"Why are you crying?"
"What party are you talking about?" both of our voices speak out at the same time.
I take a deep breath and quickly wipe off my eyes. There was some miscommunication on both ends.
What is my mother talking about?
"Can you please explain who came by our house before? And when did they come by?" I ask trying to clear up my expression as I say the words.
"First explain why are you crying at the name of someone from your school. Are you being bullied at school? Does San not help you?" she bombarded me with questions.
"I am not being bullied," I say to appease her.
Technically I am not being bullied. We did come to a truce but right now I am not sure what he said to my mom so we'll revise that later on.
"And San is there for me. He is a year older and a senior. He has a lot on his plate as well so please don't say anything to him. He is a good friend" I continue.
My answer seems to calm her down and her previous worried expression again morphs into a stoic one.
"Do you want to elaborate on who stopped by?" I ask her again.
"A boy from your school" I wait for her to explain but she doesn't. She seems to be lost in her own thoughts processing god knows what information.
Her statement clarifies at least that whoever came by was a student.
A male student.
"Which boy? And what time he come by?" I ask specific questions hoping I can figure out who actually came by unannounced.
The only interactions I have had with students in Royals High revolve around San's friends and the Royals.
The chances of anyone from that group showing up at my house are less except Yeonjun. But then again I can't picture him here. He would probably send someone else in his place, his chauffeur maybe, to deliver a message.
And as for San's friends, well I didn't know any party they were throwing and they were not pretentious enough o make an invitation with the monogram.
"He came by a couple of hours ago. At first, I thought he was your classmate but then he told me he is a senior." She takes another pregnant pause.
I am holding the edges of my table to keep myself calm. Yeonjun came by the cafe an hour before I returned home. And the cafe is near to my house, even nearer on a motorcycle. It would have given him enough time to come to my house and then go to Hive.
Shit.
"Did you catch his name? Why did he come here? Did he have pink hair?" I fire questions at a rapid pace.
"Pink hair? No! Why do you know people with pink hair? Yuri, what kind of crowd are you hanging out with?" fires back at me.
It wasn't Yeonjun?
Now I am even more confused. It wasn't Yeonjun who came here. Then who?
I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't even know I was holding.
"Yuri, answer me. Who is this with pink hair? What kind of people are you hanging out with?" she has an almost dejected look on her face.
I can't quite understand what's going on.
"Yuri, the boy came in a car more expensive than our yearly income" she looks at me like she is somewhat disappointed in me.
"What are you talking about?" I ask.
Last I checked even just an hour ago, Yeonjun had pink hair. So even if my mother forgot everything about his face, not like it was possible, he was in fact good looking, but anyway, she would never forget his hair.
Impatient, I open the envelope on the table.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Park,
You are cordially invited to the 52nd fundraiser of Royals High, in honor of the founding father of the school. It would be a great pleasure to have your presence at the venue.
Sincerely,
Choi Soobin.
I read the invitation, again and again, my eyes zeroing in on the last line that holds the name of the person I didn't expect at all.
Soobin. Why didn't I think about it?
He knew my address because he sent his chauffeur with the uniform before and even during lunch, Boemgyu had asked me to join the party and Soobin said that he was in charge of the invitation and would send one to me as well.
I had imagined it would be by post and I would hide it from my parents and never let them know. Or maybe he would have handed it to me in school and it would never see the light of day from the bottom corner of my backpack.
What I didn't expect was for him to come to my house in person to give the invitation!
"Soobin came here in person?" I ask my mother to confirm. Why would he come here in person?
Oh my god, did he enter the house? I can only imagine what his reaction would have been.
He would put on that politician smile of his and talk smoothly but I am sure he must be imagining how could four people stay in such a tiny place.
I am not embarrassed bout where and How I live. My parents and I make an earnest living and that matter more than living in a mansion and spending sleepless nights thinking about all the people you have done wrong.
But I also didn't want anyone from that school except San to my house because I know how judgemental people can be and I don't want to deal with that.
I was tired already of dealing with people looking down on me at school and my part-time jobs without having to give them extra reasons to look down on me.
"Yuri, what is going on?" She asks again. She looks worried.
"Nothing. There is this stupid fundraiser at school. I told them we wouldn't be going to that but I guess he sent this to you out of formality" I shrug.
"Who is he and how do you know him?" she asks firmly, putting all her parenting voice into it.
"He is Soobin. He is in the same year as San" he also wears a leather jacket instead of a blazer and I have been warned by multiple people not to mess with them. He is also the person whom I bumped into while buying my uniform and ruined his outfit and caused damage to the store which he paid for and then bought me another set of uniforms because I embarrassed myself by crying in front of him.
Yeah, I don't need to tell her all the details.
"What does his family do?" she questions.
"I am not sure. I don't know" I answer honestly. I have not had a conversation with him regarding his family. If I can help it, I try not to have any conversation with him.
"He's your friend?"
"That's stretch. He is just someone I came across a couple of times at school and he is on the organizing committee for this event when he found out that I did not get the invite because I joined late, he must have felt bad and that's why he came in to give the invitation himself. Why are you asking so many questions anyway?"
I don't understand why am I being interrogated. I did nothing wrong.
"Yuri, I want you to know that I am proud of you. I know you worked very hard to get into that school and I also know there might be temptations there but you need to keep your head straight and focus on your goal" she says cautiously.
I am confused.
"What are you talking about? I really can't understand what she is saying. Maybe it is too late and she is tired after a hectic day at the restaurant.
"Who is this pink-haired boy you mentioned earlier?" she deflects my question.
"He is no one you need to worry about" I state. If I can help it, he wouldn't be someone I needed to worry about either.
"Yuri, do I need to be worried about you? I know you are young and it is easy to sway at your age. I have been through it sometime in my life as well. But you have to understand that you need to keep your goal firm. You can date when you're more mature but now your studies are important -"
"Wait what? You think I am dating Soobin? No! Absolutely no! Mom, he would never take interest in me. Mom, he is on another level. They all are -" I catch myself before I spill something.
I don't want to tell her about the coffee incident and I am afraid if I tell her about the leather jackets then the topic of Yeonjun will come up and that is something that I absolutely do not want to speak about.
Also, I can't believe my mother thinks that I am interested in him. I mean... I can't blame her. From an outsider's perspective, his look is enough to make anyone find him attractive.
Hell even when I was sprawled out in front of him dripping in coffee, I found him cute. But everything that transpired that day is enough for anyone to be disinterested in me.
And why was even entertaining this? I had no interest in dating. That too with anyone from Royals High!
I have too much on my plate and too many things I want to do and too many places I want to travel. I definitely do not have time or interest in these.
"Exactly Yuri. People there will not be interested in girls like you. It is sad but true. He may seem interested in you now but you have to know. You're smart enough to know that life does not work that way -" her voice is increasing with each syllable.
"I am not sure where you're getting all this from, maybe you're watching too many daytime soaps during your free time but I can assure you nothing like that is happening" I match her tone, my volume increasing and I stand up from my place.
"Yuri, I am giving you a reality check before it is too late. Don't get involved with people like them. It will not end well" my mother's voice warns but it is faint.
Because before she can finish her sentence, I am barging into my room, closing the door behind me.
I huff, my breath coming out of my pants as I try to calm my breathing down.
How many people are going to warn me against the Royals?