Chapter CXI - Indifferent

“Hey,” Tjay whispered, trying to catch Irene’s attention while Arthur was too busy talking to Max and Don.

“I hope you didn’t sit behind me so you could mess with me the whole semester cuz I’m sitting with Art.” Irene tilted her chair back, leaning it against Tjay’s desk. “What’s up?”

The class hadn’t started yet, and some students were still missing, including Nabi, yet Jun’s sudden appearance made the first day of school one hell of a morning. Irene hoped that Tjay would at least change the topic by asking something about Nabi, or at the very least something silly like he usually did.

“When you guys told me you ran into your ex, I never imagined he’d be Shin Jun. . .”

“You know him?” Irene furrowed her brows, tilting her head back, watching him upside down.

“Oh, come on. . . Don’t act like I’m that stupid.” Tjay crossed his arms with a smug smirk on his face. “Who wouldn’t know him? After all, he’s been all over the internet for his upcoming movie.”

“Movie?” Irene looked more confused by the second.

“Stop testing m– W–wait. . . You don’t know, do you?” Tjay’s eyes went wide as he leaned closer. “No way. . .”

Instead of waiting for him to answer, Irene immediately reached for her phone; however, while browsing through it, she felt her shoulder being grabbed before she was forced to sit up properly.

“Huh?” She mumbled, noticing Arthur’s hand holding her chair firmly.

“It’s fine if you’re paying attention, but don’t do that while on your phone,” Arthur warned her, letting out a sigh before turning his attention back to Max.

Irene couldn’t help but chuckle with a shy smile and a slight blush, as she knew that even while distracted by others, he never left her out of sight.

Her attention dropped back to her phone as she googled her ex.

“No way. . .” The look of surprise was clear as day as Irene leaned over her desk and tapped Jun on the shoulder. While it earned her a few confused looks, even from Arthur and Jun, she couldn’t resist asking, “You became an actor?”

“Ha?” Jun looked surprised, making her doubt what she read, so she checked again.

“It says it right here!” She showed her screen to him. “You have a movie coming up?”

“Not to sound like a narcissist, but. . . Do you live under a rock?” He sounded awkward while teasing her.

“Well. . . I–” Irene sighed, realizing she had nothing to say back.

Not only was he in an upcoming movie, but he was also the main male lead in the action, drama, and thriller that took South Korea by storm the past two weeks ever since the trailer was announced. However, due to recent events, she and Sophie, her partner in crime when it came to TV series and movies, distanced themselves from most media outlets. But she still found herself shocked after finding out her ex was trending all over the internet as the young upcoming star.

While his looks were already enough to earn the attention of any girl in school, seeing as he was tall, lean, and had dark hair along with a pretty face, Irene had no doubt that his celebrity status was going to be quite eye-catching.

“Relax. It’s not a big deal,” Jun brushed it off modestly. “However, if you want. . . I can probably get you and your friends premier tickets. That’s if you want to see it.”

“Say yes. . .” Tjay whispered from behind.

Irene was surprised as that would include her boyfriend, making her wonder if he was trying something funny or if he was genuinely trying to rebuild their friendship. Regardless, Irene remained wary of him.

“I’ll think about it.”

“You have my number,” he said, turning around confidently.

“Why didn’t you say yes?” Tjay dared ask, earning a petrifying glare from Irene.

“Shut it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tjay felt a chill surge down his spine as he immediately averted his gaze while breaking a cold sweat.

Irene sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

As if there wasn’t enough happening already, murmur once again stole Irene’s attention.

“Hey, who’s that?” Ryu Chan-Yeol whispered to the person next to him.

“Woah. . .” Max mumbled, looking toward the classroom door.

“Is that–” Don adjusted his glasses, trying to figure out if he was mistaken.

“So that’s the surprise,” Arthur whispered to Irene.

“Yup!” She couldn’t help but proudly smirk before looking over at the girl walking up to them.

“Hey, guys. . .” The familiar feminine voice enthralled everyone as she shyly stood still, holding her bag firmly. “Missed you all.”

“Nabi?” Tjay asked, flustered and turning red just from the sight of her.

Arthur always knew she was pretty, but because she never invested much time into keeping up appearances that she strongly doubted, her beauty got overshadowed and became a weakness. However, with the glasses replaced with contacts, hair tidied up while keeping it below the shoulder with bangs barely reaching her eyes, and her school uniform properly fitted, Nabi looked as if she had shape-changed overnight.

Though Jun was a sight to behold, Nabi’s makeover took the classroom by storm.

“Hey, Nabi. Seat’s available here if you wanna sit next to me,” Kun dared speak up, confident that the class nerd, while looking different, was still the same inside.

“Ha?!” Nabi stared, baffled. “Why would I do that?”

Everyone listening in burst into laughter, making Nabi flustered.

Kun was right. Nabi was still the same, sharp-tongued like always, but Arthur was thankful for it since drastic changes often affected people differently.

“Looking good.” Max greeted her with a smile and a thumbs up.

“Totally!” Don looked excited as well, while Arthur simply smiled and nodded.

“Thanks.” Nabi shyly turned to Irene, looking at her gratefully.

“You look beautiful,” Irene complimented her properly, making Nabi giggle while covering her mouth.

It was the first time they saw such a girly side to her as she walked past them and approached Tjay.

“Is that seat taken?” she asked.

“W–what? No.” Tjay nervously answered, swallowing nothing while pulling the chair back for her.

“Cool. . .” She mumbled quieter than the whispers around them, walking around and sitting down next to him.

“Y–you look stunning,” Tjay couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eyes as his gaze darted from her lips, her ear, and then to the shoulder.

Nabi awkwardly cleared her throat, turning to the front, too flustered to respond to his compliment.

“What’s all the commotion?” the penetrating voice of their homeroom teacher echoed throughout the classroom. “Didn’t think it’d be this lively so early in the morning.”

Everyone went silent, turning their attention to the front.

“Let’s see. . .” Mr. Nam Dae-Hyun mumbled, looking throughout the classroom. “Seems you’re all here. . . Ah! Shin Jun, what are you doing already seated?”

“Sorry, Sir. I was too excited now that I’d transferred schools, so I arrived early. Hope I didn’t cause you trouble.” He awkwardly scratched his head. “There were a few people I knew, so I couldn’t resist saying hi.”

Whispers started again, but the teacher silenced them immediately.

“Ah, I see. If that’s the case, you should’ve just told us so we wouldn’t have tried reaching out to you.”

“I apologize, Sir. I’ll try and avoid making such mistakes in the future.”

Teacher sighed, shaking his head. “It’s fine. We’ll just blame it on miscommunication.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Jun smiled as they came to an agreement.

“Now that that’s settled, I have some wonderful news. As you’ve all noticed, we have a new transfer student coming to our class. However,” he paused, turning toward the door. “We have not one, but two students who’ll be joining us this semester.”

Arthur could hear the confusion as having one transfer student in a single year was already rare for J-High, but their class was getting a third one if counting Irene.

“Please enter,” the teacher invited the third student. “Everyone, welcome our newest student, Miss Han.”

Jaws dropped as another otherworldly beauty that mismatched all standards set by the school entered the classroom. Starting from her navy blue hair, colored contacts, and even tattoos covering her body, it was a miracle she got accepted in the first place.

“Please introduce yourself,” the teacher said, taking a step back while casting a judgemental gaze in secret.

“Hi. Name’s Moon,” she announced confidently, looking completely disinterested. “Got questions? So do I. . .” She turned to the teacher. “Where’s my seat?”

Seeing Moon in a school uniform turned out to be quite the sight. The tattoo on her leg became even more eye-catching now that she wore a skirt.

“That’s it?” he asked before letting out a sigh. “Any empty seat is fine.”

“In that case. . .” Moon’s gaze fell on Arthur and Irene as she walked over to their desk and sat next to Jun.

Arthur was genuinely impressed with Moon’s ability to say less than Irene did the first day she arrived.

“Hi,” Jun greeted her with a smile without really moving much.

“Don’t talk to me,” she immediately shut him down, making Irene almost choke.

“Okay. . .” Jun mumbled, letting out a sigh before looking forward again.

“Well, Miss Moon. . . I hope you enjoy your stay at J-High,” Teacher wished her well before turning to Jun with gleaming eyes. “Now, I’m sure we’re all aware of who you are, but I’m still hoping you’d do us the honor and introduce yourself, Jun.”

“Of course, Sir.” Jun stood up, waving at the classroom while all the girls in class except three blushed. Arthur found it hard to put it in words, but even the teacher seemed to show favoritism before the semester even started. “Hey. My name is Shin Jun, and as some of you may know, I’m aiming to become a well-known actor.”

“Keep it up, Jun! You’re amazing!” one of the girls yelled, unable to keep it in.

“Thanks.” He shyly chuckled, showing a rather cute side to him.

“Oh, that’s where I saw you,” Moon spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. “You’re that kid on TV pretending to be a badass. . .”

“When you put it like that, it does sound pretty weird. . .” Jun laughed it off as Moon managed to earn countless death stares.

“Miss Moon!” the teacher raised his voice.

“It’s alright, Sir. She’s not wrong,” Jun defended her, winning favor with the rest of the class.

“I’ll let it slide this time, but the rest of you shouldn’t interrupt others while they’re talking. Especially if it’s such a preposterous statement.”

“Whatever. . .” Moon clicked her tongue, making Arthur wonder why she even bothered showing up.

In fact, knowing she was rich and with her line of business, Arthur found her attending school to be quite a surprise.

“Please. Continue.” The teacher gestured toward Jun.

“Right. . .” He chuckled, clapping his hands once. “While I’m grateful to see that I have your support, I’d like you to treat me just as you would anyone else. After all, I’ll be attending with you until graduation, and I was hoping we could become friends. Please don’t feel discouraged to come and talk to me.”

“Thank you, Jun. You may sit down.”

Jun nodded, doing as instructed.

“Now that the introductions are over, we can move to check attendance.” He sat down himself and turned on his laptop. “Nabi.”

“Yes, Sir?” Nabi stood up.

“Would you please–” the teacher looked up and stopped talking for a second, putting on his glasses and awkwardly staring at her. “Who are you?”

The entire class started to snicker.

“Sir. . .” she awkwardly mumbled, feeling embarrassed. “It’s me, Nabi.”

“It is?” He was in utter disbelief. “Well, it’s always good to take care of our appearances, but I hope you didn’t forgo your hard work just too pretty yourself up.”

“Of course not, Sir.” Nabi chuckled.

“Good, good. I expect great things from you, Nabi. You’re a one-of-a-kind student,” he complimented her. “Now, come here and fill out this form while I call out everyone’s names so we can start.”

Nabi walked over, helping the teacher. Meanwhile, Jun kept glancing at Moon.

“What?” Moon bluntly asked, annoyed that he was eyeing her. “If you got a crush, the answer is no.”

“Harsh,” he commented. “You must really hate me. Did I wrong you somehow?”

“Huh?” Moon chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Hate? Nah. Just indifferent.”

“How come?” Jun asked.

“Maybe cuz your fight scene in the trailer looked appalling,” she teased again.

Irene couldn’t help but snicker again, overhearing their conversation. Even Arthur had a smirk on.

“I see. . .” Jun glanced at the two, making them avert their gaze. “You know that’s just acting, right? Needs to look good for the camera?”

“Have you even been in a fight?” Moon sighed.

“Once or twice. . .” he said suspiciously.

“Whatever,” Moon mumbled, leaning back while looking completely disinterested. “I got nothing against you, so just ignore me.”

Moon turned her head slightly, just enough for her eyes to meet Irene’s. While her appearance made the day over the top, it was within Arthur’s expectations as he guessed as much that her attendance was part of the deal she made with Irene.

“Jones Irene,” the teacher called her name.

“Here,” Irene said before focusing on Moon. “Hope you keep your part of the deal.”

“Don’t worry, Blondie,” she kept teasing.

“Don’t call me that. You know my name.” Irene sighed.

“But it goes well with pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy?” Jun couldn’t help but ask.

Moon simply gestured toward Arthur with her thumb.

“Still. . .” Irene sounded annoyed.

“And drop the pretty boy too,” Arthur added, speaking up finally.

Moon looked at both for a second before turning back around. “I’ll think about it.”

“So difficult,” Irene sighed, knowing it wouldn’t get better than that.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.