It's so high school at Hanil Foreign Language High School with a new addition in the middle of the semester. Baek Hyun Woo, a Year 3 transfer student in his final year of high school meets Hong Hae-in, a Year 2 student who is the future heiress of Q...
After Yang-gi calmed down enough to dust himself off the floor, the group of friends found themselves huddled in a dimly lit corner of McDonald's with a tray of Oreo McFlurry melting between them.
The dysfunctional lights flickered dramatically above their heads, casting an intimidating glow over them and adding to the already palpable tension.
Yang-gi, his eyes narrowed in thought, stared intently at the newly formed couples, his hands clasped beneath his chin. His expression was a mix of surprise, disbelief, and perhaps a hint of betrayal. He seemed to be processing the information, his mind racing with thoughts.
As their resident jokester, Yang-gi's silence was more intimidating than any words he could have uttered. The rest of the group, sensing the tension, held their breath, waiting for the inevitable explosion – with the exception of Hae-in who wore a neutral expression on her face, clearly unbothered by the atmosphere.
As the seconds ticked by, the silence became almost unbearable. Finally, Yang-gi opened his mouth to speak, and everyone stiffened, bracing themselves for a verbal onslaught. But to their surprise, he closed his mouth again, shaking his head in disbelief and leaned back in his seat, his expression unreadable.
Desperate to break the tension, Hyun Woo reached for a cup of McFlurry, only to have his hand swatted away by Hae-in. She gave him a pointed look, her eyes silently warning him to be cautious. Yang-gi was still processing the information, and she knew better than to provoke him further.
Hyun Woo met Hae-in's gaze before he cleared his throat and addressed their friend. "Yang-gi ah."
"Yang-gi ah? Don't you Yang-gi me! How could you?!" Yang-gi exploded, his voice rising aggressively. "How could you both keep whatever this is from me?" he gestured wildly between the couples.
Dal-po scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "To be fair, I only asked Pil-sook out today," he explained calmly, though his voice was filled with a hint of embarrassment.
"Ne, that's true, Yang-gi sunbaenim," Pil-sook said, her voice soft. She continued to clutch the humongous stuffed bear tightly, her eyes fixed on the table.
Yang-gi huffed, his anger subsiding slightly. "What about you? When did this happen?" he slammed his hand on the table, turning his attention to Hyun Woo and Hae-in.
Hyun Woo hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between Hae-in and Yang-gi. "Mmm...a couple of days ago...you know? When I was sick," he finally admitted.
Hyun Woo had expected Yang-gi to explode and lecture them or at the very least, gape.
But his reaction had been unexpected.
"Ten thousand won, thank you very much," Yang-gi placed an outstretched hand in front of Dal-po's face.
Dal-po heaved a sigh, his expression resigned. He pulled out a ten-thousand won bill from his wallet and handed it to Yang-gi without a word.
Hyun Woo's eyes narrowed. "Jamkkanman," he said, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and annoyance. "You two placed bets on us?"
"Don't act so surprised, you punk!" Yang-gi retorted, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "You know how I can't resist a good bet."
"Ya! How could you bet on my love life?" Hyun Woo exclaimed, his voice rising in indignation.
"Lighten up, Hyun Woo," Yang-gi said, waving a dismissive hand. "All we bet on was when you would get together. Dal-po here bet you'd be together by the end of the term. But clearly, I won the bet on this one! I bet you'd be together by the end of the month!"
"What?" Hyun Woo asked dumbly, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"You're terribly obvious, you know?" Yang-gi said, his voice dripping with amusement. "Let's not talk about Spin the Bottle, I knew something was up that day when you turned to look at Hae-in when I asked you what you did on your sick day. We concluded long ago that BaekHong is real!"
Instantly, both teenager's cheeks were stained a light pink.
"Sunbaenim, did you just say...BaekHong," Hae-in finally spoke up, her voice low and steady as she fixed Yang-gi with a steely gaze.
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A sudden chill filled the air and Yang-gi shuddered as he swallowed hard.
"Baek. Hyun Woo," Yang-gi gestured, placing emphasis on their surnames, "Hong. Hae-in. It's not rocket science, sweetheart. We just pieced your surnames together and voila, BaekHong."
Hyun Woo's face flushed a deep shade of crimson as he lunged forward, smacking Yang-gi hard on the arm. "Call her sweetheart again and you'll really get it from me!" he threatened sternly, his voice filled with a mix of anger and annoyance.
"Arasseo! Jeez, defensive much!" Yang-gi teased, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Hae-in's temper is rubbing off on you, my boy. I can see why you're together," he added, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
A glare from Hyun Woo and Hae-in shut him right up. Silently, Yang-gi held his hands up in mock surrender, acknowledging his defeat.
"Anywho, congratulations. Last long," Yang-gi said before he leaned in conspiratorially. "What's the plan now? Are we looking at keeping this a secret or going wide and open? I know a guy who can whip up a mean banner."
"Neither of us likes the attention," Dal-po spoke on behalf of himself and Pil-sook. "We'll keep this under wraps for now," he added firmly.
Pil-sook nodded in agreement. "It should be easy," she said, her voice filled with optimism. "Hyun Woo sunbaenim and Hae-in did it."
Hae-in's body noticeably stiffened at that.
Easy?
English is easy.
Watching girls throw themselves at your boyfriend? Not so much.
But Hae-in kept quiet about the matter, for this was between her and Hyun Woo and no one else.
"How about you two?" Yang-gi turned to them, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Are you going to continue to keep your relationship quiet?"
"Yes."
"No."
They replied in unison.
In the next second, their eyes met, each wide with shock and confusion.
What's happening?
‧₊˚ ⋅ 𓐐𓎩 ‧₊˚ ⋅
A/N
A short update since I left the previous one hanging haha! I'm sorry TGP updates have been so slow but life has been really busy so I had to prioritise between all my ongoing fics! I'll see if I can squeeze in another update soon!
On that note, who do you think said yes and who said no? ><
