NOVEL ONLINE FREE Lie Again!
Chapter 18
<Chapter 18. Far From Homecoming (2)> “Huh…Pablo?”
Jin, racking her brain, called out the name of the person who came to mind. Joey, who had turned around with sparkling eyes, froze in place. “Pablo? It can’t be Pablo Miche, right?” Joey’s voice grew a little louder. Jin awkwardly nodded. “That’s absolutely not possible!” Joey frowned. Her voice was so loud that if this had been a text message, Jin thought it would have been a capitalized “NOOOO” with at least twenty exclamation marks. “Listen carefully, Jin. The moment you go to homecoming with Miche, you’re officially a nerd. Unless you actually want to board the social Titanic that is Pablo Miche and sink together, don’t even look in that direction!” After making Jin swear she wouldn’t go with Pablo, Joey finally turned back to face forward. Soon enough, she was back to her usual cheerful self as she added another comment. “Don’t you think at least one of us will get asked to be someone’s partner this week?” “Joey, I think you might have one.” Amanda answered Joey’s question in a young voice. “Who?” For a moment, Dustin’s face flashed through Jin’s mind. He was still, diligently, and consistently flirting with Joey. Although Joey didn’t seem to realize it at all. None of the kids knew why Dustin was acting that way. Every time Dustin flirted with Joey, Ruth would plead with him to at least explain the reason, looking like he was about to throw up. But Dustin would just shut his mouth with an awkward expression. Amanda, perhaps keeping Dustin in mind, exchanged a glance with Jin through the rearview mirror as she wore her sunglasses. The two of them quietly smiled to themselves, careful not to let Joey notice. “Is it Jay? No, Oliver? He suddenly started talking to me today! Can I start getting my hopes up?” “It’s always best not to get your hopes up, Joey.” Amanda gently tried to calm Joey down, but it wasn’t enough to suppress her excitement. It seemed that Joey’s type was clearly well-groomed guys. Jin, who thought of Jay and Oliver’s sleek appearance, quietly expressed regret as he thought of Dustin, who had black curly hair that reached his shoulders and was roughly tied up. “If just one of us gets a partner, then Ruthy and Dustin can pair up and go together.” “I thought we weren’t doing group entry this year.” “That’s different! They probably don’t have partners either. And it’d feel weird if they went with other girls. Like we’re losing them.” After chatting endlessly about homecoming partners, they finally arrived at the mall. The front of the sleek, rectangular gray building had the mall’s name engraved in large, recessed letters. Since the only malls she had seen in America were the Walmart and grocery stores she had gone to with Riley and Ivy, Jin looked up at the luxurious building with curious eyes. The quiet department store, empty of customers, wasn’t much different from those in Korea. The only noticeable difference was that, unlike Korea’s high-rise buildings, the U.S., with its vast land, built outward rather than upward. Skipping past the sprawling cosmetics section on the first floor, the three of them headed straight for the escalator to the second floor. As they passed the row of luxury brand stores—where Joey eagerly critiqued every item displayed in the show windows—they finally arrived at a section overflowing with party dresses. “We need to move quickly today. If this place isn’t good, let’s hurry to another one. We also need to buy shoes and get our nails done!” “Can we do all that today?” “Don’t be weak, Mandy. It’s not about whether we can do it, it’s about having to do it.” Joey rummaged through the racks filled with dresses of all kinds, speaking in a determined voice. Their eyes sparkled as they looked through the dresses. Joey and Amanda each began searching for something that would suit Jin. Seeing them, Jin also walked over to a rack and carefully sifted through the clothes. The kind of dresses that seemed straight out of a movie or drama inevitably made the heart of a 17-year-old girl flutter. She was picking out an outfit for a homecoming party—just like in a teen movie! However, the excitement was short-lived. As Jin looked at the dresses, her eyes gradually filled with bewilderment. The party dresses were too sparkly, too short, and too tight. Jin, who was seeing flashy clothes for the first time and covering little of her body, was confused. “Have you guys already picked out your outfits? What are you going to wear?” “I’m just going to wear the one Brianna wore before. It’s just a black cocktail dress.” “Oh, I wish I had an older sister. My brother is impossible to talk to. I was going to go for a hotter look this time, but Peter absolutely refused, so we had a huge fight, and I just gave up. So I’m just going with a yellow mini dress. Something like this.” Joey pulled out the yellow dress from the hanger and waved it around. The strapless dress, with its skirt flaring out like a tulip, would surely make her look like a fairy when she wore it. ‘Amanda and Joey have siblings.’ Jin glanced over the clothes, recalling the names Brianna and Peter that the two had mentioned. Siblings had always been a source of envy for Jin. Whenever she said this to her friends who had siblings, they would vehemently argue that being an only child was a hundred times better. Yet, Jin still wished she had siblings. Sometimes, she needed someone on her side—someone she could confide in and rely on for worries she couldn’t even share with her parents. She had felt so envious watching Minchae chatter on about everything that had happened that day with her older sister. ‘Ah, again.’ Jin sighed at the sudden name that popped into her mind, without any time to prepare. Then, she deliberately focused even more on looking through the clothes, trying to push the thought away. She still had no idea what she should wear, though. * * * In the second week of October, various animals roamed all over Crawford. To be exact, they weren’t real animals, but rather a large number of students and a few teachers wearing various animal onesies. Standing by the window in the chemistry lab, waiting for the lab equipment to dry, Jin was also dressed in a black cat onesie. She had bought it the day she went to the mall with Joey and Amanda. The weather was still too warm for an outfit that covered her arms and legs completely, so a light sheen of sweat had formed on her skin. The hood of the onesie, which had a cat face printed on it, had an unusual detail—small black dots speckled above the white muzzle. It was Ivy’s doing. Delighted by how the onesie resembled Freckle, Ivy had insisted on recreating the cat’s signature freckles on it. Jin blankly watched the football team running across the field—perhaps because the home game that was just two days away was on their minds, they were giving it their all—and recalled the hectic day she had. Although she had expected it to be more chaotic than usual, Homecoming Week, which had officially begun, turned out to be even bigger in scale than she had anticipated. Unlike yesterday, which had been rather dull, today—when full-on costumes were allowed—everyone seemed to go wild, as if they had unleashed some sort of seal. It felt like almost every imaginable animal had gathered—cats, dogs, sheep, lions, and more, regardless of species. Someone even brought an enormous inflatable dinosaur costume—definitely not a onesie—and ended up getting a warning from a teacher. It wasn’t uncommon to spot students taking photos and videos, and some barely let go of their phones all day. The moment they saw something even slightly funny, they immediately pulled out their cameras. Since she absolutely refused to be featured in any silly videos, Jin had to constantly turn her head this way and that, avoiding cameras as she walked down the hallway. Today, Joey came dressed as a unicorn with rainbow-colored horns, and Ruth was… Drrrt. Jin snapped out of her thoughts at the vibration against her thighs and took out her phone. [Daughter, the dress is so pretty. You made a great choice. Dad says you look beautiful too.] [I was busy and didn’t have time to check my phone.] [Send me a picture of you wearing it later.] It was Mom. Judging by the time she sent the message, she must have checked her phone after getting home late from work. It was a response to the photo of the final dress selection from the shopping trip with Joey and Amanda. Jin stared at the long, lingering line between the photo she had left and the speech bubble her mom had sent, her gaze lingering before turning off the screen. Lately, it had been hard to get in touch with her parents. They used to reply to her messages right away, but their responses had gradually started coming later and later. These days, it was common for them to take a whole day to reply. Whenever Jin asked about it, her mom would always brush it off, saying there was nothing to worry about, before quickly changing the subject to ask about her school life. If she were in Korea, she might have been able to figure things out from context, but being so far away with no clues left her feeling frustrated. I’m a high school student now, but my parents remained firm in their stance of “You don’t need to know.” When exactly would the time come when I do need to know? Jin let out a long breath and shook off the unease. The Florida sun was far too bright to be weighed down by vague anxieties, and besides, she already had plenty to do and even more to think about. Jin put away her phone and quickly moved her body, trying to shake off the lingering residue of the sticky emotions. As Evan moved the lab equipment, he glanced sideways and let out a quiet laugh. The cat, who had finished its task first, was lingering around Evan. Of course, it was a laugh he swallowed quietly so Jin wouldn’t hear. He had to do that if he wanted to avoid seeing her serious face. It seemed like Jin always thought Evan’s laughter was either mocking or teasing—one of the two. ‘If you’re going to do it, just do it. If not, then don’t.’ Evan continued organizing the equipment, while Jin neither helped nor simply walked away. As always, her face remained composed, but the indecision in her eyes was obvious—she was hesitating, unsure of what to do. Evan, finding it amusing to see Jin struggle with her thoughts, deliberately moved his hands more slowly. Even though he could grab multiple items at once and finish cleaning quickly, he only picked up one item at a time and organized it. However, Jin, who seemed to be thinking for a moment, soon passed Evan by. Evan felt a pang inside him as he watched the black tail swaying away. Evan, acting on impulse, reached out and grabbed the tail, pulling it firmly. The slightly rough texture tickled his wrist and palm. “W, what are you doing?” Surprised, Jin turned around with wide eyes like a startled rabbit. She seemed so flustered that she couldn’t speak for a moment. Holding onto her black tail as if she were a cat whose tail had been caught, she looked up at Evan. “Ah, sorry. I thought it was the tail attached to your onesie. If I had known it was your real tail, I would’ve asked for permission before touching it.” Evan raised both his hands and laughed heartily. Staring at him with a bewildered expression, Jin narrowed her eyes and snapped back at him. “Are you not participating in the school event because it’s childish? Like Pablo?” ‘Who was Pablo?’ Ah, that guy with glasses. A blurry image flashed through Evan’s mind. Realizing who Pablo was, Evan smirked. It was clearly revenge for yesterday. For Evan’s teasing question about whether she didn’t participate in school events because she thought they were too childish, like a nerd. The nerd seemed to have skipped the dress code again today. As if it were his assigned seat, he now sat next to Jin without hesitation. He looked at Jin’s cat onesie with a strange gaze and muttered, “I didn’t know you liked stuff like this.” Jin, looking a bit upset, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then tightly closed it again. “I guess it’s a bit childish?” Evan’s teasing smile quickly made Jin, who was wearing her cat onesie so confidently, feel childish. He smirked mischievously, finding it all too amusing. Jin, seemingly at a loss for words in response to Evan’s comment, grumbled and finally managed to say, “…You’re so annoying,” before quickly leaving the chemistry lab.
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.