I'm in a relationship by chance
W. Dingdongdang
My friends quickly changed the subject of conversation and started laughing and chatting loudly, but I couldn't join in the chatter and continued to sit there blankly, lost in thought.
I, Kim Yeo-ju. My dream is to be the best dancer in Korea. When you type "ㄱ" into Naver, "Kim Yeo-ju" is the first related search result. I can't let this bright future be ruined by Jeon Jung-kook, who could be a perpetrator of school violence.
No, no, no, I tried to think positively, but Yewon's words lingered in my head and wouldn't leave. Eventually, I even began to feel resentful, wondering why I hadn't thought of something like that. No, I shouldn't have slept during lunch in the first place. But I tried to console myself by telling myself that this was in the past, and that I just had to avoid seeing Jeon Jungkook again.
Thinking that way, I felt a little relieved. Just as I was about to shake off my anxiety and join in the chat with my friends, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang, and I left my seat, feeling a pang of regret, and headed back to class.
"Really, just don't talk to Jeon Jungkook. Third year is almost over. What could be harder?"
I had that thought in my head right before I entered the classroom, so I held my head up straight and sat down in my seat.
He must have been quite eager to talk to me after what happened during lunch, but thankfully, Jeon Jungkook didn't talk to anyone, including me, for the rest of the period. That was a good thing.
"Okay, we're going to do a group activity, so turn the desks around. I've already decided on the groups. Just put the desks in groups of five."
Time passed, and finally, it was the last period. When the music teacher announced we'd be doing group work, my heart raced with excitement, as I'd always enjoyed group activities. I quickly turned my desk around and waited for the teacher to open his mouth to call out our assigned groups.
“…Group 3: Kim Yeo-ju, Yang Soo-bin, Lee Ah-young, Lee Kyung-jun, and Jeon Jung-guk. Over there, sit next to Group 2. Group 4…”
Subin, Ayoung, Kyungjun, and Jeon Jungkook.
"… jungkook jeon?"
Without realizing it, I called out Jeon Jungkook's name. I glared at the music teacher with resentful eyes, but he was busy calling the other groups. Besides, a few girls were looking at him with the same gaze I had, so I guess he didn't care.
After returning the desks to the five groups, I took my pencil case and music textbook and moved to where our group 3 would sit.
"Everyone, be quiet. This group activity is about researching and presenting on our country's proud traditional instruments. You'll have three hours, so divide your time wisely. I'll be giving you a lot of points for your presentation, so be sure to prepare well!"
The teacher said that and distributed gray-colored printouts to each group.
"...Our group is investigating instruments made of real strings, or sabu! Representative instruments include the gayageum, geomungo, haegeum, and ajaeng, so let's investigate!"
There was silence for a while, and when I opened my mouth, the crew members also opened their mouths one by one.
“I’ll prepare the presentation, so the remaining four of you can research the instruments?”
"Okay! Kyungjun will make the PPT, and Ayoung and I will research the gayageum and geomungo. Yeoju and Jeongguk, research the haegeum and ajaeng!"
Eventually, we agreed to split up and investigate the instruments, but Subin acted quickly and took Ayoung away. So, Jeon Jungkook and I ended up paired up. Being in the same group was already a disaster, but now we have to investigate instruments together.
"Well then, how about we switch seats a bit? I'll sit at the very end, so let's swap seats so we're facing each other or sitting next to each other."
Because Kyungjun was unusually proactive today, Jeon Jungkook and I ended up sitting next to each other. As soon as we sat down, we made awkward eye contact for a moment.
“……”
I was so shocked that I turned my head first and, in a small, quick voice, suggested that Jeon Jungkook and I share the instrument research. The intention was to minimize our conversation.
"There are two, the ajaeng and the haegeum, so let's split them. Should I play the ajaeng? Which one do you want to research? I'll match it to you."
"Or, since you've given us three hours, how about spending one hour preparing your presentation and then spending an hour each researching a specific instrument? For example, its history, its creator, its characteristics, its structure, and so on! Wouldn't that make for a more complete presentation?"
Because of Jeon Jungkook who spoke with force and force, I started to feel overwhelmed and at the same time I started to feel like I shouldn't refuse.
“Yeah, yeah!”
If we investigate the way Jeon Jungkook suggested, the number of conversations will naturally increase, so I said, "Okay, I understand." "It can't be helped. It's like this. Just talk about things related to the investigation. Don't talk about anything else!"
"Well then, just in case, would you like to exchange phone numbers? I might need to contact you for some reason while I'm investigating."
“Well, that would be a hassle, so how about contacting me via Facebook or DM?”
If we were to exchange numbers, I was afraid she'd find out about me through video call logs or messages I'd sent, so I tried to bring it up in as many different ways as possible. I was afraid that speaking too hastily would arouse suspicion.
But after Jeon Jungkook's next words, I thought everything was ruined.
“Well… I don’t use Facebook or Instagram…! I guess exchanging contact information is the only way. Sorry.”
Seeing Jeon Jungkook's utterly apologetic expression, I couldn't even bring myself to suggest an open chat. If only he hadn't made that expression, I would have suggested an open chat. He made the excuse that he only exchanged contact information with really close friends.
“Oh, then I guess there’s nothing I can do. Haha…”
In the end, I had no choice but to suppress the sigh that was about to come out and type in my number. For a moment, I thought about using my mom's number, but I realized it would be pointless and would be found out soon, so I typed in my exact number. There was nothing I could do, now. There was no going back. If Jeon Jungkook was sure about the video call, I had to threaten him or ask him to keep quiet.