his eyes transformed made me conclude that he had out-of-this-world intentions in mind again.

        He shrugged. "You'll find out soon."

        Lunch break came, and being the starving stomach, I headed to the cafeteria, hoping that Lay or Jiyoung would already be there. To my dismay, neither of them were to be found. I checked my phone and received a message from Jiyoung telling me she was in her diet schedule, so she won't be eating. Typical Jiyoung, I thought. 

       I leaned by the wall, hoping that Lay would arrive anytime soon. Five minutes have passed, yet not a single trace of him was in sight. I then decided to look for him instead. When I was doing so, however, I caught glimpse of a familiar-looking man. His tall and slender figure made him stand out amongst the loitering population. He was leaning his car, turning his head from side to side, and despite his dark sun glasses, it was obvious that he was looking for someone.

       "K-kris?" I uttered in question.

       I took a few steps closer until my speculations were confirmed. I ran to his direction, waving my hand like a kid. "Anyeong!" I greeted him with a wide smile. "Why are you here? Do you have a girlfriend here? Aigoo." I teased.

       "Nah." He shook his head. "In fact, I came for you."

        "For me?" I questioned. "Why?"

       He opened a door of his car and brought out a red lunch box. "Brought lunch for Soojung."

       "Lunch for me?" My eyes beamed. I was definitely hungry and the smell of the food he brought gave no help at all. It smelled so mouth-watering that it made me crave for it.

       "Of course." He nodded. "Let's say, this is a promotion for my restaurant business as well. If you like the food, you can drop by anytime, and I'll give you a discount."

       I gave him a thumbs up. "You're so amazing, Kris Wu."

       I ate inside his car, in agendum of avoiding further stares from other students. Those malicious bird brains would certainly think of something else again. I thought. 

       "I brought one for Jiyoung as well. Too bad she's not here." Kris said.

        I nodded. "She's on diet. She wants to be a celebrity, remember?"

       "Right." Kris agreed. "And... how about your boyfriend?"

       I could not help but giggle at the sound of the labeled word. "I was actually looking for him when I saw you. He's busy, I guess. He was carrying thick books a while ago. I bothered him too much this weekend, so he might have not finished his work." I said as I munched on my food.

       "How did you meet him?" Kris suddenly asked.

       "Long story." I said. "You wouldn't believe me if I tell you how we got close."

       "Was he the ideal man you kept secret from me back then?" Kris asked again, making me laught. If only he knew, I thought.

       "No." I shook my head. "He's not quite the ideal man. I guess I just forgot about those ideals when I met him. Corny, isn't it?"

        I turned to look at Kris and saw him narrowing his eyes to outside. "Is that him?" He uttered. I looked at the same direction he was setting his eyes to and saw a confused-looking Lay. He was turning his head from left to right, holding his phone. I immediately checked my phone, which was on silent mode, and realized he had been calling me endlessly.

       "Seems like someone is in trouble." Kris remarked. 

       I opened the door of Kris' car and called Lay. I screamed his name, and realized I triggered a jealous side of him again - one that he kept on denying. This time, I knew I wouldn't like it. He looked stressed, probably with school, and I had to add up to it. He looked at me unknowingly and shook his head.

        "You're right. I guess I'm in trouble." I told Kris.

author's note
Hi, guys.
Did you see Lay last night?
He was looking perfect, right?
Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.
Key in your comments.
I accept both positive and negative ones.

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