Su-hee held her mother inside the ambulance while the paramedics applied ointment to the bruises. Jae-hae spoke to the policemen while Su-hee's father was cuffed inside the police car, screaming and cursing. Once the policemen were done questioning Jae-hae, he walked to Su-hee, who frowned and pouted.
"What did they ask you?" she asked.
He took a deep breath and scratched the back of his neck.
"Just questions about what happened… are you and your mother alright?"
She clutched her mother's arm tightly. Her mother looked at her and gently patted her hand.
"I'm fine… I'm just glad that you were safe," her mother said.
Su-hee sobbed silently, hugging her mother.
"Omma, why the fuck did he come here? He left us for that mistress…" she complained. "Why couldn't he just leave us alone in peace? We didn't work to support his stupid new marriage!"
Her mother soothed her back and silently broke down. Jae-hae hesitantly raised his hand, but he firmly patted her head.
"Su-hee—"
"Why are boys such jerks?!" she snapped at Jae-hae. She stared at him with angry eyes, not meant for him.
He locked eyes with hers in confusion. Then he pointed at himself.
"I'm a boy… are you saying—"
"You look like an ogre! I'll never date you!" she yelled.
SMACK.
Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at Su-hee and her mother. Su-hee held her shoulder with disbelief.
"Omma—!"
SMACK.
"Who taught you how to talk like that to your friend? He just saved us, and you're talking to him like that! Do you need a beating?" her mother lectured.
"Omma! He is an ogre!"
SMACK.
Jae-hae watched them, but then his gaze soon softened, realizing this was the person she truly was. He giggled. Su-hee shot her glare at him.
"Yah! Because of you, my mom is beating me!"
SMACK.
"Talk nicely!" her mother commanded. "How are you going to find a boyfriend with that attitude? All you bring is unreliable boys, except for this young man!"
[END OF FLASHBACK]
Su-hee sighed heavily, jumping into her bed after her shower. She stared at the ceiling, chuckling to herself.
"Omma… I should probably come and visit you soon…" she whispered.
The lights were off. Sun-ae and Yeon-min fell asleep peacefully. Su-hee grabbed her tanuki plushie and hugged it tightly. She slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
When the next morning sun peeked over the city, Su-hee and her friends headed over to the university together, groggily and tired. Many glares targeted Su-hee as she walked by.
"I can't believe that Jang Jun-tae Oppa accepted her confession… her out of all of us!"
"Yeah… so shameless."
"I heard she confessed to Da-hyun Oppa and Jae-hae Oppa before she confessed to Jun-tae Oppa."
The girls murmured among each other. Sun-ae heard a little and growled angrily. They squeaked and ran away.
"Yah… they must have no pressure in their studies. All they do is talk… might as well go to my classes for me," Sun-ae snapped.
Su-hee stretched and placed her hands behind her neck.
"Let them talk… we know it's because you started the bet, so I had to plan it well—"
"YAH! We were both drunk! How can you remember that but nothing else before and after?!" Sun-ae argued.
Su-hee turned around and smiled.
"How can I? All I remembered was the free alcohol for life if I got rejected three times…"
Sun-ae laughed hysterically in disbelief.
"Go get your brain checked… please," she muttered.
Su-hee jumped and raised her fingers into a V.
"I don't need to because… I'm perfectly healthy!" Su-hee chimed.
Sun-ae rolled her eyes and looked at Yeon-min.
"Please make her normal, Yeonnie!" Sun-ae complained.
"You're both abnormal…" Yeon-min said nonchalantly, reading her book. "How about you two go get your brains checked?"
"YAH!" they both snarled at her.
She closed her book and looked at them both.
"I'll see you guys at lunch. Goodbye," Yeon-min replied.
Su-hee took a deep breath and glared at Sun-ae.
"I got to go too. See you later, chihuahua," Sun-ae chimed.
"Aish!" Su-hee muttered. Then she turned around—
BAM.
"Ah! Who the fuck?!" Su-hee exclaimed, holding her nose. She looked up… and Jun-tae smiled at her. Smirked?
"Hello, my girlfriend," Jun-tae greeted.
She slammed her hand down.
"At least, warn me before you walk in front of me!" she snapped. He chuckled and pinched her nose. "HEY!"
"My girlfriend must have been upset that I didn't call you last night…" he teased.
"Why the hell would I even care?"
"You didn't want to sleep over, so I had to drop you off…" he announced.
Su-hee flushed immediately and looked at his friends behind him. All of their eyes widened and shifted to her, astonished.
"Yah! People will have the wrong idea if you say it like that!" she slapped his arm.
He wiggled playfully and giggled.
"What do you mean by 'wrong idea'? Were you thinking of something dirty?" he continued and then winked at her.
Su-hee seethed silently, holding her fist in the air. Calm down… he's messing with you… breathe slowly. She slowly placed her hand down.
"Aish… I'm going to class…" she hurried away.
Jun-tae laughed as he watched her stumble away. Won-woo stood beside him with surprise.
"Wow… you must have liked her enough to bring her to your place," he stated.
Jun-tae shot a glance at Hee-wan before smiling widely.
"Yeah… she even showered at my place," Jun-tae added.
Hee-wan clenched his fists and glared at him. This fucking bastard… I thought the cherry blossoms would make her hate him. What the fuck happened for her to go to his place? Hee-wan turned away without a word.