I was woken up by the sound of my phone ringing. Startled and upset, I picked it up without looking at the caller id. "Who the is calling me on my sleep day?"

"You have a sleep day? Is that why you never study?" It was Jongin.

"Haha, very funny. What do you want?"

"I wanna know why you avoided me yesterday. I didn't chase after you only because I saw you with your girl, but I have something important to talk to you about."

"I don't think so. I'm going back to sleep."

"Hold on, wai-" I cut Jongin off and tried to go back to sleep when I got a call from Sana.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I was just calling to make sure you're alright since you seemed stressed out yesterday..."

I blushed and giggled quietly. She's thinking of me... But of course she would, she's my friend. Right?

"Yeah, Sana, I'm fine, but why do you ask?"

"Well, you seemed really stressed out yesterday about those rumors, but you know they'll go away in like a week, right? There's nothing you need to worry about. I don't think your crush will care either so don't worry."

I sighed. Sana was right, of course. She said she believed me when I told her the rumors weren't true and began to feel bad for how much I was avoiding Jongin just as we were beginning to really become good friends.

Sana's voice brought me back to the present. "Have you talked to her in a while?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I talked with her recently."

"When will I get to meet her?"

I paused. What am I supposed to say to her? Do I lie to her? Tell her the truth? What would Jongin say? Be smooth... but that wouldn't work in this situation. Be cool? But what does that even mean?

Or maybe, he'd tell me what any friend would, and to just be myself.

"Hopefully soon, but... not just yet. I want to make sure things are okay between us before I get too excited, you know."

"Okay, Momorin, take your time. But I'm sure things between you two will be alright."

"Thanks, Sana. I hope so."

I went downstairs quickly to grab a snack, buying a cup noodle and heating it up and in the dorm lounge. I waited for it to heat up and felt a flick on my head.

"Ya, what the-"

"Hey, nerd," Jongin smirked.

"," I rolled my eyes.

He leaned against the counter. "I thought today was your sleep day?"

"It was but I can't go back to sleep now, so this is your fault."

He laughed. "Right, well I think you should make use of your time off to study for that chem exam you have next week."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'll be fine, I'll study."

Jongin laughed and looked like he would say something, but then his expression changed and he backed away from me. Following his eyes, I noticed two girls had just entered the lounge, chatting loudly until they saw us. Needless to say, their voices toned way down as their eyes stayed on us.

"Sorry, I know you don't probably don't want me to stick around you for too long so I'll get going."

"Hey, Jongin." I held up my hand to stop him. "I'm sorry about yesterday, and this morning. I know you tried to stop the rumors, and it's not your fault at all they got out of hand. I shouldn't have treated you that way."

A little stunned, he paused before responding. "I... But what about what everyone thinks? What about Sana?"

I looked at my cup noodles, which were completely cooked, and stirred in the spicy seasonings. "She knows the truth, so what anyone else thinks doesn't matter." I held the ramen to him. "If you don't mind, I would like to continue being friends with you."

Jongin smiled and took the cup. "Thanks, Momo." He pat me on the head. "You've become so mature suddenly, I wonder who could have influenced you like this?"

"Definitely not you," I waved his hand away. "You're far from mature, mister."

Jongin laughed at my annoyance and slurped his food. "So.. how are things going with her? Any progress?"

I bit my lip as I felt my heart begin to sink. "I... I don't know. It seems that she's always thinking of me as a friend. I don't know... I think there's no way that she would like me at this point." I sighed. "I wonder if all this was a mistake..."

"Hey, no it's not a mistake. We became friends because of it, right? And you got to get closer with her too and learn more about yourself. It's not all just some mistake. Now, I can't say that she will definitely fall for you because I don't want to give you false hope but Momo, you're really sweet and anyone would be happy to call you their girlfriend, and that just could be Sana."

"Don't lie, Jongin. You wouldn't be, right?"

"Hey, this isn't about us. Remember? Friends?"

"I'm joking," I shook my head and smiled. "Thanks, Jongin. I couldn't do any of this without your help."

"You did all of it on your own, Momo. I just gave you a push. As for your study habits, that's a different story..."

"Seriously? I'm leaving. Bye!"

"Okay, come back down with your chem notes in an hour so we can study, alright? See you," He called after me.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved. "I'll bring Sana down too."