ch. 15

"as long as there are your moments to briefly feel happiness."

-paradise

"why do you guys keep following me as if someone is going to kill me?"

the girl looks around her as she walks to her classroom. encased by a group of males, she attempts to push at least one out of the circle so she can take a breather from this suffocating position, but no one budges.

"yah!" eunbi smacks the back of the closest person in range, which is mingi. "can y'all move out of the way?!? i want to get to class like a normal person you dumbshits!"

"this is for your own protection," hongjoong states, eyes observing their surroundings.

"from what?!?"

this time, yeosang responds. "you don't need to know."

"you have been doing this for three days already; i deserve to know!" the vocalist lets a groan of annoyance roll out of her mouth, ruffling her hair in frustration.

ever since the kitchen incident at the students' dormitory, her friends have been sticking to her like glue. they ask her where she is whenever she does not meet them at a certain amount of time, remind her to keep her guard up whenever they are not around, and follow her every step around school whenever passing period comes around.

at first, she took the gestures as signs of concern, which she was grateful for. they were just being thoughtful friends looking out for her.

but now, it's getting out of hand.

"it was just a small cut from the knife; i can take care of myself!" she reasons, trying any way to escape this uncomfortable situation. she feels embarrassed being in this friend group when she sees students whispering to one another, all eyes on them.

her hands cover herself from this first-hand embarrassment.

someone, please end my misery.

"hyung! you're making the girl uncomfortable."

feeling someone yank her away from the circle, eunbi silently thank the gods for their blessing as the person places her behind them. the horde of males spats shouts of protest at them, but her savior does not move away from her.

"i can't believe these people are older than me," the girl can hear the male release a sigh.

"sorry," she quietly squeaks, taking note that he knows her friends. "they're a handful."

he must be a member of their dance group.

an angelic giggle rings in her ears, softening the sound around them. "it's okay; anything for a pretty girl like you."

as if on cue, her cheeks bloom in red at his compliment, causing her to push her hands closer to her face to conceal her blush. why am i such a sucker for compliments?

the comment makes the crowd of male students more furious.

with her eyes covered, she builds up her curiosity of this male by beginning to imagine the appearance of her prince charming.

from hearing his voice, she assumes he has luscious brown hair as soft as a baby's blanket, a height that can tower over hers, and a beautiful pair of dark brown eyes. his smile is probably a sight worth seeing after this chaos along with his well-built body that is defending her from her annoying friends. since he calls the guys 'hyung,' it can be safely presumed that he is younger than her.

overall, her knight in shining armor is a good looking freshman.

and she's not complaining.

at the same time, she has a feeling she has met this boy before. she has heard his voice and felt his hand prior to this situation, but she cannot recall who for some reason.

after a while, the commotion dies down with the loud yelling, earning a sigh of relief from the pair. the older males are huffing in exhaustion after dealing with her savior, their hands on their knees to support their bodies. the girl hears no footsteps roaming the hallways, meaning that  people have left the scene.

being comfortable with the current situation, she removes her hands from her face and politely bows at the stranger. "thank you for helping me."

"don't thank me," he replies sweetly. "any gentleman would step in for you."

quietly hyping herself for the reveal, eunbi looks up from the floor and meets eyes with the male.

immediately locking eye contact, she gazes into his gorgeous brown pupils as they slowly draw her in. his parted, earthy hair partially reveals his beautiful forehead and compliments his facial features, his chiseled jaw cutting the silence between them. a small blush arises on his cute chubby cheeks as a polite smile pulls on his lips.

she expected to have a racing heart and gracefully embrace his handsomeness...

but instead, she covers her mouth to stifle a laugh and looks to the side.

slightly confused by her reaction, the freshman tilts his head and brushes his dark chocolate bangs to the side. "is there something funny about my appearance?"

she looks up to the ceiling to prevent any tears from falling down her face, biting her lips, before responding. "do you not recognize me?"

he scrunches his eyebrows together at the question, taking a minute to observe the girl before him. "no?"

"little apple, you must be blind then."

when he heard the familiar nickname, he blinks numerous times to check his eyesight and almost has his eyes pop out of their sockets when he finally realizes who he is standing in front of. "noona?!?"

and that is her cue to fall onto the floor, laughing to her heart's intent, as the male student's face explodes in red.

"i-i, y-you, what?" he utters in disbelief. "you never told me you go here."

"th-that's bec-cause you n-never asked m-me," the girl replies through her laughs.

he looks at her grey sweater and blinks with perplexity at the sight. "w-why are y-you wearing that? you're like the bes-"

the girl shoots him a glare that shuts him up immediately, getting the memo from the intensity of the look.

the boys from behind flash each other a puzzled expression, watching their friend roll on the ground with tears falling from her eyes. not understanding the situation, one decides to speak up for the confused group of friends.

"jongho-ah, you know eunbi?" seonghwa questions as his eyes go back and forth between them.

"uh," he hesitates, still embarrassed by his recent discovery. "she's my little brother's babysitter."

"you mean your babysitter!"the female lets out an obnoxious chuckle when she hears the familiar term, tumbling to the floor once again.

he shoots a glare at her before explaining their relationship. "my parents don't trust me taking care of my little brother even when i'm at home with him, so they looked for a babysitter and found out that my mom's friend has a daughter looking for a job."

he then points at eunbi. "and that's how i know this ugly rat."

"you can't call me that when you called me pretty." finally finishing her laughing fest, the said girl rests her elbow on the freshman's shoulder with a smirk.

raising her hands up into the air, she air-quotes the boy. "'anything for a pretty girl like you'."

jongho roughly removes her elbow from him and covers his face in embarrassment. "i meant rat- an ugly rat!"

"aw don't hide it," she teases while poking his cheeks. "just admit it: i'm pretty."

"pretty ugly!"

not wanting to continue watching their interaction, someone abruptly grabs eunbi's wrist and pulls her towards them.

she looks up to the person with a bewildered expression written on her face as her back collides with their chest, surprised by the sudden action. "san, what are you-"

"class is about to start," he mumbles, immediately letting go of her.

she uses the opportunity to check her watch on her wrist and panics when she realizes that she only has a few seconds to get to her class. she looks at everyone with a small smile, bidding them goodbye, before sprinting through the hallway.

when she arrives to her designated location, she settles herself in a seat in the back as she tries to calm her breathing from running. fortunately, ms.hwang is not in the room yet, so the students use the waiting time to talk among themselves.

with no one to talk to, eunbi recalls the recent incident with a silly grin on her lips, quietly giggling at jongho's reaction when he recognized her. the way his face twisted when he realized he was flirting with his babysitter was priceless.

but then, she reminds herself that she is guilty as well for mentally calling him attractive.

nonetheless, she resumes the replay of the memory and eventually stumbles upon the sour expression san made when he forcefully pulled her from jongho. she has never seen that boy make a face like that or be that rough before, making her wonder...

what was that for?