Chapter 20 - The Seatmate

Located at the back of the four-storey high school building, the library was the oldest but the most elegant place in the school. Everywhere, there were books that covered the walls to the high ceiling. A classic long french window that broke one side of the vast collection was smartly located where the sun rises, the only window aside from the tiny ones that holed the empty wall spots alternately.

Son Jin Ae inserted the key and opened the door, a chilly atmosphere welcomed her and Jeong Won. The lights were turned on and off automatically every 6 AM and PM and so in this hour, it was total darkness. It would be too much work to look for the main switch their teacher said, for it was in the chief librarian's office, so she gave her a flashlight instead. Jeong Won, on the other hand, had his own miniature flashlight.

She took two of the books he was holding. Dividing the work equally means they could finish the task faster, she implied through her gestures. She walked to her left right away, looking at the correct shelf. Jeong Won seemed to have taken the opposite direction and searched for the shelves as well. After several minutes of searching, she found herself in the far end of the library with one last book in her hand. Completely oblivious of Jeong Won who was inconspicuously following her from behind. Done from sending the books away in some random shelves.

"Booo!"

She wasn't startled at all but she was tip-toed while trying to place the book on the upper shelf so his slight push on her shoulders made her lose her balance. She slipped and fell backward, but before her body could even hit the floor, one arm grabbed her back, just below her shoulders, and one arm instantly wrapped on her waist. There were like five seconds of silence when their eyes met. In spite of the darkness, their eyes illuminated the light coming from their flashlights. Before Jeong Won could recover from the magnetic look of her eyes that lured him in, he felt a pang of pain as the book Jin Ae was still holding slammed in his head. Finding her balance, Jin Ae immediately broke from his embrace.

"Ouch!" He complained.

"Jerk! I almost had an accident!"

"But I caught you," he said while massaging his head.

She acted as if she would slam his head again but did not do so.

"Put it there," she threw the book to Jeong Won, which fell on his chest and gestured him to do the last work.

With his tall height, he easily placed the last book. Not even waiting for him to reach her side, she turned around and started to walk. Tracing their steps back to the entrance, Jeong Won just stared at her gloomy appearance from her back.

She turned the knob and her eyes grew when the door fought back from her pull. She shifted her gaze at Jeong Won, giving him a startled look. In return, he turned the knob himself. The door did not budge.

He pulled the door hard, "Help! There are people here! Open the door!" He shouted above his lungs while shaking the door to open.

"Open the door!" He continued shouting.

He glanced at Jin Ae who was just standing behind him. She just sighed resignedly and instead of responding, she stepped back and went to the nearest shelf. She turned around and sat on the floor, her back on the shelf. She bent her knees in front of her.

"What should we do? We have to do something to get out of here."

Jin Ae looked at him as if he was the most stupid person in the world and said, "We are 100 meters away from the main building and most classes are on the 3rd floor. How are they supposed to hear us?"

"-the janitor didn't even hear your shouts when he was the closest here. Aren't you just tiring your voice out?" she continued saying.

"But.... shouldn't we look for something to get out of here? Look for a hole or something?"

"The only window here are also barred outside. And if you mean that open holes before the ceiling, don't even think about it," she answered a matter-of-factly.

"Amazing. You are the smartest girl, alright." Jeong Won remarked sarcastically.

He plopped himself down beside her.

"So we will just wait until someone finds out that we were not yet back...." he mused in a low voice, "-Just like how you allowed them to accuse you of being a bully and be stripped of your elite status, huh?"

He glanced in her direction to see her reaction.

"It's not something new though. Aren't I a bully? I ordered you around and messed with your club. I could imagine you guys had a party after I was thrown out," she said without looking up at him.

"Why do you think like that? Do you really believe everyone's happy with what happened? The club must have been elated for a moment but they never wished you bad. Ming Jung... Min Jung even looked disturbed nowadays."

She did not respond.

"I did not intend to pry but I know that you and that Myung Soo has some connection."

Her eyes narrowed upon hearing that and lifted her face to look at him, he continued, "....but you should not let this slide. So, let's talk to the principal. I will help you."

Still, she did not respond but kept on staring at him like he said something out of the world.

Then her mouth opened, "Are you really serious about reporting Myung Soo to the principal? Even if it could cause you trouble?"

For an outsider, her tone sounded like 'Are you out of your wits?' But to her, she was seriously asking for his answer.

"Yeah. I have pretty good evidence and I'm not afraid of him," he replied confidently.

She stared hard at him for a moment and looked up at the soft light streaming from the pencil box-like holes in the walls

"I did not want that to happen," she said half mumbling on herself.

Jeong Won heard her but he couldn't decipher what she means. He tried to catch her eyes but she remained staring up.

"What did you say? What do you not want to happen? Reporting Myung Soo? Or.... me, getting into trouble?"

When he finally caught her eyes when she looked back at him, the door squeaked.

"Jeong Won-ah!"

And then they heard their names being called outside repeatedly.

* * *

Kim Jeong Won shifted endlessly on his bed that night. He couldn't fall asleep. He could still remember Jin Ae's face and her smile as a response to his unintelligent question, or wait... was it a smirk?

He stormed up on his bed and sighed, "But what exactly she doesn't want to happen?"

His logical mind told him that she could be referring to Myung Soo. Like she did not want him to be reported and that was possible since they knew each other. But a large part of him wanted the latter to be the answer.

He plopped down again and blurted out, "to whom did she cared?" And he stayed staring at the ceiling until dawn, cursing himself, knowing that he'll be doomed in the exams tomorrow.

* * *

"Whoah! You are so hard-working, Jeong Won-ah! Look at your dark circles, you even studied last night! I'm so proud of you."

Hyeon Seong remarked, amazed at the idea that Jeong Won even had time to study after their late-night review in school. Jeong Won shied his face away out of embarrassment. Of course, his friend did not have the slightest idea why he lacked sleep and it was better for him to believe that theory.

The first person he wanted to see that morning was already sitting in his chair, which was her chair now, busily preparing her tools: pens, pencils, and eraser, in her case. She hadn't looked up even once to him. Trying to make his presence known, he sat down and tried to position their shared desk at the right angle. He slightly moved it more in her direction. Finally, she turned in his direction.

"A longer sleep the night before the exam is important. You should have slept right after you got home last night."

That remark caught him off guard. He was glad to know that she was aware of his presence after all and that she even heard what Hyeon Seong said to him. But she talked so casually to him as if last night did not happen, he still wanted to ask her about it if given a chance.

He couldn't find any impressive response to that so he rummaged through his bag.

"The others are busy re-reading their notes and their reviewer. Should I read more?" He had almost brought his notebook outside his bag when she disapproved.

"Cramming on the day of the exam is not advisable. It disturbs the flow of knowledge you have stocked in your head for the past few weeks," she said smartly.

Upon hearing that, he slowly returned his notebook inside his bag and sighed. He was not sure about the "stock knowledge" part though.

"So.... are we just gonna sit and wait?" He asked, feeling disturbed that almost everyone in the room was in their books and notebooks, stealing time.

"Sit back and relax."

"You sounds like a pro."

"I don't want to say this but-"

He looked at her when she stopped her sentence, eagerly wanting to hear what she would spill out.

She mused, ".... I guess, I'd rather not say," and she went on relaxing on her seat, earning her a frown on his face. This time, he really wanted to hear it.

* * *

The first morning after the exams, everyone was all in high spirits. They were all glad they have survived the hell of weeks. In spite of that, the announcement for the school ranking was just another hell day they were waiting for.

A bottle of drink and a biscuit were placed on her desk and Son Jin Ae lifted her face to see the person who it came from. Jeong Won had a broad smile when she looked up at him.

"I bought you these, just in case, you are still embarrassed to go down in the canteen," he said.

Jeong Won was aware that Jin Ae was told to skip classes when the issue broke and she had only attended class for the past three days during the exam. Now, that the exams had passed, the students might talk about the issue again and thought that she would still feel awkward.

Jin Ae scoffed in disbelief. Yes, she remained in her seat for the whole day but it was not because she was embarrassed. She did not just have the energy to move around. After all, she was not concerned with anything since she was no longer the leader of the Elites. The thought of people thinking she was down and pathetic struck her pride.

"Who? Me?... embarrassed?" she scoffed heavily. And instantly she turned to the three male students near the blackboard who were playing basketball inside the classroom.

"Yah! Stop dribbling that ball in the classroom! This isn't a playground!" she yelled.

Then she turned her to the male student in the middle who failed to throw his garbage from his seat to the trash can.

"-and you! Pick up your garbage. If you can't shoot it in the trash can, don't even bother throwing it up!" The floor was all smeared up with garbage.

And from the front of her seat, Jin Ae called out the three girls who were talking loudly since early in the morning. They talked so loud, she could hear their stories, two seats away.

"-and you, girl! Can you just shut your mouth up, the class isn't the least interested in your love life!"

The three male students instantly stopped playing, scratching their heads while scolding one another.

The male student with eyeglasses, almost passed out when she shouted at him. He picked the can of cola he missed to throw in the trash can and put it inside.

The female students glared at her at first but were all embarrassed that they just walked out of the classroom.

Jeong Won had his mouth open in surprise. The other students giggled and talked to themselves, pleased with the sudden change of atmosphere in their classroom. They were actually enduring the noise and the mess inside the classroom. While Jin Ae was just waiting for the right time to scold them as they were annoying her inner peace.

"Whoah! Son Jin Ae! Daebak!" Hyeon Seong exclaimed from Jeong Won's back.

"Waah! You are definitely an elite!" He continued amazed.

Not even the class president could tame the class.

Jin Ae shifted her gaze and lifted an eyebrow at Jeong Won. Speechless, he sat slowly in his chair. Now, he knows, she was not a bit embarrassed after all. He glanced at her under his eyes briefly, afraid she would scowl at him this time. He slowly shoved the drink and cookies away from her to his side of the desk, careful not to do things that would upset her.

"Leave the cookies," she snapped.