"Ian!"
Hai-an, standing beside Hong Aera, looked over.
"Yeah?"
Irina smiled brightly. "Going to the snack store?"
"Yeah," Hai-an nodded. "We're buying some bread, hehe."
Suwon stiffened the moment he saw her.
Oh. Oh…?
His gaze lingered on Hai-an longer than he meant to, unease creeping up his spine.
Irina suddenly clapped her hands. "Ah! I washed your gym uniform and brought it wait here!"
"You could've just given it to me later," Hai-an said, a little flustered.
"Nah, I'll grab it real quick! Wait!" Irina turned and hurried off.
"O–okay…"
Suwon stared after her, mouth wide.
…What's with her? Does she know Rina?Heejun said it was definitely cheating.
Yesterday… those sounds kissing.And now she's acting like nothing's wrong right in front of Irina?...What a shameless bitch
Irina soon returned, holding the neatly folded gym uniform.
She handed it over with a grin."Here! I used it well!"
Hai-an laughed softly. "Wow, it even smells nice."
"Hehe. If you ever want to borrow anything, just tell me!"
"Yeah, got it." Hai-an smiled back.
Behind her, Hong Aera crossed her arms impatiently. "Ah, fuck hurry up. The mocha bread's popular. It'll be gone soon."
Seolhyo shot her a sharp glare.
…That beanpole.
She's been throwing curses nonstop since last time.
Hong Aera noticed the look and quickly turned away.What's with her? Why's she glaring like that… damn.
I squeezed Seolhyo's hand.
She looked up at me.
"What's wrong?" I asked quietly.
"…Nothing."
Just then, someone brushed past us, eyes lingering on Hai-an as he walked ahead.
Irina scoffed. "Park Dong, you look even uglier today."
He didn't respond and just kept walking.
Then he stopped facing Hai-an.
He stayed silent for a few seconds, eyes not leaving Hai-an.
"…What are you staring at?" he finally said.
All of us froze, Staring at Park Dong in disbelief.
Hai-an blinked. "H-huh…?"
Hong Aera scowled. "What the hell was that supposed to be?"
Park Dong scratched the back of his head and let out an awkward laugh, waving it off. "Uh what? Relax, it was just a joke."
He chuckled again, trying to laugh it off.
"We made eye contact and it just got awkward, HAHA sorry."
Hai-an shifted uncomfortably, clutching the gym uniform a little tighter. "Ah… yeah. It's fine."
Before the tension could settle, Irina's knee slammed straight into Park Dong's side.
"KRRAAAGH!!"
He doubled over instantly, choking on his breath.
"You crazy bastard!" Irina snapped, glaring down at him.
Suwon let out a long breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Huuuh… I really thought something bad was about to happen.
Park Dong dropped to one knee, clutching his side, teeth clenched. "Damn… she hits freakin' hard…"
Hong Aera looked down at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you even close to her or something? You're not so, what was that just now?"
Park Dong lifted his head, smirk at her. "We go to the same school. Can't I mess around just a little."
"Or what when you asked me for a lighter, was that because we're 'close' too?"
Hong Aera stiffened, lips parting but no words came out.
-
At the snack store, we stood around eating Papico-style ice cream, the plastic sleeves already slick with condensation.
"when's your boyfriend's birthday?"
Irina was biting off the tip of hers before sucking it in, eyes sparkling as she glanced at us.
"This Sunday!!"
"What should I do for him? If it were you guys, what would you do?"
Jinkyung laughed. "Isn't perfume and, like, ten letters enough already? Just go all out and do a candlelight event or something HAHA."
I slid an arm around Seolhyo's shoulders and pulled her a little closer, grinning. "Yeah, what would you do?"
She immediately elbowed my side, not hard but sharp enough, face heating up as she shot me a look.
Then she turned back to Irina. "You're really trying hard, huh."
Irina glared at me. "Hey, stop flirting right in front of us."
She paused, chewing on her ice cream again, then burst out laughing. "But seriously… candles? Do you think that's too much? HAHAHA."
"So, Seojin," Irina said suddenly, tilting her head toward us, "what if Seolhyo did a candlelight event for you?"
I thought about it for a moment.
"I'd be happy," I answered honestly.
"But that kind of thing takes a lot of effort. Even if she just spent time with me, I'd still be happy."
Irina stared at me blankly for a second, then slowly turned her head toward Suwon."How about you, Suwon?"
Suwon scratched the back of his neck, thinking. "An event? Yeah… I'd love that. Lighting candles and preparing everything takes a lot of care. You can really feel how much the person thought about you."
"Just do something simple," Jinkyung said, shrugging.
"That's already enough to show you care."
Seolhyo nodded. "Yeah. If you go too big, you'll run out of ideas for his next birthday."
Beside me, Park Dong sat quietly, his eyes drifting toward Hai-an.She's definitely listening to all of this,.
Irina suddenly groaned. "Ahhh, I'm still so hungry. The pork belly we ate yesterday was sooo good."
"You're still hungry?" Jinkyung laughed. "We literally saw you eat all of what your boyfriend ordered."
Irina scoffed. "Why don't they serve pork belly in school lunches?"
"Because it's expensive?" Jinkyung replied flatly.
Park Dong froze, Irina's words echoing in his head.Yesterday?But… he was with her.
His jaw clenched.That bastard… did he really go on dates with two girls in one day?
Irina sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine. I'll keep it simple for this year. I still need ideas for next year anyway."
Park Dong bit down hard on his Papico, irritation bubbling over. "Tch… you're not a pushover. Why are you going that far for him?"
His voice sharpened. "Is your boyfriend even worth that much?"
We all turned to him at once.
Irina stared, disbelief flashing across her face. "What the hell are you saying? Of course he is."
She crossed her arms, glaring. "Are you in a bad mood or something? Why are you snapping at everyone?"
Then she scoffed. "Stop acting like Yang Jinsu."
Park Dong sucked on his papico, eyes narrowed."What? Dumbass, I'm acting the same as always. Even if you go that far, he's not even gonna appreciate it."
Irina snapped back immediately. "I'm giving a gift to my boyfriend why are you the one complaining?"
"Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want. Who's complaining?" he scoffed.
"You are," she shot back. "You're literally complaining right now."
"Whatever, idiot. You're noisy as hell."
"Wh-what did you just say?!" Irina bristled.
"You don't even know what's important"
"What's with you today, you bastard?" she snapped, face flushed.
Jinkyung look at the two. "Hey what's going on with you two…?"
Irina turned on Park Dong again. "Why are you taking your bad mood out on me?"
Before Park Dong could answer, Suwon grabbed his arm. "Park Dong, bathroom. Now. I really need to go."
"Huh? Go alone, dumbass," Park Dong protested, trying to pull free.
"Just come on," Suwon insisted, dragging him toward the door.
Irina watched them leave, arms crossed tightly, irritation written all over her face."…Is he a psycho or what?"
Seolhyo and I followed them into the hallway.
As we walked, boys' eyes kept drifting toward Seolhyo, while girls openly stared at me.
Neither of us mind them as were used to it.
We reached our classroom.
Park Dong and Suwon were standing behind the curtain near the window, voices low.
We slipped inside just as Suwon said, "…anyway, just calm down a bit…"
Both of them turn their head to us when they noticed us.
Seolhyo staring at Park dong.
"What's up with you?" she asked bluntly. "Why are you taking your bad mood out on Irina?"
Park Dong clicked his tongue and looked away. "Bad mood my ass. It's nothing."
"Is it another thing I'm not allowed to know?" Seolhyo snapped. "Why do you always do this? Why the hell do you have so many secrets?"
"It's nothing, okay?" Park Dong said, trying to brush her off "Just go."
I ask him. "Did something happen when you two left yesterday?"
Both Park Dong and Suwon shook their heads a little too quickly.
Seolhyo didn't let it go. "Yeah, because you started acting weird right after that," she said. "Did something happen? Every time it's serious, every time you're worried, you never tell us. You just brush it off."
Her voice dropped, sharper now. "I'm starting to wonder if we're even friends."
Park Dong stiffened.
Seolhyo continued, frustration spilling over."It really fucking hurts, you know. Yeah, I don't tell you guys everything either but at least I don't make it this obvious, you moron."