Lie Again! Chapter 74

Chapter 74. Love, Set, Match (1)

 

“Me?”

 

“I don’t have anyone to eat lunch with. I brought sandwiches, but it’s too much to eat alone.”

 

When Jin pointed at herself with a puzzled expression, James drooped his brows. The way he added that he didn’t want to eat alone was so forlorn it almost made her want to hear him out.

 

But then… wouldn’t it just be easier if—

 

‘Can’t you just eat here?’

 

Fortunately, before the blunt thought could leave her mouth, two boys reacted first.

 

“What? Then eat with us, James.”

 

“Yeah. What kind of sandwich did you bring— ow!”

 

However, before Dustin could even get a taste of James’s sandwich, a shrill scream rang out first.

 

“Right! Then it can’t be helped! You can’t eat alone, can you? Go on, hurry up and take her!”

 

Joey had stomped on Dustin’s foot. Then she shoved Jin’s back firmly out of the long line.

 

“Wait—” Jin was pushed along helplessly until she finally sighed and walked over to the smiling James.

 

She wasn’t unaware of why Joey was acting like this.

 

The day she had confessed everything about Evan to Amanda, the two of them had, after a brief discussion before leaving the beach, decided it was better to tell Joey—and the others—about it themselves.

 

They could already imagine what would happen if Joey found out about Jin’s secret—especially one Amanda knew too—and found out late, and from someone else’s mouth rather than Jin’s. While they were at it, they decided Ruth and Dustin should know too.

 

After hearing everything, Joey had trembled with rage as if she were the one betrayed, and she burned with fervor, declaring she would introduce Jin to someone much better and cooler than Butterfield. However, while the quest to ‘find someone better than Butterfield’ was facing its naturally expected hurdles, they happened to encounter James Wood.

 

Click.

 

Joey’s camera captured the sight of Jin and James walking away together, satisfaction written plainly across her face.

 

“Don’t they look so good together?”

 

“Joey, that’s a candid shot without permission.”

 

“…”

 

At the warning that Jin would hate it, Joey looked down at the photo she took with a serious expression. Ruth raised an eyebrow, wondering if she was actually listening seriously for once.

 

“If I send this to Butterfield, wouldn’t it mess with his head?”

 

The mutterings that followed brought back that ‘I knew it’ look to Ruth’s face.

 

“Just stop. That would make her look worse.”

 

“Ugh, the rumor mill’s slower than I thought.”

 

Joey didn’t even spare a glance at the disgusted Ruth, instead crossing her arms and brooding over something.

 

After learning that James had returned to school—and that he was interested in Jin—the very first thing she did was start circulating rumors beneath the surface.

 

I heard James Wood’s back.

 

I heard he’s seeing someone lately? Love at first sight or something.

 

Did you hear that? The one James Wood is seeing is the transfer student!

 

The words she dropped here and there gradually turned into a current that rippled through Crawford.

 

The details and versions varied, but one thing remained constant: he was completely smitten.

 

I heard the transfer student got dumped by Evan. No, didn’t you see the video of Evan grabbing her wrist at the Johnsons’ place? Butterfield’s the one who was clinging. She was testing the waters between Wood and Butterfield before choosing Wood. So Butterfield’s out and Wood’s in?

 

Watching with satisfaction as Jin slowly transformed into some kind of legendary femme fatale, Joey felt certain that most of the school must have heard by now. The way people’s gazes toward Jin were beginning to change was almost exhilarating.

 

However, there was absolutely no reaction from the one person she wanted this news to reach most directly.

 

‘Did he not hear it, or is he pretending not to?’

 

“Tsk. There’s got to be some way.”

 

Ruth looked away, pretending not to notice the unsettling gleam in Joey’s eyes. A Joey with that look usually ended up causing trouble. It was best to feign ignorance to avoid getting exhausted. 

 

But before Joey could set anything in motion, the problem resolved itself—delivered to its intended recipient in a far more direct manner than she had planned.

 

* * *

 

After leaving the cafeteria, the two of them settled on a bench by the lake near the dorms.

 

The large lake behind the building looked just as it had the day Jin had come here with the others before: sunlight glinting on rippling water, ducks gathered in small groups, occasionally flapping their wings, the air slightly cooler than back then.

 

It was perfect weather for a picnic. Holding the egg sandwich James said his mother had packed, Jin cast him a sideways glance.

 

He was watching the lake with a face like a lazy cat basking in the sun.

 

“Is it really okay for you to come here this often?”

 

Jin asked quietly, chewing her sandwich.

 

It was understandable, given that James appeared so frequently it made his claim of never being seen at school before seem like a lie. He seemed to drop into classes whenever he felt like it, and he sought Jin out every time he had a break during his training with his private coach.

 

How did she know that much?

 

Because every time he popped up at her locker or outside her classroom, he was drenched in sweat. His curls would cling damply to his forehead, and his olive-toned neck would glisten under the fluorescent lights.

 

The first time she saw him like that, she’d been startled, thinking something urgent had happened.

 

‘Hi. Today it’s chocolate.’

 

But he would greet her casually, place a piece of chocolate or candy onto her palm, and disappear just as quickly. Always just one.

 

Each time, Jin could only watch his back in bewilderment. And on top of that, she couldn’t help wondering if those breaks weren’t supposed to be part of his training.

 

“It’s fine. I decided I’m going to enjoy my last semester. Train a bit less.”

 

James picked up another sandwich with a face that looked even more carefree than Jin’s. Jin watched in fascination as the sandwich became the eighth to disappear into his mouth.

 

‘Is it because he’s an athlete?’

 

The egg sandwiches he had brought were an enormous amount. At first, she had felt overwhelmed, wondering who could possibly finish them all. But as James swallowed them down steadily, like a grazing animal, they vanished at impressive speed.

 

“It’s even better if I get to see you often.”

 

James dropped the words as he watched Jin, who was lost in thought. Jin glanced up at his smiling face, her eyes curving slightly as if she felt bashful. 

 

“…You said you wouldn’t make me uncomfortable.”

 

“Isn’t this gentlemanly enough? Ah, so you’re just shy.”

 

He nodded as though he understood, the playful tone in his voice drawing a quiet sigh from her.

 

“That’s not what I meant…”

 

Whoosh.

 

A sudden gust of wind shattered the calm. It skimmed across the surface of the lake, teased the leaves overhead, and in an instant reached them, scattering Jin’s black hair across her face.

 

Watching her long eyes narrow at the strands obstructing her vision, James reached out. His hand moved closer, intending to tuck her hair behind her ear. Jin’s half-open lips closed at the nearness.

 

Amidst his playful demeanor, there were times when fragments of his true feelings peeked through. It was like that when he ran all the way from the athletic annex to the main building just to give her a single piece of candy, or when he stared at her intently like he was doing now.

 

She still didn’t know why he was interested in her, but she knew that even beneath his lighthearted words, there was consideration for her discomfort.

 

She knew all too well that he was a good person from the meticulous care he took to block the sunlight with his back and from the way he approached her with deliberate cheerfulness despite her shyness. She had even felt a sense of comfort, feeling like he would accept whatever she said as a joke.

 

But.

 

‘This is what makes me uncomfortable.’

 

Before his fingers, calloused from long years of training, could touch her ear, Jin raised her hand. It was to stop James.

 

Right now, she didn’t have the capacity to return the kindness and attention she was receiving.

 

Because—

 

Snap.

 

“Don’t touch her.”

 

Before Jin’s hand could reach him, another hand grabbed James’s wrist first.

 

Jin’s eyes widened as she turned her head at the sudden presence. Standing there was Evan, gasping for breath.

 

His chest rose and fell sharply as he fixed James with a wary, unblinking stare.