《Predating Oleander》
Chapter 1: Integral Variable
An ordinary get together, with ordinary young adults drinking and conversing. Nevertheless, in their midst lay undetected a rather irregular someone, hiding her unconventional self behind a gentle smile. Said unconventional person was a short girl with dark, frizzy hair and fair skin, observing rather than participating, unlike her peers. She watched with amusement the similarity amongst interactions, all following the same pattern: smile and pretend in order to fit in.
¡°Sora...Sora!¡± she felt someone shaking her up out of her pensive state.
On cue, she composed a well-practised gentle smile. After all, she was also pretending. Mina watched her with a slight scowl expressing her annoyance.
¡°I''m sorry, I got distracted,¡± Sora apologised in a soft voice that showed no hint of regret, with a disarming smile. Seo Jun laughed across the table, drowning another shot and forcing his face not to contort at the taste of alcohol.
¡°You are always distracted,¡± he gushed, giving Sora a goofy smile. ¡°Come on, live a little! You won¡¯t die if you get drunk tonight!¡± he proclaimed, passing her a shot of strong soju.
¡°I won¡¯t, but you will,¡± Sora teased her friend, lazily pushing the cup aside. ¡°Do not forget who is picking us up,¡± she reminded Seo Jun in a singsong voice, enjoying his pained expression.
Sora did not particularly mind the effects that alcohol brought, yet she could not get past its disgusting taste or the sensation of alcohol burning her stomach. The less than pleasing process and caustic after-effects were not exactly appealing either.
¡°Pay attention, everyone! My best mate, Yunho, just arrived! You''ll treat him well, do you understand?¡± announced the deafening voice of a drunk senior, drawing most of the attention to the newcomer.
Sora inspected and dismissed the stranger right after noticing the well practised amicable expression he wore as a mask, finding disturbing the resemblance it had to her own.
¡°Look at him! He''s so handsome,¡± Mina whispered on Sora''s ear, ¡°you don''t know, but he''s really popular. He''s the best student in the department, though you might steal his spot. Anyway, he is the perfect gentleman and is always considerate. Ah, Yunho is the perfect guy!¡± Mina almost simpered while Sora shared an exasperated look with an amused Seo Jun.
¡°Too bad you have no chance with him,¡± Seo Jun teased.
¡°How dare you? You are my lackey! You should be supporting me, not stab me in the back!¡± Mina spluttered indignantly.
Sora sighed at their childish exchange, deciding to observe the newcomer once again. A girl was latched at his side, trying to force a soju glass onto him while he was rejecting it. Out of the blue, the glass spilt all over the girl, causing her to stop pestering him.
¡°I''m sorry, are you okay?¡± said the newcomer to the shocked girl in a soft voice. ¡°It was my fault, so do not worry. I¡äll take care of the mess here, while you go to dry yourself¡± the guy told her with a soft smile.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°Yes, thank you,¡± the girl gushed, almost running away with her face burning in shame.
Sora observed the stranger''s face carefully. There was a small smirk lifting the corners of his mouth, which he carefully hid by lowering his head. Another girl was eagerly helping him to clean. If his curled lips were any indication, the stranger''s amusement turned into disdain that he carefully masked with a polite smile.
So he did it on purpose. Sora was amused by the interaction, it was so strange to find a kindred spirit. Though she admitted being impressed by his convincing facade.
Yunho looked to the side, feeling someone¡äs stare on him.
There was a pretty girl, or at least he thought she would be pretty if her lips were not twisted in a sardonic smirk that almost dripped poison. She raised her glass at him in a silent toast beforeturning towards her peers, her previous expression being replaced with the gentlest of smiles, making him wonder if their brief exchange was a product of his imagination.
However, Yunho could not deny that her casual dismissal aroused his interest - a hard task to accomplish yet that little girl somehow managed to achieve it with no effort whatsoever. There was no doubt in his mind of her noticing his small prank to that annoying girl, but she was amused where any other person would disapprove of his actions. So he observed her with discretion in order to satiate his unwelcomed curiosity.
The little girl had symmetric features and mesmerizing green eyes that commanded attention. Her features were definitively Korean, but Yunho strongly suspected she had a foreign ancestry because her colouring was not common. She was interacting with another girl and a guy, her gentle mask unwavering. She is strange, he decided. Instead of raucous chitchat, she seemed to prefer tranquil conversations, judging by her small group''s interactions. Yunho watched her rise from the table towards the stairs that lead to the restrooms, with reluctant steps, he followed soon after.
Sora noticed the new comer¡äs gaze and she wondered whether it was an intelligent decision to allow him a glimpse of her true nature, with a sigh, she decided not to think about it and washed her hands. For a moment, she wondered if the stranger was like her, giving up on the idea of testing her hypothesis as soon as the idea formed. She had enough trouble dealing with herself, she definitely did not need more.
With faint steps, she left the bathroom, finding two inadvertent human hindrances blocking her path, whispering in rather loud tones. Deciding to avoid possible problems, she performed the inebriated girl role at perfection and her seniors dismissed her as an innocuous bystander. Stealing from the student sports council founds, eh? You should at least try to avoid being incautious morons,she thought with disdain, still being able to listen to their rowdy conversation despite being a whole flight of stairs away.
¡°We can¡ät take more money this month or someone will notice. I told you we shouldn''t invite so many persons, what do we do now?¡±
"What if we ask Yunho to pay? He''s loaded and you know how generous he can be." Sora immediately recognized the voice, it belonged to the senior that declared the stranger as his best friend.
¡°Good idea, sometimes I almost feel guilty for playing him this way,¡± said one of the voices, laughing afterwards.
Sora knew she avoided a rather messy situation, too much drama in which she had no intentions to partake in. She left the stairs and turned towards the narrow hallway at a faster pace, only to come face to face with the troublesome newcomer. The loud conversation taking place above was painfully audible.
He heard them, Sora knew so because of the stranger''s inscrutable expression. Whatever, it is not my problem. She left without looking back, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of someone staring at her.
Chapter 2: Bell Curve
Sora was having lunch with her friends in the student cafeteria, feeling quite tired. Even though the classes began not long ago, three days to be precise, adapting to her new life left her completely and utterly drained. She had not lived in Korea for almost five years and the culture shock was taking a toll on her. Now she remembered some of the reasons why she left in the first place.
In spite of this, Sora could never deny that she missed Seoul. Yes, she missed her friends and her grandmother, but the city itself was what she missed the most. The constant buzz of life, the convenience stores in every corner, the food, the small yet unique coffee shops. She even missed the noise and pollution! While her time in Z¨¹rich was an unforgettable experience that allowed her to grow as a person, it was too organized. The sun a little too bright, the parks too green, and the people that surrounded her were far too kind.
Sora guessed that, as a foreigner, they tried to be considerate with her, but that is not what she wanted. She missed the casual indifference of the people of Seoul, never paying her much attention and allowing her to fade to the background. Here she was allowed to observe from the sidelines rather than be observed. She needed to leave the spotlight that her intellectual prowess brought. So she came back home, basking in the raucous harmony of the city until it became repulsive once again.
¡°How is it possible for someone so small to consume so much food?¡± Seo Jun asked, looking at Sora¡¯s dish and interrupting her train of thought. ¡°How can someone so small eat so much? It goes against logic!¡±
¡°I have a better question, how come are you so skinny?¡± Mina asked, narrowing her eyes.
¡°Good genes and working out a few hours a day,¡± Sora answered, unbothered by their questions.
¡°Shouldn''t you have some muscle then? You are skin and bones, girl,¡± Seo Jun teased, Sora narrowed her eyes. ¡°I bet you wouldn¡¯t survive a day in my gym,¡± he continued boasting, not noticing the panicked look Mina was giving him.
¡°Deal, if I win you will train with me for a month,¡± she deadpanned, surprising her two companions. ¡°If you win I¡¯ll get you a date with the cute waitress from yesterday,¡± she added, causing him to splutter and blush hot pink.
¡°Deal, today after classes?¡± he asked, trying to conceal his blush.
¡°Sure, Mina you are the judge.¡±
¡°As long as I don''t have to join, I¡¯ll enjoy watching your pain,¡± she said, smiling brightly at the slightly pale male.
¡°Sora! So you were hiding here! It was you right?!¡± yelled a thunderous voice, interrupting their light exchange.
Sora immediately recognized the man approaching as one of the seniors she met at the party a few days ago. What was his problem? That pesky person just shattered her dreams of mingling with the background and she did not take this kind of offence lightly. And here I thought I managed to escape, time to play, I guess...
¡°Excuse me, but do I know you?¡± Sora asked with a confused expression, using her soft features to her advantage. It was easy to play the role of fragile and innocent victim with unexpected easiness.
¡°What! How dare you? You rat me out and now you''re saying you don''t know me?¡± he growled, his face was turning a strange shade of red. ¡°You were the only one there!¡± he yelled again, approaching her in a menacing manner.
Sora felt Mina grab her arm, forcing her to take a step behind while Seo Jun took a step forward, placing himself as a wall.
How chivalrous, she would even be flattered if her friend didn''t assume she was defenceless. But then again, she was playing the part so she remained impassive, knowing that if things got physical, she was more than able to take care of herself.
¡°Kangin, stop it,¡± a deep voice ordered, strangely, the senior froze.
Sora took advantage of that brief distraction to take a look at her surroundings, all the people at the cafeteria were looking at the spectacle. Great, just great. She mourned her anonymity for a second before deciding it was the perfect environment for her plan to work without any difficulties. It was better to act now that she still had some semblance of control over the outcome.
¡°Excuse me sunbae-nim, but I have no idea what are you talking about,¡± Sora said in a soft, shaky voice, directing a well-practised frightened expression at the man.
¡°But you were there, in the stairs,¡± the senior said in a more subdued tone, noticing the disapproving stares he was being subjected to.
¡±I... I am ashamed to admit this, but I was so drunk that I only remember bits and pieces. As a matter of fact, my friends had to take me home after I passed out... and if I am not wrong, I almost tripped with Yunho sunbae-nim when I went to the restroom,¡± she continued in a brittle voice.
It was too easy. Sora didn''t even need to raise her eyes to know that the strange man was looking at her.
¡°What are you saying?" a girl huffed, "are you blaming Yunho? Huh, how dare you!¡± she screeched, looking as if Sora insulted her. The strange girl was latched to the troublesome guy¡äs arm. ¡°Yunho is Kangin¡äs friend, he convinced the council not to report it to the Dean and even paid the missing money. What is wrong with you?¡± the girl finished her rant, her face was contorted in a strange expression and was glaring at Sora as if her life depended on it.
¡°I am not exactly sure what you mean," Sora said in what could be considered an apologetic tone. "To be honest, I am not even sure what is going on. I was only telling Kangin sunbae-nim about how drunk I was, not accusing your boyfriend."
As expected, the girl blushed at the implication. The strange man''s hands clenched into fists, so, apparently, she killed three birds with one stone.
¡°I apologise for any inconvenience I may have caused,¡± Sora said, bowing deeply and pretending to hide her watery eyes.
¡°Don''t say that! Don''t apologise Sora, you did nothing wrong. If anyone should be apologising are those bastards!¡± Mina finally exploded, being strange for her to remain silent for such a long time in the first place. ¡°Look at them, two seniors bulling an exchange student that arrived a week ago! Seriously, yelling at her for no reason and not even apologising. You do know that she can report you for this, right? We even have witnesses!"
While Mina unleashed her anger, Sora examined the people. Kangin had his jaw clenched, obviously disliking the scolding that he was being subjected to. However, he was scared. Shifty eyes, slightly raised eyebrows, tense muscles. He definitely knew the situation could turn sour pretty soon if Sora decided to report the incident. The girl lost all her colour, clinging to the strange man harder, not that he paid attention. The strange man was looking at Sora with unwelcomed intensity.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Mina, calm down, please. I am sure it was a misunderstanding,¡± Sora said, her innocent mask in place.
¡°You are defending him now? Sora!¡± Mina complained, giving her an incredulous look.
¡°Your friend is right, Sora. I shouldn¡¯t have yelled at you that way. I''m sorry.¡± The man apologised, intimidated by the witnesses disapproval at his actions.
¡°Don''t worry sunbae-nim, I understand your reaction,¡± Sora said gently, taking Seo Jun hand and forcing him to leave his position as a wall. ¡°If you excuse us, we have classes, please take care.¡±
Kangin didn''t even look at her and the audience remained silent. They left the cafeteria in silence.
After that event, Mina ranted to whoever would listen and even the ever-calm Seo Jun supported her. In spite of this, Sora felt satisfied with the outcome. Everyone believed her little charade, it was almost offensively easy. Nevertheless, she did wonder who exposed Kangin and his group.
The strange guy seemed to have an uncanny interest in the situation, her reaction in particular. Of course this was not enough to blame him, however, he was the main suspect for the moment. Perhaps she should give him another nickname after this.
Troublesome man fitted perfectly.
Yunho was amused and grudgingly pleased by the little girl. He would have fallen under her act if not for one minuscule yet very important detail: she lied.
Sora said she was drunk, but he knew the truth. Yunhoobserved her that night, especially after the incident. She nursed a glass of iced water the whole night, a thing that he only knew because the waiter brought her a water bottle that she quickly hid under the table and used to refill her glass.
If that was not enough, there was another detail. The little girl managed to plant the seed of doubt in the man harassing her, if it was not for Yunho''s insight causing him to do damage control before the event could take place, the tables would have turned against him. He was impressed by her silver tongue and angelic fa?ade, a fascinating combination. At the end of the encounter, she looked like the innocent victim and Kangin as the heinous villain attacking her.
While he admitted creating this small incident out of curiosity and, perhaps even for petty revenge (just a little though), this was an unexpected outcome. Unfortunately, it only served to feed Yunho''s curiosity instead of diminishing it, a shame really. He had so many things to concentrate on but now he was forced to solve this puzzle.
At least Yunho was sure he wouldn''t get bored any time soon.
Sora was in a cafe near the campus with her friends, lost in her musings. There was only one more person in the stairs, but the morons were careless. Who knows who else listened to them or if they confessed once they got drunk enough. There is no proof that troublesome man exposed them...Yet she remembered their conversation. After listening to that, no one in their right minds would keep that faux friendship, yet lo and behold, the troublesome man even protected Kangin. She was fifty percent sure of who the responsible was.
¡°Everything hurts...¡± Seo Jun whimpered.
¡°It is your entire damn fault, who told you to go against her?¡± Mina retorted, though she was wearing an almost maniacal smirk.
¡°I thought she lost practice, how could I know she still is a mini Hulk?¡± he continued whining.
¡°Shut it, you brought this to yourself. Besides yesterday was light, today we will begin training for real. I need help to install my bars, by the way. Mina, would you lend me your lackey?¡± Sora asked the smiling girl.
¡°Hey! Don''t I have any say over my body?¡± Seo Jun asked, pouting.
¡°No.¡± Both girls deadpanned, laughing at his betrayed expression.
¡°Don''t worry, I will take you somewhere nice,¡± Sora promised Seo Jun, who immediately brightened at the prospect of free food. "Let¡¯s get going, no more complaints."
The trio parted ways once in the building for their different classes. The day progressed smoothly, without any unfortunate altercation. Sora was on her way to the library when yesterday¡¯s girl approached her.
¡°I want you to apologise. Yesterday you were rude to Yunho, he allowed it to pass because he has a good personality, but I don''t forgive you.¡±
Well, that was definitely a turn of events Sora was not expecting. And here she thought that the girl would apologise instead of demanding an apology for her boyfriend. Too bad for her that Sora was not in a mood to play.
¡°Excuse me sunbae-nim, but how did I offend Yunho sunbae-nim?¡± Sora asked, enjoying the girl¡äs sour expression at her apparent sweet disposition. "As far as I remember, Kangin sunbae-nim yelled at me for no reason and you did the same but I decided not to report you because it was a misunderstanding."
The girl huffed, though she licked her lips anxiously. Sora guessed that she played the victim role a little too well and that stranger thought she was an easy target. Well, time to disabuse her of that notion.
"So, can you tell me how I offended your boyfriend?"
"What I meant-"
¡°Good evening Sora,¡± said the troublesome man cordially, interrupting whatever the annoying stranger was trying to say. ¡°I wanted to apologise for yesterday. Kangin isn''t a bad person, he is just a bit impulsive and as stubborn as a mule. I hope we can leave everything that happened yesterday behind,¡± he finished his apology, offering her a hand-sized square box, to the other girl¡äs horror.
The troublesome man did nothing to hide his amusement at his girlfriend''s reaction. Who am I to spoil his fun? Sora thought, pretending not to notice the girl''s affronted expression.
¡°There is no need to apologise sunbae-nim, everything is forgotten. There is no need for you to give me anything. Besides I should be the one apologising for the misunderstanding I almost caused, I am sorry,¡± she said with a gentle smile, bowing deeply and concealing her amusement at the incredulous expression of the girl in front of her.
¡°I insist, I got this especially for you, please accept it,¡± he insisted, taking her hand and placing the box in her palm. ¡°I hope you enjoy it.¡±
¡°Thank you sunbae-nim, but I am honest when I say there was no need, please take care. You also be careful, unnie, thank you for your help,¡± she said in a soft voice, while the girl only glared at her.
Turning around, Sora saw a giddy Mina and a confused Seo Jun waiting by the entrance, she approached them ready to explain everything once they arrived at her apartment.
¡°I am telling you he likes you,¡± Mina said, munching the chocolaty treat covered in pink frosting. ¡°This is delicious by the way, you sure do not want some?¡± she asked, lying on the bed while petting her cats and watching them work out.
¡°No thanks, I love my abs and he has to work for his so enjoy it,¡± Sora answered, ignoring her first comment. Seo Jun groaned once again, regretting their bet.
¡°I love your abs too, but I love food more,¡± Mina groaned.
¡°Then join us,¡± Sora sighed, "You will have an actual excuse to eat garbage."
¡°I don¡ät think so. Your training is too brutal for delicate me,¡± she murmured in awe as Sora made painful-looking pull-ups, while Seo Jun lay unmoving in the floor.
¡°Is he dead? Never mind, can I move in with you? I love your place,¡± Mina announced, stretching on the bed. ¡°How did you put it together in such a short time? You even have installed your strange exercise bar thingies. How did you even manage to fill those gigantic bookshelves?¡±
¡°Calisthenics bars...Grandma forced me to buy all the furniture after I arrived, she doesn¡ät like the idea of me not having couches, but she likes my place better than Nam-Jun¡äs,¡± she said, taking a water break.
¡°Where is your handsome friend by the way?¡±
¡°Japan, in some competition or something similar... Are you alive?¡± Sora asked, poking Seo Jun.
¡°No and it is your fault, everything hurts,¡± he complained.
Sora smiled at him and offered her water bottle. She was enjoying her new life. While in Switzerland she took pleasure in the benefits that the status as genius secured, every day was eerily similar to the last one. She decided to enjoy her time in Seoul while it lasted. In a year, she would have to choose a place to settle down, but until the time came, she would enjoy the comforting simplicity her new life offered.
Chapter 3: Adjacent Angle
The finals were around the corner, at least by Sora¡¯s standards, so she was studying at the library. Not that it was a decent place to do so, there were many students hanging around ¨C some were doing homework while others chatted merrily, as if the place was a social club. With a sigh, Sora took out a bag of chocolate covered almonds and began munching merrily, thinking about how her life changed the past months.
Korea was an adventure, she was always aware of that. Strict social norms and beehive mentality combined with a pretty narrow perspective on the world and fierce competiveness. In other words, the law of the jungle was applied to almost every single interaction. That is something she dearly missed, aside from the food, of course.
Respect your elders, respect your seniors, and be polite and demure. Strive high but do not have the audacity of besting men, maintain yourself pretty, never talk back, never break away from the traditional stereotype, and much more trash that Sora did not want to repeat for her sanity¡¯s sake. That is the part she did not enjoy or missed at all and what chased her away from the country in the first place, among other things.
Thinking about it, there may be parts she enjoyed.
Ever since she can remember, Sora succeeded at everything she tried by sheer force of will and hard work. Success was almost a drug that she refused to leave. It was particularly amusing how much it affected the university¡¯s status quo.
In the eyes of the students, she was the foreign student that either bought her place to the top or seduced her way up. However, Sora always wore her innocent facade and, sometimes, even went as far as helping others, just to keep the animosity at bay. So despite of all the people that disliked her, she was surprisingly well liked around university.
In the eyes of the teachers, she was that student that abandoned her roots and had the audacity to return, at least in the eyes of the more traditional ones. There were teachers that actually liked for her dedication, though, considering she only worked hard on the subjects she liked, there were not that many. In spite of this, the only thing those who did not like her could bring against her was the subtle way she used formal language to disrespect them. As far as Sora was concerned, being called the subversive and extremely pervasive student that was polluting others with strange ideas was a compliment, even if the words used leaned to the crude side.
Considering all this, Sora could happily say she was having fun.
Taking her last year of Business Administration in Seoul National University was definitely proving to be an entertaining experience. Of course, it was not enough to seduce her to stay.
Sora built too much of her life in Zurich. From leaving her house at the tender age of fifteen for a scholarship, knowing her parents would never support her was hard enough. Fortunately, she had someone who supported her from the beginning and helped her to start her new life away. In order to not disappoint the person Sora considered her saviour, she worked hard in order to achieve her goals.
Graduating high school at sixteen, being accepted with a full scholarship in the University of Zurich at the same age. Studying countless nights to achieve her bachelor¡¯s degree in Chemical Engineering and Economics two years later, then working even harder to get her master¡¯s degree and applying for the fast-track Doctoral programs for outstanding Bachelor''s degree graduates that the University offered and taking Business Administration as second major. Those were hard years that Sora would never regret.
At twenty, Sora could claim she was a pretty accomplished individual. Not that she actually cared about it, something few would believe. She had a debt of honour to pay and nothing would stop her until she made that person that always protected her proud.
Her chocolate bag was empty, Sora noted with a disappointed sigh and took out another from her backpack.
Classes were not that terrible, but her classmates were. In Korea, there was a strict social hierarchy dominated by age. Considering Sora was the youngest of her class, she was at the bottom of the chain. Her constant outstanding performance brought much resentment from her classmates, though her gentle demeanour forced others to act civilized or being seen as bullies. However, this also brought the negative side effect of people believing her to be a docile person, thing that bruised her ego much more than she was willing to admit. While many continued to mistake her quietness for shyness and her penchant for reading with lack of social aptitude, Kim Sora was anything but meek. Instead, she likened herself to a silent strategist who had more patience than words and preferred to analyze before taking any decision.
Sora took another chocolate covered almond and stretched, heaving a satisfied sigh when the bones of her back cracked. The library emptied considerably, nothing strange considering it was almost lunchtime. As she stretched out, Sora noticed a heavy yet awfully familiar gaze on her. She sighed and began putting her things in her backpack.
Ever since the incident at the beginning of the semester, Sora decided to avoid the troublesome guy and save herself future headaches. Unfortunately, this proved to be a rather arduous task because of two very important factors. One, they shared many evening classes, far too many for her comfort. Second and much more important than the first one, the troublesome guy refused to be ignored or to leave her alone.
He always greeted her when he saw her and, unfortunately, Sora had a reputation to keep so she was forced to acknowledge the troublesome guy¡¯s existence. He always tried to speak with her and there were times she was not able to make any excuses. That troublesome person only brought problems.
The girl that followed him religiously actively and blatantly hated Sora and the troublesome guy only added fuel to the fire by being particularly gentle with Sora only when the strange girl was there to witness it. He also invited her to parties every single week. Of course she could make excuses every once in a while, but it would affect her image if Sora kept refusing, especially considering that guy always invited her in front of many witnesses. In the end, Sora sacrificed four hours a month going to different parties, always taking Jun and Mina as her faithful shields, along with a pack of soju for the masses.
It was quite tiresome and Sora did her best to interact with the gossipers for a few moments before hiding away and leaving an hour or so after arriving.
Sora had the slight suspicion the troublesome guy enjoyed creating uncomfortable situations for her in order to test her reactions and, while she did not mind playing along every once in a while, she was not known to be a patient person.
She stood up and put on her backpack, taking the bag of chocolaty treats in hand while she left the library, pretending not to notice the troublesome guy watched her every movement. Tomorrow she was not coming close to the damned place, Sora decided once she took a breath of fresh air. Not that she wanted to be in there in first place, she reminded herself.
A group meeting, that is the reason Sora was in the library. A group meeting on which she was the only one to attend. As fate would have it or, better said, as a chauvinistic professor would have it, she was assigned the worst possible partners for the group presentation. A lazy bum that was expected to fail the class, a careless git that was unable to use its brain for higher functions, and a useless brat that was too damn quiet and not smart enough to make up for it.
Sora was already predicting her first failing grade.
Until now, none of those persons showed up to any of the group meetings she convened, citing their busy schedules. What did they think, that she had time to spare? Until now, only the useless brat sent Sora her assigned part, though it was so terribly done that she was forced to send it back for corrections. That was the only document she received and the presentation was only a week away. Were they expecting her to do the project alone? Extremely likely, especially considering the useless professor lived up to her assigned title.
¡°Either all of you work or make sure I do not find the free loader. If I do, all of you fail.¡± Those were the exact words of the professor. What was she expecting when she assigned those wastes of space as Sora¡¯s teammates. No, forget that, she already knew. The professor was expecting Sora to do everything by herself and ensure those three students did not fail the subject. Such a cheap tactic. Offensive and useless in Sora¡¯s case.
If they thought she would do everything alone and keep quiet, they were sorely mistaken. Sora was many things, but forgiving was not amongst them, just ask her parents. She would take retribution for this and her scholarship be damned. While she needed to get certain grades to keep her scholarship, her pride was a hundred times more important. Besides, it was not as if she was lacking the offers.
Either way, Sora was sure her guardian would help her as always.
Yunho arrived to the door of the presentation room, where Sung was already waiting, looking through the glass door.
¡°What are you doing?¡± Yunho was forced to ask, almost giving the man a heart attack in the process. Sung shushed him frantically.
Then he heard that awfully familiar voice.
¡°...no, no, I''m telling you I''m sure, grandma. Please don''t worry, okay?¡±
It was the little girl talking with someone over the phone, she was the only person in the room.
¡°Yes, I''m eating well. Too well, actually. I think I will end up weighting more than Nam-Jun weights if I keep eating at this rate... Not this weekend, the next one... Mhm, okay. I will visit Chairman Lee on Friday then... Mmm, not really, but I guess I will begin working on that. You do know you were the one to force me to work with you. Right? I don''t think that is the kind of job an intern should do... Okay, okay, I get it. I shall call this paid slavery... Right. Mhm? Ah, okay, love you too. Take care and I will call you tomorrow, okay?¡±
Yunho listened to the conversation, utterly transfixed. This was a side of the little girl he never saw before. It was amusing, especially considering how hard she tried to keep to herself.
While Yunho lacked many qualities, he was quite observant. Yes, he noticed the little girl tried to avoid him ever since that incident, but he was simply fascinated and far too curious to leave her alone. In all this months, her strange reactions and the way she managed the small obstacles he sent her way only managed to increase his curiosity. A shame, really, he could have done without all the parties he was attending just to watch her interact with others and perhaps suffer. Just a little
The little girl was clever, Yunho admitted that. She always interacted with the key people, the ones that would tell others she was present and even brought soju and snacks to share. She always left an hour or so after arriving while her friends stayed late most of the times so everyone believed she also did. In the eyes of the student body, she was a shy yet kind girl that was always friendly.
It was quite a fascinating process to see the students¡¯ opinion of the little girl shifting little by little, at least in Yunho¡¯s opinion.
From being that exchange student that was far too smart and pretty for her own good, to becoming just another student that always helped when she had some free time. Though her gentle disposition only managed to aggravate a few others, namely Somin.
In Yunho¡¯s humble opinion, Somin was a strange person. And if he called someone strange when Yunho was perfectly aware of how out of the norm he was, that person was really strange. Chaerin had a strange obsession with him ever since they met when they were freshmen. The girl managed to be in all of his classes and followed him around. The only reason why he never called her out on her behaviour was because of how damn useful she was.
Somin was a social butterfly and generally liked. She always covered up for him when he was not in the mood of socializing and even went as far as offering relief every once in a while. However, Yunho tried to keep her at arm¡¯s length. Perhaps she hoped he would one day try a romantic relationship with her, but Yunho tried to never raise her hopes. After so long, she was perfectly aware of her position in his life and defended it with zeal, or at least that is what he wanted to believe.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Yunho observed in the corner of his eye how Sung observed the little girl and something unpleasant settled in his core. Sora was his person to annoy.
He knocked on the door and opened it, feigning a surprised expression. ¡°Oh, sorry to interrupt. Sung, didn¡¯t we reserve this room?¡±
¡°Um, yeah,¡± Sung said as colour rose to his cheeks and he cleared his throat quite audibly. ¡°Yes, yes we did.¡±
The little girl composed an abashed smile and bowed apologetically to them. ¡°I apologize, Yunho sunbae-nim, Sung sunbae-nim.¡± Sora tucked some of her wild hair behind her ear and put on her backpack, bowing once more. ¡°Have a good day.¡±
Yunho observed the reason for his latest vexations leave without giving him a second look, though she did not bother to actually acknowledge Sung¡¯s existence so that small detail gave him a small consolation, as petty as it was.
As he took out his laptop, Yunho was hit with a small epiphany. The reason why the little girl always managed to rouse his curiosity was because she was constantly besting him and he did not like that, hence, his obsession to make her life harder.
In the past months, Sora managed to dethrone him of his position as the best student. For some reason, she was constantly getting better grades than he was... Though perhaps it was time to admit he was not used to the competition and doing the bare minimum was no longer a viable option if we wanted to get back his spot. Though at least now he no longer have a dozen sycophants begging him to ¡°help¡± them with their homework or invite him over for ¡°study sessions¡±. Personally, Yunho avoided the first like the plague and would rather eat dirt than agree to the latter.
Years of experience taught him few women had pure intentions while inviting him to study sessions. While he enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh, he did not particularly wished to be intimate with every woman he met. He had specific persons, attractive ones, if he may add, for that purpose. He may be many things, but as available and used as a public restroom he was not.
On the other hand, study sessions with fellow males always ended up weird one way or another. After some beers once they deemed to have studied enough, they started being awfully candid. While he did not particularly mind having blackmail material on his classmates, Yunho did not fancy in the slightest the uncomfortable and quite embarrassing spectacles he was forced to witness.
Yunho walked towards the window in order to open it and saw the little girl chatting freely with her two friends, waving goodbye at them. He did nothing to hide his smirk as he took out his phone and texted to Sora¡¯s next hurdle.
¡°You know? I just noticed how similar you and Sora are,¡± Sung commented, looking intently at him.
¡°How so?¡± Yunho asked, genuinely surprised at the notion.
¡°Well, you know, both of you are too kind for your own good. You know what everyone said about her a few months ago and even I believed some of that crap, but she never said anything and took it all silently... I actually feel pretty bad about all that because she is always helping others, even the ones who spread all that crap about her.¡±
¡°Well, her friends never stayed silent.¡±
¡°Ah, true. Park Seo Jun ended up beating the living crap out of that Jung guy and his friend for saying some pretty nasty things about Sora... I do wonder why no one made a scandal out of it.¡±
An amused huff escaped Yunho¡¯s lips at the memory. How could he forget about it when it was a scandal. Jung Ha-Joon was the youngest son of the owner of a small but pretty well known company so few messed with him. It was the scandal of the semester when the little girl¡¯s bodyguard beat the living lights out of them for something he overheard them saying in the restrooms.
Thanks to his weekly dinner with his father, Yunho knew Jung¡¯s father started a lawsuit against the little girl¡¯s bodyguard and the University for refusing to take action. The next week, his father informed him how the lawsuit was dropped and how Jung took the rest of the semester off and would be sent abroad. It was curious, to say the least, but as much as he tried to get some information, no one had any idea of what happened.
¡°There¡¯s also Mina,¡± Sung said and did not bother with more details. They were not necessary.
Kwon Mina was a major in fashion design and minor in business administration. Through the years, the woman earned herself a reputation for being a spitfire and the life of the party. If Yunho allowed himself to be honest, he admitted the woman was pretty and clever, quite a catch for anyone able to follow her pace.
¡°I really don''t know how those two ended up befriending Sora,¡± Sung sighed.
¡°I heard they are childhood friends,¡± Yunho provided, smiling a little at his teammate¡¯s defeated expression.
¡°Too damn overprotective.¡±
¡°You interested?¡±
¡°Who isn¡¯t? Small face, doe eyes, feminine, doesn¡¯t party too much, and doesn¡¯t date around.¡±
¡°Well, well, well, aren¡¯t you an hypocrite?¡± Yunho asked, adding a small smirk to pretend he was joking. ¡°You party every week and date every girl you can.¡±
¡°Cut me some slack, I''m a man,¡± Sung said as if that explained everything and Yunho composed a smile.
He was once again reminded why he rarely interacted with his classmates and why so many women liked him. Apparently, the key was treating them as the persons they were instead of the idealized and quite ludicrous persona they were pressured to assume.
¡°Yo!¡± someone said as greeting as two persons entered the room.
¡°Sorry for being late, the witch was torturing us,¡± Minho sighed, collapsing on the closest chair.
¡°By the way, Kangin is organizing a meeting in the usual barbeque place this weekend.¡±
¡°Is he crazy?¡± Sung snapped, looking quite scandalized at the notion. Yunho was forced to agree. ¡°The presentation is on Monday, you better not go or I''ll personally kick your ugly behinds.¡±
¡°Wasn''t planning to either way, my parents will kill me if I fail a single class this semester,¡± Minho managed to say over his pronounced pout. ¡°I feel bad for that girl in Kangin¡¯s group, the whole group is a mess.¡±
¡°Your friend is in that group, right?¡±
¡°Ah, Kangin,¡± Yunho said, a bit confused by the question.
¡°No, I meant Kim Sora.¡±
As much as Yunho tried, he suspected he was unable to hide his surprise. ¡°We are not that close, only casual acquaintances.¡±
¡°Liar, I heard you talking with that creepy guy about her,¡± Sung accused Yunho.
¡°Sungmin? That man has problems,¡± Minho agreed wholeheartedly. ¡°Why would you ever talk to him about a girl when you know how he is?¡±
Suddenly the conversation turned to dangerous waters that Yunho would rather leave untouched.
¡°He can be a bit weird,¡± Yunho agreed, ¡°but he is not a bad person. He asked me how he could thank Sora for helping him in one of their classes.¡±
¡°I do hope he doesn¡¯t get all creepy with her, that poor girl doesn¡¯t deserve it.¡±
¡°Okay, I think we gossiped enough. Time to start!¡± Yunho announced, tired of discussing the dangerous topic.
With annoying groans, the others agreed and began working.
While Yunho was annoyed with his own carelessness, there was nothing he could do now. It was not convenient for anyone to know he was speaking with Sungmin so it was time to begin doing damage control. At least he was careful enough.
The new obstacle he sent the little girl¡¯s way was something Yunho needed to see, wondering how she fared against it.
As Sora walked towards the parking lot, she noticed that creepy guy she made the mistake of helping once. Ever since that day he always tried to engage with her and even going as far as trying to follow her around in order to catch her alone because he was too much of a coward to approach her when she was with her friends. Once again he was following her. How annoying.
Once she left the gates, she saw the familiar car parked near the seating benches and was walking towards it when someone blocked her path. Great, the creepy guy grew a pair at the most inconvenient time.
¡°Hey Sora, It is been a while since we talked,¡± Sungmin said in an amicable tone and she gave him a tight smile.
¡°It has been a while, sunbae-nim,¡± Sora said in a dismissive tone. Anyone would notice she did not want to talk, but the creepy guy did not... or maybe he did but just decided to dismiss her.
¡°So, how are you doing? I heard you dethroned Yunho from his position.¡±
With a sigh, Sora glanced longingly at the familiar car. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know, sunbae-nim. I don''t really care about the rumour mill, as you may know, few things they say are true.¡±
¡°Ah, of course, of course. You wouldn¡¯t believe the things they say about me.¡±
¡°I would,¡± Sora said and dropped her smile, but composed her expression soon enough yet not nearly as fast as to put the now uncomfortable man at ease. ¡°Goodnight, sunbae-nim, I have to leave now.¡±
¡°I can take you wherever you need to go!¡± Sungmin immediately offered, regaining his enthusiasm. ¡°I have free time and it will be faster than walking.¡±
¡°No need, sunbae-nim,¡± Sora said, looking over the man¡¯s shoulder and smiling at the approaching figure.
¡°I got tired waiting for you in the car,¡± a familiar deep voice announced and the creepy man almost jumped away from her. Good.
¡°Sorry for making you wait,¡± Sora said prettily, walking towards him.
The tall man approached her and placed an arm around her shoulders. ¡°...And you are?¡± Nam-Jun asked in a dismissive tone, his judging eyes raking over the creepy man¡¯s figure.
¡°He is only a classmate,¡± Sora said, interlacing her fingers with his and ignoring the creepy man¡¯s intense stare. ¡°Good night, sunbae-nim.¡± She said and bowed slightly, ¡°come on, I missed you.¡±
They reached the car acting awfully touchy-feely, just the way they did when they wanted to ward off unwanted suitors or annoy people. Once close to the car, Nam-Jun trapped her between the passenger¡¯s door and his body.
¡°Is he the guy that has been bothering you?¡± he whispered on her ear.
¡°Only a little.¡±
¡°Want to give him a show?¡± he asked wiggling his eyebrows and making her snort.
¡°Exhibitionism is not really my thing,¡± Sora quipped, smiling brightly.
Nam-Jun simply smiled at her and opened the passenger¡¯s door before walking to the driver¡¯s door and getting in. Sora felt a familiar hand playing with her fingers and looked at the man.
It was curious how well they knew each other, Sora noticed, but she guessed it was a consequence of interacting for almost two decades. After all, Nam-Jun was her best friend, that one person who knew her inside and out yet accepted fully. In few words, he was her walking sanity. Perhaps it was not strange for her to begin associating comfort with calloused hands, broad shoulders, and sturdy body.
¡°Tough week?¡±
¡°I need to unwind or I may just commit massive homicide.¡±
¡°I can help you hide the bodies,¡± Nam-Jun said, turning on the car. ¡°Or get you a lawyer.¡±
¡°Some ice-cream will do,¡± Sora huffed, smiling brightly.
¡°A few kilograms of sugar charged, frozen, chocolaty, and overly minty treat with extra chocolate chips.¡±
Sora hit his arm lightly and allowed herself to relax on the seat. This was exactly what she needed.
Yunho groaned softly when he moved his stiff neck and rubbed it lightly in order not to inflict himself pain by accidentally touching one of his multiple knots. The life of a university student was definitely not as glamorous as dramas made it look.
As he approached his car, Yunho noticed a familiar figure leaning on it and scowled, hoping no one saw him or he might just murder Sungmin to get rid of the evidence and keep his reputation clean. Despite of his murderous thoughts, Yunho composed a smile.
¡°So how is everything?¡± Yunho asked amicably, the politeness almost bringing bile to his throat.
¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me Sora has a boyfriend?¡± Sungmin immediately demanded, grabbing Yunho¡¯s forearm, making his knuckles itch with desire of punching that pitiful human being.
¡°I don''t know what you are talking about,¡± Yunho said in a serious tone and perhaps Sungmin felt the danger because he immediately retreated.
¡°It is just that... Damn it!¡± Sungmin growled, kicking the pavement. ¡°It is just that I really like Sora.¡±
¡°When has anyone stopped you?¡± Yunho said, pretending it was a compliment. ¡°Besides, I don''t think she has a boyfriend. Maybe you saw her with a friend.¡±
¡°No, no, I''m sure of what I saw! And he was definitely not a student. I don''t want any problems, Yunho, but I really like her.¡±
Yunho ignored Sungmin¡¯s whines as he mentally translated what the pitiful waste of space meant. He most likely followed her and an unknown man intervened. It could be a perfect stranger that jumped in when he noticed a girl was being followed, it could be a friend, or it could actually be her boyfriend. But that would not be much of a problem in Sungmin¡¯s strange mind, so there was another detail. The stranger must either look rich enough to cause problems or strong enough to give Sungmin a lesson.
Such a shame Sungmin was too much of a coward to take any risks. And to think he was just beginning to have fun.
¡°Well, I guess there is nothing to do then,¡± Yunho said, managing to look apologetic. ¡°Sorry man, I know you really like her. If you need anything, do not doubt to give me a call.¡±
¡°Thanks,¡± Sungmin sighed, looking disappointed at his answer.
Perhaps he was expecting Yunho to solve the problem. Thinking about it, that was more than likely. Yunho patted the man¡¯s shoulder and got inside his car, immediately driving away.
As he took a much-needed hot shower, he noticed he now owed a favour to the most annoying person in the world. Great, sold my soul to the devil for nothing.
Once out, Yunho began checking his text messages and groaned when he saw the many texts he had from the regretfully familiar name and decided to end the matter once and for all. He had to tolerate the annoying ringback music while he waited the person to pickup.
¡°Oh, my goodness. What''s the miracle that prompted you to call me, Yunho?¡± asked a high-pitched voice.
¡°I saw all you texts. What do you want, Jimin?¡±
¡°Mmm, is that the way of treating an old friend?¡± Jimin asked in what could be considered a seductive tone.
¡°One minute, that is all you have,¡± Yunho snapped at the woman.
¡°So boring... Whatever, your guy doesn¡¯t stop texting his ideas to get this Sora girl and I''m about to block him. What should I do?¡±
¡°Have some fun, send him to hell, or send him nudes. I don''t care, just make sure you don''t involve me.¡±
With those words, Yunho ended the call and threw his phone to the bed. Jimin was nothing but an incompetent leech that he now owed a favour to. A shame it was all for nothing.
Chapter 4: Late Night Thoughts
Sora was panting heavily, drenched in sweat, and unable to move her burning muscles. The man beside her was not in a better state.
¡°Damn woman, have I ever told you how breathtaking you look like that?¡± Nam-Jun asked between harsh breaths.
¡°Have I told you how hideous you look?¡± Sora retorted, not even able to spare the man a glance. ¡°Come on, we have to shower,¡± she drawled and sat up with a grunt, wincing when she felt her muscles ache.
¡°Nah, I kind of want to lie on the floor until breathing doesn¡¯t hurt too much... Why were you so vicious when I did nothing to you.¡±
¡°Yeah, sorry about that,¡± Sora said with a sheepish smile, finally standing up thanks to the help of a conveniently placed table.
Actually, now that the adrenaline was gone and her increasing frustration and accumulated stress were burnt, she did feel pretty guilty for using her best friend as scapegoat. A fully willing and more than capable to defend himself scapegoat. Perhaps it is for the best, Sora thought as she forced her legs to walk. Considering the alarming rate in which her annoyance was increasing, she would explode sooner rather than later and more likely destroy her hard-earned reputation in the process.
Sora looked back and almost winced when she noticed the bruises starting to bloom in Nam-Jun¡¯s skin. While he fought for a living, she did not exactly fancy seeing him hurt, despite of being the current cause of his state. She decided she would get him something nice for helping her to deal with the situation, or better said, avoid the situation her moody self would undoubtedly cause.
¡°You also have to shower, come on. You have to take me home soon because the children can¡¯t stay alone,¡± Sora reminded her friend, only receiving a pained grunt as response.
As she undid her hand wraps, Sora noticed her blistering knuckles that would bruise a deep purple without a doubt so she was condemned to wearing gloves for the next few days or weeks. More likely the latter, considering how long bruises took to disappear from her body.
In spite of all of the cons, Sora was elated. So relaxed and calm that she was no longer likely to kill the next person that annoyed her. Today¡¯s training session was brutal and was sure tomorrow she would pay the price for it, but for now, she felt perfectly at ease.
She stumbled into the bathroom and fought with her clothes to take them off after turning on the water in the tub to fill in while she took a quick shower.
The hot water of the shower made her hiss when it made contact with the tender skin of the bruises, but it was not a terrible kind of pain. She spread the body wash with her bare hands, did a quick job of her hair, and immediately turned off the water, shivering when the cold air hit her heated skin. With hurried steps, she walked towards the tub and finally sinked in the water, turning the water off moments later, and relaxed.
Sora only realized she began drowsing off when she felt someone brushing her hair, looking with bleary eyes at the familiar figure and gave the man a lazy smile.
¡°Get out already,¡± Nam-Jun whispered and poker her cheek.
As a sleepy Sora entered the car and she remembered exactly why she loved to use her body to the point of exhaustion. The endorphin release quieted her loud thoughts and allowed her to catch a break of herself. The other methods she used were not healthy or convenient, actually, they tended to lean towards the dangerous scale even in her mind. Besides, they were not always available.
¡°Open it,¡± Nam-Jun ordered, depositing a black gift bag on her lap.
With nimble fingers, a curious Sora opened the bag and took out a rather large box of chocolates, her face immediately brightening.
¡°I know you couldn¡¯t get some flavours you like here,¡± her friend said, not taking away his eyes from the road.
¡°Thank you.¡± What else could she say? Thanking someone that knew you better than you did was a pretty hard task.
¡°Look at the bottom of the bag.¡± Sora raised an eyebrow but looked inside the bag after taking out the surprisingly heavy box of chocolates. A gasp escaped her lips once she recognized the object. ¡°Into the Magic Shop, first edition. I met someone who knows the author and got it signed, you better love me for it.¡±
A happy giggle left Sora¡¯s chest and Nam-Jun looked at her fondly. There were no words needed.
Yunho was concentrating on cutting the meat on his plate in even pieces as he listened to his father¡¯s monologue. As always, it was a unilateral conversation where he was informed on how disappointed his father was of him as a son. The hypocrite.
¡°I heard Kim Hara¡¯s granddaughter is studying in your university. Have you met her?¡± His father demanded in an accusing tone instead of asking.
¡°There are many students with that last name,¡± Yunho said in a flat tone, not paying attention to the disapproving tone. ¡°But I would have heard if someone important joined the student body.¡±
¡°...Perhaps,¡± his father acquiesced after a moment, taking a sip of his wine and savouring it. ¡°However, no one really knows what Kim Hara¡¯s granddaughter looks like. You know that old hag hid her grandchildren as gems once her daughter had that accident.¡±
¡°Well, it was a really convenient accident. It killed the only daughter along with the husband and eldest son,¡± Yunho said in a low tone and took another bite of his food.
¡°Her grandson became quite a public persona though.¡± His father kept talking as if Yunho never said a word. ¡°Though it is well known he won¡¯t succeed Kim Hara. People have been talking, you see, they say the granddaughter was hidden away in order to prepare her to assume her grandmother¡¯s position.¡±
¡°And yet they are only rumours. We both know how fake they can be,¡± Yunho said, not bothering to conceal his accusing eyes.
The dinner continued in silence.
¡°What do you know about Jimin?¡± his father asked once the dessert was brought.
¡°There are many things I know about her, the question is what you want to know.¡± The tension in the room thickened as Yunho cut a small bite of his cr¨¨me au caramel, not really tasting the flavour.
¡°I have been trying to convince her to go and study abroad.¡±
¡°But we both know how terrible that idea is,¡± Yunho said, perhaps interrupting his father but not really caring.
¡°...Indeed, we both do,¡± the man grunted and took another sip of his wine. ¡°Jimin just needs time.¡±
¡°She had almost five years since she graduated, you would never allowe me to do the same.¡±
And there it was, Yunho was breaking the rule by speaking of the bright pink elephant in the room. His father¡¯s expression hardened.
¡°That is different, you are my son.¡±
¡°Don''t you say she is your daughter?¡± Yunho retorted, taking another bite of his dessert. He did not even need to lift his gaze in order to know his father was frowning at him.
Yunho sighed, knowing he should wave the white flag of peace before things turned ugly. Well, before they turned uglier. At least his father would never cut him off the benefits he was granted because people would talk, however, he could be even more unpleasant to deal with. So in the name of what little sanity Yunho had left, he decided to give up.
¡°So how is Ji-sub doing?¡± Yunho asked with a sigh.
¡°You tell me,¡± his father almost snapped.
¡°I wouldn''t know, that is why I am asking.¡±
¡°Perhaps if you were more mature and finally got over that childish squabble you had so long ago,¡± his father said, no longer pretending to be civil.
Yunho sighed, knowing he should have kept his mouth shut. It was too late for damage control and now he had to deal with his father¡¯s passive aggressive anger. Great, that was just the cherry on the top of an already crappy night.
¡°I tried to contact him on his birthday and sent a present to his manager only to have it sent back. Do you want to see my call log and the receipts?¡±
And there it was, if Yunho had to deal with everything already, then his caution could go to hell for all he cared.
¡°You know Ji-sub had a hard time ever since he left the house,¡± Yunho¡¯s father tried to defend that person, just as always.
¡°Oh, I am sure he did. You paid for his university and apartment only for him to drop everything and try his hand at modelling, at least he managed to pull that stint off,¡± Yunho deadpanned, pushing away his unfinished dessert.
¡°He had a harsh childhood, you would never be able to understand,¡± his father sighed, looking defeated.
¡°Well, remember what happened when I got accepted in that university and managed to obtain the scholarship?¡± Yunho asked casually, as if he was talking about the weather.
Once again, he pointed one of those subjects he was not allowed to talk about. Honestly, he no longer cared at this point. If his father was going to try and blame him for everything then he better begin admitting his own goddamn flaws too and stop defending those two.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
¡°Ah, now I remember. You told me I needed some adult supervision while you sent Ji-sub abroad and allowed Jimin to take a sabbatical year that extended till now. But of course, who am I to judge or remind you of that? I am just your son.¡±
The tension in the room increased but Yunho no longer cared. Finals were approaching and he dedicated all his free time to study so he was living off sleep deprivation and caffeine. This semester he actually had some competition he would like to win over, thank you very much.
¡°You would never be able to understand,¡± his father said at last and an almost cynic smile stretched Yunho¡¯s lips.
¡°If you say so. I lost my appetite so I will be heading home already. See you next week,¡± Yunho said almost jovially and walked towards the door. ¡°Maybe one day I will see one of those two here.¡±
The last words he said before leaving were intended to cause damage, but Yunho did not look back to admire the results. Honestly, he was far past the point of caring. At this stage, he knew he was the only child his father raised that was not a disappointment, at least in the eyes of the public. Fortunately, otherwise he was sure he would be excluded from the family business entirely in favour of those two.
With practised ease. Yunho lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag, knowing he would need to take his car to clean later in order to get rid of the odour. But he would worry about it later, when his body stopped craving the nicotine and his mind stopped torturing him.
For now, he would drown with the mentholated smoke and, hopefully, quiet his thoughts for a few hours.
Sora woke up when a familiar weight settled on her neck. She began scratching lightly and her cat began purring. It was perfect.
She allowed herself to enjoy the tranquillity of the early morning before taking out her phone and check on the time. A few minutes shy of six. She overslept, but it was okay. She was perfectly aware how sore her body must be so she was in no condition of working out, but it was fine. Her mind would be silent for another day or so, it was perfect.
Carefully, in an effort not to disturb the sleeping man who was cuddling her other cat, Sora got out of bed and a groan almost left her lips when she felt her muscles complaining. Yes, she was definitely paying for last night¡¯s brutal training session.
Soft whimpers escaped Sora¡¯s chest as she dragged her sore body to the kitchen and promptly collapsed on the closest chair, sighing in relief. Yep, it was definitely going to be a really, really long day.
Knowing Nam-Jun slept like a rock she decided to call her grandmother while she decided whether to wait and have breakfast in a coffee shop or to go through the pain of making something to eat. She stretched a little in order to pet her cat and the decision was taken. Sora would definitely eat outside today and maybe order takeout for dinner and save some left overs for tomorrow.
¡°Sora, dear,¡± her grandmother greeted in a warm tone, making her smile. ¡°An early riser, I see that habit stayed with you.¡±
¡°What can I say? At least it is a convenient one. How are you doing?¡±
¡°Ah, pretty well actually. I got a yoga instructor not long ago and the classes are wonderful. And the sight, let me tell you that it is an extremely appealing one.¡±
¡°Oh my god, grandma!¡± Sora whined, torn between amusement and horror. ¡°Please, don''t turn into a cougar.¡±
¡°Please, child, I do have class. I would rather be an elegant Mrs Robinson.¡±
¡°Grandma!¡± Sora growled, covering her face with her cold hands. ¡°Let¡¯s change of topics before I am left eternally traumatized.¡±
¡°Okay, okay, so sensitive... So how are classes going?¡±
¡°Not terrible, I guess. Though I am ninety percent sure I am going to fail a subject and am not exactly sure how to feel about it.¡±
¡°Well, those are certainly news. What happened?¡±
¡°Group assignment and exposition. Got the most useless beings in the history of universe as teammates and basically am doing everything alone.¡±
¡°Whatever happens, young lady, you are staying here. You left for too long already.¡± And with that phrase, Sora knew she really should not worry about that small problem.
¡°Okay. I think I had enough of travelling either way... I won¡¯t be able to visit this weekend or the next.¡±
¡°Don''t worry about it, but do call me, okay?¡±
¡°Okay, grandma. Call you later.¡±
¡°Love you, dear.¡±
Sora sighed as she ended the call and decided to get ready once and for all. Then she moved a little and decided that she could spare five more minutes.
She approached the bed once she was ready to face the day, or as ready as she could be. Nam-Jun was sleeping peacefully despite of all the noise she made while getting ready. One of her cats was sleeping on his chest while the other was sleeping at the base of the bed, risking getting kicked off bed by the unusually tall man.
¡°Nam-Jun, wake up,¡± Sora whispered on his ear gently, knowing it would not be nearly enough for him to even open his eyes. At least now she could say she tried the gentle method, right?
She gently moved her sleeping cat only for him to look at her with curiosity before setting himself to go back to sleep. She carefully stepped on the bed and threw herself at him. The action was followed by loud cursing, something crashing (and perhaps breaking) on the floor, and the high-pitched scream of a man.
¡°What the heck is your problem?!¡± her friend hissed, his eyes opened as wide as saucers, and his hair sticking in every direction.
¡°I tried to wake you up the gentle way but it wasn¡¯t enough,¡± Sora said while trying to pout, but still feeling her lips stretched in a wide smile. Oh, well, perhaps she needed to dedicate more time to her body control. ¡°I have to go to classes.¡±
¡°Okay, don''t kill anyone and pretend to enjoy them,¡± the sleepy man said jovially and covered himself with the blankets and not bothering to further acknowledge the person on him.
¡°There is some left over pizza so you can eat that. Don''t forget to clean the children¡¯s litter.¡± The only answer Sora received was a non-committal grunt so she uncovered Nam-Jun with a harsh tug to the blanket. ¡°Does grandma knows you are back?¡±
¡°I arrived yesterday evening woman, give me a break,¡± Nam-Jun grumbled, his eyes were still closed and he looked more unconscious than not.
¡°I refuse to give you a break. You know she worries about you so give her a call when you are alive enough.¡± Her words were met by silence and Sora sighed. ¡°Making sure you talk to her is the least I can do, you know she has been very kind to me.¡±
¡°I know, I know. You can stop guilt tripping me now, I will call her when I feel like a human. Can¡¯t you move, you are hurting my already aching body.¡±
Sora rolled away and groaned at the action. She was definitely paying for yesterday¡¯s session. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to visit her this week or the next so go and stay over a few days, okay?¡±
Nam-Jun finally opened his eyes and looked at her through his lashes. ¡°You are lucky competition season is over or I was going to blame you when coach scolds me once I lose the babies.¡±
¡°A week of eating like a normal person won¡¯t kill you.¡±
¡°I would tell you the same, but you eating like a normal person might mean collateral damage.¡± Sora raised an eyebrow at this statement, she had a pretty normal diet. ¡°You eat as a famished cave man, I never understood where all that food goes when you are so small.¡±
¡°Shut it,¡± Sora grunted as she sat on the bed.
¡°You know? Grandma never gave me an apartment. I call it favouritism.¡±
¡°I call it ¡®you are not leaving again, young lady¡¯,¡± Sora retorted, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. ¡°Besides, do you remember that apartment you had in Basel when-¡± she dexterously caught the pillow that came flying her way and smiled at Nam-Jun, who was now fully covered with the blankets.
¡°Don''t you have classes?¡±
Sora giggled lightly as she left the room, picking up her backpack on her way, and putting on her shoes once she was at the door. As she took the lift, she was deciding between riding her bike and walking. In the end, she decided a cab would be far quicker and less painful.
As she opened the door of the car, Sora thanked the taxi driver and walked inside the familiar coffee shop near the university. It was pretty small, almost hidden away by the lush trees near the entrance and comparably less eye catching than the greenery it was surrounded with. The place was empty, not strange considering the early hour.
¡°Good morning,¡± the familiar barista greeted her once he saw her and Sora smiled.
¡°Rough night?¡± Sora asked as she fished for her thermos bottle and handed it to the barista. She eyed his red eyes and how deep his eyebags were that not even make up could cover them.
¡°You have no idea, my girlfriend and I went to a party last night and it was brutal. Chai, matcha, or chocolate?¡± he asked already knowing her favourites.
¡°Chai tea,¡± Sora decided, ¡°and whatever you have to eat, I am starving. So how is Momo doing?¡±
¡°She actually likes being here. She has some strange obsession with tteokbokki so that has been on the menu ever since she moved in... You are lucky, the ham and cheese croissants arrived not long ago. How many?¡±
Sora pursed her lips as she considered her answer. She might get hungry later so she needed some extra snacks.
¡°Ten,¡± she decided and nodded sagely, not noticing the intense look of the barista.
¡°You know, I am glad the two of you haven¡¯t met yet. Either you leave Korea without food or you end up deciding you should get married and eat happily ever after.¡±
Sora gave the man an impish smile, not bothering to deny the accusation. From what she heard of Momo, the two of them would be the perfect match.
¡°Here you go,¡± the barista said, handing her a brown paper bag full of pastries that she immediately munched on.
¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t have breakfast today and I am starving,¡± Sora said after swallowing her first bite.
¡°I still don''t understand how can something so small eat so much.¡±
¡°Curious, you are the second person to tell me that today.¡±
The barista just snorted and put on the counter her now filled thermo. ¡°That would be... forty-five thousand six hundred wons,¡± he said after consulting the convenient calculator near the register.
Sora handed the man a fifty thousand bill. ¡°Do get some coffee, It is on me.¡±
¡°You know I can no longer stomach it,¡± the man grumbled. ¡°Have a good day at school.¡±
¡°Do try not to murder any costumer and say hi to Momo for me!¡±
Sora exited the place with raised spirits. Something about that coffee shop always raised her mood. She took a sip of her tea and almost moaned at the flavour. It was definitely one of the best places she visited and the company was not half bad.
She was definitely ready to face the day.
Five hours later, she was regretting ever getting out of bed.
Classes were not that terrible. Though Sora had to move around far too much for her liking and everything hurt. She gladly stabbed the food on her tray as she unvented her frustration and filled her complaining stomach.
¡°So, what happened?¡± Seo Jun asked, looking intently at her tray.
Mina slapped his arm lightly and looked at Sora. ¡°You don''t look bad or anything, but you are kind of grumpy.¡±
¡°I''m sore,¡± Sora sighed, taking a large bite of her food and chewed slowly. ¡°Nam-Jun is back so we had a training session yesterday.¡±
¡°Oh, okay, that kind of explains everything.¡±
¡°Yeah, that is why I always have something to do when you ask me to join the torture you call training,¡± Jun said nonchalantly, ignoring Sora¡¯s accusing eyes.
¡°You joined once though,¡± Mina reminded him, making wince at the memory.
¡°I did and it was one of my greatest mistakes. Remember I didn¡¯t come the day after? I literally had to roll out of bed to go to the bathroom and almost killed myself when I tried to take the stairs. My ugly brother even got pictures,¡± he sighed.
¡°Mhm, he sent them to me along with a very effusive thank you,¡± Sora said and Jun remained silent, his eyes were fixed on the table.
¡°There is no longer loyalty between brothers,¡± Seo Jun stated in a defeated tone.
¡°Remember when you sent us and his girlfriend pictures of your brother wearing makeup after the two of you got drunk and decided you could be prettier than your sister if you wore her makeup,¡± Mina reminded him, her expression was totally unimpressed.
She allowed her friends to bicker and taunt each other while she concentrated on her food. Sora honestly wanted to skip classes that evening and go home, maybe take a hot bath and read a little while she ate whatever caught her fancy and the delivery person blessed her with. But she actually had a reputation to take care of, even amongst teachers. She would save that unjustified absence to when she needed it.
For now, she would suffer through her classes without a complaint... or at least without loud ones.
Chapter 5: Incidents Occur, Right?
¡°I am just saying it won¡¯t kill you,¡± Sora told Seo Jun, Mina watched amused from the sidelines while munching on her burger.
¡°I actually think it will,¡± Jun retorted, glaring at her. ¡°And before you say anything, I almost killed myself last time while I tried to go to the kitchen for a glass of water because my legs refused to work.¡±
¡°You just said you almost killed yourself, not that the training did,¡± Mina added and received a glare from the man.
¡°Whose side are you in?¡±
¡°I am saying that you are just beginning to build real strength and you could join Nam-Jun and I for training.¡±
¡°And I am saying no thank you, I chose to live.¡±
¡°You are too soft,¡± Sora sighed and finally began munching on her lunch, enjoying the rich flavour of the black bean noodles.
¡°Excuse me for not wanting to fight with a professional MMA fighter!¡± Jun said while flailing his hands wildly.
¡°He has a point,¡± Mina agreed.
¡°Thank you.¡±
¡°So you want to join?¡± Sora asked Mina, already knowing the answer but deciding to mess with her a little.
She tried to hide her smile once her friend almost choked on her food, though judging by Mina¡¯s glare, she was not doing a good job out of it.
¡°No, no, no, and no. You don''t involve me in your daily torture, you can have him.¡±
¡°Yah! Who do you think you are, woman? No one can order me around!¡±
¡°What about your dad?¡± Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.
¡°Well, yeah, he can. But that is because I live under his roof!¡±
¡°And your mum?¡± Mina asked, smiling impishly.
¡°... Yeah, she also can. But that is because she carried me inside her for nine months, made sure I didn¡¯t kill myself when I was a brat, and tolerated my existence for twenty-two years.¡±
¡°What about your brother?¡±
¡°Only when he has blackmail material,¡± Jun admitted with a sigh, pouting at his tray.
Sora chuckled lightly and placed her meat platter on Seo Jun¡¯s tray. It was her way of apologising for teasing him so much.
¡°By the way, I am getting my nails done today after classes, want to come?¡± Sora asked her friends and taking another large bite of her food.
¡°Yes! I need it already,¡± to everyone''s surprise, that was Seo Jun talking and showing Sora his nails.
Mina was staring openmouthed.
¡°That girl that you are dating is really changing you,¡± a surprised Mina said. ¡°Before we had to literally kidnap you to come with us.¡±
¡°It is not her, it is her best friend,¡± Jun drawled with a pronounced pout.
Only when he received no answer he looked up and was faced by an accusing glare and a curious look, then proceeded to blush violently.
¡°No! That is not what I meant! I''m not dating her friend, you can ask, I swear.¡±
¡°Ehm, okay,¡± Sora said, stretching the word and sharing a confused glance with Mina.
¡°So explain, when the hell did you began caring about your nails?¡± Mina asked, tilting her head.
Jun sighed and his shoulders slumped. ¡°Jihyun has this friend that is a makeup artist and he is so flawless that is almost offensive. His hair is always perfect and he is always showing off his perfect hands.¡±
¡°So... are you jealous or do you have a crush?¡± Sora asked, genuinely confused.
¡°I am going for jealous. At least for now.¡±
¡°Okay, cool, at least you will no longer complain when you join us,¡± Mina said cheerily, patting his arm gently. ¡°Do you think I should get nail extensions, I want them to look like yours.¡±
¡°If you do, get short ones. Lucille got extensions and was useless until she got used to them.¡±
¡°Your Swiss friend?¡± Jun asked, receiving a nod as response. ¡°You should stop biting them,¡± he told Mina, who pouted in response.
¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever... Oh wait, Sora, don''t you have a group meeting after classes?¡±
And there it was, the reminder of something Sora didn¡¯t particularly want to remember. Her useless teammates and her flunked subject.
¡°I planned it yes, but they never come so...¡± Sora shrugged and left the phrase hanging.
¡°I can kill them if you want to,¡± Jun offered.
¡°Well, he is studying to be a lawyer so he can make it in the most legal way possible,¡± Mina agreed.
¡°Nah, don''t bother with them. Time to go, see you later, okay?¡± Sora said as farewell and walked towards her building, ready for the next class of the evening.
Here she was again, waiting. Sora sighed as she munched on some chocolate she found in her backpack and getting ready to leave. Once again, her useless team failed to appear. Though she remembered the useless one hanging in the library and disappearing later... Perhaps Sora intimidated her too much on that time she got on her nerves and now the silent one was scared of being alone in a room with Sora.
Well, there was nothing to do now, so she decided to wait five more minutes before getting the hell out of there and enjoy her evening like a normal young adult.
She sighed once again and began scrolling through her documents, the bright screen of the laptop reminding her she needed a new one because that was the lowest it got. Sora opened the document containing her part of the presentation and decided to print it already, whether it needed more polishing or not no longer mattered. In the end, she was going to fail the subject thanks to her useless teammates and the even more useless professor that dumped that hopeless bunch with her.
She sent the document, walked towards the printer, and waited for the process to end.
I only have one month to prepare... Well, I technically had almost six months, but those are details. At least I don''t really have to worry about classes here. Sora¡¯s fingers loomed over the warm, recently printed pages and began putting them on her folder in order as they hot out of the printer. I already confirmed my schedule for the summer classes. Lucille will get really mad when I tell her I won¡¯t stay for long. I should get her something nice, Sora decided. I really hope professor Kang accepts me in her remedial lessons even though I was not in her classes this semester. If not I will have to wait until the next semester to have her, though it''s not that far away.
Sora picked on her fingers as she waited for the printer to finish its job, remembering why she never used the equipment in the university. It was either too damn slow or far too obsolete to actually be of any use. She sighed once again as she examined her hands.
I hate them, Sora thought as she examined her hands. They were not necessarily ugly, though her hands were unnecessarily small. Well, considering she was below average in height, only by a few centimetres, mind you, they were proportionate to her body. However, that did not mean she had to like them. Small hands that needed constant hydration because her skin was too dam dry, and short, chubby fingers. Sausage-like fingers, she reminded herself.
When people saw her, the first impression they got of her was that Sora was a pampered child. Honestly, most of her clothes were gifts, she just happened to be surrounded by people with taste (a taste very different to hers, mind you). Her features leaned on the exotic scale thanks to her heritage. Both of her progenitors were Korean, though her mother was half Swiss half Korean. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you saw it, Sora inherited much more than her brother did from their unknown foreign grandfather.
Her hands were just the cherry on the top. Having long nails was apparently enough for people to claim to know you. If you had long nails, in the opinion of the general, not to say ignorant populace, meant you were utterly incapable of taking care of yourself.
Sora cooked, her mother made sure she was a more than decent cook before she even hit fifteen. She even enjoyed it now that she did it for herself and was not forced to. She was constantly cleaning her apartment, having two furry babies that tended to make a mess was enough motivation. Not to mention all the fur, enough said. She was more than capable of carrying her things and punching people, Nam-Jun could personally confirm the latter.
Most people did not really understand the reason why she kept her nails the way she did. It was stupid, Sora was completely aware of that fact. It did not mean she would stop any time soon.
She hated how small her hands were. She could clearly remember her mother¡¯s words when she was scolded for not doing certain tasks. Her mother always blamed her laziness and Sora¡¯s obvious desire to keep herself as pretty as a lady did by pretending to be dainty and delicate. Her mother always had some kind of criticism for her, it was normal.
Her father did not say much, only that Sora¡¯s child-like hand would turn off any man with a sense of moral. Her brother just laughed and she, well, she remained silent. That is what was expected from the youngest child, not to mention youngest daughter of a traditional Korean family.
So once she left her parent¡¯s house, the first thing Sora did was allow her nails to grow, knowing her mother would immediately call her a scarlet woman, or a lady want to be. She also didn¡¯t get near a stove for two years or so, until she was craving tteokbokki so bad she actually made them herself. It was a bit of a shock to realize cooking was not that bad when you didn¡¯t have anyone looking over your shoulder ready to judge you or having to satisfy any other person than yourself. Ever since, her aversion to cooking was cured, sort of.
Later on, her nails became an essential part of her. Having them styled and perfectly manicured was as natural as brushing her hair. It became a characteristic that defined Kim Sora.
The printer¡¯s loud beep signalled it finally finished its work and almost gave her a heart attack in the process. Sora finished ordering her papers while swearing to never use the university equipment again.
It was done, she had nothing else to do here because it was blatantly obvious her teammates would not come.
Sora threw her backpack on her shoulders and exited the presentation room while looking over the recently printed papers. It was not bad. She was actually expecting fading colours or strange colouring in inappropriate places. Apparently, the university printers were not that terrible, only slow.
Someone crashed with her and, if her hold on her folder was any less tight, she would have dropped it and scattered pages throughout the library stairs. Sora looked up, ready to apologize and her words were caught in her throat. Damn it, she should have known who the culprit was.
¡°You should be more careful, unless you want to get hurt,¡± the troublesome guy said in a honeyed voice that was almost pleasant to listen. For once, there was not a polite smile on his lips.
¡°Don''t worry about me, I am not that delicate,¡± Sora retorted, not bothering to compose her usual facade either.
They looked at each other¡¯s eyes for an intense moment, it was no more than a few seconds that felt far too long. Finally, the strange guy smirked, looking genuinely amused at her answer.
¡°I am glad to know that, but you certainly play the part well. Extremely well, if you ask me.¡±
Sora huffed and looked away, debating on whether to continue the conversation or just walk away. In the end, she was just too proud to allow another person to have the last word.
¡°I would also like to return the compliment, Yunho-ah,¡± Sora spat back, composing a little smile, the one she reserved when she wanted to look as cute as a puppy.
The strange guy¡¯s smirk turned into a full smile, dimples, eyes crinkled, and all that crap. That certainly was a strange reaction in Sora¡¯s humble opinion. The colloquial suffix she used was extremely disrespectful considering the situation. They were barely acquaintances, very reluctantly, in Sora¡¯s case. The troublesome guy was older than she was, and they were in the same year, or at least she thought they were. All in all, she was being a condescending, disrespectful brat to her male senior and that in Korea was a big no.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Yunho did not look offended at all, only amused.
¡°Take care, sunbae-nim,¡± Sora said at last and walked away, the feeling of the troublesome guy¡¯s heavy stare did not leave her until she left the staircase completely.
That guy was similar to her, Sora was now sure of that. However, she did not think for a second they were sorted in the same category and even less considered the possibility of them having the same nature.
Unlike her, Yunho was impulsive at the wrong moments and that was a flaw he would come to regret sooner rather than later.
Yunho stared at the little girl as she left, unable to suppress his amusement or control his smile. That girl was definitely a little spitfire, something he was definitely not used to but it was a welcomed change.
In Korea, women were raised to become deferential, quite lifeless dolls, and utterly boring. If a woman was anything other than humble, obsequious, meek, soft-spoken, and whatever similar adjective you wanted to add, they immediately faced brutal criticism. Of course, Yunho intellectually knew Korea was a pretty homogenous country that only a few decades ago began its globalization process. The behaviour that westerners considered normal, such as kissing someone on the cheek as greeting, would cause a heart attack to the older generations and a prominent blush on the younger yet conservative ones.
What could he say? He was perfectly aware of this situation. If a woman did what a man does, she is immediately called gashina, scarlet woman, or some less polite adjectives. Though this rule applied to a worldwide level, he guessed. The difference in Korea was that women were broken to compliance or shunned if they refused to do so.
While men tend to like innocent looking girls that dion''t party, smoke, date around, or have many male friends, Yunho actually likes women with some fire in them. Someone who would actually tell him to go and sleep with a seal for all she cared and was willing to call him out on his mistakes and hypocrisy. Someone who was actually independent and was not bugging him constantly for attention. Actually, someone who wouldn''t give a single flying crap if he went to party and expected the same favour in return.
Thinking about it, if Yunho dated someone, that woman had to be totally and utterly independent. In Korea, women were expected to stop working once they got pregnant, some actually decided to stop working once they got married. If he was honest, he could not exactly understand their motivation but he was in no position to judge. He was not exactly a woman.
The woman he decided to marry, as he eventually would thanks to his father¡¯s pressure, had to be ambitious, Yunho decided. Focused on her carrier and personal growth, not seeing the marriage as a way out of working or as a way of securing financial stability. He needed someone who understood his non-existent desire to have children and was fine with it, at least for the first decade or so of marriage. Or until his father pressured him to have children because those two would certainly not have them in a near or a distant future. Or maybe until a fortunate accident happened and his father died a horrible and tragic death.
So, Yunho wanted someone outspoken, ambitious, preferably intelligent, highly independent, and utterly unapologetic.
For obvious reasons, few Korean women fitted the ideal he had of an adequate partner. At least until now.
While Yunho was not terribly self-aware, he possessed enough of that trait to realize that his curiosity on the little girl turned into a crush. A potentially toxic one, especially by the way he had been acting towards her, but not that Yunho actually cared about a healthy relationship when everything else in his life was kind of screwed up already. What would another unhealthy fixture would affect his already messy life?
It was easy to see how physically attractive Kim Sora was, at least by the standards Yunho learnt to appreciate. Small face, delicate features, large eyes, lithe figure, and generally doll like appearance topped with some exotic features. However, that was not hard to find when one looked hard enough. What Yunho actually liked was her cynicism, how perfectly deferential she appeared to be until she opened her mouth. The way she insulted people with the utmost respect and pretended to be unaware. He particularly enjoyed whenever she publically talked about the rumours about her with her friends, as if there were no witnesses.
¡°You know? I heard I am easier than a one plus one sum. Considering how I haven¡¯t even had the time to date or fool around since I arrived, I wonder what that makes other people.¡±
Yunho would never forget that day, the first time she actually spoke about her rumours. And what a way to do it, right in the middle of a full cafeteria, when she had a third of the room trying to listen on her conversation. More than one choked.
That small event, followed by the later ones, would immediately classify Sora as a difficult person to deal with if it was not for her innocent charade. The soft spoken, easy going, eternally kind, and so ever helpful girl could not be hard to deal with, right?
Personally, Yunho just watched from the sidelines as she wrapped the student body around her little finger and laughed at their stupidity.
If this stupid little crush didn''t leave in a month, then Yunho would take measures. He would either drown his sorrows in a pack of soju or date for a time one of the girls his father approved of, or he would actually be stupid enough to pursue the little girl knowing she would reject him. Or at least he hoped she did, if she was insane enough to go out with him then he would actually begin worrying about her sanity, or lack of thereof.
No woman in her right mind would ever date the person that put her through what he put the little girl through.
Unfortunately, he had the slight suspicion she was not in her right mind and Yunho knew that, if she ever accepted him, he would regret his decision.
Fortunately, he was not in his right mind either.
Sora was lying on her bed with Mina while Seo Jun was sitting on the carpet and playing with her cats. The day was far too long, but not necessarily in a terrible way.
After going to the spa to get their nails done, yes, the three of them, they decided to hang out as they did so many years ago. It really had been too long since Sora went to the movies and stuffed herself with junk food. Overly salted, greasy, extremely unhealthy, and utterly delicious junk food.
Now she felt as bloated as a pregnant whale and it was more than perfect.
¡°I don''t think I will be able to move,¡± Mina groaned and took another spoonful of ice cream.
¡°Me neither,¡± Sora agreed and followed Mina¡¯s example.
¡°Ditto,¡± Seo Jun sighed, ¡°give me,¡± he almost whined and opened his mouth so Sora fed him a spoonful.
It was definitely like the old times. The three of them hanging out and only having to worry about school and exams. For a few hours, Sora would forget about everything else.
¡°The only thing we need is to go to a PC room,¡± Mina said while playing with her spoon.
¡°I¡¯ll pass,¡± Sora immediately said with a grimace.
¡°Well, you do suck at playing games,¡± Jun acknowledged with a nod. ¡°But let¡¯s be fair, you read and ate while we played.¡±
¡°I don''t like gaming,¡± Sora defended herself, taking a spoonful of the ice cream and sighing at the flavour.
¡°You ate our snacks,¡± Mina reminded her with a pointed look, earning a flick on the forehead for her efforts.
¡°Details.¡±
Sora smiled once Mina stuck her tongue out at her and took another ice cream spoonful to feed the man that decided at last the bed was more comfortable than the floor. However, instead of accepting the treat, he slowly denied with his head. His expression changed completely to the more serious one that was only reserved for either strangers or extremely serious situations. This time, she had the feeling it was going to be one of those really unpleasant situations that she rather not experience or talk about.
¡°I saw that guy, Lee Sungmin, lurking around,¡± Seo Jun said and the drowsy and relaxed atmosphere immediately dissipated. Yes, this was definitely one of those conversations Sora did not want to have at the moment, or ever, if possible.
¡°What are you saying? You don''t mean...¡± Mina gasped, leaving the phrase hanging and looked at Sora, her eyes were as wide as saucers.
¡°I''m not sure, but I think he began following you around,¡± Jun said with utmost seriousness. ¡°The first couple of times it was a casualty, but now I constantly see him lurking in the corners. Sora, what do you know about him?¡±
This time Sora sighed and decided to talk. ¡°Not much to be honest. I helped him once during class and he has been trying to talk with me ever since.¡±
¡°You knew?¡± Mina gasped, looking horrified at the notion.
¡°Well, I did notice him trying to approach me constantly, but I really don''t think he is following me around.¡±
¡°You don''t get it,¡± Mina hissed, all amusement gone from her features and looking a little paler than usual. ¡°There is a reason why he has a bad reputation and it has nothing to do with how awkward or strange he can be. Sora, he is literally known as a stalker.¡±
¡°I swear we are not exaggerating,¡± Seo Jun promised, looking into her eyes. ¡°Last year there was a big scandal regarding this. Before that, he was only known as the guy who pesters girls and constantly asks one out until she either gets a boyfriend or accepts. Then, last year, everything was revealed. It was a really bad scandal.
¡°There was this freshman in the architecture department. She was pretty enough, I guess, so he helped her around for a few days. We thought they were dating, that is what he told everyone but the girl denied all the rumours and began avoiding him. After that, he began stalking her.
¡°He was literally always following her around in the campus and even went as far as follow her to her house and trying to break to her room. It got so bad that her brother came to pick her up and drop her to her classroom every day. It was actually creepy. Before, Lee Sungmin only had rumours about his weird behaviour and being too insistent when asking out a girl but, after that, all the rumours were confirmed.
¡°You are watering it down,¡± Mina scolded Seo Jun, her face contorted in a pronounced frown. ¡°Sora, when I say that things got ugly, I mean things got ugly. Really ugly. He followed her around all the time, was constantly calling and texting her no matter how many times she changed her number. He also spread rumours about her, really nasty ones that everyone believed in the first few months. Do you know? He even went as far as photo shopping her face in the bodies of porn actresses.
¡°Her parents went to the police but they did nothing. That guy¡¯s father is in the board of some important company so his family bought his way out. After her parents tried and failed with the police, her brother went to the media. At first, no reporter wanted to mess with that guy¡¯s father and the news channels were also unwilling. So her brother took social media and it actually worked and got so big the reporters were forced to portray the news or lose their reputation. The police also got involved because they were facing a lot of public backlash.¡±
Well, if they wanted to creep Sora out, they were doing a damn good job. The strange guy was immediately renamed as the creepy dude that should be avoided.
¡°You know how shitty the laws are in our country,¡± Mina continued her rant and Seo Jun nodded frantically. ¡°While the girl¡¯s name and situation was made public, Sungmin¡¯s identity was kept in the dark.¡±
¡°In order to protect his reputation,¡± Jun said in a high-pitched tone, obviously disgusted by the situation.
¡°But everyone at school already had an idea of who the guilty one was... Hell, everyone knew Sungmin was the responsible one. You have no idea of how many parents and students tried to get him expelled but his father managed to keep in there somehow. I think he also paid the girl and her family to move away and not pursue further legal action because the last thing I knew of her is that her father was offered a good job in Japan and they were moving.
¡°So now you know why he is dangerous. Honestly, he is a psycho that should be avoided like the plague or be thrown to a pit of magma.¡±
¡°Sora, please tell us if he keeps following you and I will begin picking you up from your classes,¡± Seo Jun said and immediately raised his hands in surrender when the girl in question gave him the stink eye. ¡°I know you are more than capable of defending yourself, but Sungmin is one of those guys that don''t respect a woman unless she is with a man.¡±
¡°Another reason why he should be thrown to a magma pit,¡± Mina added unhelpfully.
¡°I get it,¡± Sora sighed, admitting her defeat. Well, a person like that would creep out anyone. ¡°But I don''t think you have to worry. Nam-Jun casually picked me up the only time he managed to talk to me alone.¡±
That was it, she knew her friends did not need more explanations than that. Judging by Mina¡¯s gleeful expression and Jun¡¯s goofy grin, Sora imagined she managed to put them at ease.
¡°Oh, this is rich, spill,¡± Seo Jun demanded and Mina voiced her agreement.
¡°Nothing much. He was being a bit too insistent about taking me home and simply stopped talking once he saw Nam-Jun.¡±
¡°Well, it is hard not to be intimidated by a professional MMA fighter,¡± Mina said, nodding sagely. ¡°But just in case, ask him to pick you up these days.¡±
¡°He is visiting grandma,¡± Sora told them, pouting slightly at the idea.
It was not jealousy, she told herself. So what if Nam-Jun was being fed the delicious things only their grandmother was able to cook. So what if he was allowed to laze around all day long and have those soulful conversations with grandma over a cup of warm tea.
¡°Aw, look who misses grandma?¡± Mina teased Sora.
¡°You do. Both of you,¡± Sora stated and just for good measure added, ¡°at least I still some cookies left over.¡±
¡°Damn,¡± Jun hissed and immediately composed his best kicked puppy face. Well, he did look as if someone kicked him though the adorable puppy was not present. ¡°Sora, do you know how much I love you?¡±
¡°I also love you,¡± Mina said, using a childish voice that made Sora cringe. Disgusting. Cute and Mina did not mingle in the slightest.
¡°And I hate you both.¡±
¡°Come on, leave Mina cookieless but not me, I did not even bother this time!¡± Seo Jun begged.
¡°He has a point, you know?¡± Sora told Mina, who gasped in a quite dramatic fashion.
Sora was considering sacrificing her last batch of cookies when Mina began attacking them with pillows, starting a pillow fight of epic proportions.
Of course she could not hold back.
Yunho took a deep drag of his cigarette and stared intently at the city lights below, ignoring the pungent smell of burnt tobacco that would soon dissipate and the almost gelid air of the night.
This was his third cigar of the day, perhaps he needed to stop smoking for a while unless he wanted to acquiesce another inconvenient, unhealthy, yet extremely addictive habit. With a shrug, he exhaled and focused on the smoke before taking yet another deep drag. With a sigh, he reread the texts Jimin sent him.
- Your guy is getting really pesky.
- He is talking nonstop about this Sora girl and how in love he is with her and doesn''t stop sending me his ideas on how to get her interested.
- Apparently, he wants to flex his money at the girl¡¯s boyfriend to intimidate him and hire someone to beat him up because he is too much of a coward to try to do it himself.
- Seriously Yunho, if you don''t get him to stop I''ll start fucking with his little head.
- Though I pity the girl.
- Your guy is a psycho and she''ll get the brunt of all this crap you created.
- You owe me a big one for this and you better pay up when I ask you to.
Right, Yunho always knew that involving that annoying woman would only be troublesome in the long run, but he was unable to resist the temptation of giving Jimin a hard time. Besides, he really wanted to keep his hands clean in all this matter.
Now, even if everything blew up and the idiot of Sungmin decided to begin stalking the little girl, if he had''t started yet, Yunho was cleared of all the mess. He could bet all his money on the little girl actually teaching that pitiful excuse of a human being a lesson or two. In the end, the university could not exactly feign ignorance if their top exchange student was harassed. And the little girl, she would put everyone in their places and give them that pretty dimpled smile as she did so.
So if everything blew up and Sungmin revealed their connection, it was his word against Yunho¡¯s. There was a reason Yunho tried so hard to keep an immaculate reputation, it was astounding what one could get out with when playing the role of the goodie two shoes.
However, in spite of all of this, he was unable to suppress the strange pit in his stomach and how uncomfortable it made him feel when he thought about the situation.
Yunho took another deep drag and decided to throw away his cigar. He actually needed to study now and the many tomes on the low table of his living room were witnesses to this change, along with the scrambled papers, open notebooks, and different colour highlighters. The latter he had to buy after years of not needing one. What a shame, and here he thought he could go all his university years with only the pen and the mechanical pencil in his backpack.
Well, at least he could say he didn''t need to worry about failing a subject this semester. The little girl did not have that luxury, ha!
Though, knowing how crafty she was, perhaps she would make it up in the summer classes or even find a way of not taking them at all. With Kim Sora, Yunho learnt everything was possible.
Chapter 6: The Cauldron is Boiling, When Will it Explode?
Sora was having a relaxing spa night while enjoying some of her favourite chocolate and there was good pizza waiting to be eaten in the kitchen. Any other person would be either fuming or having a nervous breakdown because of stress, but Sora was rather unconventional.
The group presentation was tomorrow and she had her part done and ready. There was not a word from her teammates... Well, that was not exactly true, they all sent her their lame excuses, trying to explain why they were unable to send their ¡®already finished¡¯ parts. Not today though, Sora only received silence today and her messages were ignored.
In the end, Sora could not bring herself to care in the least. Honestly, what she had to lose? Grandma already said she was going to take care of everything in case she failed, which she would do, so why bother when she could be doing better things with her time.
So Sora decided to pamper herself. She took a long bath, exfoliated, was wearing a mint clay cleansing mask (or at least that is what the package said), and was currently enjoying some chocolate as she read a book that had been on her reading list for far too long. It was perfect.
After eating two slices of pizza and saving the rest for breakfast, Sora went to bed. Stomach full, muscles relaxed, and hugging her purring cats, she drifted to sleep, not a single worry about what the next day would bring.
Sora woke up early, something quite normal for her, and decided to stay in bed a bit longer. She felt she earned that right. So after half an hour or so of reading in bed, her growling stomach took the decision for her and she dragged herself out of bed, not bothering to even making it up, something quite unusual in her routine.
She entered the kitchen and immediately heated last night¡¯s pizza while sipping on a bottle of lemon tea as she waited. After enjoying her tasteful yet not exactly healthy breakfast, Sora decided to get ready for the day. An hour later, she was out of the house, there was a spring in her step betraying her good mood.
Whatever good mood she had vanished when she remembered she had a session with the university¡¯s counsellor. With a sigh, Sora decided to take a cab. Her reputation as being punctual and responsible was not worth avoiding a session of career consultation she deemed useless but Mina forced Seo Jun and her to schedule. Seriously, it was not Sora¡¯s fault that that girl¡¯s tastes changed daily and she was constantly considering changing careers, only to remember she loved her fashion and designing too much. Besides, Mina¡¯s father would kill her if she dropped business administration.
Sora guesses parents in general were not particularly pleased to see their children taking the path of the arts instead of what they considered was a nice, normal, and stable career. Well, at least that is the impression that Sora had.
The moment she knocked on the door, just a minute before the set time, Sora knew the day was going to go downhill. The sour expression of the career consultant was what she needed to confirm it. And to think she planned to enjoy her morning in the coffee shop, what a shame.
¡°I reviewed your curriculum vitae,¡± the stern woman began saying and Sora could swear the woman already disliked her despite of not knowing each other. ¡°Quite impressive for someone your age.¡± By the way the counsellor said it, it almost sounded like an insult instead of a compliment.
¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am,¡± Sora said despite of her painfully tight smile.
¡°I read that you graduated high school quite young, may I ask the reason why. I read that you were offered to skip grades before and you rejected them, so why that change of heart?¡± For some reason, that question sounded more as an accusation than anything else did.
¡°I left Korea quite young because of different circumstances. My parents were quite... I don''t know if traditional is the right word, but I guess it fits. They were traditional and supported my brother¡¯s ambitions much more than my own.¡±
¡°Did you ever consider your parents only wanting your well being? Every parent wants to see their child enjoying their childhood, perhaps they would have supported you when you were older, as they obviously eventually did.¡±
Sora suppressed her desire to scoff and kept her tight smile in place. ¡°Of course,¡± she said, not really answering or giving the woman any additional information. ¡°Due to those certain circumstances, I ended up going abroad and finally being able to progress my education at a rate I found satisfactory.¡±
There was it, the non-answer was basically a declaration of war and Sora was fully aware of that fact. However, it was not her fault. If the woman tried to pry in her life then she would get the treatment she deserved. The counsellor gave her a sharp look that she answered with one of her closed lips smile that made the dimple on her right cheek stand out.
¡°I see...¡± the woman said in a strained tone and Sora suspected the cordiality was out of the window. Fine by her. ¡°So, I read you already finished your studies in Chemical Engineering and even managed to get a PhD. Why did you decided to study Business Administration when you already have one career under your belt.¡±
¡°The University of Z¨¹rich was extremely kind to allow me to advance at a rate I felt comfortable with. They gave me the option of participating in the fast-paced courses so I decided to take that option,¡± Sora said, purposefully not answering the question. ¡°I decided to use the advantages they are offering me to further my studies in fields that will undoubtedly be useful for me in a future.¡±
¡°Mhm, is that so?¡± the counsellor said in a clipped tone, her lips thinning as she gave a disapproving look at Sora. ¡°I also read you are quite proficient in different languages and I want to know what motivate you to achieve this goal. I am sorry to tell you this, Miss Kim, but unless you are planning to be a linguist all those language certificates you managed to hoard are useless.¡±
Oh, now we are talking, Sora though when the woman finally revealed her fangs. It was only natural for her to return the favour. Right?
¡°Well, what can I say, I am an ambitious individual,¡± Sora said, smiling at the counsellor and making the woman scowl in the process. ¡°But as I said before, I decided to use all the tools at my disposal to sharpen skills I will undoubtedly use in the future.¡±
¡°If you believe so, who am I to contradict you, Miss Kim?¡± the woman asked sweetly, disgustingly so. ¡°Let¡¯s see what else you got.¡±
This time, the woman took out a thick folder with a mark that indicated the page she was in.
¡°Ah, I see. So I am reading that you are also beginning to do your MBA this semester... Let me ask you something, Miss Kim, why don''t you find a job already? All your credentials almost seem as a waste when you are unable to support yourself,¡± the woman said in a condescending tone, looking far too pleased with herself.
Sora did not even react and kept her smile in place.
¡°I actually have a job,¡± Sora said without missing a beat, containing her satisfaction at the woman¡¯s souring expression and making sure her smugness did not show on her face. ¡°I am a paid intern at Namu Cosmetics.¡±
¡°Ah, this must be quite recent because it is not written on your curriculum.¡±
¡°It is, I started working there a few weeks after arriving to the country,¡± Sora said in a saccharine tone.
¡°I see,¡± the woman said, composing a tight smile. ¡°So I have to ask what are your plans for the future. While you are young, you don''t have all the time in the world. Do you have any plans after finishing your MBA?¡±
Sora pretended to think about the answer and even went so far as tapping her chin in faux thoughtfulness. Seeing the counsellor¡¯s clear annoyance was more than worth the wasted seconds.
¡°I actually do, I will get a PhD,¡± Sora said cheerily and could swear she could hear the woman¡¯s patience snap, or at least what was left of it.
¡°And after that?¡± she asked though gritted teeth and extremely fake smile.
¡°Ah, well, let¡¯s see...¡± Sora said, pretending to think about it again. Finally, when the silence stretched for ten breaths, she decided to talk. ¡°I will work in the family business.¡±
The woman scoffed and looked at Sora with an unbecoming intense glare. So rude.
¡°I guess you are one of the lucky ones that don''t need to worry about their futures so perhaps scheduling this appointment was a waste of both of our times.¡±
¡°Oh, I am quite aware of that ma¡¯am, but my friend insisted and I couldn''t refuse,¡± Sora said in a dismissive tone and the woman¡¯s jaw tightened.
¡°I guess I no longer have questions about your future plans for your career or job. However, allow me to give one piece of advice I hope you find useful,¡± the counsellor said and the atmosphere changed, making Sora uncomfortable with the unexpected turn of events. ¡°You are pretty enough, but no matter how beautiful you are, there is not a single man who wants a woman smarter or with more accomplishments than him.
¡°Men have this thing called masculine pride and, once threatened, they tend to react in negative ways. I know you are a quite ambitious youngster, but it will take time to achieve your goals. Once you achieve them, you may no longer be beautiful enough and being so well prepared will repel any possible suitors.¡±
The woman seemed honest enough and Sora suspected the counsellor was giving that advice because based on personal experience. However, if there was one thing she hated, was when people assumed she needed someone else to be happy. So long she had done everything herself and was quite satisfied with the result, thank you very much.
A silvery giggle escaped Sora¡¯s throat and she immediately tried to cover it up by coughing and placing a hand over her lips.
¡°Excuse, I apologize for my outburst,¡± Sora said in a small voice, looking at the floor as if she was embarrassed. It was a shame because she was unable to see the woman¡¯s reaction. ¡°It is just a bit hilarious, not your counsel, ma¡¯am, just how different your opinion is to the one my boyfriend has.¡±
It was a bit scary, how easy it was to lie, but honestly, Sora was tired of this woman and would not allow her to believe she somehow affected her. If she had to lie in order to achieve that goal, then she had no problems with that.
¡°It is just that he is constantly telling me how one of us has to be the smart one in order to help the children when they go to school and actually set a good example because he is too lazy to do it.¡±
Another lie, a big one. The day Kim Sora planned to have children was the day they were dragging her to a mental asylum, white containing shirt, white clad nurses, and all that paraphernalia.
¡°Do you have any other question, ma¡¯am?¡± Sora asked in a sugary sweet tone, enjoying the way the woman¡¯s face contorted into a pronounced scowl.
¡°No. You can leave, Miss Kim,¡± the counsellor almost barked.
Sora bowled low and tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling at the woman.
¡°Have a good day, counsellor.¡± With those words, she left the office.
As Sora walked towards her next class, considering skipping and read a little, but deciding to go in the end. Her reputation as a good girl allowed her to get out with behaviour that otherwise would classify her as a troublemaker.
Though not everything she told the woman was a lie. Nam-Jun and her did agree on getting married if both of them reached their mid forties unmarried and childless. Heavens knew their grandmother would come back to haunt them as a ghost if they did not give her any great grandchild to spoil. They would adopt two kids and Nam-Jun would become a home father, or at least that is what they agreed on because Sora was a disaster with children. Or humans, as a general rule.
So she tolerated her morning classes with a smile, pretending her head was not in other place. Once she was finally free, Sora walked towards the cafeteria and thanked it was still not totally full of people. She took out a worn out book and opened it in her favourite page as she waited for her friends.
This was a poem she constantly read when she was in a strange mood. What could she say? Rimbaud wrote magic and his words usually calmed her. A Season in Hell. One of her favourite poems.
¡°A while back, if I remember right, my life was one long party where all hearts were open wide, where all wines kept flowing.
One night, I sat Beauty down on my lap. And I found her galling. And I roughed her up.
I armed myself against justice.
I ran away. O witches, O misery, O hatred, my treasure''s been turned over to you!
I managed to make every trace of human hope vanish from my mind. I pounced on every joy like a ferocious animal eager to strangle it.
I called for executioners so that, while dying, I could bite the butts of their rifles. I called for plagues to choke me with sand, with blood. Bad luck was my god. I stretched out in the muck. I dried myself in the air of crime. And I played tricks on insanity.
And Spring brought me the frightening laugh of the idiot.
So, just recently, when I found myself on the brink of the final squawk! it dawned on me to look again for the key to that ancient party where I might find my appetite once more.
Charity is that key. This inspiration proves I was dreaming!
"You''ll always be a hyena etc. . . ," yells the devil, who''d crowned me with such pretty poppies. "Deserve death with all your appetites, your selfishness, and all the capital sins!"
Ah! I''ve been through too much:-But, sweet Satan, I beg of you, a less blazing eye! And while waiting for the new little cowardly gestures yet to come, since you like an absence of descriptive or didactic skills in a writer, let me rip out these few ghastly pages from my notebook of the damned.¡±
As she read the last sentence, she felt someone staring over her shoulder and immediately snapped her elbow back, hitting whoever was behind her and turning around only to see a familiar figure clutching her stomach. Then Sora winced, knowing she would need to pay for Mina¡¯s meal in order to make up to her. Especially by the way she was clutching her stomach and Seo Jun watched horrified from the sidelines.
After much apologizing and paying for the day¡¯s meal, Mina was finally over her sulking.
¡°So what happened, you only read that when you are in a bad mood,¡± Seo Jun said, looking at Sora and pointing her backpack, where her book was hidden away.
¡°Well, I had that appointment with the career counsellor and was told that no man would ever want to be with a woman more accomplished than them,¡± Sora informed her friends in an almost cheerful tone. ¡°Was she not a sweetheart?¡±
¡°Thank goodness I was not the only one,¡± Seo Jun said, ¡°I even though I was crazy when I complained to one of my classmates and they said that counsellor was great.¡±
¡°What did she told you?¡± Mina asked while munching on her burger.
¡°Disgusting, close your mouth,¡± Sora scolded the girl.
¡°You lost your right to complain when you attacked me!¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
¡°She was all strange and judgemental from the beginning,¡± Seo Jun said before Mina and Sora began another debate on who was to blame for Mina getting hit. Both were. ¡°She asked me what my plans after taking the bar exam were and I answered honestly, I plan to take a good old vacation and go backpacking for a few months to South America. Then all hell broke loose and the woman went all judgy grandma on me.
¡°So then she began asking me why were my grades so low. They are not that bad, they are average! Then she almost demanded to know why I don¡¯t have a part time job. I do! My mum has me as an unpaid intern in her firm and tortures me daily but I can not exactly say that so I did not say a word and she kept scolding me. In the end, she told me that I should stop being so sheltered and get a part time job already.¡±
Sora patted Seo Jun¡¯s shoulder awkwardly as he buried his face on his arms. Yes, that woman was definitely weird.
¡°Well, I had my appointment yesterday and am ready to join the pity party,¡± Mina sighed, looking genuinely bothered.
¡°So what did she tell you?¡± Sora asked Mina, making her sigh.
¡°The counsellor was really pleasant in the beginning. I actually kind of liked her when we began talking until she suggested me to change careers. Apparently, fashion is not a suitable career choice for if you want to actually earn some money and not leech on your parents and end up as yet another waitress in a low paying restaurant.¡±
Sora stared speechless at Mina. Wow, that woman was extremely set in her ways. Offensively so.
¡°That is... oddly specific,¡± Seo Jun said and placed an arm around the pouting girl¡¯s shoulder.
¡°I cannot believe she actually told you that,¡± Sora huffed, feeling offended on Mina¡¯s behalf.
¡°She actually did. Do you know? Once I told her I planned to begin my own fashion line she actually laughed, as if I told her a joke,¡± Mina confided them and Sora sighed.
Mina was a really confident girl, but having her own fashion line was her dream and she worked too damn hard for it only for an antiquated moron to tell her she was wrong.
¡°So I guess we can conclude the counsellor is an idiot,¡± Sora told them, smiling when Mina gave her a wobbly smile of her own.
¡°I second that motion,¡± Seo Jun said theatrically and Mina left out a watery laugh.
¡°Hey today is your group presentation, right?¡± Mina asked Sora after a few moments of silence and she nodded absently while taking another spoonful of her meal.
¡°Well, you are going to fail,¡± Seo Jun happily informed her.
¡°Thank you for that information, what would I ever do without your insight?¡± Sora deadpanned.
¡°Yah! Do not be rude, brat, I am still older than you!¡±
¡°I am your sunbae,¡± Sora retorted, unimpressed. ¡°All the respect I could have for you flew out of the window the day I met a crying teenager that swore he was going to fail his math class and begged me to kill him already and end with his misery.¡±
That memory actually forced Sora to smile. She was just a twelve year old girl going from school to her evening classes when she met a snotty teenager, quite literally, sobbing on the bench she usually sat on to wait for the bus. Once he saw her, Seo Jun literally began telling her his life story and how his father was going to kill him when he saw his port card and how his mother was going to bring him back to life only to kill him herself.
Ah, of course, that snotty teenager also begged her to end his misery and at least give him a fast death. In the end, feeling a wet spot on her shoulder was enough for Sora to slap some sense into a younger and even more theatrical Seo Jun. Yes, that was possible. Not slapping sense into someone, that was more to vent her anger, but the more theatrical Seo Jun. He was quite the drama queen back then.
After that, Sora took five minutes of her time to help him out with his math homework. As the strange human being she was, Sora always loved math and they came easy to her. So despite of Seo Jun being older, she knew more than he did, at least in that subject.
Then he followed her like a lost puppy to the bus because she was actually forcing his brain to understand. What Sora clearly remembered was clutching the Swiss knife in her pocket like a lifeline in case he had other intentions. However, once they arrived to the station he called his mother to pick him up because he was lost and Sora walked away.
After that day, she always met him in that bench and explained for twenty minutes or so. That is how she earned herself an extremely loyal and dramatic shadow, but it was not that bad. Seo Jun¡¯s mother actually loved Sora for helping her clueless son and tended to give her rides. She was nice, no matter what her children said about her being scary.
¡°Ah, I remember that!¡± Mina almost yelled, looking far too gleeful. ¡°I didn''t go to school that day because I was dying with a cold and this guy,¡± Mina said, patting a blabbering Jun¡¯s back, ¡°called me to tell me he was going to die and I better attend his funeral or he would haunt me forever.¡±
¡°I swore my parents were going to kill me,¡± Seo Jun groaned at last, his cheeks were a hot pink, matching quite nicely with his red ears. ¡°They didn''t and I have to thank my ugly sister for that. She went to a party and kind of scratched dad¡¯s new car and threw up in the back, right on the leather seats.¡±
¡°Your brother also killed the television while gaming, right?¡± Mina asked, apparently remembering that day clearly.
¡°Yep, and my parents were so angry at them. Not for ruining the things, but for trying to hide them and pretend nothing was wrong, I think they were offended. Anyway, my bad grades in math were nothing compared to those two, though they didn¡¯t give me any allowance until I showed them my improvement,¡± Seo Jun finished saying.
Actually, these were all news to Sora. She only remembered the strange teenager that rode the bus with her in order to get math explanations.
¡°I just know your mother gave you a bus card to come back on your own because she was tired of picking you up from the station and your dad gave you some sunscreen to walk back home and not get sunburnt,¡± Sora told Jun and Mina giggled.
¡°Yes, thank you for reminding me,¡± Jun pouted. ¡°Ah, by the way, you do know my mum expects you to hang out with her and dad wants you to come by the house one of these days.¡±
¡°Yeah, she told me,¡± Sora nodded as she took the last bite of her food. ¡°I will have to make a bit of time to visit your dad though.¡±
¡°According to them, you are their favourite daughter.¡±
¡°Yeah, my dad also says that,¡± Mina agreed, also pouting.
¡°Do I have to remind you who steal my grandmother every time she comes?¡±
¡°She loves us,¡± Seo Jun declared, pointing at Mina and him.
Sora laughed softly and decided to let the matter be for today, their six-year debate had yet to reach a conclusion.
¡°Okay, okay. I have to go now,¡± she said, looking at her phone to check the hour.
¡°Good luck!¡± Seo Jun said, wearing that bright smile of his.
¡°Don''t commit murder today!¡± Mina added her unhelpful suggestion.
Sora simply waved at them and walked out of the cafeteria, thinking the day did not go as bad as she thought it would. But then again, she had yet to face the worse part of it. Whatever happened, she was ready.
Sora arrived to her class in high spirits. Despite of not being able to munch on some of her favourite M&M¡¯s because the aftertaste of toothpaste tended to ruin the flavour of food, she was still quite cheerful. She was more than ready and eager to play her part as the sweet innocent girl that would eventually fail a subject because of her irresponsible teammates.
With a sigh, Sora noticed she spilled something on her hoodie and, unfortunately, she was not willing to wear that for a presentation, as hopeless as it was. With reluctance, she took off her hoodie and hoped she did not freeze to death in the following hour and a half.
Finally, she pulled her laptop out of her backpack, along with the folder containing the written part of the assignment and waited for the fireworks to start.
Yunho was the first one to arrive to the class and not exactly because he enjoyed it or even remotely liked the professor. No, he was the first because he was eager to see what would happen next. This group assignment was worth sixty percent of the final grade, or at least that is what the professor said. If anyone asked him, it was pretty obvious she got tired to deal with certain people and was finding a way for them to pass without getting directly involved.
Of course, that plan involved dumping the hopeless students with the smart, responsible student of the class. And of course, she added an extra and quite stupid rule. Make sure I don''t find the freeloader or you all fail, that is what she said and Yunho knew many groups were having problems because of that senseless rule. Of course, no one was as bad as the little girl¡¯s team.
He really wanted to know how everything played out.
Little by little, people began trickling in the room and soon enough Yunho was surrounded by acquaintances that considered him a friend. Finally, he saw the little girl entering the classroom. She looked oddly cheerful, though he doubted it had anything to do with the class. Then a wild idea crossed his mind, what if she actually finished the project herself?
Honestly, that didn''t seem as something the little girl would do, but then again, he didn''t really know much about her so it was a possibility. However, if his suspicions were correct, then his silly little crush would suffer a swift death. Perhaps that was for the best, but he would still be disappointed.
She took off her sweater with a small pout, something definitely strange, she never took out her sweater, no matter how hot it got. The guys tended to talk a lot about the anatomy of their female classmates, Yunho normally ignored this because, in his opinion at least, it was a bit creepy to talk about certain physical features of a person. However, he heard enough to know they suspected Sora was either lacking certain attributes they considered essential or had a rather undesirable one below. Personally, Yunho didn''t care at all.
This put things into perspective though, after all, he was just a man with a perfectly healthy libido and ability to appreciate the female body. And what a body he was appreciating. She was wearing a tight fitted Henley shirt and, even from this distance, he was able to appreciate how aesthetically pleasing her figure was. Great, now he was just as creepy as the other guys were.
¡°What are you looking at,¡± Somin said, turning his face with her hands and Yunho immediately recoiled at the contact.
Somin knew he wasn''t a fan of physical contact outside of those few times they used each other to relieve some stress. Her face was set on stone and her eyebrows were slightly pinched. Yes, she definitely knew whom he was admiring and didn''t like it at all. Well, that was hardly his problem.
¡°Your hands are cold, keep them in your pockets,¡± Yunho admonished her lightly, knowing he could not exactly scold her in front of so many people.
¡°Warm them up for me,¡± Somin almost simpered, making him wince.
¡°I am not one for exhibitionism,¡± he said easily, giving her his patented smile that made the people around them laugh, though she scowled slightly before composing a pout.
Yunho concentrated on the conversation, or at least he tried to, though his eyes constantly strayed at the little girl. Oh, thinking about it, that nickname sounded quite strange. If anyone heard he was ogling someone he called a little girl, he would not only be classified as a creep, but a paedophile. Yeah, he needed to change her nickname, at least in order to feel less creepy.
¡°Sora! I''m so sorry!¡± Kangin almost yelled as he ran inside the classroom, immediately walking towards the girl in question, and earning the attention of the whole room. ¡°I was dying with a cold yesterday so I couldn''t send you my part, I''m really sorry!¡±
Well, that was a stupid excuse and, judging by his group¡¯s faces, they shared the same though.
¡°Do not worry about it, sunbae-nim,¡± Sora reassured the man and Yunho almost scoffed, was she being serious? ¡°Are you feeling better today?¡±
¡°Yeah, but I was really sick. I even had to go to the hospital and all that stuff.¡±
Sora simply smiled brightly at him. Finally, Kangin¡¯s eyes strayed from her face down her body and she immediately hugged the sweater on her lap, covering the view. Kangin was definitely an animal. Before Yunho could keep mentally insulting the man, the other half of the team stormed in, being amongst the last ones to arrive.
¡°Oh my gosh, Sora, I was so busy this week that I forgot to send you my part,¡± a guy said, what was his name again? Jumo, Jorogumo, something with J, it wasn''t really that important.
Kangin¡¯s expression soured when the guy said that, but he remained silent.
¡°Hi ¨C I mean, hello, Sora-ssi,¡± a girl said in a really low tone and the only reason Yunho was able to hear it was because the whole room was silent, paying attention to that interaction. ¡°I could ¨C I couldn''t send you my part either. My laptop stopped working and I... I lost all the information. I''m really sorry.¡±
Well at least the almost mute one had some manners, Yunho thought. She actually bowed and looked apologetic enough. Kangin looked on the border of a temper explosion, judging by his flaring nostrils.
¡°Come on, don''t worry about it. Hurry up and send me your presentations now or give me your pen drives. Also give me your printed parts to hand in the report,¡± the no longer little girl said and Yunho was left speechless, just as the rest of the room.
Oh, so that was her plan. How utterly simple and ruthless yet completely reckless and unpredictable. That was the last straw that Kangin needed to explode.
¡°What do you mean by that?¡± he asked in a low tone, towering over Sora.
¡°Hey, you are kidding, right?¡± the guy whose name Yunho was unable to remember said in a shaky tone. Apparently, realization finally slapped him and he seemed in the border of breaking down in hysteric sobs. ¡°Sora, you finished the presentation, right?¡±
¡°What is wrong, sunbae-nim? You said you had no time to send it, you can give it to me now,¡± Sora said, as though butter wouldn''t melt in her mouth, but Yunho knew better. She was far too relaxed for someone who was about to fail a subject.
The sharp sound of Kangin¡¯s palms slamming on the desk resounded in the room and more than one tensed. Aside from his bad habit of being a constant partygoer and heavy drinker, Kangin was well known for how violent he could turn in the blink of an eye. It was pretty obvious more than one would jump to stop him, even if he was attacking a normal student instead of the golden girl.
¡°Why the hell didn¡¯t you two work!¡± Kangin barked and the quiet girl shrunk on her sit. ¡°And you, what the fuck were you thinking? You know what will happen if I fail this subject, do you have any idea of how many problems I''ll have then?¡±
Kangin actually had the audacity of grabbing her arm and that was enough for the closest students to act. The moment they interfered, Kangin recoiled immediately, taking a few steps back. He backed down, though it was obvious it was only because of the public. Kangin¡¯s anger issues already bought him many problems with the university so the least he needed was another report for aggression.
¡°Either you calm the fuck down or we are reporting you,¡± one of them snapped and Kangin glared at him, but walked slowly towards his seat.
Before Sora could say anything, the door was snapped open and the professor entered, her heels clacking horribly with the ground.
¡°What is going on in here?¡± the woman demanded, her perpetual disapproving scowl in place. ¡°Is this the cafeteria? Go to your sits now,¡± the professor ordered and everyone scramble to their seats.
From the corner of his eye, Yunho saw the really silent girl handing Sora a hideous neon pink pen drive and taking out a folder where he assumed her written part of the assignment was. Well, at least half of the team did something.
¡°Good evening students. Now, let¡¯s begin the presentations and stop wasting time. Group one to the front, you have fifteen minutes. Leave your report on the desk,¡± the professor ordered and took her chair to the back of the class as the group scrambled to get ready.
A minute later, they were finally beginning but the woman was already writing something on her notebook. Apparently, they took too long for her standards.
Groups went to the front one by one and Yunho took some notes on the few subjects that managed to capture his attention. However, he was not concentrated on them.
He was fascinated by the little girl. A shudder went through him when he remembered why he decided to stop calling her that not even an hour ago. In any case, colour him impressed by the way on which she managed the situation and he was eager to see what happened next.
¡°Group five, you have fifteen minutes.¡±
Yunho¡¯s gaze snapped to the front when Sora¡¯s group walked to the front and the projector immediately showed the first page of the presentation. Then she began talking.
He never realized how different her voice was when serious, a tad deeper and few to no inflections. The presentation sheets were perfectly timed with her exposition, she never looked back once as she used the control to move forwards. Well, damn. That took a hell lot of practice or countless hours invested in the presentation and exposition to know it so well, probably it was a mix of both. Damn it. In any case, she just set up a really high bar that would be hard to overcome. Especially when Yunho caught a glimpse of the professor, she was nodding at certain points and her pen never touched her notebook. Triple damn.
Apparently, Yunho was not the only one to feel the pressure. The quiet girl was muttering under her breath as she read a crinkled sheet of paper while the other two were fidgeting, clearly uncomfortable. Well, they would certainly go through a great public embarrassment soon enough.
Her presentation was over and the slides continued. Sora handed the control to the quiet girl and patted her forearm in a gesture Yunho guessed was supportive, but only served to make the girl even more nervous.
¡°As you know the... the micro market strategy is focused on a small group of t-tightly targeted costumers...¡±
It was obvious to notice the girl was terrified of speaking in public. She never met anyone¡¯s eyes and she was constantly looking down. She even forgot to use the control in her hand so her presentation remained in the same page until Sora began manually manipulating the presentation sheets from her laptop. All in all, it was not terrible. Heavens knew Yunho witnessed worse. Much, much, much worse.
However, there was a problem. Compared to Sora¡¯s fluid exposition, it was utterly lacklustre. The professor was writing on her notebook, but at least she was not looking too eager to fail them.
Yunho looked at the hour on his wristwatch and raised his eyebrows. The first hour of the class was about to be finished, but they still had half an hour. Well, thinking about it, it was not that surprising considering most groups finished their presentation before the professor¡¯s timer rang. Besides, the others learnt from the first group and their laptops were already connected to the projector so they were ready to start immediately after the group was done.
As everyone learnt, this professor in particular didN''t appreciate questions during classes. However, she did ask a few whenever she felt the group didN''t know enough of their theme.
The quiet girl was done and the image of the projector turned black for a second, signalling it was over, before it returned to the previous page. Neither Kangin nor that guy Yunho was really unable to remember the name of moved. It was actually pretty uncomfortable to wait to see what would happen next.
¡°Who is next? Come on now, you are wasting invaluable time,¡± the professor snapped, clearly annoyed at the situation.
Yet, the two guys only fidgeted while the quiet girl looked at the floor as if it held the secrets of the universe. Sora was silent, looking at the front with no expression. Then, she began walking to the centre.
¡°Micro and macro economics, despite of all their core differences, share these particular principles-¡±
¡°You already exposed, Miss Kim, it is your teammate¡¯s turn. Who is the next one?¡± the professor interrupted Sora, her scowl deepening with each moment that passed in silence. ¡°So no one is going to expose next? Very well, go to your places and stay after class. Group six, you have fifteen minutes,¡± the woman said and her chronometer started while the group scrambled to the front.
The presentations continued until there were only five minutes or so left, when the professor walked to the front, clearly displeased.
¡°I was expecting much more from all of you, I hope the ones that have to expose next week do a better job. The groups that didn''t expose today leave your written assignments on my desk on your way out. Class dismissed, group five, stay behind.
Oh, how Yunho wished he could stay behind and eavesdrop on whatever happened next, but he couldn''t really do it while being surrounded with so many witnesses that wouldn''t leave him alone. With a sigh, he left the folder on the table and stole one last glance at her before walking out.
He really wanted to know what that devious little thing had in store.
Chapter 7: Of Clashing Interests and Forceful Solutions
Sora waited patiently as the students left the classroom and her teammates remained quiet. The atmosphere was quite tense and it was almost perfect.
Finally, the last student left the room in hurried steps and the professor closed the door. The woman walked at a leisure pace towards her desk and took a sit, then proceeded to look at them intently.
¡°So, is anyone ready to explain what happened today? I want to know the truth,¡± the professor stated, not looking away.
The silence remained, though Sora was more worried about how cold her hands felt against her jeans. They actually looked pretty weird, the little purple veins were showing through her skin, giving it an almost blue hue. Perhaps she should really put on her hoodie and ignore the stain.
¡°Mister Park, Mister Jung, why don''t you begin explaining why you didn''t expose today?¡±
Her question was met with silence as the two guys fidgeted in their seats. Well, this was damn uncomfortable and they were wasting her time, she had classes to attend, damn it. Not everyone had their time to waste.
¡°Nothing? Very well. I said that, in this group project, either everyone passed or everyone failed. Congratulations, you all fail it. Dismissed, Miss Kim, stay behind.¡±
Great, Sora thought with annoyance. She really did have classes to attend in less than ten minutes and she did not exactly fancy the idea of running around the building. As the other three students stood up, Sora looked at her phone and immediately touched the recording option, ready to activate it. One always had to be prepared, right?
Once her useless no longer teammates left, the professor spoke. ¡°I am particularly disappointed in you, Miss Kim. Why do you think I assigned those particular students to you, eh? All these months you showed me how responsible you are and how easy it is for you to understand different concepts. Why didn''t you help them?¡±
¡°I wasn''t aware of that being my responsibility, professor,¡± Sora said, no longer in the mood to be playful after the woman¡¯s accusation.
¡°It was inferred. I believe you are smart enough to understand that, if your grade depends on the group performance, you help your teammates.¡±
¡°And how was I supposed to do that when they never attended the meetings?¡± Sora asked, smiling sweetly at the professor.
¡°You could have found a way of finishing the project then. Do you know what will happen now? The four of you will fail my class. Mister Park is in a difficult situation with the university and he is about to be expelled from the program. But you already knew that and didn''t care at all. Right? You are a scholarship student, Miss Kim, you are not allowed to fail any subject. I thought keeping your scholarship would be more than enough motivation for you to make sure your team passed.¡±
And that is where Sora¡¯s patience snapped. Well, it was not her fault.
¡°Professor Lee, what makes you think I need the scholarship?¡± Sora asked, giving the professor one of her favourite close lipped smiles that made her dimples stand out.
¡°So are you planning to pay for your next semester?¡± the professor asked back, raising her eyebrows, though there was a small smile playing on her lips.
¡°I actually have multiple offers from different universities, abroad and national. To be honest, Yonsei University has been particularly insistent with their constant offers. I have no need to remain here.¡±
¡°What about your classmates then. Apparently you are lucky enough, but what will happen to them?¡±
¡°How am I supposed to know, Professor Lee? They are only my classmates,¡± Sora retorted, adding a small pout at the end. The woman huffed.
¡°What an egoistic decision.¡±
¡°What was I supposed to do then? Do everything by myself?¡±
¡°If that is what it took,¡± the professor snapped, scowling at Sora.
¡°I think this conversation extended for too long, professor. I actually have classes in a few minutes so, if you excuse me,¡± Sora said and bowed to the woman.
It was only a light bow and Sora kept her hands in her backpack straps, then left the room. Perhaps she should have controlled herself better, but in the end, Sora¡¯s reputation would back her up. She worked hard to be seen as the epitome of the perfect and respectful student while Professor Lee was not very well like neither among students nor among the staff. In the end, it was her word against the teacher and Sora knew she had more support that the woman did, especially when one considered the conversation she just recorded.
With a sigh, Sora sent it to her grandmother along with a simple text.
- The presentation went horrible.
And that was that, her grandma would take care of everything, so Sora had nothing to worry about. Was she acting like a spoiled child? More than likely, but she honestly had no desire to deal with people, especially not for such a trivial matter as this one.
Yunho sighed heavily, something he had been constantly doing for the last fifteen minutes. Apparently, the most interesting topic of conversation was the little... Nope, Yunho scolded himself for using that nickname. Kim Sora turned into the most interesting topic of conversation and his group was unable to stop talking about her, much to his chagrin and Somin¡¯s annoyance. Good. At least that way he was not the only one to suffer.
¡°I don''t know man, I heard Kim Sora has a full scholarship. I think she will lose it now. You know how the old hag of Lee is,¡± Minho said, continuing the conversation Yunho ignored the first part of, but this did sound interesting.
¡°Totally. I kind of feel bad for her,¡± Sung sighed, taking a sip of his banana milk before talking. ¡°Lee really is a bitter old hag, I can¡¯t believe she paired Sora with Kangin. Junwoo is not that bad, but he tends to be a lazy bum.¡±
Ah, so that was the name of that guy. Well, at least he was close enough. Junwoo kind of sounded like Jorogumo... Right?
¡°I really don''t think she will lose the scholarship,¡± another guy said. This one was in their presentation team but Yunho really couldn''t remember his name so he was labelled as the guy.
¡°Well, scholarship students do have to keep a minimum grade,¡± Minho retorted.
¡°Yeah, yeah, I know that. But she is like, really smart. My older brother is doing his MBA and he always greets Sora when they see each other. Apparently, she is also beginning her MBA.¡±
Well, this was information Yunho was really not expecting. Despite of how pitiful his classmates were while gossiping about a girl that barely knew about their existence, he had to admit they were a good source of information about her. Then a cold shiver went down his back. Was he becoming a stalker? Maybe the useless of Sungmin infected him. The horror!
Then Somin snorted, in a very not Somin like fashion and Yunho forgot about his train of thought. Everyone in the group was looking at her.
¡°What?¡± she snapped, looking over her phone.
¡°That is what I want to ask you, what is so funny?¡±
¡°Well, nothing much. It is just that you are all idiots for believing those lies. Yes, she has slightly better grades than us, but so what? She is not that smart,¡± Somin retorted, pushing back her hair in an exaggerated motion.
¡°Well, you can ask my brother and his classmates,¡± the guy said with a shrug.
Yunho sighed once again. It was a well-known fact that Somin disliked Sora from day one because of how her exotic features effortlessly captured the attention of others. It was also really well known that Somin had a bit of a narcissistic complex... Her dislike towards her might also have to do with how much attention Yunho paid to Sora, just a little bit though.
¡°I would rather not waste my time,¡± Somin huffed as her gaze returned to her phone.
¡°What, are you jealous?¡± Minho teased the girl, earning a glare as a response.
¡°Of Kim Sora? Why should I ever be? Really, you all act like idiots with her. It''s almost offensive how you ate up her little act today, it was her fault Kangin reacted that way. You all know he''s about to be kicked out of the program and can¡¯t afford to fail a subject at this point.¡±
Yet once again, Yunho sighed, already predicting the discussion he would be forced to listen to.
¡°How was it her fault? Come on, woman, let us all be honest in here. We all know Kangin is a downright violent bastard with no qualms on hurting girls.¡± Yunho had the suspicion that that girl in particular didn''t exactly needed or even appreciated the help, but he would rather not voice his opinion. ¡°We all know he spends his time getting drunk, partying, and shagging with any woman that will allow him to.¡±
Minho¡¯s usually friendly smile was gone and Yunho thought he never saw that guy as annoyed as he looked at the moment. It was actually a tad intimidating. Minho was a big guy addicted to sports so his body was easily twice Somin¡¯s body. It was easy to forget how easy was it for him to hurt others when he was normally acting like a competitive puppy. Yunho made a mental note to never forget that fact again.
¡°We all know Kangin is lazy,¡± Sung agreed, almost looking too eager to have an argument with Somin. ¡°There is actually a betting pool on when will he drop out of the program.¡±
Somin huffed once again but, fortunately, decided not to continue the discussion. Perhaps it was because everyone knew she would lose and she was smart enough to acknowledge that fact, even if it was to herself. Kangin was quite hopeless, Yunho was more than ready to agree with that statement.
¡°Come on, come on,¡± Yunho said, interrupting whatever Minho was beginning to say. ¡°We all have classes to attend and we will be late at this rate.¡±
He delivered his announcement with a smile that only widened when everyone jumped at his statement, running to his or her next class in the most literal way. Unfortunately, Somin remained at his side while he calmly walked to the next lesson of the evening. He swiftly ignored her presence.
If he was honest, it was time to admit Somin turned into quite a bothersome acquaintance in the last weeks... let¡¯s change that to months, she was quite bothersome in the last months. Perhaps she saw Sora as a competition, but ever since the day Yunho gave her that pastry as apology, Somin acted hostile towards her.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
He always knew how overzealous Somin was of her position in his life, but he never imagined she would act this annoying. If she followed him around before, now she basically stalked him. In the most literal way, she never left his side and even waited for him outside of the bathroom whenever they went to a party.
There was even this one time when she tried to get hold of his phone when Jimin went through one of her texting sprees and that is the moment Yunho drew the line. He simply dragged her to his car and scolded her, reminding her she was not his girlfriend or even her friend, she was nothing else than an acquaintance.
However, this only seemed to motivate her to increase her stalking, though at least she never tried to get involved in his personal life again.
It was really pathetic. Somin really should find someone who actually cared about her, but it wasn''t his problem how she decided to waste her time.
Sora was abruptly woken up when she felt small paws digging on her chest and groaned, immediately getting the cat off her body and rubbing the sore spots. Damn cats and their damn adorable faces, she could not really scold them. She sat on the bed and grabbed the glass on her nightstand only to notice it was empty. With a sigh, she decided she was too thirsty to go back to bed.
After drinking almost half a bottle of iced tea, her parched throat was no longer parched and her desire to sleep was gone. She checked the hour on her phone and sighed, it was almost five thirty, either way she would have to be up soon.
So she decided to work out a little before taking a really hot shower and getting ready for the day.
Once Sora was relatively presentable, she looked in her fridge for something to eat. There was not much, she really needed to grocery shopping soon. She eyed the almost empty container of cat food and decided she would go that evening. She could starve herself but not the children, they had to be well feed to keep their adorable tummies round.
Taking out some frozen strawberries and sliced banana, she placed them in the blender along with a bit of ginger and finally poured in some milk and a spoonful of protein powder. Smoothies for breakfast were almost as good as ice cream, but healthier... way healthier and, even if smoothies were not as delicious, it was a decent replacement. Especially if you were smart and knew how much milk to add and if your fruits mixed with cocoa powder.
Sora drank ¨C or should it be ate ¨C her smoothie directly from the blender. Ah, one of the beauties of leaving alone, not having to share your food and doing whatever you wanted.
Now, finally sated, she was about to snack on the last slice of wholemeal seeded bread when her phone rang and Sora¡¯s face immediately brightened.
¡°Grandma!¡± she all but yelled as a greeting.
Yesterday she was not in a good mood to call the old woman. It was better to text her a little before getting the stress out of her system and then rewarding herself with some overly sweet iced coffee. Though perhaps that name was debatable considering she used less than the tip of the spoon to put in coffee and a full three spoons of cocoa.
¡°My dear child,¡± the old woman said in an equally effusive tone. ¡°Are you feeling better today?¡±
Sora sighed, of course she would worry about it.
¡°Yeah, yeah, I am fine. I think I just needed a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±
¡°That is good to know, I was a bit worried,¡± said the gentle voice over the phone. ¡°In any case, I am taking care of it already.¡±
¡°I guess I will have to thank Secretary Jung later then,¡± Sora said, not entirely teasing.
The poor man was saddled with anything that her grandmother did not want to do and that was usually related to paperwork in any shade or form. He definitely needed a raise.
¡°Oh, shush it. In any case, the matter is taken care of, don''t dare to worry about in. By the way, the second child of Park Seunghyun returned to the country not long ago. I don''t know, maybe you should find a bit of information about him and maybe I can arrange you a date. What do you say?¡±
Sora sighed deeply and massaged the bridge of her nose. Of course, her grandmother would try to set her up with someone she approved of. Just like she tried every other week.
¡°Nope, not a chance,¡± was Sora¡¯s swift answer.
¡°Oh, Sora, you should really try to date a little,¡± the old woman said and Sora could almost hear the worried frown, if such a thing was possible.
¡°I still am in my early twenties, I will think about it later. Like, in five years or so.¡±
¡°Fine,¡± her grandmother groaned, dragging the word.
¡°Why don''t you try to set Nam-Jun with someone?¡±
¡°Ah, that child,¡± her grandmother sighed and Sora could picture her rubbing her temples. ¡°You know how disagreeable he can be. Ever since he dated that Japanese girl he has not really tried something new with anyone.¡±
Sora bit her lower lip and kept silent. She was not going to be the one to spill the beans. ¡°Was not that like... Damn, that was like four years ago, right?¡±
¡°Something like that. He really was stupidly besotted with her for as long as their relationship lasted. He never told me why they broke up, do you have any idea?¡±
Once again, Sora bit her lower lip and refused to speak. She was definitely not going to spill this tea to their grandmother. She might just murder Nam-Jun for what happened, go and bitch slap the Japanese girl, and finally disown Sora for keeping quiet. So yeah, it was for everyone¡¯s good interests to keep her trap shut.
¡°Nope, no idea what happened,¡± Sora said merrily.
¡°Okay, don''t tell me then. I swear one day I will find out,¡± her grandmother promised.
¡°I really have no doubts,¡± Sora agreed easily. ¡°Gran, I have to get going now, okay?¡±
¡°Take care, dear, and do not forget to greet your lovely friends.¡±
¡°I promise I won''t, bye.¡±
With those words, Sora ended the call and sighed once again. Then she glanced at the hour and stuffed what was left of her piece of bread in her mouth and chugged in some milk before running to her room to brush her teeth and grab her backpack. As she put on her shoes on the doorway, she realized she was in a good enough mood to actually face the day without punching anyone.
Sora was sitting at her usual place in the cafeteria as she waited for Mina - today¡¯s designated food retriever - to arrive. While she read one of Stephen King¡¯s latest books, Seo Jun was frowning at his laptop screen as if it somehow managed to offend him.
¡°So what happened? You look constipated,¡± Sora asked him out of curiosity and his shoulders sagged.
¡°I really want to take summer courses to make up for those two years I lost, but I have until this Friday to confirm the classes and I still am not sure on what to take,¡± Jun groaned, banging lightly his forehead on the table.
¡°Well, there was nothing you could do. At least you no longer have to worry for your military service,¡± Sora tried to comfort him, but then remembered that Friday was no far.
¡°It is really unfair, why women are not forced to do their military service?¡±
¡°Because women were and still are considered too weak to fight for the country,¡± Sora answered without inflection.
¡°I remember you wanted to make your military service and your parents almost had a heart attack.¡±
¡°Too bad it didn''t happen,¡± she sighed and scooted her chair closer to Jun¡¯s. ¡°Come on, let''s see those classes.¡±
Seo Jun only pushed his laptop towards her and she eyed the courses, not really knowing what to do now. Apparently, her friend also noticed her dilemma.
¡°So I am torn between ¡®Business Valuation and Financial Statement Analysis¡¯ and ¡®European Union Law¡¯. I was thinking on taking both, but I am working with my mother on her firm and she forgets I am her son and treats me like a normal intern so I am not sure if I will actually have time,¡± Seo Jun explained, looking at her with pleading eyes.
¡°Well, I am also working with grandma,¡± Sora told him as she frowned at her backpack for refusing to open. Finally, she managed to retrieve her planner and took out a piece of paper, handing it to him. ¡°This is my schedule for the summer. I actually had to talk with the professors to see how much homework were they going to assign so I could dedicate my free time to my grandmother.¡±
¡°I am kind of intimidated by the professors,¡± Jun admitted sheepishly.
¡°I can go with you if you want. You should also talk with your mum about working with her and how much time you can spend with her. Are you planning to take any modelling jobs?¡± Sora asked, smiling a little when he blushed.
Seo Jun was almost literally stalked by talent hunters from those idol companies that wanted a pretty face when he was younger. He learnt how to cover himself well enough as time went by in order not to attract attention. As candid and friendly Jun was, he was also extremely shy. Besides, he dreamed to become a lawyer ever since he knew what the word meant.
However, in spite of all of this, he was not one to turn down the modelling opportunities that he was offered once he finished his military service for two different reasons. One, it was good money and two and most important, he felt as if he could no longer ask for a monthly allowance to his parents once he turned twenty. Yep, he was proud like that.
¡°I have a few offers, but I guess I''ll talk with my mum first and then decide,¡± he agreed, sighing heavily in the end.
¡°Here you go,¡± Mina chirped in and deposited two heavily stacked trays on the table.
No matter what she said, Sora thought Mina had an ungodly strength when it was convenient.
¡°So, you are not going to guess what I heard,¡± Mina said in a singsong voice, smiling impishly at them. As the social butterfly of the group, Sora was not surprised to learn Mina was already up to date with the day¡¯s rumour mill by her numerous acquaintances.
¡°So what did you hear?¡± Seo Jun asked as he retrieved his large bowl of black bean noodles and carefully broke the disposable chopsticks in order not to break them as he usually did. They broke unevenly and he simply sighed, looking defeated.
¡°Kangin didn''t come to classes today,¡± she began saying and took a spoonful of her broth.
¡°So why is that important?¡± Sora asked, not really understanding how was that interesting. Then she stabbed her spicy rice cake and ate it.
¡°Oh, come on,¡± Mina groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
¡°She is quite clueless,¡± Jun agreed, looking at Mina and Sora frowned.
They were talking about her, right? Well, too bad. She had the social skills of a lonely wolf.
¡°Kangin was in your group for that presentation and everyone knows it was a disaster. He apparently complained to anyone that would listen until he noticed it wasn''t doing him any favours, then he went out drinking with his groupies. I know from one of my classmates that Junwoo went to that reunion and Kangin ended up beating the crap out of him and accused him to conspire with you to make him fail.¡±
Sora stared at Mina and she guessed her face was contorted in mild confusion because Mina ended up shrugging, looking sheepish.
¡°Kangin is so weird,¡± Jun said with his mouth full and tried to steal a roll of kimbap from Sora¡¯s tray before she slapped it away.
She was still hoping to grow a few centimetres damn it, she needed her nourishment in case she had a late growth spurt.
¡°He is a drunkard,¡± Mina corrected, ¡°whatever. The thing is that Junwoo said he would complain to the Student¡¯s Dean so Kangin is afraid to be expelled now.¡±
¡°Well, he wouldn''t need to worry had he not attacked almost everyone on his path when he was still a freshman,¡± Seo Jun said unhelpfully and took a large bite of his meal.
¡°That''s true.¡±
¡°I don''t really know him,¡± Sora decided to add. She really was not good in this kind of situations.
¡°Wait, wait, that''s not all!¡± Mina almost yelled before Sora could speak again, giving her an apologetic smile. ¡°Chaerin told me something really interesting when we were buying food. Apparently, she went to the administrative building this morning in order to register to the summer classes and all that and she heard some golden gossip about you.¡±
Sora¡¯s eyebrows shot up when Mina looked at her.
¡°Apparently there was a ruse going on in the Dean¡¯s office. Chaerin could recognise Dean¡¯s Shin Dong Hee voice and the principal¡¯s voice. The fight got so bad that it could be heard from where Chaerin was and the secretary was forcing her to go away when the principal came out in person. She said he was talking with someone on the phone and apologising profusely. The principal promised that Professor Lee would be closely watched after this and that certain Miss Kim doesn''t have to worry about her grade.¡±
Finally, Sora understood how she was involved in all the mess. Damn it, she really didn''t need more attention than what she already got.
¡°I mean, how many Miss Kim does this university has,¡± Mina said, earning a deadpanned stare and she immediately corrected herself. ¡°Okay, okay, so how many Miss Kim do you know that had problems with certain professor Lee yesterday?¡±
¡°That is a fair point,¡± Seo Jun agreed and Sora stabbed a few pieces of her spicy rice cakes before filling her mouth, pouting slightly.
¡°I just want to say that your grandmother is amazing,¡± Mina said, looking really impressed. Sora only scowled in return.
¡°If you were not such a good student and that woman assigned you useless teammates, I would perhaps be jealous,¡± Jun added and Sora stuffed a roll of kimbap on his mouth to shut him up. It miraculously worked.
Sora brooded in silence as Mina and Jun kept gossiping about other students. If people believed this particular rumour about her to be true, then she would actually work extra hard to show her grades were not bought. The gift she was planning to get for Secretary Jung was forgotten. But then again, maybe she should blame the principal because the secretary was nothing if nor extremely meticulous and a perfectionist to the core. She would still give him a gift, she decided.
¡°You really finished the whole bowl,¡± Seo Jun said, watching Sora¡¯s empty bowl with his mouth slightly parted. ¡°Where does all that food go?¡±
¡°Do you really want me to tell you?¡± Sora asked while raising an eyebrow and Mina threw her napkin at her while Jun groaned.
¡°I hate you,¡± he hissed, pouting at the table.
Chapter 8: Convenient Casualties make the Heart Grow Fonder
Just like that, finals were just around the corner. Fortunately, Sora was feeling quite ready.
The past weeks were not so bad, though Professor Lee¡¯s classes were extremely uncomfortable to attend, not to say almost unbearable. The woman was snappier than usual to all the students but Sora. Actually, she was kind of actively avoided by the woman. The only time when they interacted was a week after that terrible group exposition when Sora was simply told she was given full marks for the assignment and promptly dismissed.
Honestly, she did not care in the slightest. However, the rumours were kind of troublesome to deal with.
Some said she was the spoiled child of a wealthy family, they were utterly wrong. Others said her parents either worked in the university or had connections in there, wrong once again. There were a few people who even dared to say her grades were bought, those were quickly squashed by Sora personally.
She went out of her way, even more than her previous casual detour, to help other students in their assignments. While her mental stability suffered and her desire to commit a violent murder increased, Sora successfully squashed that rumour. Even though there were a few who still believed in it, at least eighty percent of the student body did not.
But, actually, the rumours were a thousand times better than the other problem. The troublesome guy turned friendly, suspiciously so.
In the beginning, it was not so bad. While Sora suspected he went out of his way to greet her, they also shared most of their evening classes so it was not that surprising. Then, he stopped inviting her to parties, which was quite understandable considering they were entering exam season. Afterwards, it got plain weird.
The first time he invited her to a group study session she invented an excuse about helping her grandmother that evening. The next day he tried once again, this time however, she could no longer decline and decided to save face. It was fortunate for the school library to be open until late on weekdays because she refused to go to anyone¡¯s house. So she attended a session that felt more like tutoring than actually studying, though she at least went over the information and her notes so it was not a complete waste of time. The troublesome guy also ended up as a tutor.
Once it was over, the group headed to the parking lot. Because of how social Sora was and how much she enjoyed human interaction, she hanged on the back of the group as she texted with Nam-Jun. That troublesome guy actually ended up walking beside her, discreetly handed her a bar of one of her favourite chocolates, and offered her a ride home.
As the good girl Sora was, she accepted the chocolate and declined the ride. Nam-Jun was waiting for her. However, she did feel extremely uneasy with the interaction.
¡°You look tired,¡± the troublesome guy said. ¡°Here, you can have it.¡± And he handed her the treat.
Considering all of their previous interactions, Sora felt as if she had the right to feel uneasy. A few days later, Sora fed the chocolate bar to Nam-Jun in the name of science. Nothing happened, though he eyed her with suspicious eyes because she never gave up her food, especially not her chocolate. Oh well, it was at least worth a try.
Then, that troublesome guy kept being overly kind and thoughtful. The next week he actually gave her a middle-sized cup of caramel frappuccino. According to him, the cashier accidentally wrote two orders instead of one and he did not notice until he was handed his order. Of course, he decided to take them both and not make a fuss. Mhm, Sora may look like a bimbo but she was not one. In any case, she thanked him for the drink and accepted it only because of how apoplectic the strange girl that followed him around looked.
Sora admitted that, sometimes, her desire to annoy people overwhelmed her rational thinking.
She ended up feeding Seo Jun with it and Mina complained about favouritism even though she hated coffee and all its derivates with all her soul. So she ended up getting some canned tea for her friend and waited to see if Jun would drop unconscious any moment. It did not happen, though he ended up joining her that evening for exercise because he felt guilty about breaking his diet. Oh, well.
Sora felt someone tapping her shoulder and looked at the side, taking out her earphone. Surprise, surprise, the unwanted person came to disturb her day once again.
¡°Hey there, you look distracted,¡± the troublesome guy said as a greeting and Sora smiled tightly, her facial muscles almost refusing to cooperate.
¡°Good evening Yunho sunbae-nim, do you need anything in particular?¡± she asked, containing her desire to roll her eyes when his smile widened.
¡°Not really, you just looked lonely.¡±
¡°I can assure you I have a great company, sunbae-nim,¡± Sora retorted, signalling the open book at the table.
¡°Oh, yeah, I can see that now.¡±
Uncomfortable silence descended and Sora was not sure on what to say or do. The troublesome guy kept observing her though.
¡°You are part of the committee, right?¡±
Sora frowned a little at the question and she finally understood what he meant when she saw a poster on the wall. Right, she was dragged into that ridiculous thing.
Apparently, the university was having a robotics competition in order to choose the students that would participate in some kind of tournament, she really did not particularly care. However, one of her professors asked her to join the committee, along with a few other students, and help with the budgeting and decoration. As far as she knew, almost all the departments were involved from the beginning. At least she only had to do numbers and ignore everyone.
¡°You are too,¡± Sora stated, not really understanding where this chat was going.
They met enough times in those blasted meeting to know who in their department was thrown at the wolves by the lazy professors.
¡°I''m guessing you will come to decorate next week.¡±
¡°We have all have to.¡±
¡°Good, see you then!¡± he said, smiling brightly at her.
Sora only raised her eyebrows at their odd exchange. They were classmates, they were forced to meet almost every day. That troublesome guy was really strange. She moved back to her book and saw an unfortunately familiar figure reflected on the metal pillar beside her. It was that strange guy. She turned back and crossed glanced with him for a second before the guy panicked and left. How strange.
Sora put a marker in her book and sat up, deciding to leave towards her classroom. On her way out, she saw that creepy guy sitting on a bench, his gaze was focused on the screen of his phone. She took the opportunity to walk away unnoticed.
After that encounter with Nam-Jun in the parking lot, that creepy dude left her alone. He never tried to approach her again, not even when she was alone, though he still looked at her from the distance from time to time. Either way, she still found him creepy, especially after what Mina and Seo Jun told her about him, so she tried to avoid him as much as possible.
She tried to ignore the uneasiness at the bottom of her belly once she arrived to her classroom.
The fluorescent lights of the auditorium were giving Sora a headache, a really bad one. It was not so bad in the beginning and the bright lights only made her eyes a little dry, but she was in this hellhole for hours, helping with the organization and decoration of the place.
The middle was filled with different robots and frantic students giving them a last check before tomorrow. The students in charge of the decoration and organization were all over the place. The posters were placed on the walls, the small paraphernalia was also plastered on different places of the room. Temporal stands were built and the plaques were already in their places. There were some clubs that decided to make a bit of money by making food and selling food tomorrow and their stands outside were also finished. Only some posters needed to be placed so she was officially done.
This experience taught her something important, the next time a professor tried to talk her in helping for an activity she would kindly and respectfully tell them to go and pleasure a horse.
As if the week was not tiring enough, she sacrificed her free evening for this crap. Sora sighed as she greedily took a gulp of her water bottle and retrieved the small bag of chocolate covered almonds, placing it in her pocket. After that, she sent a text to Nam-Jun, informing him she was ready to be rescued from this hellhole.
That is it, she now only had to speak a little to her seniors and quietly leave the place. She carefully examined the groups and picked the one that looked to be the busiest so she did not need to engage in a long conversation, and walked towards them.
¡°Excuse me, Chaerin sunbae-nim,¡± Sora told one busy looking girl that was friends with Mina. The girl immediately turned around and looked at Sora. ¡°I already finished my tasks and they already came to pick me up.¡±
¡°Oh, that is great,¡± the girl muttered and turned around, looking at someone. ¡°Hey, can I ask you a favour?¡±
¡°As long as it is fast, my dad can get a bit impatient,¡± she lied easily and the girl nodded.
¡°Yeah, it will be pretty quick. You are friends with Lim Yunho, right?¡± the girl asked and Sora fought with herself to keep on her smile. Why did everyone thought that? Before she could answer, the girl kept talking. ¡°I''m a bit worried about him, he has not been feeling well and I''m afraid to let him drive home, do you mind giving her a ride?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
As Sora thought on a polite way of refusing, making up another lie, another person spoke.
¡°Yeah, Sora, please give him a ride. You are a good girl, he will be in good hands then,¡± a guy she recognized form one of her evening classes said and Sora smiled tightly.
Damn it all to hell! The entire group was looking at her, but she could not see the troublesome guy anywhere. She just had to choose this group, right, stupid Sora. Her smile was still as fake as it could get and her shoulders were tense, but she was cornered. She cursed the need to keep up her reputation. In any other situation, she would send them to hell to kiss the devil¡¯s red and ugly behind for all she cared.
¡°Of course, I don''t mind,¡± she lied, not as easily as the last time. ¡°Where is Yunho sunbae-nim?¡±
Her cheeks were hurting, but she decided to keep the smile in place.
¡°He was resting on the bench beside the vending machine on the hallway that leads to the entrance,¡± Chaerin said, smiling brightly. ¡°I am really thankful, Sora. See you tomorrow!¡±
Sora waved at her seniors and she left the place, looking for the damn machine because now people knew she was taking that troublesome guy to his house. Damn their petty souls to hell! Well, it was her own damn fault for not thinking on an excuse faster. This would be a lesson in cautiousness for the future.
However, Sora swore to throttle him if he was faking his illness just to laze around and have an excuse not to help.
As she walked down the hall towards the entrance, she noticed a figure leaning against the wall. As Sora approached it, she noticed the troublesome guy¡¯s red cheeks and clammy looking skin. Damn it, he was not lying. Even Sora, in her dishevelled state and wild hair, looked better than he did and that was saying something.
¡°Sunbae-nim,¡± she said and the troublesome guy looked at her, though she had the impression he was not really looking at her, just staring blankly. ¡°Yunho sunbae-nim,¡± she tried again, though this time her voice was louder and firmer. His eyes seemed to focus at last.
¡°Sorry, I should be helping,¡± he muttered and Sora frowned, he really looked sick so she actually had to take responsibility for his well-being.
¡°Come with me, I am taking you home tonight,¡± she said with a heavy sigh, but the man refused to move.
However, his mouth twisted in a small grin.
¡°You are so forwards,¡± he muttered, ¡°take me to dinner first.¡±
Sora¡¯s mouth opened slightly as she stared at him, speechless. Yep, he was definitely ill. The Lim Yunho everyone knew would never make such a racy joke, much less in a place where he could be heard. With a sigh, Sora called Nam-Jun.
¡°What¡¯s up?¡± a deep voice greeted her over the phone.
¡°I have a situation here,¡± she said, massaging the bridge of her nose. ¡°One of my classmates is sick and I think he is about to faint but I promised to take him home.¡±
¡°Really? Okay then. But maybe a hospital would be better.¡±
To be honest, Sora was also considering that option. ¡°We will see. Please, don''t act like a mad man when you see him leaning on me because I have the impression I will have to carry him.¡±
¡°Don''t worry, noble charming prince. I promise not to attack your fair princess,¡± Nam-Jun proclaimed dramatically.
¡°Buffon,¡± Sora scoffed and ended the call, placing her phone in her pocket. Afterwards, he physically pulled the troublesome guy¡¯s arm and forced him to stand.
¡°I am fine, I am fine,¡± he was muttering, but Sora thought otherwise.
She placed her palm on his cheek and her eyes widened in alarm. Her hands were cold, she could acknowledge that. However, the guy was boiling with fever and his eyes seemed to be focused and unfocused on intermittent intervals. Sora was at least sixty percent sure he was not entirely conscious.
With a grunt, she placed his arm around her shoulders and circled his waist with her own arm. The guy leaned on her heavily as she forced him to walk. The experience kind of reminded her of the times she was forced to carry her drunken friends somewhere. A mostly unconscious person mumbling unintelligible things as they dragged their feet and Sora did most of the walking.
Finally, they arrived at the parking lot and Sora forced the troublesome guy to sit on the bench and checked his temperature again. He was still boiling and her hands were now warm. Damn, she needed to call his family because she was not sure how to proceed from here. The logical thing was taking him to a hospital, but then what? Could a stranger check in someone in a hospital?
With nimble hands, she checked on his pockets, looking for the man¡¯s found. Finally, she found it on the inner pocket of his jacket and took it out. It was turned off so she tried to turn it on. It was dead. Great, was not it? This was just what she needed.
Before she could threw a fit, a familiar car parked in front of the bench and Nam-Jun immediately got out of the car.
¡°He really does look bad,¡± he said, examining the troublesome guy, who finally went silent and was staring vacantly.
¡°Let¡¯s take him to the hospital,¡± Sora said.
She knew next to nothing about medicine, but Nam-Jun had an idea and a lot of practice thanks to his profession. If he said it was bad, then it was actually terrible. She opened the back door of the car and Nam-Jun carefully placed the almost unconscious man inside. Sora ran to the passenger seat and immediately plugged in the troublesome guy¡¯s cell phone on the charger.
They drove in silence and Sora looked back constantly through the rear view mirror to check in on Yunho. He was totally unconscious now.
They arrived to the hospital and Sora opened the door and ran inside, directly towards the front desk, where a nurse was chatting with someone she assumed was the receptionist.
¡°Please help,¡± she immediately said, out of breath. ¡°We have someone unconscious in the car, he has high fever and passed out.¡±
These words were enough for the nurse to start moving and for the receptionist to call a stretcher and more nurses. The rest is history.
As the troublesome guy was taken inside to be treated, Sora dealt with the paperwork. It was honestly the worst part. She had no idea on who to call or who was his immediate family, she had no idea if he had health insurance or what his security number was. She knew virtually nothing about him. In any case, she filled what she could dutifully and, with a heavy sigh, wrote friend on the affiliation. It was a little lie that would bring her a headache, of that she was sure. However, friend was better than classmate.
Then again, many people would consider enough taking a distant acquaintance to the hospital, she did not really need to worry so much. Right. Damn, she hated being so impulsive sometimes and glared at the word she wrote. It was done, nothing to do there.
She wrote her phone number to be contacted and Nam-Jun brought the troublesome guy¡¯s cell phone. It was not entirely charged, but at least it would now work. Unfortunately, she did not have the code and could not contact anyone.
As Sora was being handed the bill that she carefully examined and Nam-Jun waited on a nearby chair, a nurse approached her.
¡°Hey, I am glad you are still here,¡± the nurse said, he looked a tad shaggier than he did an hour before. ¡°The guy you brought is finally stable. He had really high fever and we had to force it down, but now it''s not that bad. He was clearly dehydrated so he was connected to an IV, his tonsils are extremely sore so he will not be speaking for a few days. We suspect he caught a flu, but we took some tests just in case. Overall, he is now stable but he will have to stay the night under observation.¡±
Okay, that did not sound terrible.
¡°You should go home. Tomorrow we will check on him and decide if he can go home or stay another day.¡± the nurse said, smiling at her.
¡°Thank you,¡± Sora said, bowing politely at the nurse and at the receptionist. ¡°Uhm, I''m not entirely sure how to contact his relatives, what should I do now?¡±
The nurse raised his eyebrows and looked at the receptionist.
¡°She already put herself as the one responsible for the patient,¡± the receptionist said and the nurse nodded.
¡°Well, you can bring him some clothes and toiletries tomorrow. We will call you in case we discharge him.¡±
¡°I will do so, thank you,¡± Sora said, bowing once again and finally walking away.
She knew she should have approached another group, but she had to approach that guy¡¯s friend and end up saddled with him. Brilliant, just brilliant!
¡°Ready?¡± Nam-Jun asked, placing an arm around her shoulders as she guided her outside. ¡°Come on, it is time to go home and sleep a bit. You can tell me the whole story in the car.¡±
Sora groaned and covered her face, knowing he would tease her nonstop for this incident. It was decided, this week totally sucked and it was still Thursday.
Yunho woke up when he felt someone probing his face. He tried to move, but his arms felt like lead and refused to cooperate. He groaned when he opened his eyes, even though the light was dim, his bleary eyes were too sensitive right now.
¡°Be careful. You must be thirsty, here,¡± he felt someone helping him to sit and pushing something against his lips.
Yunho opened his eyes with unnecessary carefulness and looked at the glass of water. Curious, he didn''t notice how parched he was until now. It felt as if he hadn''t drunk a drop of water for days. Immediately he chugged the water down, almost choking a few times in the process.
¡°Calm down, how are you feeling?¡± the woman dressed in white asked.
At last, Yunho¡¯s brain decided to cooperate with him. A nurse, his brain provided.
¡°Like hell,¡± Yunho managed to say, though he noticed now how sore his throat was. He collapsed back to bed, sleep sounded like a marvellous thing right now. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked, though he doubted the nurse understood his raspy voice.
¡°You fainted and were brought here last night,¡± the woman said, checking on his arm. Yunho looked that way and noticed the needle attached. ¡°You had really high fever and it could have been really dangerous if left untreated. You are really lucky to have such a caring girlfriend.¡±
It took a few moments for the words to process in his mind. Wait, what?
¡°She came early in the morning. Left you some clothes, toiletries, and I think she also left you food,¡± the nurse said, signalling at a bag that was certainly not his resting on a chair.
The nurse kept poking him, or checking, Yunho corrected himself. He did wonder who brought him to the hospital. He remembered feeling like chopped liver last night and telling Minho and that girl from the Fashion department. But even that memory was blurry. The last thing he remembered was stumbling towards the closest bench. Though he had vague memories of someone pulling and moving him around, but he really couldn''t remember who.
¡°Your phone is charging on the night table, do you want me to bring you something?¡±
¡°More water please,¡± he croaked, wincing at his raspy voice. Seeing the woman¡¯s confusion, he pointed the glass of water and she nodded.
¡°If you feel well enough to go to the bathroom by yourself, it is that door. If you don¡¯t, press this button and Nurse Kim will come to help you.¡±
Yunho nodded and watched as the nurse left the room. Carefully he tried to get out of the bed. It hurt like hell and he moved like an old man with knee and hip problems, but he walked. With curiosity, he opened the bag on the nearby chair. There were clothes neatly folded inside and he looked down his body. The sweatpants looked way warmer than the thin hospital gown and the sweater also looked inviting. He took those out and almost blushed when he saw the underwear and the socks over another change of clothes.
None of it was his, but he would rather be cosy and ill than uncomfortable and miserable, so he took them. He eyed a makeup bag and frowned at it. It was black and there were pastel pink and golden cats printed on it. He opened it with curiosity and found a small bag of wet wipes, a toothbrush, a small toothpaste container, a hand towel neatly folded, a palm sized tube of moisturizer, lip balm, a small jar of face moisturizer and cleanser, and some other things he didn''t really bother to examine.
That makeup bag was awfully well thought out, at least in Yunho¡¯s opinion. He also took it out of the bag. Then he saw two silver thermoses and opened one out of curiosity. It smelled strongly of ginger. He took a sip and burnt his tongue in the process. Definitely ginger tea, he would appreciate it when it was a bit less scalding. He also noticed there was something folded in the bottom of the bag but he was no longer in the mood to investigate.
Once he was feeling a bit more like a human and less like chopped liver, he went back to his bed with his phone in hand. His eyes were bleary and he felt as if he worked out for hours and was later trampled by elephants. Everything hurt and he was tired.
As he fell asleep once again, he did wonder who brought him the bag.