chapter twenty eight: realizations

    Something wasn’t right. Jae Ah didn’t know how she knew it but she did. She felt antsy for no apparent reason. Her eyes darted around the usual area where Jin Young hung out but sighed for the umpteenth time when he still hadn’t appeared.

She shouldn’t be surprised. She couldn’t actually remember the last time Jin Young had bothered to show up to classes. But she thought everything would be back to normal now. And if it was, then Jin Young should be there sitting on the benches as he usually would.

She glanced at her phone screen to see the time and was dismayed to find that she had to go to class soon. Just as she turned away from the benches with a dejected expression, she heard someone call out her name in a hurry.

Jae Ah spun around in surprise at the recognizable yet unfamiliar face and her eyes widened in surprise, “Jackson?” She called as the blonde haired boy walked closer to her.

His dark blue jeans fit snugly onto his legs and his white t-shirt emphasized his obviously fit body. He wore a backwards black snapback, which only highlighted his blonde hair more. Earrings gleamed on his pierced ears, finishing off his bad boy vibe.

Jae Ah glanced around subconsciously and saw all female eyes within a 10 foot radius of them on Jackson. Her eyes fell back on Jackson’s expression and she quickly sobered up.

“What happened?” She asked once he was standing right in front of her. Jackson’s signature grin was nowhere to be found.

Jackson didn’t answer right away. After a moment of silence, he said, “Jin Young’s mom got hurt. She was attacked.”

“What?” Jae Ah’s voice went a few octaves higher. “How? What happened? Is she okay? Is-”

“Jae Ah, hold on.” Jackson placed his hands on her shoulders and forced her attention back on him. “Calm down, okay. She’s still alive. She’s getting healed by the pack doctor right now.” His voice lowered. “They told me not to tell you but I figured you should know.”

“They? Who? Mark?” Jae Ah asked, a pinch of anger in her voice. “He didn’t want me to know?” She pursed her lips, angrily staring up at Jackson. Then, she asked, “Then why are you telling me?”

“Because…” Jackson hesitated once more and she couldn’t help but think how unlike him it was to act this way, “we think it’s because of you.”

The silence that followed Jackson’s sentence was long, tense, and uncomfortable. Jackson waited for Jae Ah to respond, to react, but her expression stayed blank for a long while. And when she finally did react, it was nothing as he expected.

Jackson thought she would get angry or that she would fight him. He expected her to defend herself  herself and ask why they would ever make that accusation.

But Jae Ah did the opposite.

Her expression fell as her eyes dropped to the ground. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind as she debated what to say. It was her fault. Finally, she mumbled, “She’s going to be okay, right?”

Jackson couldn’t help his surprise, “Yeah. We think so. Jae Ah, aren’t you even curious why we think it’s because of you?”

Jae Ah lifted her eyes to meet Jackson’s and her lips parted but she didn’t know what to say, “Um, why?”

Jackson’