A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 13: Rejection

’What the fuck is this girl talking about?’ Shu thought, his brain stalling for a full second, ’boyfriend? Did she just say boyfriend? In front of everyone?’

His mouth opened to say something, anything, but the hall was already louder than him.

"Damn, lucky bastard."

"No way, that guy bagged her?"

"I feel bad for him honestly, can he even handle that?"

"Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath, his annoyance rising as the whispers kept piling on from every direction.

The girl stood beside him with her arms folded, watching his face in amusement, the corner of her mouth pulling higher every time a new comment reached them.

’Why is she smiling?’ he thought, his jaw tightening, ’dammit, what the hell is she doing? I really didn’t want all this drama, which I know is dumb considering the attention I drew but still...’

The leader stood a few feet away with his aura completely gone, ’she is from that guild, if I mess with someone she is claiming, the whole guild is going to come down on my head.’

He cleared his throat and took a step back, "my bad," he said, raising both hands, "I didn’t know he was with you, this was just a misunderstanding."

She tilted her head at him, her grin still in place, "Oh? And what exactly was the misunderstanding?"

"Nothing," the leader said quickly, already motioning for his two guys to move, "we were just leaving, sorry for the trouble."

His buddies didn’t need to be told twice, they were already halfway to the exit before he finished speaking. The leader gave one last look at Shu, a mix of resentment and genuine caution, then turned and disappeared through the doors with his crew.

The second they were gone, the hall slowly started buzzing again, though plenty of eyes stayed locked on Shu and the girl standing next to him. He could feel every single one of those stares burning into the back of his head.

’Great,’ he thought, eye rolling internally, ’now the whole building thinks I am dating this lunatic.’

The girl turned toward him with a bright smile, like they were old friends catching up after a long time apart. She even leaned in a little, lowering her voice to something that was supposed to sound casual.

"Hehehe, about the boyfriend thing," she said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I am sorry, no need to get so angry. I was just trying to solve the situation as peacefully as possible."

He stared at her with a completely flat expression.

’Peacefully?’ he thought, his jaw clenching so hard it hurt. ’You just announced to the entire hunter association that I am your boyfriend. Do you know how many problems that just created for me?’

"You could have just said we knew each other," he said, his voice coming out colder than he intended. "Why the hell did you go with boyfriend?"

She held up both hands in a small surrender, though the grin on her face said she was not even a little bit sorry.

"Because ’we know each other’ does not scare people off," she said, shrugging one shoulder. "Boyfriend does. Trust me, those guys would have kept pushing if I did not make it personal."

’She has a point,’ he thought, hating that she had a point, ’but that does not make this okay.’

Jin stood a few feet away, still looking between them with wide eyes. His mouth opened and closed a few times like he wanted to say something but could not figure out where to start.

"U-um," he finally managed, his voice small, "thank you... for helping me earlier."

Shu glanced at him, then let out a breath and rubbed his face with one hand. The annoyance was still there, but looking at the kid’s bruised face and shaking hands made it hard to stay mad about anything else right now.

"Don’t worry about it," he said, waving it off. "Those guys were trash anyway."

Jin shook his head fast, stepping forward with his hands clasped together. "No, no, you do not understand," he said, his voice cracking a little, "I am really, really grateful. You did not have to step in like that, nobody ever does."

His eyes were getting a little wet, which made Shu immediately uncomfortable. ’Oh no, he is going to cry,’ he thought, taking a small step back without realizing it.

"I-I do not have much, but if there is anything I can do to repay you, please just tell me," Jin continued, bowing his head so low it almost hit his knees. "I mean it, anything."

"Hey, hey, stop that," Shu said, waving his hands a little, "you do not owe me anything, seriously. Just stand up before people start staring even more."

Jin lifted his head, eyes still shining, but before he could say anything else, a finger started poking Shu in the arm.

Poke. Poke. Poke.

He turned his head slowly, finding the girl standing way too close with her finger still extended and a grin that screamed trouble.

"So," she said, poking him one more time, "since we are apparently a thing now, want to go on a mission together?"

’What is with this girl and touching me?’ he thought, stepping sideways to create some distance. ’Does she not understand personal space?’

She watched him move away and tilted her head, but the grin did not budge. Inside, her mind was already running through the calculations.

’He has that barrier skill, insane raw power despite being new, and he fights like a berserker class,’ she thought, eyes tracing over the dried blood on his shirt. ’If I can see what else he is hiding during a real mission, recruiting him for the guild will be much easier.’

She poked his arm again, just because she could. "Come on, it will be fun. Two hunters, one mission, lots of bonding time."

He looked at her finger, then at her face, then back at her finger.

"Fuck no," he said, turning on his heel and walking straight toward the registration desk without looking back.

She stood there with her finger still extended, blinking once, then twice.

"...Did he just reject me?" she muttered, watching his back get smaller. "Me?"

Jin looked between them, unsure if he should follow or stay far away from whatever was happening.

Shu walked away with his hands in his pockets, ignoring the stares still following him across the hall.

’That girl is nothing but trouble,’ he thought, his jaw tightening just thinking about it. ’She shows up out of nowhere, claims me as her boyfriend in front of everyone, then tries to drag me on a mission? Yeah, no thanks. I have enough problems without adding her to the list.’