╰┈➤ ❝ [ And so I became the butt of the joke ] ❞

"WE WERE PART OF IT TOO!!" Kim Ji-an, Soo-ah, Tae-hoon, and Jug-yeong said in unison, their arms up in the air. Apparently, the school had found out about the fight and was now trying to find the culprits. Han Seo-jun had also turned himself in, and he was now squatting alongside of Cho-rong and their friends, who in this case had been unfairly accused.

The assistant principal turned around, staring at the four of them in disbelief. He wasn't surprised about Seo-jun and his little gang but he was by this. "What?"

Professor Han was also surprised by the fact. "Kids?"

"So much for looking sweet and innocent." The assistant principal said, before pointing with the wooden stick he had in hand to the empty spot beside Seo-jun. "Squat next to them. Right now!"

The four followed his order. Kim Ji-an stood beside Seo-jun and ignored the look he sent her as she stared straight ahead with her hands in front of her like the rest of them did. The girl was still in disbelief at what Seo-jun told her three days ago. Saying he cares about her? That was something hard to believe, considering the things he said and the way he acted in the past. No way was she going to believe him just like that.

"Squat down! Unbelievable. What will become of you all?"

Suddenly, the office door opened and Soo-jin barged in. "I was there too."

The surprise was slowly leaving the man's face. "I see it was a colossal mess." The assistant principal shook his head. "Unbelievable."

Then Lee Su-ho also walked in, standing beside Soo-jin as he admitted. "I'm the one who started the fight."

"Good going. Good for you." The sarcastic tone was evident in the man's voice. He opened his mouth again, ready to scold them, but he was stopped by the actual principal, who stood up from his seat at the sight of Su-ho.

"My goodness!" He shouted and moved towards Seo-jun's friends. "You punks!" They all flinched, stumbling back and making everyone else do the same. Seo-jun quickly lowered his left arm and wrapped it around Ji-an's waist to prevent the girl from falling. Ji-an murmured a small thank you as Seo-jun retracted his arm. She was still not looking at him making him let out a sigh.

The principal walked up to Su-ho. "My goodness gracious. Did our top student get hurt by any chance?" He turned to the group. "What did you fools do to make Su-ho get involved in a fight?"

Kim Ji-an, back in her squatting position, looked down at the floor, feeling a bit guilty about the situation. She knew it wasn't her fault, but she still couldn't help but feel responsible for it. Her attention was pulled away from the floor by a delivery man walking into the room calling out Professor Han's name. "These flowers are for you." He placed them on his desk while a series of comments filled the room.

"Flowers?" Mr. Han said, before asking who had sent them. The delivery man began to say the name until he was interrupted by Mr. Han letting out a shout, effectively startling everyone. He looked around apologetic before turning to the delivery man again. "I'm sorry. It's nothing. Yes, I know who it is. I think I know who sent it."

The delivery man nodded. "Okay." He walked away and once he was out the door, Mr. Han turned to the students.

"I want you guys to go to the counseling office." He then pointed at Jug-yeong. "You." He quickly noticed his mistake and moved his finger to point at the rest of the group. "You guys, go to the counseling office."

They did as instructed and now Ji-an found herself sitting across from Soo-jin, with Seo-jun and Jug-yeong on either side of her. The group of eight had each a paper and pen in front of them. They had been told to fill ten pages expressing how sorry they felt about the situation. Han Seo-jun being Han Seo-jun, quickly scribbled down a very large 'I'm sorry' on the center of the page before slumping down into the table with his cheek resting on his stretched arm.

Ji-an rolled her eyes at the boy, completely forgetting she couldn't act indifferent towards him when they were supposed to be in a loving relationship. She looked at Su-ho hoping he hadn't seen her gesture and luckily for her, he was too busy writing down on his paper to notice anything. Leaning back on her seat, Ji-an began writing her apology.

"Are you guys Han Seok-bong or what?" Tae-hoon asked. "You guys write like calligraphers. Why don't you just grind ink? When are we going to finish writing ten papers? Here. Look." Tae-hoon began writing simultaneously with two hands. "What do you think? I've done this so many times that I can write with two hands."

Jug-yeong looked at the boy impressed while Ji-an sighed in defeat. She was not even halfway through the page and her wrist was growing tired. From beside Tae-hoon, Soo-ah spoke. "Babe, they obviously never wrote this kind of stuff before. Look." With three pens in hand, she began writing. Successfully, writing down three sentences in the amount of time it would take to write one.

Soo-jin frowned, staring again at her paper but addressing Soo-ah. "You must be proud."

Ji-an turned to her friends. "I'm sorry. This is all because of me."

"Why are you sorry?" Soo-jin asked, before grabbing Seo-jun's attention as she called out his name. "Seo-jun, you should apologize to Ji-an. This all happened because she's your girlfriend and she got dragged into your mess."

This caught everyone's attention, including Su-ho's who by so far had been the one most focused on the task given. He watched Seo-jun with a serious expression, having the same thoughts as Soo-jin.

Seo-jun raised an eyebrow. "I already apologized, but if you insist so much. I'll do it again." He turned to Ji-an, his annoyed expression shifting to a solemn look, and this time she finally looked back at him wondering if he would actually do it. "I'm sorry. This is all on me, so don't apologize for something that wasn't on your control."

Hiding her surprise, was a hard thing for Ji-an as she stared back at Seo-jun. The sincerity in his voice troubled her. She licked her lips trying to think of something to say that was the opposite of what she was feeling. "It's okay, Seo-jun. You don't have to apologize again." She squeezed his arm, giving him a fake soft smile.

Internally, Seo-jun could see right through her facade and unfortunately for them, Su-ho too. Seo-jun returned the girl's smile. "They won't bother you again, so don't worry."

This time Ji-an didn't have to act as she asked, "Don't tell me you fought with them again."

Now, the normal Seo-jun was back. "Why would I fight? Do you even think they're good enough to fight me? Have a little more faith on your boyfriend." He crackled his knuckles and stretched his neck. "I would've beaten them to a pulp."

Soo-ah and Tae-hoon repeated his words in astonishment before nervously going back to what they were doing before. Seo-jun went back to his previous slumped position, and Ji-an continued writing her words, hoping for that moment to be over.

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

"I wasn't lying, you know?" Han Seo-jun said, giving Ji-an's hand a little squeeze as he walked with her to their next class. The girl turned to him, the cold of his rings against her skin surprisingly soothing. Writing ten pages had left her hand sore, so it felt nice.

"About what you said before or about the other night?" She asked.

"Both." He answered. He was holding his composure in the outside, but inside he felt so aware of everything. This was the first time he was being so vulnerable with her after years of pretending nothing affected him. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you again, sweetheart."

Ji-an took a deep breath, looking away from him as she tighten her grip on her backpack strap. This was still too much for her mind to fully process.

"It's been years, Seo-jun. Forgive me, but it's hard to just fully believe you have always cared about me after what you did." Her voice was soft, just enough for the taller boy to hear her. It was the first time they were so close to talking about that topic, and it was harder than Ji-an had anticipated. She hated acting like this. First, she wanted to avoid Su-ho after she came back because she was scared of what could happen. And now it was almost the same thing again.

"Look, you don't have to do anything. I don't blame you for not believing me and you have every right to. Just let me show you that what I'm saying is true. That's all I'm asking." Seo-jun begged. "Give me one chance. Please."

There was a moment of silence as Ji-an went over his words. He was asking for one more chance. A chance to redeem himself and perhaps fix what was once broken. There was nothing else she could really lose except maybe saving herself from another heartbreak. Letting out a shaky breath, Ji-an nodded. "Okay, one chance."

"Thank you." Seo-jun smiled, feeling like he could finally breath.

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

Kim Ji-an was not exactly thrilled with the thought of the exams coming up. For the most part, she was pretty confident. She has always been a good student with good grades. She knew she would nail all the exams——expect the math one. Her current grade on the subject was not the best, and even with Su-ho's help, she wasn't so confident in her ability to get a good score. Still, that was not going to make her give up. She has been studying a lot and has even gone to the point of paying extra attention in class. It was tiring, but she knew it would be worth it.

The group of friends had agreed to meet up at the study café to study some more before the exams. Ji-an walked into the place, pausing on her step, when she saw Lee Su-ho already at the table. She walked closer and sat beside him. His cheek was resting on his arm as he slept, his face peaceful. Ji-an hesitantly copied his position as she watched him. It was nice seeing him like this—so relaxed and free of troubles. It made a warm, fuzzy feeling engulf her.

Slowly, Su-ho opened his eyes, making eye contact with Ji-an. The two stared at each other, thinking of so many things yet not saying a single word out loud. The sound of their friends walking in made them straighten up their postures, acting like nothing had happened.

"Oh, you two are already here." Soo-ah exclaimed, taking the opportunity of when Su-ho wasn't looking, to wiggle her eyebrows at her friend.

Jug-yeong took the seat beside Ji-an while Soo-ah, Tae-hoon, and Soo-jin sat across them. They all quickly began studying, not wanting to waste anytime as it was much needed. Ji-an went over all the easiest topics first, leaving math for last. Lee Su-ho took her notebook as he began writing down what she needed to know. "A complex number is typically written in the form a + bi, where a and b are real numbers."

Ji-an nodded along to his words while carefully listening to his explanation. She was very thankful about having Su-ho. He has always helped her ever since they were kids, and she couldn't imagine the thought of how terrible her math grades would be if she hadn't had Su-ho every step of the way helping her. Once, Su-ho was done explaining and showing her a few examples on how to do the equations, he wrote down some extra problems for her to work on.

It had always been this way. First, he would explain and do some examples, then he would tell her to try it herself, but with him still helping her in every step she needed, and lastly, she would do everything alone. It was the only strategy they found where she could actually learn and retain the information.

Complicated, but effective.

After a couple of minutes she finished all the problems. "I'm done." She said gaining Su-ho's attention.

He checked over the problems, fixing the mistakes she had made and explaining what was exactly wrong with them. Then, when he went to check on one she had gotten correct, he drew a small heart on the side of it. He paused, realizing what he had done, and blinked a couple of times while Ji-an also stared at the heart, frozen. In the past, when they started dating, Su-ho began drawing a small heart beside every problem she got correct, and from then on, it became usual for him to mark her correct problems like that. So usual that even now it was muscle memory to do it that way.

"I'm sorry." He moved the pencil, ready to erase the heart, until Ji-an placed her hand on top of his, stopping him.

"It's okay. You can still do it. I don't mind."

Su-ho looked at her for a few seconds before slowly nodding, while Ji-an retracted her hand. He continued checking her problems, drawing the heart on the correct ones, and explaining the wrong ones. Finally done, he said, "You did well. As long as you remember to fix that small mistake you keep making. I'm sure you'll get a good score."

Ji-an grinned, happy with the news. "Thank you."

Su-ho nodded and went back to his own work. Ji-an took the opportunity to go buy herself some iced coffee. Paying the person at the counter, she went back to the table, feeling happier after taking a sip of her drink. Soo-ah turned to them, after Ji-an sat down. "Do you guys want to go to the baseball game after our last exam? Hyung-jin is playing."

"I can't. I have tutoring session." Soo-jin revealed.

"You know how much I love games and getting competitive so of course I'm going." Ji-an exclaimed, growing excited at the thought. She didn't know much about baseball, but she knew enough to understand the game and scream when they score a point.

"Okay. It was fun last time." Jug-yeong said.

Soo-ah nodded enthusiastically and said something about not telling Tae-hoon. Right when she said it, the boy returned. "Don't tell me what?"

"What? Nothing." Soo-ah lied.

"Are you planing a surprise?" Tae-hoon asked, grinning at the thought.

"No. Study." Soo-ah said, tapping on Tae-hoon's notebook. Kim Ji-an smiled at the couple, not noticing that Su-ho was looking at her, having heard her previous words about going to the baseball game.

Afterwards, the six of them finished studying and bid goodbye to each other as they walked out of the study café. Kim Ji-an waved goodbye to Soo-ah and Tae-hoon. Beside her, Su-ho also announced he was leaving, quickly walking away before they could even say their farewells.

"Why does he look so tired?" Soo-jin asked both Ji-an and Jug-yeong as they watched Su-ho's figure disappear. Ji-an also wondered the same thing, remembering how he was sleeping when she got there. "Well, let's go."

Ji-an nodded, about to take a step forward when suddenly Sung-yong appeared in front of them. Soo-jin immediately stepped in front of Ji-an, and glared at him. "What's your problem?"

Sung-yong ignored the question as he addressed Ji-an. "Kim Ji-an. About what happened at the karaoke place-"

Before he was able to finish his sentence, Jug-yeong took a bottle out of her bag and sprayed it on Sung-yong's face. The boy let out a pained scream, keeping his eyes closed to try to help with the sting. "Darn it! I wasn't even talking to you! I came to apologize. Ji-an, I was trying to say I was sorry." Ji-an watched him with a stunned expression, sharing surprise looks with Soo-jin and Jug-yeong.

"I apologized, okay?" Sung-yong said, and walked away leaving the three girls alone. Unknown to them, when Sung-yong turned the corner, he was met with Su-ho's figure leaning against the wall. He let out a startled sound. "Oh my gosh. Hey. You saw that, right?" He asked, only receiving a serious look in return. "I apologized, okay?"

Su-ho didn't say anything as he watched him leave. Once he was out of sight, the boy let out a yawn. "I couldn't sleep because I kept following him around." But Su-ho couldn't complained; it had all been worth it. He would've done it as many times as it was necessary if it meant he could get Ji-an the apology she deserved. No matter what mistakes he's made and how long it's been since their break-up, Su-ho will always want what's best for Ji-an. Always.

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

Kim Ji-an couldn't remember the last time she had been so excited about something. Just like they had planned, Ji-an joined Soo-ah and Jug-yeong to the baseball game. Each had a pair of inflatable sticks on hand as they excitedly cheered. Jug-yeong turned to Soo-ah and asked, "What did you tell Tae-hoon though?"

Soo-ah grinned, "That it was my grandma's 80th birthday."

Kim Ji-an giggled at her words until a voice spoke from behind her. "I wish you the best of health, ma'am!" It was Tae-hoon. "You must've rented out a baseball stadium for her party. Is this a celebration party?"

Ji-an grimaced, and then her eyes widened at the sight of Lee Su-ho standing behind Tae-hoon. She would've never expected to see him there. Soo-ah and Taehoon began arguing, Soo-ah accusing him of stalking her social media. "Why are you jealous when I said he's a friend? If I was interested in him romantically, I would've send him a private message, not cheering in public."

Jug-yeong frowned. "Guys, please. Please don't argue."

Her comment was in vain and Ji-an tapped the girls shoulder for her attempt as the couple continued. "I never said I doubted you. But how can I trust him to only see you as a friend too, when you're as pretty as an angel? How could he not fall for you?"

Ji-an and Jug-yeong shared uncomfortable looks. The couple was beginning to grab the attention of the other people around them and the poor girls were right in the middle of it all. Soo-ah smiled and said, "I guess that's true, but how can I leave when I already brought fried chicken? How can I?"

"I'm sorry." Tae-hoon gave in. "You're too cute to get angry at. My dear heart."

"Great, glad this is over." Ji-an stated. "Now, can you please sit before Jugyeong and I die of embarrassment?"

Tae-hoon apologized, and quickly walked through the row to sit on the other side of Soo-ah. Lee Su-ho on the other hand, sat on the empty seat beside Ji-an making the girl turn her attention to him. "Since when have you and Tae-hoon been close enough to come watch a baseball game together?"

"We're good friends starting today." Su-ho responded, causing the group to look at him in shock. Tae-hoon even went to the point of offering his favorite piece of fried chicken to the boy, thrilled at the thought of being friends with Su-ho. Ji-an stared at Su-ho with suspicion but didn't press on the matter.

The game was actually wonderful. Throughout it, the points were almost tied with each other, leaving everyone on edge every time one of the teams scored a home run. Ji-an's throat was starting to hurt from all the cheering she was doing, but she didn't care. The five of them stood up, watching with bated breaths as Soo-ah's friend, Hyung-gin, prepared to pitch. It was the last inning, and the last batter of the opposite team already had two strikes, one more, and they were out, meaning Hyung-gin's team would win as they were leading by two points.

Hyung-gin threw the ball, sending a perfect pitch. The batter swung the bat but missed the ball, meaning it had been another strike. Ji-an jumped on her spot, throwing her inflatables to the ground as she cheered with Jug-yeong. Happy and with excitement, she turned to Su-ho jumping and clapping her hands before sharing a double high five with him. The girl's grin was too contagious, and not even Su-ho could stop himself from smiling back at her as they held their hands in the air, Ji-an shaking them with enthusiasm as she jumped.

It really was a wonderful game.

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

"Here's some tea for your voice, sweetie." Chin-sun said as she handed Kim Ji-an the cup of tea. Ji-an thanked the woman, and took a sip of the hot beverage, immediately feeling how it sooth her throat. The two were currently in the kitchen. All the other maids had gone to sleep, and Ji-an's parents and her brother were also already in bed, so it was just the two of them.

"I screamed too much today." Ji-an admitted, taking another sip.

Chin-sun smiled as she cleaned the counter. "I'm glad you had fun. Always cherish those memories."

"Yeah, it was a good game." The girl smiled at the now memory of the game and the way Su-ho had smiled when they were cheering together. It was the first time she had seen him smile after so long of him showing no emotions. Her heart fluttered at the thought, happy to have been the one to make him smile, even if it had been momentarily.

"Oh, I know that look." Chin-sun said, giving the girl a teasing look. "Go ahead, tell me what happened."

The girl's jaw dropped. "How do you know?"

"That love-struck look tells me everything I need to know."

"Isn't that a little dramatic?" Ji-an asked, but nonetheless, she chuckled and began explaining. "Su-ho was there at the game, and after the team we were rooting for won, I was really excited, so I was cheering with everyone, including him. Anyway, I managed to make him smile, and it feels nice knowing I was the reason behind it."

Chin-sun hummed, smiling softly at the girl. "It seems you guys are making progress."

"Yeah, we actually are." Ji-an nodded. "I don't even know why he was at the baseball game. I'm starting to think maybe my plan is working. He's been acting a little strange."

"You mean your fake relationship with Han Seo-jun? You haven't really told me about that. How is that going for you guys?" The woman asked, moving to take a seat beside Ji-an.

At the mention of Seo-jun, Ji-an let out a loud sigh. She drank more of her tea as she tried organizing her thoughts. "Good, for the most part. I think we've been doing a decent performance." Chin-sun could tell Ji-an was still not done, so she gave the girl some silence until she spoke again. "Everything was good until the other day when he told me he apparently has never stopped caring about me."

"He said that?"

"Yeah, and the thing is, I can't find myself to believe him." Ji-an answered, her attention on the hand that was scratching the surface of the tea cup. "He said so many things that really hurt me, you know? I thought we were friends, and then he made me feel like garbage and used the things he knew would hurt me against me. How am I supposed to believe him? It literally makes no sense."

Chin-sun rubbed the girl's back. "And did you let him know how you feel?"

Ji-an nodded, finishing her tea. "I did, and he said to just give him a chance to prove himself. So, I agreed. It's not like we are friends, so there's nothing to lose."

"It's good you gave him that chance. You never know, something good might come from it."

Ji-an smiled. "I hope so."

——————— ↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊ—————

—Joy

I'm spoiling you guys with this fast updates. Let's see how long they last 😭

Finally, I put to use the small knowledge I have about baseball wooo!!

The other day I re-read the whole book and I just want to apologize for having you guys read that. It really wasn't the best. At least, I got better. I also noticed some character developments I didn't know happened or at least not the extent of it. Like the way Ji-an's friendship with Jug-yeong improved so much. Su-ho is also getting better and Seo-jun is right now on his way to improving.

There's no edit today. I'm sorry. I don't really have more edits and making new ones takes time. So instead I'm bringing some memes as those are easier to do 🥰

Bye, bye!!!