Chapter CX - Back To School

Cheating.

It was a topic that plagued Irene’s mind ever since Hyun betrayed Nabi.

“Why do people do it?” She mumbled while sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in her school uniform, watching as Arthur slept.

The peaceful look on his face made her curse the first day of school, knowing she’d wake him up soon.

Ever since Ryung’s treatments started, Arthur began sleeping longer in the mornings, which gave Irene a chance to enjoy his innocent and defenseless self. Maybe it was silly, but it was the only time she knew he wasn’t burdened by reality.

Irene knew juggling his grandfather’s debt, taking care of Sophie, the upcoming semester, and countless unspoken problems was already challenging enough. Adding herself to the list of things he needed to worry about was just about the last thing she wanted.

Jun’s sudden appearance was an unforeseen event that had burdened her ever since they met two days ago.

It wasn’t because she was thinking about Jun or anyone else. No. If anything, she was as confident about her feelings for Arthur as one could get. However, she could tell that Arthur felt like he was lacking as her boyfriend, constantly apologizing for being low on energy and promising that once it was all over, he’d make it up to her.

No amount of reassurance helped, and she was perfectly aware of what doubt about one’s partner could do to a couple. In fact, she saw the worst of it back in England.

Amelia was a very private person, sharing little despite the time she spent with them. That was especially true about her dating life.

A year ago, her sister started dating a guy with whom she went to school. He was smart, funny, diligent, and well-spoken for his age. He even proved himself to be quite the gentleman, making their relationship sweet and innocent at first. However, it all went downhill fast when Amelia was falsely accused of cheating by a jealous classmate that wanted him for herself, causing a rift between the two.

She worked tirelessly to repair the damage, promising it was nothing but empty lies, and while foolishly believing things got better as time passed, she caught him in bed with another woman.

It was devastating, but what made it worse was the excuse he made, claiming he couldn’t trust her anymore and knew she would eventually hurt him. If it only ended there, maybe she could’ve moved on, but what made things immeasurably worse was that soon rumors spread that she cheated with two guys at the same time, and any defense she had or accusation against her ex had ended in slut shaming.

While nobody was spreading such rumors about Irene, nor did she believe Arthur would bother listening, she didn’t want any doubt to exist between them. But it just so happened that Nabi’s sudden breakup simply hit too close to home.

“H-hey. . .” Arthur groaned as he felt the mattress shift slightly from Irene leaning over. “What time is it?”

“Relax,” she whispered, tracing her fingers across his exposed chest. “You got plenty of time.”

Yawning deeply, Arthur pushed himself up before rubbing his eyes.

“I should wake up Sophie. . .”

“She’s already up,” Irene reassured him, gazing at him with a soft smile. “They’re making breakfast for us, so you might want to hop into the shower real quick before we head to school.”

“Is that so?” Arthur asked, taking a deep breath with his eyes closed and groaning again as he exhaled.

“Come on. It’s a big day today,” she said, kissing his cheek before messing with his hair.

Not long after, Arthur joined them in the kitchen for some egg rolls with ham, cheese, and veggies.

“God, I could get used to this. . .” Sophie mumbled with her mouth full before yelping. “Oppa!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Arthur warned her without even bothering to look her in the eyes.

“I thought you stopped doing that. . .” Sophie mumbled, making the sisters chuckle.

It wasn’t that he kicked her hard under the table, but it definitely took her by surprise as he hadn’t done it in months. Irene noticed him doing that before and made a conscious effort not to do the same as his sister; however, on the occasion that she does talk with her mouth full, Arthur never went out of his way to warn her. It was almost as if he was ignorant of it ever happening.

“Excited for the first day?” Amelia asked, but the gloomy look on everyone’s faces was more than enough of an answer. “Right. Who would be. . .”

“You. . .” Irene mumbled, making the rest chuckle.

“It’s gonna be fun seeing everyone again,” Sophie claimed optimistically.

“I guess. . .” Irene somewhat agreed, but other than a few girls from their class, and two of Iseul’s classmates, there wasn’t anyone that caught her interest. Well, that was if she excluded their close group of friends.

“And we’re getting new classrooms,” Arthur reminded, taking a sip of water.

“Now that’s something to look forward to,” Irene smirked.

“And the lovebirds strike again,” Amelia teases, glancing at Sophie. “Ain’t that right, Soph?”

“Nothing wrong with wanting to sit with your boyfriend,” Irene defended herself, clinging to Arthur’s arm.

“Right.” Sophie shyly smiled.

Arthur couldn’t help but stare affectionately at his sister’s tender smile. “Guessing you’re gonna sit with Ari? I haven’t seen her in a while. How’s she doing?”

“Yup!” Sophie showed her radiant smile. “She’s doing fine. Just busy with family stuff, but now that school’s starting, I’m sure she’ll be able to come over again. Maybe we could do a movie night?”

“On a school night?” Amelia furrowed her brows.

“Huh?” Sophie looked baffled, watching as Amelia burst into laughter a second later.

Their morning shenanigans continued, and the conversation dragged on to the point where they almost left late for school. Luckily, Petra, their bodyguard that was starting her early shift, came knocking on the door and gave them a lift to the front gates.

With the summer break lasting nearly as long as the whole semester, it felt strange returning to the halls of high school. If anything, it was nerve-wracking for Arthur, who had too much on his mind.

“You go on ahead. Need to use the bathroom real quick,” Arthur said to Irene after they split up with Sophie.

“Then I’ll grab us a seat.” Irene’s soft-spoken voice reached his ears as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Irene pushed her hair to the front and simply smiled. “Don’t take too long.”

“Back before you know it.” Arthur chuckled, drifting off to the side.

Letting out a sigh, Irene went to the classroom on her own, and just as expected, it looked completely different from how it was before.

Other than the obvious changes, such as the desks being pushed together for two to sit next to each other, they added newer equipment. The smartboard was the most eye-catching, along with the charging station, which was long-time requested by the student council.

Despite some parents protesting, believing kids would spend more time on their phones, Irene’s Uncle insisted that the school must remain modernized and that the mentioned problems would be dealt with by strict regulations, which the school didn’t lack.

Immediately after entering the classroom, Irene was greeted by her classmates while the boys were already arguing in the back over which seats they’d take.

“See? I told you you were wrong,” Irene overheard Yang Ji-Hu whispering, a classmate she had seen in passing, who happened to throw a glance at her more than once.

Typically Irene wouldn’t bother thinking the whispers had anything to do with her, but her intuition told her otherwise. However, she kept her curiosity in check, refusing to approach so baselessly.

“Sorry, bud. . .” Max shrugged, dropping his bag down next to Don while looking at Tjay. “Maybe try your luck with her.”

“Don’t even dream about it,” Irene shut him down before he even had a chance to say anything while looking down the right side seats near the window.

Choosing a seat three rows down was not her first choice, but it was far enough for the teacher not to be up in their faces while still being able to pay attention. It also meant that if she let Arthur have the window view, Don would be her right-side neighbor.

Satisfied with her choice, Irene placed her bag down and took a seat.

“Oi, Kun. Give me your seat,” Tjay said to Ha-Kun, who was seated behind Irene.

“Huh?” He looked confused, surprised to see Tjay approach him like that. “What did you say?”

While Kun was known for being a dick, especially to Don and Arthur during their first year, his question was genuine as he didn’t hear him. Still, it was enough to agitate Tjay, who never really liked him. However, now that he had made a promise to Nabi not to start trouble, he bit his lower lip and lowered his voice.

“Would you mind giving up your seat? We’re trying to group up.” Tjay faked a smile.

Kun chuckled, looking at Irene, who sat in front of him. “No way, dude. This seat is taken.”

While waiting for the class to start and for everyone to be seated, Irene joyfully listened in on Tjay’s conversation, knowing well he couldn’t act rashly anymore. It brought a smile to her face when she realized he was already being challenged. However, her fun was ruined when Tjay leaned down and whispered something in Kun’s ear.

“Really?” Kun looked at him wide-eyed.

“We got a deal?” Tjay asked with his arms crossed.

“Fuck yeah!” He cheered, getting up from his seat.

Tjay immediately flopped down, letting out a sigh which had Irene turn around.

“He seemed happy,” Irene mentioned, assuming Tjay didn’t threaten him based on his cheerful reaction.

“Just trying to be nice. . .” Tjay sighed again, placing his bag on the table.

Irene couldn’t help but proudly smirk after seeing that Tjay was taking his promise seriously, trying his best to get rid of his bad habits for Nabi’s sake. She didn’t voice it, but secretly she was rooting for the two since the beginning, believing that they’d be quite the pair.

It wasn’t as if he was the only one who needed to work on becoming better. Nabi also had her fair share of things to deal with before diving into another relationship, especially after being hurt. However, knowing what she knows, the boys were in for quite the surprise.

Too occupied with imagining them together, Irene failed to notice the increasing number of murmurs in the classroom.

“Is this seat taken?” Irene heard an overly familiar voice that made her eyes go wide.

“Jun?!” Irene snap turned toward him. “What are you doing here?”

The answer was right in front of her as she saw the J-High uniform.

“Didn’t I tell you?” He smiled, focused solely on looking at her. “I’ll be attending J-High until graduation, so we’ll be seeing each other a lot from now on. Isn’t that great?”

It was becoming obvious as to what the gossip was about with piercing eyes glued to them. Initially thinking Jun’s chapter was over after the nightclub, Irene realized avoiding him for three semesters was impossible. Luckily for her, Arthur had expressed that he wouldn’t mind if she talked to him, so she believed everything would be fine as long as she set firm boundaries.

“My uncle helped you, didn’t he?” Irene leaned back.

“And here I thought I could keep it a secret.” He chuckled. “Honestly, I didn’t know he was a fan. Should’ve seen his eagerness to have me enroll.”

“Why?” Irene furrowed her brows in confusion.

“Mind if I sit?” he changed subjects again, showing his unwillingness to stand.

“Seat’s taken,” Irene said calmly.

“Too bad. I wanted to sit next to someone I knew,” Jun explained. ”Who is it? Maybe I could ask them for their seat–”

Before Irene could answer, Jun felt a hand on his shoulder as Arthur walked past him, placing his bag on the table.

“Window view, huh?” Arthur asked, paying no attention to Jun.

“Thought you might like it,” Irene smiled at her boyfriend.

“Maybe I’m too predictable.” Arthur chuckled before turning around with a smile. “Jun.”

“Arthur,” Jun mumbled. “Didn’t think you two were in the same class.”

“You sound disappointed?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, acting as if he expected him to show up.

“Don’t be silly. I’m glad there’s at least one more person I recognize.” Jun giggled while touching Arthur’s forearm, still being held by his shoulder.

Irene knew neither of them was the type to pick a fight, so she had nothing to worry about; however, their voices barely muffled the loud whispers surrounding them.

Starved for drama, their classmates had quite the feast on the first day. Not only had someone new shown up who was objectively considered attractive by many, but he also immediately approached Irene and appeared to have known her from before, raising loads of questions. On top of that, Arthur, a student with quite a negative reputation following him since the start of high school, even long before he reincarnated, just sat down next to her, cutting off the new guy.

“I’m sure you’ll adjust quickly, but if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” Arthur didn’t hesitate in dismissing openly any hostility that could be picked up.

“Thanks,” Jun said, taking a look at the seat in front of them that wasn’t occupied yet. “Guess I’ll sit here.”

Arthur didn’t bother responding, walking over to his seat and dropping next to Irene.

“Art. . .” Irene whispered but was immediately met with a reassuring smile.

“This’ll be one hell of a semester,” Arthur chuckled, giving Irene a wink.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.