Chapter 79: Chapter 77 - Lies and Pies

“What were you thinking?” I demand as we walk outside the store.

“I - I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t understand why you’re angry” he asks, perplexed.

His eyes are confused and eyebrows furrowed together. He has a frown on his face, like he is not too happy with me right now.

I don’t want him to be happy with me. After everything that Yeonjun has told me, it is hard not to have biases against him.

But that’s beside the point right now.

I don’t understand why he was at my house, pretending to be a part-timer. It’s not like he was in need of money.

“Why were you lying to my parents?” I ask more harshly than I intend to.

But this feels like a violation of privacy. I don’t even know the intention behind his action but I don’t have a good feeling about it.

Besides, I just told my parents that we knew each other from school and they were already excited to see another student from Royals High.

I can’t imagine how they would react if they got to know that the boy they were ordering around was actually the heir of the Choi family. The same boy they claimed to be the new part-timer was actually capable of buying the entire building we are staying in.

My mother even gave him an envelope for today’s work.

He must have been laughing on the inside looking at the measly amount of money inside it. He probably can’t even fathom that someone can get so little money for so much manual work.

“I never lied to your parents” he says defensively and I have never been as angry at Soobin as I am right now.

“What are you doing here Soobin?” I ask exasperated.

I couldn’t go into inner monologues right now. I needed to talk it out with him right now. I needed to understand why he was here and what he was doing.

“I came to see you” he throws his hands in my direction  as if that is supposed to answer all the rapid fire questions that are running through my head right now.

As Soobin threw his hands in my direction, frustration bubbled up within me. It was as if he was answering my questions without any real answers.

"See me? What do you mean, 'see me'?" I retorted, my voice rising with each word.

"You show up at my house, pretending to be a part-time worker, lying to my parents, and you expect me to believe you just wanted to see me?" I held my head in my hands, trying to calm myself down.

“Why are you here Soobin? I have had a very long day today and I am not in a position to micro-analyze your answers, trying to figure out your motives. Please, tell me the truth” I say defeatedly.

Soobin's expression softened slightly, as if he finally realized the gravity of the situation. Maybe I look very tired, or maybe he decides to take pity on me but he answers.

"Look, I didn't mean to cause any trouble," he began, his tone pleading. He runs a hand over his face and hair, musing it in the process.

It is when I notice that he is not in his uniform.

He is wearing a navy knit sweater and khaki pants with plain white sneakers. He now had a beige coat over his outfit. He fit in as any other teenager around, given no one paid much attention to the brand of clothing he was wearing.

Even though he looks like he would fit in, his lost eyes, scanning around gives it away that he is not from around here.

I rub my face with my hand and take a seat on the sidewalk and look at him hoping he continues to speak because I am tired of repeating my question.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you, away from... everything." he sulks a little, his voice small.

His words caught me off guard, momentarily disarming my anger.

"Away from everything? What does that even mean, Soobin?" I asked, my voice softer now, tinged with confusion.

“Can I sit beside you?” he asks, pointing to the spot beside me and I shrug.

I cannot imagine him sitting on the pavement in this neighborhood but then again I never imagined I would see him in a ratty apron, washing dishes in my parent’s noodle shop.

He sits beside me and lets out a sigh. I am looking ahead and not him. I am not sure if I want to look at him.

If I look at him, I'll focus on his eyes and his eyes look so innocent that I will question myself again. I cannot go down that rabbit hole again.

“I did not lie” he says tentatively and I give him a sharp look.

“Let’s not go in circles with  the same conversation Soobin, I am tired” I warn him.

“Okay, just calm down for a second and listen to me” he starts and pauses to discern my expression. I just give him a nod to continue.

“I didn’t lie to your parents.I wanted to see you but I didn’t know where you were. Then Beomgyu suggested you might be at Hive since you work there as a part-timer” he takes another pause and I make the mistake of looking at him.

His doe eyes stare at me, his expression earnest.

“So I went to Hive. You were not there. Another worker there told me that you were with Yeonjun. "He holds a little anger in his voice when he calls out Yeonjun’s name.

“Woojin”

“Huh?”

“The worker. He is my friend. Woojin” I correct him and he nods before continuing.

“Woojin told me that you were with Yeonjun. And then… Oh yeah, I got a pie for you from there” he shuffles inside the coat pocket and pulls out a paper bag that is smashed. I am not sure whatever is inside there can still be classified as pie.

“I don’t think it is a pie anymore. Sorry, I’ll get you another one tomorrow” he apologizes and against my better judgment, I let out a laugh.

This in turn makes Soobin smile, highlighting the crevices of his dimples and the light pink on his cheek.

“If Woojin told you I was with Yeonjun, then why are you here at my house?” I ask. No matter how much he can make me laugh with his innocent banter, at least now I need some answers.

"I - I wanted to see you. Since I did not know where you were, I thought I'll come by your house and have a chance to meet you" he answers and his voice sounds honest.

Before I ask him another question he continues.

"When I came here, I was not sure whether you were already home so I thought I'll go inside the shop and ask for you. When I entered the shop, a piece of paper flew in from outside. I did not even read it" he defends and sounds a little panicked.

"It was really busy there at the moment. I was looking for you or at least someone who might know where you were but then a lady came upto me and snatched the paper from my hand. It was a poster advertising 'help wanted'." He looks down a little before meeting my gaze and continuing.

"She was your mother, I realise now. She assumed I was applying for the part - timer's position and instantly put me to work. Initially I tried to tell her I was not here for that but it was so busy and it looked like she needed help so I stayed back" his voice is sincere.

And that makes it harder for me to stay mad at him.

"Whatever was the reason, you should not have lied to my parents Soobin. That is not right" I counter.

"Yuri, I never intended to lie. Please believe me"

"How do you think I will explain to my parents that the son of the chairman of the Choi group was just washing dishes in the kitchen of our noodles shop to my parents?"

"Is that all I am to you Yuri? The son of the Chairman?" He looks hurt at my words.

I immediately feel guilty but I try not to let my guilt take over.

"I don't know you well enough to add more to your introduction Soobin" I say honestly.

I don't even know how and where these harsh words are coming from.

But I make no attempts at stopping them from spilling over my lips.

"You lied Soobin and that is a shitty thing to do. I am sorry if I am harsh right now but this whole thing was not right" I speak while he still looks hurt.

"I never lied Yuri. I just didn't correct an assumption that was made of me" he defends, something in him shifting.

"Not saying something when there is a  misunderstanding to clear things up is also not okay. You could have texted me or called me. We could have made a plan to meet up" I reason with him and he nods sulking like a child as he focuses on the ground, kicking away at the pavement.

"I am truly sorry" he says in a small voice.

"It has been a long night Soobin and I am sure dooing manual labour has made you tired. I am tired as well. Let's just call it a night and we'll pick up this conversation tomorrow" I honestly feel worn out.

This has been a rollercoaster of a day.

"Okay. I hope we can start afresh tomorrow" he says and I nod.

I get up from where I am seated and he starts backing away.

Right when I am about to open the door to the shop he calls out my name.

"And Yuri! I'll make sure you get to know me more so next time someone asks you about me, you can say something different" he smiles.

But this is not his real smile.

It is his politician's smile and his eyes hold a challenge.

A/n: hello lovely people! Long time no see. Sorry I ghosted this story for a while. I was kinda busy but now I am back.

What do you think of this chapter? Let me know and give me any tea you might have. How have you guys been?

Also! 10k+ read, #1choibeongyu and #beomgyu!!!!! Wow!

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