"Woah, did you see her?"
"Yeah. She's so cute. How old do you think she is?"
"Go ask her then. And her phone number too, while you're at it."
"You're joking. She's probably taken, isn't she?"
Just as Gun was descending down the stairs, he overheard the chatters of several male students who seemed to be heading to their next class.
"I wonder who they're talking about," one of Gun's new classmates said.
For some reason, a bunch of his classmates decided to stick close to him, acting as if they were friends. It was annoying, but he couldn't be bothered to tell them off. Perhaps the only reason he even went along with them was out of consideration for Da Na and Ha Jun who wanted him to have a wider circle of friends.
"Maybe they're referring to that girl?" Another classmate said, stopping in his tracks.
He pointed to a lone girl near the entrance. The girl was rocking on her heels, keeping her eyes low. Her cheeks were slightly stained red, perhaps due to the amount of attention she was getting.
"Wow, she's really pretty," they exclaimed.
A female classmate who was among the group of six or seven people harrumphed, "She's not that pretty. Don't you think so, Gun?" She batted her eyes at Gun in a flirty manner, as if expecting him to agree with her.
Da Na, who was also walking with them, snorted. Did this girl think that Gun would be interested in her if she badmouthed other people?
Da Na and the girl exchanged glares. Clearly, there was a rivalry between the two.
Da Na turned away from the girl to look at the rumoured cute girl waiting by the stairs. Her eyes widened in surprise as she recognised the figure.
"Hey, Gun, isn't that—" Yeo Ri?
Gun also recognised the girl instantly. Ignoring the group of people he had just been walking with, he quickly descended down the stairs and jogged over to Yeo Ri's side.
"—Gun?!"
His actions caused great confusion among his classmates, save for Da Na and Ha Jun who knew of the girl's identity.
Gun did not care to explain his actions to his classmates. He tapped Yeo Ri's arm, smiling at her in greeting, "Yeo Ri-ah, what brings you here? Didn't you have work today?"
Yeo Ri, now reunited with the person she was waiting for, broke into a dazzling smile. Her shoulders sagged in relief after finally seeing Gun's familiar face.
"It's already finished," Yeo Ri replied. She held out her arms as though asking for a hug, which Gun readily reciprocated. Giggling, she asked him, "Oppa, were you surprised?"
"Mm," Gun compliantly nodded his head. "Oppa was really surprised. Are you alright? Did anyone come to bother you?"
Yeo Ri thought for a moment before shaking her head, "Nope!"
"You're lying, aren't you?" Gun eyed her disapprovingly. He thought back to the conversation that he had overheard earlier. He frowned as he thought of his baby sister having to deal with all those people bothering her.
Yeo Ri looked back at him innocently, still shaking her head.
Gun studied her face. She didn't seem to be lying, but then again, Yeo Ri was a master at hiding her true feelings. He narrowed his eyes, "Why do you look so pale? Are you sick?"
"I went swimming earlier for the shoot. Didn't I tell you?" Yeo Ri tilted her head. She indeed had to be in water for a period of time, but she did not dare to tell him that she had to re-shoot her part about six times. Gun might throw a fit if he knew.
"You—"
"—Yeo Ri-ah, hello!"
Gun didn't have a chance to scold her when Da Na butted in, waving her hand to greet the girl from the stairs.
"Da Na-unnie, Ha Jun-oppa, hello!" Her eyes shifted to the two familiar faces. She smiled up to them, also waving her hand in greeting.
The other people trailing behind them looked at the exchange with strange looks. What? Even these two knew who the girl was? They had only been acquainted with Gun for a few weeks, unlike Da Na and Ha Jun, and they did not know that Yeo Ri was his sister.
"Hey, you know her? Who is she?" A classmate whispered and nudged Ha Jun, asking for an explanation.
Ha Jun merely smirked in response before jumping to the ground and putting his arm around Gun's shoulder. "Yeo Ri-ah, did you come here to pick Gun up? How sweet!"
"Ha Jun-oppa," Yeo Ri laughed. She caught the way Gun frowned in irritation when Ha Jun placed his arm on him. However, the fact that he didn't push him away made Yeo Ri smile even more.
"Yeo Ri-ah, I saw your picture in this month's issue of K-Teen Magazine. You looked really cute!" Da Na gushed as soon as she was within Yeo Ri's earshot.
"It's nothing much," Yeo Ri humbly lowered her eyes, blushing. A strange feeling blossomed in her chest as she thought of the fact that her face could be seen in a fashion magazine that a lot of people read. "It's all thanks to you and Auntie, Unnie."
"Ah, I heard you just finished shooting a commercial, didn't you? Tell me when it's going to be premiering and I'll be sure to watch it."
"Oh, Unnie!" Yeo Ri's blush deepened. "It's just a small commercial; you don't have to be so excited," she helplessly said. Da Na was probably her number one supporter. Her supportiveness did not pale in comparison to the amount of support her brother had shown.
While the four was chatting so happily, the rest of Gun's classmates could only watch from afar. They felt awkward just standing there, not knowing whether they should intervene in the conversation or not.
Neither Gun nor Da Na and Ha Jun had shown any intentions of introducing them to the girl, or introducing the girl to them, so they could only stand there and watch.
Yeo Ri seemed to catch wind of the awkward atmosphere emanating from them. She turned her head curiously to the people standing several feet away from them. Glancing at her brother, she asked, in a hushed tone, "Are they your classmates? Should I greet them?"
"No need," Gun did not bother contemplating before answering her. "That's right, have you eaten yet, Yeo Ri-ah?"
"Oh," Yeo Ri blinked her eyes at her brother. She had no idea that he could be so cold. But, well, whatever. There was bound to be more opportunities for her to meet Gun's other friends in the future.
Throwing her concerns to the back of her mind, she continued to speak, "Mm. Can we go eat outside today? I don't feel like cooking."
"Okay." Gun nodded indulgently. They had more money to spare now, so going out to eat every once in a while was fine.
"Oh, a date with Yeo Ri? That's nice~" Ha Jun said.
"We don't want to intrude on your date, so have fun~" Da Na added. She didn't see anything wrong about Gun spending some quality time with his sister, and since she got along well with Yeo Ri, she did not feel any jealousy towards the girl. After all, Yeo Ri was Gun's sister and not some random girl. It would be stupid of her to feel jealous. "See you tomorrow, Gun. See you later, Yeo Ri-ah."
"Bye-bye," Yeo Ri waved goodbye to the two as she held Gun's hand.
After bidding their farewells, Gun and Yeo Ri walked out of campus together, hand-in-hand, like the old times.