The day was calmer, at least inside Yuta's head. His nerves were a bit more relaxed and he had the bathtub shower of last night to thank for it. Inside his car with the window open, he was greeted by the fresh air of that morning. Yuta wouldn't say he was completely in a good mood, his mind was yet filled with thoughts of how he would react in front of others in the presence of Jaehyun and Gayeon; he had notion that he couldn't ignore his best friend forever, even more so long as he missed him at the same time that he would hate to see him with Gwiyomi. Yuta should've been getting over this, he was seriously trying, and even if he hated himself every day for not being successful at it, he felt relief that Jaehyun was the one next to her now. He knew his friend well, Jaehyun would make her happy, maybe even more than Yuta himself thought he could.
With a turn at the corner, he was already in front of the college. Didn't want to, but he left the car and went to what would be his first day. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad, since Johnny would be there to keep him company and maybe even cheer him up.
"Why the long face?" Johnny was sitting next to him, tapping his fingers on the table.
"That's just the way my face is" he blew out the words, basically throwing himself on the chair.
"Are we at this time of the month again, Yuta?"
"If you say I'm on PMS, I swear I'll kill you here and now" he stared at his friend next to him.
"Dude, relax" Johnny hit Yuta's shoulder lightly "Who hurt you this time?"
"I'm just thinking too much, that's all."
"Thinking about what?" he stretched sloppily.
"Jaehyun invited me to Gwiyomi's surprise party" a pause "But, basically, he's forcing me to go."
"So Jaehyun was the one who hurt you?"
And the pout was again formed on Yuta's lips.
"Stop the pouting."
"Help me please."
"You know I'll be there too, obviously, just like Winwin; I don't know about Doyoung..."
"Johnny, focus on me."
"So, like I was saying, I'll be there to keep you company. It's going to be alright, just act like your normal self and it will be fine. I won't leave you alone with her."
"I don't want to go, actually I think I'd better not go."
"You know you can't run away forever, right?"
"The conversation is good back there, but if you didn't notice, I already entered the classroom" the teacher threw a chalk on Johnny's forehead as he stared at Yuta. "Be quiet now please."
"Sorry..." Johnny rubbed his forehead.
"Well then, let's start by introducing the new students. One of them we already knew, the chatterer back there. What's your name?"
"Nakamoto Yuta."
He had been very happy since the last night, it would be easy to lose patience with the teacher's comments, yet Yuta kept his tone clear and gentle.
"I assume you're Japanese, right?" continued as soon as the boy consented "And the young lady sitting there?" the teacher glanced at the back of the classroom.
"Young lady?" Johnny turned to see who he was referring to "Wasn't it just you, Yuta?
"Katrina Brown" she smiled openly "Canada.
"Something about your parents, right?" she nodded "Well, Yuta, why don't you show the university around to her after class? I know you've been walking around here a lot with Johnny."
"You can count on that, he'll love it."
Johnny teasing Yuta as he always did when he had the chance.
"Shut up..." Yuta whispered to his friend while everyone laughed at the joke.
The class started and all Yuta could do was try to understand how he had not seen Katrina in the room, or if she had arrived earlier, as he didn't see her enter through the door. Time, by luck, proceeded swiftly, theory classes about the body were tiring, at least Yuta accepted that it was a lot of information for his brain, however he managed to stay awake and attentive. At the end of class on the break, Yuta touched Johnny's shoulder, who understood the message and let him meet Katrina's table alone.
"I think I'll be your guide for today" with a brief nod, Yuta revealed a thin smile to Katrina.
"Oh, how lucky I am" she teased.
They were walking through the corridors while Yuta showed her the most important places. Other than what he had believed, Katrina wasn't acting as if she hated him; instead they were talking as longtime friends. But only that, friends.
"So, how's Charlie doing?"
"Well, at least she stopped crying for not wanting to go to school."
"You care about her a lot, right?" his thoughts went louder than he had planned.
"She's my family, of course I care" she jerked Yuta's shoulder lightly.
"If you let me ask, your parents, what do they do?"
The air surrounding the conversation felt a bit heavy after the question and Yuta regretted asking at the same moment.
"Too soon?"
"Too soon."
"So, let's pretend I never asked."
Katrina smiled at what he had said, but there was no sincerity in that smile, and Yuta realized. Not wanting to make matters worse, he kept the conversation somewhat lukewarm, so that neither of them would be embarrassed. And that's how they acted the whole morning.
He was curious about the man Katrina was talking to the other day, but he felt it would be a bit strange to ask, since he didn't talk to her that night. She might think he was stalking her. Yuta also realized that the girl was unobtrusively avoiding him and again moving away. Once more the stress terrified him.
"Johnny."
"Yuta."
"I'm bored and pissed, let's do something."
"What do you want to do?"
"I don't know. Food, cybercafe, whatever."
"Well, better than rot in an apartment and stink like a gorilla."
Yuta rolled his eyes at Johnny's comment. Soon they were leaving, Yuta said goodbye to Katrina with a nod and a "see you tomorrow".
Each was in their own car, but heading to the same pizzeria a little further away from college. Johnny led the way to Yuta. The japanese boy wasn't in Korea for long, so the best places to hang out were still introduced by his friends. The pizzeria was beautiful and well decorated what made Yuta feel welcomed, but he knew that it would definitely be expensive. Finding a table far from the entrance and more isolated, Johnny hated places where people would stare at him, they sat down comfortably. They waited their pizza arrive with a glass of beer for Johnny and a lemon tonic water for Yuta.
"So, Yuta, let's talk about the new girl" Johnny started by taking a slice of the pizza.
"What about her?" Yuta teared the pizza between his teeth.
"Are you into her?"
Yuta had barely chewed and was already choking taking a desperate sip of his lemon tonic.
"What the heck are you talking about?!"
"The teacher stays in front of us, but you found something far more interesting at the back of the classroom."
"I was just curious..."
"It didn't seem curiosity" he laughed with a strange smile on his face.
"Let me finish talking!" Yuta stared wide-eyed at his taller friend.
"Just don't spit, man" Johnny seemed disgusted.
"I was curious because I didn't know she was doing the same course as we were."
"Wait, so you know her?"
"Kind of, I gave her a ride once."
"You're fast huh, Osaka's Prince" Johnny laughed "Always taking the opportunity."
"I didn't have any ulterior motives. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"I'll buy you a chocolate bar later to see if your PMS gets better, Jesus Christ."
"My patience is ending; I'm warning you."
Their stares were exchanged with anger and funny grimaces.
"So, are you into her or not?"
Johnny asked after a few seconds in silence.
"That again?"
"You didn't answer me."
"You're too curious, don't you think?"
"So that's a yes."
"Of course not, I talked to her for a short time. Don't be ridiculous."
"As if time had something to do with it."
Yuta was speechless.
"When it comes, it comes you know."
"I'm not in love, Johnny" he leaned back in her chair, finishing his lemon tonic water "I gave her a ride because she was in the rain with a child, and more, she made it clear that we're just friends, maybe we are less than that too."
"Yeah, right. Wait, you said child?"
"Yes, she was with the little girl, Charlotte."
"Hm..."
"What?"
"Do they look alike?"
"They are like two peas in a pod."
"Hm..."
"Johnny, you're pissing me off."
"You know if she has a boyfriend, or..."
"No, but I saw them with a guy yesterday."
"Hm..."
"I swear I'll punch you in the face."
"You're not seeing my point, are you?"
"What do you mean?"
"A child that look very much like her. One guy friend we don't know who is. She pushed away a person who seemed interested in getting to know her better. What does that make you think?"
"That she has a boyfriend?"
"No idiot, she doesn't want you to find out that she has a daughter."
"Oh, shut up."
Yuta had a laughter crisis as Johnny stared at him with a serious expression. Gradually Yuta's laughter ceased and he was now smiling nervously.
"Keep laughing at me, Yuta. When the truth comes out, I'll be the one laughing at your face."
Yuta's mind was struggling to understand the situation. One part of him wanted to confirm that Johnny's statement was false, while another part was completely confused and almost accepting that reality.
"She's my family", "Debts", "Too soon"
With a sigh of pure distress, Yuta's eyes widened.
"HOLY SHIT, SHE'S A SINGLE MOTHER."