Chapter CXII - Insufferable

“I don’t get it. . . What’s so great about him?” Max asked, leaning down on the lunch table while looking at Jun, who was getting swarmed by girls from not just their class but others too.

After first period ended, Moon and Jun were swarmed, similarly to how Irene was when she first showed up; however, unlike Jun and Irene, Moon simply brushed them off and disappeared.

“Let’s see. . . He’s tall, good-looking, talented, famous, and–” Tjay started counting on his fingers before glancing at Arthur, who seemed completely out of it. At first he thought it was because the girls weren’t with them, but something was obviously messing with him. “–and not that special. . .”

“Hmm?” Arthur noticed Tjay’s sudden change in tone, chuckling through a smirk. “Thanks, but there’s no need for that.”

“Maybe. . .” Tjay sighed. “But to think Shin Jun was dating Irene before this. That’s kinda wild.”

“Agreed. . .” Max mumbled, still having his gaze set on Jun.

“Maybe you should stop staring so much,” Don warned.

Max scoffed, averting his gaze. “Whatever.”

“Wait, why do you have beef with him?” Tjay looked confused.

“I just don’t, okay?” Max decided to keep it to himself.

“I just wish there weren’t so many eyes on us. . .” Don mumbled, noticing quite a few people staring.

“Tell me about it,” Tjay agreed, kicking his legs out and leaning back. “Who knew Art’d become Mr. Popular.”

“I don’t think it’s the right kind of popular,” Arthur added, letting out a sigh while taking a bite at his food.

“Popularity is popularity,” Tjay said.

“Can’t argue with that,” Max sided with him.

“Well, I wish they’d stop if you ask me.” Arthur averted his gaze, knowing well he was getting glares from many of his classmates.

People were already talking about the scene from earlier where Arthur presumably stole Jun’s seat next to Irene. It didn’t take long for the truth to get twisted, but with Jun’s popularity on his first day, Arthur knew he had a lot to look forward to, especially as exhaustion piled up.

Walking past the group’s table were two classmates that scornfully glanced at Arthur, not dumb enough to provoke anything but brave enough to show distaste.

“I’d beat them up so bad, but. . .” Tjay clenched his fists and started mumbling, “Don’t let others destroy your inner peace. . .”

“I–is that supposed to be your way of avoiding trouble?” Don asked, making Max burst into laughter.

“If it works, it works,” Arthur said.

“Thank you, Art. . . At least someone understands me.” Tjay’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the two making fun of him.

“I wouldn’t go that far, jeez. . .” Arthur joined in on the teasing, getting Don to snicker as well.

“Ugh. . . Traitor.” Tjay shook his head and reached for his drink.

The group sat silently for a bit, still having lots of time before next period.

“Anyway, are we not gonna talk about Nabi’s transformation?” Max said, looking at Tjay. “Like. . . Even the teacher didn’t recognize her.”

“Yeah, she changed so much,” even Don commented.

“You better not be thinking of something, or I’ll–” Tjay chuckled, failing to keep a straight face. “Wait. Did you know about this, Art?”

“About Nabi?” Arthur crossed his arms before letting out a yawn. “Nah. Irene didn’t mention it once.”

“Moon showing up was also wild,” Tjay commented. “Why do you think she transferred?”

“I don’t know. Same as us?” Arthur guessed. “She’s our age and probably wants to finish school.”

Unlike where Arthur came from, school in the new world was mandatory if one wanted to make a proper living, or so he thought, never really questioning it.

“You think so? Kinda suspicious, knowing now that your grandfather owes her brother money,” Tjay pointed out.

“Tjay.” Max gave him a stern look, reminding him not to talk about it in public.

“Sorry. . .” Tjay sighed.

Arthur didn’t say anything straight away and instead got lost in thoughts as he stared into his half-eaten food. His appetite seemed to be lacking, something that rarely happened.

“I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt,” Don spoke up. “I don’t think she’s a bad person.”

Arthur agreed but didn’t voice his opinion.

“I’ll be right back,” Arthur said, suddenly getting up from the table.

“Where you going?” Tjay asked.

“The bathroom?” Arthur raised an eyebrow before walking away.

“I’m getting worried about him,” Max said.

“Same. . .” Tjay mumbled.

“Come on, guys. If anyone’s gonna pull through, it’d be him. Right?” Don asked, trying to be optimistic. “Right?” he repeated.

“Did you hear Shin Jun enrolled in our school?” a student said while washing his hands in the bathroom.

“Too bad he ain’t in our class. I bet if we could befriend him, we’d have loads of chicks around us,” his friend answered.

“No joke. . .” He sighed. “Being famous sure is unfair.”

“I don’t know about unfair, dude. He worked hard to get to where he’s at.”

“Yeah, but–”

“Don’t be jealous just cuz he’s talented, and you’re not.”

“Hey!” he protested before both started laughing.

Jun was taking over the school by storm, and while not everyone talked about him, his name was dropped everywhere Arthur looked. However, his bigger issue was that it wasn’t the only thing they mentioned.

“Anyway, didn’t you hear? Apparently Irene from his class and he go way back.”

“Jones?” he asked, turning off the water and glancing in the mirror.

“Yeah, and apparently, they dated for a while.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Well, that’s what my brother told me. He went with them to middle school.”

“Oh, right. He’s a year younger, ain’t he?” He paused for a second. “Man, I told you. . . it’s so unfair. To think he’d get to date such a hottie.”

“It doesn’t end there. His friends told him that this morning while Jun and Irene were talking, that suicide kid from their class stepped in and stole his seat.”

“That guy that got hit by the truck?”

“Yeah, Arthur. He’s been buzzing around her ever since she transferred to their class. Bet you he’s jealous and afraid.”

“Are they dating?”

“What? No way. A guy like that should be thankful he gets to be around her in the first place, let alone dream of being with her. Though, I bet he pervs on her all the time. If anything, if she did get together with him, it’d be a major downgrade from Jun.”

“Too bad, cuz if they were, then even I’d have a shot.”

“Dream on. . .” He started snickering.

“Still. . . It’s only a matter of time before Irene and Jun get back together.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Oh, come on? Really?” By the sound of his voice, it was easy to tell he was smirking. “If anyone’s gonna win her over, it’d be him.”

“Same as I’ll be the only one who’ll win over Iseul.”

“Hah. . . Look who’s being optimistic now. You’ve been in her class for three years and haven’t even gotten her to talk to you for longer than a minute.”

“You’re just mad that suicide kid has a better chance with Irene than you do.”

“Yeah, right. . . I bet you the rumor about him manipulating them through a sob story is true.”

“Maybe when Jun takes her away, ”

“Maybe when Jun takes her away, Arthur will off himself for good this time.”

“Think we’ll get to skip school cuz of it?” He joked but regretted it immediately as the bathroom stall door behind him opened.

Realizing Arthur was listening in from the beginning, they both went silent and watched as his eyes scanned them from head to toe before he turned toward the exit. It wasn’t as if they were afraid of him, but Arthur could tell the discomfort was unbearable.

Right as he was about to leave the bathroom, he turned around and said, “Iseul? You’ll have better luck making a snowman in Hell.”

“What did you say?” he was clearly agitated, but Arthur didn’t hesitate to leave, shutting the door behind him.

“Art?” a familiar female voice called his name as he wandered the halls, lost in thoughts.

Turning around, he saw Iseul carrying a large box.

“Oh, hey. . .” he mumbled, noticing she was alone. “Wasn’t Irene with you?”

“She was, but Sophie called us over, and I had business with the school council.”

“Here. Let me–” Arthur took a step closer, grabbing the box that turned out to be much heavier than he expected, or at least too heavy for her to be carrying around unnecessarily.

“Ah. . . Don’t worry about it,” she said, still holding on.

“It’s fine. Let me help,” Arthur reassured her.

“Thanks.” She sighed in relief as she let go.

“No worries, but where are we heading?”

“Upper floor,” Iseul chuckled awkwardly.

“Who made you carry this around?” Arthur furrowed his brows.

“I took it upon myself. . .” she admitted, taking the lead so they wouldn’t be standing around.

“Don’t overwork yourself,” he lowered his voice, following every step of the way.

Iseul led him to a club room filled with various boxes and other school equipment that nobody was using, making Arthur wonder if he could just hide there and take a nap.

Setting down the box, Arthur stretched his arms and looked as Iseul sat on the table.

“Thank you for helping me,” Iseul smiled, her feet failing to touch the ground.

“No worries. Call me if you need help with this again. You shouldn’t be the one carrying this with so many guys around.”

“Always reliable.” She chuckled, but then her expression softened with worry as Arthur’s gaze seemed to avert whenever he had nothing to say. “You okay, though?”

“Huh?” He was caught off guard. “Yeah. Just annoyed with damn brats who have nothing better to do with their lives.” Realizing what he had said, Arthur paused and looked back at Iseul. “Sorry. . . Ignore that.”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Iseul reassured as she got to witness Arthur openly being stressed out for the first time. “Guessing this has to do with the gossip spreading like wildfire.”

“Reached your ears too?”

“Despite my best efforts, it’s hard not to hear it, especially after spending time with Irene. But don’t listen to them. They’re all just a bunch of idiots, as you said.”

“How’s she doing?” Arthur asked, walking over to the table and sitting next to her, enjoying the distraction.

It wasn’t as if it were any different from the world he lived in before. Gossip was a part of everyday life that people either genuinely enjoyed or used to vent their frustrations so long as it had nothing to do with them. And while the poor did it out of envy and spite, the rich, who had little to worry about, truly thrived on such acts. Now that life was made easier with technology, and many lived lives comparable to aristocrats of the past, everyone could waste their time doing so.

“Annoyed, but doing alright,” Iseul explained, leaning down a bit to gaze into his eyes. “If anything, I’m more worried about you. None of us expected Jun to suddenly show up, but I do hope you’re not overthinking things.”

Arthur shook his head. “I trust her with my life.”

“Good,” Iseul smirked, standing back up and raising her fists. “Otherwise, I’d have to beat you up for doubting my BFF. I’m warning you. I can be quite deadly.”

Arthur helplessly placed his hand over his mouth before starting to snicker, which quickly turned into a hearty laugh. She was making a sweet joke, and it was also the first time he saw Iseul do something poorly. Her stance was ridiculous, and it was easy to tell she had never had a real fight before, but that was beside the point.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, regaining his composure slowly.

Iseul took a step closer and messed with his hair with a proud grin. “You look much better when you smile.”

“Thanks. I needed that,” Arthur said, feeling a bit more at ease with himself.

“All good. Though, is it bad that I can’t wait for you to reveal you’re dating? Better make it spectacular.” Iseul chuckled, taking a step toward the door. “Now let’s go. I gotta find Max.”

“Okay.” Arthur smiled, caught thinking about seeing Irene again.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.