Chapter 293 (1/2)

.

When the darkness fell at school, where the upper grades were bound to self-study until late night, we, the freshmen, would be at a risk for attracting attention if we wandered around. We, therefore, decided to move to a different place.

At first, we tried to go to a café, but it was almost impossible to not encounter any students in our school there. Although most of them were three to four-floor cafés, the places we often went to were quite limited in the neighborhood.

Thus, we thought about talking at the karaoke without singing any songs, but people would throw a glance at us while walking past the hallway; besides, that place was also easy to meet other students.

Next, we considered going to Jooin’s house, but he shook his head and smiled charmingly while folding his hands.

“Mama, sorry. My cousins…”

“Oh.”

“My cousins can descend on my house.”

Jooin then added carefully, “You saw them before, right?”

‘Of course, I saw them.’ Recalling the impressive dogfight between Woo Rinara and Woo Rihon, the two superstars in Korea, I nodded with a pale face. Meanwhile, Jooin’s face also lost color.

‘Hmm, then what should we do?’ When the purple lights crawled the streets and the streetlamps were about to light, I wondered, in the blowing wind, where we should further our conversation. Feeling the chilly air, I shoved my hands in the pockets and declared, “Let’s go to my house then.”

“Are you sure?”

“If we keep staying outside, rumors will spread out that we have been with the ghost in the gossip, then the next day, the Four Heavenly Kings will definitely ask us what happened. Besides, we don’t have anywhere to go now except for my place which is usually empty until late at night.”

With that response, I turned back towards the way home.

Taking a seat, Lucas introduced himself again.

“It’s belated thanks, but I really appreciate you guys for helping me. If things didn’t go as I expected, I was about to work alone since I never thought that I would have other cooperators like this fast.”

Yeo Ryung replied as if she was striking a retort, which she seldom did.

“I’m doing this because it’s always better to erase debt ASAP.”

“Still.”

Hanging his coat on my coat rack, Jooin also uttered in a low voice, “I said, we are only cooperating for helping hyeong, not you.”

Despite the cold responses, Lucas just nodded with a grin.

Watching his reaction, I thought, ‘He’s a smiley person just like Ruda. They look quite the same, aren’t they?’

However, considering what Ruda had shown me before, that bright attitude and look wouldn’t be Lucas’s true nature too. Just like that of Ruda, Lucas’s excessively cheerful character might be a part of his highly calculated, clever action. Thinking in this way, I felt a chill creep over me. That was because there was a huge difference between a person whom I knew acting and a stranger acting.

As if he read my mind, Lucas suddenly turned his head and spoke to me, “Oh, I’m sorry to sit ahead of you, the owner of this house.”

I quickly stopped him, who pretended to get up.

“No, please don’t mind. Just take a seat.”

“But don’t Asians emphasize manners?”

“We’re just the same students. Come on, just take a seat.”

After I pressed his shoulders to make him sit down, the four of us came to sit face to face with a table between us.

There was somewhat awkwardness in the air. Jooin then flung a question to Lucas.

“Let me ask you a question then. Do you have any plans?”

“Huh?”

“You said you were about to work alone, didn’t you? That means you will indeed have some plans and maybe you have even proceeded with it to a certain extent. Am I wrong?”

Lucas, who was resting his chin on his palm, laughed in a small voice.

“Wow, your mind is working very fast.”

“Of course, I won’t think that you’re naive when you’re supposed to be Ruda hyeong’s friend.”

Looking at Jooin replying in that way with a cold smile, I murmured to myself, ‘So, we had the same thought about Lucas. That is, both Lucas and Yi Ruda will be the same kind of people.’

A moment of silence swept the space. Still flaunting a flawless smile, Lucas put his hand in his inner pocket.

“Fine, so this is my first plan.”

Putting a business card on the table, Lucas then stretched it out to us, so we could take a better look. The three of us lowered our heads at the same time.