Chapter: 9

Nari was thinking about the moment after the football match from her school days. It seemed as if decades had passed. Those days, she missed them a lot. Sunk in those thoughts she was dragged out by the sudden ring of her phone.  Without looking at the screen, she picked it up.

"Hello!" she said as she laid supine. 

"Nari-yah." A light voice spoke. The calmness it carried made her quickly realise who it was. She sat upright, leg folded.

"Min Jae! How are you? Where are you? You didn't even call, it's been almost three days."

Min Jae scoffed on the call, making Nari pout.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." He said.

"I was a bit busy. The recitals won't end. Too many shows." 

She fiddled with her finger on her bedsheet.

"Lies. In all the time, you didn't even miss me a bit? Even a single call for five minutes would've compensated."

Min Jae doesn't utter a word and lets silence take over.

"Ah, why aren't you speaking?" 

He scoffed again, "Just, you seem way too angry right now. So, I'm thinking about how to tell you the news which I want to tell you." 

"What news?" She asked, still pouting.

"I...am coming tomorrow." 

"Oh. WHAT?!" The sudden realisation made her yell. 

Min Jae hissed on the other side of the call, probably squinting his eyes at how loud she was.

"When? Tomorrow? Really? This isn't a joke, right?" She asked a question one my one.

"Yeah, yeah and yeah!" 

"Waah, you sly man. You're teasing me, now that you know I can't wait to meet you tomorrow."

He laughed, and she laughed together.

"That isn't what I meant." 

"Yeah, yeah. But- when are you coming?" 

"There wasn't any direct flight available right now. So, I might take a flight from Chicago. Will reach there by 8 at night I guess." 

Nari smiled brightly.

"I will wait, then."

"Me too." He smiled.

"Okay, I'll go now. I have to catch a cab to reach Chicago on time."

Nari nodded.

"Okay, be careful on the way."

"Hmm, good night!" 

~~~~~~

"Wait for me, I'll go change and come back." Min Jae said to Nari who were standing outside after the match.

Nari nodded and Min Jae was about to go when one of his teammates stopped him.

"Yah Kim Min Jae! Let's go to a restaurant and celebrate. Coach has allowed it!" 

"But-"

"It's alright! I can go by myself." Nari interrupted in between and Min Jae looked at her, his eyes not so happy.

Nari nodded, "It's alright, you can go." 

Min Jae nodded and left them both. Nari started to walk on her way and realised someone was following her. She looked from the corner of her eyes above her shoulder and found Ye Jun walking. His head lowered and hands in his pocket. She sighed and kept walking. The moon had started to hang on the sky slowly, and the home didn't seem to come now. 

"Till when are you going to follow me?" She asked him and turned around.

Ye Jun looked up, his eyes widened.

"What?" He asked.

Nari sighed and walked towards him.

"Okay then, let's walk together."

She stood beside him while Ye Jun kept looking at her. Seeing him with no intentions of moving she motioned him to walk and she started to walk. Ye Jun walked with her looking down, without uttering a word. There was something that was bugging him. Nari walked with her hands folded above her chest. 

In the whole match, she had seen him looking at her. She wondered why he was acting this way suddenly when all he was going to do was file a false complaint about her at the end. When he didn't show up in the library even after Nari woke up, she wondered where he was. Until she saw all the books at their right places and a bun placed beside her to eat. Little did she have a hunch that it was Ye Jun but again, she wondered why he would do that. But today at the stadium, his actions made her wonder a lot. Walking together, both of them were lost in their thoughts when suddenly Ye Jun stopped. Nari didn't realise until he spoke.

"Aren't you afraid of getting suspended?" 

Nari stopped and turned towards him. He looked up at her, his eyes showing general concern and his brows furrowed.

"You're an Ace student!" He yelled, his voice echoed, making Nari startled.

"What then? Why do you care? Because you pity me?"

"Is that important right now?" He took some steps ahead.

Slowly her hands went down and she stood straight. Ye Jun didn't seem to be joking in her eyes right now. But Nari couldn't let her guard down, and so she replied.

"Yeah, for me it is."

Running his hands through his hair abruptly he sighed.

"Ah! Are you stupid?" He looked at her.

"If you get suspended, what do you plan to do? It's not like any college will take you in."

"You don't know they won't let this matt-"

"WHY DO YOU CARE?!" She yelled at him.

"After all you'll be the reason for my suspension at the end. You and your friend are liars. And yeah! Anyone pitying me is important to me. You know why?! CAUSE I HATE BEING PITIED!" 

She turned around to walk away.

"Who said I am pitying you?" 

She stopped but didn't turn around.

"Then why? Why are you so interested in my life?" She replied.

"Cause you're entangled with my friend right now. Yes, Eunji is my friend but I want to help you out and I will! Because if he is wrong I want to teach him what is right."

"I want to help you, and not by lying."

She went quiet and Ye Jun approached her. Standing in front of her he kept his hands in his pockets.

"One thing you should know, only I can help you right now because anyone else will just make it more complicated." 

She looked up at him and he sighed. 

"I don't pity you, I want to help you cause this incident includes my friend too."

"If this is the reason you want to hear then let this be, I don't mind." 

He turned around and left. Nari's eyes glistened, she hated how much she agreed with Ye Jun. It was true, she was right, not Eunji. And it was also true that no college would accept her if she got suspended. It was also true that only Ye Jun could help her because after all, he is the only help Eunji had.

The fact that he was so to the point made her hate him even more. She kept looking down, tears flowing out. For a while, she had forgotten all her worries, it was like all the world had stopped since she went to see the match. But now that Ye Jun had made her remember her worries it felt as if there was nothing else left other than that. She sniffed her runny nose when a hand held hers. She looked up and found Ye Jun standing.

"Walk fast, else you'll be late..."