second lead. | 정원

chapter 14.

xiv.

"I thought you'll go home with Aerin," Mira muttered, breaking the silence and earning a glance from the boy. "You always go home with her right?"

"That's only because our houses are close. Nowadays, she goes home with Sunoo even though they live quite far from each other," He shrugged.

After the event that happened in the hallway, Jungwon had offered to walk her home. At first, she declined but he insisted saying that he had nothing better to do. Since it was Friday today, the boy had no plans for the weekends except hanging out with his friends — he had done all his assignments anyway so his schedule was empty.

"Is she also in our neighborhood?" The girl questioned, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"She's not—" Jungwon stopped, recalling him telling her that his house was located in her neighborhood. If his house was in her neighborhood, that would mean Aerin's house was also nearby, and if Aerin's house was nearby, that would make the three of them more or less neighbors. "Oh, she actually lives in the next neighborhood..." His words trailed off as it gets quieter towards the end making the girl frown in confusion.

"What did you say?"

"Are you joining the school trip?" Jungwon questioned in an attempt to change the subject with something he wanted to ask earlier if it wasn't for the quadruple interruption he received. "It's gonna be next week."

"Next week? Two months passed already?" Mira rhetorically asked, staring at her shoes as she walked down the sidewalk. The boy nodded, "You're joining right?"

"Do you want me to join?" A small smirk appeared at the corner of her lip as she playfully nudged his arm with her elbow. He grimaced at her words, making her chuckle, "I am, don't worry. Won't wanna miss my last trip as a second year."

"I'm not worried," He denied, looking away.

The upcoming school trip to Gyeongju would be the last trip they would experience as a second year student. After the trip, they will be having their year end examination and then a month break. The next time they come back to school, they will be considered third year students. Time was flowing by pretty fast it kinda made the atmosphere a tad bit emotional.

"We'll be seniors in four months, huh?" Jungwon uttered, finding it weird that he'll be a senior soon even though he mentally felt like he was still in ninth grade. How was he in twelfth already?

The duo continued to walk on the pathway, occasionally feeling the gust of wind passing by every time a car zoomed past. Jeon Mira took a look around her surroundings to ensure she was going the right direction but along the way, she spotted something in the distance that brought a smile up on her face.

Jungwon's eyes were trained on her when she jogged away towards an ice cream truck on the other side of the street, getting a scold from him to look left and right first before crossing to avoid accidents but thankfully she was safe moments later.

He caught her speaking to the vendor before the latter scooped the flavored sweets as requested. By the time Mira finished paying, Jungwon was standing next to her, eyeing the ice cream in her hand with disgust apparent on his face.

Mint chocolate.
She didn't buy just one, but two.

Mira noticed his stare and laughed at the expression he made. The boy certainly can't hide his true feelings because his eyes told everything.

He walked off first, trying to make it seem as if he didn't just judge her choice of flavor. Soon enough, the girl caught up with him with faint laughter coming out of her lips once in a while. "You don't like mint chocolate ice cream?"

Jungwon responded with a purse of his lips before bobbing his head up and down. "Mint chocolate in general. No offense, it tastes like toothpaste but I won't judge your preferences."

Mira giggled once more, shaking her head in amusement. "I don't like mint choco too, but honestly after trying them several times because Sunoo forced me to, I don't dislike it but I don't like it either," She explained, looking down at the ice creams in her hand that was yet to be eaten. "I prefer not eating them though."

"So you're not going to eat that?"

"Nope. I actually bought them for someone else," She stopped in her tracks making Jungwon stop behind her as he started looking around, now realizing that he was in a different environment. It wasn't the same area he remembered when he was walking Mira home a few weeks ago. He recalled seeing a convenience store right around the corner before turning left to her house.

"Mira, are we in the right place? I don't think this is where your neighborhood is located," Jungwon frowned, still looking around the unfamiliar area.

"I forgot to tell you this, but I'm here to pick someone up first," Mira informed him and asked him to check the time on his phone (her hands were occupied) which the boy obliged and showed her his lock screen. "He should be coming out soon, it's almost four forty-five."

"He?"

The girl hummed and smiled, "He's my—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, a loud voice called out for her and the source came from the modern-looking house in front of them as the front door slammed open, revealing someone very familiar to Jeon Mira but not to Yang Jungwon.

a/n; i'm sooo sorry, this chapter was rushed so it might not be as good ://