Rent A Girlfriend - Ryuryeong

Chap 4

They both somehow made it to class without Ryujin's hand falling off from being gripped too tightly, or Ryujin just screaming NOPE at the top of her lungs and then running all the way back home so she wouldn't have to face Lee Chaeryeong anymore.
Fortunately, neither of those possibilities came to light. Ryujin walked through the courtyard and tried to give a smile to the many, many people staring.

Chaeryeong's steel grip on her poor fingers forced Ryujin from her dorm, all the way to her first period. She and Chaeryeong didn't share that class, thank god. Ryujin stood at the door of the classroom awkwardly. She couldn't exactly move yet. Chaeryeong still had her hand.

"You gonna let me go to class anytime soon?" Ryujin mumbled, flushing slightly when Chaeryeong ran her thumb up and down Ryujin's own a few times.
What was the point of that? It wasn't like most, if any, of the students would notice such a small thing.
No one had even walked into the classroom and seen them yet! Maybe she was doing it to just get a reaction out of Ryujin. Welp, it was working.

"Patience, Shin." Chaeryeong said cheerfully. Damn her.

"We look stupid just standing here." Ryujin tried not to scowl.

"We could engage in some PDA if you're up for it."

"Fuck you."

"That's the spirit." The shit-eating grin makes an unsurprising and unwelcome appearance once again. Ryujin didn't dignify her words with a response.

After a few moments of silence, more students entered the building. Which meant that Ryujin got stared at more. Great.
Chaeryeong didn't even fidget under the scrutinizing looks. Who was supposed to be the unpopular one again? Even though it could turn into downright arrogance in a split second, Ryujin had to respect Chaeryeong's confidence. Or envy. Mostly envy.

Chaeryeong let go of her hand. Ryujin was relieved to see that she could still feel her fingers. She was free! Well, for about 50 minutes. Chaeryeong was in her next period. Actually, Chaeryeong was in about four of her periods, damn it.

"I have to be going now," Ryujin was confused as to why Chaeryeong actually looked sad until she realized that they'd basically attracted a small crowd. Guess it was time to play it up. "Au Revoir, Ryujinie."

Ryujin was going to give an awkward goodbye and then book it into the classroom, but Chaeryeong stopped her by leaning in. Ryujin leaned back a fraction. Was she actually trying to...?
Ryujin's mind promptly screamed FUCK NO as she turned her head. Chaeryeong's lips touched her cheek. At least it wasn't her lips. Ryujin still blushed a bright red and smiled awkwardly at the people who were still staring. This felt slightly voyeuristic. The fact that Ryujin couldn't help but notice that Chaeryeong smelled like strawberries weren't helping her blush fade.

Finally, Chaeryeong leaned back and gave her a smile that could've actually been mistaken for genuine. After her eyes roved over Ryujin's face and settled on her cheek, the smile morphed into more of a smirk, for some reason. With that hell of goodbye, the wannabe-queen waltzed away to whatever class she had for the first period. Ryujin sheepishly walked past the crowd of voyeurs and into her first period. She could've sworn she heard a giggle or two, but brushed it off. It most likely wasn't directed at her.

She'd never been so happy to get straight into chemistry. At least now she could avoid questions from her friends, or even from random nosy strangers. A snicker could be clearly heard from a desk or two behind hers. Once again, she thought nothing of it.

The teacher, Ms. Kwon, walked in after a moment. Walking to her desk, she got her clipboard out for roll-call.

"Somi?"

"Yo,"

"Beomgyu?"

"Present."

"Hyujin?"

"Here."

The names went on and on for a while. Ryujin yawned, propping her chin on her palm. You'd think the teachers would be able to recognize who was and wasn't here by now.

"Shin Ryujin?" Fighting the urge to wrinkle her nose at the use of her full first name, Ryujin responded, "Here."

The teacher, as she did with most students, glanced up for a moment to make sure it really was Ryujin and her eyes widened.

"Ryujin, is that...cosmetic choice," What. Ryujin thought
"On purpose? Is this something the kids are doing these days?"

"Excuse me?" Ryujin smiled nervously.
"I'm a little confused, ma'am. Is there something on my face?"

"You didn't know?"

"I...didn't." She could feel her face heating up. "May I be excused to the bathroom, ma'am?"

The teacher nodded her approval, and Ryujin all but ran out of the classroom and into the bathroom.

"Now, what the hell is on my face..." Ryujin mutters and looks up to meet her reflection in the mirror.
"...Oh my god."

There, on her cheek, was a lipstick print.

It stood out in bold red against her cheek, like a mark of possession. It's no worse than if she wrote 'Chaeryeong's Bitch ♥' in bright, bold cursive on Ryujin's forehead. Maybe that was a little bit of a stretch, but still, this was fucking ridiculous! Ryujin watched her own face pale a few shades, and then flush a startling red in a matter of seconds.

She was going to fucking kill Lee Chaeryeong.

After ten minutes of vigorous scrubbing, she returned to the classroom. Her cheek was rubbed red from trying to get the lipstick off, and her flush was just as pronounced.