Chapter 15
Two days later...
Yejin and Daewon have been throwing glances at each other upon seeing Yiyeon talking to Jeongmin and Sungchan, who were looking after their booth.
The boy crossed his arms and kept on urging her to talk to the other. Yejin, on the other hand, just rolled her eyes at the boy.
Yiyeon's eyes landed on the two in front of them. She quickly bid goodbye to the two maknaes in their friend group and ran off.
"See, she doesn't want to talk to me!" Yejin scoffed and sat on a stool.
Daewon glared at her, "Who would want to talk to you after you snap at her all of a sudden?! If I were Yiyeon, I would have done worse." He scoffed.
Daewon's words hurt, but he couldn't care less, especially if he's the only one who could tolerate Yejin's attitude. But even the toughest people have their limits, so does Daewon. His patience towards his friend is slowly vanishing.
***
Jaemin dragged his feet towards the club room. Although half-asleep, he managed to wake up on time and go to school. He yawned as he fondled with the keys in his hands, then he realized that the door was unlocked. A rush of adrenaline suddenly flowed in his body as he clasped his hands together, extending his thumb, index, and middle fingers--as if he was about to shoot someone.
He cautiously stepped inside, only to see Yiyeon sleeping on her desk.
"Yiyeon?" He raised a brow.
The girl looked up and threw Jaemin a weird look, "What's with the finger guns?" She chuckled as she stretched her arms.
Jaemin quickly hid his hands in his pockets as he pretended that it did not happen. "I thought someone broke in the clubroom," he shrugged and placed his bag on the table behind Yiyeon, where papers were scattered. "What about you? Why are you early?"
"I have nowhere to go," she sighed and stood up, looking through the window. "Hey, Jaemin..."
"Hmm?" The boy hummed as he turned his computer on.
"The offer to become a part of the club," Yiyeon started. "...it's still open, right?"
Jaemin threw a glance at Yiyeon and repeatedly nodded, "Why did you suddenly ask?"
"Can I officially start today?"
Jaemin, although excited, felt that something was wrong.
He raised a brow as he dragged his chair to sit beside Yiyeon. "Is everything alright?" He asked. "I know that I've been pestering you to join the club for a long time, but why suddenly? D-Don't get me wrong. I feel like something happened..." he said defensively.
Yiyeon sighed, "I... wanna escape from the world... and this club would be able to help me a lot." She said and turned the computer on. "Besides, I know that I would also be able to help the club, so why not?" She chuckled.
"D-Did," Jaemin started. "Did something bad happen last night? I mean... I left you and Jeno--"
She quickly shook her head, "It's all fine... I guess?" She shrugged. "Anyways, enough about me. I'll be starting today." She smiled.
The boy suddenly stood up, making Yiyeon stand up as well. He extended his right hand, and she shook it. "Welcome. You're a part of us now."
***
"Hyunjin-ah," Yiyeon called her cousin through the phone. "Is it okay to eat with you this lunch?" She asked.
"Huh? Why suddenly? Is everything alright?" He asked.
"I'll just explain it to you at home," she sighed. "Can I?"
"Sure, I'll be with my two friends, though."
"Thanks, Hyunjin! I owe you one," she smiled and ended the call.
Hyunjin and his friends don't eat in the cafeteria at the main campus. They usually eat at the canteen near the auditorium where different food stalls are located. She grabbed her phone and wallet and went to where her cousin and his friends are eating.
"Hyunjin-ah!" Yiyeon waved her hands at her cousin.
The boy smiled back and waved back. He moved to the left so that Yiyeon could sit beside him. She smiled and bowed her head lightly, "I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion. I'm Hyunjin's cousin," she said, introducing herself.
"It's fine, no worries!" The boy with freckles said, "I'm Felix."
"I know you! You go to my History class as well, right?" She asked and Felix nodded. "Nice to finally interact with you." Yiyeon shook his hand.
The boy seated beside Felix smiled at her, "Glad to make another acquaintance, or friend, maybe?" He chuckled. "Kim Seungmin," he said, shaking her hand.
Hyunjin patted her shoulder, "Are you in trouble? What happened this time?"
"I just... don't want to face certain people as of the moment," she sighed. Her eyes looked at the two in front of her and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry that you guys hear this conversation."
"No worries, Yiyeon!" Seungmin said, shaking his head. "But are you sure that it's okay for me and Felix to hear this?"
She slowly nodded, "It's not that serious, anyway." She smiled. "I just had a little misunderstanding with my friends, and I'm not that good at expressing myself, so I just decided to... stay away from them... for a while."
"What about Yangyang? Have you talked to him?" Her cousin asked.
The girl shook her head, "I don't have the courage..." she looked down.
Hyunjin was taken aback, "Why? You waited for him to arrive. You got soaked in the rain and even got sick the next day, yet you think about yourself lowly... as if it's always your fault." Hyunjin said. He himself was not even expecting the sudden outburst. "Why is it always like this, Yiyeon-ah? And why is it that we always fight because of this?" He sighed.
Felix and Seungmin looked at each other then glanced at their friend who was scolding his cousin. It was their first time to see Hyunjin act maturely, and they wonder when he would be this mature towards them.
"Yejin is also my friend. I'm not taking sides, but if Yejin is mad at you because Yangyang is avoiding you on purpose, then what kind of friend is she?" Hyunjin said, drinking from his iced tea. "She's not supposed to take any sides when two of her friends are fighting... and this right here is just immature."
Yiyeon looked at Hyunjin in awe, "Since when did you become this cool?" She asked and chuckled. "Thanks, Hyunjin..." She said and patted his shoulder.
"I mean, you also need to talk to Yangyang. Even if he avoids you on purpose, he has to talk to you. He would need to... one way or another. Especially now that foundation week is almost over," he sighed.
From afar, Hyunjin could see the person who's the topic of their conversation. He was standing away from them, but Hyunjin could clearly tell that Yangyang was looking at them. Otherwise, who would he be looking at. There weren't a lot of people in this area.
He could tell that he was hesitant. Not that he cares anyway.
"Can you... excuse me for a while?" He asked and stood up, leaving his cousin with his friends. He went towards where Yangyang was, and the Chinese male looked genuinely surprised. "May I help you with something? It looks like you want to approach my sister," he said coldly.
Yangyang swallowed the lump on his throat as he clenched his fist, holding an unopened water bottle. Hyunjin looked at his hands and raised a brow upon seeing the other boy's actions.
"C-Can you... give this to Yiyeon, please?" He asked.
Hyunjin crossed his arms, "Give it to her yourself," he scoffed.
What's with boys asking me to give Yiyeon something? First, Jeno with the tickets. Now, Yangyang? Pft, pathetic.
"I think you know what's going on with all of us right now," Yangyang looked down and extended his hand with the unopened bottle. "A-And I... don't want to make it worse. So please... give this to her. I know it's just bottled water, but I noticed at the cafeteria earlier that she bought two cans of so, and I know that she would drink it all."
Hyunjin scoffed as he took the bottle in his hands, "Do you actually think that you'd make it worse? What an idiot."
"What?"
"Nothing," he rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll give it to her. You might think that I'm unfair and heartless if I don't." He turned his back and started to walk away. "Don't even think that I'm good with you since it's obvious that it's not."
He returned to their spot where he saw Yiyeon laughing with Seungmin and Felix. It seems like the three of them are already comfortable with each other.
Hyunjin sat down and placed the bottled water in front of Yiyeon.
"Can I ask something... if you don't mind?" Felix asked out of the blue.
Yiyeon nodded.
"I thought you and Jeno are dating? What's with Yangyang?" He asked.
Sadly, the girl smiled, "Jeno and I broke up over a month ago... and Yangyang is just a friend. The three of us are currently not on speaking terms... you know, petty fights?" She chuckled and rubbed her nape.
Felix looked at Yiyeon in shock, "Really? I thought that you and Jeno got back together..." he looked confused. "The girls are fussing about it lately."
Yiyeon and Hyunjin looked at each other, "What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.
Seungmin leaned closer as if he was afraid that someone would hear him, "The girls in our class are talking about some photos of you two... and they're sharing it in a certain chat room. Not that I know anything else about it, but yeah, I've heard the same rumors."
"Why did you guys not tell me this?" Hyunjin raised a brow.
"Well, we thought you already know!" Seungmin said defensively.
Hyunjin leaned back, "Of course, it would just fly right in front of my nose! I'm Yiyeon's cousin. They would never tell me anything!" He said in between gritted teeth. He then glanced at Yiyeon, who was fidgeting.
He took a deep breath and patted her shoulder, "Yiyeon-ah, you need to be extra careful. Whatever this rumor is, I don't feel good about it," he sighed. Yiyeon didn't respond. "I... i'll try to protect you, whenever I can."
She looked up and smiled weakly, "Thanks, Hyunjin... you guys, too." She said and smiled at Felix and Seungmin. "Shall we start eating now, then?"
They nodded.
***
Yiyeon quickly went back to the club room, where she sees the other club members fidgeting. Jaemin and Jisung were pacing back and forth. Renjun looked like he's calling someone who kept on declining his calls. Shotaro was constantly tapping his foot on the floor.
"Is everything alright?" She asked.
As if surprised and relieved to see her, Jaemin and Jisung rushed towards her.
"Noona! Is everything alright? Are you okay? You aren't hurt, are you?" Jisung asked, scanning his older friend from head to toe.
Yiyeon reluctantly nodded as she threw a glance at Jaemin, who sighed in relief. "I-I'm alright. What's the matter?" She asked.
One of their club members, Shin Rina, immediately pulled her towards her computer to show her a couple of pictures. "Yiyeon-ah, someone sent us these..." she said, pointing at the computer screen.
Her eyes widened, "I-Is that... me and Jeno?"
The rest of the club members huddled in a circle and looked at Rina's computer screen.
"It was sent to us when you were out for lunch," one of the members, Yoo Taeho, said. "Two girls went here and gave us this flash drive. They were practically begging us to write an article about you and Jeno. They even bribed us with money."
Yiyeon looked at her senior, "Sunbae, did you agree?" She asked.
Taeho shook his head, "Why would we?! That would violate our oath to truthfulness."
Renjun carried a nearby stool and placed it in front of Yiyeon, "Sit down for a while, Yiyeon-ah."
"Noona, you need to be extra careful from now on," Jisung said.
The rest of the club members nodded.
***
Although uneasy, Yiyeon went to the locker room alone. She kept on glancing around in case someone was following her, but the halls were empty. The students probably went home already.
She entered the locker room only to see a huge red X-mark on her locker. There were also pictures of her posted on her locker with X-marks crossing her face. She took a step back, knees trembling in fear.
Yiyeon slowly opened the door to her locker, only to fall back after.
A bucket of flour suddenly fell. But since she fell back, the bucket fell onto her lower body. the rest of the flour covered the floor. Her eyes widened in utter shock as she saw something written at the back of her locker.
Leave Jeno alone.
- tbc.