second lead. | 정원

chapter 22.

xxii.

An hour had passed since the group boarded the train which meant there was around another hour left until they reach Gyeongju.

The students were currently sitting in the cold seats. Some were taking pictures of the view outside the window, some were on their phones, some were talking to their friends, and some were fast asleep.

The teachers had informed their seating partners would remain the same throughout the whole trip. They booked two whole coaches for all four classes and the seats were designed to face to face, unlike the seating arrangements when they were on the bus. Coincidentally, Mira and Jungwon sat across Sunoo and Aerin.

Kim Sunoo has his eyes shut and head tilted forward, fast asleep. The more Mira stared at him the more she declared he was a pretty sleeper, that was no doubt. Her eyes averted to the girl beside him who was quietly eating red velvet Oreos. Once in a while, she would tense up every time Sunoo shifted in his seat, only to move closer to her figure.

Aerin looked up upon feeling someone's gaze on her, sharing eye contact with Jeon Mira. The girl blinked twice before slowly extending her Oreos, thinking she wanted them but Mira shook her head.

Tilting her head innocently to the side, Aerin opened her travel bag and rummaged through it before pulling out strawberry milk and offering the drink to Mira. The latter was about to decline again but Aerin had a look that meant she insisted.

"Thank you," Mira uttered.

The other girl nodded her head with a soft smile on her lips, happy to know that Mira accepted the drink she originally planned on giving her friends to share. They were seated somewhere at the front though so Aerin didn't get the chance to give it to them, but she didn't mind giving one to Jeon Mira.

At this moment, Mira now understood why Sunoo fell for her. Park Aerin was a kind and considerate individual. Everything she did was adorable and she recalled Jungwon's words back on the rooftop.

Speaking of the sheep, Mira felt a weight on her head just as she was about to open the milk bottle. She looked to the side and saw a floof of dark hair in her vision, none other than the male himself was asleep, his head unconsciously falling onto hers.

Aerin witnessed the action and she let out a small giggle at the panicked yet flustered expression Mira had on as she tried to push his head back to its originally place only to end up failing.

Mira pursed her lips to a thin line, contemplating if she was going to forcefully keep his head upright with tape or pinch him to wake him up. She even considered punching him in the stomach but went against the idea. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating, especially after what happened at her house a week ago.

Her family knew she was dating Jungwon, fake dating to be precise (they weren't aware) It doesn't help that Ms. Jeon happened to walk past at the wrong time to check on the students as she gave her niece a teasing smirk.

Mira's cheeks only turned redder by the second as she tried calming herself down. Embarrassment was what she felt, but it wasn't that bad considering only Jiheon knew about this. If the whole school came to find out— no, they can't. They won't.

"You guys look cute," A new voice remarked coming from the next row and Mira came to know it was a student from her class, Nishimura Riki, better known as Ni-ki. A Japanese transferee. Ni-ki had a teasing smile on his face before giving his attention back to his phone, playing a game.

Mira heaved a sigh, giving up on trying to keep the boy on her shoulder to social distance as she fixed her posture a little so she was sitting more comfortably, adjusting his head in the process. Jungwon furrowed his eyebrow as he unknowingly snuggled closer.

It took a lot for Mira to not smack him because of her uncontrollable racing heartbeat. She didn't want to wake him up. He looked so peaceful.

She then faced front and caught Aerin quietly staring at Jungwon with a longing gaze. The girl eventually met Mira's eyes shortly after, giving her a small smile. 'Take care of him for me,' She mouthed.

Jeon Mira watched as Aerin whirled her head over to the pink-haired boy sitting next to her and it would be a lie if she (Mira) didn't catch the loving gaze Aerin held for Sunoo as she admired his sleeping figure.

In all honesty, Mira wasn't sure what to feel about it as she looked away, trying to ignore the couple in front of her. What she did know was that she didn't feel as mad and upset as she was two months ago, though her feelings were still present.

a/n; i feel a bit weak and tired, also sleepy. i think I'll be fine in a few days </3 hopefully,