Chapter 17

“So… You’re the one they talk about.” you heard the round, almost beady-eyed senior ask with an unreadable expression.

“P-Pardon?” you blinked nervously.

“We heard you get into fights with him pretty often.” the taller one remarked with suspicion and a raised brow to fit, his face and deep voice familiar since you’ve met him once before, but definitely not the tone he used. 

You widened your eyes in panic. “Fights? I-I wouldn’t call them fights, but—“

“Not from what we heard.” the puppy-faced brunette cut in with a little scoff, the little smirk on his lips made him look all the more intimidating.

You don’t know what you did to deserve this, but there you were in this awkward situation in which you’re interrogated by seniors you barely know. You sat there stiffly as you eyed the three second years with a nervous yet confused expression, wondering how you should start explaining yourself. From the way they spoke, it sounded as if they got reports that you’ve been abusing Oh Sehun and are here to teach you a lesson or something.

You scratched the back of your head as you wrecked your brain in attempt to form the words you wanted to say. “I—“ you cursed yourself in your head for losing your voice. “I really didn’t—“

All of a sudden, a smile cracked through their lips, and soon enough all three were laughing. Your eyes widened slightly out of surprise, seeing how the intimidating aura they gave off disappeared and changed into a brighter and lighter one.

“Sorry, we’re just messing with you,” the brunette grinned as his laugh died off. “I’m Baekhyun. This is Chanyeol and Kyungsoo,” he nodded his head to their direction as he mentioned their names.

“… Oh,” you took a minute to finally let his words process through you. “I’m Alice Park.” you introduced yourself rather rigidly, still in post-shock.

“We meet again,” Chanyeol smiled warmly this time.

Kyungsoo simply stood there with a thin smile on his lips, obviously the calmer one out of the three, but seemingly not any less playful than they are.

You heaved an inaudible sigh of relief. For a moment there, you thought you were in trouble.

“Mind if we join you?” Baekhyun asked, his eyes glancing down to your table.

“What?” you showed a surprised expression. “Here?”

Baekhyun lifted a brow at your odd expression and chuckled, “Where else?”

“Um, right,” you smiled awkwardly, ignoring the rows of empty tables around you. “Where else…”

“So, is that a yes?” Chanyeol already had his arms stretched out to put the food tray on the table, looking expectantly at you.

“You don’t have to say yes,” Kyungsoo told you after seeing your puzzled reactions. “These two were just curious about you,” he shook his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Curious about me? Why?” you frowned.

“Well, you did make quite an impression on us ever since we saw you have that showdown with Sehun in the cafeteria,” Chanyeol grinned at the sheer thought of it.

Ah yes, that demented first confrontation with Oh Sehun in the cafeteria. Not even your own brain could erase those memories.

“Ugh, I’d pay good money to see that again.” Baekhyun huffed, looking unsatisfied. Kyungsoo even nodded in agreement, a little smirk forming on his lips.

“In all seriousness though, we just wanted to take a good look at who had been keeping our little brat in a good mood.” Chanyeol chuckled, all three of them displaying an earnest smile.

“Throw Jongin in too,” Baekhyun added. “He hardly goes on dates these days.”

“True.” Kyungsoo had to vocalize his opinion this time with a stronger nod to supplement his comment. “He’s been acting… tame.”

At that choice of word, Chanyeol immediately showed a confused expression. “What is he, a wild animal?” he asked before sputtering with laughter, and the other two obviously shared the same sense of humor as shown from their quick response to laugh along.

Just hearing them talk and looking at their smiles, you unconsciously formed a smile of your own, finding it infectious. You glanced hesitantly at your surroundings, already noticing a few eyes at your way, but at this point, the three persons standing in front of you were more important. Some of your classmates are already going to talk about you after your little altercation with Hye Ra. What difference is this lunch going to make?

They’re all Sehun’s and Jongin’s friends anyway, they can’t be bad.

“Please, sit down.” you politely gestured at them to sit down.

The three beamed in unison and quickly sat down across you. Thankfully you were sitting on a six seater, so nobody had to squish together just to eat.

You don’t know if it’s because you’re unfamiliar with a full table like this, or if it’s because you had three undeniably good-looking and charismatic people sitting with you, but your heart was racing a bit. Although honestly, it’s probably pounding because you’re nervous about the thought that they’d interview you about your relationship with Sehun and Jongin. After all, they are known to be very close. 

“Are you okay? You look kinda tense,” Chanyeol raised his brow.

“D-Do I?” you mentally face palmed yourself for stuttering. Talking to strangers still isn’t your forte, but you’d say you’re doing well so far.

“Is it because of Kyungsoo? Don’t worry about him, he always looks like he’s about to murder someone,” Baekhyun gave a teasing side eye to Kyungsoo before laughing.

“Continue talking, and I might just do that.” Kyungsoo calmly mentioned as he sipped his beverage.

“See? Totally normal.” Chanyeol somewhat sarcastically or perhaps genuinely remarked as he gestured at Kyungsoo who was sitting beside him.

You let a soft chuckle escape your lips, feeling grateful that the three of them tried to make you feel less tense. You had your thoughts about them in the past, but honestly, they’re not as overbearing as you thought they would be, or at least not yet.

It’s easy to understand why a lot of people would like to be friends with them, though. Just being in their vicinity, you could feel this infectious, bright and happy vibe around them. It’ doesn’t seem hard to smile or feel warm around them. However, the nice atmosphere wasn’t enough for you to completely ignore the stares some of the students gave when they walked past your table. You can’t blame them since this is a new sight.

Whether this situation is a reward for all your good deeds or an added bad luck streak still remains to be seen, but you just hope that you can push through this without looking too awkward.

Baekhyun seemed to have noticed your fleeting eyes, however. He glanced around and quickly took notice of what’s been worrying you. “Don’t worry about this, they’ll forget about it at the end of school.” he clicked his tongue.

“What?” Chanyeol frowned, confused by his sudden comment.

You looked up from your tray to lock eyes with Baekhyun. You knew that he was talking to you.

“Oh, you mean the stares?” Chanyeol sighed once he understood. “Yeah, they’ll forget about it later on today. What’s so interesting about four people having lunch, anyway?” he joked, lightening the atmosphere. 

Kyungsoo also seemed to have caught on as he turned his sharp gaze at the passerby. The puckered frown on his face showed obvious displeasure. You widened your eyes a bit after seeing how the staring students immediately looked away after seeing Kyungsoo’s glare. Although to be honest, you probably would’ve cowered away too if that kind of stare ever went your way. 

“You might think he’s angry, but he’s really not,” Chanyeol blurted all of a sudden as he pointed at the quiet Kyungsoo. “He’s just blind. Blind as a bat—oww!”

“I’m as blind as a what?” Kyungsoo dared him to repeat himself with his hand high up in the air ready to smack him.

“Am I wrong, though?” Chanyeol defied one last time before yelping in pain when the owl-eyed male beside him smacked him upside the head with the most stoic expression you’ve ever seen, even more so than Sehun.

Baekhyun simply laughed out loud at two of his friends, his teeth showing with how wide his grin was. 

You pressed your lips together in attempt to hold your laughter as you watched their comedic dynamic. Is this how Jongin felt when he watched you and Sehun bicker with one another? No wonder he’s always smiling and laughing.

“What’s Sehun and Jongin like in class?” Chanyeol asked all of a sudden, stopping your train of thoughts.

“In class?” you echoed. “Well, Jongin is popular. Everybody pretty much likes him,” you shrugged as you pointed out the obvious. “Sehun is… Um… Well, he’s definitely popular too,”

“Does he get along with everyone?” Baekhyun probed.

No, not really. He only gets along with Jongin an