Chapter 12: The Tables Have Turned
The dim movie theater lobby.
Haeun stood side by side with me in front of the kiosk, where the sweet smell of popcorn hung thick in the air. Her usual bloodless face was nowhere to be seen—replaced by a strangely elated expression.
"Woojin. What flavor popcorn do you like?"
Haeun asked cautiously as she tapped the kiosk screen.
"Me... caramel."
"Oh, really? I like caramel too."
Haeun grinned brightly and firmly pressed the large caramel popcorn option on the screen.
I gazed down at her faint smile, then casually reached over and swiped to the side menu tab.
"I'll have some of this too."
What I tapped were two freshly fried, crispy churros.
Haeun's eyes widened like a rabbit's as she looked up at me.
"You... like stuff like this?"
"Nah, just... variety's the spice of life, right? Haha."
I laughed it off good-naturedly and was about to pull out my debit card from my pocket.
Beep!
"Huh...?"
Before I could, Haeun had already slipped her card into the reader and completed the payment.
The receipt whirred out, and I stared in surprise at my card frozen in mid-air.
"I'll get it."
Haeun murmured softly, her cheeks slightly flushed, as she tucked her card back into her wallet.
"I was the one who suggested the movie first today. So popcorn's on me too."
It felt different from yesterday's blind dependence.
Maybe it was just Haeun trying to bind me tighter by doing me favors.
Either way... no loss for me.
"Mm... alright, then."
I pretended to give in and pocketed my wallet.
Honestly, this month's allowance was already razor-thin, and if things went south, I could always play it off with, 'Then I'll get dinner later,' turning it into a smooth course of dinner and parting ways.
A pretty solid start.
We entered the screening room, arms loaded with popcorn, cola, and churros.
Before the movie started, the area in front of the screen was oddly rowdy.
Looking closer, someone was holding a mic on the lit stage, doing a greeting.
"Thank you all for coming~! I'm so grateful to be part of this movie's OST..."
"Huh...?"
Haeun and I froze mid-step on our way to our assigned seats, popcorn in hand.
Blonde hair beaming under the bright lights on stage, smiling ear to ear.
It was that crazy intruder from yesterday's school hallway—the one who'd shrieked at us and fled—Han Sera of Nyan Rave.
"She really is a famous idol, huh."
"Yeah..."
Nothing like the fuming girl from school yesterday. Her sparkling celebrity aura was 180 degrees different. Haeun and I exchanged hollow chuckles and took our seats.
"Please keep supporting Nyan Rave from now on! Ah...!"
Scanning the audience during her interview, Sera's gaze locked precisely on us in the dark seats.
Her eyes widened in shock, mic still in hand.
"Ah! You—you guys!!"
Her scream boomed through the mic.
Instantly, hundreds of eyes in the theater swiveled toward where Haeun and I sat.
A suffocating spotlight of stares.
I nearly dropped my popcorn tub.
"A-ah...! My mistake! Haha, enjoy the movie, everyone!!"
Realizing her blunder, Sera yanked the mic away, her face tomato-red, and bolted backstage.
The audience muttered dismissively and turned back to the screen.
Crazy... that idiot almost acted like she knew us. Dodged a bullet. And that's an idol?
I wiped the cold sweat from the back of my neck and let out a deep sigh.
The commotion died down, the lights dimmed, and the movie began.
Thirsty from the tension, I absentmindedly reached for the popcorn tub.
Swish.
My fingers brushed Haeun's small, cold hand inside the tub—she was reaching too.
"Ah..."
In the dark, Haeun flinched, shoulders tensing.
I turned to look. Screen light illuminated her cheeks and neck, flushed bright red.
Her slender wrist yanked back in panic.
A smug heh rose in my throat. I wrapped my larger hand around hers—gently, but locked in an unbreakable interlock.
Haeun's body went rigid. I felt it even in the darkness.
"Was the movie... fun?"
Exiting the screening room after it ended, Haeun asked cautiously, gauging my face.
"Eh, no. Kinda meh."
"Ah... yeah, me too."
I replied indifferently and stretched.
I couldn't remember a single plot point.
Only Haeun—sweating in my grip for two hours, unable to fidget.
"Wanna grab food?"
"Yeah!"
And so, under my perfect control, the sweet yet bizarre weekend date came to an end.
Or so it should have.
Monday morning. The moment I arrived at school, cracks spiderwebbed through the perfect walls of isolation I'd so carefully built.
"Hey, hear? Choi Jia got called to the office!"
"No way! Why?"
"CCTV showed it—Choi Jia and her crew tore up Baek Haeun's posters and graffitied them!"
During break, the classroom erupted.
Jia was absent from first through third period.
Her gang huddled pale-faced, glancing around nervously.
The kids' opinions flipped in an instant.
...Fuck.
Arms crossed at my desk, watching it unfold, my eyes turned ice-cold.
The class vibe shifted entirely with the reversal.
Then, just before lunch, a horrific sight shattered my patience.
"H-Haeun."
Girls who'd treated her like air and gossiped days ago swarmed her desk as she headed for the cafeteria.
"We're really sorry... Choi Jia made us... We had no idea..."
"Can we... go back to how it was? Being friends again? Please?"
Repulsive apologies and pitying stares.
From the back row, I glared, fists clenched under my desk.
Did those bitches get collectively brainwashed by Haeun...?
Uncontrollable disgust boiled up like magma in my chest.
Haeun hung her head, fingers fidgeting, and mumbled softly.
"Uh... yeah. It's okay..."
The moment forgiveness slipped from her lips, alarms blared in my head.
What the hell. Why... why is she doing this?!
Baek Haeun should be mine alone.
Abandoned and crushed by everyone, clinging only to me at my feet forever, depending solely on my warmth!!
So why drag her back into that trash popular crowd!
I gnashed inner curses, teetering on losing it.
Swish.
Surrounded and flustered, Haeun slowly turned her head.
Her gaze fixed on me at the back of the room.
"......!"
My heart plummeted.
My stunned eyes met Baek Haeun's from afar.
That fragile gaze always desperately clinging to me, blindly relying.
But in this instant,
Her deep, strangely sunken stare at me... looked different.
...What the hell?
I shook my head unconsciously, startled.
Chills raced up my spine.
What was that look just now? Why... why's she like that?
My mind flashed white.
I'd believed I controlled and manipulated Haeun without doubt, but maybe, just maybe...
Something's gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Fourth period before lunch, in the auditorium.
Final campaign speeches for student council president candidates, with the whole school packed in.
The place thrummed like a concert hall.
"Hey, kids~!"
Blonde hair gripping the mic in a flashy uniform on stage.
Han Sera of Nyan Rave, candidate number 2.
"Vote for me, okay? I'll do a special fan signing in the student council room, tons of premium fan service! Number 2, Han Sera, got it?!"
She winked and shot finger hearts. The auditorium full of guys roared like beasts.
"Waaaaaah! Han Sera! We love you!!"
Arms crossed, I watched the frenzy blankly and clicked my tongue inwardly.
...Not all that. Just noisy... And she's seriously running for president?
Haeun would be way bett—
I turned casually to the candidate waiting area behind the stage.
"......!"
Ice water dumped down my spine—chills everywhere.
In the dark backstage shadows, waiting her turn: Baek Haeun.
Ignoring the heat from thousands of students, her quiet, deep eyes pierced straight through me.
"...Since when."