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>>CHANYEOL'S POV<<

"Yeol-ah, wake up!" I felt someone taking my blanket away and recognised Ha Rin's voice. "Time to get up."

I opened my eyes half-asleep and looked at my alarm in disbelief. It hasn't even rung yet and it was way before the time I'd usually wake up. "What's wrong with you? Why are you up at this hour?" Sitting up, I ruffled my hair because it was likely a mess.

"I told you yesterday, I kept my promise. I'm all ready to go!" Ha Rin responded far too over-motivated. It was the first time she was up before me, it was usually the other way round. I'm utterly confused. She never kept her promise of waking up early. "I set five alarms to wake up. It feels different to be ready before you, Yeol-ah."

I needed a while to get dressed. We had all the time in the world and walked to the station slowly, catching up on school and other things. There are two sides concerning the classroom divisions. I was generally a very extroverted and lively person in class and the boys and I got along great. But it was odd not to see Ha Rin around in class anymore and only during breaks or self-study. Ha Rin might feel like we saw each other every day and not feel the difference at all.

Yoo Dong Hyuk joined us on our way to school and waited in my classroom until it was time to part ways. We spent the first break on the huge school yard. It had a basketball court which we gladly used every day. Dong Hyuk and I would play with the other guys from different classes, and Ha Rin would watch us. She ocasionally joined us as she was very sporty herself but with most of us being taller than her, she lost interest. 

"Yoo Dong Hyuk!" Ha Rin cheered my friend on. She always did that, knowing I'd get distracted. I also need some cheering on, though. Though I was the taller one, Dong Hyuk was the better athlete. For now, at least. I'm working on it.

I was suddenly reminded of my promise after school. I knew I told them I was going to join, but at the end, I'd be the one to leave earlier and Dong Hyuk and Ha Rin would end up playing without me anyway. Maybe I shouldn't have agreed, I had some lessons to attend at the company. But then again, I can't leave the two hanging either, right? This is so frustrating. That afternoon, we finished our classes, our rehearsal and some self-study before heading to our favourite spicy stir-fried rice cake place. 

"Who's paying today?" Ha Rin questioned us two as we took a seat. There were many students around, most of them being middle school students since there was one located next to our school. The spicy stir-fied rice cakes were the best in this shop. And not expensive either which is very good for us poor students.

"The one asking." Dong Hyuk teased Ha Rin and we ordered our usual servings. "It's Friday, we can play for the whole day without worrying about going to school tomorrow."

I just nodded my head slowly. I still need to study, though, and go to practice. "Guys, I'm paying today. I've got to make up for the times I couldn't hang out with you." And I usually ate the most anyway next to Ha Rin.

Dong Hyuk and Ha Rin high-fived each other and we spent a nice afternoon together. Then, we headed to a karaoke place nearby. Though I entered the company neither as a dancer nor as a vocalist, I enjoyed singing with my friends and just having fun. I've really missed the carefree atmosphere with Dong Hyuk and Ha Rin. 

I watched Ha Rin preparing herself for the next song while Dong Hyuk and I watched and cheered her on. Good thing those walls are somewhat soundproof. I might have listened to Ha Rin's voice for sixteen years now, but I honestly wouldn't get sick of it. Especially her singing voice sounded different. When Ha Rin sings, she is less moody and noisy than when she isn't. However, I could never imagine her being a trainee to become an idol. It didn't fit her, Ha Rin didn't have the necessary patience to do it and it wasn't the lifestyle she wanted either. I'm confident, though, I will do my best to become a cool idol.

Later with the three of us half-singing and half-shouting, it got really noisy. It was a way to relieve the stress of studying and everything else. Every worry about the future. I took a seat to catch my breath and let Dong Hyuk take the opportunity for a solo performance. Ha Rin joined me. Now's my chance. Ever since classes ended today, I thought of ways how to get some kind of reaction out of Ha Rin. I was curious about whether I was completely friend-zoned or if she also considered the possibility of us being more than friends. I needed a plan.

I looked for my flip phone and pretended to be very busy. Ha Rin peeked over my shoulders but didn't react at all. She rather turned back to Dong Hyuk and joined the singing without a microphone. Noticing that Ha Rin didn't pay any attention to me, I tapped her shoulder and showed her a picture of a girl I knew. We've taken only one photo together, just for fun. She was a year above us but at a different school, we went to the same acting academy. 

"What do you think of her?" I asked Ha Rin nervously and didn't realise I was holding my breath.

"Oh, cool." Ha Rin responded after observing the girl in the picture. "She is pretty, who is she?"

"A pretty older girl I know from academy." I explained with a grin, but I wasn't certain about how to interpret her reaction. Was she happy? Was she disappointed? "She is very nice, we have met up several times." That was a lie. I've never met up with her anywhere and only seen her at the academy.

"So that's why you stopped hanging out with us? Because you were busy meeting a new girl!" Ha Rin concluded and called Dong Hyuk over. "Dong Hyuk-ah, Chanyeol has a girlfriend!"

Dong Hyuk's eyes widened and he stopped singing to hurry over. "Yeol-ah, why didn't you tell us anything?"

Oh boy, that's not how I imagined the scenario in my head. "She is not my girlfriend. Yet." I said the last word after some hesitation and glanced at Ha Rin. Dong Hyuk and Ha Rin exchanged a mischievous look and both let out a long 'ooooh' together. "It's too early."

Ha Rin hit my arm. "Introduce her to us soon! Another pretty sister to snatch away from you." She teased me and ended up laughing with Dong Hyuk. Is this for real? This is even harder than I thought it would be.

"Chanyeolie is all grown up now." Dong Hyuk joked and patted my back. "Introduce Ha Rin to some girls. She can't keep hanging out with only us two, right?"

"Hey, I heard that!" Ha Rin stopped laughing to glare at my friend. We continued singing for the remaining time until it was my cue to go. I quickly checked the time on my watch and realised I should take my leave to catch the next bus. I'm very reluctant to leave, I don't want to leave my friends just yet. Pondering over how not to ruin the fun atmosphere, I stood up and looked at my Dong Hyuk and Ha Rin apologetically. Yesterday, I had told them I'd leave early so they should know.

"Go safely, Chanyeol-ah. We still have twenty minutes left to use, right Ha Rin?" Dong Hyuk said and turned to the shorter one.

I nodded and waved them goodbye. Before closing the door, I looked back and watched my two best friends having fun together. I want to join them, too. Sighing, I exited the building and headed to my evening practice session. My next problem now was to convince the pretty sister from academy who I barely knew to meet my chaotic friends. Ha Rin didn't show much of a reaction earlier, but maybe that'd change after meeting her personally? There's only one way to find out.

>>HA RIN'S POV<<

When Chanyeol was gone, Dong Hyuk and I had fun on our own as we were used to. We went to the karaoke place many times without Chanyeol to release the stress of typical high students. It hasn't been long but I felt the pressure on our very first day. Our school valued freedom and autonomy but they w