Liar and Liar - Chapter 32
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 32
“Wahaha! What is she saying? She really can’t speak English.”
“Benjamin! You shouldn’t talk to your friend like that!”
The teacher scolded with a serious face, but couldn’t contain the laughter that spread like wildfire. Though Danielle Ryu had become the laughingstock of the entire class, she only frowned with a displeased expression.
‘Damn, is my English really bad enough to laugh at?’
Though embarrassed, Danielle Ryu wasn’t discouraged. It was true that there hadn’t been enough time to prepare due to her father’s sudden overseas assignment, and she thought it was just a matter of time before she could speak like them.
Danielle Ryu looked straight at the students in front of her and spoke firmly.
“I know. I have to study more. So I need your help. And I will, I will speak in English like you guys.”
Danielle Ryu emphasized ‘will’ with force.
Whatever the case, Danielle Ryu had confidence. Even if she couldn’t speak English well, she was good at math, and even if she wasn’t pretty, she could do well in sports. Thanks to not hesitating to make a fool of herself, Danielle Ryu was better at sports compared to ordinary Korean girls.
“Excellent, Danielle. For now, you can go sit over there.”
The teacher lightly placed her hands on Danielle Ryu’s shoulders. The seat she indicated was next to the problematic male student.
“Next to Frederick.”
‘…So his name was Frederick.’
How does he even have such a white name? Danielle Ryu approached her seat with a subtle feeling, pouting her lips. Meanwhile, the teacher continued lecturing the students about how their earlier behavior was very wrong.
Despite being full of passion and enthusiasm, realistically Danielle Ryu could understand almost nothing of what the teacher was saying. She could only follow along by alternately looking at visual materials and handouts, relying on intuition. Eventually, half of Danielle Ryu’s mind was filled with other thoughts.
‘If his name is Frederick, what’s his last name?’
Frederick DiCaprio.
Frederick Pitt.
Frederick Delong.
‘…It probably isn’t a last name like these.’
In the end, until class ended, Danielle Ryu couldn’t think of a suitable last name. All that remained was an awkward conclusion.
‘I spent the entire class thinking about him.’
Somehow, Danielle Ryu felt like she had become an asteroid trapped in the gravity of that male student named Frederick. She had crossed the Pacific to fly beyond the galaxy.
But it seemed she wasn’t the only one caught in a trap.
“Rick! Where did you go? How do you always disappear like that?”
As soon as class ended, students flocked around Frederick like clouds. Danielle Ryu’s eyes widened.
‘Wow…’
He really doesn’t bat an eye…
Though being popular was one thing, what was more surprising was his calm attitude of showing little reaction no matter what people around him said.
Though it wasn’t openly displayed in his expression, to Danielle Ryu’s eyes, the male student already seemed tired of everything surrounding him. Despite being only in 5th grade.
Regardless, Danielle Ryu decided to ignore it and look at her books until the next class. Unaware that gray eyes occasionally fell upon her.
* * *
“Rick. You’re even quieter than usual today. Didn’t sleep well again?”
Today too, people crowded around Frederick. And as always, the center of attention looked bored.
Perhaps his boredom had reached its limit, as he rarely spoke first.
“Want to play a game with me?”
“Huh? Yes!”
The female student standing in front of Frederick’s desk answered with an excited expression. Danielle Ryu just listened to their conversation while keeping her eyes on her desk.
Since the first day, Danielle Ryu never spoke to Frederick under any circumstances. The reverse was also true.
For Danielle Ryu, who was struggling desperately not to fall behind in English or anything else, her indifferent desk partner was a perfect stranger she neither seemed likely to befriend nor wanted to befriend.
As a result, despite sitting next to each other, they never had any conversations, so Danielle Ryu still didn’t know Frederick’s last name.
“Try to break my poker face. If you can do that, I’ll grant you anything you want.”
How ridiculous. Danielle Ryu, who was scribbling English words in her notebook, silently scoffed.
‘Does he think he’s some kind of prince?’
Asking others to perform tricks for him.
Why is everyone so desperate to impress that unmotivated sloth?
To Danielle Ryu, it was a bet not worth taking, but the female students’ reactions were different.
“Really?!”
It was an excited voice as if she had already won the bet.
Since the condition sounded like nothing more than blinking an eye, everyone seemed to consider this an easy bet.
At that moment, something suddenly flew onto Frederick’s desk.
The female student sitting directly across from Frederick screamed in horror.
“Kyaah! It’s a bug!!”
While the children were in chaos, startled once by the scream and twice by the bug-like form on the desk, only Frederick looked at the bug on his desk with an indifferent and bored expression.
It wasn’t even a real bug. It was an unnecessarily elaborate toy bug. It had dozens of legs, each one with a realistic texture.
“Wow, he really doesn’t bat an eye.”
When Joshua retrieved the bug with a grin, the female students shuddered.
“Ugh, seriously. Stop playing pranks like that, Josh!!”
“Why are you butting in! Wait your turn!”
“Hey, there’s no such thing as turns for this. It’s just first come, first served.”
The classroom atmosphere became chaotic, almost a complete mess. It was an atmosphere where Danielle Ryu couldn’t concentrate on her book no matter how hard she tried.
“‘Mista Roberts says, ‘Now, y’all put them phones away, hear me?!'”
Someone seized the opportunity to do a perfect impression of a teacher. It was so perfect that even Danielle Ryu couldn’t help but smile silently. The children’s reactions were similar to Danielle Ryu’s.
“Pfft. This kid should really become a comedian.”
“How is he so good at the Southern accent?”
At the very least, he should have been surprised or amazed, but Frederick’s face showed no interest whatsoever.
Then, another female student pushed aside the boy who had done the impression and took the front position. It was a face Danielle Ryu had seen in the school promotional materials. She was ten times prettier in person than in the photo.
“Frederick.”
Even her voice was pretty. Danielle Ryu could imagine the expressions of the other girls around without even looking.
The girl took something out of her pocket. It was lip gloss.
“This lip gloss, when boys smell this lip gloss, they laugh for some reason. Want to try the experiment?”
‘Wow…’
So this is how different American schools are. Danielle Ryu was culture shocked. Such an open display of interest.
Danielle Ryu unconsciously looked up at the girl. Her lips, which seemed to have the lip gloss she was holding applied, were shining in a soft pink color.
Danielle Ryu immediately understood why all the boys who smelled that lip gloss had laughed.
‘She can be so forward because she’s that pretty.’
The surrounding female students were desperately hiding their displeasure. But Frederick’s next words made that unnecessary.
“Why the hell would I smell something you put on your lips?”
The atmosphere rapidly turned cold. It was an ice age that would make all life forms extinct. Especially those with XX chromosomes.
“Uh, huh?”
The girl was flustered. Since Frederick always accommodated everyone appropriately, this kind of cold reaction was enough to bewilder the girl. More than bewilderment was blooming on the girl’s face.
Frederick said nothing more. But his gray eyes said everything.
Boring.
Stop wasting my time.
How pathetic…
“…Ugh.”
Danielle Ryu was startled. The girl was on the verge of tears. It was obvious she was barely suppressing emotions that seemed ready to burst. Danielle Ryu quickly turned her head to look at Frederick.
‘Seriously…’
Frederick was still expressionless. Danielle Ryu frowned.
‘What kind of ridiculous situation is this?’
Why can’t anyone break that poker face? It’s not that big a deal.
Danielle Ryu turned her body completely toward Frederick.
“Can I try?”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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