I Didn't Choose to Fall in Love With You

Chapter 18

Hanni tried her best to catch Park Sunghoon the next day to confront him about the rumor, but had no luck. It was already Thursday, so Hanni made it her mission to talk to him before the end of the day, even if that meant calling or texting him instead. She didn't want this rumor going around, especially since she was the new girl and drama wasn't her thing. She hated being the center of attention, and she wanted to end this rumor before the whole school started to talk about it.

It seemed almost impossible for Hanni to find him, but previously, it was like she couldn't get away from him. He always managed to find her in this busy school when he wanted to talk to her, but when it came to her looking for him, Park Sunghoon was nowhere to be found. She had hoped to catch a glimpse of him during lunch and once the bell rang ending fourth period, she immediately jumped out of her seat and zoomed towards the cafeteria.

"Oh my god, wait up!" Minji tried her best to catch up to Hanni. 

"Sorry." Hanni stopped, waiting for Minji. "I just really need to talk to Sunghoon. I need to know if he started it."

"We both know he did it. He's shady like that."

"Either way, I don't want people to get the wrong idea and I don't need this rumor going around when it's not true."

"People as in... Jay?" Minji's giggles caused Hanni to glare at her.

Hanni eagerly continued to make her way to the cafeteria to find Park Sunghoon. Once they entered, she scoped out the entire room and could not see him sitting at his usual table. Not even his friends were there, and they were always there before Hanni and Minji every single day.

"Huh, maybe he knows you're trying to talk to him about it?" Minji placed her hands on her hips.

Jake and Jungwon waved at them, calling them over to sit down. Once Minji and Hanni grabbed their lunch, they headed for the table.

"Are you guys excited for tomorrow?" Minji stabbed her juice with the straw. "I heard the prizes are insane."

"First place is a gig at the city festival and five-hundred dollars..." Jake said.

"And free coupons!" Jungwon added happily. 

"That too." Jake laughed, knowing Jungwon was excited about that prize. "I know Jay is super stressed about it though. He said he'll be practicing his guitar all day. I think he's out on the bleachers again by himself."

"He's really serious about this competition, huh?" Hanni asked. All three of them smiled at her.

"Maybe if you go talk to him, he'll be less stressed out." Jake joked.

"Yeah, I think you should go keep him company to make him relax a bit more." Jungwon teased her.

Hanni watched as they all snickered quietly to themselves, but she could tell they were all thinking the same thing. She was pretty sure Minji had told them how much she 'shipped' them together, and they probably agreed with her.

"Jay and I are just friends, you guys." Hanni shifted in her seat. "You two know, huh?" She looked at them, knowing that Jay would have mentioned the arranged marriage to his two best friends.

Both Jake and Jungwon nodded their heads slowly, hoping that Hanni wouldn't be mad about the jokes they made.

"We're sorry..." Jungwon apologized. "Jay is a totally different person now and we're glad that he's been a lot happier lately."

"It's really thanks to you, Hanni." Jake smiled at her.

Hanni was touched, but at the same time, she didn't know how to feel about all of her friends hoping that she would end up with Jay.