“Alright. Spill it! What’s going on with you and Park Chanyeol? Are you dating him? Is there some sort of blackmailing going on? Or better yet, did he recruit you to join a secret society?” Jae-eun slapped a hand on my desk as soon as I laid my things down.

I pretty much knew this was going to happen at some point in time, since Yaehee/Miran-eonni was not going to be around all the time. It just so happened that today was that day. And maybe, because of a certain someone, I was a bit too distracted to come up with an explanation—

“Wait, what?” I felt my eyebrows scrunch up in confusion. “Secret society?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Paran. Everyone’s talking about it! Okay, maybe not everyone. But there have been a few rumors going around that you’ve been scouted by Chanyeol to join a “secret group” who exerts power over not only the school, but also this part of town.” She leans in and eyes the room carefully before staring me down with a most serious gaze.

I back away slightly to decrease the proximity between our faces before saying, “Um, Jae-eun, no. Just. No.” She immediately deflated, looking like a sad puppy and I bit my lips to prevent myself from chuckling. But then her face lit up again and her expression changed into a playful one.

“So that can only mean you guys are dating, right?” She smirks at me with a knowing look and I roll my eyes at her.

“It’s not like that!” Okay, so I might have said that a tad bit louder than I intended. But that’s not because I was being defensive.

“Even though you’re getting all defensive all of a sudden?”

“Ugh. Jae-eun! No! I’m…It’s not…Haagh—“ I end up sighing after sputtering all over the place. So maybe I was being defensive. How can I not be when she was giving me such a hard time when I was trying not to think about Chanyeol.

“Alright. Chill. Geez, not like I was interrogating you or something” She muttered that last part as if only to herself but I caught it and gave her an unamused look. She stopped talking right then.

“Where is Yaehee, anyway?” I remembered to ask when I saw the clock in front of the room. It was already five minutes until the teacher arrives and Yaehee was never the type to be late. Now that I thought about it, she always arrived in school earlier than I did.

“Oh yeah. She texted me this morning saying she wasn’t feeling well so she’s probably not going to school today.” She explained. I almost asked why she didn’t bother texting me as well, when Jae-eun reminded me, “By the way, you haven’t given her your number, have you? Tsk. What a friend.”

I pouted exaggeratedly in response, making her laugh. Oh, Jae-eun, if only you knew who Yaehee really was. I suddenly remembered to ask an important question: Was Yaehee/Miran-eonni really sick? Today didn’t happen to be the day the murderers’ meeting right? Wow that sounds so weird in my head. I almost flinch at my own thoughts when I caught myself calling it a meeting, as if it were a casual gathering like the ones neighborhood associations usually hold once every quarter.

Was it even that, though? Although we were pretty convinced that it was indeed the murderer or mastermind who was issuing out those instructions in the school paper, we weren’t exactly a hundred percent sure. For all we know, it could have been a call for a secret date or something. Of course, my theory is complete trash but you get what I mean. Maybe I should ask… Nope. Nevermind.

“So are you coming?” I snapped out of my thoughts when Jae-eun caught me not paying attention to what she was saying. I would have felt guilty about if she hadn’t followed with, “Thinking about someone, aren’t we?” in the greasiest voice she could muster. I shot her another warning look.

“What? Your face says it all you know.” She spat back, making me feel self-conscious. Did it really show on my face?

“Oh my god. I knew it!!!” Jae-eun shrieked, alerting me to the sudden stares from our classmates. Not that haven’t been stealing glances at me every now and then ever since the second cafeteria incident. Still, I couldn’t help but blush at Jae-eun’s implication, moreover, because she was right. But I wasn’t thinking about him like how she’s suggesting I was.

“Uh. No I wasn’t. I was thinking about Yaehee.” I said coolly.

“Yeah. I said ‘Thinking about someone.’ Someone, meaning Yaehee. Who else did you think I was talking about?” Jae-eun replied with a satisfied look on her face. Okay now she was just playing with me.

“No one.” I lied. I wasn’t going to let her continue using me as a form of entertainment.

“Liar! You were thinking of Park Chan-mmpfffh—“ I covered with my hands to prevent her from shouting his name in the middle of the room. I didn’t need any more attention from the student body, and I really didn’t need Jae-eun probing into my relationship with Chanyeol, and I really, really didn’t need her reminding me that I was starting to like him, wait no was trying to avoid confronting my feelings about him. She struggled with me for a bit, but I shook my head and let my vise grip remain until she gave me a look that said ‘I’ll behave.’

“Sheesh, Paran. You’re no joke.” Jae-eun chuckled when I finally let her go. I stuck my tongue out at her in response. A few of our classmates who had been staring a couple of seconds ago went back to whatever they were doing after seeing the joking atmosphere between us.

“But as I was saying, my dad’s holding a party next week. I used to avoid going to it, because it wasn’t fun. Although I finally went last year, when I became friends with Yaehee and I finally had someone to go with, and I was wondering if you wanted to go this time.” Have I told you Jae-eun’s father was a high-ranking official in the military? So while the thought of attending such an event was intimidating, it was also for the most part, intriguing. I mean, who wouldn’t want to experience a probably high-class party? The mere thought of all the fancy food was already making my mouth water. Which was a very good distraction from what or who my mind would have thought of otherwise.

“Awww. Jae-eun. You’re asking me for a date?” I teased then suddenly regret doing so because of all the possible comebacks she might give.

Instead, Jae-eun laughs and replies “Yeaaaah. No homo, though,” with a wink. “So are you coming?”

“Sure.” I smiled and then hesitated. “Wait, I’ll have to ask my parents first.”

“No problem. Tell me if you can make it. Yaehee’s going, of course, coz like best friends for life.” Then, she quickly added, “Of course, you come in a close second, Paran.”

I felt a little bad, knowing who Yaehee/Miran-eonni was and listening to Jae-eun call her her best friend. I wondered what would happen with them after this case was over. The teacher promptly arrived right then and we stopped talking.

The rest of the morning classes went by as usual. For some reason, I started getting this uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, probably out of worry for Miran-eonni. I wonder what she’s doing right now. Am I making her sneeze as I think about her? Wait, what if she’s in the middle of hiding from the murderers and she sneezes because I’m thinking of her? What if she gets in danger because of me?

I forced myself to stop thinking about her because of that, and I tried to focus on the lessons. Although I had never been a genius, or a gifted student, or something similar, I was usually able to pay attention in class. But try to do that when someone you know might be in danger. Chill, Paran. I told myself. For all I knew, Miran-eonni was really just sick. Even though she didn’t look sick yesterday.

During lunch, the whole cafeteria seemed to expect another show from me and Chanyeol. But being the kind of person who liked to go against such expectations, I settled down with Jae-eun on a table halfway across the room from Chanyeol and his friends. Thankfully, there was an unspoken understanding between the two of us regarding the matter. So while we exchanged a few glances every now and then, neither of us made an attempt to actually greet or talk to the other, even when we passed by each other in the lunch line.

While we ate our lunch, an announcement was made through the overhead speakers. “Student Nam Paran. Student. Nam. Pa. Ran. Please proceed to the teacher’s lounge immediately.” 

Jae-eun and I exchanged glances before I shrugged and rose to leave the cafeteria. I decided to not worry about it since I hadn't done anything that would warrant any sort of trouble with the teachers or the school. Or had I? I could feel people staring at me as I made my way to the teacher's lounge. Apparently, the whole student body knew I'd been summoned. Add that to the fact that there were already rumors about me circulating around and, well, you probably get it. I wasn't exactly popular. Or maybe I was, but not in a good way. 

It wasn't long before I arrived in front of the teachers' lounge. I knocked gently but loud enough to announce my arrival, and a voice tells me to come in. I slid the door open and spotted my Advanced Algebra teacher waving me over. I greeted her, bowed, and asked why I was called.

"Go to the conference room. Your parents are there with your homeroom teacher." I nodded and thanked Mr. Seo. Then I turned to face the door to the conference room, beginning to doubt my initial thoughts of not being in trouble. Why would they suddenly call my parents in? What sort of trouble did I get in to? Nervously, I opened the door to the conference room to find my parents seated around a coffee table, chatting away with my homeroom teacher.

Um. Okay.

"Paran! You're here." My mom greeted me, and I noticed the way she was dressed--special but not extravagant. Something was up. My eyes narrowed in suspicion as I made my way towards her and let her hug me. 

"Hi, mom. Dad." I walked over to give my dad a hug as well. He was dressed in his office clothes, but there was something different about it. Finally I  turned to look at my teacher, who was beaming at me.

"So, Paran. Your parents here requested to see you immediately. Apparently there's an emergency." Mrs. Jung explained. I spun towards my parents in surprise, but both of them were still smiling. My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion because of the lack of urgency in this 'emergency.' Then I noticed my mom nudging my dad with her elbow, and I finally figured out what was happening. 

"We're moving again, aren't we?"

A/N: Update! Heyyyyyy~ So I have this disease called 'mediocrity' that leaves me without inspiration to write right as I hit the middle of a story. This isn't the first story I've written (although it's the first I've uploaded) and this always happens. I'm trying my best to overcome it. Please bear with me.