Chapter 56

For the umpteenth time, Yeojin read the article on her phone. She came back from the vacation with clouded thoughts because of this article. Now everyone- at least the ones in her school- knew that she was the rumored girlfriend of Sehun from the past articles. The same girl Kris publicly announced as his wife just last week.

Laying her head on the island counter, Yeojin sighed and placed down her phone. Her thought went to Sehun. "Would he be okay about this?"

"I'm home," Kris' languid voice at the door made her sit up straight. "Hey," he greeted when he entered the kitchen looking dead tired.

Yeojin softly smiled. "I was just waiting for you so we can have dinner together."

Kris hummed while making his way to her. "Reading that article again?" He asked glancing at her phone on the counter.

Yeojin turned down her phone and sighed. "I-"

"Don't worry about that." Kris turned away to get a glass of water. "I told you I'll take care of it. I've talked to his dad. Their side will clear things up." He downed the water.

Yeojin sighed again. She just didn't want Sehun to think bad of her. She never intended on leading him on or deceiving him in the first place.

Without saying anything, Kris turned her on her high stool and rested his forehead on her shoulder much to Yeojin's surprise. He then grabbed one of her hands putting it on top of his head.

Yeojin snorted patting his head. "Dead tired?"

"You're lucky school starts only tomorrow." Kris replied and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I don't think I can get used to this clingy you." She smiled.

"You better get used to it," he replied with a muffled voice.

his hair, she patted his back with her other hand. "It must have been hard being a chairman, huh?"

"You put me in this position."

"Do you regret marrying me then?" She frowned.

Kris raised his head off her shoulder and her heart skipped a beat when he gave her a small smile. "Hardly." He tucked strands of her hair behind her ear. "I just wish we could have taken things slowly. You know, slowly falling for each other, confessing our feelings, those stuff." His gaze drifted to the ground. "I wish Dad is still around. Maybe that way we could experience dating like people our age do. Not suddenly shoved into marriage and handed down a position like this."

Yeojin could feel the slight pain of loss in his words and it pricked her heart too. Gently, she cupped his face and lifted his lowered head. "Didn't we agree to treat our relationship like we just dated?" She grinned. "Aren't I your girlfriend?"

Kris snorted. "Yeah. You're right."

For a moment they just stared at each other and smiled. Yeojin liked this feeling of security whenever she was with Kris. Maybe it was because he had been in her life since the start, but Kris felt like home to her. Her fingers played with his hair again. Yet for some reason, his gaze was slowly losing its initial glint. His lips, though, was still curled up.

"You're not going to leave me, are you?" He asked out of the blue.

Yeojin frowned then chuckled. "Shouldn't I be the one paranoid about that? Why are you asking me that?"

His smile turned into a tight one and he briefly lowered his gaze before staring back at her. "Just because." He shrugged and gave her a lopsided smile. "Forget I asked that." He let go of her and turned to hop on the stool beside her. "Let's eat. I'm starving!" He upturned the plate Yeojin had prepared beforehand.

Yeojin sighed. Even though he said to forget it, she had this nagging feeling that there was more to his question. She wondered if he was still bothered by her confession of loving Sehun too. Yeojin felt stupid for saying that to him then.

"I won't leave you." Yeojin grabbed his hand and smiled. "Just don't leave me."

Kris chuckled. "Fat chance! I'm head over heels for you." He raised their intertwined hands and kissed the back of her hand.

"Oh my gosh!" Yeojin rolled her eyes then pretended to barf. "You're so cheesy these days I really need time to process this."

When Tuesday came, the nervousness Yeojin felt when she first transferred to Jaesan High School came rushing over her again. Kris had assured her everything would be alright when he dropped her off, but now that she was entering the school alone, calming herself down wasn't that easy. Heads turned toward her when she entered the school much like the first day she came to this school. Except this time, instead of people looking down at her and whispering how she was probably a scholarship student, they smiled to her and some even bobbed their heads in greeting. Although, there was still some girls who glared at her.

"Good morning, Ms. Kwon!" Ms. Moon greeted cheerfully when they met. "Oops! Or should I say, Mrs. Wu?" The teacher giggled.

Yeojin almost forgot that the students wouldn't be the only ones to know of her status. Up until this time, only the principal, a family friend of the Wu's, knew of who she really is. But now, the faculty must have heard the news too. "Good morning, Ms. Moon." She greeted back with a bob of her head though she couldn't match the teacher's cheerfulness.

"No wonder Yifan wanted to tutor you himself back then!" Ms. Moon laughed. "He was jealous of Sehun, wasn't he?"

"Haha." Rubbing her nape, Yeojin just awkwardly chuckled in reply.

"Anyway-" Ms. Moon patted her shoulder "- Good luck for the final paper! I believe you'll do good. You've always been a good student- except in my class." She laughed again and this time Yeojin laughed along. "Fighting!"

Yeojin felt a little better after that small talk. Final paper. Right! Focus on that, Jin! She told herself with new determination. Kris was right. Everything will be okay. I shouldn't be bothered by other people.

However, a few moments later, her uplifted mood turned dreary because Sunhee seemed to be ignoring her. When she spotted Sunhee near their lockers, she called her name, but the friend silently walked away to the classroom. Yeojin initially thought she just didn't hear her. Yet when she tried to talk to her in class, Sunhee put on her earphones. She quickly went out of the class during lunch too.

Something was wrong, Yeojin was sure. They were fine just few days ago and were still chatting. But apparently, she wasn't the only one Sunhee was ignoring. Yeojin saw her friend walking past Jongdae like he wasn't there at the hallway. Jongdae grabbed her arm, but Sunhee whisked her arm away and pushed him before running away. Clearly something was up between the couple, but Yeojin still couldn't understand why Sunhee had to ignore her too.

 

"So where's Sunhee eonni?" Lin asked as she ate her lunch. "I haven't seen her at all today."

Yeojin sighed. "She's been avoiding me."

"Why?" Lin frowned and Yeojin just shrugged.

Yeojin looked up from her food and paused when her eyes landed on another person who had been avoiding her.

Sehun. She watched him put away his tray and walk out of the cafeteria. "I'm done eating!" She announced suddenly standing up and startling Lin. "I'm sorry, Lin. I got something to do. I'll get going first. See ya!"

"What are you talking about? You still haven't finished- Ya! Eonni!" Lin sighed watching her sister-in-law dashed to put away the tray and exit the cafeteria. "Tch." She pouted and rested her chin on her hand. "Yeah. Don't worry about me. I'll just eat her alone."

PING.

Her phone chimed.

JongOut [12.26]: Hey there, princess!

"Sehun!" Yeojin called out after making sure no one was loitering around the hallway. "Sehun!" She called again while trying to catch up to him. It really wasn't a waste to join the track and field club, she thought. In seconds, she could catch up to him and stopped right in front of him.

Sehun, on the other hand, only stared at her coldly. Just like the first time they met. "What do you want?" He brusquely asked.

"I just want to talk," she replied in between pants.

Sehun looked away. Yeojin thought she saw a rather sad look on his face. "There's nothing to talk about," he answered and walked past her, but Yeojin grabbed his elbow.

"Wait. I just-" Still panting, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Why are you avoiding me like this?"

Sehun scoffed to the side. "What's it to you? I force you to be my girlfriend to uncover Kris Wu's secret and we were just betting on whether I would ever be able to prove my suspicion. Now everything's revealed." He pushed her hand away from his elbow. "We're done. You're free." He turned away but Yeojin blocked his way again.

"I don't like this." Yeojin gritted her teeth; eyes zeroed on the ground. "I don't like you avoiding me. We can at least stay as friends, can't we?"

"No. We can't," Sehun answered without missing a beat.

Yeojin looked up at him with rounded eyes. Her lips parted and her heart was clenched. Sehun looked at her with steely eyes but soon avoided her eyes and pushed her aside to walk away.

"Sehun," she softly called but he kept on walking with his back on her. She was going to follow him, but a voice called her name.

She turned and found Jongdae making his way to her. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Yeojin glanced back over her shoulder and saw Sehun already walking farther. Holding back a sigh, she turned back to Jongdae. "Sure"


 

"I don't even know where she is right now. She's been avoiding me the whole day." Yeojin sighed sitting down on the bench at the track and field stadium.

"At least you're in one class with her." Jongdae sat down beside her. "Just give her that note." He referred to the folded paper in Yeojin's hand. "Please," he looked at Yeojin with desperation.

Yeojin held back another sigh and crossed her arms. "What is really going on between you two?"

Jongdae looked away tousling his hair. "It's better if you know it from Sunhee." He stood up and bobbed his head to her before giving her a tight smile. "I can only tell you that I never meant to play with her heart."

His reply confused her, but she let it slide for now. Even though Sunhee is her best friend, she shouldn't meddle with her relationship especially if Jongdae was currently trying to take care of whatever mess they were in. Staring down at the folded paper, Yeojin heaved a breath. Jongdae suddenly stopped descending the stairs and turned to her again.

"Yeojin," he called gaining the girl's attention. He opened his mouth but then briefly looked away and pursed his lips before he finally asked, "How can you cope with an arranged marriage? Isn't it suffocating to be in a forced relationship?"

Taken aback by the question, Yeojin blinked her rounded eyes. "I wouldn't say I was forced." She shrugged while scratching her head. "I married my best friend anyway. So yeah. I was never really... suffocated."

"Ah. I see." Jongdae mindlessly nodded. "But if things were different," he rubbed his nape as he hesitantly continued, "and you were already in love with Sehun first but your parents insisted on the arranged marriage, would you... would you choose Sehun or your family?"

"I-" She cleared . She didn't really know what to answer because that wasn't her case. But trying to put herself in that shoes, she answered, "I guess I would've told my parents of my feelings first."

"And if they still insisted?"

Yeojin just smiled. "I don't have it in me to go against my parents' will. So maybe I'd go with the flow?"

Jongdae frowned. "You wouldn't fight for your love and would instead marry someone you don't love? Just give up?"

"That's not what I meant." Yeojin pursed her lips. It really wasn't easy to answer the question. Even if she were already in love with Sehun, she thought the idea of spending her life with Kris wouldn't bother her much. Unless she was arranged to marry someone else. Nonetheless, giving up on someone she loves really wasn't what she meant. "It's just that sometimes holding on too tight will hurt both. Sometimes, we gotta take a step back first, you know?"

"That's the same thing. It's still giving up," Jongdae mumbled as his shoulders slumped.

"No, you silly!" Yeojin lightly chuckled but then abruptly stop. A thought suddenly dawned on her and she whipped her head towards Jongdae. "Jongdae, why are you asking me this?" She gasped when he lowered his head. "Don't tell me you're-" Yeojin covered when Jongdae gave her a sad smile.

"Like I said. It's better if you talk to Sunhee and hear it from her." His lips remained curled up, but their corners didn't reach his eyes. "I really need you to pass her that note. I'll get going now."

"Wait." Yeojin abruptly stood up and hurried to his side. "About what I said... What I really meant was what's meant to be will be. What's meant to be together will be together." Yes, that's it! She smiled when Jongdae just stared at her. "No matter how many times they get separated. No matter how far they drifted apart, they'll always find their way back to each other. I didn't mean giving up at all." Her smile turned into a grin and Jongdae smiled too. This time his eyes sparked with hope.

"Sunhee's lucky to have you as her best friend." He slightly tilt his head to the side. "Whatever happens to me and her, don't leave her, kay?"

Yeojin smiled and they walked to their own classes when the bell rang. She ended up slipping the note from Jongdae between the pages of Sunhee's notebook before the girl arrived in their class. Sunhee still avoided her even until classes ended. Yeojin watched as her friend climbed inside her car without sparing her a glance. From the corner of her eyes, she caught Jongdae near his car sadly watching Sunhee leave. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Eonni!" Lin suddenly came and linked their arms. "Let's hangout at the mall! Gege's going to pick you up, right?"

"Ah, yes. You wanna come?"

"Lin!" Another voice called followed by a beep of the car horn.

"Jongin?" Yeojin lifted her brows, surprised seeing Jongin in his car grinning and waving at them both.

"Aish!" Lin clicked her tongue. "This guy doesn't know how to stop. I told him not to do this."

Yeojin chuckled and nudged her. "Ey. He's already here though. Just go!" She grinned but Lin pouted; her cheeks blushing. "Go! Before your brother arrives and roasts Jongin," she whispered, lightly pushing her sister.

Lin clicked her tongue. "I don't want to, but because you tell me to-"

"Yeah, yeah. Just go!" Yeojin rolled her eyes while escorting Lin to Jongin's car. "Take care of her and don't get her home too late or else I'll grill you," she told Jongin when she opened the door for Lin.

Jongin laughed. "Okay, Mother!" He joked eliciting chortles from Yeojin.

Lin scrunched her nose at him before entering the car. Yeojin waved watching the car leave and sighed yet again.

While one love was currently getting swept away in storm, another one was slowly blooming.

A car came to a stop beside her and the window rolled down revealing Kris. "Need a ride?" He winked at Yeojin.

Rolling her eyes, Yeojin entered the car. She tried hard to hide her growing smile when he suddenly pecked her cheek.

"I miss you," Kris told her with a grin.

Yeojin coughed awkwardly, but nothing could wipe away her blush. "Cheese ball!" She hit his arm. "Let's go!"

"Put on your seatbelt first."

"Fine." She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes catching the sight of Sehun passing their car and leaving the school premise in his motorbike.

"We can at least stay as friends, can't we?"
"No. We can't."

Seeing Yeojin pausing from putting on the seatbelt and blankly staring ahead, Kris knitted his brows and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Snapped out of her daze, Yeojin shook her head and put on her seatbelt. "Nothing." She gave him a smile. "Let's go home."

"Alright." Kris smiled back and drove.

Seeing his smile made her feel strangely content. What's meant to be together will be together. Her own words rang in her mind before her thought drifted back to Sehun and she looked out the window. Are we not meant to even be friends? Why can't he stay in my life too? She leaned her head on the headrest with a sigh and closed her eyes. Don't be stupid, Yeojin. You can't have everything you want. It will just hurt everyone else.

HI! It's been a long time, right? I'm sorry for making you wait. But thank you for those still sticking around. I'll try to update more often, so be prepared for more KrisJin, SeJin, dramas, and a whole lot of mess (lol okay I'm exaggerating) that will slowly lead us to the end of the story.

Ha! Don't worry there are still a lot of chapters left (especially if I end up writing more than I should as usual). But the end isn't that far any more. See you on the next chapter!