The atmosphere felt weird as soon as I stepped into the school gate. I was defeated in the semi-final round. The semi-final round left me a bruise on my tummy and under my chin. I lost focus ever since I met Junyoung at the tournament. I knew that all my secrets are now known and it would be reveal. I could sense that there would be a lot of rumors spreading around. Now that Junyoung never want to reply to any of my texts or phone calls. I knew he was crazily mad at me. If I were to put at his place, I would feel disappointed too. Every step that I took today, it felt heavy. I didn't know how to face Junyoung. I didn't know how to react to him. This case is getting serious and I didn't have any solution other than hoping for Junyoung would want to hear to my explanation. 

I reached the floor where my class and Junyoung's class were situated. Everyone was acting normal so I guess the rumor has not been spread. I walked along the hallway and I saw Junyoung from a distance. He was walking towards my direction. I awkwardly put a smile on my face.

I raised my hand to wave at him. "Junyoung anny--" I was left hanging when he just walked pass me without even looking at me. My eyes widened and I just gasped. He was really mad at me that he was in a level where he would not want to talk to me. Or even look at me. I could hear people around me starts whispering to each other. I bet by recess time everyone will know my story.

But I don't think that Junyoung would spread the rumour even though he hates me. I don't know. Anything could happen at this point.

I continued to walk to my class. As soon as I opened the door, everyone in the class turned their heads to look at me. I ignored the look and walked to my desk. Kyuwan was already at her desk and she was busy writing something on her book. "Hey Kyuwan. How are you today?" I greeted her. 

No reply from her.

This is what I've been afraid of if people start knowing my secret. I just shrugged and bit my lower lip. I wonder how I would face the school the today.

--------------------

Second day of school for the week. The school bell rang. It was recess time. Kyuwan was still not talking to me. I was thinking that if I could explain to her, she would at least understand even though, if later, she decided not to be friend with me anymore. When I turned to look at her, she wasn't at her seat. She already went out of the class. I sighed and wiped my face. I put my arms on my desk and my head on it. I still could hear people whispering to each other.

"Junyoung dumped Junka" Namjoo said. Even though I wasn't looking but I was pretty sure that it was her voice. However, I don't remember being dumped because Junyoung didn't say anything about dumping me. But I think she was right though because if I were Junyoung, I would dump myself too. 

"Why?" this time it was Chorong's voice.

"Junka is actually a boxer. She joined this one illegal tournament every weekend. Junyoung caught her dating with this male boxer. That's what made Junyoung pissed. Basically Junka cheated on Junyoung." Namjoo explained and that was definitely a false rumour. 

I clenched my fists before I lifted my head and glared at them. "Yah!" I yelled. Both Namjoo and Chorong were startled. "I did not cheat on him. That's the fact" I shouted. Almost like yelling. 

What a perfect moment when suddenly someone called my name before I actually punch the person who spread the rumour about me cheating. "Lee Junka" I turned my head to where the voice came from and it was Kim Suyeop.

"What?" I asked, sounded pissed and that made Suyeop startled.

"T--The principal wants to see you"

I rubbed my head and closed my eyes for a moment. This thing had gotten more serious that now it involves the school. I fixed my hair before I stood up and headed to the principal room.

I walked slowly to the principal room. The office and the principal room were situated at the ground floor. So I had to take 2 flight of stairs to reach the ground floor. People around me couldn't stop themselves from whispering and talking about the hottest gossip which is me cheating on Junyoung. That was definitely not true. I mean even Junyoung definitely knew that was not true. This rumour really made me look bad.  

I turned at the corner and arrived in front of the office. I pushed the office door open and Mr Kang Joonhee, the school clerk was sitting behind the counter. He was busy typing on the keyboard that he did not realize my presence. I walked to the counter when he finally turned his glare from the monitor to me. "Yes?" he asked.

"I'm Lee Junka. The principal summoned me" I said.

"Oh" he responded then he looked back at the monitor. "I guess you are making trouble that the principal summoned you. He's in his room. You can meet him now"

I rolled my eyes and thanked him. My thank sounded as if it was sarcasm rather than a real thank you. I mean he could just say I can go in. There's no need for him to say such things.

I walked to the way where the principal room was situated. Like every student should feel when the principal wants to see you, I felt scared and nervous. I knew that I'll be so dead if the principal decides to tell my parents about me joining the illegal tournament again. I would get expel today. I took a deep breath before I knocked on the door.

"Come in" the principal, Mr Oh Sangsik said with his husky voice.

I turned the knob and pushed the door open. "Annyeonghaseyo" I greeted politely before I stepped into the room slowly and closed the door behind me. I walked up to his desk. 

"Yes, Lee Junka-ssi" he said without looking at me while signing some kind of document that I don't have any idea what it is.

"Ne?" I responded. "Why do you want to see me?"

He lifted his head to look at me. He then closed the file that holds the document and put it aside."So you are Lee Junka" he said and I just nodded my head. He gritted his teeth before he asked me to sit on the chair in front of him. "Please have a seat" he said while taking out something from the drawer under his desk. 

I tried to sit comfortably but in this situation, who can sit comfortably? My hands were sweating and I couldn't stop my legs from shaking. Mr Oh took out a white envelope from the drawer and put it on his desk. From the look of it, I knew it must be a letter for me either I will get suspension or expel from school. I wiped my face with my sweaty hand.

"Lee Junka-ssi" he called my name again. 

I lifted my head to meet his gaze. "Ne?" I responded.

"Do you know why I summoned you?" he asked. I didn't answer him because I didn't know what to answer. Both answer 'yes' and 'no' would give the same affect to me. I bit my lower lip. "You might want to take a look what is inside the envelope" he said.

I just stared at the envelope because I was pretty sure that envelope contained a letter that will expel me from the school. I hesitated at first. I looked at Mr Oh but Mr Oh just kept on putting this kind of smile that sometimes it looks like it was sincere but sometimes it looks like a sarcasm. I slowly reached out my hand and took the letter from the desk. I opened the envelope and took out whatever inside it.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a letter. There were just a bunch of photos of me in the ring at the arena. I examined every single photo and from the angle view, I was pretty sure someone took this photo from the spectactors seats. I looked up to meet Mr Oh's eyes. I didn't say anything other than just biting my lower lip. 

 "You know that this school set a rule that any student is not allowed to join any illegal tournament. I bet not just this school but every single school in this country have that rule. Do you know the consequences for joining this kind of tournament?" he asked.

I nodded my head, not saying anything.

"Now Lee Junka, explain to me why do you join this tournament? How long have you been joining this tournament? Does this tournament bring any good to you?" he asked. 

I took a deep breath before I answer to the questions. "Yes. Joining this tournament gives me happiness. I get to sharpen my skills and actually try my skills on the real ring, fighting various kind of people every week. I join this tournament because boxing is my passion. I have this urge of wanting to punch people but I can't punch people just because I want to. So by joining this tournament, I actually have a better purpose why I must continue boxing. Plus, this tournament rewards me money" 

After hearing to the long explanation, he didn't say anything. So I put all my courage at once to ask him a question, "May I know who took those photos and gave it to you?"

"Let's just say a concern student sent it to me" Mr Oh answered.

Suddenly, we heard a knock on the door. "Come in" Mr Oh shouted from inside. When the door was opened, I was shocked that it was Mr Kevin who came into the room. Mr Kevin walked to the desk and he didn't look surprise to see me in the room. So I guessed, he already knew what's happening. "Please have a seat Mr Kevin" Mr Oh said. Mr Kevin sat comfortably on the chair beside me.

"So Lee Junka" Mr Oh continued. "I heard your explanation and your reasons but still you know that it is against the rule. The name is also called 'illegal' so of course it is against the law too" I just nodded my head. 

Mr Oh then turned to Mr Kevin. "So Mr Kevin. By any chance, do you know anything about her activity since you are her homeroom teacher and also her boxing coach?" Mr Oh asked.

I could see Mr Kevin's Adam's apple moving as he gulped. "Yes. I know about it" he answered. My eyes widened. I didn't expect for Mr Kevin to answer that. I thought he would say no because obviously, I joined this tournament even before I met Mr Kevin. He had nothing to do with me joining the tournament.

"And you have no intention about telling me about her activity?" Mr Oh asked. Mr Kevin was remained silence. "Are you trying to cover for her?" Mr Oh continued. "You are a teacher Mr Kevin and you should know that as a teacher, you should prevent your student from joining any kind of illegal activity. You established a boxing club recently am I right?" 

No answers from Mr Kevin but just a nod as a response.

"By any chance, are you actually coaching students to join this tournament?" Mr Oh asked.

Mr Kevin shook his head. "No sir. I don't have any intention of coaching or teaching students to join any illegal tournament. I established this boxing club because I want to teach them how to defend themselves with boxing moves. Our school actually needs at least one self-defense club since we don't have one. Plus, there will be a legal and official boxing tournament between schools next month. I chose Lee Junka because I've seen how she fight against her opponents. I know Lee Junka and Kim Junsu can bring up the school's name by winning the tournament" he explained.

Mr Oh leaned back on his chair. He put his elbows on his armchair and clasped his fingers together before he slowly nodded his head. "Okay. Still, Lee Junka-ssi break the rule and the law. So there should be a punishment. I can't just let her go or else the students and the teachers would think that I am being bias"

"I know you are thinking about kicking her out from school" Mr Kevin said.

"Expel to be exact" Mr Oh interrupted.

"Yes expel" Mr Kevin continued. "Like I just said before, I watched how she fight in the ring. I know that she is worth to keep. If we lose her, there goes our chance to win the regional competiton against other schools. I promise that she will win and if she lost, I will quit my job as a teacher"

Mr Oh let out a small chuckle while my eyes widened. I couldn't believe what I just heard. He is putting his job on the line. Was he insane?

"Why are you putting your job on the line? This is not some kind of bet" Mr Oh scoffed. 

"Because it means I have failed to teach her or train her" Mr Kevin explained with a serious face.

Mr Oh just shrugged. "Okay then. I'm holding to your words but Lee Junka-ssi still need to be punished" he explained before he turned to me. "Starting from tomorrow, you are suspended for 1 week and I need you to promise to never join any kind of illegal tournament until you graduated. I assign Mr Kevin to always watch your activities. If I know you join this illegal tournament again, you will be expel without any further questions or discussions. Do you understand?"

I nodded my head and raised my right hand as a pledge. "I promise and I understand"

"I will ask Mr Kang Joonhee to deliver the letter to you later. Both of you can dismiss"

Mr Kevin and I got up from the chair, We bowed to Mr Oh before we headed out from his room. As soon as we got out from the office, I stood in front of Mr Kevin, preventing him from going wherever he had to go. 

"Why did you do that? Why are you putting your job on the line?" I asked.

Mr Kevin smirked. "Just because"

That was definitely not an answer. There have to be something that he's hding. "But what if I lost in the tournament and you have to quit your job? How are you going to find another job? You are making me feel guilty"

"If you don't want to feel guilty, then you know what you have to do right? You have to win" Mr Kevin winked at me. I looked at him with a confused and disgusted face. "Now, go back to your class" he ordered before he walked pass me.

I just trailed Mr Kevin walked away until he was no longer in sight. I turned to the other way to walk to the stairs so that I could go back to my class. As I walked along the hallway, I saw Kyuwan walked out from the library with a book in her hand. I slow jogged towards her. I grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop walking.

"We need to talk" I said as I dragged her into the one of the empty club room. I brought her to the couch and pushed her down. Then, I sat next to her. "I know there are rumours about me spreading around and I believe you know about that too, right?"

Kyuwan just nodded while she clenched on the book she was holding. 

"I know that you are mad at me. I'm so sorry for keeping this as a secret. Yes, I am a boxer and I joined illegal tournament. I don't mean to be secretive to you. I am just afraid that you don't want to be friends with me anymore when you know who I actually am" I explained.

Kyuwan took a deep breath before she opened . "I am not mad at you because you are a boxer or because you joined the tournament. I'm mad at you because you keep it as a secret. That hurts me a lot because it is as if you don't trust me. You know who I am. I don't judge people. I don't care what you do or who you are. I know that you are kind and that is why you are my best friend" she explained.

"I know and I am very sorry" I pouted.

A smile curved on her face. She spread her arms to hug me so I hugged her back. "I forgive you and I'm sorry for being mad" she muttured.

"It's okay" I muttured back.

She broke the hug and held my hand. "I kinda feel a bit relieve that you actually made a move to talk to me. Not talking to you for these 2 days really killing me. I miss you" she said before she hugged me again.

"I miss you too" I muttured.  

She broke the hug and continued, "I think we should go now before someone else caught us here and thought we are skipping class"

"Yeah. Let's go" I said as we got up and walked out from the room to our classroom.

"So Lee Junka, is it true about you cheating on Junyoung with a male boxer?" Kyuwan asked as we climbed up the stairs.

My expression became sour to the mention of Junyoung's name. "Of course that is not true" I sighed. "I don't really know what kind of situation we are facing right now. He has been ignoring me ever since he saw me at the warehouse"

"What happened?" Kyuwan asked.

"I brought her sister to watch the tournament" I answered. "Junyoung actually have some kind of dark history related with boxing and illegal tournament. That's why he hates it. He don't even want any of his siblings to have relation with boxing"

I don't really feel like wanting to explain everything to Kyuwan. It wasn't because I don't trust her or anything. It's just when she mention Junyoung, it just made me feel even more hurt. I was confused. Too many feelings and things to handle in just one day.  

"Be strong. I'm here for you. Anway, why were you summon to the principal's office?" Kyuwan asked.

"About the tournament. I got suspended for 1 week starting tomorrow. I guess I will not be seeing you for a week" I pouted.

"Oh no. Then can I come over to your house then?" she asked with her cute smile. 

"Since everyone already know my secret, of course you can" I forced a smile as we walked into the classroom just right before the next lesson started.

I walked to the front gate after school ended. Junyoung wasn't at the gate like he used to. He always waited for me so that he can walk me home but not these two days. I need to talk to him. I need to explain to him. I need to save our relationship because I loved him. But how am I supposed to explain if Junyoung don't even want to look at me?

I leaned on the wall at the front gate while waiting for Junyoung. I played with my phone, I kicked the sand under my boots. I waited for about 2 hours and he hadn't walk out from the school. I sighed while I fished out my phone from my jacket pocket. I decided to send a text message to him. Who knows maybe, he is a bit calm now that he wants to listen to me.

'We need to talk. I'm waiting for you at the front gate'.  I stared at the screen before I pressed send.

"Lee Junka?" a voice called my name. I lifted my head to meet Heechul was standing in front of me. 

"Heechul. Are you going home?" I asked.

He just nodded his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for Junyoung"

"Eh? He already went home" Heechul said. My eyes widened because I definitely did not see him walked pass this gate. "He must be using the back gate" Heechul continued as he saw the confused expression on my face. 

"Right" I said as I tried to manage a smile on my face. "Don't you guys have practice? The battle of the band is this weekend right?" I asked, changing the topic.

Heechul nodded his head again. "Yeah. The battle is this weekend. The practice will start a bit late today because we need to find people to come and support us on the battle day. We had to do that ourselves since our manager decided to not become our manager anymore"

I rubbed at the back of my head and made an apologetic face. "I'm sorry about that but I got suspended for 1 week starting tomorrow so I guess I can help you guys. But only for this once because I am not your manager. I'm helping you guys as a friend" I explained.

"And also as a girlfriend to one of our members" he added.

The smile on my face slowly faded away. "I don't know about that" I mumbled. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Heechul asked.

I didn't answer to his question instead I just shook my head. "I think I should go home now. If there's anything, just call me. I'll see you again." I said and waved at him.

As I was about to walk away, Heechul grabbed my hand. "I'll walk you home. Hopefully it somehow make you feel at ease" he explained.

I shrugged and put a smile. "If you want to. Let's go." I walked a few steps forward and Heechul was still standing at his spot. He was looking up at the school building. I looked to where he is looking and there was nothing weird about it. "Yah Jung Heechul!" I shouted.

"Coming" he shouted back and catch up with me. "So Junka, you got suspended? Why?" he asked as we were walking.

I looked at him with an expression that tells don't-say-that-you-have-not-listen-to-any-rumours. "Are you kidding me? You are asking me why as if you don't know about the rumours" I scoffed.

A huge smile was curved on his face. I knew he was just trying to cheer me up. Too many things happened to me these days. "Let's just say that I've been living under a rock and I don't even know what year is this year" he chuckled. "I might even need to dress like one"

Small laughter escaped from my mouth. "You know what Jung Heechul. You don't have to dress like one because you already look like one" I laughed.

"Okay that's insulting" he chuckled. "How about you? What are you then?" 

"I'm a princess" I answered slumberly. Out of many things I could be I didn't know why I chose to be a princess. 

"A princess? Are you out of your mind?" Heechul chuckled. 

"No. Wait. I certainly am out of my mind. I'm not a princess. I am the queen" 

Both Heechul and I laughed our lungs out. It wasn't funny but when I try to imagine myself as a queen, it was just hilarious. In my opinion, Heechul didn't actually brighten my day but at least I could see the effort that he's giving.

Heechul plucked a flower from the tree above his head. He then gave the flower to me. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful queen" he said.

I took the pink flower from his hand. "Wow. Jung Heechul just called me beautiful and he just admitted that I am the queen. Thank you dear caveman" I smiled.

"Because you are the queen of my heart" he muttured while he stared into my eyes.

I looked back at him and I wasn't blushing like I used to whenever I'm with Junyoung. My eyes widened and I looked at him with a shock expression. Suddenly, it felt really awkward to continue this walk. I just let out a small chuckle and so did Heechul. "Don't bluff" I muttured.

"Yeah. That was just a joke" he mumbled while rubbing behind of his head. 

I was relieved to hear that actually. I really hoped that it wasn't some kind of confession because I'm having too much things to handle this week. An addition of confession from a guy that I hated so much before I knew who he really was would not actually help me to feel at ease.

"Junka?" Heechul called my name.

"Yes?" I responded.

"I actually just remember that I need to go home early because I need to buy groceries for my mum to cook tonight. She will be pissed off if I come home late" he explained. 

"Yeah sure. No problem. Thanks for walking me home even though it's just halfway" I said as I waved to him.

"Yeah. I'll see you again" he said before he his heels, turned around and start walking.

"Annyeong Jung Heechul!" I shouted while waving as he walked away from me. He didn't shout back. Instead he just waved back to me without even looking back. 

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To be continued...