7MoH 1.12

He rode in Chase Prescott’s Porsche. They had dinner together. If Justin found out, he’d be so shocked he’d flip his eyes back and fall over. But Jeong-in didn’t think he could tell him. To explain this, he would inevitably have to talk about the shame book.

Although he had prepared for bed and laid down, strangely, his mind wouldn’t calm down. His heart was racing as if he’d downed several cans of Red Bull in a row.

Tossing and turning, Jeong-in picked up the plush toy he had placed beside his pillow. The white-furred, black-eyed toy stared back at him. Jeong-in quietly called out its name.

“Snowball.”

Today was Spring Fling. “Fling” not only means a festival but also refers to a brief, sweet encounter that brushes by and leaves excitement in one’s heart.

On the day of Junior Year’s Spring Fling, a different kind of spring fling came to Jeong-in.

***

『Today, April 1st, the weather will be rather dry. The Bellacove area will have thick marine fog in the morning, but the afternoon will be full of warm sunshine. There will be a slight sea breeze, but it will be perfect for picnics and walks on the beach.』

The weather forecaster’s gentle voice from the TV resonated like background music.

Heading to the kitchen, Jeong-in found Suzy eating a yogurt bowl filled with fruit, chia seeds, and granola. He placed his hand on her shoulder, leaned down, and lightly kissed her cheek.

“Good morning, Mom.”

Suzy smiled, turning her head to caress Jeong-in’s cheek. Jeong-in went to the refrigerator and took out a soy milk pack. Just as he placed a cup on the countertop, Suzy’s meaningful voice came from behind.

“Hmm, it’s strange, you know? Last night. If I remember correctly, I distinctly heard the front door closing around 1:30 in the morning.”

Jeong-in’s hand, about to pour the soy milk, froze.

“Mom, about that…”

Jeong-in hurriedly prepared to explain. But Suzy took an unexpected turn.

“I hope this happens more often in the future.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m saying you should enjoy your youth more.”

Suzy turned her chair around to face Jeong-in and asked with a curious expression.

“So, what’s she like?”

Jeong-in poured some soy milk and mumbled vaguely.

“…Just someone I know a little.”

“Is it that distant cousin of Justin’s? Was it Christina?”

“No.”

Mom wouldn’t believe him even if he told her. The person wasn’t Asian. Not only that, but he had blonde hair and blue eyes, like someone who had jumped straight out of “South Bay Coast Guard,” the drama his mom enjoyed watching as eye candy.

The varsity team quarterback who always held the throne in dance and from a good family too. It seemed unrealistic even to himself. If he told someone, they would doubt such a person could actually exist.

Jeong-in finished his soy milk, placed the cup in the sink, and quickly washed it. Suzy spoke to Jeong-in’s back.

“Oh, I have good news.”

“What is it?”

“Steven has secured investment from Prescott. That means you don’t have to worry about your tuition anymore.”

“Really?”

That was truly welcome news. Jeong-in left the house with a lighter step than usual, in a good mood.

As he pedaled his bicycle, fresh wind brushed against his cheeks, leaving a refreshing coolness. Jeong-in suddenly looked up and gazed into the distance.

The palm trees along the road swayed as if dancing, and beyond them, the distant ocean sparkled, lavishly receiving the sun’s gift.

Bellacove was beautiful, open and spacious everywhere he looked. It was such a different landscape from the dense, gray city where he had lived as a child.

If Steven was paying for his tuition, all that remained was Jeong-in himself. Everything depended on his own efforts.

American universities have early admission. It’s when one decides on their admission in advance if they have a definite first-choice school.

For Jeong-in, that school was very clear. Harvard, his first and only choice. Harvard’s early application was “restricted early action,” requiring thorough preparation across all elements: grades, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, and more.

Reaching an uphill stretch, Jeong-in pedaled vigorously as he recalled his goals once again.

Right now, getting a good SAT score is important. Since he might lose points in other subjects, he needed to aim for a perfect score in his strength, mathematics. On top of that, he needed to start drafting his essays soon, ask reliable teachers for recommendation letters, and maintain his GPA.

These tasks might seem overwhelming to some, but Jeong-in was the type who enjoyed this pressure. Although the intense effort was difficult, the exhilaration of achieving his goals was thrilling.

Thus, Jeong-in arrived at school, reorganizing his priorities in his mind once more.

As soon as he passed the entrance, a banner hanging from the corridor ceiling caught his eye.

[30 days until Prom. Have you decided on your date?]

The number “30” was overlaid with a large piece of white cloth. They were planning to count down by changing the number daily.

“Who has time for prom? Right, Jay?”

Justin approached and stood beside Jeong-in, rolling his eyes as if those who wasted time on such things were pathetic.

“Hi, Justin.”

“Only three days until Spring Break! Yay!”

Spring Break is a week-long holiday that takes place every spring in American high schools and colleges. Unlike Korea’s spring vacation, it’s a rest period given during the semester, not after the end of the school year.

“What’s there to do? We have mountains of work—SAT, competitions, studying.”

“Yeah…”

Justin’s shoulders drooped, and his excited face deflated like a balloon in an instant. Ah, was this what they meant by looking like a “marimo” (moss ball)? Suddenly recalling last night’s memory, Jeong-in involuntarily burst into laughter.

Justin asked with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s nothing.”

Justin shrugged it off casually. It was a similar situation but a very different attitude from Chase. Chase Prescott had been persistent, as if he absolutely had to know why he was laughing.

He felt pathetic for connecting everything to Chase Prescott despite their brief entanglement. Jeong-in shook his head slightly to collect himself.

Just as he was turning the dial on his locker, Justin whispered,

“Oh, the varsity team guys are coming.”

Jeong-in instinctively turned his head to look toward the entrance. Chase and his varsity teammates were walking in together.

Jeong-in felt his heart pounding. Without realizing it, his movements slowed as he gathered his handouts.

The boisterous voices grew closer. Along with slight tension, there was also a subtle feeling of anticipation. Would he perhaps approach him first and say something?

“Chase, let’s go in together.”

At that moment, Vivian Sinclair joined their group. Watching her arrange her red hair with a finger-comb made something in Jeong-in’s chest tingle. Had she perhaps been in the passenger seat of Chase’s convertible this morning?

Jeong-in instinctively turned his body to press closely against his locker. An unknown emotion swirled in his chest.

His movements became urgent as he stuffed the handouts into his bag. Trying to maintain his composure, he spoke to Justin.

“What are you doing during the break? Campus tour? Did you decide to go?”

“Yeah. I barely got permission.”

These days, campus tour plans were being actively discussed among 11th graders. Campus tours are orientation programs where they visit their target university in advance to check out the facilities and atmosphere, and get information about the school from admissions officers or current students.

Justin was aiming for engineering schools like Caltech and MIT. His first choice was MIT on the East Coast, but his parents strongly opposed the idea of their son moving far away.

“Oh, it’s Hailey.”

Justin suddenly stiffened and whispered quietly. Jeong-in slightly turned his head to see Hailey Simons approaching.

He thought Hailey would pass by as usual, but his expectation was wrong. Hailey’s suede boots stopped right in front of Justin.

She leaned against the locker and greeted him softly.

“Hi there. What was your name again?”

Justin’s eyes widened.

“J-J-J-Justin Wong… We’ve been in the same class for three years…”

“Really? Oh! You’re the one who wrote my essay last time?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Thanks. I got a good grade because of you.”

Jeong-in knew that Justin and Hailey had been in the same class for three years, but this was the first time he’d seen them have such a long conversation. Justin’s face turned red, almost like a tomato.

“Prom is coming up soon.”

Hailey remarked casually, looking at the banner.

“Y-yeah…”

“Have you decided who you’re going with?”

“Ah, no… I probably won’t go.”

“Why?”

“Just… I don’t have anyone to go with.”

“Really? Then, want to go with me?”

“Huh?”

“I like smart people.”

Jeong-in couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Along with a sharp, ominous sensation, he had a strong intuition that he needed to get Justin away from this situation quickly.

“Justin. Class is about to start, let’s go.”

But Justin was already deeply immersed in his time with Hailey, and Jeong-in’s words didn’t even reach his ears. With a flushed face, he stammered his reply.

“If you’re okay with it… I’d love to. Gladly…”

For a moment, a few seconds of silence passed. The awkward stillness felt unbearably heavy. Breaking that silence, Hailey suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“See! I told you he’d fall for it!”

She turned around and shouted to her group, and as if they’d been waiting for this moment, the people around them erupted in laughter.

“It was an April Fool’s joke. Do you think I’ve been shot in the head? Going with you.”

It was too cruel to be called a prank. Especially to Justin, who genuinely liked Hailey.

Jeong-in’s expression hardened. He could see Justin’s face trembling from his eyes down to his cheeks. What if he had casually brushed it off by saying, ‘I was joking too’? But Justin could only move his lips slightly, ultimately unable to say anything.

“Oh my, he’s going to cry.”

Someone watching remarked mockingly. Soon after, another voice playfully chimed in.

“Isn’t he overreacting to an April Fool’s joke?”

“Must have been too much stimulation for a nerd.”

“He’s crying? Hey! Let’s take a picture and send it to Wincrest Wire!”

Vince Lowden, one of Hailey’s male followers, pulled out his phone.

Jeong-in urgently checked on Justin. The trembling of his round shoulders, coupled with the surrounding mockery, felt like it was tearing his heart apart.

“Get away!”

Jeong-in’s voice rang sharply through the corridor. His eyes were filled with unbearable anger.

“What’s your problem? Are you his guardian or something?”

“Is this nerds looking out for each other?”

Seeing Justin shrinking away, Jeong-in felt his heart being cut to pieces. He had dismissed Hailey as a snob like sour grapes, but Justin had liked her for three years.

“I said get away!”

Jeong-in’s shout echoed through the corridor once again.

At that moment, someone much taller quietly approached from behind Vince Lowden, who was just about to press the record button.

As a hand from behind snatched the phone away, a silence fell over the corridor as if it had frozen. It was Chase Prescott.

His fingertips, holding the phone as if it were his own, quickly swiped through the screen to check if anything had been recorded.

Everyone around watched him with bated breath. For the first time, they all realized how cold those blue eyes could look when there wasn’t a hint of amusement in them.

“This isn’t funny.”

Chase’s voice alone was enough to freeze the atmosphere. Only after confirming that nothing had been recorded did he toss the phone back to Vince.

“We’re not elementary school kids. Let’s not do this kind of thing.”

The face of Hailey Simons, the instigator, turned red and her eyes twitched.

Chase typically stood back and observed whatever happened around him. Most of the time, he just watched with bored eyes, sometimes smiling as if amused. Some people even caused bigger disturbances to get his attention.

He had never directly intervened like this before. What was so special about those nerds?

Chase and his group left first, followed by Jeong-in leading Justin away.

Behind them remained only people watching silently, reading the atmosphere.

Jeong-in and Justin entered the classroom together for their math class.

“Justin… are you okay?”

Jeong-in asked carefully. Justin’s plump fist was clenched tightly on the desk, trembling.

“Such a bad… bad…”

Justin gritted his teeth as if upset and barely spat out the words, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to curse Hailey.

“Hailey doesn’t even know what she’s missing.”

Jeong-in whispered quietly, patting his shoulder.

“How much will she regret it when you become a millionaire after creating something like Snapchat? Someone like Vince Lowden might end up driving your limousine.”

“By then, it would be a cyber limousine, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes. A cyber limousine.”

Justin’s trembling lips gradually relaxed. He soon nodded with a deep sigh, as if taking a deep breath. Only then did Jeong-in smile and quietly feel relieved.

“Hey, Jay.”

“Yeah?”

Justin stared at the edge of his desk and said,

“In our shame book, should we erase a few lines about Chase Prescott?”

Jeong-in was a bit surprised by the sudden mention of the shame book but soon smiled gently. It seemed Justin felt grateful to Chase for helping him.

“What should we erase?”

“…Well, at least the part about his small sausage-like reproductive organ.”

Jeong-in burst into a small laugh, finding Justin cute as he spoke as if doing Chase a favor.

Meanwhile, the classroom quieted down as the lesson began. Jeong-in pretended to shift his gaze to the teacher’s desk while taking out his phone.

[Thanks for earlier]

After sending the text, his heart started pounding. Just then, three dots appeared on the screen, indicating he was typing something. The fact that Chase was replying during class made Jeong-in’s heart beat even faster.

Chase Prescott: [Is your friend okay?]

It was a kind message. Jeong-in glanced at Justin. His eyes were still red, but he was diligently taking notes, clutching his pencil tightly.

[He’ll be alright]

[Thanks]

Once again, a sign appeared showing he was typing something. This reply arrived after a slight delay.

Chase Prescott: [So, do you like me a little more now?]

The moment he read the message, his face flushed.

Jeong-in thought ‘Do you dislike me a little less now?’ would be more fitting for their situation. But even that thought was fleeting. Jeong-in quickly moved his fingers to type a reply.

[Maybe a little]