The Tomb Of My Heart | SF9

三

"No way." I whispered to myself grumpily. The classroom was big enough for my words not to be heard, but Juho, who was sitting next to me, still managed to hear me.

"Your biggest dream just turned into your worst nightmare, huh?" He grinned. "A girl who hates falling in love, surrounded by a bunch of guys. How are you going to survive this, Jaein?"

"Oh, shut up!" I rolled my eyes. "This trip has nothing to do wih love. This is a chance for us to prove that we're worthy, and to prove that we are capable of becoming archeologists."

"Look, I don't really care. You do you. But..." He smirked, and I knew he had some evil plan forming in his mind. "What I do know is that I want to make this whole thing a bit more interesting, at least for me."

"What are you suggesting?" I asked, nervously anticipating his answer.

"Well, why don't we make a bet? You say I'm good at hiding my own emotions, but I'm sure that somewhere deep in your heart, a desire for being loved lies burried. You are just waiting for the right person to come, Jaein." I opened my mouth, ready to fight and deny his statement, but he continued. "Here's what I'm thinking. We'll be in China for two weeks, and you'll be surrounded by eight other guys, excluding me. There must be someone who can catch your attention. So, if you catch feelings for one of them while we're there, I win, and if you still manage to remain a cold-hearted queen that you are, then you win."

I was about to call him crazy for challenging me to do something so stupid. But a part of me was like "You can do it, Jaein. Show him that he's wrong."

"Okay, deal." I finally said. "If I win, I can use your new car for a month. Oh, and your credit card as well."

"You literally have both of those already." He frowned and smiled at the same time.

"A bet is a bet, dear Juho. Now, what do you want if you win?"

He stopped to think.

"I just want you to be happy. If you manage to fall in love while we're on this trip, that would be my greatest gift." He said.

"Really? Are you serious?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. I want your credit card for a month as well." He said.

"You jerk! I should've known you're doing this for yourself." I punched him again.

"I'm doing this for you and me both." He winked. "Now, tell me. Do you know any of the participants?"

I looked around and examined each of their faces for the first time.

"Uh, I know only a few." I said, pointing to a group of guys who were standing together. "Kim Youngbin, Lee Jaeyoon, Lee Sanghyuk. I met them at the library once. They are pretty nice, actually."

Juho looked towards their direction. They were all pretty tall and they all had dark brown hair, except for Youngbin, whose hair was a bit lighter and had a few bleached highlits.

"Yeah, I know them, too. A bit nerdy, if you ask me." He said.

"I haven't noticed." I said.

"Maybe because you are pretty nerdy yourself." He raised his brow. "Are they the only people you know?"

"Yeah. I mean, the others look familiar, too. But I have no idea who they are. A year abroad made me forget some people, to be honest."

"I see." Juho nodded. "Let me spill some tea about them, then. Pick the one that looks the most interesting, so I can start."