Chapter 19: Can't Stay Away

[Sierra’s POV]

School was a drag today. I spent the whole day reminding myself not to turn around so that I didn’t have to look at Jae Wook’s face.

“You’re going to get stiff neck by the end of the day,” Hee Chul whispered to me when he realized what I was doing.

“I don’t want to look at him. His expression is killing me,” I whispered back.

“What expression?” he said and turned to look.

“Don’t!” I hissed at him and grabbed him by the shirt so that he wouldn’t turn.

“He’s not even looking at you,” Hee Chul smirked.

I took a quick peek and saw him staring intently at the textbook in front of him.

“He was, this morning…” I said.

“Well he isn’t now,” he said, but that didn’t put me at ease.

During lunch, instead of joining our group like he had been doing for the past week, he dragged Dong Hae off with him to a table far away from ours. Dong Hae looked pretty confused, but so did Sung Min and Shin Dong. I haven’t told them about the breakup yet. So they thought that we were having a fight or something.

“What’s going on?” Sung Min whispered to Hee Chul, thinking that I couldn’t hear him.

“Mind your own business,” Hee Chul said as he continued eating.

“Did they have a fight?” Shin Dong piped in.

“Ask Sierra,” Hee Chul said, loud enough for me to hear, and the 2 of them looked at me, willing me to put their curious minds to rest.

“I’ll tell you guys later,” I said. “I’m not in the mood today.”

As soon as the last bell rang, I packed up quickly and stood up, ready to bolt out of the classroom. In my hurry, I collided with Jae Wook; he was probably also thinking of the same thing.

Music: Loveholic – Leave Me

“Mian,” I mumbled, and quickly walked out ahead of him.

“Wait up,” Hee Chul called out and sprinted after me.

I walked as fast as I could until the school gates were in sight.

“You don’t have to run away from the poor guy,” Hee Chul said, trying to keep up with me.

“Han Kyung said he’d pick me up. I don’t want him to see me leaving with Han Kyung,” I said.

“Araso… araso…” he said and followed me quietly.

Hee Chul stood outside the school gates with me for a good half an hour. Han Kyung hadn’t shown up.

“Where’s lover boy?” Hee Chul asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied, and adjusted the straps of my backpack on my shoulders.

“Here…” Hee Chul said and took the backpack from me. “I’ll carry it,” he smiled.

“Thanks,” I said, and rubbed my tired shoulders.

“Why don’t you call him?” he asked.

“I don’t want to,” I said.

“You’re such a stubborn pig,” Hee Chul laughed. “Here you are, standing under the hot sun, waiting for the jerk, and yet you wouldn’t call him.”

“You know why…” I said, and exhaled sharply.

“Oh yea… that pride. Sierra Hwang should never have to call a guy for services. Men should beg to serve you,” he joked.

“You know this isn’t a good time to be lame…” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Ne… samonim…” he laughed.

“Where is he?” I muttered to myself as we continued to wait.

[Jae Wook’s POV]

Dong Hae and I were walking towards the school gates when suddenly he grabbed my arm and tugged me in another direction.

“What… Dong Hae… the school gate’s that way,” I said.

“Let’s take the side gate,” he said and continued to walk hurriedly.

He was being downright odd, so I decided to see if there was something he was pulling me away from. I turned my head, and saw Sierra and Hee Chul loitering at the gate. Shouldn’t she have gone home by now? I stopped walking, and just stood and watched as she and Hee Chul talked and paced about at the gates. Then I realized that she must be waiting for Han Kyung.

“Let’s go,” Dong Hae tugged at my arm.

I brushed Dong Hae off and started walking towards Sierra.

“Jae Wook… don’t do this,” he said as he followed me.

“Go home,” I said to him. “This is my business.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” he said.

I’d told Dong Hae the whole story while we were waiting in the classroom earlier.

“Mwo?” he practically screeched. “She dated Han Kyung? Are we talking about the same Han Kyung?”

“The one who punched me because of you,” I said.

“The god-son of the supreme jjang, Ahn Sung Ki?”

“One and the same,” I sighed.

“Dude… you could’ve died… for real,” he said, in a tone which could only be indentified as disbelief.

“What do you take me for? A dweeb?” I said. “I know I look and act like I’m the confused freshie. I only do that to be inconspicuous.”

“Inconspicuous?” Dong Hae snorted. “You date the queen-ka of the school within the first week and you think you’re being inconspicuous?”

“I planned to be, until I met Sierra, until I met you. You encouraged me,” I pointed out to him.

“Well… I didn’t know she had such a complicated background. I always thought that she was just being picky. I didn’t know that the reason she couldn’t date any guy for long was because of that psycho. I’m beginning to realise that Ee Teuk didn’t scare them off. Han Kyung must’ve been behind all of those failed relationships.”

“How many has she had?” I asked.

“Quite a few,” he contemplated. “They barely last a week, let alone a month.”

“So you’re saying me being dumped in the 2nd week was lucky.”

“Sort of,” he shrugged.

“I’m not letting go,” I said, and I turned to walk towards Sierra as I had initially planned.

Music: Buzz – 남자를 몰라 (You Don’t Know Men)

I strode towards Sierra and Hee Chul. As I approached, they looked up towards my direction. Hee Chul smiled a knowing smile, and Sierra tried to maintain the expressionless look she had been giving me the entire day.

“Can we talk?” I said as I stood in front of her.

“Umm… I’ll be just around the corner,” Hee Chul said and turned to walk away.

“Stay,” Sierra said as she reached out and grabbed him arm to pull him back.

“I need to talk to you, alone,” I emphasized.

“Hee Chul is practically family to me, he can hear whatever you have to say,” she said.

“Sierra, please…” I said.

“Talk to him,” Hee Chul said, and walked away before she could stop him again.

After Hee Chul walked off, she turned away from me, facing the road outside the school gates. It’s obvious that since I’ve not known her for long, I’m having a hard time reading her signals. As much as I’d like to believe that love made you more perceptive of the person you loved, it’s pretty much a myth.

“Sierra,” I said her name softly.

“I’ve said all I needed to,” she said to me. “What else have I not made clear to you?”

“You were very clear,” I said.

“Then why are you still here?” she demanded.

“To tell you that I’m not giving up,” I said.

She glared at me, and bit her lip gently, contemplating a suitable reply to me. Her final answer was a little unexpected.

“Jae Wook-ah… hajima…” she said softly.

“Wae hajima?” I asked her.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said.

“I’m not afraid of getting hurt,” I said.

“What if you have to die for me?” she asked.

“I’m not going to die for you,” I said. “I will stay alive because I want to be with you.”

“It’s not going to work,” she said, shaking her head sadly.

“Sierra!” I pleaded as I grasped her shoulders with both my hands.

What did I have to do to make her see that this could work?

Just as I was about to say more, a black limo pulled up in front of the school gates. The passenger door swung open and out stepped Han Kyung, obviously fuming at the sight of the 2 of us standing together.

“Take your hands off her,” he said.

“No,” I said, and pulled her towards me, wrapping in arm around her.

“Let me go,” she said.

“You heard her,” Han Kyung said.

“No,” I replied.

“You’re really asking for it, aren’t you?” Han Kyung said.

“What are you gonna do? Kill me?” I mocked him.

“Let go of her,” he said.

“No,” I said.

I released her, only to grasp her arm in my hand, and I started running, dragging her along with me. I prayed hard before I did that. I prayed that she would run with me, and not pull me back and refuse to leave with me. My prayers were answered… she was running beside me, and I hoped that this meant that she was with me again.