8 Chapter: 7

"Nari-yah!" Min Jae called her out, making her turn around.

With her, Ye Jun looked at Nari and frowned as he saw her smiling slightly. Slowly he turned his head and found Min Jae approaching them while the corridor slowly got filled with tons of girls.

No wonder the football player, Kim Min Jae was indeed famous in all the classes of the school. Not only girls swayed over him, but also the boys found him cool. He walked over to them wearing the school uniform. He was neat, tidy and calm. 

"Hello!" Nari waved her hand.

Ye Jun frowned deeply as to why Nari was so happy to see Min Jae. He stayed quiet and looked back at him. Min Jae looked at Ye Jun and slightly bowed his head, Ye Jun mirrored the action. He once considered Min Jae as his idol when he was in the junior section. But as he grew up his goals changed and so Min Jae lost one of his unknown fans. 

"I went to the library but you weren't there."  Min Jae said.

"Ah! I am going now." she smiled again.

"Okay then, let's talk while walking." 

"Yeah." she nodded.

The two walked along with a third wheeler, who seemed too uncomfortable with Min Jae walking between them. 

"I...don't know if you know that I play football but-"

"Oh, I know. And I also watched a few matched too." She looked up at him.

He smiled, "That's a relief." 

She nodded and they scoffed.

"So, you see. Every six months the inter-school competition is held, and our school participates too. So, I wanted you to come and see our match tomorrow on Sunday." 

"I went to buy tickets earlier but they were sold out."  Nari was in dilemma.

"Oh! Don't worry, I bought one with me." He replied. 

Sliding his hand in his pocket he took out a crease-free ticket. Giving it to her she looked at it and smiled brightly. Ye Jun scoffed, looking at the opposite side.

"Oh!" Min Jae looked at him.

"Friend?" He asked Nari.

Ye Jun looked at Nari with eyes full of hope, but Nari shook her head.

"No, just classmates." Her face turned monotonous as she looked at Ye Jun.

"Oh...but still, you should come too." 

"Not a fan of football." Ye Jun replied coldly.

"Ah, I see..."

For a fraction of a second Min Jae was disappointed but soon he nodded once and looked at Nari.

"Okay then, goodbye Nari. Let's meet tomorrow!" 

"Yeah!" 

They waved goodbye to each other with smiles on their faces outside the library, while Ye Jun walked inside ignoring him. Keeping his hands in his pocket he turned around making Nari, who was walking just behind him, stumble. But before she fell, she went stable and stood up again. 

"Ah, why?!" His voice was calm but frustrated.

"Just, I- want to ask something."

Nari sighed and walked inside the building.

"Speak up." She said walking some steps away.

Ye Jun smiled and followed her.

"Do you, perhaps, like him?" 

"Who? Senior Min Jae?" She asked, looking ahead.

He kept looking at her and nodded.

"Uh...no," she said. "Yet." She mumbled further.

"Huh?" Ye Jun asked.

Nari stopped, looked at him and asked, "Why are YOU curious?" emphasising the word you.

He looked in front, his monotonous face returned.

"When did I say I'm curious? It was just a simple question." 

He walked away leaving Nari glaring at his back. Little did he smirk as Nari was dumbstruck because she didn't answer him back. He walked away, towards the stairs. Nari on the other hand went to the library a bit late but was surprised as Ye Jun wasn't there. Her eyes scanned all the corners of the library and she shook her head in disappointment. She started to stack the books in the library accordingly. After doing it for half an hour she felt tired and so, she sat on one of the chairs with a book to read.

Reading the book for a while she felt exhausted from all the work and so she laid her head down on the table. The library was silent and peaceful. Nari didn't realise when she fell asleep with her hands under her head. 

Slowly approaching the library, Ye Jun seemed to be sunk in deep thoughts. As he walked in, his eyes fell on Nari sleeping. He went towards her and stopped. His hands in the pocket, his shirt tucked out, hair a bit messy. Nari on the other hand was neatly dressed and her eyes were shut while her lips formed a straight line.

~~~~~~

Twenty minutes ago...

Ye Jun approached the stairs and was about to climb them when two girls passed by him whispering about something.

"No, I wonder why Nari will fight with anyone without a reason?" One whispered.

"Yeah, right! And also, Eunji carries a dirty record too." Another agreed with her.

Though Ye Jun never liked to hear gossip, this one especially piqued his interest. He slowly followed them as they went inside one of the labs busy talking.

"Ah but- what is Park Ye Jun doing in between them?" One girl asked another.

"I don't know, I heard he is a witness defending Eunji." 

"Yeah, that's right. After all, they have been friends for a long time."

They both were fetching something in the lab and talking while Ye Jun stood outside eavesdropping on them.

"But, Ae Jeong-ah." One spoke.

"Yeah?" The other asked peeping into a shelf.

"I saw them."

"Who?" 

"Eunji and Nari, that day. Inside the school campus after the lunch break." 

"Which day?" 

"That incident day." 

Ae Jong stood up and went towards her friend.

"Really?" 

"Yeah."

Ye Jun frowned, he was sure that he might find something about what happened that day.

"What happened that day?" 

"Nari...was extremely angry. At first, they were debating a lot. I didn't hear their conversation as I saw them from far away. But, Nari had another girl with her standing." 

"Another girl? Who?" 

"Ah, I don't know. I didn't see her face." 

"Tch! But Eunji, what about him?" 

"Eunji seemed enraged too. He was yelling at Nari with all his might."

"That brat has always been like that. Without manners. I wonder why he and Ye Jun are such good friends."

"But, if you know everything. Why don't you go tell the teacher? They can obviously find that girl. Maybe she has something to do with them."

"No, I don't want to go against Eunji. It's not like I'm afraid, but then, Eunji is the biggest meanie and untrustable guy in the whole school. You won't know what he might do." 

"I feel bad for Nari." Ae Jong said.

"Yeah, me too."

Standing outside, Park Ye Jun heard all this. His head hit the wall and his eyes lingered on the ceiling of the corridor. Was Eunji such a bad guy? He wondered.

~~~~~~

He walked back to the library thinking about Eunji and Nari again. As he entered he looked at Nari sleeping soundly. Taking his hand out of his pocket, he caressed her silky dark brown hair and whispered.

"I will gain your trust, no matter how hard it is. And will help you."