jong in and i got off the very packed bus.

 

“hey. i thought about what you said on monday. the time when we went home together from krystal’s house?” 

 

“about grabbing the opportunity?” i questioned.

 

“yeah. i took some time and reflected on myself on what would happen if i accepted the offer. and... there were more cons than pros”

 

part of me wanted to ask him what the con was. i thought this was his dream? but at the same time, i remembered how taemin was so sad and vulnerable when we were at the rooftop. it must have hurt so much to bottle up like this. jong in must have been able to see through taemin, but he respected him by not bringing it up.

 

“well... its your decision, jong in . besides, youre doing really well in school now right?” i smiled.

 

“yeah. definitely more cons than pros.” he repeated as he smiled back. why did his smile gave me a tingly feeling? as if i was part of his decision. dream on, si yoon. who the hell do i think i am to him?

 

i realized we were already in school but we havent spilt up to our own ways like we used to.

 

“lets a make a bet,” jong in suddenly said.

 

“even if i say no, the bet is still on right?” 

 

“youre damn right, si yoon!” jong in said, almost too enthusiastically. “so we’re getting back our grades during math class right?”

 

i nodded my head. “...so?” 

 

“if i beat you again, you owe me one wish.” 

 

“wh- thats unfair! either way, you will be owing me a wish! dont you remember i was your tutor?” 

 

“oh right. thats true.”

 

“jong in, you gotta stay humble. you got perfect because you got lucky.” i said as i pushed his forehead lightly with my index finger.

 

“didnt you guys wanted to hide the fact that you guys know each other in school?” a different voice spoke up from behind. “you guys are literally the opposite from “avoiding” each other. youre lucky that im the one that caught you.” 

 

“taemin!” i beamed at the sight of him. i feel like we got closer ever since that bad yet good experience.

 

“you just ruined our moment” jong in suddenly said and taemin was confused.

 

“im taemin? not just anyone else? dont you remember i know everything?”

 

“im just playing with you.” jong in said in a more relax tone, but still tense. he shut his lockers and walked away from us.

 

“okay. that was weird” taemin whispered. 

 

the bell suddenly ring. 

 

“shall i walk you to class?” taemin asked.

 

“i mean, our class is literally side by side. but sure,” i smiled.

 

while walking, we noticed that krystal was walking with jong in. i cant help but felt a prickly pain to my heart.

 

both of them walked into class and taemin looked at me.

 

“why are you looking at them like this?” he asked, snapping my thoughts away.

 

“oh. i just dont understand why jong in doesnt fall for krystal. shes literally perfect.”

 

“well. if shes perfect wouldnt everyone fall for her then? look at me. do you see that i like her?”

 

“no?” 

 

“then dont worry about it. no one’s perfect, si yoon. but just letting you know, if i have a choice to date between you and krystal, i will pick you without hesitation.” 

 

“well of course. because youre on better terms with me than krystal.”

 

“ah. thats one good point. but also because i find you more beautiful than krystal.” 

 

my heart raced when he said that. i gotta say something before he realized im flustered...

 

“you too.” i replied without thinking. taemin laughed. “oh no!... i mean... thank you. that means a lot to me. i dont think anyone really called me beautiful before”

 

“youre kidding. youre beautiful, si yoon. dont ever look down on yourself. you’re the most beautiful when youre happy.” 

 

“thank you... taemin. youre a wonderful person too. you are the most sweetest person ive ever talked to. just talking to you makes me happier. its like you radiate rainbows or something”

 

“its like we complement each other,” he dramatically said and i slapped his arm playfully.

 

“lets hang out together during lunch okay? how about we meet at our secret spot?” 

 

“sure! ill see you then!” i said as i waved goodbye to him before walking into our respective classrooms.

---

 

i walked up to the rooftop i see no one there. 

 

i checked the time. its been 15 minutes since class ended. should i leave? 

 

i walked towards the railings and looked out towards the view. i took in the blue sky, large fluffy clouds, and a slight gush of wind to my face. 

 

“hey!” taemin called out from behind.

 

“wow, you scared me!” 

 

“sorry i was extremely late. i lowkey thought you would have left.”

 

“nah. its a beautiful spot. even if youre werent here, i would come up by myself.” 

 

“just dont tell anyone about this spot okay? sometimes you might just see me cry...”

 

“taemin... you have me to talk to now, okay? you will have a shoulder to lean... or cry now” i said as i patted my shoulder. 

 

“anyway i was late because i bought us food! i ran out of school to buy a rice burger you might like. its my go-to when i wanna eat unhealthily. its a old place ran by a grandma, but dont underestimate it!” 

 

“mmm. sounds tasty already. bring it on!” 

 

taemin passed me a wrapped burger and i unwrapped it. i took a big bite out of it as he looked at me.

 

“oh my god, its so good!” i said as my eyes widened.

 

“youre welcome.” he beamed as he unwrapped his burger.

 

we talked from our likes and dislikes to our funny personal experiences.

 

“nah, youre kidding. that didnt happen!” taemin commented.

 

“well, it so did. believe it or not” i replied.

 

“i would have died laughing if i was present at the scene” he said as the bell coincidentally ring.

 

“oh that was fun. shall we go?” i asked as we cleaned and packed up together. 

 

“you can go first. to avoid suspicions, you know?” taemin replied and he took all the garbage from me.

 

“thanks,” i replied as i hurriedly took off so that taemin would be able to catch up without being late.

 

i walked into math class and noticed jong in was already there. 

 

“hey jong in,” i said nonchalantly.

 

“where were you? i didnt see you during lunch today” 

 

“i was... in the washroom. you know, women’s stuff?” i answered questionably.

 

“ah! okay...” he replied quickly.

 

“alright class! i will be giving the weekly test back and i will be changing your seating arrangements today!” 

 

“didnt you say he will forget?” i asked teasingly.

 

“now everyone leave the class. once i call your name, you will receive your test and will be assigned to a new seat.” 

 

“are you worried that ill do better than you?” i whispered as the entire class gather outside the room.

 

“didnt you tell me to be humble?” he said.

 

“im just teasing you. youre doing very well already, jong-in ah.” i said in a motherly way and he was speechless. 

 

“alright. huang si yoon,” the teacher called my name first.

 

“congratulations. you are first for this test. any preferences of where you are sitting?” 

 

since i am first, i get to choose. by then it gets to jong in, he might not be able to choose... where would be a safe spot? wait. why am i thinking about him? 

 

“the center” i said after analyzing my options. most people would want to sit at the back, so center is the safest choice.

 

“alright. you can sit right there” he pointed to a specific seat.

 

surprisingly i was the only one who get to choose where i sit. after two other names were called, jong in was called.

 

“good job, jong in ! one of the top few in the class. im so proud of you,” the teacher said as he lightly scoffed. i know whats in his head. hes scoffing because i was the one helped him with math. the teacher didnt taught him anything.

 

“okay. im gonna put you right at the front here. i know you can do this well if you are placed in front.” the teacher said as i covered my mouth to hold in my laughter.

 

jong in took his papers and walked towards his seat. he looked at me and i quickly pout to him playfully. he sighed.

 

after a few names were called, taemin was called.

 

“i want you to sit beside si yoon”

 

“its destiny, isnt it?” taemin said happily as he sat down beside me.

 

“ha. its probably because he thinks we’re not friends.” i replied logically.

---

 

“i need a long nap after this” i complained and taemin laughed.

 

“well, unfortunately we have dance class after this.”

 

“ugh!” i said in disgust. 

 

“hey at least we’re together in this right?”

 

i nodded my head. “okay im gonna wash my face. lets meet at the studio?” 

 

“sure. see ya in 5 minutes!” taemin said as i walked towards to door of the classroom.

 

after washing my face, i walked to my lockers. 

 

jong in was already there.

 

“are you happy that you get to sit with your boy bestie?”

 

“who asked you to be an overachiever? i told you to do well for parents, not to perfect it. now the teacher thinks you love math” 

 

jong in laughed. “its a good change, to be honest. maybe i can continue to do well without your help anymore.” 

 

“oh really, jong in? ill love to see that,” i smiled at him. how did he went from “i absolutely hate math” to “i like getting good grades for math so i should study”? 

 

“hey lovebirds,” krystal said from behind as she waked towards locker.

 

“hey si yoon. do you want to come over to my house again?” krystal asked. “maybe jong in could join...?”

 

before i could reply, jong in spoke up for me.

 

“we have plans.” 

 

oh. plans. wait. what plans?!

 

“oh yeah. that plan.” i joined in.

 

“oh wow. okay. im gonna leave you guys to it then. see ya.” krystal said as she left.

 

“thanks for helping me.” i said.

 

“nah. i didnt want to bring you home from her house again. it was a hassle because it was so far.” jong in said as he shut his lockers.

 

a hassle...? im a hassle? i feel so bad. he could have just let me went home myself. he didnt had to say that...

 

when we reached the studio the teacher was already there. during the class, the teacher taught us the other half of the routine.

 

“this completes our entire routine. if you didnt forget, competition is closing by. we have 2 weeks for practice before the actual competition. i would advise that you should meet up with your partners outside of class the perfect your routine. ill let you guys leave early today.” 

 

“hey si yoon, wanna get ice cream together?” taemin asked as soon the teacher left.

 

“su-“

 

“no. we already have plans, right si yoon?” jong in said as he wrapped his shoulders around me.

 

i looked around and realize krystal was still in the room.

 

“oh yeah. i forgot about it. sorry taemin. another time?” i apologized sincerely.

 

“you could at least invite taemin?” i said firmly as soon we were outside the studio.

 

“youre like trying to say we could have invite krystal as well. it was suppose to be a date.” he said as my heart fluttered at the word date. man, get your together, si yoon.

 

“well are we going for a date? no, right?” i said angrily as i walked away from him.

 

“no. we are going on a date.” jong in caught up to me as he grabbed my hands and dragged me along with him.

---

 

“well... thanks?” i said as i walked to the counter.

 

i ordered for myself before realizing jong in was sitting down.

 

“are you not getting one?” i asked as i walked towards the table.

 

“no. i dont like sweet stuff.” jong in said nonchalantly. 

 

“okay dude” i said as i ate one big bite of my ice cream.

 

i looked at jong in with boredom. his eyes were concentrated on his phone. teasingly, i did the airplane spoon feeding action towards jong in’s face.

 

“here comes the airplane!” i said playfully thinking he wouldnt take the bait. because why would he?

 

but to my surprise, he stopped what he was doing and leaned forward to take a bite from my spoon.

 

“what the ?!” i screamed.

 

“im just taking whats given to me. thanks for the treat.” he said cooly. my jaw dropped, lost for words. wow, hes chic yet despicable at the same time.

---

 

“why are you guys back so late today?” his mum asked.

 

“we went for ice cream after school,” i said, realizing jong in didnt bother cutting me in. these days he really never fail to surprise me.

 

“oh wow really? im glad you guys are getting along well!” 

 

“yeah we are.” i smiled, seeing jong in's back leave me as he goes up the stairs.

 

“jong in, your math teacher called me today.” jong in’s father suddenly spoke up as we were having dinner.

 

“oh dear. what did he call for?” jong in's mum asked, anticipated for the worse.

 

“he is very happy with your performance in class, jong in-ah. he got back his math test today and he did very well again. not full marks like last week but he maintained his grades. good job son, you are doing me proud!” he said happily. 

 

“thank you dad.” he smiled as he eat a chunk full of rice into his rice. 

 

“no thank you, son. i dont know what has changed you recently, but keep up the good work.”

 

after dinner, i took a shower before laying down on my bed, surfing the net.

 

a soft knock could be heard from my door. usually only his mum would knock and come into my room. thinking it was his mum and didnt bother asking who was it, i said “come in,” 

 

the door swung open and my heart stopped at the sight of jong in.

 

“holy , i thought it was your mum... why are you here for...? i mean... whats up?” i panicked as i shut my laptop and sit up. 

 

he walked into my room and closed the door behind him. my heart beat faster.

 

“i may not show it... but im thankful for you coming into my life. not sure why you, can impact me in such a short period of time. i get to see a better version of myself... and see my parents being proud of me for the first time instead of worrying all the time... i just want to let you know that youre an amazing person to hang out with. i can never find a better friend like you. never stop being you, si yoon.” jong in confessed.

 

i cant believe i just hear jong in say something so touching yet so personal, standing in front of my bed at night... but at the same time, i felt a bit hurt being friendzoned. wait. i mean... hes a friend?! doesnt mean he has to like me? and its not like i like him too?!

 

“jong in... you got me speechless. im not sure why i am able to change you like this too... but... thank you for that. you just boosted my self-esteem. i will think about your words whenever i feel down.” 

 

“if you ever feel down... you can talk to me anytime. we are friends, arent we?”