The Running Game

Chapter 8

Autumn 2009

It's not that she hates Lim Soo Ho, but she is pissed. What's the point of running if they also ended up being late? What's the point of running if they also ended up running seven laps at the gym? It's a complete waste of energy. And she was out of breath when Lim Soo Ho also held her hand while facing that detention to run the same speed as him so they could finish the run early. Yeah, he's crazy. But she's crazy about him. And what made her annoyed even more, that guy still has the audacity to look fresh as if this was not a hard exercise for him.

It's not that she's being ungrateful over the fact that she got to spend some time with him, but she is befuddled by feeling that fluttering in her heart. Why would he do that? Why was he holding her hand? They were just getting to know each other, it's not like they're close or something. And she was avoiding him. That time at the cafeteria, when he was sitting with his friends Jong Geon and Hyoun Soo, he waved his hand at her and she looked away pretending not to see him and sat at her usual table with her friends right away. The school was over, she walked past the basketball court to reach the school gate. And she caught a glimpse of him snatching the basketball from Jong Geon and shot the ball to the ring.

And he scored a goal.

With hair being messy by the movement, she wondered how could he still look good and no trace of sweat dripping from his head. He high fived his friend Hyoun Soo, that's when he saw her. He waved his hand and was about to call her but instead, he caught her looking away and continued to walk to the school gate.

She knew avoiding him would lead to any confusion, but that's a normal thing when you are having a crush on someone, right?

No! I do not have a crush on Lim Soo Ho!

Hahaha you liar.

The inner battle in her subconscious continued to bug her, so she chose to listen to music on her iPod with a blast volume through her earphone. She decided to ease her mind by having dessert in a cafe nearby before going to her grandma's store.

She was walking on the side of the busy street where it was filled with a bustling crowd minding their own business. And then she was startled when someone grabbed her hand suddenly.

"What the heck?!" She was shocked by the sudden contact, afraid that the person who grabbed her hand was a stranger that intentionally wanted to do a bad thing to her. The slight look of relief washed all over her when she saw a familiar face.

"You're avoiding me." He stated.

"Are you stalking me?" She raised her eyebrow. A bit surprised that he caught up with her from school to the street.

"No, I'm not. I tried calling you many times and I assumed that you deliberately ignored me."

She took off her earphone then hung it in front of him. "Well I'm sorry I didn't hear you. Adios." She turned away from him and continued to walk. He kept following her without knowing where she would be headed to.

"You're wearing flip flops." He saw her feet then putting his gaze back to her.

"And whose fault is that?" She muttered.

Soo Ho was tailing behind her when they walked into the cafe.

"Oh, do you want to eat cakes?" He asked as he saw her lurking at the cake dummies through the glass display.

"No, Soo Ho. I want to eat a double cheeseburger and fries with extra cheese sauce on top just so I could satisfy my large appetite." She said annoyedly. Then she smirked at his dumbfounded face.

So many cakes were shown at the display and they immediately took their order.

Strawberry cheesecake for her and tiramisu for him.