Lie Again! Chapter 21

<Chapter 21. Sudden Heavy Rain (1)>

 

As if the past days of sunshine had never existed, Thursday started with an overcast sky, threatening rain from the morning. The large gray clouds drifting by looked ominous. 

 

Because of the summer weather that changes its appearance quickly, some kids talked about the homecoming game tomorrow with worried expressions. 

 

It was a dull lunchtime, made worse by the gloomy weather and the boring dress code. Today’s dress code was ugly t-shirts—and Joey muttered, wondering whose idea that was. There were far more students not participating in the dress code than those who were. Every now and then,  you’d see one or two kids wearing funny t-shirts. 

 

And one of those rare kids was sitting at Jin’s table, munching on a hamburger. 

 

“Where do you get these?”

 

Ruth asked, picking up Dustin’s shirt with his fingertips.

 

Dustin was wearing a short-sleeved red-and-white striped shirt, covered in printed chickens. The chicken heads filling the front and back of the shirt looked fierce.

 

Thanks to that, the kids once again had to endure passing students snapping photos of them. 

 

“Seriously awful…”

 

“It’s Dad’s.”

 

“…That’s cool. I want one too. Uncle’s taste is still the same.” 

 

Ruth, who was about to harshly curse at the shirt, quickly changed direction at Dustin’s response. Dustin generously offered to bring Ruth a pizza shirt from home.

 

Joey, who was looking at the two of them pitifully, changed the subject from their foolish conversation.

 

“Jin, have you voted for royalty?”

 

“Not yet. Did you all vote?”

 

“I did it a long time ago. Today will be the last day. Hurry up and do it, hurry up!”

 

Joey took Jin’s phone and opened the Crawford voting site. When Jin got the phone back, the screen displayed a long list of faces registered as royalty candidates. 

 

Emily Gwen, Sophia Blake, Caden Fisher, Alex Fines…

 

Who did you vote for? Are there other people besides Gwen and Butterfield? You? Sophia Blake. Wow, I wondered who would vote for Blake, and there he was.

 

With the chatter of the kids in the background, Jin’s gaze moved slowly across the faces before coming to a stop on one. It was Evan Butterfield, looking younger than he did now.

 

The boy was smiling brightly, looking somewhere, and it seemed like a photo taken during last year’s homecoming game. The light from above shattered across his profile as he sat in the stands.

 

It was a face that made you wonder what he was smiling at. Jin, imagining where the boy’s gaze had landed, absentmindedly tapped his face with her finger. 

 

Below the photo was a gray check box. As Jin looked through the girls, she checked the box under Emily Gwen without hesitation. She might sometimes give her scary looks, but there was no denying she was incredibly pretty.

 

And for the boys… Jin tapped the screen with her fingertip. Each time her finger hovered over Butterfield’s name, the checkbox flickered between pale green and gray, over and over again.

 

Jin hesitated for a moment before quickly casting her vote and exiting the page. She didn’t want to think about it any longer.

 

“Who did you vote for?”

 

Joey leaned in toward Jin, asking as she turned off her phone.

 

“Secret.”

 

Jin smiled and pressed a finger to her lips.

 

“There are no secrets when a duck is watching.”

 

Dustin, who had been quietly eating his hamburger, suddenly interjected. The kids looked at him with question marks on their faces. Despite throwing out what sounded like a joke, Dustin’s expression remained completely serious. 

 

“…What are you talking about?”

 

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. The duck is always watching, no matter where or when.” 

 

“So what kind of nonsense are you talking about?”  

 

“…Dusty, who did you say your new roommate was again?”

 

Joey cut off Ruth and Dustin’s spinning conversation. 

 

“Liam Hawkins.”

 

Ah. The three of them sighed at the same time at Dustin’s answer. Only Jin looked back at the kids with bewildered eyes. Who is Liam Hawkins?

 

“Don’t play with that conspiracy theorist.”

 

“Watch out for the ducks.”

 

“I already did this.”

 

Amanda clicked her tongue at Dustin.

 

* * *

 

It was the weekly chemistry lab cleanup. By now, Jin should have been used to it, but after the unexpectedly pleasant atmosphere yesterday, standing in front of the chemistry lab door felt strangely unsettling. 

 

‘Don’t be nervous.’

 

Scolding herself for not being able to control her own thoughts, Jin took a deep breath and opened the chemistry lab door. 

 

As soon as she opened the door, Jin’s eyes met Butterfield’s, who was resting his chin on his hand. The neatly dressed Butterfield from yesterday had vanished like an illusion, replaced by the usual slightly relaxed, slightly roguish version of himself.

 

Jin briefly hesitated, wondering if she should greet him in response to his unwavering gaze, but ultimately decided to just turn her head away. 

 

As if it had been ages since they last exchanged lighthearted jokes, the two silently went about their tasks without a word. 

 

The chemistry lab, which was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of a clock, was darker than usual due to the cloudy weather. Dim sunlight poured in between the passing dark clouds, illuminating the dust floating in the air.

 

The tension in Jin gradually eased in the quiet stillness. The sound of water dripping onto the sink and the occasional clink of glass bottles against the wooden shelves echoed through the classroom. It was a languid, peaceful afternoon.

 

“Um, Jin.”

 

Breaking the silence, Butterfield called Jin’s name. Startled by the sudden voice, Jin turned to look at him. 

 

“Are you going to this Homecom—?”

 

However, before he could finish the sentence, there was a noise interrupting him. 

 

Knock, knock.

 

At the sound of the door knocking, both Jin and Butterfield simultaneously looked toward one side. Through the dim glass, a silhouette was faintly visible. 

 

As soon as she saw him, Jin had a strong hunch that the owner of the lurking shadow outside the door was likely Pablo.

 

Strangely, Pablo seemed particularly eager to explain something to Jin today. She recalled the look on his face as he chattered non-stop, unable to continue his words before Mr. Jones, the math teacher, entered. 

 

The person presumed to be Pablo was now leaning against the window, trying to look inside.

 

Jin, who had walked ahead of Butterfield, let out a small sigh and approached the door.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

When Jin opened the door and asked, Pablo, who had been sticking to the window, quickly straightened his body, pretending it wasn’t him. 

 

“I brought some materials related to what I mentioned earlier.”

 

Pablo pushed his glasses up with the back of his hand and handed the tablet to Jin. 

 

The tablet was filled with various research papers. Animal experiments and their relation to humans. Clinical trial success rates. Words like penicillin and thalidomide, which were headache-inducing, appeared here and there. 

 

Pablo started rambling while pointing at the tablet. It was the third round, following chemistry and math classes. Listening wasn’t too difficult, but…  

 

‘The problem is that Butterfield is cleaning alone in the back.’

 

Jin glanced back with an embarrassed expression. She knew she didn’t need to listen; since they were in the middle of cleaning, she could simply push it off and tell him they’d talk later. 

 

However, Jin didn’t want to see Pablo, who looked so excited, quietly close his mouth and turn his back at her dismissal. That was probably because, despite pretending to be unaffected by the idiot’s teasing yesterday, she had noticed Pablo’s clenched fist at the same time…

 

The sound of Pablo’s voice, quietly replying with “I know too,” lingered in Jin’s ears. It was hard to be harsh with Pablo. She thought she should just wait for a natural break in the conversation and then carefully bring it up. 

 

“…So, about the Homecoming…”  

 

As Jin listened to the conversation, half of her soul seemed to drift away, and Pablo glanced at her from the side. After swallowing once, he adjusted his glasses again, ready to get to the main point he’d been hiding.

 

Ha.

 

A loud sigh was heard in the two of their ears. It was the voice of someone who had been quiet the whole time.

 

“Now, it’s like everything is…”

 

The faint murmur of words was accompanied by the sudden scent of soap. As her body was pulled back, someone’s chest pressed against her back. The heat on her shoulders and back made Jin hold her breath for a moment. 

 

Butterfield crossed his arms and leaned against the door, looking down at Pablo with a sideways glance from behind Jin.

 

“As you can see, Jin and I are in the middle of cleaning right now. How about you talk about that later?”  

 

The moment Butterfield shot a one-sided remark, he pulled Jin’s arm and slammed the door shut right in front of Pablo’s face.

 

Before Pablo could even open his mouth, he continued cleaning as if nothing had happened, leaving Jin who was looking flustered.

 

When Jin opened the chemistry lab door again after looking at Butterfield’s back for a moment, Pablo had already left. Jin stared at the empty hallway and quietly closed the door.

 

“…Can’t you stop doing things like this?”

 

It was a low and faint voice, but due to the quiet atmosphere, Jin’s voice echoed slowly through the classroom. 

 

Butterfield paused for a moment and turned around to stare at Jin. A smile soon appeared on his expressionless face. He was smiling, but his expression was somewhat twisted.

 

“Oh, I guess I bothered you again.”

 

A sharp sarcasm escaped from the smiling mouth.

 

“That’s not what I meant. Why close the door in someone’s face when you could just let them go quietly?”

 

“Am I dreaming right now? Getting a lecture for closing the door in front of some nerd? This is a first, Jin.” 

 

“Cut it out. Who do you think you are to treat people like that?” 

 

“Oh! So the benevolent Jin Lee is kind to everyone, I see.”

 

“….”

 

Jin narrowed her eyes and glared at Butterfield at his sarcastic tone. Butterfield, in turn, silently looked down at her. 

 

The two’s gazes collided in the air, creating cold sparks.

 

After a while, Jin swallowed a sigh and turned her head away from Butterfield first. She didn’t mean to fight. How did it end up like this? The emotional drain that was growing longer was tiring.

 

Butterfield, who was watching Jin avoiding him, let out a small laugh.

 

“Then how about you ignore me less?”

 

“What?”

 

“You smile all sweetly in front of all those idiots, but when you’re standing in front of me, your face just hardens.”

 

It’s disgusting.

 

Whispering the last words, Butterfield passed by Jin. The door slammed shut behind her.

 

In the classroom, where a faint scent of soap lingered like an afterimage, Jin let out a long sigh.

 

The sunlight continued to shine faintly into the classroom, as if unaware of anything.