Befriending the Gangster // S.W.H (#21)

Twenty-one

WonHo

I picked up the phone call that couldn't stop buzzing when I was in class, Yoo YiSeul nudged me hard to tell me that while she was writing her notes. After a whole week of attending school, she has done something that I would never see in Yoo YiSeul, she finally picked up a pen and wrote down all her notes.

That is such an achievement that she had improved so much in just one week, before that she would always want me to copy her notes on her behalf as she would use all her time to take a nap which lasted through the entire day.

"Pick up that call, it is annoying me so much." She shout-whispered as she turns towards me with an irritated facial expression. "That vibration is so strong that it is affecting my handwriting, I don't want my notes to look horrible just because of your stupid phone."

Since when did she even cared that much? "I can't, we are in the middle of class." I did the same back to her but a decibel lower. "I will get caught if I were to answer the phone call at this time."

She smacked my head. "Of course, you can't do that. Pretend to go to the toilet so that you can pick up that phone call that is from your--" She glanced over at her caller ID. "Your dearest mother who doesn't care about you."

I rolled my eyes. "She does care about me, you just don't know that." I stood up and raised my hand. "Can I go to the toilet for a while, Mr Kang?"

I got out of the classroom and rushed immediately to the toilet to pick up my phone call that has been ringing non-stop since 5 minutes ago. It is from my mother who called me for something, she always has a tendency to call me when I am in class for some odd reason.

"Finally you picked up the call, do you not care about me anymore?" Her voice was condescending and sarcastic, it was clear that she wasn't in a good mood when she made the call. I have a good reason for not picking up her call.

"I'm in class, Omma. And I came out of the classroom just to pick up your call." I told her frankly. "What's the matter?"

"Are you free tonight? I want to have dinner with you." She sounded rather sincere, one of her techniques to make me fall for that trick.

She is always asking me to have dinner with her while hiding something under her sleeve, she did that the last time wanting to have dinner with me as part of my birthday celebration and she dropped the news that she was going to get remarried. I don't know exactly what she is trying to do this time.

"WonHo, are you still there?" Her voice brought me back to reality. "Lee WonHo?"

I cleared my throat. "I am and I'm not going to have dinner with you. I have something on at the last minute." I lied, clearly knowing that I will be alone in the apartment as usual, with no one to hang out with because I don't need one.

"He wants to meet you, he wants to get to know you better since you guys are going to be in contact more often from now on."

I let out a long sigh. "I don't want to meet him."

"Lee WonHo, he's someone important to me and you don't want to meet him? Are you disrespecting me right now?"

"I am not disrespecting you, I'm just disappointed that you forgot about my father so quickly. It has only been 5 years and you are already going to marry someone again."

"I still love him, it is just that I need someone in my life for me to be happy. And that person is him, he is the right person for me."

I scoffed. "Because of his money? I'm not going to have dinner with you no matter what, you can't convince me." I hung up the call and walked back to class, the teacher had finished teaching the class and we are now supposed to finish our homework as much as we can before the class ends.

Yoo YiSeul is already falling asleep, nodding her head off as she tries to do her homework. She is still holding onto her pen tightly through the rest of her is drifting off to dreamland. I chuckled as I sat down next to her and Yoo Kihyun turned around, my smile instantly fades. "Man, you missed what the teacher was explaining. Do you need my help?"

"I can do it by myself since we are now complete strangers," I replied to him as I flipped to the page on the workbook that I was supposed to complete, it was algebra and I don't know how to do the math. "How do I do this again?" I mumbled to myself and I glanced over at what Yoo YiSeul had done, I don't know why I chose her workbook to get any answers when I have never do any homework before.

It seemed like the correct answers and I confirmed it by looking at the end of the book for the answers, it was completely the same as what she has done. What in the world?

Her eyes fluttered open and I immediately moved back to my original position, pretending to do my work when I have no idea to do it. My brain doesn't contain the word 'math'. "You are back already?" She stretched her arms and it hit my ears but she didn't notice, I will never get any apologies from this woman for as long as I live.

I nodded and I looked back at my work. "I didn't know that you do your homework."

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Both, how did you do that?" I mumbled my words as I was embarrassed that someone like her could get the answers while I still have no idea how the alphabets and the numbers can be grouped together in an equation.

"You what? I couldn't hear you clearly enough." She leaned in closer to me, I could smell her scent from here. I liked that scent...

"I... Nothing, just continue what you have to do. I'll just pretend that I know how to do them and not having any idea how it works." I mumbled that sentence until I realized that I said it out loud and she has already heard it loud and clear. Oh my god...

"Are you for real?" She looked over at my work and let out a disappointing sigh. "How did you even get through middle school?"

I shrugged my shoulders and she did the problems for me, writing in my workbook with my pen while keeping a 5 cm distance from me. I feel so warm being so close to her and I bet that she probably doesn't realize that her small action is making me so flustered with me.

"There. I'm lazy to explain what I have done so try to understand it yourself." She moved back to her position and I could finally breathe. "Do you want to have dinner at my place?"

That question made me cough loudly, that shocked me way too much. Why is she asking me this? "Why are you asking that for? You are making it sound so weird."

"Why would it be? Everyone in this class knows that we are neighbours, there is nothing to be ashamed about." She slung her shoulder over mine and I slapped it. "It is a fact. So are you going? There is going to have a lot of food, YeongAe ahjumma told me to invite you since you are living with no one."

"I know how to cook to some extent and I have something on today." I lied again. "Tell YeongAe ahjumma that I will come the next time."

I looked at the person in front of me, her brother next to me as she stares at me with a knowing look on her face. I lied again and she knows about it... When can I stop lying to make myself feel better?