"Does walking make you feel better, or would you rather sit down somewhere and rest?" Sunghoon asks as they slowly walk along the sidewalk among the trees, breathing in the autumn air.
Wonyoung glances at him and smiles slightly.
- Walking with you actually makes me feel better. Thank you for agreeing to accompany me - she replies.
The eighteen-year-old boy looks ahead and at some point certain thoughts appear in his head. He wonders if he wants to bring up this topic or if he should hold off for now, but his curiosity eats him up so much that he is unable to hold it in any longer.
He would like to know what happened three years ago.
- Maybe this isn't the right time for such a serious conversation, but I can't hold it in any longer, Wonyoung. I want to know the truth and hear that you're not the one I should hate.
The girl stops mid-step and looks at him with frightened eyes.
- What do you mean? - she asks in a whisper, swallowing nervously.
He stops in front of her and looks intensely into her eyes, seeing the fear in them.
- Explain to me why I see your face in my memories? What happened three years ago that made you lean over me on an empty road to check if I was alive?
Her knees are weak. Her face is even paler than when she started feeling sick.
" Sunghoon ," she says in a pained voice, feeling a strange lump in her throat.
"Yes, it was me and my friend who died that night," he says, still staring at her horrified face. "I didn't come to Inhon because I wanted to study here. It was my hard work to meet you and find out if it, was you? Was it you who killed my friend and left me unconscious on the side of the road?"
The 19-year-old girl places a shaking hand over her heart, looking as if she were about to cry.
"Why are you doing this now, Sunghoon? Why are you mentioning this when I'm not even able to talk about it?" she says in a panicked voice.
"Because I want you to confirm that it wasn't you. Ever since I came here and met you, all I could think about was that I should find out the truth about the past, so how did I come to like you so much, Wonyoung? I'm doing it now because I can no longer hide my true intentions from you."
- How did you know who I am and where I study? - The girl watches him with large, frightened eyes, not resembling herself at all that moment.
- You come from a rich family, Wonyoung, I accidentally came across an article about you in the newspaper, I immediately remembered your face.
The pain the girl feels in her heart is indescribable.
- So you came here to take revenge on me?
- So it was really you?
Tears flow from her eyes as the painful past returns to her at a dizzying pace.
- Yes, it was me. It's my fault - the girl claims, then presses her lips together to keep from crying harder. She can't tell him that drunk Somi, who didn't even have a license at the time, was the driver.
Her ex friend told her the truth about Jay to protect her, so how can she blame her at this point? They were both very irresponsible that night.
Drunk Wonyoung did nothing to stop her from this crazy idea. She is just as guilty of the accident and death of that boy.
Regardless, it was that night that broke the friendship between the girls. Wonyoung wanted to confess, but Somi strictly forbade her from doing so, hiding behind her father, the prosecutor general, who covered up the whole incident.
She remembers the moment they hit something with such force. At first, the girls thought it was a large animal, but when Wonyoung got out of the car and saw the two boys lying on the road, she sobered up immediately and realized what their thoughtless behavior had led to.
One of them lay several dozen meters away, dead. The other was still breathing, it was Sunghoon, next to whom Wonyoung was leaning down and checking if he was alive.
She wanted to call for help, but a panicked Somi grabbed the phone from her hand and forbade her from doing so. She forcibly took her back to the car and drove away, leaving the injured Sunghoon to his fate.
- Don't hide that person, Wonyoung. I remember you weren't alone there. I didn't see that girl anymore, but I heard her talking to you, she wouldn't let you call for help. Who was that? - he asks her in a raised tone, at this point not at all resembling the nice guy he usually is.
The nineteen-year-old girl is trembling with fear, panicking and not knowing what to do. She can't give up Somi.
- Sunghoon ...
- Remember, I could have told the police that I remembered your face, but I didn't. I knew all along that there was someone else with you, and I wanted to find out at all costs which of you was the driver?
Wonyoung is distraught. She doesn't know what to do at all. She cares about Sunghoon, she's in over her head and she can't imagine him hating her now, but she can't give up Somi!
- You can report me to the police, I will accept the punishment I deserve - the girl says, sniffling.
- Impressive, Wonyoung, how you want to take all the blame. Was it one of your sisters?
Biting back a sob, the girl turns her face in a different direction, avoiding his gaze.
- I'm sorry, I can't reveal this person.
"If you think about it and change your mind, you can call me anytime. I hope you'll be honest with me, because I really don't want to hate you, Wonyoung ," he says, before shoving his hands into his pants pockets and walking away, leaving her there alone. Only then does the teenager burst into tears.
As long as she covers for Somi, she is finished in his eyes.
***
Jake stretches in the doorway as he and his friends leave the classroom where their last class was held.
Yuna, who is right behind him, pushes him forward, looking at him with a scowl.
- Let the others pass.
"What's wrong with you, girl? Are you this hostile towards all guys? Or just me?" Jake follows her, not willing to let her go. He teases her at every turn, unable to get over the fact that she's not like other girls and won't openly discuss how much she adores him.
She holds too much to herself and doesn't share her feelings with others, which is why she's difficult to figure out.
- Leave me alone! Don't follow me! - the brunette girl shouts at him.
No one knows that this is her defense mask against her true feelings for Jake. She would rather behave like this towards him than have him find out that she is in love with him. She is perfectly aware that he will not return her feelings anyway. After that night, he made it clear enough to her that they were just friends and to forget what happened between them while drunk.
You can see how his eyes shine at Somi. He has been fascinated by her for many years.
- Why are you so aggressive? Do you have mental problems?
"You're annoying me," she tells him, then stops to wait for the others. He stands next to her, still pursuing the subject.
- Or maybe you're avoiding me because I'm too sexy?
- Niki is sexier than you - she claims, but she says it at a bad moment, because the boy just appears in front of them.
- I would rather not hear it from your mouth.
- It wasn't honest - the brunette girl tells him.
- So you do say I'm sexy after all? - Jake continues to pester her.
Yuna rolls her eyes and focuses on Somi, who finally approaches them, stubbornly calling someone.
- Strange, Wonyoung isn't answering my calls.
- What's so strange about that? You're ex-friends. He just doesn't feel like talking to you - Niki replies.
- No, we were supposed to meet and talk about something important.
- About those TV vampires you were talking about this morning? - Niki loves to be snarky.
Somi gives him a piercing look.
- Have you seen Wonyoung? - asks Sullyoon, who unexpectedly appears next to them. - I was supposed to go home with her, but she disappeared into thin air. She's not answering my calls.
The blonde girl looks worried. The first thought that comes to her mind is that she bumped into Jay.
- That's strange, she probably wouldn't expose Sullyoon - Yuna says. - Where did she go?
- Her car is in the parking lot.
A girl walks past them and says shyly:
- I'm sorry, but I overheard what you were saying. Are you looking for Wonyoung? A while ago, I saw her feeling bad in the hallway and this new, handsome guy took care of her. They went somewhere together.
Niki snorts under his breath.
- Then there's nothing to worry about. Wonyoung is being properly cared for.
- Seriously, she left me without a word, to my fate, to go for a walk with Sunghoon? - The youngest sister looks dejected.
"Oh my, the baby's been exposed." Jake walks over to her and forcibly hugs her like a baby. Niki frowns as he watches. "You'll have to ride back with your crazy sister on her motorcycle."
- I will never ride her bike! - Sullyoon denies. - She rides like a maniac.
- I'll take you home. I have nothing to do anyway - Niki says, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from Jake.
The eighteen-year-old girl seems quite pleased with how things are going.
"Impressive that you care about my youngest sister now, my friend," Yuna says.
"So you're just going to let her take the bus home so she can run into that lunatic?" Niki asks sarcastically before turning to Sullyoon. "Let's go, I'll take you home. I'd love to say a few words to Wonyoung about how she treated you to flirting with somebody."
- Don't blame her. I was just looking for her because I was worried.
"You sounded different a moment ago, you said she stood you up." Niki pulls her toward the stairs, and Yuna watches them through narrowed eyes.
- I think he's been focusing too much on my youngest sister lately after Wonyoung rejected him. If he's planning anything against her, she'll die at my hands.
Jake looks at her with pity in his eyes.
- You should be happy that he cares for our little one.
- Our baby? - Yuna repeats, but he ignores it and hugs the girls.
- Ladies, where are we headed? Do you have any plans, or would you rather spend time with me?
Somi frees herself from his embrace.
"Stay away from me if you would rather not get hurt," she announces, then walks past them and quickly heads towards the stairs.
Once they're alone, Jake looks at Yuna awkwardly.
"Then should we go home?" he asks, stepping away from her.
The brunette girl feels sad, but doesn't show it. A moment ago, he proposed going out with her, and when Somi left, he didn't want to go anywhere with her anymore, as if after that incident he was afraid to spend time alone with her.
"See you tomorrow, Jake ," she says, forcing a smile before turning her back on him and walking away.
Behind her mean girl facade, she has a weakness for expressing her feelings. If she keeps being like this, she will never win anyone's heart.