Well Kept Secret
The Pretty One II
"How could you call me Ariel in front of your sister, are you dumb or dumb?" L.Joe snapped as he stepped into Chaekyung's room. The girl's room was undeniably, and unexpectedly, pink. Very pink
L.Joe nearly shrivelled up in all that pink essense that seemed to be seeping all his energy away from him. The walls were a baby pink, her bed sheets were a ombre of different shades of pink, her curtains were white with cute pink hearts. God help him.
Chaekyung just shrugged as she moved over to her laptop, turning it on while plopping herself on her bed. "It doesn't matter what unnie thinks about you anyway. I've already degraded you to pit bottom in front of her so it doesn't matter. It's not as if you like her right?" she hummed.
L.Joe wrinkled his nose and remained uncharacteristically silent. The silence was what that alerted Chaekyung and she snapped her head in his direction, her eyes wide. "Wait, you like my sister?" her voice rose.
L.Joe glanced at the door in alarm and moved over to shut it. Chaekyung sat upright in her bed, her eyes wide. This was the first time a guy had gone into her room, alone with her, and now he proceeded to shut the door. Even though she was absolutely hundred and one percent sure nothing would happen between them, she was worried what her parents would think if they knew.
"Ya, my umma will flip if she sees the door closed." Chaekyung frowned, moving to stand up. L.Joe strode over to her and sat her back down on the bed. "No wait." he snapped. Chaekyung glanced up at him curiously.
"Don't tell anyone." L.Joe warned menacingly. "If you do, I'll cut off your head to feed the dogs."
Chaekyung chortled. "Cut off my head to feed the dogs sounds rather childish." she laughed heartily with some near cheerfulness. "Don't tell anyone what? That you like my unnie?"
L.Joe's eyes narrowed.
Chaekyung looked up at him and sighed, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter so I won't say. You'll only be one of the thousands that's in love with her and it doesn't make a difference. Besides," her voice grew smaller. "Unnie already has a boyfriend and they're perfect for each other."
L.Joe never stopped to ponder why Chaekyung sounded vaguely melancholic. "That's what you think. Maybe I'll be a better match-"
"No." Chaekyung cut him off, shaking her head. "L oppa is the best guy for unnie and vice versa. You better stop lusting over her good looks before you really get hurt."
Like I did, she nearly blurted. The first moment she set her eyes on L, she was drawn to his good looks and handsome charming face. That was what attracted her to him at first, she could not deny, but as time passed, she learnt that her initial attraction had turned into real blossoming love.
Real blossoming love that shouldn't exist, because now she was hurting madly and had no way of stopping it.
"I'm not lusting over her good looks-"
"You are." Chaekyung cut L.Joe off. "You haven't talked to unnie much and you have no idea what sort of a person she is. What makes you so sure you'll like her personality as much as you like her exterior?"
L.Joe frowned. He didn't like how this naive, childish little princess seemed all grown-up and reasonable all of a sudden. He didn't like how she was making sense. "I just like her alright?" Because she was different, she wasn't popular by choice and she was nothing like those popular girls he knew in the past.
He didn't stop to consider how Chaekyung might be different as well. No.
Chaekyung just sighed once more. "Okay okay, let's get on with the project." she muttered, not wanting to hear another word about it. She could almost hear another heart breaking and she smiled bitterly. Yet another broken heart in this perfect union.
L.Joe watched her as she proceeded to open a few files and began her research, completely ignoring him. What made her think that his like for Jaekyung was based on outer looks only? He cleared his throat as he thought about it. Okay maybe there wasn't any solid evidence that he liked Jaekyung for her personality but he had a good eye for this sort of thing, he was sure Jaekyung was a nice person and it would then be justified to like her. Humph.
Jaekyung was popular because she was L's girlfriend and she didn't want to be known at all, according to Ricky. L.Joe liked that about her. Chaekyung on the other hand being the flyer in the cheerleading team and having scores of fanboys and even a fanpage....L.Joe scoffed inwardly, a fame monster this one was.
He hated popular girls. Hated how they pretended to be nice to everyone around them. Hated how their pretty smiles could hide their inner demons lurking within.
He hated them. With a passion.
"Don't you have anything to eat in your house? You're not a good host at all you know. Your sister gave me a drink once I entered your house and you didn't even flinch these past two hours while I complained about my overwhelming hunger." L.Joe grumbled.
Chaekyung looked over at him and stuck out her tongue. He was lying on her bed like the boss he was and playing with her Domokun soft toy while being absolutely unproductive. "You never did anything to earn your share of food."
L.Joe rolled over on the bed to frown at her. "I'm seriously hungry. Feed me."
"I might really poison your food." Chaekyung whispered to herself while trying her best to act like she was ignoring him. She typed another sentence on the report when her domokun came flying her way and knocked her straight on the head.
L.Joe laughed when he saw her surprised expression. "Food." he repeated.
"You pig." Chaekyung shot, picking up her Domokun from the floor and dusting it furiously. She huffed at him and narrowed her eyes. "I better see two more pages on that report when I get back with food. You haven't done anything but crumple my bedsheets since you got here you lazy bum."
L.Joe shrugged. "Studying is not my forte. Not my fault." He tapped a pretend watch on his wrist. "Food, princess. And make sure not to poison me because I'll kill you and your fanboys who dare do anything to me."
Chaekyung shook her head as she went out. "If I poisoned you, I'd make sure you'd die wouldn't I?" she muttered. She sighed as she thought about what to make since she could not cook whatsoever. She remembered the cupcakes she baked for L and Jaekyung's cupcakes which she feigned as her own.
Another difference between Jaekyung and her. Another reason to mourn.
L.Joe looked around Chaekyung's room and twisted his lips. This girl's room was really quite typical with this huge Dongbangshinki poster pasted on her wall like any teenage girl out there. L.Joe eyed Changmin's face and quickly guessed that he was the girl's favorite character with all the heart shaped stickers around him, and he scoffed inwardly. What was so good about that guy annyway? (Besides height ahem).
L.Joe noticed a few photoframes on Chaekyung's table and he rolled over on Chaekyung's bed to get to them. He stretched and grabbed one frame, lying back down on her pillow once more. It was a picture of the Lee family, mother father Jaekyung and Chaekyung. They looked pretty close-knitted and happy.
L.Joe's eyes narrowed in on Jaekyung and Chaekyung's smiling faces and he tapped his chin. He couldn't exactly pick which one was prettier because both were beautiful in their own ways. They were very different despite being sisters and well, beauty was in the eye of the beholder.
He looked over at the other two photos on the table and noted that one of them was of Jaekyung and Chaekyung, and the other was Chaekyung together with her friends Yoomi, Boomi and Soomi. L.Joe put them back and made a face. Not at all interesting this girl.
He let his eyes glance around the room when he noticed a bright pink box that was stored under Chaekyung's wardrobe. He moved over to it and pulled it out curiously. What was this?
He opened the box and blinked at the cute photoframe that was right on the top. His eyes widened at the photo and he recalled Ricky's words of how L had dated Chaekyung first before. He hadn't really remembered that but the photo served as a reminder. It was a selca of L and Chaekyung taken by the latter and it seemed L was still driving while it was taken. Chaekyung posed for the camera while L gave an absent-minded smile as he focused ont he road.
L.Joe instantly realized that this box was forbidden to just anyone and he shouldnt' be opening it, especially how he was her enemy and everything. But as it was in all fictional tales, L.Joe didn't care and he glanced at the door making sure that it was properly closed before grabbing the book under the photoframe and flipping it open without a moment's hesitation.
He flipped through a few pages and it wasn't long before he realized just what this book was about. He never realized girls did things like this but this book was actually a scrapbook for Chaekyung's and L's relationships. Like seriously.
Chaekyung had taken a picture of the love letter she wrote to L before she passed it to him, and she pasted it on the first page. The title written in bright pink glittery pen. "L OPPA ACCEPTED MY CONFESSION WHOOHOO!"
L.Joe blinked. This idea was a little lame but...kinda cute. And hell lot of devotion involved. He wondered if L knew Chaekyung made something like that for him because if a girl did this for him, he would be really touched.
L.Joe flipped a few more pages and saw that Chaekyung took photos of little things relating to L. Like the car seat the first time she sat her car, her feet next to his while they were walking, a picture of him staring into the distance while sitting on a bench.
"She really liked him huh." L.Joe murmured. He intially thought Chaekyung might have dated L because of his popularity (because who knows?) but it didn't seem to be the case.
He flipped a few more pages and saw that the pictures were more and more scarce and there were a few sad faces here and there with no comments for a few days. It wasn't until the end that L.Joe saw a last picture in the entire book; a picture of Jaekyung and L. "This is the perfect couple right from the start, there's no place for me. I'm the third party."
L.Joe didn't really get it. Was Chaekyung really the third party? But L dated her first. What actually happened?
He frowned and scratched his head. "But anyway, if only Jaekyung wasn't dating L now." he muttered. "I'd have a higher chance."
L.Joe was about to close the book when he realized that he hadn't reached the end yet. The scrapbook was numbered from the day one of L and Chaekyung's relationship and there was still quite a bit after L and Jaekyung got together.
L.Joe flipped a few pages and noticed that Chaekyung wrote a few lines on every page to summarise her thoughts instead. Somedays they were just a sad face and otheres were motivating phrases. However motivating they were, it gave off a feeling that Chaekyung wasn't all that happy and was forcing herself to sound so.
He reached the last entry which was freshly written the previous day.
"My smile may be bright, my footsteps are light, but I can never be happy, when you're all I think of day and night." L.Joe read. "What should I do if I'm still in love with you...L oppa?" L.Joe's voice rose and his eyes widened in surprise.
Chaekyung opened the door at this moment with peanut butter sandwiches and she blinked. "Why are you shrieking Arie-" she faltered when she saw her scrapbook in L.Joe's hands.
She dropped the sandwiches and her face turned pale. "You-"
"I'm sorry." L.Joe blurted. And he wasn't sure that was enough.
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