Chapter 9

I was sitting in the nurse's office getting my stitches tightened up. It hurt. I was biting onto a towel while the nurse did this. They wanted to send me to the hospital, but I couldn't afford to have my mom get out of work just to see what happened with me. Se Hun was sitting in the room with me, watching me as I yelped in pain. His friends had left for class. Yes, just because they were gangsters, it didn't mean they didn't go to class. It's okay. I felt the same way too when they told me that they were heading there. Actually, I wanted to laugh, but I don't think it was right for me to laugh in a situation like this, right?

"There. All done." The nurse lightly dabbed my wound with a cleaning cloth, making me flinch. She wrapped my wound with a new bandage and patted it lightly.

"Thank you." Se Hun bowed towards the nurse. I stood there and watched him. Why was he doing that when I wasn't? Weird. I smiled at the nurse and thanked her before Se Hun and I walked out. "Are you feeling better?" he asked me.

I only nodded my head. Even though Se Hun and I have talked a few times here and there, it was always weird knowing that we could never really have a real conversation. He probably knew that too since he never really talked much when I didn't speak. What's even weirder is that I'm walking beside someone who everyone would call a gangster. Yes, me too, but I was walking beside one and he wasn't even as bad as people had described them. Okay. Maybe I was being judgemental about it before too, but hear me out. He wasn't that bad and he saved me... Once again. This was the fifth time already. I'm going to start losing count soon.

"Are you always mute like this?" He asked me, taking me out of my thoughts since I didn't answer him again. He turned to look at me. I stopped walking and looked away. Can he stop making things even more awkward than it already was? "Why didn't you call for help? Do you think you're that tough?"

Wait. So was he asking me why I was mute because I never said anything to him when he spoke or was it because I never yelled for help?

"You're an idiot." He shook his head at me and walked off ahead. There he goes again, calling me an idiot, as if I didn't have any feelings! But then again, I couldn't agree more. I kind of was an idiot. I didn't even realize it, but I never really asked for help. It was weird. "Say something. What if I wasn't there? What would you have done? He could have hit your for all he cared." Why was he worried? Hah. Wait. Was... Was he worried? I turned to look at him. He was looking ahead of himself. "Don't look at me. It's not that I'm was worried or I'm caring, but I'm just... I'm just sticking to what my grandpa told me."

What his grandpa told him?

"He told me to take care of you... If you've already forgotten." Se Hun shook his head.

"Why would it matter? He's not here to see it." I shook my head with a smile.

Se Hun suddenly stopped walking and looked up as he blew out a sigh. "When he tells me to do something, I keep my words."

I looked over at him. I couldn't tell what he was feeling. What's the real reason why he wanted to introduce me to his grandpa?

"Don't look at me like that." Se Hun looked over at me, making my heart flip. "I need you to be okay if I'm going to take you to go visit him in the future."

What? I had to go visit again? I mean, I didn't mind, but was he using me?

"Go to class."  Se Hun started walking again. "And please, don't get into any trouble."

I watched as he left me in the hallway. Me? Get into trouble? More like, people need to stop messing with me and pulling me into their stupid mess! Stupid gangster kid.

Lunch was a bore. Jung Ah kept going off about the fight that had happened this mroning. Why does she always talk about things that I don't care to talk about? This girl needs a boyfriend. Maybe she and I should switch spots so she can take my place and fall in love and I can go back to my boring life of studying. Not that this was fun and all, but my life has been interesting even if it meant that I was getting hurt and bad luck kept happening ot me. I guess it was kind of entertaining for me, even if I don't really want to admit it. I should be thankful because now, I get less people confessing to me. That's one good thing I liked.

"Ahn Soo Jin!" Jung Ah yelled at me. She probably knew I wasn't paying attention to anything she was saying. "So?"

"So what?" I answered her half-heartedly.

"Is it true that Se Hun and you... Are you know...?" She smiled at me, as if there was something going on and I wasn't telling her.

I glowered at her. "What makes you think that we're something?"

"He saved your five times now, Soo Jin, and don't you want people to think that the two of yo uare talking? This means that you're winning the bet against Jae Hyun." Jung Ah nudged me lightly. "You should be happy."

Jung Ah was right. I should be happy, but why wasn't I? Thinking about it, I should be happy that people thought the two of us were talking. That was getting one step closer to seeing Jae Hyun shave his head and him buying me bubble tea for a year, but it didn't make me as happy as I would have hope so. 

"I wonder how Se Hun found out about the bet... I'm sure no one would have said anyting to him." Jung Ah tapped her chin and leaned towards me. "Did  you tell him?"

I shook my head. "Why would I tell him? That would have ruined the whole point of the bet."

"What? You were going to play fair? Are you stupid?" Geez. How many people have to freaking call me stupid? "Maybe that's why he rejected you, huh? It was because he knew about the bet."

DING! That's why he said that to me. The reason why he said "you think life is just a game" or whatever the heck he said. Wow. So he did know, but he just didn't say anything. This whole time... wait. But what about him? He lied to his grandpa saying that I was his girlfriend and that I helped him study. So we're both at fault here, right? I shouldn't feel bad anymore!

My arm was throbbing in pain by the time school ended. Just because it got stitched up and got rebandaged didn't mean it felt better. I'm sure Jong Kook made it even worse. I think I was starting to build a hitlist just like Se Hun because first, Jae Hyun was on the list and Jong Kook was just right under him. God. I hate these guys. They think they can mess with me? Stupid boys. Jae Hyun just had to start this with me, making me try to make Se Hun fall for me, which he probably won't because he already knows about the whole bet, and now Jong Kook, who wants to kill me because I put him in jail just because he owed Se Hun money.

I just realized something. Se Hun was involved in both of these situations. Great. If he's involved in the future as well, I mind as well ask for him to get involved before it actually happens. I hate myself.

As I opened the door to my house, I saw my father sitting down in the kitchen alone. He was reading the newspaper and he seemed to focus on it since he didn't seem to notice that I walked by or maybe he did because he put his paper down and stared at me and used his pointer finger to gesture me to walk over to him. He pointed to the seat in front of him and I sat down. Maybe this is where I get it. The silence and all... I know. Weird cos' I have so much to say in my head, but I can't even say what's on my mind outloud.

"How's your arm?" He asked me, looking at it. "The nurse called to inform me that your stitches had loosened."

"I'm fine." I smiled. Wow. That nurse called my dad?

"Maybe we should go get it checked at the hospital. I don't want my daughter running around school if that isn't properly stitched." My father smiled at me warmly.

"Thanks Appa, but really, it's nothing. It was only because I had hit the wall a little too hard." Wow. I was a bad liar.

"How'd you hit the wall?" He asked me. He probably knew I was lying.

"Jung Ah and I were playing a game and we forgot about my arm..." I stopped and smiled at my father. I hope he wasn't expecting me to say more because I didn't know what else to say.

"Have you talked to Jae Hyun lately? His father and I have decided to have a little party with our friends this weekend. We also decided that you two should invite some of your friends as well." First, I wanted to laugh because he asked if I talked to Jae Hyun, the kid I hated the most, and second, I wanted to laugh because he told me to invite my friends. I don't have friends other than Jung Ah. Did my father forget? I mean yeah, I forgot my dad and his dad worked together when he wasn't a principal at our school but still. 

"Ah neh..." I answered anyways, just to make him happy.

"Jae Hyun should have the invitations tomorrow so you can help deliver them to your friends." My father got up from the table and patted my shoulder before heading up to the stairs to his room. Great. Jae Hyun had the invitaitons and I was supposed to go and invite people? It was definitely not going to happen. Nope. Never.

Everyone was running around with their invitations at school, asking one another if they were invited to the party. Jae Hyun had probably decided to not give me any of the invitations because he knew my only friend was Jung Ah. Good. I didn't want to do work that wasn't going to be done anyways. I headed to class instead and sat down in my seat. Jung Ah was already there sitting in her desk looking at the invitation as if it were the best thing in the world.

"These invitations are so pretty!" Jung Ah said turning to face me. "How come you're not handing them out? I only saw Jae Hyun with a bunch of them in his hands."

"I don't care to." I said leaning back in my chair. "And besides, who would I invite? You? You're already invited."

Jung Ah glowered at me. "Why don't you invite Se Hun?"

"Just because we happen to run into each other and encounter a few situations together doesn't mean that we're in that type of relationship where we can ask each other to go to parties." I shook my head and looked out the window. Jung Ah was always trying to make me do things I didn't want to do, but when there are things I want to do, she claims that I was crazy. She's the weird one between our relationship.

"Well, if it isn't our very own Ahn Soo Jin." Jae Hyun made his way to our class and sat on top of my desk. I rolled my eyes and scooted my chair back so I wouldn't be so close to him.

"What do you want?" I asked crossing my arms. Ouch. I almost cried in pain when I realized that I moved my wounded arm. I uncrossed my arms and placed my hands onto my lap.

"You shouldn't be at school if you don't feel well." Jae Hyun looked at my arm and then back at me. I looked away from him. Just his presence there was enough to annoy me.

"Let me get to the point." He stood up from my desk and smiled down at me. "I invited over a hundred people to the party. This is going to be one of the best events we've ever thrown, but I just wanted to let you know that I'll be giving you a bigger surprise than anything possible."

"And what is that?" I looked up at him. He looked like he was mocking me. Can I seriously just uppercut this son of gun?

"Oh, just wait till the day comes." He winked at me and then walked out of the classroom after handing me an invitaiton. Idiot. I didn't need one when my father was the host.

Jung Ah and I went shopping the next day after school was done with. I hadn't seen Se Hun since that Monday and now it was already Thursday. I don't know why, but it felt weird not seeing him around even though we were on the same grounds, or so I thought we were. I even almost forgot that I had a bet still going on, but it hasn't been going well. A week and half already passed so that means I had two months and however many days left.

"Does this look nice?" Jung Ah held up a dress up to her body. I didn't even realize that I was lost in my thoughts. How did we end up at the mall already? I swear, we just left school. "Soo Jin!" She yelled at me again because I still didn't answer her.

"Eh." I shrugged and decided to look around the area for a dress.

I was never really a dress girl. They were always nice to look at, but if I had a choice, I wouldn't wear it even if it saved my life. I already hated the fact that we wore skirts for school. I rather wear jeans to the party than wear a dress. So why couldn't they change the theme on the damn invitation? Nope, it practically said that it was elegant and girls had to wear nice dresses. To show off my pale legs or to not show off my pale legs. Ugh. This was going to be hard choosing a dress.

"What color are you going to wear? I want to wear a black dress." Jung Ah answered the question I was going to ask her, probably because she wanted the conversation to move a little faster.

"I haven't decided yet. I guess I'm just going to go with whatever I find." I said digging through the racks of dresses. Now I remember why I hated shopping as well. I hated digging through these racks. Can't someone just choose a nice dress for me? Jung Ah, as if she heard me, pulled out a dress and put it up against my chest. Okay. I take back that 'someone just choose a nice dress for me', because the dress she chose was hideous. I pushed it away and made a puking face. 

"Are you serious, Soo Jin? This dress is beyond beautiful!" Jung Ah raised it up and looked at it and then put it back down. "Just kidding. You were right, that was not a pretty dress." She laughed. "So what are you going to wear then? You're the pickiest person ever."

"I'm going to wear pajamas that my mom had just gotten me." I said casually. I seriously should. I mean, it would look lovely and I would definitley stand out. Isn't that what I wanted? Okay. I'm kidding.

"You're the worst person to shop with." Jung Ah shook her head and went to a different store. I had no choice but to follow her. Only because I wasn't going to pretend that I enjoyed the store we were in before.