❝𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗛 ━━ 𝗪𝗢𝗡𝗪𝗢𝗢

step #6

:: Choke on your Gimbap

Wonu feels like maybe today won't be so weird.

That is until a group of five or six girls swamp you as soon as you pass the gates and drag you away. And Wonu hears you screech "Mirae, no!" before you're so far away that he can't hear a word you're saying.

He also doesn't hear Aria approach him from behind.

"Wonwoo," she says, "you really have to keep better watch over her!"

Wonu looks down, a little startled. Aria is so much shorter than him, it's like talking to his feet. "Yumi can take care of herself," he says, almost defensively.

Aria pulls a face like she is annoyed by him," "That's your job now," she says.

She's speaking nonsense, so Wonu shrugs it off and uses the advantage of height to get a head start. When he reaches the classroom, your desk is surrounded by girls—they stop whatever it is they're doing and stare at Wonu as he walks past to his own desk. He shoots you a worried look, and you give him a hesitant thumbs up.

Wonu usually concentrates well in class, but today there's something a bit off. It's worse than yesterday—it's like people are looking at him. It's like they're staring. And it doesn't get any better, even during lunch, when he sequesters himself and you at the edge of the room and gives anyone who tries to come near them the sort of glare that makes them turn their backs.

The worst part is that you're not stupid—you seem to have caught on that there's something going on, and trying to shield Wonu from whatever it is.

"Don't worry about it, Wonu," you say. "It's probably just a big joke at my expense."

Of course, the idea that people are playing a joke on you sets Wonu even more on edge, and the fact that you are almost certainly lying just makes him even angrier.

He's so caught up in his thoughts for the rest of the day that you overtake him on the way to the basketball court, and he's left wandering the corridors slowly, willing himself to get over it, whatever it is.

Just before the court, there's a tall girl who he doesn't know waiting by the vending machines, and she waves at him. "Wonu!"

The name is jarring, and Wonu stops and narrows his eyes at her. "Who are you?" he asks.

She laughs. "Ah, you don't really know me," she says. "I just wanted to let you know that I was going to confess to you today."

"Conf— why are you telling me if you're not going to do it?" he snaps. He hasn't got time for this sort of shit.

"Ah," she says. "Yumi told me about you two! So of course my confession would have been futile. Still, I went to all the trouble, so I thought I'd tell you anyway!"

"Yumi told you—?"

Wonu tries desperately to distract himself from the fact that she used your name so familiarly, and in the process of thinking about other things, several puzzle pieces start to fit together in his mind.

The girl nods. "You two are going out, aren't you?"

"Oh," Wonu says, adjusting his glasses. "Of course we are."

"Alright," she says, "just checking!"

And with that, she's gone, leaving Wonu standing by the vending machines like an idiot, wrapping his head around the lie he just told—the lie you told. He is going to have some serious talk with you after the practice.

You try not to worry—honestly, earnestly, you tell yourself that everything will be fine, but Wonu has not said a single thing since the practice started—not to you, not to anyone —and, okay, it's worrying.

"Trouble in paradise, huh?" Jun asks you.

Your cheeks grow warm and you think you are blushing too much to reply. You feel a pang of annoyance at yourself for letting this get so out of hand, and for lying in the first place.

Just when you think Wonu is never going to look at him again, he comes up after practice with a frown on his face. If you're not wrong it says something like, "I want to talk to you but you need to start the conversation."

"Do you want to get dinner at the corner store, Wonwoo?" You ask, settling on neutral words.

"I'm not hungry," Wonu says. "I'll walk with you if you're going, though."

You make sure to hold back from the rest of the crowd, to put a bit of distance between them and the gossip that you're hoping will blow over without Wonu ever having realised it existed.

But all your efforts go in vain when you leave the corner store after buying some snacks instead of dinner.

"Odd things have been happening over the last couple of days," Wonu says once you're out of the store.

"Like what?" You stammer, mouth full of food.

"Like the captain refusing to let you watch the practice...like all those girls mobbing you this morning." He pauses. "Like someone confessing to me after class."

You nearly choke. You have to stop by the side of the road and cough, thinking you might just die there—by food or whatever would happen ahead.

"Oh," you manage to say. "Oh, um, what did she say to you?"

Wonu shrugs. "Not much."

"What did you say to her?" You ask. You're amazed that there's a girl out there who hadn't heard the gossip. You're even more amazed that she didn't check with you first, like the last few.

"You," Wonu says, "I know you told her we're going out."