Chapter 9

“You seemed tired Young Master. Did you not sleep well last night?”

Mr Lee looked at you anxiously through the rearview mirror of the car. You had your eyes closed the minute you left the house. You were just that tired.

Stupid Chan-beanstalk. Why must you keep appearing in my head last night? Because of you I have a big headache right now.

You waved your hand to tell Mr Lee that it was nothing. It really was nothing. This shouldn’t be bothering you at all actually. What should be bothering you is physical ed that’s happening in school today. Now, you considered yourself a very athletic person. When it comes to swimming, you’re like a prodigy. But all the running and sweating? Nope, not your cup of tea at all.

You grumbled as the thought of you having to run on the field and playing dodgeball or badminton or anything that makes you sweat appeared in your head.

Can’t I just skip school today?

“Are you possesed or something? You’re starting to freak me out.”

You opened your eyes. You were so deep in your thought that you didn’t realize Kyungsoo was already in your car.

Oh right, we’re supposed to go to school together. That makes everything better.

You rolled your eyes and ignored him. Kyungsoo was used to you ignoring him so he just took out his headphones and listened to his music. You were amazed that he didn’t actually try to annoy you after that. Usually when you ignored him, he’d say something to make your blood boil. But ignoring you? Wow, that’s a first. You silently thanked him for doing so. You had a lot in your mind and if Kyungsoo were to agitate you at that moment you didn’t know what you’d do.

The car reached the school gates and Kyungsoo went out first. You saw him approaching a group of students who seemed to be his friends.

Wait…he has friends…already?! God that’s fast.

You had to admit, you were impressed. Well, since he has his own group of people to hang out with, he wouldn’t be bothering you in school anymore. One less thing to worry about. The thought of that made you relax a little. You were about to leave the car when Mr Lee spoke.

“Oh, where’s your tall friend Young Master?” He looked out of the window.

You raised your eyebrows and follow his line of vision.

“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

Mr Lee smiled and shook his head. “Oh it’s nothing. It’s just that, he always waited for you in front of the gates. Maybe he’s sick? Anyway, enjoy your day in school Young Master. Remember to smile.” He beamed at you while you got off the car.

Mr Lee was right though. Where was that tall freak? You looked at the spot where Chanyeol used to always wait for you at and found out there was no one there.

Is he really sick? Or late for school? It couldn’t be because he’s sulking after what happened yesterday right?

You walked slowly to your locker, hoping you’d see someone waiting for you there, but all you got was vulgarities scrawled all over. You sighed and dropped your bag before opening your locker. You spot the usual rag and glass cleaner that you use whenever incidents like this happened.

I’ll clean it during lunch.

You took out the books you needed for your lesson and progressed to class. When you walked in, the first thing that caught your eye was the familiar tall figure, seated right next to your desk and you tried your best not to smile.

So he was already in school? Why didn’t he wait at the gate like he always does? Wait..why would I want him to do that? Hah, what were you thinking Hae Ra…

You exhaled slowly and held your head high as you walked to the back of the class. You noticed how he didn’t seem to look at you, or even noticing you were beside him. You cleared your throat to make your presence known to him and sat down.

You were puzzled as to why he didn’t jump around you like a puppy like he always does and peered at what he was doing. In his hands was a manga book that he seemed so engrossed in. You scoffed and took out your books to prepare for class.

“Aren’t you too old to be reading manga?”

You tried to start a conversation, even if it meant you had to tease or agitate him. You knew he wasn’t his usual self and it was getting quite worrisome. Chanyeol ignored your comment and kept on reading. You tried to nudge his arm, disturbing him from his read, hoping to make him look at you but to no avail. What you did manage to do however, was to make a dark look appear on his face. He’s annoyed.

Is he really upset with me?

“Yah, are you angry with me? Is it about what I said yesterday?”

He continued to give you a cold shoulder. You tried your best to remain calm and not glare at him.

Ugh I can’t believe I’m doing this. What does it matter anyway? Why am I so worried?

You thought hard about another approach you could try to get his attention. After coming up with something, and by something it meant something you wouldn’t want to do, you took a deep breath and relaxed yourself.

“Ch-Chanyeol o-oppa.”

Somebody hit me with a car please.

You groaned mentally. Chanyeol owe you so much for making you say that. The moment it came out from your mouth you felt like drowning yourself and your mouth with soap. But still, you gawked when Chanyeol paid no attention to the humiliation you just made for yourself.

“Yah, I’m sorry okay? Come on, you know I didn’t mean it. I just wanted to get away from Kyung-“

He abruptly closed his book and scowled at you. He was about to say something when Mr Kris entered and everyone rushed back to their seats. Chanyeol had a sullen look and turned away from you while taking his things out on his table to prepare for the lesson.

You sighed in frustration and just decided to ignore him.

Fine, two can play that game Park Chanyeol.

It was soon recess but instead of going to the rooftop like usual, you went straight to your locker and busied yourself with trying to get the vandalism off from your locker.

Loner.
Freak.
Weirdo.

These words weren’t new to you. You sprayed relentlessly on your locker and took out the rag to wipe it clean. It was a little hard to get rid of the stains though. You tried your best to scrub it away but you felt the strength in your arms dying out.

Swiftly, a long arm holding a crumpled newspaper appeared in front of you and started to wipe the stains off. You took a step back when you realize who the owner of the arm belonged to. Chanyeol had a straight face on and he diligently cleaned your locker for you. After a few minutes of scrubbing your locker with crumpled newspaper, your locker was as good as new.

“Wow, thanks.” You said, relieved to be able to get rid of the profanities on your locker.

Chanyeol looked at you and grabbed your hand. Before you could say anything, he hauled you away from the locker and started to lead you up towards the rooftop.

“Yah, let go! You’re hurting me.” You yanked your arm away from his grip once the both of you reached the top.

His back was facing you and he had both his hands on his hip.

“Why did they do that?” You heard him mumble.

“What?”

He turned around to look at you. He had a pitying expression on his face and you know that he was actually worried for you.

“It doesn’t matter why they do that. I’m used to it anyway.”

“Being used to something doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt Hae Ra.” He argued back.

He sighed and took a step towards you. You just folded your arms and avoided eye contact. You did not like it when someone pities you. It made you feel weak. It made you feel like you’re unable to stand up for yourself.

“Look, I can take care of my own problems. These are just minor stuff that they do and it doesn’t really affect me anymore. I appreciate your concern but-“

All of a sudden you felt a pair of hands pinching your cheek which made you widen your eyes.

“Yah! What do you think you’re doing? Stop it, it hurts!” You struggled to get away from him and he burst in to laughter and you were beginning to think whether he was bipolar or something.

“Aigoo, our little Hae Ra looks so cute when she’s trying to be all brave.” Chanyeol made a kissy face like how people do when they’re talking to a baby and you just rolled your eyes at him.

“What, does this mean you’re not upset with me anymore?” You furrowed your eyebrows. You were still upset with him for pinching your cheeks but you had to admit you were a little curious on whether the both of you were on good terms again.

Chanyeol raised one of his eyebrows and stuck his lips out as though he was in deep thoughts and nodded.

“Well, I guess you can say that. I mean, you did call me ‘oppa’ after all. How can I not forgive you after hearing you say something I thought you would never say in a million years?” He chortled and cupped his own face as he tried to remember that moment.

He swiftly turned to face you, his eyes sparkling like a puppy. “Hey, say that again. Please?” He started to jump like a small child, high on sugar.

You made a face and shook your head before folding your arms and facing the other way. You could feel your face burning with embarrassment.

Stupid! Jerk! ! Why, why, why did I have to say that?!

You slapped your own lips, punishing yourself for saying such a word you never thought you would say. Chanyeol noticed your ears began to flush and he smirked.

“Ah, someone seemed embarrassed right now.” He began to point fingers, teasing you.

Abruptly, you your heels and faced him, your face scowling. “First of all, never, I repeat, NEVER, make me say such things again. And secondly, don’t you ever pinch my cheeks. It’s humiliating.”

“Okay okay I understand. But if you keep making cute angry faces like that it’s very hard for me to not pinch your cheeks. Hmm, if you really wanna make it up to me, how about you accompany me to the café today?” He looked at you mischievously.

You groaned in frustration.

The café? And eye-liner dude would be there? No way, I do not want to see that dude again.

But you didn’t want to upset Chanyeol again. Besides, you still felt guilty about what happened between you and him. You were that type pf person. No matter how much you hated someone, if you owed them something, you’d repay them. You tried your best not to roll your eyes and agreed.

His eyes sparkled like a puppy and he started clapping like a seal.

“Really?! Are you serious?!”

“Well, the caramel latte was not bad…” You shrugged and mumbled to yourself.

Chanyeol grinned and nodded his head. “Told you you’d love it.” He nudged your arm.

“Shut up.”

You were texting Mr Lee while on your way to the café with Chanyeol when you heard him clear his throat. You looked up at him and saw him pressing his lips into a thin line.

“What, did your tongue get stuck in your throat?” You sarcastically said but apparently it didn’t seem to evoke him.

He wriggled his finger in front of your face and shook his head. “When we get to the café, just promise me one thing; no using of your phone.”

“What if I do? What are you going to do about it?” You challenged him, folding your arms.

He just smiled and folded his arms as well. “Well, I could just take it away from you and keep it in my pocket like what I did the last time.”

You sighed in frustration and shut your phone before putting it in your skirt pocket. “Fine, there. You happy?”

He smiled and nodded.