Liar and Liar - Chapter 5

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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 5

“Rick, you absolutely have to come to the pool party I’m throwing this weekend. I can’t do it without you-“

Frederick and the school’s power players had taken over the sofas in the 1st floor lounge.

Among them, Stella, who was sitting closest to Frederick, linked arms with him and pestered him for an answer like she was begging.

“Hm? Hm?”

“But why are you stealing my ID card?”

Stella, who was holding Frederick’s ID card with both hands like a thieving cat, grinned widely. She had slyly taken it from Frederick’s blazer pocket.

A male student nearby chuckled and raised one corner of his mouth.

“Just now noticing? Other things are probably missing too.”

Frederick’s eyes narrowed. One hand fumbled through his pants pocket.

“Can’t help it. You’ll have to suffer a bit this month. October’s PicTok challenge is ‘Heist Kings (slyly stealing the school’s most popular guy’s stuff).'”

Stella, who had already pulled out her phone, began filming Frederick’s school ID card held up in the air with an excited expression.

“The tag is #Canyoucatchmeow (try to catch me~meow!).”

Stella stepped backward as if she didn’t want to give up the ID card and grinned widely.

‘They’re just playing around…’

Danielle turned her head forward again.

She had looked away, but couldn’t get it out of her mind.

How exactly.

‘How do I bring it up?’

Danielle let out a sigh without realizing it.

She didn’t know his number, they didn’t share any activities, and they weren’t on speaking terms normally.

Moreover, Frederick Bastia was a top-tier popular person who was never alone, even for a moment.

There was good reason why Emily had been so sensitive about Danielle and him being alone together in the classroom.

“Haah…”

For now, she had to wait for a time when Frederick Bastia was alone, but it was questionable whether such a time even existed.

At that thought, Danielle stopped walking. Her head turning back was done unconsciously.

And unavoidably, in an instant, her eyes met Frederick’s. Rarely, he had an expressionless face. His gray eyes were deep.

Startled, Danielle flinched and froze.

‘Was he looking at me?’

Probably not, right?

It felt like the blood was draining from her heart. Danielle immediately looked away first. Then she hurriedly moved forward. As if she was running away.

* * *

While the female students were absorbed in the challenge of stealing Frederick’s belongings, the Center Table Boys had quietly started their own challenge among themselves, which had eventually taken the form of a league.

The so-called ‘Queen Nerd Glasses Removal’ league was in a standoff with no winner emerging. Yet.

“You don’t seem interested.”

Walking toward the parking lot, Joshua explained to Frederick how each of the male students had tried to remove Danielle’s glasses.

He had brought up the story expecting some reaction, but there was no particular response from Frederick.

The only reaction that came out was one indifferent reply.

“Come to think of it, Daniel didn’t take swimming class.”

“That’s probably why everyone didn’t know her bare face. Anyway, the point of this league is to make Try-elle take them off without her noticing and without making her angry.”

Joshua, who had made a gun shape with his index finger and thumb and waved it lightly in the air, smiled. His face was full of mischievous interest.

“She was pretty, right?”

An athlete’s dynamic vision wouldn’t miss a split second.

Daniel Ryu is pretty. Incredibly so.

That was Joshua’s conclusion.

Joshua looked at Frederick with a smile on his face. He was clearly trying to draw a reaction from Frederick.

“Everyone’s wondering, but I’m more excited about what happens after this league ends.”

“Ah, S**t.”

At the clear profanity and stopped steps, Joshua also stopped and looked back at Frederick. Frederick’s hand was fumbling through his blazer’s inner pocket.

“It’s not here, the car key.”

Frederick chuckled with a hollow and absurd expression. He was already in a state where even his tie had disappeared, wearing only his shirt and blazer.

“Can you search the tags to find out who took it? Or just take my car.”

“No, if it’s not in the locker either, I’ll just have to call a driver. Go ahead.”

When Frederick nodded and turned to go in the opposite direction, Joshua found himself looking at Frederick’s retreating figure.

‘He won’t take the bait even once…’

While it was somewhat interesting and fun for Joshua to do things other male students didn’t do, the main course still had to be Frederick Bastia.

However, Frederick would completely change his attitude just when you thought you understood him, so his fishing attempts weren’t yielding any results.

‘What on earth is he thinking…’

Light or heavy.

Like or dislike.

Good or bad.

It felt like he’d been trying to peek into that incomprehensible mystery box for over 10 years.

But if nothing else, Joshua suspected that Frederick’s breakdown in middle school was because of Daniel.

Now it was time to confirm whether that suspicion was correct.

With a frowning face, Joshua tilted his head left and right alternately like he was stretching.

Joshua was confident in reading others’ inner thoughts, but it didn’t work at all when it came to Frederick.

Joshua clicked his tongue once and continued walking.

* * *

【! W A R N I N G !】

Queen Nerd appearance zone. Approach with caution.

Much more vicious than you think! Especially beware of racial discrimination issues!

Description – Triple Poop (brown): Nerd glasses (brown), long straight hair (brown), Converse (brown)

Before going to the library, Danielle came to the cafeteria to buy coffee and immediately frowned when she saw a promotional flyer draft lying around on a corner table.

The fake flyers that appeared on school walls every Halloween season were creeping out again like indestructible mold, right on schedule.

‘Really, don’t these people ever get tired.’

Danielle crumpled up the flyer with both hands and threw it in the trash, then left the cafeteria without buying coffee.

‘What am I, a soccer ball?’

There’s a limit to how much you can look down on someone.

Even though this had been repeated every year since middle school, the reason she couldn’t just brush it off calmly was probably because today had been a particularly miserable and difficult day.

‘…Would dropping out make things easier?’

Would the world at least leave me alone without incidents like this?

With the determination that once started, she had to see it through to the end, Danielle had never considered dropping out under any circumstances.

But unless you’re a machine, if you’re human, there’s ultimately a limit. The suffocating sensation that had risen to her throat wasn’t just a day or two old either.

Danielle’s expression as she headed to the library wasn’t good. In the end, there had been no opportunity to talk to Frederick until school ended, and her heart felt heavy as if steel bars were hanging from it.

‘I should just go and talk to him…’

Arriving at the library and settling in an unpopulated floor, Danielle organized her bag and took out her phone. On the screen of her old phone model that had been released over 5 years ago, messages with her mom appeared.

I’ll try to bring it up when I get a chance. Sorry for saying strange things.

Mom is sorry for making a request that makes Danielle’s life harder when studying alone is already difficult enough.

Mom will pray hard for God to watch over our Danielle. Make sure to eat dinner properly too, Danielle.

Danielle stared at the text message, then moved her thumb to operate another app. It was PicTok.

“…”

The muted videos were quiet, but each one was so loud it seemed like you could hear phantom sounds. Danielle’s thumb typed letters in the search bar.

C, then A.

‘N…’

After entering the long word and pressing the confirm button, videos that had received particularly many hearts immediately appeared at the top. The female students in the videos were all wearing Elmir Westlake’s navy uniforms.

When she clicked on one, a female student wearing a male student’s tie proudly showed it off to her selfie cam. Danielle immediately recognized who the owner of that tie was.

The tag attached to the video revealed the answer.

#GWS(the Great White Shark)

‘Great White Shark’ had somehow become a dedicated tag meaning Frederick Bastia, the only son of the LA Sharks team owner. It was a double meaning. He was the great white shark that everyone acknowledged, and at the same time.

Great White.

was the most noble jewel.

“….”

Danielle stared at the screen with an expressionless face. When she swiped with her thumb to move to another video, Frederick’s ID card popped up this time.

A 9th grade Frederick’s ID photo with a rarely expressionless face was positioned on the left side of the ID card. He looked younger than now, but his handsomeness remained the same.

Soon Stella, holding the ID card at cheek height, smiled with a smug expression.

Jealous?

Frederick Bastia is mine.

Her confident smile was clearly saying just that.

Danielle remained motionless for a moment as if frozen. Only after the long hand of the clock moved did Danielle turn off her phone screen and put it in her bag.

She had work to do. With her scholarship already in jeopardy, if her grades wavered too, it would truly be the end. Even if her mood was scraping rock bottom.

How much time had passed like that? Danielle slowly opened her eyes, drawn by a voice.

“Oh no. Did I wake you up because of me?”

Ah, I was just going to rest my eyes for a moment….

Danielle, who had been resting her head on her arms placed on the large desk, blinked with a frowning face. Having just woken up and with her glasses off, she couldn’t see clearly ahead.

The other person handed something to Danielle. Taking it reflexively, Danielle finally realized by touch that what the person had handed her was her own glasses.

When she put on her glasses, her vision that had seemed like swaying curtains instantly formed clear shapes. Danielle furrowed her brow in a half-awake state.

“Too defenseless.”

“….”

Danielle was at a loss for words. The owner of the voice, the identity of the person standing in front of her, was none other than Frederick.

“You should be careful, Danielle. You know how persistent those athletic guys can be.”

Dressed in a shirt with a couple of collar buttons undone, he was sitting on the windowsill.

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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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