I flinched in surprise, squeezed my eyes shut, and curled up.
But nothing touched my body.
The ball rolled across the floor with a dull thud.
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Huang Hyunjin leaning toward me
with his arms stretched out, having blocked the ball for me.
Huang Hyunjin let out a sigh of relief and stood up from his seat.
"Thanks, though you didn't have to do that."
"You're blatantly lying. You were freaking out so hard."
"I wasn't freaking out! I was just surprised?!"
The classroom we came back to was thick with the smell of sweat.
The moment I sat down, as if they'd been waiting for it,
students swarmed up to me in a rush.
"Seotaehee! What’s going on between you and Huang Hyunjin?"
"Are you dating him?"
"Don't let him near you. I heard his dad's a thug."
"No! Kim Suyeon said Huang Hyunjin's from a chaebol family."
"Come to think of it, ever since you took his side, I figured something was going on with you two.. Right?"
"No~ so what is it between you two?"
The students' voices overlapped, noisily echoing through the classroom.
As I let out a sharp scream,
the startled students immediately shut their mouths.
In the air that had gone quiet in an instant, I spoke first.
"I’m not dating Huang Hyunjin, and his dad is just a salaryman.
He’s not a thug or a chaebol, so be quiet.
And you know trash-talking about Huang Hyunjin behind his back is bullying, right?"
Just in time, the school bell rang.
The students gave me the same look they had when they looked at Huang Hyunjin
and glared at me for a while before going back to their seats.
Meanwhile, Huang Hyunjin stood leaning against the back door with his arms crossed
and watched it all.
After seeing everyone leave,
he walked over slowly and sat down.
"I guess you do think of me as a friend too. Thanks."
"Aren't you annoyed? Everyone keeps talking about you."
Frustration made my sharp words slip out.
At my words, Huang Hyunjindidn't look confused at all
and just smiled with a grin, saying it was fine.
Then he asked me back.
"Then what about you—are you okay being tied up with someone like me, with such bad rumors?"
I nodded without hesitation.
Huang Hyunjin seemed to think for a moment too,
then slowly closed and opened his eyes before saying,
"By the way, are you free today?"
