When We're Together [양정완]

23.

Chae Aera turned to Jungwon with a puzzled look, then shrugged. "Depends."

"On what?"

"On who it is," She bit her tongue. "If it's somebody I like too, then of course, but if it isn't then no." The boy considered her answer carefully. "Then, who do you like?"

Aera froze, caught off guard by the male's sudden question. Then she considered it. Who did she like? "I.. uh... I don't know." She puffed air into one of her cheeks, then the other, her lips forming a pout. "Let's go eat," she said as she stepped out of the booth and gestured for the boy to follow.

They sat at a booth towards the back after ordering. Jungwon excused himself to the restroom, leaving Aera sitting alone at the table. She scrolled mindlessly on her phone, waiting for the boy to get back, when she heard an annoyingly familiar voice.

"Woah, this looks delicious! Let me snap a pic for my insta," Park Haneul's voice sounded from a few tables over. Aera rolled her eyes as she stole a glance at the girl's table. Of course, she was there with none other than Min Yuhan.

At least by now Aera's feelings had completely vanished, but that didn't mean she didn't feel a pang of anger and regret in her chest seeing the boy she had been friends with for so long falling for a girl like her. It was like he couldn't see anybody or anything else. She sighed.

"Huh? What's wrong?" A worried Yang Jungwon appeared from behind her. She quickly motioned for him to sit and shushed him.

"There's people I don't want to talk to over there." She gestured with her head to their table. The boy confusedly tilted his head at her. "Min Yuhan and Park Haneul. Let's just say Hanuel is a bit over protective of her boyfriend." She rolled her eyes again.

Luckily their ramen arrived soon and they dug in. Neither said a word as they were both so hungry.

After a a few minutes of only slurping and chewing, Jungwon finally broke the silence. "Wow, no wonder this place is always busy." The girl nodded as she ate another big bite of her noodles. "Hey, don't eat so fast, you're going to choke," the male warned as he watched the girl practically inhaling her food.

Aera did end up choking, but not because she was eating fast. She choked because she heard two people approaching her table.

"Chae Aera?" Yuhan's voice was surprised but pleasant. Aera glanced up at the boy who was standing hand in hand with Park Haneul, who narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Hey." Aera said simply.

Yuhan looked confused at the girl's frank response, but Haneul smirked. She spotted Yang Jungwon who was basically ignoring the two and eating his ramen. "Aw, I see you finally got over my boyfriend, huh?" she said, gesturing towards the cat-eyed boy.

Aera clenched her jaw. She was about to respond when Jungwon spoke instead. "Yeah, so you can leave her alone now." He glared at Haneul with his cat eyes. Aera had never seen him with such an expression on his face.

"Hah." The third-year girl scoffed, "Who are you? Her boyfriend?" As much as she despised Chae Aera, Park Haneul had to admit she was lucky. The boy she was with was fine as hell. She was sure there was no way the two were dating.

"What if I am?" Jungwon glared at the Haneul. "Now leave us alone." Aera saw the girl's stern expression falter slightly before she grabbed Yuhan's hand and mumbled something incoherent before storming off, pulling the boy behind her.

Aera sighed. Then, she suddenly realized what Jungwon had just said. What if I am? Wait what? Her brain started malfunctioning as she rapidly blinked at the boy in front of her.

He stared back at her with an innocent expression. "What? Did I say something wrong?" he nervously pursed his lips, but the way his dimples formed on his cheeks made the girl start glitching even more. How come her heart started beating faster every time she saw them?

"Aera? Are you okay?" She finally managed to think straight and she mumbled, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."