that boy | hwang hyunjin | ✔

Chapter 6

"Chaelin, you don't have to treat boys like that every time."

Felix, who is walking next to me through the hallways, gives me a look of disapproval, his round eyes serious as they look up at me. The always upturned corners of his mouth are turned downwards for once and his eyebrows are slightly knitted together. Felix is frowning, something that hardly happens.

Actually, it only happens after I interact with a boy.

I firmly grab the shoulder straps of my backpack and my gaze is locked on the floor in front of us. I do feel ashamed of myself, I really do. Part of me knows that I have no reason to act like this; those boys did nothing wrong and yet I glare at them like that. But the other part of me, the bigger one, feels like it's the only defense mechanism I have to keep boys away from me. Warning them to stay away before they come too close and get in too deep or something like that.

And Felix knows that. But that doesn't mean he always agrees.

"That Hyunjin boy just got there like twenty minutes ago and you were already looking at him like that," my orange-haired friend continues. "Maybe you even scared the heck out of him. You should consider how your behavior might affect your victims."

"Not much, I guess," I shrug, pointing at a huge gathering of all our female classmates in front of us, with Hyunjin somewhere in the middle of them. Like a massive gang, the girls are walking circling around the boy like vultures, hoping to get a chance to talk with him. Hyunjin is just smiling that polite smile of him while answering their countless questions.  "He seems to be fine."

Felix' eyes narrow and I sigh. "I know, I know," I mutter. "It's just, I-"

But I fall silent and I just blankly stare ahead of me, now knowing what I have to say. It's an ever-lasting conflict in my mind. The moral side of me knows that I have to act nicer because they didn't do anything wrong. But then I remember how my mom let a certain man get too close to her and look at her now. Broken, depressed, empty.

You could tell me that not all boys are monstrous like my dad. Would I believe you? Yes, my rational side would. But then there's the part of me that swore to protect myself and my family, that swore to not let any boy near me or my family. And that part is impossible to convince to give boys a single chance.

Felix slowly nods a few times, probably understanding what's going through my head right now. He always tries to bring me to my senses when it comes to boys but always retreats when he knows he's crossing the line. It's probably visible in my eyes when that happens.

And then we just drop the subject and continue our way to our assigned classroom in silence, quietly observing the crowd around Hyunjin in front of us. I have a hard time understanding why he's already this popular. I mean, so far he has only said hello and his name and he's already swimming everyone's attention. He sure is good looking, but is that really enough to reel all those girls in?

Still deep in thought, Felix and I enter the classroom. Our Math teacher, Mrs. Han, is already waiting for us in front of the classroom, textbook and stern expression ready for the next class. I hurry to my seat with Felix behind me, not wanting to give Mrs. Han a reason to get mad -because she will passionately search for a reason to get mad, that's just how she is.

I quickly take a seat and Felix crashes in the chair next to me. We both quickly grab our textbooks and other stuff we need for Math and then watch how the other students enter the classroom one by one.

The group of girls that lingered around Hyunjin diffuses and hurry to their own assigned seats. Hyunjin himself looks around the classroom before he beelines straight towards us and it's only now that I realize there is only one empty seat left; the one right behind Felix and me. 

I freeze in my chair and Felix immediately looks over, his eyes containing a lot of messages. A warning to stay nice, but also a lot of smugness and a bit of mischief. I know exactly what he is thinking right now. Hey Chaelin, there's a new boy sitting behind you. Behave, will ya? The corners of his mouth curl upwards in a little smirk before he turns around and leans his arm on the back of his chair.

"Hey," he greets the boy behind us. "Welcome in our class. I'm Felix and this is Chaelin." He playfully punches my shoulder and I turn around, shooting Felix a glare before I turn towards Hyunjin.

A moment of silence follows. A moment in which we quietly observe each other, our eyes taking in every detail of the person opposite of us. His brown eyes wandering over my features and mine over his. I purse my lips before I break the eye contact by looking away.

"Hi," I greet him, my tone neutral but lacking any enthusiasm.

But Hyunjin smiles nevertheless. "Nice to meet you," he replies with a small bow.

Before Felix and Hyunjin engage in a deep conversation, Mrs. Han clears her throat and her idle voice sounds through the classroom, silencing everyone.

"Good morning, class," she says, adjusting her thin glasses with her index finger. "Class is starting. Please be quiet."

The entire class falls silent in a split second but I don't miss the suspicious glares coming from the girls around me. Even though I only said hi to the new boy, they now see me as a rival in the battle of attention from Hyunjin.

If only they knew that I have no interest in him, that I would happily give him to them. But no, they don't know and they don't want to know. For all they care, I'm a girl that is as crazy over Hyunjin as they are. In their eyes, I'm just scum that doesn't deserve attention from a handsome boy like Hyunjin. Lucky for them, I don't want it. I'll happily send him towards them if he ever comes to me.

I lightly shake my head, trying to clear my head off of any thoughts that revolve around Hwang Hyunjin and his female fans. I have to focus on class instead. I hate to admit it, but I actually suck at Math, too. Just a little bit. Felix is better and he tried to help me a lot but it's no use; my grades always remain below the class' average.

So I tightly grab my pen, ignoring the scribbling of a pen gliding over the paper somewhere on a specific place behind me as I focus on Mrs. Han and listen intently to the lecture. Hoping that my disappointing grades can be saved somehow.