43 Surprise (I)

Both of them walked down the corridor as they made their way into the washrooms to change out of the school uniform they were still in. Quickly changing out of the costume and wearing their usual clothes, they walked out of the auditorium.

Joon-won looked at Jung-hwa and said, "You did well. When are you going back?"

"It's all thanks to you that I was able to perform well. If it wasn't for your pointers and help the first few days, I would have been like the others getting chewed out in front of everyone. Even this prize money should be yours. Here you go. Take the cheque, your acting was better than mine too." She took out the cheque and tried to shove it into his hands.

Joon-won stepped back, pushed her hand back, and said, "It's like you said. I only gave you some pointers to fix your already stable acting skills. It was your own hard work and talent that made it possible to bring out today's performance. So you don't owe me anything, especially that prize money you got as a prize. You deserve it."

Jung-hwa seemed to expect his actions as she pushed back harder and shook her head. Looking straight into his eyes, she said, "No, you have to take the money. It doesn't matter what you think. Think of this as my appreciation."

Seeing her be stubborn, he sighed and said, "Alright, but I don't need the complete money. You can transfer half the money later on. Only half, got it?" And Jung-hwa finally nodded.

"Now tell me. When are you leaving?" He repeated his initial question once again.

"Tomorrow morning. Now, let's go and get something to eat. I didn't even have anything in the morning cause of my nervousness. I'm hungry." She clutched her stomach in hunger.

He nodded and continued to walk, but stopped when they heard a shout from behind. "Little brother, wait. Don't leave yet. Did you forget, I said I'll give you a surprise. You are leaving without even receiving it. I searched the whole auditorium for you, only to see you flirting here."

Joon-won knew who it was without even turning back. He didn't forget about the surprise she promised him but didn't care about it. So he decided to just ignore it at the end and now she caught up again.

He turned around to see Hea-Jung panting once again, a few feet away from him. She looked at him and complained, "Little brother, why are you doing this to me? I am not that fit and you made me run two times today. Couldn't you just wait for a few minutes so that I could call you? Ugh."

He shook his head hearing her and asked, "Alright now that you see me. Where is the surprise?" Looking around.

"It's not here. Let's go back to the auditorium it's waiting for you there. Come." She walked towards them and pulled his hand.

He looked back at Jung-hwa and said, "It seems like we can't have a meal together. Let's meet after you come back."

Just as he said that Hea-Jung cut in and said, "You know what, you should also come with us. Come, follow me." Waving her hand, she walked ahead of both of them. Jung-hwa was hesitant after hearing her and looked at Joon-won. He simply nodded, and both followed her back into the auditorium.

As they walked, Hea-Jung turned around while continuing to walk backward. She said, "You both were really good today. I didn't expect you to be hiding so much from this poor sister. How could you, little brother." As she kept an expression of a wronged housewife.

Joon-won looked at her with a deadpan expression and didn't reply. If he did, she would only add on to that with more nonsense, and he didn't want to hear it. He was waiting to get this done quickly so he could go home and get some good rest.

Hea-Jung seemed to expect the silent treatment from him as she shifted her target to Jung-hwa, who was already nervous in her presence. She looked her up and down before saying, "You know, last time I watched you guys perform it looked like I didn't pay much attention. You are pretty good. So was it your little brother who taught you? Don't be surprised, you peeked at him every time you got praised back there. So how well does he teach?" She explained after seeing Jung-hwa's surprised expression and Joon-won's raised eyebrow.

Jung-hwa got nervous and replied, "He teaches well. It's because of him I was able to act that well today."

"Woah, looks like he really does teach well. Little brother, you need to take some time in these upcoming holidays to teach me too. You can't just ignore me and teach others." She turned towards Joon-won and had a pleading expression.

"Alright, look ahead now. It's dangerous to walk like that and you don't need me to teach you anything. I am sure many experienced actors are willing to teach you." He reminded her. Jung,

Hea-Jung turned around and said as they entered the auditorium, "Yeah, yeah. It's boring to hear from those old geezers. The way they teach does not apply to the present. So you should teach me."

This time Joon-won didn't even bother to reply to that statement. They followed her through the corridors. The rest of the class noticed the three as they were walking in the corridor. All of them hung their heads low and walked past Hea-Jung, as she completely ignored them.