second lead. | 정원

chapter 17.

a/n; double update! :)

xvii.

"You idiot!" Mira whisper-shouted as soon as they were ear distance away from the Jeon's residence after dropping Hyunjoo inside. "Why did you tell him we're dating?"

"I panicked okay!" Jungwon excused.

"You could have said no!" She rubbed her face in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose, shutting her eyes close with a frown on her face. "When Hyun knows something, he won't hesitate to tell our parents. Now dad, Ki-ha, and Suna are going to tease me because of this."

"What's wrong with that?" He wondered, earning a glare from the girl and it shut him up real quick.

"I don't like being teased. It's embarrassing and annoying," She turned her hands into fists, clasping them as she felt her nails digging into her skin. Jeon Mira was the type of person to tear up when she feels disheartened. Her parents had always labeled her as a sensitive person. "It sounds childish I know."

"I also dislike being teased," Jungwon informed and the girl looked at him. "The feeling of being teased was similar to being made fun of and I get that a lot when I was younger."

Mira knew that feeling. She too was always being made fun of when she was younger. At first, she thought it was a normal thing between friends to tease each other, but their teasing went too far that it made Mira tear up at one point. Since then, she despised the idea of being teased and that was also one of the reasons she had befriended a lot of people at school to get into their good side and prevent that from happening. She befriended everyone but didn't get too close to them.

"I was teased, or rather made fun of, for having a close girl friend. The boys in my old school would always stay away from girls and because I was always with Aerin, they kept making fun of me saying we were together," Jungwon explained. "Back then, they thought relationships were for losers."

The boy clenched his jaw attractively as he continued speaking, "I told them numerous times that I wasn't, but they didn't listen and kept saying I wasn't single and sh(13+ word)t like that. They kept talking behind my back."

This was the first time Mira had heard him speak so aggressively. It only indicated how frustrated and annoyed he was with his former friends back at his old school.

"I was mad. That's why I tend to avoid being in relationships throughout junior high. Rejecting those who confessed and telling them I wasn't looking for a relationship," Jungwon looked at Mira's eyes. It was teary — but the tears didn't fall, just gathered in one spot. "I told myself to ignore them cause I figured if I didn't react, they would stop."

Mira's breathing calmed down after listening to Jungwon's childhood story which was relatively similar to her own. Her tensed body relaxing as she lets her head fall. The air fell into a deep silence before he started talking again.

"When you're young, you tend to follow what everyone else does so you won't feel left out. I think you were teased but they intended to anger you which leads to verbal bullying. I'm sure your family only teases you to make themselves feel closer." Mira felt a hand on her nape before she was gently pulled to rest against his shoulder, him listening to the soft breathing she emitted.

"Won?" His heart skipped a beat from the nickname, but he shrugged it off. "You didn't answer my question."

"Which one?"

"...why did you tell Hyun you're my boyfriend?"

A moment of silence passed before Jungwon heaved out a quiet sigh, "The way he looked at me was as if he was telling me to say yes. My mind was blank at that time so I ended up agreeing. I'm sorry."

Mira pulled away from his embrace and stared at him, initiating eye contact. "Really?"

Jungwon nodded. "If he tells your parents, let's just keep it a secret between us only. Me, you, and your family," He suggested. "No one else has to know."

Jeon Mira blinked puzzledly. "Are you saying that you're gonna act like my boyfriend when my parents are around and act like my friend at school?"

"Mhm, like a secret relationship."

It sounded convincing, but the girl was worried that it will ruin their friendship once it ended. Jungwon was a very dear friend to her, one she made when she first met him properly at the school courtyard. She didn't want what they have to go down the drain and be wasted, but the situation occurring right now already happened so there was no way around it. As long as everyone at school won't know, they will be fine. Right?

"What if both my parents and our friends are together? What will you do? What will I do?" She worriedly questioned.

"It depends."

a/n; jungwon's childhood story actually happened to me soooaurr...