"who am i to you?" i whispered to him.
maybe I was a fool for even asking. because I knew what he'd respond before the words had even left my mouth.
"no one," he replied a beat later, not a hint of hesitation in his cold voice. his eyes betrayed no...
speak and act so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it's not; used in a game or deception
• chapter three • red lantern
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MONDAY NIGHTS WERE STRIKINGLY more animated than I expected them to be. Although a few weeks flew by since the end of the marvellous spring break in Korea, a sense of party still remained, especially in a busy restaurant like the Red Lantern. Most importantly, it has also been a few weeks since my first day at Chaegu academy. I still felt new to everything in town... and I was.
As I came to find out soon, this coveted place was not only for Chinese food; it was a karaoke-bar as well, which explained why people moved around with a bright gleam in their eyes and an extra jump on their feet. The delightful ambiance was such a contrast with my mortifying classes in Chaegu academy that it sent my head spinning - in a good way this time.
The music, the decor, and the people in there made me feel alive, like I discovered a whole new world, which I desperately needed after obsessing over a boy I've talked to twice in my life. It was infuriating just to think about it, think about him.
After our incident on the first day of school, I made my life mission to avoid the fountain boy, or should I just say Haruto. Granted, avoiding him physically didn't mean that I could avoid him mentally. My thoughts swirled back to him from time to time, more often than I would have liked, especially during our classes in common. After staring intensely at the back of his head in pharmacology class for three weeks straight, I felt like I might have burned a couple of holes on his back just with my bitter eyes.
He must have felt my stare because he sometimes stiffened and turned his head slightly around, not daring to directly look behind him and risk making eye contact with me.
He should suck it up because I didn't really care anymore.
In fact, he could ignore me for all he wanted; I would only do the same to him.
The only downside of avoiding him like plague was that I couldn't swing by the music room anymore at the hours I wanted. I had to make sure and double check that not a single soul was in the room before entering it and undeniably locking the door. Only then could I plunge into the world of music and piano and everything that made life so great.
As you could probably notice it, I didn't take it well when people ignored me. I used to in the past, but I held a grudge now more often than not. Haruto was an unlucky victim of it. But that's not the point of my story. All this to say that I felt really, really relieved to be in front of the Red Lantern and away from everything and everyone related to Chaegu academy.
"Just enter the restaurant and say that you're my little brother. Actually, you don't even have to tell her that. She can recognize your face perfectly!" Jisoo blabbered on the other line of the phone.
