Chapter 7 "Caught By You"

The sweet smell of the perfume spread around the open area. After Ryan sprayed her perfumes right at Terban’s face, she nonchalantly walked out.

“H-Hey! Hey! Come back here!” Terban shouted. Veins protruded on his neck, like angry snakes.

However, the person who drove him into the pit of madness did not dare turn her head back.

“So this is how you play, huh,” Terban murmured as he wiped his face. “At your service.”

He stepped his feet on the gas. The car moved faster.

Broom!

Kyle and Slyvester, who witnessed the murderous aura of Terban, feared that the evil man thought of hitting the lady through his car. Their hearts almost jumped. Fortunately, Terban isn’t a monster to kill a person. He just pressed the horn as soon as he passed by.

Hoooooink!

“Oh my god!” Ryan jumped up in surprise. Watching the back of the car, she threw punches in the air and shouted, “You bastard!”

When the thrilling encounter subsided, Kyle and Slyvester followed the lady.

“Ryan. Your patience is short,” Kyle nagged, worried about the result of this fight in the future.

“He’s asking for it!” Ryan defended. She took a deep breath, as to calm herself.

Meanwhile, Slyvester put his arm above Ryan’s shoulder.

“Oh?” Ryan flinched. She will never get used to having this skin ship with a man.

“You did a good job,” Slyvester praised. “If possible, it will be better if you spray pesticide on his face.”

Ryan forged a laugh then took her chance to remove Sylvester’s hand from her shoulder. She’s aware that Slyvester only did it because he sees her as a cool dude. Still, she thinks that too much close contact is not appropriate.

As she put his hand off her, a motorcycle parked on their side.

Tentatively, they stared at the driver of the vehicle. He took off his helmet, revealing his gentle good looks that resembles a prince, then tilted his head on their side.

It is Vincent Carter, the mysterious man who rarely talks.

“Ryan,” Vincent called. “Want a ride?” He pointed to the empty back seat of his motorcycle.

Ryan stared at Vincent, then at the motorcycle he was riding on. Her first impression of him did not last at this point.

‘I thought he was an introverted man who was soft and innocent. But to see him ride on a bike… it made him look a bit cool,’ she praised.

On the other side, Kyle and Slyvester had their mouth wide open after hearing Vincent’s offer to Ryan. Living with Vincent for a long time, they never saw him make a move with any girl out there. So this is the first.

“Me?” Ryan freaked out.

Slyvester noticed how Ryan reacted and so he made another suggestion.

“What about me? Can I go with you instead?” Slyvester told Vincent. He tapped his friend’s back and was about to ride.

But Vincent shoved him away and quickly declined. “I don’t want.”

Kyle and Slyvester sent meaningful gazes to each other. They both knew that Vincent hates it when someone rides in the back of his vehicle.

‘Does it mean he’s interested in Ryan?’ the two thought. If it is, they will be cool about it. One thing is for sure; having a couple inside the house will be so awkward.

Thus at the back of the two’s heads, they wished they are wrong.

“I’m okay, Vincent. There is still time so I wanted to walk,” Ryan said.

There was a spark in Slyvester’s eyes as he raised his hand and ruffled her hair. “Wow, Ryan. You’ve got some kind of loyalty there.”

Vincent reacted less.

“Walking is the best exercise, Vincent,” Slyvester said. “You should try walking on the way to school. You always use your motorcycle that’s why you’re turning fat.”

“Vincent never turned fat,” Kyle disagreed.

Realizing his mistake, Slyvester just forged a cough. “Ahem.”

Amidst the awkward silence, Vincent’s faint voice has returned.

“Tie your shoelace.”

He pointed to Ryan’s rubber shoes. The three looked down in unison.

“Bye,” Vincent bid, wore his helmet, and drove away.

Ryan and Kyle both bent down at the same time in order to tie her shoelace. That, however, caused their heads to bump into each other.

“Ahhh!”

“Ouch!”

They caressed their heads before Kyle spoke.

“Stay still. I’ll do it,” he said chuckling. He knelt on the ground even before Ryan could stop him.

‘Damn. This is too cheesy,’ Slyvester thought. Watching the scene, he felt goosebumps all over his skin.

“Hey hey hey,” Slyvester called Ryan. “Don’t fall for Kyle, okay? He’s always like that to everyone. There’s one time he did that to me, I mean… tying my shoelace in front of everyone. And guess what, a rumor arose that we are gays.”

The three laughed together.

After some minutes, they arrived at the campus.

“I’ll go first. I will be late for my first class. Bye!” Kyle bid. He ran while waving his hands in the air.

Now Ryan and Slyvester were left.

“This is my second time seeing the campus,” Ryan said while walking with Slyvester. “But I can say, I am still in awe.”

Just like her, Slyvester looked around. He’s in his second year, which means he’s been here for almost a year and a half. So he can say that this place isn’t new to him anymore.

“Ahhh, what is your course?” Ryan asked Slyvester.

“Huh?” He took a deep breath and answered, “Business management. And you?”

“Engineering,” she said with widened eyes. “Woah! You don’t look like someone who is in the business management course.”

Slyvester scratched his nape, chuckling.

“Was it because my face does not look serious at all?”

Ryan nodded at his question.

“Oh my god~” he gasped. He thinly squinted his eyes at her and added, “You’re now adapting quite fast ever since you fought back against that bastard.”

“Bastard?”

Ryan rolled her eyes upon remembering the guy he was talking about.

“Let’s not talk about that Mr. Negative. My mood will plummet.”

  “Mr. Negative? Why do you call him like that?”

“It is because he is always in a bad mood. And he loves picking fights. Anyway, I don’t know his name.”

“Ahhh, I see. His name sounds cool though. Do you want to hear?”

She did not reply, but Slyvester could see the flickering curiosity in her expression.

“Vincent, Kyle, and I saw the list of the newcomers in the boarding house. That’s how we saw your name. Anyway, Mr. Negative’s name is T…”

“Ahhh!” Ryan winced. Someone bumped her purposely from behind, and she almost fell to the ground.

Slyvester caught her waist, thankfully. After surviving the crisis, they both looked at the silly man who bumped her and then walked like nothing just happened.

As if the devil can hear their whispers, it turned out that it was Terban who did it.

“Hey!” Ryan shouted at him.

Terban grinned at them and even stick his tongue out before he walked away.

“Damn,” Slyvester laughed sardonically. “He’s more childish than me.”

When he looked at Ryan, he had an illusion of seeing a ticking time bomb that soon would explode.

“Hmmm, are you okay?” he dared ask.

Ryan answered with a shout.

“I WILL REALLY KILL YOU!”

She kicked the empty canned cola that is laying peacefully at the side of the bin. The impact was so hard that it flew to the top of a tree!

Regrettably, it wasn’t just the can that flew up high, but also her shoes.

“My shoes!” she gasped.

Slyvester gaped. He could not help but clap and whistled in amazement.

“Nice kick,” he praised.

All of a sudden, a member of the soccer club approached Ryan.

“Hi. Are you interested in joining the soccer club?” the member asked.

“Pfft… HAHAHAHA!”

This is the loudest laugh Slyvester had for the entire year.

***************** ***********

Ryan’s POV

One of my bucket lists says I will be a good student during my first day in college.

It was a failure.

I couldn’t focus on the lesson because of the shoes I am wearing.

“Pffft…” I heard my seatmate laugh while looking at my shoes. “Miss. You got the wrong size,” he said out of disrespect.

I am not in the mood to explain what the hell happened to me, so I just smiled at him and then simply covered my face out of embarrassment.

But if I am embarrassed for wearing huge shoes, then what about that person who probably walked barefoot around the campus?

This morning, I accidentally threw my shoe at the top of the tree. Slyvester suggested that I should use his shoes instead and go to my first class. He did not give me the chance to refute it.

‘That annoying gentleman. Tssk.’

I fetched a sigh. Ever since we met, from the day he saved me from drowning, and now, I feel like I am always in debt.

‘I wondered what happened. Did he get my shoe back?’

“Sorry, prof. I’m late.”

I was snapped out by the man who interrupted our professor’s lesson. The loud buzz echoed around, and the majority came from girls who were all red.

‘Maybe the guy is hands…’

My beam evaporated as soon as I saw Chaylen. My expectation dropped very low.

He’s handsome, I know. But in my eyes, he is just a perverted man who doesn’t deserve my attention.

Chaylen sat beside the pretty woman in a short skirt. He smiled at her and mouthed, “Hi.”

‘Wow. He’s really an expert in flirting.’

Anyway, let’s ignore him.

I set my eyes back on the professor and did my best to listen. After minutes of listening and taking down some notes, I accidentally saw Chaylen leaning his head on the table while sleeping.

“Okay. That’s all for today. Don’t forget to submit your essay about this tomorrow. Class dismissed,” the professor announced then left the classroom.

Students stood up one after another. Some took the chance to introduce themselves to their prospective new friend, while others just walked out of the room with their books in their hands. I also stood up and then put my things inside my bag.

About Chaylen, yeah, he is still sleeping.

I was about to put the crumpled papers I had my scribbles in, but I changed my mind. I looked at these and the sleeping Chaylen.

‘Maybe, this is my time for revenge.’

I aimed the clueless Chaylen with the crumpled paper in my hand. Next…

“Shoot~”

I threw it right into his face. It was a perfect shot!

  “Hmmmm,” Soju groaned. Quickly, I dashed out of the room. I even had a hard time running because of Slyvester’s shoes. But yeah, I peacefully escaped.

‘Gosh! That was refreshing!’

The class ended successfully. It was hard to adjust to my new life as a college student. Yet, I could say that it’s pretty fun.

New teacher, new lessons, new classrooms, new cafeteria: I enjoyed everything. But I did not enjoy walking back to the boarding house using these giant shoes. It was as if I was riding on two boats!

“I don’t have the right to complain,” I said to myself. “Just think of Slyvester who walked barefoot just to help me.”

Speaking of him, he won’t come home barefoot, right?

Maybe he can borrow from his friends. I don’t have his number so I could not contact him. And we’re not also friends on any social media accounts. The campus is so big. Even if I did walk around the business management department, our paths never crossed.

Meters away from the boarding house, I saw Chaylen. There was a sudden adrenaline rush that made my body move on its own. In a flash, I just found myself hiding behind the trash bin.

‘This is because I am guilty of the thing I did to Chaylen a moment ago. Argh!’

But that is just one of the reasons. Chaylen is talking with a woman outside the boarding house. I only consider the possibility that she might be his girlfriend.

‘What will his girlfriend think if she finds out that a girl is living with Chaylen under the same roof?’

 Automatically, I groped my hair in fear that I might lose it if things go out of hand.

I peeked at him and the girl in front of him.

‘Oh? The woman, although she’s pretty, she seems a little bit older than him.’

Don’t tell me…!

“Is she his sugar mommy?” I whispered. I covered my mouth after gasping hysterically.

Knowing how bastard Chaylen is, I could not blame myself for thinking like this. However, what’s wrong will always be wrong.

While I was in deep thought, it was then I heard their conversation. Thus, I slightly leaned my ear closer, as if that would make a change.

“Next time, don’t even bother coming here. I don’t need you,” Chaylen said as he looked at the lady with a somehow scary gaze.

The next scene made me gasp and I covered my mouth for the second time. The woman slapped him so hard! It was too loud, I bet it was really painful.

Now I feel deeply sorry for putting a prank on Chaylen before.

“How could you say that to your mom?” she said to him. She turned around and walked, and I hid even more behind the bin.

  ’Mom? Then that means the pretty woman is Chaylen’s mother. No doubt because he is good-looking and…’

“What are you doing there?”

I froze.

Slowly, I lifted my head and realized why it suddenly looked darker than before. Chaylen is standing near me as he glared my way.

I was… caught.