✔︎ GET YOU • jungwon - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

"Did you know the story of how Ni-ki mistakenly drank wine and thought it was badly made grape juice? He even screamed 'Latteria! Latteria!' while he pointed at a café!" Sunoo cackles loudly inside the convenience store as Ni-ki tries to shut him up with the bread in his hand, though it did little to shut Sunoo up as it was still covered in plastic.
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"Uh.. Sir, you haven't paid for those yet..." The poor cashier's voice weakens with each word she utters, struggling to confront the loud highschoolers as they roam around the convenience store, ruining the peace surrounding it.
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Ni-ki, who typically does not mind his environment- Of course- Didn't hear the cashier, and continued shoving the bread in Sunoo's face.
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Jungwon dreaded being with his friends during these times. Yes, he is a little embarrassed at their loud behaviour. He strongly believed that they shouldn't act exactly as the typical stereotype of highschoolers being unruly and disorderly. Jungwon absolutely detest the idea of acting out of the 'norm'.
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However, he can only sigh in defeat. It's not like he would scold his friends for having their own kind of fun. His principles do not uphold his friends, and he completely respects that.
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Silently, Jungwon made his way to the beverage aisle. And the first thing that caught his attention was the bright yellow drink by the row of milk.
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Banana milk. Jungwon briefly looks at it.
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His mind was too occupied with the moments when his crush would sip on it everywhere and everytime around the school campus, where he typically sees her.
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Before Jungwon could even realise it, his hand was already moving towards the drink, as if he was drawn to it.
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Jungwon could barely remember the last time he ever took a sip of this drink, specifically this brand which his crush could always be seen drinking. Doesn't it taste so artificial? His head tilts in hesitation.
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"Come on, Jungwon! 'You buying anything?" But when both his friends called up to him from the cashier area, he didn't try to put it back into its place after having the sudden impulse of buying the said beverage.
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"I'll get this." Jungwon smiles politely at the cashier before handing out the money.
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There are glass frames sold at the convenience store, and it's located exactly by the cashier counter. Usually, it would stay unnoticed, but for some obvious reasons, Jungwon noticed the black square frame that looked similar to the one his crush possesses.
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In the heat of the moment, Jungwon imagined the moments when his crush would fix her glasses, or wipe the lenses carefully yet thoroughly using her yellow silk lens wiper.
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Ni-ki noticed the way Jungwon absent-mindedly stared into space, clueless that he was staring at the glass frame section behind the cashier.
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"Hyung, do you not want your change?" He asks with raised brows.
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Jungwon was brought back to reality by this. In front of him, the cashier awkwardly stood with her arms reaching out. She looked at Jungwon with bothered eyes.
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The boy quickly apologised to the cashier and quickly took his change in embarrassment while his face heats up into a bright blush.
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Did I just think of her against my will? Jungwon thought and mentally facepalmed himself for being so embarrassing.
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Why would he constantly think of a girl? Why should everything remind him of her? Why can't he refrain himself from thinking about her?
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Jungwon immediately turned around, only to be met with the worried eyes of his friends.
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"Jungwon, your banana milk.." Sunoo says in concern. It was obvious that Jungwon is bothered- or distracted- by something, which is so unusual of him.
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Could this be any more shameful? Jungwon would like to dig a grave for himself. He was being too obvious. What if his crush suddenly barges in and somehow gets a clue that he's quietly obsessing over her?
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Gosh, should he even call this obsessing? It's weird, so weird. But then again, when it comes to infatuation and love, what is it there to not be weird about?
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"Right." He flattened his lips sheepishly and stopped breathing as he briefly turned around to get his milk, before pushing both his friends out the convenience store.
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Damn the world because he is madly attracted to this girl. Again and again, he doesn't even know anything about her, not even her name. Yet this effect she has on him, this impact she created in his life, it's no longer normal; Especially for someone who's merely a stranger.
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Rather than forgetting about this weird attraction, Jungwon felt the urge to do the opposite. Tomorrow- He shall know the name of his crush. And tomorrow, his crush must know of his existence.
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It's easier said than done, but hey! At least he got the courage.
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Now, all he's got to do is to actually walk up to her with a valid excuse, and also not be fazed by her unwavering aura.
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"Gosh, what was that, Jungwon?" Sunoo asks with wide eyes, still dumbfounded over the atypical act of his friend.
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"Hyung, were you really that embarrassed of us?" Ni-ki questions in both amusement and disbelief.
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"No-" Jungwon abruptly stopped and thought for a second, before shrugging. "I mean kinda? I don't know, I was embarrassed of the two of you but that's not why I'm like... that."
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Sunoo quirks an eyebrow. "Care to tell why, then?" He queries with narrowed eyes.
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But before Jungwon could answer, Ni-ki got an answer for him. "Ha, it's probably because he's stressed over the student he's tutoring at th-"
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"Hell no! I swear to God, I'm never tutoring anyone ever again." Jungwon strongly refuses Ni-ki's claim. The topic made a scowl form in his face, and his continuous huff-and-puff made it understandable for his two friends that he disliked the topic.
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But the two were confused; Why would he hate tutoring? He earns good money, especially since his name also got a good reputation around parents, who willingly pay a considerably huge amount of money just to get Jungwon to tutor their children.
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They probably think that by getting their children to get closer to the running valedictorian, their kids would be influenced- Jungwon believes otherwise though.
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"Tutoring isn't for me. I hate it." Jungwon expressed his message clearly with the growing frown in his face.
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But that only intrigued the ever-so-nosy Sunoo "Eh- What part of teaching the stuff you already know to your dumb blockmates?"
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Jungwon fully turns to Sunoo due to his question. "First of all, please don't call people who avail tutoring sessions dumb because most of the time, they actually aren't. And two, you don't know what it's like!"
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"It's like there's this... like, you know how..." Jungwon tried to form words that would explain his hatred for tutoring, however, there was no excuse to explain in the first place.
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He detests the idea of tutoring ever again for no other reasons than being drained of his almost non-existent social energy.
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Now that he's had a terrible conversation to start with his friends, there came the sudden urge to rattle his whole crush problem to his friends and seek their advice, or help him get at least her name, maybe even force them to formulate a plan and a reason to approach her.
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However, he chose not to pursue that issue for now. Because he didn't trust that his friends would make any good ideas out of the topic- Rather, they'd be too busy teasing him and all.
I would die if they blabber about it and she's actually near us. Jungwon felt sick the stomach just by imagining how his crush would probably see him as a freak or whatnot.
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The goal-oriented boy was overthinking, again; And it's all because of one girl.
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A girl clad with her uniform walks down the streets, both hands softly gripping on the strap of her Jiji themed backpack, eyes locked on the paved sidewalk she walks on.
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She was still inside the school premises despite dismissal time being an hour and a half ago. It was a bit unusual for her. But she's got a reason.
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You see, lately, there's this boy she's been seeing around lately- Technically, she wasn't looking at him, nor for him. But in her peripheral vision, she'd always notice the same boy. So, earlier, she chose to observe him too.
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Unsurprisingly, there's nothing out of the norm, he'd just look at her, then he'd proceed to zone out.
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She is hyper alert of her surroundings, and the boy who stared at her all the time didn't go unnoticed. She was a little creeped out, but she knew who the boy was. How could she not? His face is pinned right at the top of the pyramid at the announcement board.
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Yang Jungwon, the recently elected student council president. In all honesty, he was not who she voted for, she did not know of his existence until the very election day, for she is a new transferee who's still adjusting to the new environment she was introduced to 3 months ago.
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A part of her is telling her that the president of the student council must be interested in asking her for a short survey regarding her experience with the school.
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However, would that really take three weeks?
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"Im Hani! " Someone suddenly shouts for the girl's name, which causes her to halt. She turned around, only to see a girl who she could only identify as her blockmate.
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Hani is clueless of her blockmate's name, so she had no other choice but to awkwardly stand there while the girl jogs closer to her.
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"Miss Wong, she wants to see you. She's waiting at the faculty." The girl relays a message, and Hani just stood there, bothered.
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Why would Miss Wong want to talk to me? Did I do something bad? I must have gotten a really low score on a quiz again, didn't I? Am I getting expelled because of my low grades? Those were the thoughts inside Hani's mind.
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The girl standing across from her knew that the ever-so timid Hani was as bashful as she can be, so it was most likely that the small reluctant nod that Hani did was all that she'll get from her.
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So, she fled and finally went on her own way, leaving Hani with a train of thoughts, bad ones at that. With a nervous heart, Hani proceeded to her short journey to the main faculty room.
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"Im Hani, dear." Now inside the faculty room, Hani sits across from Miss Wong's table. Her legs quiver in nervousness as she lightly bit her bottom lip. She was doe-eyed as she looked up at Miss Wong through her eyelashes. Her arms were crossed, and she felt extremely small.
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Miss Wong is her homeroom teacher, so Hani's apprehensive tendencies are acknowledged.
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"Don't worry, the reason I called you is nothing serious." Miss Wong smiles as she intertwines both of hands and leaned closer to her table.
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"You see... I believe you could do better with your academics. And I also believe that with a little help from others, we can make that happen." Miss Wong started enthusiastically.
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Meanwhile, Hani didn't even bat an eyelash and she tried to listen attentively to what Miss Wong was saying, fearful that she'd forget it, or that she'd upset Miss Wong by not being able to do whatever she'd want her to do.
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"So I would like to give you some thought about tutor sessions? I shared the idea with your parents the last time they were here." Miss Wong suggests, but Hani gulps.
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"I..." Hani stutters. "I'm not sure about it... Miss."
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Hani expected MIss Wong to express her disappointment for turning down her effort to help. But instead, she was met with a reassuring smile.
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"And that's totally fine." Miss Wong stands up and guides Hani out of the faculty room. They both gallops out of the room and towards the corridors. Miss Wong abruptly stops, so did Hani.
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"Remember Hani, there's no harm in trying. To be accepted, to get rejected... It's all part of living life. Don't give things much thought darling." Miss Wong caresses Hani's shoulder while the other eagerly nodded in complete silence.
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"If you happen to agree with hiring a tutor, just let me know anytime, okay?" Miss Wong says, and the latter only nodded as a response.
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"I could call someone good for you. He's in the same year. You know Yang Jungwon, right? Our student council's president?"