The Research Project

How could he be related to the late wife of the multi-billionaire businessman Arthur Kim? I don't know much about the business world but Arthur Kim is a well-known man and made a lot of appearances on televisions. Is that guy possibly blood-related to the multi-billionaire?

Someone's POV

I stepped out from hiding behind a bush when the guy left after an hour of sitting on a certain gravestone. I couldn't really see his face since I'm a little far away from him but he looks so sad, tired, mad and vulnerable. So many emotions and I think he's just hurt.

I was visiting the gravestone of my grandma who passed away last year when I noticed a guy sitting in the Bermuda grass and I didn't want to interrupt him so I just stayed behind the tree.

I walked to the gravestone he just been sitting awhile before and read the name of the person he was visiting.

"Emely S. Kim?" How could he be related to the late wife of the multi-billionaire businessman Arthur Kim? I don't know much about the business world but Arthur Kim is a well-known man and made a lot of appearances on televisions. Is that guy possibly a blood-related to the multi-billionaire?

Emerald's POV

It's been two months and we've been never even close to being civil with each other. He argues with me and I counteract and sometimes he won and sometimes I do. It was like a never ending bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki whenever we opened our mouths and every day, we hate each other more.

The teachers could only wait for us to stop arguing because honestly, they can't forcefully stop us. Stopping one of us is like stopping a ticking time bomb. Some of the teachers even get scared of us and some just don't give a damn. We can't argue on concrete answers because it's fixed and certain like Math and Chemistry. We only argue on reason and theories but what we're arguing now is very-very important and I just can't lose! No way!

"I cannot possibly permit this," I firmly said and I just heard Jaden scoffed and shakes his head at me. I just glared at him and raised my eyebrows at him. "This is unforgivable," I added and raised my hands in the air in annoyance and irritation.

"It's just a partner research. It can't kill you so just give it up will you?" He said with a bored tone and put his elbow in the table and rested his cheek on his palm. I really hate his guts to speak at me like that! I stood up and looked at our teacher.

"I can do a lot of research but not with this guy!" I pointed Jaden who only looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry Emerald but I think this is best for the both of you." The teacher looked at me and gave me an apologetic smile.

BEST FOR ME?! I'll be with him for almost four months!! The research is our final project and we'll have to work it for four months! Seeing him everyday in school is tolerable but seeing him even in weekends is just torture!

"I know being in this class is tough and full of competitions but at least be friendly with one another. You always end up bickering and pestering each other." She shakes her head in disagreement about our behavior.

This is research class and not a religion or values class! I tried to be nice to him from the start but he just called me a liar—anyway whatever.

I seated back to my seat and just crossed my arms in annoyance and defeat. She's the teacher, what can I do about it? I should just have grabbed someone to sit beside me so that I don't have to be seatmates with Jaden. The teacher made us pair together with our seatmates so yeah, lucky me. Ever since he came to this school, my life was never peaceful and it feels like he just came here to destroy my senior high school years.

"If you really hated me that much, I can do the research on my own. You don't even have to do anything." He shrugged his shoulders again and looked at me but I can still see in his eyes the hint of amusement. He's always having fun pissing me off.

"So that you can take credit of everything?" I asked with sarcasm. He looked at me and smirked.

I might end up failing this subject if I let him do that. Who knows, he might tell the teachers that he did all the hard work and that I was being uncooperative to him and did the research on his own!

"That would be a great idea." He nodded and really thought about it. I smacked my fist on the table making the other students looked at us. He makes me lose my control and can really make my blood boil in anger. I tried to calm myself and if I always lose control in front of him, he'll only find pleasure in controlling my anger.

"Why don't we divide the job?" I offered to him and he looked back at me again with that irritating smirk.

"Hmm, it's not a bad idea but how can we divide it properly? We will have a hard time in Chapter's 3 and 4. If we still don't work together—"

"Class, I forgot to remind you. If you fail to work as a team on this, I will fail the both of you. It will have a great effect on your grades and will also affect your ranks. If failure to maintain the grade, you will be moved to Class B," the teacher said like she just heard what Jaden and I just talked a while ago. The other students groaned and others were just excited. I, on the other hand, was furious.

"Well, it seems like we solved our problem," Jaden said and looked at me again. "We'll just have to bear each other for the next four months," he said in a way that I was like a big burden for him. The feeling is mutual, JERK!

"I can't even stand you for a day! What could happen in four months?" He shrugged again and always looked unbothered about anything. How's he being cool with all of this?

"I'm just sure for one thing. We both don't want to fail this subject." I nodded in agreement.

We agreed on two things from now. First is that he and I can never ever be friends and the second is that we will not fail this subject. I hate him but I also hate failing grades. I don't want to disappoint my parents too.

"Fine, let's make an agreement," I proposed and looked him directly in the eye.

"Alright, what's your agreement?" He asked and wanting me to start first.

We should at least make rules because we both know we can't agree on anything and always fight each other. We need to make an agreement to respect each other's opinion.

"First, never—I seriously mean never ever—piss me off again." He nodded but tried so hard to stop himself from grinning. I narrowed my eyes at him and he fixed himself and nodded and then gestured me to continue. "Second, let's respect each other's opinion when it comes to the research." He nodded again and easily agreed without saying anything against it. We have different opinions and perspective and that's the reason why we can't agree on anything. "Third, we will equally divide the task and do this research on my convenient time and place." So that he'll just have to follow me around like a dog! I'm pretty evil and still can't forget all the humiliation he brought to me.

"I don't have a problem with the time and place so you can choose anytime and anywhere." I internally celebrated on my first victory and nodded at him.

He easily agreed on my conditions and now we agree on three things. This is the first talk we ever had without having each other's throat.

"That's all for me." I crossed my arms and waited for him to say his conditions. I'm sure whatever it is, I can just respect it if it also suits me.

"Now for me I just only have one thing," I nodded and waited for what he's about to say. "Never pry into my private life." I rolled my eyes at him. Is he some kind of a celebrity or something?

"Alright. It's not that I'm interested of knowing anything about you." He chuckled and I was shocked seeing him laugh without annoying me or pissing me off. He just genuinely smiled and looked at me again.

"Your wonder of keeping me entertained is still a mystery." Okay, I take it back. He's still pissing me off!

"Do we have an agreement or not?" I impatiently asked and offered my hand for a hand shake to seal the deal. He immediately took it and I was shocked again of how we agree for the fourth time.

"Deal. I'll be your research partner, Emmie." I was taken aback when he said my nickname but immediately back again at glaring at him. He sounded so friendly when he called me by that name but I know better than that.

"We're not that close for you to call me that name." He just scoffed and leaned on his seat.

I just hate it when people call me that name. It's my nickname and I liked it before, but now I hate it. It was the old naive Emmie people knew and I won't go back to what I was before. You see, I am not this heartless until that day when someone broke me. How could they broke a girl who only wanted to have friends and liked someone so much?

Class was over and I waited outside the gates of my school. I saw Jaden walking on the opposite direction and I called for him. He stopped and looked back at me with those same cold and emotionless eyes.

"You didn't give me your phone number," I said when I walked towards him.

Thankfully, there were only few students at our direction and didn't hear me ask for his phone number. Don't get me wrong, I don't like him or something. I only need his phone number so that I could contact him to meet me up for our research. He only looked at my phone on my hand.

"So we're exchanging numbers now?" He smirked and I just rolled my eyes. He took my phone and saw him dialing up his number. A few seconds later, his phone rang and grabbed it in his pocket and ended the call.

"You have my number and I have yours now." He gave me back my phone and walked away again not looking back at me and didn't even let me speak.

"Jerk," I just muttered and looked at his number on my phone. I saved his number and put a name of Jerk Jaden.

*..*

"Dad? Can I invite someone over this Saturday?" I asked my dad while drinking my apple juice. We are having a dinner together with my brother and mom. My mom looked at me with much happiness and my brother just continued eating while listening to us.

"Sure, you can." They looked at me with questioning eyes and waited for me to give them an explanation.

I don't bring any classmates or friends over to our house and since I don't always have a lot of friends, I never brought one. This is the first time I'm bringing someone over so they kind of surprised.

"It's for a research paper," I said and they nodded. My brother, however, looked at me like he's wondering about something on me and I just avoided my gaze on him.

"So you have a research partner?" My brother intriguingly asked and I just nodded and ate my pasta.

It's not the first time I had a partner to do a project. It's just that I always offer to be the one to do it and my partner doesn't say anything against it because of course I am the Emerald Sandejas. After doing the project, I do share it with my partner and no one suspects anything and I don't feel bad that I did all the work while my partner also took credit of what I did. Having a partner to work with the project only slows me down and I don't like the idea of letting them hang out with me and do the project but this time, I was forced to do it together with Jaden. It seems like our never ending war caught the attention of the teachers making us work together for a research paper for four months.

"Who's this partner?" My dad suddenly asked and I looked at him. He was slicing his beef steak and stopped to wait for my answer. I put the fork on my plate and wiped my mouth with the table napkin.

"His name's Jaden Samaniego." My mom clasps her hands in excitement and looked at me. I looked at my dad but he stopped eating when he heard Jaden's name. Something about Jaden's name made him stop and I couldn't figure out his expression because mom took my attention when she called my name.

"It's a boy? Is he good to you?" You have no idea mom. I tried to keep the sarcastic remarks to myself. The thought of Jaden being nice is very impossible. I can only picture him devilishly smirking with the black aura surrounding him.

"We're just seatmates—"

"A Samaniego? Do they have a business? Who are his parents?" My dad asked not letting me finish. He suddenly got curious of Jaden.

I never really asked Jaden about that and he specifically said that I should not pry into his ow so private life. Maybe there's something dark about his past or maybe he just wanted to be mysterious.

"I don't know—"

"He's the top 1 student, the one who replace our dear Emerald," my brother interrupted and I glared at him. He just smiled like he didn't say anything to ruin my supper. He's so supportive.

"He's the one?" My dad raised his eyebrows and drank his wine. My brother just continued eating and didn't even helped me reason out or say something and my mom looked at me with curiosity.

Okay, I know they find it amusing to bring someone in here and to think that it would be the person who took my top 1 place.

"Emmie dear, you're seatmates?" Mom asked and caressed my shoulders.

She's the only one I allowed to call me Emmie. I just nodded and bit my lower lip from saying anything bad against Jaden. It's not that I don't want to, it's just if I say that Jaden keeps on pestering me they might not be okay with me bring him here for my research paper because they consider it as bullying and of course I will appear weak in front of them. I can handle Jaden for now so my parents don't need to interfere.

"Well, invite him in here. I do find him interesting and to also know who my daughter's research partner is," dad said and I only nodded. Mom was also excited and my brother just grinned at me.

I don't want to do the research elsewhere and besides, we have all the resources we needed in my house. We have the library, an internet and a laptop or computer and a study room.

After dinner, I went straight to my bedroom and my brother knocked on my door frame since the door is already opened. I looked at him and he walked towards me. I was sitting on my sofa and a book on my hand.

"So you really took my advice?" He asked and seated in front of me.

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Yup, I'm considering it. I still don't know anything about him."

How can I know more about him when I also agreed to not ask him personal questions? He could have a lot of conditions but he just chose that one. His private life must be so important for him. Another thought came to me. What if he's not like one of us? Elites? What if he's a scholar student or maybe his parents work in a gang or illegal business. The more I think about it, the more curious I got and I should stop myself from thinking about that jerk but it feels like walking into a dark tunnel, once I walk further away leading to the other end of the tunnel, the more excited I become of what's in the end.

"Well, you'll be able to since you're research buddies now." I looked at him and he made a quote and quote gesture on his hands.

"We made an agreement and his condition is that I should not interfere on his personal life." My brother laughed with a matching slapping of his thighs.

"I think I like him already. He's wiser than you." I gaped at him and raised an eyebrow. He did not just say that! Well, Jaden is the top 1 but I am his sister!

"You're coinciding with an enemy brother," he just laughed and shakes his head. "Once you'll meet him, you'll also hate him. He's rude and a jerk."

His hobby is pissing me off everyday and it's been his daily routine for now. Whenever I fight back against him, he doesn't seem to be bothered and only smirks at me. How can I find his weak spot if I don't know anything about him? This is harder than I thought.

"I'm just kidding Emerald. Are you inviting him over this Saturday?" My brother asked and stood up from his seat.

"Yeah, we need to do this research real quick. I can't bear to be with him for four months." My brother just chuckled and nodded. He then bid his goodnight and left my room.

I took my phone out and checked his number again.

To Jerk Jaden

Be in my house at 9 am this Sat. for our research.

Address *********

I clicked the send button and didn't wait for his reply or neither expected him to reply. It's an order and I don't need his permission or excuses.

I was about to go to bed when my phone vibrated, indicating I received a text from someone. Grabbing my phone again from the bed table, I readied myself in case it's Jaden wanting to have a fight over the phone but I stopped when I saw someone else's text.

From +639*********

I won't stop from having you, Emerald.

Groaning, I threw my phone away and laid on my bed with not bothering to text back to him.