"Yes, crypto really is taking over the market," someone at the table says but I don't look up, and honestly I don't care.
For the past 10 minutes the people at this table have been discussing various topics, jumping from one to another but none that really interested me and none that really made sense to me.
I just kept playing with my food, my appetite dying a long time ago.
Over the past 10 minutes, I kept quiet mostly just answering and nodding to respond when needed, and discovered a little about each of them.
Beomgyu had no interest in these conversations either but he was much more vocal about it unlike me.
The only thing he was concerned with was music and he kept whining about how the lyrics were just not coming to him.
He was also Soobin's cousin.
Kai was an actor, already been in multiple Korean as well as Hollywood movies. It made sense why he looked so flawless.
And why he was so famous around the girls here. Within this 10 minutes at least 5 different girls had come to talk to him.
Also, after racking my brain I remembered even I have watched one of his movies.
Taehyun was a genius. There wasn't anything he didn't know about Science and technology-related.
The only time his bored expression changed in the slightest, showing a little bit of excitement was when he was discussing the current trends of tech in the market or some research that interested him.
I envied him.
Soobin was the most well-mannered of them, always with a hint of a smile on his face and he was the only one apart from Beomgyu and Bahiyyih who made an attempt to actively engage me in conversations.
From what I gathered about him in this short span was that he was an excellent student academically and he was really into real estate, talking about some project he was passionate about but his parents weren't letting him handle the project alone.
And then there was Yeonjun.
If there was anyone at this table who was ever quieter than me, it had to be Yeonjun.
Only Beomgyu was the one who tried to engage him in the conversation that was going on and even then his answers were short grunts or one word.
He was worse than me.
His expression was similar to mine as if he couldn't wait to get away from this place. The only difference was that I was trying to hide the fact that I didn't want to be here and he made it very clear.
I had noticed he hadn't had more than a couple of bites of his food, only toying with it with his jaws hard.
Was he that mad about sitting beside me?
I mean there was another seat available. He could have just sat there.
I could only see his side profile since he didn't raise his head in the conversation once. He oscillated his attention between the food on his tray and his phone.
The angles of his face were hard, his jaw and cheekbones sharp, his eyebrows scrunched up in what I can only assume to be un-comfortableness.
His ear was pierced in multiple places and I was shocked I hadn't noticed it before.
The silvers glinted in the light and made them more eye-catching. That was the only reason I noticed them.
I realized he had cut his hair since it wasn't past his shoulder anymore in a mullet.
Instead, it was just long enough to end at the base of his neck. His hair was still a flamboyant pink that would make him stand out in a crowd full of people.
His eyes were framed with dark eyelashes that fanned his cheek every time he blinked.
Also, with how everyone was talking and not one person bringing up anything about the early morning encounter I had with Yeonjun, I concluded that he hadn't spread it around the school.
This was not an elaborated prank.
He really didn't tell anyone about the encounter.
But why didn't he?
What was his angle?
Was he planning on blackmailing me using this and making me do his bidding? Like if I did not listen to him, he would tell everyone and the board not to consider me as a candidate for the scholarship.
"Yuri I know Yeonjun is handsome but I am too. You can stare at me as well" I snap my head towards the voice that belongs to Beomgyu and feel my face instantly heat up.
Shit.
I didn't realize I was staring at him.
I didn't mean to.
I look back and Yeonjun and find his staring at me with a very evident scowl on his face.
I really didn't want to start another issue with him.
God knows we were yet to have a decent encounter.
Also, I was surrounded by the maroon jackets and San's words flashed in my head repeatedly like a broken signal.
I didn't know who they were and what their families did but at least with what San told me, I could assume that each of them belonged to very powerful families, and that being said given that most students here belonged to powerful families.
"No. No. I wasn't staring. I just-"I look helplessly around the table not knowing what exactly to say to them.
Thankfully I don't have to.
"I was only kidding. God, you're cute" Beomgyu laughs and pinches my cheek. I just stare at him with embarrassment.
"Don't scare her away before she even spends an hour with us, please?" Bahiyyih sighs and looks apologetically at me.
I only pass her a small smile.
"Are you sure you'll be able to perform at the fundraiser? Your song is not even written yet" Taehyun comments when Beomgyu whines about the song again.
"Uh fuck that shit. I don't want to perform there. It is so boring. Why do we have to attend again?" he groans and rubs his face with both his hands.
"Because of the obvious" Taehyun rolls his eyes and Soobin sighs.
"Beomgyu, it isn't necessary for you to write your own song. You can also perform a cover. I think everyone would prefer that" Soobin suggests and Beomgyu gives an utterly disgusted expression.
"What kind of musician would I be if I do that?" Beomgyu puts a hand on his heart and looks at Soobin with a hurt expression.
Soobin just sighs and rubs his temple as if this is not the first time they have had this conversation and he looks tired of it.
"And on that note, did you change your mind about going to the fundraiser?" Beomgyu asks and everyone's attention is on me again.
I hate Beomgyu for putting me on the spot again and again.
"Wait, you don't want to go? But it will be your first time, you should definitely go" Bahiyyih chirps up.
"Also, didn't San tell you about it? This is a big deal here. You should definitely come. Also, bring San. We can all hang out together" she continues before I even have a chance to speak.
"Everything is a big deal here. The actual event is boring but the after-party Soobin throws at his lake house isn't" Beomgyu winks at Soobin and Soobin looks more tired with every sentence out of Beomgyu's mouth.
"I have to agree with Beomgyu on that one" Taehyun speaks from his place.
"Why don't you want to go?" Soobin asks, directly looking at me with a puzzled expression.
"I am not sure what it is about and I am sure there must be an invite-only policy or something like that. I am not really sure how this whole thing works anyway. I have never been to one so I don't know" I blurt out.
Soobin is quiet for a minute before speaking.
"I am on the panel helping organize this event. I could tell you about it. And the invite probably didn't reach you since you joined recently. I'll look into that as well" Soobin speaks with a polite smile on his face and his kind eyes focus on me.
"Thank you but you don't have to, I am sure you're already busy" I try to decline his offer as politely as I can.
Fundraisers are for people who have funds to spare. It wasn't for my family but I couldn't directly tell them that.
"Try not to fall asleep as you hear about the founding fathers of the school and what 'great' things they did to get this established" Beomgyu speaks, putting 'great' in air quotes and rolling his eyes.
"It is important to know your history" Soobin chides and shakes his head like he is used to behavior like this.
"Booooring" Beomgyu hums and rolls his eyes again.
"Also, forget the fundraiser, you should totally come to the after party. It's a rave" Beomgyu exclaims.
My eyes just widen at his expression.
The last thing I want to do I go to a rave.
"Even if you don't enjoy the event itself, I think you'll have fun at the after party" Soobin's voice makes my head turn in his direction.
He has a faint smile on his lips.
"No, you don't have to do that. it's okay â" I don't get to complete my sentence because I am interrupted by Beomgyu.
"So it's settled, Soobin will Yuri in on the event so she's is coming to the event and the after party. Finally, it's going to be fun" Beomgyu announces and bounces on his chair.
I feel an impending feeling of doom settle over me.