Rival | Kim Seungmin

Partners

Seungmin POV

"Guys! Mrs. Lim just posted the volunteer chart on the board!" One of the boys in class shouted as he poked his head through the door.

"Seungmin, let's go," Felix urged as he suddenly appeared at the side of my desk while tugging on my sleeve.

I put my pen down before closing my book and following him to the class board.

Felix hurriedly pulled my arm as I approached him, causing me to hit someone's shoulder in the process. "Sorry," I apologized, trying to look back.

"My bad Yeeun, it was my fault," Felix said as he looked over my shoulder. Yeeun? Before I could turn around, Felix caught my attention. "Seungmin, I found your name!" He said as he pointed towards the bottom of the sheet.

My eyes trailed through the list until I managed to find the exact place he was looking at. I shifted my eyes to the opposite end to see who my partner was.

Right as I read their name, someone spoke. "You?" Yeeun said in disappointment beside me. I was pretty sure she was talking to me, but I wasn't positive since she kept her eyes on the board.

I turned to her and hesitantly cleared my throat before speaking, "I guess we're partners. Let's work well together."

She let out a sigh before turning away and walking back to the classroom. "Yeeun, where are you going?" Jiyeon asked as she ran after her.

"Looks like you were right when you said she didn't like you," Felix whispered as he swung his arm over my shoulder. "It'll be fine, don't worry," he gave me a slight smile while softly patting my shoulder.

Lunch

I sat down in front of Felix as he began happily eating his meal. "So what are you going to do?" He asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"About?"

"Yeeun. There's no way she'll talk to you," he pointed out.

"I don't know," I picked up my utensils and started eating while thinking of how I could make the uneasy tension between us subside. I looked up at Felix as a thought occurred to me, "How will I contact her?"

"Ask her for her number, duh," he looked at me as if I didn't understand common sense.

"Well of course, but she'd never be willing to give it to me."

My eyes wandered back to my tray before I suddenly looked up as Felix started choking and waving his hand in front of me with a look of shock. "Are you okay? You need me to come help you?"

I got ready to stand up but he shook his head while reaching for water. He quickly chugged the water down before gasping and shout-whispering, "Yeeun is coming."

My eyes widened and I was about to look back but he stopped me, "Don't look back, are you crazy?" He switched from whispering to speaking in a normal tone, although it was a bit raised.

We both focused on eating while my anxiety was growing. Why is she coming over here?

"Do you mind if we sit here?" Jiyeon asked, looking at Felix as they reached our table.

"Of course not, we're buddies aren't we," he smiled. Jiyeon took a seat next to Felix and Yeeun made her way to my side.

"You don't mind do you?" She asked.

"O-of course not, go ahead," I gestured to the seat next to me.

She took a seat and Felix looked at me in confusion. We began communicating with our eyes. I stared at him, motioning for him to say something.

"Uh, so what are you guys doing here?" Felix asked, turning his head towards them.

"There's nowhere else to sit and Yeeun had something to ask," Jiyeon replied.

I glanced over at her as she silently ate her meal. She didn't seem phased by the fact that I was sitting beside her. Either she doesn't despise me, or she's good at hiding how uncomfortable she is. Then again I couldn't see her face so I wasn't sure.

Felix and Jiyeon got partnered for their volunteer hours, so they began discussing which volunteer services seemed best to complete.

"Hey," Yeeun spoke, getting my attention. "Give me your number so I can contact you about volunteering together," she said as she held her phone out to me.

"Uh, sure," I carefully took the phone from her hand and put my number in. "Here you go," I said softly while handing it back. She took it from me and began typing.

Relief washed over me. I thought I'd have to ask her. Who knew she'd be the one asking me? "I texted you so save my number," she said as she put her phone away. I nodded in response and watched as she finished her lunch.

After the bell rang, we parted ways. Felix and I headed back to class while Yeeun and Jiyeon went elsewhere.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to get indigestion from how nervous I was back there," Felix frowned as he rubbed his stomach.

"You shouldn't have eaten so fast then," I chuckled.

"It's all your fault. If only Yeeun wasn't so cold around you, I would be fine."

I chuckled at his attempt to blame this on me. "How is it my fault?"

"Because you just had to be so popular that Yeeun ended up hating you. And because of that, she's been very cranky lately. I mean I don't talk to her much but from what I've seen of course. Also, you never care about what someone thinks of you, which made this harder for the both of us—"

"Alright, stop rambling. I get it," I slightly waved my hand in the air, back and forth as I cut him off.

We made it back to the classroom and I sat down feeling drained. It was only lunch but why does it feel like I ran a marathon. I decided to close my eyes and relax my mind a little. Instead of getting the relaxation I needed, I began thinking about unnecessary things.

Felix is right. When did I start caring about what others think? Yeeun is someone I barely know, yet why has she become so entangled in my life? Is it really because I like her? Nah, I'm sure I couldn't have fallen for her that easily...right?