Chapter 30

Yeojin tossed herself to the bed with a content sigh. It had been a long day for her and her family, but it was a really pleasant one. She then reached for her phone on the bedside table. She opened the photo library and scrolled through the numerous pictures she took with and of Kris in Sokcho and the ones she took with the family. She zoomed in on a picture of Kris leaning with crossed arms on the wall decorated with mural painting. He looked bored waiting for her when she went to the bathroom, but he look dazzling still. When she came out of the bathroom then, she stole the chance to take a candid picture of him.

Yeojin smiled at the picture. He could seriously be a model if he's not a businessman.

She then just realized that her phone was still on airplane mode, so she turned the mode off. Numerous text notifications greeted her. All from one sender.

From: Ice Block 2
[11.34]: Ya! Why aren't you picking up your phone?

"Because the other ice block literally blocked me," Yeojin mumbled with a pout.

[11.34]: Are you mad at me?
[11.40]: Ya!
[11.40]: MVP!

Yeojin snickered to herself reading the nickname she hadn't heard in a while. But she felt her heart skipped a beat when she scrolled down and read the next message.

[11.44]: Yeojin, I'm sorry.

It was rare for Sehun to call her by her name.

[11.45]: Honestly, I'm not really sure what I did wrong. But I guess I'm sorry for not understanding you.
[11.46]: I can't believe you just made me apologize for something I don't even know.
[11.50]: Hey, are you okay though? I know you're a bit of a stupid, but don't do anything stupid.
[19.00]: You're still not going to reply? Are you alive? Are you dead? Have you turned into a zombie?

Somehow, even with little insults, Sehun's concern managed to flatter Yeojin. She involuntarily smiled at the messages. He had been acting as a sweet boyfriend lately and that made her felt giddy. But then Lin's confession crossed her mind, and Yeojin's smile slowly disappeared. She shook her head to dismiss any thought of Sehun.

Stop it, Yeojin! Lin likes him. You promised you won't fall for him. And you really shouldn't! This must be his trick for you to tell him the secret. Yes! That must be it! She convinced herself, yet there was a small voice in her heart that begged to differ.

"Why are you looking sullen?" Kris' voice startled her.

Yeojin looked up at him who was coming out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. "Nothing." She put back her phone on the bedside table and slid down to lie on the bed. "Good night!" She hugged the beaver plush as she closed her eyes.

Kris tousled his hair as he plopped down on the bed. "Ya! You're sleepy already?" He poked her shoulder and she just shrugged off his hand.

"I have school tomorrow," she mumbled, snuggling her head against the large plush.

"Tsk." Kris clicked his tongue. Seeing her hugging the plush so close, he smiled. But then he frowned a little. I shouldn't have given the plush yet.

"Oh my gosh!" Yeojin gasped. Her cheekbones rose. "Seriously?" She turned to Lin beside her and they hold hands while squealing.

"Ya! Keep it down!" Sunhee tried to calm the two. "Why are you guys so excited?" She giggled at them.

"Why wouldn't we?" Lin grinned at her.

"Yes! Why wouldn't we when one of us three is finally dating! And to think you're the quietest!" Yeojin cupped Sunhee's cheeks and squished them. She could feel her friend's cheeks heating up in her hands.

"Stop it~" Sunhee weakly whined, embarrassed. Yeojin released her friend's cheeks with a chuckle while Sunhee clicked her tongue. "You were the first one to be in a relationship."

"Psh." Yeojin rolled her eyes. "My relationship isn't real."

"Your marriage with Kris is very real though," Sunhee mumbled, careful not to let other people hear, and Lin just giggled at the two.

"Hi!" Jongdae suddenly came and sat down beside Sunhee.

"Hey, Jongdae!" Yeojin beamed at him. "So you finally conquered my friend's heart, I heard."

"Oh! So you've told them?" Jongdae turned to Sunhee with a lopsided smile and the girl blushed, avoiding his eyes. "Yeah. We're official now," he proudly announced as he put an arm around his girlfriend.

Feeling a little embarrassed by his display of affection, Sunhee shrugged his hand away. "Ya," she protested.

"Waee?" Jongdae frowned, making Yeojin and Lin laughed. "Can't I hug my own girlfriend?"

"It's not that." Sunhee could fell blood rushing to her cheeks. "It's just-"

"Even Sehun and Yeojin held hands in front of us too."

"Tsk." Sunhee slapped Jongdae's arm.

Yeojin's and Lin's grins turned stiff before it slowly turned into a tight-lipped smile. Yeojin softly patted Lin's hand under the table to tell her that nothing's going on between Sehun and her.

Or at least that was what Yeojin convinced herself.

The school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break.

Jongdae sighed. "I'll see you again later." He patted Sunhee's head. "See you tomorrow...err...Lin right?" The girl nodded with a little chuckle before he turned to Yeojin. "And I'll see you and Sunhee at the auditorium later after school."

"Auditorium?" Yeojin's eyebrows shot up.

"You haven't heard?" Jongdae looked surprised when she shook her head. "Your boyfriend and his council asked for us seniors to gather after school. He's probably going to announce the upcoming annual senior camp." He shrugged.

"Oh that." Yeojin nodded. "Alrighty! See you later then."

They waved and the girls parted to their classes too. The remaining classes went by rather slowly with the teachers reviewing their exam results. When the last class finally ended, the seniors went out with sighs as they walked to the auditorium.

Yeojin sat down with Lin and they were joined by Jongdae a few minutes later. The room buzzed with the students' talks and whispers of their final exam results. But the voices became quieter when the student council entered and sat down on the front row seats. Only Sehun walked up to the stage, taking a stand at the podium.

Yeojin had seen him stood at the podium before when he was first inaugurated as the Student Council President. Even though she now knew him and had gotten familiar with him, seeing him in front again with that cold aura was still a little daunting to her. She had forgotten how cold he was to everybody before she knew him. But somehow that made her smile because she knew- just like Areum said to her once- he didn't treat her the way he did to others.

"Thank you for gathering here," Sehun opened. "As you all might have guessed, we're going to have the annual senior camp." Most students cheered and clapped. "Before we start working on our thesis or final project," he added with a small smirk and the others groaned in reply.

Way to ruin the mood! Yeojin rolled her eyes.

Sehun cleared his throat silencing the complaints. "We're going to hold the camp next week on Saturday for two days and one night. The student council will now distribute the letter of permission to be signed by your parents." The student council members stood up and started distributing the letters as Sehun continued to speak. "Do return the letters by the end of this week to your own class presidents because we will need to record who will join. That's all. You may now all be dismissed."

Sehun walked down from the stage, and students started standing up to exit the auditorium.

"I can't wait for the camp!" Jongdae chirped. "Right, Jin?"

"Yeah. I guess." Yeojin shrugged but gave him a hi-five.

Just as they walked out of the row of seats, Sehun jogged to the . "Hey." He greeted as he gently grabbed Yeojin's arm. He hesitated to continue talking to her when he saw the other two.

"I think we better go first." Jongdae put an arm around Sunhee and turned her around. "See ya, Jin!" He saluted her with two fingers.

The flustered Sunhee waved at her. "B-bye, Jin!"

Yeojin waved back with a smile. Sehun's and Yeojin's eyes lingered on the couple as they walked out of the door, blending with the sea of senior students.

"They're dating," Sehun concluded.

"Yeah." Yeojin giggled. She then turned to look at him. "So..."

"You're alive, I see." He smirked and she nodded with a little chuckle.

"President Oh," a student interrupted them and Sehun's threw a sharp gaze at him, making him gulp. "Uh.. T-th-the principal is asking for you."

"Ok." Sehun answered while gesturing for the student to leave. He turned to Yeojin again with a small smile. "Wait for me. I'll give you a ride home." Yeojin opened to decline the offer, but Sehun shut her up before she could even say anything. "No buts."

Yeojin was left standing there as he exited the auditorium. As always. She sighed.

The car came to a stop in front of her house. Yeojin unbuckled her seatbelt before turning to Sehun on the driver's seat. "I still can't believe you can also drive a car."

He raised an eyebrow and a corner of his lip. "Why? Because I look much cooler now."

Yeojin rolled her eyes. "Conceited."

"Well, it often rains. I can't let my girlfriend get drenched, can I?"

Yeojin blinked at him, surprised at his comeback. She then looked away, clearing . "Thanks anyway."

"Anytime." Sehun shrugged. "Oh by the way!" He reached for a paper bag on the back seat and handed it to her. "Your birthday present."

"Present?" Yeojin's eyes rounded in surprise. "You really didn't have to."

"I wanted to." Sehun smiled and Yeojin could feel her heart doing a little flip. "Go on." He nodded for her to alight the car.

"Thanks again." Yeojin quickly gathered her bag and opened the door. Staying in the car for a bit longer might do her heart all kinds of strange things.

Sehun held a chuckle when he saw her struggling with her things. She looked as if she was in great danger and couldn't wait to alight the car. She didn't even notice her bag wasn't zipped up correctly.

Just as Yeojin was going to alight the car, Sehun called her and she sighed in annoyance. When she turned her head toward him her eyes rounded in surprised. She could even feel her eyes almost popping out of their sockets. And she swore her heart was beating way too fast. Her senses felt numb. The only part of her body that could still feel something was her lips. That was lightly pressed against Sehun's.

Yeojin wasn't the only one startled. Sehun couldn't feel more shocked. With widened eyes, he quickly pulled away. Their equally rounded eyes locked and they both could feel their hearts hammering against their chests.

"Y-ya," Yeojin weakly scolded him.

Sehun gulped. "I... I..." Deep breath, dude. "I... I swear I didn't mean to do that!" His eyes lingered on hers before they slowly gazed down her lips. He briefly squeezed his eyes shut. "I swear I wasn't going to kis-- I was just going to zip up your bag, okay?" He pointed at her bag. "I swear!"

"Wh-wha-whatever!" Yeojin quickly alighted the car. Her heart was still pounding hard.

"I'm sorry!" Sehun apologized right before she slammed the door shut. He threw his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Idiot!" He cursed himself before quickly pulling the car away.

Yeojin watched his car drove away and slowly looked down at her bag. "Stupid bag!" She zipped up her bag.

Another black car came to a stop in front of her. The window rolled down revealing Mr. Ahn. "Young Miss," he greeted with a bob of his head.

Yeojin heaved out a long breath. Right! The private lesson again.

The man alighted the car and opened the back door for her. "Kim Jongin is waiting for you at the mansion."

"Jongin?" Yeojin's eyebrows shot up.

"Yes. It's waltz for today." Mr. Ahn politely answered.Yeojin nodded and entered the car.

Even on the way, her mind couldn't stop backtracking to what happened earlier. There was this strange feeling bubbling up from the pit of her stomach when she thought back about it. She pursed her lips, still feeling tingles on them. "Stupid ice block! Stupid jerk!" She mumbled as she brought a hand to her chest. "Stupid bag!"

"Is everything okay, young miss?" Mr. Ahn asked, glancing at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Y-yes, Mr. Ahn." Yeojin cleared .

"Umph!" Jongin held back a groan and they stopped dancing.

"Sorry!" Yeojin grinned apologetically. "I stepped on your foot again, didn't I?"

"That-" he winced "and you're mind is somewhere else, girl!" He tapped her forehead with a finger while still holding her by her waist in his other arm. Yeojin pouted and he just smirked at her. "So tell me. What is bothering you?" He rested his hand on her waist. "It can't be your husband right? Because I heard you guys reconciled."

Yeojin's hands on his shoulders slid down a bit as her eyes grew wide. "Wait. How did you know that?"

"Lin texted me." Jongin replied nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Lin texted you," Yeojin stated rather than asked. Her eyebrows creased. "Am I missing something here?"

Jongin grinned. "Actually I texted her. I've been texting her for a while now."

"Uhuh. And?" She raised her brows, prodding him to continue.

"But she never replied longer than a yes or a no unless I ask about you. So I asked how you were doing and how's the surprise plan going and she just told me everything."

Yeojin narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you crushing on my sister-in-law?"

One corner of his lips curled up. "Took you long enough to notice."

She slapped his shoulder. "Don't you dare corrupt her!"

Jongin only chuckled. "Haven't you been listening? She even seemed reluctant to reply my texts if they weren't about you. It will take a long time for me to corrupt her," he joked.

"Ya!" She slapped his shoulder again, but harder this time.

He only laughed some more. "Chill! I was just joking. Besides, I know she currently likes your boyfriend." Yeojin slowly lowered her head at that, needlessly feeling guilty. It didn't go unnoticed by Jongin and his laughter gradually died down. "So he's the one distracting you, huh?"

"Huh?" She snapped her head up. "What? Who? No!"

Jongin's eyes softened at her while she tried to look away. Yeojin awkwardly took a step back disentangling herself from Jongin.

"You can't lie to me. You like him don't you?"

"Whoah! Wait, hold up." Yeojin raised both of her hands. "I don't like him okay? I just... just..." She sighed.

Yeojin honestly didn't know what Sehun is to her.

Jongin let out a soft chuckle as he stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her, placing a hand on her back. He then raised her hand with his other hand. His feet started moving again and Yeojin looked up at him with confusion but followed his lead. "That guy has distracted Lin's attention away from me. I'm not letting him distract you from my lesson." He winked.

Yeojin chuckled in return, grateful he didn't press the topic. She tried to focus on her moving feet, but her mind drifted to what happened in Sehun's car again. She quickly shut her eyes, accidentally stepping on Jongin's foot again. "I'm sorry," she bit down her lip.

"No you're not." He laughed. "I think you actually enjoy stepping on my foot. Just save your sorry after the lesson. Or else you will have to apologize a hundred times."

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue and accidentally stepped on his foot again.

"See." Jongin winced and Yeojin giggled.

"Say," Yeojin looked up at him. "How did you know you like Lin?"

Jongin smiled at the question. "Let me correct that, I'm still on the 'crushing' stage. So I'm not actually sure how to answer that question- umph!" Yeojin stepped on his foot again, this time with a little chuckle. "Anyway, so I have to admit that as of now, I'm still only attracted to her. I don't think I have developed feelings for her more than that. Yet." He added with a smirk and Yeojin rolled her eyes. "But I do know this. When I like someone, I usually get all giddy and excited to meet her. And I will want to stay with her a little longer. Fast beating heart, butterflies in your stomach, chest swelling with happiness are also the symptoms."

Yeojin laughed at him. "You sure you haven't felt those toward Lin already?"

"Maybe." Jongin shrugged. They silently glided across the floor, smiling at each other. "You know, I like to sleep."

"What? Why are you so random?" Yeojin snickered, shaking her head.

"I like to dance too."

"So?"

"I can't do them both at the same time though."

"Of course, dummy!"

"But sometimes the urge for both come at the same time, and I have to choose either one." Jongin led her to twirl under his arm before gracefully catching her in his arm again though his foot was stepped on in the process. He winced. "I realized as much as I like both, I love one more than the other."

Yeojin blinked at him. "Why are you telling me this?" She didn't actually understand why Jongin was even saying these, but something told her she should read between the lines.

"What, I can't share my distress?" He blinked innocently at her. "I'm just sharing you a burden I've been carrying."

"Of choosing between sleep and dance?" She smirked.

"Yeah. Choosing is very hard, you know? You may not understand that burden now, little girl." He patted her head and she slapped away his hand. "But when the time comes and you gotta choose, you should choose what you love, not what you like."

"Between sleeping and dancing," she deadpanned instead of asking. "So what do you love more, Mr. It's-hard-to-choose? Dance?"

"Nah! I love sleep more than dance." Jongin laughed, prompting her to laugh along.

"You're crazy!"

Yeojin dried her hair with a towel as she came out from the bathroom. She then tossed the towel to the laundry basket. The house felt a little empty because Kris was going to be home late, but she just shrugged the feeling off. She sat down on her bed and took her phone. Sunhee had been sending her chat messages to tell Yeojin of her little date with Jongdae today. Yeojin smiled reading how happy her friend was. Her eyes then landed on the paper bag containing Sehun's present for her, lying on the floor.

She picked it up and took out a shoe box out of it as she crossed her legs on the bed. A brand she knew well was on the lid. She opened it and found a pair of blue running shoes she was eyeing when they accompanied Jongdae to the store few weeks ago. A folded card caught her eyes and she opened it.

Run from the guilt, Jin. If you don't know where to run to, then Yeojin narrowed her eyes to read the crossed out words. They were run to me but were replace with I won't be far.

So... Uh yeah. Happy birthday.

Yeojin stared at the card for a long time after reading it.

Giddy? Check.
Fast-beating heart? Check.
Butterflies in the stomach? Check.

Does this mean I like Sehun? Yeojin closed her eyes, tossing the box beside her on the bed. Ugh! Why am I even feeling this? She threw back herself and kicked her feet in the air before she rolled over and buried her face on her pillow. She then sat back up and grabbed her beaver plush. She held onto its long arms to make it sit in front of her. "I can't possibly like him, right? Right?" She shook the large plush. "What is wrong with me? This is his trick, Yeojin! You shouldn't fall for him!" She convinced herself while she held on to her plush's hands tightly.

"We promised not to leave each other"

Yeojin was startled to hear Kris' singing voice. She then looked down at the her hand and realized she just pressed the red dot on the plush's hand.

"Must always be together
Even though we had to fight against time
Even though the whole world turned its back to us"

She felt like time was frozen. Or was it turning back? She remembered Kris used to sing this song to her whenever she felt down. She just blankly stared at the beaver's face while her ears absorbed the 10 seconds lyric of the song's refrain. The song had ended and Yeojin blinked at the beaver as if it was Kris.

Is it really Sehun whom I like?

The lyric is from Yifan's "Time Boils the Rain"