that boy | hwang hyunjin | ✔

Chapter 14

After what felt like forever, PE class was finally over.

Many people have heard about what happened during lunch break, or so it seems. Everyone is whispering behind my back, stealing cautious glances and looking away when our eyes would lock, the distance people kept from me. I walk through the hallways alone, gaze cast downwards to the linoleum floor as I make my way to the assigned classroom.

I could've just waited for Felix but I didn't. I know how disappointed he is in me. And not just that, I feel way too ashamed of myself right now to face him. To face anyone, actually. I just want to go, honestly. But to where? The only person that can comfort me is probably upset with me now.

Getting tired of all the eyes trained on me, I enter the classroom. Last class is Math, to make matters worse. I want to make my way to my seat but it looks like I wasn' t the first one to arrive here. Sitting in Felix' usual seat is now Hyunjin and Felix moved a place backward and is now sitting behind his usual place.

They switched.

I don't know who's face is less amused, it's a close call between Hyunjin and me. Felix, however, is grinning like a madman. My heart starts pounding, heat rushes to my face. I don't want Hyunjin there. I'm not ready to face him after my outburst. I don't want him there in any situation, but now even less.

"Ah, Miss Lee," my Math teacher greets me, rushing over to me with a sense of relief in her eyes. "Mr. Lee told me that Mr. Hwang excels in Math so he offered to switch places so you can be helped with your Math difficulties."

She seems happy, content with Felix' brilliant plan to let Hyunjin sit next to me, probably thinking that my struggles with this subject will be over soon. But I'm not happy at all. I send a death glare to my friend -who is now guilty of treason- but his mad smile never falters.

With my lips tightly pursed, I walk over to my seat next to Hyunjin. Movements stiff with aversion as I let myself sink into the wooden chair without any sound. The boy doesn't speak, nor does he look at me. The tension is sharp and clear; a thick and loaded silence hanging between us. So tense even Felix' crazy smile finally falters a bit. I can read it in his eyes: Please don't kill each other.

More students enter the classroom, one surprised face after another. Surely everyone knows what I said and everyone knows Hyunjin heard every single word of it. So everyone is astonished beyond words to see us sitting next to each other. Admittedly, both not looking too pleased with it. As the girl from before enters the classroom, she keeps her face strained neutral. Probably not wanting to cause another outburst.

"Just say sorry and it's fine for now," Hyunjin murmurs, keeping his eyes directed straight towards the whiteboard. His jaw is clenched, his brows tense. He is as unhappy and tensed as I am so Felix can be proud of himself. I have no idea what he wanted to achieve with this in the first place but this is the only outcome I can come up with.

"Yeah, sorry," I mutter tightly, only half genuine.

The tension doesn't subside after that small passage of words. Rather, the silence between us tightens even more and I'm afraid the entire class can feel it. All I can do is wondering about what the hell Felix was thinking when he suggested this to Mrs. Han. That is was a good idea? That I would accept Hyunjin, becoming friends, even? That I would actually accept his help in Maths?  That boy is awfully naive if he really thinks that.

Even though I totally suck at Maths, I'm not going to let Hyunjin help me. Not with Maths, not with anything. I believe I was pretty clear to Felix: it's okay if he befriends Hyunjin but I want nothing to do with him.  I thought he understood but look what he did.

Because of his stubbornness, I'm stuck with this mess. Just because he wouldn't listen to me and accept the fact that I want to keep boys at a distance. He knows, he knows it so well. And yet he did this. I can't possibly get mad at my best friend but I'm definitely not happy and maybe I even feel a bit betrayed.

Keepin the distance between us as wide as possible, I bend down to retrieve my textbook and pencil case from my bag, ready to begin another class that I don't understand at all. Sighing, I glance around the classroom once, ignoring the stares coming from my classmates. I bet there are many female students that are better at maths as I am, why not put me next to one of them?

The next moment, as I look up at the whiteboard, it's full of mathematic formulas and I swear I go cross-eyed for a moment. This is where my brain stops processing reality, when I'm supposed to solve x and y and a and b, my mind goes blank and I don't understand a single thing anymore.

I can't help but glance over at Hyunjin's notebook, full of mathematic excersices neatly written down and more importantly, with the correct answer next to them. All the blank spaces left on the pages are filled with countless random doodles, varying from cute cats to pokémon.

Then Hyunjin looks up, catching my gaze. He lightly cocks his head in a bird-like way, his yes searching mine as he gives me a questioning look. "Are you keeping up?"

"No," I curtly reply. "I don't understand anything of it but I don't need your help."

The boy shrugs. "Whatever floats your boat, Lee," he mutters before focusing back on his own work, his raven hair flowing with the movement as he looks down. Behind us, Felix heaves out a heavy and overly dramatic sigh but we both decide to ignore it.

I just stare at my blank paper, the turmoil in my mind going at full force. Somehow, everything feels conflicted and complicated. And again, it all revolves around no other than Hwang Hyunjin. It was only yesterday that he weired me out with his strange sense of humor, trapping me against the lockers and... Heat rushes to my face as soon as I even think about it and I hate the fact that I'm feeling so embarrassed by it. Then, the next day, I have an outburst right in front of him and now we're sitting next to each other in class. Everything is going at a rate I can't keep up with.

And to make matters worse, Mrs. Han is coming straight towards us, a bright smile on her face. She asks us how it's going, if Hyunjin is a good help and if I'm already understanding more of it. I have all my answers ready: No, it isn't helping. No, I don't understand anything. Please take him away and let me sit next to Felix again. I never signed up for this. But before I can say anything, Hyunjin beats me to it.

"It's going fine, Mrs. Han," he replies with a straight face.

"That's great, keep it up," our teacher gives us a thumbs-up before she marches off to check on other students. Leaving me alone with my desperation. I glance over at Hyunjin -who is drawing yet another pokémon in his notebook- one last time before I sigh and let my head rest on the table.

Can life get any worse?

--

I totally don't imagine Felix as an evil genius, coming up with all sorts of crazy plans for project HyunLin. No, not at all. Why do you think so?

Okay but meanwhile- I'm screaming.