Chapter XXIII – Gossip

“Thank you for the notes Nabi,” Irene said handing over a notebook to her.

“You’re already done?” she asked impressed. “It's only been a day.”

Nabi and Don were the only ones in the classroom when she arrived.

“I’ve used a scanner to make a copy, so I could return it before the next class.”

“Oh? You didn’t have to, but I wish someone was as considerate. . .”

“I’m sure he’ll return it eventually,” Don said but lacked the confidence in his words.

“Tjay was it?” Irene asked.

“No, I’m Don. Dang Dong-Sun,” he answered with an awkward chuckle.

“Not what I meant Don,” she pointed out. “I was referring to the one who borrowed Nabi’s notes.”

“Oh, I thought you forgot my name.”

“Ignore him,” Nabi interrupted. “Don here isn’t really what you’d call the confident type.”

“I see. Hmm,” Irene pulled up a chair and sat down next to Don. “Well, you better get used to talking to me, because I’ll be bugging you all the time. Alright?”

Don nodded while averting his gaze slightly.

“You know. . .” she leaned in a bit and whispered. “Pretty girls like it when a guy has confidence. So try and speak up. It’ll be worth it, trust me.”

Irene got up and arched her back. She felt quite stiff since early in the morning.

“I need a new bed. The one I have at home is killing me,” she complained. “The mattress is unbearable. Why would anyone enjoy sleeping on a rock?”

“Then replace the mattress,” Arthur cut in as he walked behind her. “No need to get a new bed over something like that.”

“Oh, hi Art,” Nabi said while Don just waved.

Irene turned to him crossing her arms and sat on Arthur’s desk as if she owned it.

“It’s not as simple as that,” she began explaining. “I wanted a bigger bed as well. I hate being cramped in tight spaces.”

“I like smaller beds,” Nabi commented. “But I can agree that softness matters a lot.”

The classroom was slowly filling up. Max and Tjay came into the classroom together.

“I see my seat is already taken. . .” Tjay sighed looking at Irene's desk already having her school back occupying it.

“Guess I did steal it from you, didn’t I?” Irene asked as she thinks back on it.

“Ignore him,” Max commented. “He is delusional anyway.”

“Delusional? Me?”

“I see you’re wearing flip-flops, did someone scold you for breaking the school rules yesterday?” Max asked Irene, ignoring Tjay.

“Hey don’t you pretend I’m not here. . .”

“Ah, these? I wasn’t scolded, the transfer was just sudden so I didn’t have time to pick a pair. Originally I wasn’t supposed to be in school until late next week due to paperwork.”

Tjay went quiet realizing nobody was giving two cents about him. Arthur placed a hand on his shoulder, which sparked joy in him. There was nothing better than the support of a best friend.

“What made you join us so early?” Don asked gathering confidence.

She smiled proudly giving him a wink.

“I was kind of eager to see who’d I be in class with.”

“Hoping it would be Arthur huh?” Max teased.

“How did you know?” she asked him sarcastically with a smirk on her face. “Anyway, I don’t want to see you crying over the seat so how about we play a casual rock paper scissors? Winner gets to take the seat permanently without complaints.”

“Ha! Foolish of you to challenge me. I accept.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was quite fair of her to offer what she already had.

“Alright, Nabi can you do us the honor of judging?” Irene asked.

“Sure. . .”

The two stood facing each other as Nabi flanked them.

“Ready?” Nabi asked.

“Yes,” Tjay said with a grin.

“Just going to say that I’ll play rock,” Irene commented throwing Tjay for a loop.

“What?” he asked confused. “Why did you say that?”

“Guess I might be lying,” Irene said averting her gaze jokingly.

It was enough to cause doubt within Tjay. In his eyes, there was a lot on the line. His mind went blank trying to figure out if she’d lie or speak the truth.

“Alright, class is about to start so let’s go. Rock. . .”

The two became focused.

“Paper. . .”

Everyone observed in suspension as Nabi was milking the moment.

“Scissors. . .”

It felt as if one of them would die by the end of it.

“Shoot!”

Simultaneously the two showed their hand. Realizing that if he went paper which counters rock, she could have bluffed him and went with scissors. However, due to a lack of time to think regardless of what her move was, there was only one safe option. Thus playing rock would have the highest chance of a draw with a slim chance of a victory, but she could have anticipated that and went paper herself.

The game was high stakes for him, and if he did not go for a win then he doesn’t deserve the seat. Tjay was a gambler at heart, and his bet is on the fact that Irene would go paper, thus he must go scissors!

“Irene wins!” Nabi called out, as Irene went rock as foretold.

Tjay looked at his hand as if it had betrayed him. He might be a gambler at heart, but he never had luck to begin with.

“Guess it’s settled now,” Max said looking at Tjay. “Don’t worry dude, you can sit next to me.”

“Why did you not switch?” Tjay asked Irene.

“Simple,” she said with a grin and arms crossed. “People who tend to want something too badly will often overthink the simple solution. I made my gamble, and you made yours.”

“But who’d actually do that. . .”

“If I didn’t, then I’d be the one who’d overthink things. Simply put I’m stubborn like that.”

He was defeated from the start, that much was clear to him. In defeat, he went to his new seat.

Soon class started.

There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary during class that happened, but during the short resting period, some of the girls in class swarmed Irene again. This prevented her from spending time with the group and instead was dragged into conversations that bored her to death.

“Irene, is it true that you like Arthur?” one of the girls asked.

“Ugh, he is so not good enough for you. . .” the second one commented.

“Why’d you say that?” she asked instinctively but wasn’t really paying attention.

“You just arrived, so you don’t know how big of a loser he is.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that until recently, he didn’t have any friends as well. It wasn’t until Max showed up, but some rumors say that he is blackmailing Max in order to gain a bit of popularity.”

“Of course! That makes sense, otherwise, why would someone as cool as him hang out with Arthur.”

“I think you’re wrong,” Irene said with a fake smile on her face, she was getting sick of the pointless slander.

“No way, trust me. The rumor is that he once again planned suicide so Max, the good person that he is, became his friend.”

“Suicide?” she asked confused, to her he didn’t seem like the type. “You shouldn’t help spread such rumors about someone.”

Irene got fed up and rose to her feet. She wasn’t interested in listening any longer.

“It’s true though. He already tried once by jumping in front of a truck. Everyone in school knows. That’s the reason he suffers from amnesia.”

“I’m off to the bathroom,” she excused herself leaving the classroom.

Washing her face, she looked into a mirror.

“I should probably not pry about it. . . Gosh, I hate gossip,” she sighed, but her curiosity was provoked.

With the lunch break over, the next class was PE. While not that common anymore in Seoul, J High insisted on keeping up the fitness for their students, making PE mandatory instead of an optional class.

Irene avoided asking any questions in regards to what she overheard, especially due to not believing anything in the first place. Arthur and the rest were genuine friends, and there was nobody who’d be able to convince her otherwise. But the part about the amnesia, and the suicide attempt, she wondered what parts of it were true if any.

During PE in the school’s gym, Irene couldn’t help but keep her eyes on Arthur. To her surprise, someone who has shown such athleticism when facing off the guy who harassed her, Arthur was quite modest during PE. His performance was just barely passing. This also didn’t align with the story that he went running every morning with Sophie.

“Hey Nabi,” Irene whispered to her from behind.

“Yeah?”

“Mind if we talk after PE alone?”

“Sure. Everything alright?”

Irene nodded, but Nabi noticed she was lost in thoughts. She was obviously staring at Arthur the entire time.

“You worried about his performance?” Nabi asked.

“No, but isn’t it a bit weird?”

“Yeah, from what I’ve heard and seen, Arthur is a lot better than he shows. His effort during class isn’t graded, so once the actual examination comes, he’ll do fine.”

“Why do you think he is doing that?”

“When he arrived back in school, there was already enough talk about him. Guess he didn’t want to stick out any more than he already did. I sort of get him, people tend to be a hassle even if you do like them.”

“Yeah, I can relate to that. . .” Irene commented thinking back to the girls that gossiped.

“Stop chatting and move!” yelled out the PE teacher with a penetrating voice.

After class ended, Nabi and Irene went outside during the break to chat while enjoying the sun with a cold drink. Surprisingly it was quite warm.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Nabi asked curiously.

"Ugh. . . Others won't leave me alone and slander before I can even take a breather after class. . . Though, one piqued my interest and I wished to ask you about it. . ."

“Let me guess, it’s about the suicide gossip.”

“Spot on. . .”

Nabi sighed leaning against a wall.

“It’s true, he did get into an accident.”

“So why do people go around calling it attempted suicide?”

“Because there isn’t any proof. He got hit by a truck and survived. The result of which was a complete memory loss, which the doctors said will most likely be permanent.”

“So he does suffer from amnesia,” she said with a low voice glancing at the ground.

“You know. . . If you really wish to know more about it, just ask him,” Nabi said with an uplifting tone.

“Isn’t it kind of rude for me to meddle after knowing you guys for only two days?” Irene glanced back at Nabi, she appreciated the help.

“Remember what you've said. Simple solutions instead of overthinking. Art is chill about it, even about all the stupid jokes or comments others in our group make. Just try it and it’ll work out. Trust me. Now come on, class is about to start. One more before we can head home.”

Irene sighed and got up.

“Nabi,” she said with a cheery tone. “Thanks.”

Nabi simply smiled before the two went back to class.

With the school ending, Irene went to the bathroom to wash up before heading out. Within the school grounds, she saw Arthur standing by the gates alone.

“Hey,” Irene said in an attempt to catch his attention as he gazed into the sky. “Anything interesting up there?”

He snapped out of it and glanced at her with a chuckle.

“No, nothing of interest other than the beautiful view.”

“I find the night sky more charming,” Irene commented standing next to him.

“They each have their appeals,” he pointed out with a smile.

“True.”

“So, heading home?”

“Yeah, but I saw you standing and decided to say hi.”

The two hadn’t talked alone since yesterday in the classroom.

“I’m just waiting upon Sophie.”

“Want me to wait with you?”

“There’s no need. She’ll be a while. Something about school club that she has to sort out,” he answered.

“Oh, I see,” Irene commented with a lowered voice.

“But. . .” Arthur spoke up after glancing towards Irene and seeing her disappointment. “I could use the company if you have extra time on your hands.”

“Sure, I’d love to. How long do you think she’ll be?”

“Don't know, maybe an hour?”

“In that case, come with me,” Irene said grabbing him by the hand.

She dragged him to a vending machine before inserting money.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Get yours first, then I’ll pick,” he said pulling out his wallet.

“I asked you what you want to drink. . .” Irene glanced at his wallet disapprovingly.

“Fine, fine,” he repeated with a smile on his face, putting his wallet back. “How about Chilsung Cinder?”

“Good choice,” Irene said pressing a button and handing him over the drink. “I’ll have. . .”

She pondered for a bit before finally settling for orange juice.

“Thanks,” he said cracking his can open.

“Don’t worry about it,” Irene said with a smile.

The two proceeded to a nearby bench in the sun.

“Man, today's classes were something else. . .” she complained. “I never knew school could be so boring.”

“Was it better in London?”

“Not really, but at least it wasn’t as strict so I could sneak a peek at my phone. My mom would yell at me for it, but right now I can’t afford to cause trouble.”

“How come?”

“Well, if I misbehave right off the bat, she might drag me back to England. However, I’ve grown to like the idea of living alone. Not so much alone, as much as I enjoy living away from them.”

“Well, it’s good to aim towards being independent.”

“Yeah. . .” she said lowering her voice again.

The two kept on the light conversation, but Arthur kept noticing something was wrong.

“Alright, spill it out,” Arthur called her out. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong? Oh, nothing. . .”

“I’m not buying it. Shouldn’t it be me who’s awkward due to what you did yesterday after class? Yet you keep staring at me with worry all day.”

“You noticed?” she asked flustered for the first time. “I um-”

“Irene,” he said her name with a bold tone. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“OK, fine. . . I want to ask you about the accident that you’ve had. Nabi said that I should just talk to you, but I didn’t know how to truly approach the subject.”

“Oh, that’s it?” Arthur asked with a sigh of relief, he was worried something else was going on. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“I want to know what happened. Is it true you also don’t remember anything?” she asked with her confidence returned.

“Well as far as I know I got hit by a truck a while ago. This resulted in me ending up in the hospital as one would imagine, and cost me all my memories. Indeed I do not remember anything, so I had to relearn how the world around us works. So any popular bands, events, topics, and even some modern objects remain a mystery to me. Don’t be surprised if I don’t know stuff. Hell, I’m struggling to use a phone properly, as well as other stuff. Computer science is my worst class.”

“I see. . . Why do they say that it was a suicide attempt?”

“Because it most likely was.”

This shocked Irene, but Arthur wished to tell her the truth for what it was.

“But you don’t seem like the type of person-”

“I’m not,” Arthur cut in. “The old Arthur and I are polar opposites. My sister can attest to that. I don’t like comparing myself to the old me, but mentally I’m much tougher, and physically as well. Our personalities are different too, which makes things even more confusing for the people around me that had known me for a while.”

“I get that. . .”

“What happened in the past stayed in the past. So just treat me as someone who had been reborn a few weeks ago without any knowledge of the world before that.”

“I’ll do that,” Irene said honestly with a sigh of relief. “Thank you for being honest with me. Makes it easier to believe what you said about being different now. I won’t bring it up anymore.”

“Don’t worry about such things. If you have any more questions in the future, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Alright,” Irene said with a smile.

“There it is,” he commented.

“What?” she asked curiously.

“Your smile. You haven’t smiled properly the entire day since the first period. It fits you so don’t stop smiling,” he complimented her without realizing how bold his comment was.

She blushed and averted her gaze without responding.

“Well, we still have some time to kill, so how do you have any other questions?” he asked her.

“I do actually,” she turned to him. “Why do you perform during PE so lackluster? I’m not blind, you are certainly more capable than that.”

“I didn’t know you were looking at me so intently,” he teased.

“It was just because of the accident gossip that I heard,” she sighed defending herself.

“Well, if I have to explain my reasoning, it’s because of Sophie.”

“Your sister?”

“Yeah! Before I returned to school, she had to teach me everything about it, so one of her tips was to lay low a bit. I already fucked it up during first class in biology, but then figured I could fix it if I perform averagely in PE. I don’t care too much about grades.”

“I see, that makes sense. Wait, no it doesn’t!” she yelled out. “You should care about your grades!”

“I should?” he asked confused. “Isn’t it more important to know things rather than the grade itself?”

“Well. . . Yes and no, but it’s complicated. You need good grades to get approved when it comes to enrolling in college. If your grades are low, you won’t be able to advance your education, regardless of your knowledge.”

“That makes no sense. . .” Arthur pondered the logic behind it.

He already had a similar conversation with Sophie but wasn't paying too much attention since he knew she was just worrying over nothing.

“It doesn’t, but it also does in a way. If you look at it differently, they reward hard work that way. You prove that you are worth investing into.”

“I see. . . But why did Sophie tell me to lay low then?”

“Probably to avoid rumors and gossip, but since you already failed at that then you might as well try your best.”

“Hey, you’re equally to blame for the attention that is cast upon me,” Arthur pointed out.

“How is it my fault?” she argued back raising her voice.

“Well, you attract a lot of attention and suddenly come up to me showing off as a target!”

“So you’re saying I should have ignored you and kept your wallet?”

“No, but you could have given it to me after class. . .”

“That wouldn’t have made a difference!”

Now that he thought about it, she was right. Regardless of how she went about it, the attention would have been there all the same.

“What’s going on here?” Sophie asked with a chuckle.

They both turned to her having not noticed Sophie approach.

“Oh, hey Sophie!” Irene welcomed her cheerfully.

“Ignore us, we are just discussing something,” Arthur tried explaining as vaguely as possible.

“Should I have not interrupted then?” Sophie asked giving Arthur a smirk.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Irene answered with a sigh.

“Well, I’m done with my activities so we can head home. Irene you coming with us?”

Arthur got up on his feet as well, stretching from all the sitting.

“Nah,” she answered. “I got stuff to do back at the apartment, I was just keeping Arthur some company until you arrived.”

“Thanks,” Sophie said.

“Well, I’m off so you two have fun.”

“What direction are you going? Maybe we could walk you home.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Irene said. “I got something I want to pick up before I head home anyway, so you two go ahead. I’ll see you tomorrow though.”

The three said their goodbyes before Sophie and Arthur proceeded home.

“So Irene huh? Never did I imagine my Oppa would pick up such a woman,” Sophie teased. "Clearly out of your league."

“It’s not like that. We’re just friends,” Arthur commented.

“Really? That’s too bad, I quite like her.”

“Well, keep on dreaming.”

“Maybe I will,” she kept on teasing him.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.