Lie Again! Chapter 72

Chapter 72. A New Face (2)

 

A baseball cap worn backward, a loosely thrown-on long-sleeved shirt, shorts, and flip-flops. The curls sticking out from beneath the cap gave him an almost boyish air, making him seem all the more carefree.

 

It was still a bit early in the season for such clothes, yet even so, James occasionally fanned at the front of his shirt as if he were warm.

 

Jin idly wondered if it was because he was an athlete with a high metabolism, then refocused on him as he continued speaking.

 

“So, how is it? Your second semester at Crawford.”

 

“Mm. I haven’t adjusted one hundred percent yet. But it’s better than the first day…”

 

A couple sitting at the table behind them, who had been having drinks with their child, finished packing up. 

 

With their departure, the shade they had provided vanished, and bright sunlight poured directly onto Jin’s face. She reflexively squinted and raised a hand to shield her eyes as she finished her sentence.

 

“At least now I know where the classrooms are.”

 

“In that case, Jin, how do you feel about helping a poor lost lamb? I still haven’t adjusted to school.”

 

As he spoke, James gradually leaned his body toward her. Shifting around, he checked to see that the sunlight hitting Jin’s face was now blocked by his back and gave her a look asking if she was okay. 

 

Jin nodded in thanks, but she scoffed inwardly at the idea that a graduating senior hadn’t yet adjusted.

 

“Liar.”

 

“It’s true. I don’t even know where the tennis club is, let alone my classroom.”

 

They both knew that they had first met inside the tennis club just a few days ago. Jin laughed and shook her head at his shamelessness. Then she froze at what he added next, eyes narrowing slightly.

 

“I’m not just saying that. If you’re okay with it, I’d like to keep seeing you.”

 

Despite her quiet discomfort with the word date, James had kept the atmosphere light and pleasant the entire time. He was attentive, and the conversation had been enjoyable.

 

From their meal at a Mexican restaurant near the coast, to a brief walk along the beach, and now, their talk had never once stalled. James clearly knew how to hold a conversation.

 

Jin wasn’t oblivious. If anything, she was the type to notice quickly and then pretend she hadn’t.

 

She had sensed all along that today’s meeting leaned more toward “a date” than “a casual meal.”

 

She had chosen to feign ignorance because she’d hoped it could remain just this much. Nothing further. Just treating him as a friend’s cousin. A level of familiarity that would allow them to exchange light greetings in passing until he graduated.

 

She hadn’t expected him to throw it out so directly.

 

The stone he tossed so easily landed squarely against her chest. Watching his bright, smiling face with a complicated expression, Jin finally spoke.

 

“…Um. Why did you ask me out? We only just met that day.” 

 

“Because you’re pretty?”

 

The answer came lightly, almost cheerfully. Jin’s eyes rolled once in exasperation. That wasn’t the kind of answer she had wanted, and yet it felt as though she had asked hoping for exactly that.

 

“…Not something like that.”

 

“Do I need another reason?”

 

“Mmm.”

 

He made a thoughtful sound and stretched his arms briefly. Waiting for his reply, Jin traced a finger along the condensation on her smoothie cup. A droplet, quickly swelling with weight, slid down and gathered in a small pool at the base.

 

Just as she began to regret asking, James spoke.

 

“That wasn’t the first time I saw you.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I saw you before. At last year’s homecoming after-party.”

 

You were next to Amanda then, too. Don’t you remember seeing me? When Jin’s face showed no sign of recognition, he gave a teasing smile.

 

“You had this exhausted, done-with-it-all look on your face even though you’d come all the way there. It was funny, so I remembered.”

 

Even with the specific setting, it was hard to pinpoint exactly when he meant. Jin had been exhausted from the moment she arrived at the after-party.

 

She let it go with the thought that he must have seen her at some point, blank-eyed and hollow. Still, she found it awkward that such a moment—when she had trailed after her friends despite not wanting to go—could be the basis for someone’s interest. But she kept that thought to herself.

 

However, James seemed to read from Jin’s face that the answer wasn’t sufficient. Shrugging, the man asked a question in return.

 

“Then why did you like him?”

 

Jin didn’t understand at once and lifted her brows. He supplied the name helpfully.

 

“Evan Butterfield.”

 

“…”

 

Ah. That was too direct.

 

At the unexpected name, Jin stiffened. She heard him mutter softly,

 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

 

“…No. I’m just surprised. I wasn’t expecting that.”

 

Jin managed to compose her expression and shook her head. It wasn’t anger at his bluntness that unsettled her. It was the fact that even this tennis player, who barely showed up at school, knew that Lee Jin had liked Evan Butterfield.

 

‘Just how far has the rumor spread?’ 

 

Knowing Amanda, she wouldn’t have shared something like that with James. Was it some school network she didn’t know about? Her argument with Gwen? Or the photos that had circulated every time something happened? The possibilities were too many.

 

She wanted to know at least how it had reached his ears. Forcing her lips to part, she asked,

 

“How did you know?”

 

“I happened to see it. I went out to the garden to sober up, and there you were, staring at his back. It was obvious.”

 

“…Oh. Um. Ah… I see.”

 

When an answer she hadn’t anticipated for a single second came out from the many she had expected, the silent Jin let out a series of pained groans. 

 

In the end, it hadn’t been arguments or photos that had revealed her feelings to the world. It had been herself, unable to conceal even a fragment of her heart.

 

A brief wave of self-reproach was followed by an unbearable embarrassment. Unable to meet the eyes of the man sitting across from her, Jin fixed her gaze on the beach below.

 

James lifted his empty glass of lemonade and chewed on the ice while waiting.

 

By the time a few hard cubes had disappeared with a crunch, Jin steadied herself enough to speak.

 

“It’s… ha… it’s embarrassing. I didn’t realize it was that obvious. That I was the only one who liked him.”

 

“Hmm. Is that so? What I saw was a little different.”

 

“Huh? What did you see?”

 

“I won’t say. I might’ve been wrong.”

 

At her immediate question, James smiled and deflected.

 

For a fleeting moment, Jin felt an almost pitiful urge to pry the words from behind his smile. She had the strange sense that he was holding back something she desperately wanted to hear.

 

What had been different in the scene he claimed to have seen? What expression had Evan worn, hidden in the dark? Had there truly been nothing in his heart?

 

However, Jin swallowed hard and replied by simply nodding without a word.

 

‘Even if I hear it, what am I going to do?’

 

At this point, it meant nothing.

 

“So, what do you think about my offer?”

 

James, who had been closely observing the changes in Jin’s expression, threw the stone once more. Jin turned to look at his beaming face, and after a brief pause, she picked up the stone thrown at her and sent it back. 

 

“…I don’t want to. It’s a burden.”

 

The answer came a little sharper than she intended.

 

At some point, the offhanded way he kept tossing out remarks had begun to grate on her.

 

She hadn’t even healed from the hurt Evan had left behind. She had no space in her heart to meet someone new. And beyond that, part of her resisted the idea of having to respond politely when he had been blunt to begin with.