second lead. | 정원

chapter 65.

lxv.

The second-year female student ran through the corridor. She received a lot of strange looks from both her classmates and seniors when she entered the third-year floor. She was lucky she didn't run into any teachers. Oh, how badly she wanted to give him a piece of her mind—

"Hey!" Kyeri screeched after bumping into someone on the stairs. "Watch where you're going you—!" She stopped, realizing the tie on his uniform was colored red burgundy signifying he was a third-year student.

"I'm sorry," She awkwardly apologized and bowed her head before continuing her way up the stairs until she felt a hand gripping onto her forearm. She eyed it cautiously, "Excuse me, I need to get going—"

"I know you. You're the girl who hates Jungwon right?" The male inquired, raising an eyebrow. If she had paid more attention to his facial expression, she would have caught the growing smirk curving at the corner of his lip. "Say, what if we make a deal?"

"A deal?" Jang Kyeri questioned, tilting her head to the side. "What kind of deal?"

The third-year smiled. Even though he had the looks of an innocent bystander, his aura was the complete opposite. Kyeri could as much as tell that. She remained silent, waiting for the older to speak. "You want Jungwon to stay away from Mira, do you? You want them to break up? We're on the same page."

Breaking up was what she wanted from them at first, but she knew it wouldn't happen. The way they looked at each other was enough to tell her to move on, but she refused to, which was why she prioritized hanging out with his girlfriend without interruption. It wouldn't be considered cheating considering it was just a hang-out between a junior and a senior. Either way, it's a win-win solution.

Hearing the male's words just made Kyeri's frown deeper, her respect for him jumping out the window. "Mister dried-kidney-slug," She started, catching the older boy off guard with the nickname. "As much as I dislike ratsbane, I don't think I can handle Senior Mira crying over her breakup," Kyeri countered, observing his dumbfounded expression. "Your ego must be as fat as butter if you think she would date someone like you."

"What did you say?!" The senior gritted his teeth, his grip getting tighter around her arm as he brought her closer. Kyeri shrieked as she attempted to tear his hand off her.

"Hey, no fighting!" Loud footsteps sounded before another male student appeared, separating the two. He looked at the senior, "I'll inform the teacher if you guys don't stop," He then turned to look at Kyeri who was glaring down at the floor, holding her wrist. The third-year scoffed before stomping away.

Jang Kyeri glanced at the boy's forest green tie before sighing, "Thanks, I guess. Even though I didn't need your help."

The boy frowned, glancing at her bruised wrist before crossing his arms. "Shouldn't I get an apology too?"

"What?"

"I remember you insulting me. Apologize," He ordered.

Jang Kyeri raised an eyebrow, "I don't recall insulting you nor did I recall crossing paths with you, so I'm not gonna apologize. Also, aren't you the boy who's obsessed with Han Iseul? The one who got rejected a hundred times?" She interviewed, scrutinizing his expression. Her gaze shifted down the stairs and she gasped out loud, "Oh my God, Iseul's right there!"

The way he whipped his head around so fast made Kyeri laugh out loud, not believing he fell for it. "You're ridiculous and whipped, dagnabbit," She shook her head in disbelief, turning around to leave.

"Hey!" Jeon Suna glared at the girl as she began ascending the stairs, toward the third-year classrooms. "That's what you called me the other day! Apologize! Hey, don't just walk away! Don't ignore me! You're not supposed to be in there, the bell is about to ring!"

Suna watched as her figure disappeared from his vision. He sighed out loud, "That girl is asking for detention."

Kyeri did get detention for being tardy after that.

-

"Aerin... Are you okay?" Mira worriedly questioned. The said girl had been acting strange lately, inviting Mira and her friends over to a nearby restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. Cheram sat next to an upset Aerin, and Yubin was sitting beside Mira, looking at her friend in worry.

"I confessed to Sunoo after school before we parted ways on Friday," Aerin commenced, drinking lemon water to refresh her mind. She ignored her friends who had their eyes enlarged. "He was about to answer me, but his phone started ringing. He told me he was meeting up with a girl named Chae. I don't know a Chae. Who is Chae!" She dramatically wailed.

"Jesus," Cheram covered her ears.

Mira comforted the girl after exchanging seats with Cheram, reminding her that she didn't have to worry about Sunoo liking someone else since he already had his heart set on Aerin (the reason Mira was rejected in the first place).

"Have you tried calling him?"

Park Aerin sniffed away her nonexistent tears, she wasn't really upset. Rather, she was mad. Furious even. "Why would I call him, when he's right there?!" The girl pointed at a table at the other end of the restaurant, finding Kim Sunoo smiling and laughing with a girl. Chae. She must have known he would be here, which was why she chose this place.

Her mood quickly went from angry to sad in an instant, and she started crying again. "How could he... They're even wearing matching shirts," Aerin pouted, biting her lip anxiously. "Maybe he was misleading me," She sadly sipped on her lemon water again.

"That's not true," Mira remarked, a frown visible on her face. "Sunoo wouldn't do that. That's not the type of person he is, Rin," She stated. Very hypocritical for her to say that though.

"They're not wearing matching shirts. What on Earth are you on about?" Cheram spoke, narrowing her eyes at her friend after she observed Sunoo having fun with the girl at the corner table.

Befriending her for almost four years now, Cheram had never seen Aerin act this way. Liking a boy had changed her personality. Park Aerin still had her cute characteristics within her, but she went from being carefree and anti-romantic into being the most fragile and Sunoo-crazy.

"They're both wearing white..." Aerin muttered.

Yu Cheram facepalmed so hard it sounded like a volleyball serve. She sighed tiredly before looking around as her eyes landed on a person. "That grandma over there is wearing pink, does that mean I'm dating her too—"

Yubin kicked her leg from under the table, cutting her sentence off. "Anyway, Rin, I really think there's nothing to worry about. Sunoo is a great guy, and—"

The chim of a bell rang throughout the restaurant as another customer entered. A tall male, one that the girls recognized, had a charming smile plastered on his face as he walked toward Sunoo's table. They greeted each other with a hug before the man wrapped his arms around Chae's waist and kissed her temple. Aerin gaped her mouth open in disbelief.

"Hey, isn't that Park Jongseong? Our senior?" Kang Yubin asked, looking at the other girls. "Sunoo's still in touch with him, that's cool!"

"That's Jay, alright," Mira smiled, happy to see him. It had been quite a long time since she last saw Park Jay after his graduation and as far as she knew, he had never lived his high school life to the fullest, only focusing on his studies. It was nice seeing him with someone.

"Oh," Aerin blinked, looking at her friends.