✓ BETS & BROKEN HEARTS | JAY

3 - Bright Red Flag

Walking through the cafeteria with their trays of food in their hands, Y/N and Areum looked for empty seats but couldn't find any. They used the bathroom before lunch, but because they got lost in their conversation, they were late and now all the students had already picked up their seats.

Y/N sighed, looking at her friend with a pout as her legs got tired of roaming around. But just then, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her as she was about to lose her balance. Cursing the person in her head, she raised her head with a glare only to be met with his back. 

And as soon as her eyes landed on his figure, she knew it was him. "Why are you dragging me? Let go of m-" She stopped talking when they stopped in front of a table where six guys were already sitting.

"Sit down and eat," Jay said as he sat down in his seat, leaving Y/N and Areum standing there. She couldn't understand what was happening, and she exchanged a puzzled glance with Areum. Reluctantly, they took the remaining seats at the table, feeling both awkwardness and curiosity. 

"Hello," Y/N spoke after an awkward silence, giving them a sheepish grin.

"Hey." They all greeted back with awkward smiles. "Jay wanted you to join, hope you guys don't mind." Y/N blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected this at all. She had seen Jay's group around school, but they had never interacted much. Yet here they were, sharing a table with them.

She glanced at Jay who was smiling and looking at her, his head resting on his hand. "What? You wanna say thank you?" Y/N rolled her eyes, mumbling a quick "Thank you" under her breath. However, being the arrogant jerk he is, he decided to push her buttons a bit. "Louder, please. I didn't quite catch that."

But Y/N knew how to play the game and so, she stood up and put her hand against her chest, faking drama. "THANK YOU, JAY, FOR YOUR UTTERLY GRACIOUS INVITATION." Areum hid her face in her hands when everyone looked their way, and Y/N sat down and gave him a sarcastic smile. "See? I'm not shy at all. You must be thrilled."

He shook his head in disbelief, the smirk plastered on his face. "You're crazy."

Y/N started digging in the food on her plate before she looked up again, meeting the stares of the other guys. Mouth full, lips pouting, she stared at them as they burst into laughter, their amusement clear.

Embarrassed, she swallowed everything up and looked at them. "I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Y/N, nice to meet you." She smiled a little making them smile back.

Heesung, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon and Niki. They all introduced themselves one by one as Y/N and Areum nodded at them. The first three were seniors while the last two were juniors. 

Although they were Jay's friends and were known to be jerks, they made her feel comfortable as they talked and laughed together. It was as if no one of them remembered that she was the girl they were betting on. 

Gazing at her, Jay let out a chuckle, making everyone stare at him in confusion. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows when he turned to her. "What's so funny?" She put down her chopsticks and looked at him with slight annoyance.

He was definitely not going to let her know that he chuckled because she looked absolutely adorable when she was engrossed in her food, her brows slightly furrowed in concentration, so, trying to save himself from embarrassment, he blurted out a lie he himself didn't believe in. "Because you're ugly." She was anything but ugly and he knew it. Even the way she spooned rice into her mouth was oddly cute. 

Her initial annoyance seemed to be fading as she realized Jay's comment was probably just another one of his snarky remarks.

"You really are a jerk, aren't you?" She rolled her eyes, grabbing her banana milk before she took a sip. Her initial annoyance seemed to be fading as she realized Jay's comment was probably just another one of his snarky remarks.

Jay on the other hand wasn't so happy about it. "What did you just say?" He grabbed her wrist, making her spill her milk all over her uniform. She froze, wide-eyed as the cold liquid seeped through her clothes. The look on her face made him release her wrist as if he had been burned.

"What's wrong with you?" She shouted, her hands instinctively trying to wipe the milk off her uniform. Sighing heavily, she stood up and stormed away from the place, making Areum stand up to run after her, if not for someone stopping her. 

"Don't." Sunghoon grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit down. "He has to go after her." He pointed at Jay who was now feeling a bit guilty. He rolled his eyes, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

He stood up and made his way to the bathroom only to hear the sound of water and someone's voice while they said all sorts of horrible things about him. Leaning against the bathroom door frame, he listened quietly, a smile playing on his lips.

"That fucking jerk," Y/N repeated as she washed her uniform. She knew it wasn't really his fault that she had spilled the milk, but her frustration seemed to be seeking an outlet. She scrubbed at the stain vigorously, her brows furrowed in anger. After she made sure her uniform was clean, she got out of the bathroom and headed toward her classroom since lunch break was already over. She didn't have any extra clothes so she had to keep her uniform on until it dries up.

"Y/N." Areum spotted her when she stepped into the classroom and ran to her. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine," Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed a shirt on her desk. "Whose shirt is this?" She unfolded it, revealing a neatly folded, clean white shirt. Her confusion deepened as she found a note attached to it.

"It's Jay's." Areum's voice was only a background whisper as Y/N focused on reading the note. I figured you wouldn't want to spend the rest of the day in a damp shirt. I'm sorry. Y/N scoffed, staring at the tiny, messy handwriting.

She took Jay's shirt and headed back to the bathroom. Once in, she took off her uniform and wore his shirt before looking at her reflection in the mirror. It was much bigger than her, and that made her cheeks heat up a little. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to let her mind wander too far.

After all, Jay was a red flag she was trying to avoid, and getting lost in thoughts about him was the last thing she needed.