Lie Again! Chapter 31

<Episode 31. Abnormal phenomenon (1)> 

 

Is he really out of his mind? 

 

Jin, holding a tray, quickly turned her head like a meerkat on alert as she followed the children. Even as she scooped up the thick macaroni while sitting down, Jin’s gaze never stopped moving.

 

Right-side window seat, empty. 

 

In front of the vending machine, no one. 

 

Not among any of the slightly noisy groups, either. 

 

Only after thoroughly scanning the inside of the cafeteria did Jin finally relax and let the tension leave her body. 

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Ruth, who had been watching Jin, turned his head away from Jin and asked. The usually calm friend seemed almost frantic today, glancing around restlessly, as if she were being chased by a murderer.

 

Realizing her own disgraceful behavior, Jin awkwardly twisted her hair and opened her mouth, her face flushed with embarrassment. 

 

“Butterfield… is strange.”

 

Jin thought back to what happened this morning.

 

‘Hello, Jin.’

 

Several eyes were suddenly fixed on Jin as he spoke in a low voice. Jin, who suddenly caught everyone’s attention, stopped in her tracks and looked around at the owner of the voice. 

 

Is the ‘Jin’ talking about me? There’s no one around like ‘Jinny’ or ‘Jun’… 

 

As soon as she turned her head, someone appeared right in the center of her view, but Jin deliberately pretended not to see him and turned her gaze away. 

 

However, the owner of the voice, Evan, smiled while locking eyes with Jin, as if to block her attempt to avoid him. 

 

Only then did Jin hesitantly point to her own chest with a creaky motion of her fingers, and Evan’s playful smile grew even brighter. Yeah, it’s you.

 

The curious eyes around him turned to Jin once again. Jin, who had stiffened her body, quickly nodded her head twice before leaving the place. 

 

Evan smiled broadly and turned his head as he saw her back moving away as if to warn him. 

 

Swish.

 

After the swimming lesson ended, as Jin climbed up the pool ladder, droplets of water fell off her body. It was then, with her limbs trembling from the harsh treatment by Mr. Parker, that Jin forced herself to push against her weak body to plant her feet on the ground. 

 

Something suddenly dropped heavily over her head. With her vision abruptly blocked, Jin pulled the object off her head.

 

The object turned out to be a large jersey, more than enough to cover Jin’s upper body completely. In front of her, Evan stood, blocking out the sun. Jin opened her mouth with a bewildered expression. 

 

‘Why are you giving this to me…’

 

‘Put it on.’

 

Evan said calmly and turned his back and walked away.

 

‘No, why this, hey!’

 

The bewildered voice trailed behind him, but Evan naturally ignored it and continued on his way. Only Jin, left behind, stared at the clothes in her hand and the person who had given them to her with a helpless expression.

 

The strange things didn’t end there.

 

During break time, Jin was grabbing a book from the cabinet when a light tap on the head made her turn around. 

 

In front of her, a large hand waved gently, as if greeting her.

 

Hello.

 

Evan, who made eye contact with Jin, greeted her with a silent motion of his lips and quickly passed by, as if his only purpose was to say hello to her.

 

Jin, who was staring at Evan’s receding figure in confusion, briefly gathered curious glances from those around her before they quickly dispersed. 

 

And Evan greeted Jin whenever he saw her—in the hallway, in the classroom, and on the sports field. He didn’t seem to mind at all whether she responded to his greetings or tried to avoid him. 

 

The only problem was Jin.

 

Jin felt like her heart dropped with a heavy thud every time he acknowledged her in front of others. Evan Butterfield was someone who drew attention wherever he went, and almost without fail, whenever he did something to Jin, all those eyes turned to her too. It was overwhelming. 

 

“Butterfield keeps… acting familiar and greeting me.”

 

Jin summed up all the strange things that had happened that day in one sentence. The expressions on the kids’ faces shifted into something hard to read.

 

“Didn’t he just say hello?”

 

“Jin, you did cleanup duty with him for a whole month. I guess he’s just happy to see you.”

 

“He’s sociable.”

 

A calm voice flew in one after another.

 

“Is that so…?”

 

Jin made a puzzled face at the casual response.

 

“Good social skills? He doesn’t even respond when I greet him.”

 

“That’s exactly what you call the social skills of a popular high schooler…”

 

Jin, who had been cutting up the food on her tray with a fork, suddenly noticed that the table had gone quiet and looked up. Joey, who had just been complaining to Dustin about the social skills of the so-called “cool kids,” had also fallen silent. Her eyes were wide open, staring at something above Jin’s head. 

 

Following Joey’s gaze, Jin turned around—only to immediately lock eyes with the handsome guy standing right behind her. 

 

“Enjoy your lunch, Jin.”

 

Evan called out to Jin and smiled. His dimples were deeply sunken on both sides of his cheek. 

 

As if that was the end of his business, Evan passed them by.

 

Following behind him came Jonathan Hanson, who winked at Jin; Olivia Clarke, who looked between Evan and Jin with her mouth agape; and Emily Gwen, whose expression was not just cold, but outright frosty, as they all passed by one after another. 

 

The kids left at the table all stared after Butterfield with expressions like a storm had just blown through. 

 

“This is… definitely strange.”

 

The kids nodded at Ruth’s words.

 

* * *

 

After the strange lunch period ended, fifth period—Chemistry, which Jin shared with Evan—began. Jin lingered in front of the cabinet for a long while, then finally rushed into the classroom just before the bell rang. She just felt like doing that.

 

Kiiiek.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

As soon as the classroom door opened, their eyes met as if they had been waiting for it. Jin quickly turned her head before Evan called her name again. 

 

The back of her neck tingled as she sat as far away from him as possible, but Jin stubbornly stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice. 

 

“That’s it for today’s class. You’re free to leave the classroom.” 

 

Mr. Ross announced the end of class, but Jin didn’t budge from her seat. She busied herself flipping through her book for no reason and neatly rearranged the already organized lab tools. Only after the rest of the students had cleared out did she finally get up. 

 

‘…He’s not here, right?’

 

Just as Jin let out a small sigh after confirming the classroom was empty and reached for the door—

 

“Hello, Jin. What are you doing after class today?”

 

The voice Jin had heard far too many times that day greeted her once again. Evan was leaning casually against the hallway wall next to the door, looking down at Jin.

 

At Evan’s words, the kids who had been gathered around him turned their curious gazes toward Jin. With glances flicking back and forth between her and Evan and the low murmurs spreading through the group, Jin’s face grew warm with embarrassment. 

 

Between the big kids, Jin, who had been standing still and creaking like a broken robot, chose to run in a line. 

 

“You’re really slow at running.”

 

“Why are you following me, don’t follow me!”

 

Jin, who was running blindly, screamed at the sound of voices from the side.

 

“Your running form is kind of weird. Your arms and legs are almost moving forward at the same time.” 

 

Whether Jin cared or not, Evan Butterfield shamelessly pointed out her running form. Eventually, he even grabbed both of Jin’s arms and started swinging them himself. 

 

“Shake them like this.”

 

Now with a face that looked like it might catch fire any second, Jin clenched her teeth and grabbed Evan’s arm in one swift motion. Then, without a word, she sharply turned and ran somewhere. 

 

The place she arrived at was an abandoned music room located in a corner of the first floor. Evan looked interested as he saw Jin shaking the lock.

 

“Why, why are you doing that?”

 

Jin, having closed the thick, soundproofed door and turned around, spoke. His tongue stumbled over the words, as if echoing his flustered state. 

 

“What?” 

 

Evan, who was looking around the dusty classroom, answered calmly.

 

“Why are you suddenly like this!”

 

“Can you help me with my math homework?” 

 

In response to Jin’s question, which was on the verge of driving her crazy, the answer she got was completely unexpected. 

 

“What did you say?” 

 

“In return, I’ll help you with your homework too. I think it’ll be pretty helpful.” 

 

Naturally, at the words he blurted out, Jin muttered in disbelief.

 

“Why would I do that…”  

 

“Or, you could just keep greeting me like you have been. I’d be happy if you said hello every time we met in the classroom, the cafeteria, the pool, and the hallways, right?” 

 

That was definitely not a good idea. Jin had already experienced what it was like to get involved with Evan Butterfield and have rumors spread. 

 

She could already hear the sound of her comfortable school life going down the drain.

 

“…Do you just need help with the math homework?”

 

Jin quickly changed her strategy. It seemed wiser to just do whatever he said rather than being bothered all the time.

 

At Jin’s declaration of surrender, Evan’s eyes sparkled with mischief. As Evan grinned triumphantly, dimples appeared on both of his cheeks. 

 

“Please.” 

 

“…But don’t act like you know me anywhere else.”

 

Jin shot a pouty look at Evan’s smiling face and snapped at him. Evan gazed down at her with a mysterious expression before shrugging his shoulders. 

 

“If you want.”

 

This is the first time he heard her say not to pretend to know. 

 

Jin warned him firmly once again, pretending not to hear Evan mumbling.

 

“It’s a secret from Hanson that we’re studying together.”

 

“You might want to watch what McCoy says.”

 

Jin finally closed her mouth when she had nothing else to say.