In A Beautiful Way

Unwelcomed Guest

"Oh! There goes the bell. Hey, we have our next class together, why not walk there together?" Hyunwoo suggested.

Today was the last day that Seri would be gone, the last day he would have Haein all to himself. The bell rang way too soon for his liking, but lucky for him, the stipulated period for them to work on their project was right after lunch today so it gave him a chance to walk with her. He expected her to reject him, knowing that people would start talking if they saw the both of them together, but she didn't.

"Sure." Haein picked up her lunchbox and walked down the stairs with him.

She acted all nonchalant on the outside, but inside, her stomach fluttered. This would be the first time they would be seen in school together. They'd always gone up to the roof and met there instead of going up together so that they would be more inconspicuous. This time, they would be walking across the entire cafeteria and through the hallways for everyone to see.

This was a step beyond her comfort zone. If she had it her way, she would definitely pretend that they weren't even friends outside the safety of the rooftop. She was ready to keep their friendship a secret, even from her best friend as long as she needed to, but she felt guilty. After all the help that Hyunwoo gave her and the sweet gesture of bringing her his mother's home cooked food, it felt wrong to hide their friendship. It was almost as if she was ashamed of being friends with him which definitely wasn't the case and she didn't want him to feel that way either. She would make this sacrifice for him and they would be even.

Let the games begin.

She sighed internally as they stepped into the crowded cafeteria.

"Ya Baek Hyunwoo! Where did you disappear off to again this time? You've been gone the entire week!" Kim Yangki, the closest person he could consider a best friend exclaimed, clapping him on the back. He was in the swim team together with him and they always ate together with the rest of the group, but Hyunwoo had blown him off the entire week.

"Eh? Hong Haein?" He stopped, noticing her presence. "Don't tell me-" He smirked, clapping him harder on the back.

Hyunwoo spluttered, the air knocked out of his lungs. "What is it?"

"Are you two..." He trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Whatever weird thing you're thinking, stop it. We're just friends." Hyunwoo said sternly, determined to ward his overexcited friend off before he could make Haein uncomfortable. He tried to keep his expression serious, but his nerves betrayed him, making him look guilty in Yangki's eyes.

He didn't look convinced, but didn't push for more. "Sure, if you say so. It's okay, I understand why you've been ditching me now." He teased, punching his arm playfully.

"All right, all right. Don't you have a class to get to? You need to be faster than your teacher if you're gonna finish copying Sungmin's homework in time." Hyunwoo warned.

"Oh shit! Catch you later!" With a wink and a finger salute, he scurried off into the crowd, his head disappearing in the sea of people.

Hyunwoo laughed at his antics. He knew him too well.

"Sorry about him, he's a little too friendly sometimes."

Haein shook her head slightly, giving him a small smile to assure him that she was fine with it. She trusted Hyunwoo to choose his friends wisely. If he was good friends with Yangki, he must be a good person.

As they slowly made their way back to class with the rest of the crowd, a wave of murmurs washed over them from the rest of the school population.

"Ya! Do you see that or are my eyes playing tricks on me?"