CHAPTER 18: Revealing Truths

WOOYOUNG
•••

The quiz was one I found myself comfortably able to complete, as each answer spilled out from me with ease. When Professor J had announced the amount of time left to finish, I had already been done with everything.

Taking a discreet look over to my right, I could tell Felix was in the process double checking his answers as he flipped through the packet ever so slowly, scanning each section with careful analysis. Glancing to my left, I could see San going through the motions of questions with a sense of calmness etched on his face. A small smile grew on my lips as I felt a slight wave of proudness overcome me at the effort of studying with him. Not only was I able to help him with this class, but he also promised to help me studying English over the weekend as reciprocal measures.

Feeling comfortable enough to leave him, I stood up from my chair and made my way over to the front of the room, handing in my packet to the Professor with a proud smile. With a simple nod of approval in return, I stepped out of the lecture hall and waited against the adjacent wall for the other two to come out.

It didn't take long for one to step out of the room, as Felix was the first out of the two to make his way over to me with a smile. He wasn't alone, as San himself stepped out only a few seconds after him. A sense of urgency and hope overcame me as I looked at him with expectant eyes. "So...how did you do?"

He smirked at me with a cocky tone laced in his voice as he answered. "Your flashcards were actually useful. I know I passed."

"You're welcome, asshole..." I rolled my eyes, biting back a happy smile. I caught his smirk as it turned into a genuine smile, making me feel even better for helping him.

"You two seem to be getting along better." Felix teased, curiously glancing between the two of us. "Did something in the air change or is this a sign of a peace treaty?"

"Ha, ha. Who knew you were a comedian..." I deadpanned at him before sighing. "At least it's over now and the weekend is finally here."

Felix smiled and nodded. "That's true, I'm happy. I'm going to take my leave now, but good luck on your interview tomorrow, okay Woo?"

I nodded with a smile, allowing Felix to walk away and leave the two of us together. San turned his attention to me with a soft smile etched on his lips. "I'll see you in English class, then."

A faint blush grew on my cheeks, but quickly nodding to hide it, I spoke quietly. "Right...See you later."

Going our separate ways to our own next class, I found myself feeling extremely bittersweet over our agreed terms. Despite my insistence of forgetting what happened that night between us, I couldn't help but hold onto the lingering moment. Knowing that being roommates came with a certain level of boundaries that one shouldn't ever cross in order to live in a peaceful living arrangement, I couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way about everything. It also didn't help how we were getting along better, a stark contrast to our first encounter the night before school started.

Groaning to myself, I shook my head and continued my walk upstairs to Chemistry class, the only class I shared with Sangie. Another part of me felt horrible for lying to him regarding my own financial situation, but I knew that I couldn't allow him to provide for me. I knew he didn't truly believe the story of my mother visiting me without his notice, and we hadn't had any time alone long enough for him to question me about it. However, I knew the questions would come up once in class, and I was prepared to tell him the truth.

I just needed to make it clear my intentions behind why I lied in the first place.

Stepping into the classroom, I noticed him sitting in his usual seat, his laptop open and his pen scribbling notes into his notebook quickly. Making my way over, I took my seat next to him with a playful smile. "What are you writing that has your eyebrows scrunched like that, Sangie?"

He glanced up at me and gave a bashful smile before shutting his notebook. "It's nothing important...I'm just trying to find some topics to help a friend with his class assignment."

"Really? That's nice of you. Want to share the topic? Maybe I could help?"

"Actually," Yeosang shook his head, "It's personal. Although...I've been meaning to ask you about something that's been bothering me..."

Here we go...

"Woo...why did you lie the other day about Eomma coming to see you? You know you're a terrible liar." Yeosang smirked.

I sighed. "It's nothing...I just didn't want to tell you what's going on, that's all."

"What do you mean? You can always tell me anything..."

"I know, I know...I just..."

Yeosang grabbed one of my hands into his own before looking at me sadly. "Woo.."

"I'm just having financial difficulties, okay? I need to pay off the rest of my tuition in a month or else I'll be dropped from University."

His eyes grew wide before whisper-yelling. "Why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you!"

Abruptly pulling my hand from his grasp, I huffed. "That's why I didn't tell you. I don't want you to help me. I need to learn how to handle my problems on my own, which is why I lied. I had an interview at the diner on Tuesday, and it didn't work out. Now, I have another one at the retail store tomorrow. Point is, I'm looking for a part time job to help pay off the remaining portion of my tuition."

A brief moment of silence enveloped us as a few other students began to make their way into the classroom before a chuckle escaped the male beside me.

"I get it..." Yeosang nodded, ruffling my hair with a proud smile. "I understand why you didn't tell me...and I get why you want to do this on your own...I won't impose on your goal of figuring it out unless I see that you truly need help. But Woo...just be honest with me okay? Be honest if you do need help."

"Okay...I promise."

Yeosang took my hand again into his own. "Good. Now, how did you even get the deadline extended to a month? Usually the deadline to pay tuition is like a week or so?"

This time I grinned. "Well, my advisor Mr. Lee heard that I was looking for part-time work and he extended to a month, maximum two months. I owe $3500 and I know I won't be able to earn that much within the timeframe, but I was thinking of possibly setting up a payment plan to help with covering everything."

"Well that's smart..." Yeosang pondered. "I hope you do get the job tomorrow, and if you are interested in another possible source of income, I may have something that could help you."

"I'll keep that mind, but let's just tackle one thing at a time, right?"

Yeosang grinned. "You're right."

Professor Jin walked into the classroom with a bright smile on her face as she surveyed the entire classroom filled with students. "Happy Friday, my lovelies. Let's get today's lesson started and bring in the weekend even closer!"

•••

Class went by in a blur, and I found myself enjoying every second of it. It was safe to say that her class was becoming more and more fun to attend. Yeosang and I exchanged our goodbyes, which consisting mostly of him threatening to disown me if I ever decided to lie to him again and me begging him to forgive me. Now I was strolling over to my last and most disliked class: English.

However, it was at least more tolerable now that I was on better terms with a certain person.

Walking over to next building, I caught a glimpse of the purple-haired girl named Eunchae in the distance, who seemed to also be heading toward the same place. She was walking from the opposite direction, so we were facing each other in our strides. Deciding to beat her to the door, I picked up my pace in my walk to confront her. She seemed to have taken notice as her eyes grew wide in surprise at seeing me before also making her steps take up speed in attempt to enter inside the building.

We were a few feet away from the entrance before I yelled out. "Wait, I just want to talk to you!"

She held her hand out toward the door but paused, turning her attention to me. "Look... I'm sorry, but I don't want any problems..."

"I promise I don't have any problems with you. I just wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" She asked with a skeptical head tilt. "For what?"

I sighed. "For yesterday. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything."

She raised an eyebrow curiously before growing a smile on her face, holding out her hand towards me with a sense of eagerness. "It's fine...apology accepted. I'm Eunchae!"

Ignoring the fact I already knew her name, I smiled and shook her hand. "Wooyoung. My name is Wooyoung."

"I know. San told me." She smirked. "I'll just call you Wooyoung-hyung out of respect."

That elicited a giggle out of me. "In that case, I already knew your name too. Just didn't want to come off as weird."

"I knew that too, but I understand. Anyways, I'm going to be late for my class so," she opened the door with a grin, "I wish you the best!"

Wish me the best...?

I opened my mouth to question the meaning behind her words, but she already took off towards her class. Shaking my head in amusement, I continued my way to English. "She's so odd..."

Reaching the entrance to the hall, I noticed San already seated staring at the doorframe, a smile growing on his face upon seeing me. Playfully rolling my eyes, I made my way to my seat behind him, slowly taking out my laptop to prepare for the lesson.

San turned around in his seat with a pout. "You still chose to seat there? There's a seat next to me."

"Last thing I need is to be distracted by you, so no thank you."

"Am I distracting or am I just that attractive that you can't pay attention?" He teased.

Fighting back the furious blush attempting to grow on my face, I scoffed. "I see your confident is through the roof today."

He chuckled. "It always is, but I tend to not show it much."

"Really? I couldn't tell."

"You know you love it."

Rolling my eyes, I laughed. "If you say so, Sannie..."

I watched as his smile slightly faltered for a second before regaining its grip, quietly mumbling to himself as he turned around. "You and that nickname..."

"What? You mean me calling you Sannie? Is that something wrong?"

San shook his head. "No, it's not. It just...nevermind."

Concern grew in my chest as I couldn't shake off the feeling of possibly offending him. "Look, San... if it bothers you then I won't say it anymore. I'm so sorry..."

"No, no, it's fine!" He turned back around and quickly clarified. Taking a deep breath, he sighed. "It just reminds me of an old memory...but I don't mind it coming from you. I'll explain it another time...I'm just not ready to do that yet."

Giving him a subtle nod, I plastered a smile. "Okay...whenever you're comfortable enough, I'll be willing to listen."

"Thanks Woo, I appreciate that."

With that, the conversation ended as other students began to pile into the room. However, my mind wandered to the possible memory he could be referring to. Was it a bad one or a good one? Who was the person who used that nickname for him?

Why was he fine with me using it...?

Realizing how fast the class was beginning to fill, I quickly gathered my things and rushed over to the empty seat next to him, earning a surprised look in return at my sudden appearance. With a teasing smile, I sighed. "Maybe this could be my seat from now on, as long as you don't bother me."

San smiled, this time with his eyes forming crescent moons and his cheeks forming the dimples I had grown loving to see. "Fine by me, I don't mind your company."

"Good, get used to it then."