Chapter 111 - Nine

Orea went completely red in the face. What the fuck? She screamed in her head. Why is he here?

Minwoo bowed at the teacher and then addressed the class.

"I know I'm an idol, but I want to be a regular student here," he said. "My agency sent me to this school because it's the very best one and also, I'll get ample amount of privacy. I hope we can all be friends."

The female students looked at him dreamily while the males gave him a hard stare. Minwoo did not seem to care because his eyes were on one particular person.

"Why is he looking at you?" Myung asked, feeling annoyed.

"How do I know?" Orea lied. "Maybe he thinks I'm pretty?"

Myung looked at the bespectacled nerd with bushy hair. Her large dark eyes were peeking at him from behind the glasses, making him blush.

"Oh please, you're so not his type!" he claimed. "You are no one's type!"

"Just because you don't like me, doesn't mean other guys can't like me!" she hissed. She stuck out her tongue at him. Myung was now getting more annoyed at the pretty boy who was still talking to the class. For some reason, everything about him wa sirking Myung.

"Let's find you a seat then…" the teacher said. All the benches could accommodate three students. He glanced around and noticed that the seat on Orea's right was empty. 

"Sit next to Heo Orea!" the teacher ordered. Myung was outraged when the pretty boy walked towards their bench. He smiled at Myung while Orea let out an inward groan when he sat next to her.

"Hello," Minwoo greeted her. "I'm Minwoon. Kwon Minwoo."

He held out his right hand to her and slightly shifted it sideways to make sure she sees his tattoo.

"Heo Orea," she mumbled. Lowering her voice even more, "What the hell are you doing here, you brat?"

Minwoo merely smiled and leaned closer to her, "Is that how you treat your childhood bestie? I'm hurt, Orea!"

Orea wanted to kick his foot but it would be of no use. The guy was a better combatant than her and being in the entertainment industry, if she hit him, his fans would come for her blood. Hiding her irritation, she smoothed out her expression and decided to ignore him until it was safe to talk.

Myung, on the other hand, was finding it hard to control his temper. The pretty boy was too friendly with Orea and for some reason, gave him a strange glare. Myung glared back, an unspoken rivalry beginning to form. Orea was clueless about the two boys who were having a cold war. She was secretly typing a text to SD.

"9 is here!" she wrote. "9 is here! IN MY SCHOOL!"

She pressed send but Minwoo stealthily snatched her phone. "Meet me outside, in the garden," he muttered, his eyes on the board now. "After school."

Ugh! Orea shouted in her thoughts. 

Suddenly, Myung stood up. The teacher, who was saying something, frowned.

"What happened?" the teacher asked.

But Myung turned to Orea and said, "Exchange seats with me. It's too hot on this side."

"Huh?" Orea gaped. But Myung did not let her ask. Instead, he went around and forcibly scooted her to his side, squeezing in between Minwoo and her. The teacher groaned and went back to teaching while Orea was confused by Myung's sudden behavior. The AC was the closest to him and yet, he was feeling hot?

Does he live in Alaska or something? She wondered. Minwoo, on the other hand, was observing Myung.

So this is the son of the Prime Minister, Minwoo realized. He recalled his meeting with the boss.

"I'm entrusting you to keep an eye on Orea and SD," their boss had told him. "Halt all your group activities for the next few months and go back to school. Make sure that Orea and SD aren't doing anything that could jeopardize our plans."

The leader of the Light never made such a request before. SD and Orea were numbers 2 and 4 respectively. Their position in the Light was higher than Minwoo's but the leader was worried about them. They were surely up to something and he was told to find out.

Is it related to 6 and 8? He wondered. By the looks of it, Orea was close to the PM's son. They not only did a project together but Orea even went to lunch with him. What else was she doing? 

Thankfully, the bell rang, indicating the end of the class. The teacher left the room and the students began to crowd around Minwoo's desk.

"I'm a huge fan!" one girl squealed. "Minwoo, please sign this picture!"

"Minwoo, take a selfie with me!"

"I love you so much!"

The fangirls were surrounding him, making it almost impossible for him to follow Orea who had quickly scurried out. Myung followed her out, hoping to catch her. 

Minwoo tried to get rid of the fans but there were too many. Word had spread that the famous idol had entered their school and more people were crowding around him. I have to get to her, he thought. Somehow!

Outside, Orea was almost running for her life. She was trying to call SD with her spare phone but the idiot was in a meeting with his other boss, Jonghyun. Did he even get my message? She wondered in dismay.

"This is bad," she muttered. The leader must have sent Minwoo to watch over them. It was obvious that he was suspicious of their motives. The members of the Light were given clear instructions not to break out 6 and 8 from prison because it was too dangerous. 

No one knew how Aberville worked and despite the warning, the two of them had been defying that order for months. SD needed 6 and 8 by his side when he would take down the Company because 6 was the only one who knew the leader of the Company while 8 was an expert spy. Without their help, taking down the Company was nearly impossible.

If the other members of the Light found out that they were going against the leader's instructions, then they would retract their support. SD and Orea would fall in a precarious position and might even lose their spots. They needed the Light on their side.

"Oi!"

She turned around to find Myung standing behind her. He was peering at her, feeling suspicious.

"Why did you run off like that?" he asked.

"I...I forgot my math book at home so I was calling the caretaker to send it," she lied.

"You can just share mine," Myung offered. But he knew she was lying. Orea looked rattled and was fidgeting as if she wanted to be anywhere but there. She was fidgeting in nervousness and really wished that Myung would leave her alone for a while. Her head was not working after seeing Minwoo. That sly git was clearly going to make their work more complicated.

Myung stepped forward, wanting to comfort her in any way he could.

"Orea," he began. "You can tell me-"

"Heo!"

Orea jumped and looked to her side. Minwoo was walking towards them. He smiled at Myung who did not return it but was giving the idol a steely gaze.

"The teacher told me to get all the classworks from you, Heo," Minwoo claimed. "But I'm not so good in computer classes. I don't get all the technical parts. But I was told you're the best at it. Can you teach me?"

"Why can't you hire your own teacher?" Myung asked loudly. "Can't idols afford private tutors?"

"Not as good as her," Minwoo smirked. Myung glared at her and was about to retaliate when Orea hit his head.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" she angrily asked. "He's talking to me! Stay out of this!"

At that moment, she really needed Myung to stay away. If Minwoo was going to report back to the leader, he would also state that Myung was close to her and that would add to the complications. After that day at Locos, she was sure that the leader was keeping an eye on her and Myung. He was the son of the enemy and if he got a whiff of what was going on, he would tell his father.

She could not let that happen. After all, their lives were on the line here.

"I'll tutor you," she said to Minwoo. "Come on."

She walked past Myung, who was still stunned. He did not know why but he did not want her to go with this guy. There was something in his gaze which was annoying Myung to no end and even though he had known the idol for barely an hour, he felt that something was amiss. He was sticking too close to Orea for Myung's liking.

Minwoo flashed him a smirk before following Orea. She did not look back but marched on while Myung stood there, jealous and angry.

Orea did not stop until they reached the garden which was thankfully empty at that time. She turned on her heels and faced Minwoo.

"What is it?" she demanded. "Why did the leader send you here?"

Minwoo's smile vanished and in its stead was a cold glare. "You and SD...you guys are planning to go against the Light, aren't you?" he stated.