COLLIDE [PARK SUNGHOON]

3.

I nod my head unconsciously. "Roller skating yeah, why?"

I don't know where this is going, but answer anyway. This conversation-heck, this whole day has been a weird dream. "You've won several competitions, you're practically a professional?" adds Jake, making me look at him.

"Woah woah, I wouldn't put it that way but-"

"Yes?" Jungwon says, inching forward with a smile.

"Okay maybe, but what does this have to do with Sunghoon?" I finally ask, not following. They are all acting very strange. As Sunoo is about to answer me, Sunghoon interrupts him by waving a hand in front of his face. "Just drop it. There's no point because one: she won't do it and two: I don't think she's capable of it."

I frown and fold my arms. "Well Sunghoon, maybe if you explain and stop giving me ignorant insults, I might know if I am capable of it." He widens his eyes and a rosy blush covers his face. 

"I didn't mean it like that it's just that-"

Finally having enough, Jungwon catches our attention by scraping back his chair. "Our little Hoonie has been sulking all day because he hasn't found a new skating partner for his next competition yet, since his previous partner is in hospital with a, what was it? Injured wrist?" Jake and Sunoo nod as Sunghoon looks so done with them and shyly scratches his hair.

Okay, so he doesn't have a skating partner. Horrified, I add two and two together and an ironic laugh escapes my lips. "Oh no no no, I will be doing no such thing. I'm in a competition myself, I don't have time for that."

"Then we won't leave you and your friends alone" Jake casually slams his hands on his desk, startling our incoming English teacher, including me. My eyes widen and I grit my teeth together. Remind me again why I am talking to them?

"Yah! If she doesn't want to, so be it. I knew in the first place that she didn't want to." A frustrated Sunghoon exclaims as he runs a hand through his messy hair. This sentence evokes something in me and I look first at Sunoo, then at Jungwon and then at Jake. "You're leaving me and my friends alone, forever?"

There is interest in the room as they eagerly lean forward. Sunghoon's head perks up at my question and he frowns, not quite believing what I was implying. All three grin as Sunoo says the last word. "You have our promise."

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

English is over and I am ready to head to my next class, but when I want to leave I am pulled aside by Sunghoon. He gently tugs my arm after checking that everyone has left. "Why? You know you don't have to do this. I could have easily found someone else".

"Then why didn't you? Sunoo told me you had been searching for two weeks" He grits his teeth at this revelation. I sigh deeply. "I'm not really fond of this idea, but I want to help you, well I just want to help my friends if it means helping you."

He stares at me with an intense look and I feel small under his gaze. The way his dark, mysterious aura swirls around me makes me shudder a little. "I hope you know what you're getting into" With this said, he walks away, leaving me confused. But before he can reach the door, he quickly stops himself and turns around.

"Dahlia?"

"Yeah?" I whisper, staring absently at the spot where he was standing earlier, before my eyes make contact with his piercing eyes.

"Thank you"

He walks out as I am left astounded. Did he just thank me? Shaking my head, I wish this day was over. First we're in trouble with the troublemakers at our school and now I've made a deal with the ice prince? What on earth is happening?

Our last period today is art, thankfully with my friends. I think about whether or not to tell them about the deal, but a crying Eun-Ji snaps me out of my thinking. I rush over to her as Chae-Won tries to comfort her by gently patting her head. "What happened?"

A sobbing Eun-Ji looks up through her eyelashes and begins to break down, suddenly hugging me. "I should have listened to you," uncomfortably I stroke her back and send Chae-Won a questioning look. She only points at the boy in question and my jaw tenses at the sight of him with yet another girl. "What did he do?" I mutter to Chae-Won, as Eun-Ji is unable to speak.

"He said he was not interested and just kissed his new girlfriend in front of Eun-Ji" Hearing this, she sobbed harder, but I gently sooth her to calm down. I thought they would leave us alone. 

"Can you take her for a moment I will be right back" I guide a crying Eunji-Ji to my other friend who is tilting her head. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do and I mean it!" she exclaims, but I am already walking towards Sunghoon who is fortunately standing alone and putting away his books.

As I walk over, I slam his locker shut. "I thought we had a deal?" He flinches and drops his book as I feel a little bad, I quickly pick it up for him, but then I return to my annoyed state. His innocent-looking expression won't fool me.

"We do" he says simply as his eyebrows begin to draw together. "Then explain why my friend is crying over your friend. I thought you were going to leave us alone?" I should have known better than to make a deal with them. He sighs and closes his locker, then looks at me, then back at his friends and lastly at my friends. Swallowing, he faces me again. "I don't know what that's about, but I think Heeseung didn't know about our deal yet I'll talk to him, okay?"

With that, he walks back to his far too energetic friends. "Sunghoon?"

"Yeah?"

"You better not fool me"

I look down before walking away, lightly brushing against his unmoving body.

≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫

While we are now a chilly Tuesday, I can't help but miss summer, when I could skate outside in the blazing sun, sunbathe and have fun with my friends. Now it is a dark, hazy autumn day, filled with leaves swirling on the pavement, making it look less dull.

Tucking my cold hands into my jacket, I walk into the school to quickly find my friends. Somehow I feel a little guilty that I haven't told them about the deal yet, but I will now, especially since they kept asking me questions about my conversation with Sunghoon yesterday.

"Hey guys. Are you feeling any better Eun-Ji?" She nods absentmindedly and I feel the uneasy tension around us. Things are very different since Heeseung's stunt. I decide to break the tension by clearing my throat. "Sooo-"

"-Uh, don't be mad at me, but I kind of made a deal with Sunghoon, we are going to skate together" This makes them both look up in surprise. Their faces are a mix of shock and confusion. "What do you mean by deal? What do you get in return?" Chae-Won doesn't fully understand why I would accept a deal with one of the troublemakers and frankly, I can't believe myself either.

Rocking back and forth on my shoes, I press my lips together. "You can tell us" Eun-Ji's frown deepens and I swallow before nodding. They are right that I can tell them. "I made a deal to be his skating partner if his friends would leave you alone."

Chae-Won scoffs and looks at the group of friends in their usual corner, leaning against the lockers. "Yes, we could see that" she hums, casting Heeseung a vicious glance. At that moment, I know she is thinking about yesterday and somehow I feel guilty again. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you Eun-ji" I take her hands in mine and squeeze them to reassure her that she will be fine. She sends me a small, symphatic smile.

"But then he didn't know about the deal Sunghoon and I made, from now on they should leave you alone. I would hate for you to get hurt by some jerks. You deserve better Eun-Ji" They both smile softly and after giving Eun-Ji one last convincing look, she lets out a dry chuckle. "Maybe you are right, he is a total asshole" she says firmly but not fully convinced and Chae-Won has a proud look on her face. "That's more like it girl."

They are both smiling now and I am glad this didn't turn into a disaster. I can only hope that training with Sunghoon doesn't make my training with Ye-Jun worse.