c h a p t e r  17

I stirred awake from my slumber when I felt something buzzing on my hands. It was my phone. I realized that my head was resting on Seungmin's shoulder. Groggily, I sat up straight.

"Sorry." I muttered to Seungmin. "I didn't realize I fell asleep." I added, rubbing my eyes.

He nodded with a small smile. "It's fine." He said. "Maybe you should answer that." He gestured to the buzzing device.

I answered the call without looking at the name and rested my head by the window, still sleepy. "Hello?"

"Didn't I tell you not to fall asleep?"

I finally looked at the caller ID. Upon reading who it was, annoyance instantly flooded my mood. "How the hell would you know if I were sleeping?" I snapped.

"Based on your cranky attitude, I think I'm correct."

I gritted my teeth. "You're in a different bus, why does it matter?" I asked while rubbing my temples, feeling a headache coming.

He grew silent for a while. My eyebrow raised in confusion. "Hyunjin?"

Still nothing. And just when I thought he had hung up, he spoke in a small voice.

"I don't want you to lean on Seungmin."

This time, I was the one that grew silent. None of us spoke for a good 10 seconds. Not knowing what to say, my heart hammered in my chest, I was afraid he'd hear it.

My heart that was igniting to something unknown soon became known when he broke the silence. It was irritation.

"Who knows if you have lice?"

With curled lips, I glared at the view out the window. "I'm hanging up." I hissed, not waiting for his reply. I shut my phone off and continued glaring at the trees we were zooming past.

I have got to stop blushing every time he makes comments. Obviously, he's always joking.

I have got to remind myself that Hyunjin's naturally like this. That he wasn't treating me any special. He was simply a very social person. I am contented with the friendship that he was indirectly offering. I shouldn't be expecting for more. Repeat chorus.

"Damn, girl. What'd those trees ever do to you?" Seungmin joked, slightly nudging me.

I crack a smile. "I'm just pissed that they're giving me oxygen." I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Does that mean you're pissed at yourself too since you're providing them the carbon dioxide?"

"Oh, I'm pissed at myself period."

•••

"Thanks." I mumbled to Seungmin when he carried my suit case off the bus. "Your brother Minho's not nearly as helpful as you." I sneered, jumping off the bus.

"Trust me, he's not nearly as a lot of thing I am." He shook his head.

"And you're not nearly as a lot of things he is!" Bang Chan piped in. "You're a singer, he's a dancer." He listed.

"You're taller, he's shorter." I added.

"You're soft spoken, he isn't." Bang Chan drawled.

"I'm handsome, he isn't." Seungmin shrugged.

Bang Chan and I cringed. "Let's not get greedy now." Bang Chan teased to which the other pouted at.

"12 - 2! Follow me!" Our adviser called out.

The three of us joined our classmates as they trailed behind the teacher. After leaving campus at five in the morning with a six hour drive, we had finally arrived at our destination.

"This will be the sleeping quarters of class 12-1 and 12-2." The adviser gestured to a 2 storey building. "Girls on the lower floor, boys on the top floor." He added. The grumbles of protests against girls and boys being separated did not go unnoticed. "Also! The doors lock by 10PM so be inside before then."

I felt like I just enlisted in the military.

Only then did I notice the class of 12-1 beside us, where I saw Hyunjin and Jisung among them. Jisung whispered something to Hyunjin to which the latter laughed at. I flinched, feeling my cheeks heat up when I met Hyunjin's eyes. I quickly averted my gaze after seeing him wink.

"Get settled in and gather there.." The adviser pointed at a building not far away. "..where lunch will be served before we start on the first activity!" He joined his hands together with a huge smile. "I'm looking forward to a great week with you guys!"

My classmates cheered in response. If genuine, I did not know.

•••

While everyone exited the 'sleeping quarters', I stayed behind to go to the restroom. After doing my business, the chatter of the students had gone to which I came to the conclusion that I was the only one left in the building.

Leaving the restroom, I dried off my hands by shaking it in the air.

"You know there are hand dryers."

I jumped, shrieking in surprise. I panted with a hand on my chest. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked Hyunjin who was casually leaning against the wall beside the door.

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

I glared. "You look like you're lurking outside the women's restroom, you pervert!" I sneered, flailing my hands in the air. I walked away, eager to get away from him.

"When will you stop calling me a pervert?" He drawled out, his head toppling to the side.

"When you stop becoming one."

"I'm not a pervert!"

"Non-perverts lurk outside women's restrooms, got it." I said sarcastically.

"I wasn't lurking." He defended. "I was waiting for you."

I desperately pushed back the fluttering butterflies in my stomach. Or the fire breathing dragon. Or it could possibly be just my stomach since I haven't had lunch yet.

"Why? What do you need?" I asked anyway.

"Nothing. I just wanted to sit next to you at lunch."

The thousand butterflies in my stomach violently fluttered at the same time that the dragon let out the most devouring fire.

I just prayed to the heavens that I wasn't as red as I was feeling.

(a/n: happy 300 reads ;^; i love you all)