"I think it's about time we focus on another target."

Soojung and Seulgi looked at Myungsoo, who was announcing his new and upcoming plan. While Seulgi seemed thrilled to hear what he had to say, Soojung remained a frown.

"Are you serious?" Soojung asked.

"Yeah."

"You're kidding."

"Why not?" Myungsoo asked.

Soojung scoffed. "I don't know, don't you think that it'll be difficult to have Seulgi date you while you try to blackmail Hyeri's closest friend?"

Myungsoo smirked. "Who said that I wanted to target her friend?"

"We all know that Suzy is next," Soojung said.

"Is that her name?" Myungsoo asked innocently.

"I don't like this plan. I want Hyeri to have at least one friend," Soojung told him.

"But we all know that if we completely want to make Seulgi number one, Hyeri needs to face the consequences—"

Soojung slammed her hands against the coffee table. Seulgi jumped in her seat while Myungsoo didn't move an inch. His eyes slowly rolled up to Soojung, who began to stand.

She glared at him. "The goal is to make Seulgi popular and for her to start dating Jongin."

"But why only give her that when she can have more?" Myungsoo asked. His words were enticing to Seulgi. Seulgi looked at Soojung, begging her with her eyes to at least listen to Myungsoo.

Soojung made a deep scowl—a look that Seulgi hadn't seen yet. It was the kind of frown that people had when they looked at a disgusting murderer.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Soojung said in a thin voice.

"I'm just having her do what you do—"

"And I don't want her to go down in my path!" Soojung yelled. She glared at Seulgi, who jolted. "I won't forgive you if you listen to him, you understand?"

"H-Huh? Oh, um, right," Seulgi said, quickly nodding her head. Soojung shot another glare at Myungsoo.

He still didn't move.

"You heard me loud and clear, right?" Soojung asked him.

He only smiled. "I heard you, princess."

She growled and claimed that she would go and help her sister finish closing the shop in the back. She eyed Myungsoo carefully, giving him a look to not say anything unnecessary. He kept his usual smile, attempting to assure her that he would not do anything. Soojung stormed off, leaving the two alone in the café.

Seulgi continued to finish her homework while Myungsoo watched her in silence. He rested his temple against his fist, tilting his head a little and watched her struggle to solve a math problem.

"Hey, Seulgi," Myungsoo said. She looked up at him. "Just how long do you plan to follow Soojung's instructions?"

"Why?" Seulgi asked cautiously.

"I just don't think her methods are as effective as mine," Myungsoo said. "I'm literally telling you the exact same thing as I told her back in middle school, and she was extremely popular."

"She was?" Seulgi said, her eyes glowing. "No way. I don't believe you."

"It's true," he said with a light chuckle. "I helped her get popular. She was the most popular in her first year and became the most popular girl in her second year of middle school." He pointed at himself with a thumb. "All thanks to me."

"But she's so…"

"Dull? Quiet? Unpopular?" Myungsoo guessed. Seulgi nodded, a bit embarrassed. "I know. Something happened near the end of her second year. I believe I was a fourth year, getting ready to graduate in middle school."

Seulgi paused for a few minutes. "Did you date her in her when you were a third and fourth year?"

"Yeah. We dated for around two years," Myungsoo said, nodding his head. "Until the incident happened."

"Incident?"

"Yeah. Terrible things happened to her," he said. "She blames me, but I don't think it's my fault."

Seulgi wondered how bad it was in middle school, but she didn't dare to ask. She nodded her head, realizing that there was probably more to Soojung than she thought.

"But you know," Myungsoo finally said, "it wouldn't hurt to gain some information of your own about Hyeri's friend."

Seulgi blinked. "You want me to find out Suzy's secrets?"

"Yeah," Myungsoo said. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I figured that it might be easier for you to do some snooping instead of relying on Soojung all the time. I know Soojung is good, but…" He smiled. "Well, to be frank, you can bet better."

Seulgi's ears perked up. She liked hearing that—that she could be "better." Better than Soojung. Better than Suzy and Hyeri.

Better than everyone.

"I-I don't know," Seulgi stuttered. "I screw up a lot…"

"I can help," he said. "After school tomorrow, you can meet up with me outside of the gates and make it seem like we're going to go on a date. Then, you can say that you forgot something and you can go back into the building to do some snooping. In order to give you more time, I'll go to the teacher's office, ask for permission to go around campus, and get lost somewhere for a while." He grinned. "Then we can meet at the front of the building again in an hour 'by coincidence,' if you know what I mean."

Seulgi stared at him with awe. "How do you come up with these plans?"

"It's not that hard," Myungsoo told her. "I'm pretty sure you can do it, too."

"Me? No, I can't. I mean, I did something similar with Naeun, but Soojung told me not to do that. She thinks that my way is more risky and dangerous," Seulgi explained.

"But you need to be risky and dangerous," Myungsoo said. "You want to be popular, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Seulgi bit her bottom lip. "I don't know. Soojung specifically said not to do things without her instructions…"

"Seulgi," Myungsoo called her name, "listen to me carefully: I think you have potential. I think you can do it. You're special, Seulgi. Really." Seulgi felt happy hearing those words. He smirked. "Tell you what, let's follow my plan without telling Soojung."

Seulgi widened her eyes. "You want me to go behind Soojung's back?"

"Well, not exactly. I mean, you're getting popular and that's her plan, right? So if you're doing this to be popular, then technically you're not going behind her back, right?" Myungsoo asked as if he was making complete sense.

And to Seulgi, he was.

She nodded carefully. "Yeah… Yeah! Yeah, you're right!"

A wicked smile plastered on his face. "Great! Here's what you got to do…"

/ / / / /

Seulgi followed through with the plan.

As soon as Soojung left the classroom, Seulgi dashed to the shoe locker, where she saw Seunghwan and Taehyun waiting for her. She happily exchanged a few words with her friends as she switched her shoes. After talking to them and walking out, Seulgi noticed Myungsoo leaning cooly against the walls of the school.

"Myungsoo!" Seulgi exclaimed. Seunghwan and Taehyun smirked and a little. She blushed as she walked up to her boyfriend, leaving her friends who told her to go on ahead. "What are you doing here?"

Myungsoo pinched Seulgi's cheek. "We have a date, remember? Did you forget?"

"Oh right! I'm sorry, I was scrambling to gather my belongings before," Seulgi said.

"Did you fall asleep in class?" Myungsoo asked.

"N-No," Seulgi stuttered.

"You're lying. I see drool."

Seulgi widened her eyes and wiped the corner of . Myungsoo laughed.

"I was just kidding," he said. She blushed, flustered. She was about to leave until Myungsoo gave her a careful look. Remembering what she had to say next, she faked a gasp. Myungsoo almost laughed when she inhaled a bit too much for a gasp.

"Oh no!" she said, raising her voice and creating an awkward tone that made it sound like she was reading a script. "I forgot that I left something!" She frowned. "I don't remember what I left, but it's important!" She looked at him quickly. "I will go find it!"

God, she's a terrible actress, Myungsoo thought, suppressing his laugh. He nodded and told her to go on and that he would wait. Seulgi, receiving the cue, nodding and zoomed inside the building, heading to one of the third year's classroom just like he had advised.

As Seulgi wandered around the building, she was being extra cautious of anyone she met or saw. People would occasionally greet her and she would hurriedly greet them back before starting her search. Some thought it was a little strange for Seulgi to be acting like she was some sort of spy, but they all left her alone, knowing that she was a bit odd, but likable.

She peered through the windows of the classroom, checking to see who was staying behind and where Suzy was staying. Myungsoo had told her that it was one of the classrooms that the third years attended, but she wasn't sure what classroom she was supposed to look. Her eyes were glued to the classroom windows until she stepped to the side and bumped into someone. She gasped and quickly stood straight.

"I'm so sor—" Before she finished apologizing, she looked at an old friend standing in front of her. "Oh. Youngji."

Youngji looked at Seulgi with wide eyes. "Seulgi!"

An awkward atmosphere immediately followed after they acknowledged each other. If Seulgi had to be completely honest, it was a bit hard to talk to Youngji. Even though she sat close with her during class, the two hardly exchanged a glance or a word each other anymore. Maybe it was because Seulgi was always surrounded by new friends during break or something else, but there really wasn't any reason for the two to talk to each other.

"Are you free right now?" Youngji asked. She gasped and reached into her bag. "I felt bad telling you that you weren't making good friends last time. You should be friends with whoever you want, and I should be totally fine with that. I really wanted to make up with you since then. I-If you want, we can hang out and go to that—"

"Ah, um, I'm busy," Seulgi said quickly, cutting her off. 

Youngji froze. "Oh. Y-You are?"

"Yeah…" Seulgi's voice faded. For some reason, she felt like she was the bad guy or something.

Youngji bit her bottom lip. "Oh. I see." She let out a painful giggle. "Well, can't be helped! We are third years, after all. We should focus on other things, right?"

"Yeah, exactly," Seulgi murmured. "Why don't you go and hang out with Jackson?"

Youngji jumped a little when she heard Jackson's name. Seulgi tilted her head, realizing that saying Jackson's name seemed to create a guilty expression on Youngji.

"Oh, um, did I not tell you about what happened between me and Jackson?" Youngji asked. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "It's been a while since I got the chance to talk to you. I guess I probably forgot to address it, ha, ha! Well, you see, Jackson and I—"

Seulgi caught Suzy turning at the corner. Her eyes widened and she panicked.

"Youngji, I'm sorry, but I really need to go!" Seulgi exclaimed. "We'll hang out next time, okay?"

Youngji gave her a strange look. It was the kind of look where she wasn't convinced, where she couldn't quite trust Seulgi's words. Seulgi tried to smile to assure her, which seemed to do the work. Youngji forced a smile and nodded.

"Yeah. Y-Yeah, next time," Youngji whispered, trying to convince herself that there was a next time.

Seulgi grinned. "Great! I need to go. Bye!"

"Bye…"

Seulgi dashed off, following the direction she saw Suzy walking. She continued to walk through the halls a little, noticing that the hallways were becoming more scarce with students as they all headed outside. 

She was about to look through the window until she heard murmurs. She ducked and pressed her ear against the door, but realized that she wouldn't be able to hear it no matter what. She looked around and realized that she was in an area where students didn't walk through often. The location would've been a perfect hiding place, much like the empty classroom where she had her secret meetings with Soojung.

Seulgi slowly tip-toed to see through the window. She saw Suzy's long brown hair swaying as she moved her body around. Seulgi frowned, then moved to another window to get a better view. She saw Suzy smiling bashfully, holding hands with hands that were rougher and tanner than hers. 

A boy's hand? Seulgi thought. She moved to the next window and saw their history teacher, who was actually a young student teacher: Lee Minho.

Seulgi watched in silence, confused. The way Suzy grinned and giggled seemed like she was a maiden in love, while the soft and tender look Minho gave to her showed that he cared. Seulgi's heart skipped a beat, yearning for a romantic moment like the two were having.

Huh? She stopped her trail of thoughts. Romantic?

Seulgi stared. Then, her eyes went incredibly wide. She quickly ducked, hiding from the window. She covered with one hand before covering it with two. After panicking for a few seconds, she crouched and dashed back to the front entrance.

No way, Seulgi thought. Her heart raced with excitement. No way. No way. No way.

Flustered, she squealed internally, feeling a buzz after discovering Suzy's deepest secret.

In that classroom, she saw Suzy and their history teacher acting romantic in the classroom.

In that classroom, she watched Suzy tilt her head upwards for a kiss from her teacher.

In that classroom, she discovered Suzy's secret: Bae Suzy was dating their history teacher.

/ / / / /

Just as planned, Myungsoo managed to infiltrate the school. With his charismatic and responsible personality, he managed to convince the teachers to let him wander around the school. He was given permission as long as he didn't stay to long and wore a special sticker that showed that he was a guest on campus.

Myungsoo walked into the library without thinking much. He inhaled the scent of dusty books on the shelves and the small breeze of fresh air that came from an opened window. He wandered around, hiding and blending in with the building. As he walked, he came across an isolated section of the library. He planned on hanging out there with a book to pass some time, but upon walking, he saw Soojung sleeping with her face turned away from him and towards the window. 

Myungsoo smiled gently and walked over to her. He stared at her for a few minutes, then took out Soojung's journal from his pocket. He was planning to leave it next to Soojung, but figured that it would be better to hand it to her in person in case someone else got their hands on it.

He glanced down at his watch.

I need to wake her up. He looked back at Soojung's sleeping face. But if I wake her up, she ends up getting all cranky and moody. He fished out his phone from his pocket. The best choice would be to cancel the "date" I have with Seulgi and watch over Miss Sleepy Head—

He heard a faint rustle in front of him. He looked up and noticed Jongin staring at him. Then, Jongin took off his blazer and draped it over Soojung's thin shoulders. Myungsoo continued to watch him until the younger boy took a seat next to Soojung and looked at him.

"What?" Jongin asked.

Myungsoo tried to smile. "Nothing. I was just wondering when you came."

"A few minutes ago," the tanned boy answer.

"Is that so?" Myungsoo murmured, tapping his phone against his lips. "Well, as you can see, Soojung is already sleeping. You shouldn't wake her up—"

"I'll let her sleep," Jongin said. He looked at Myungsoo. "Shouldn't you be going now?"

"Going where?" Myungsoo asked, blinking his eyes.

"Don't you have a date with Seulgi?" he reminded him.

Oh right. Seulgi, Myungsoo remembered. He gave Jongin an indifferent look. "I can cancel our date. It's not very important—"

"Not important?" Jongin repeated. He frowned at him. "Are you saying that because both of you don’t think it’s important or is it just you who thinks that it’s not important?“

Myungsoo looked at Soojung for a minute, then saw her brow twitch. He casually looked back at Jongin. Then, a playful smirk appeared on his lips.

"Why? Are you jealous?" Myungsoo asked him.

"No," Jongin said, a bit too normally. 

"You told me that you thought of Seulgi as a little sister," Myungsoo remarked. "Would you care this much over a little sister? I find it a little fishy."

Jongin stared at him. "But Seulgi really is like a little sister—"

"You don't need to cover it up. I can see you like a transparent window." Myungsoo raised his index finger and pointed at Jongin's chest. "You like Seulgi, don't you?"

Jongin blinked his eyes. "I don't—"

"Isn't that why you're suddenly paying more attention to Soojung and having her all around you? Isn't that why you're approaching her more than Seulgi? You're feeling lonely, and you know about my past with Soojung. It only makes sense for you to do the same with Soojung since you know that I'm taking advantage of Seulgi."

Jongin slightly paled. Cold sweat started forming on his face. He was sure that Myungsoo was wrong, that he didn't really like Seulgi in a romantic way. However, the way Myungsoo smiled at him in such a carefree manner made him question his own feelings. The way Myungsoo smiled, the way he stated his words so directly like it was the truth—

C-Could he be right? Jongin wondered. He paused and briefly looked away from Myungsoo to try to clarify his own thoughts. Is it true that I'm hanging around with Soojung more just to make Seulgi jealous? If that's true, then that would mean that I like Seulgi more than Soojung. Jongin looked into Myungsoo's eyes, but felt overwhelmed when he felt Myungsoo's eyes bore through him. He quickly diverted his gaze to Soojung. Oh god. What if he's right? What if I'm just playing with Soojung because I might really like Seulgi?

A sick feeling rolled up in Jongin's stomach. He clenched his teeth, then slowly got up. 

Myungsoo grinned. "Where are you going?"

"Home," Jongin muttered.

“What happened to watching Soojung?” Myungsoo teased.

Jongin wanted to stay with Soojung, but he wasn’t comfortable sticking with her with Myungsoo around. He cleared his throat.

“You can watch her.”

The college student leaned back in his chair. "Alright then. If you meet Seulgi by any chance, tell her that I'm canceling today's date."

Jongin meekly nodded his head and walked way.

The older boy chuckled quietly to himself and slipped his hands in his pocket. Then, he stared at Soojung, who continued to stay in the same sleeping position.

"Soojung, you're quite scary," Myungsoo commented. "It's not polite to pretend that you're sleeping when you're actually listening to a conversation."

Soojung lifted her eyelids, then apathetically looked at Myungsoo. "So you did that on purpose, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't joke with me, Myungsoo. I know you made Jongin confused on purpose," Soojung snapped. "You messed up with his feelings."

"Oh, so you're aware that he has feelings for you?" Myungsoo asked, teasing her.  When Soojung kept quiet, he clicked his tongue. "How evil of you, Jung Soojung. You set up your little pawn to the king who only has eyes on you. How cruel."

"I think it's more cruel that you're doing all these unnecessary manipulations—"

"Unnecessary?" he recited. He gave her a firm, solid look. "You should be thanking me instead."

"Thank you for messing up with my plan?"

"Thank me for helping you with your plan," he corrected. "Now that Jongin has the potential idea of liking Seulgi, it's time for the two of them to hook up. Once I break up with Seulgi this week, then the rest is up to you. I can't play the game anymore."

Soojung looked at him. "So you're not going to get involved anymore?"

"I have to go back to college. Remember, I'm only here for the break," he prompted.

A bitter expression appeared on Soojung's face. She curled her fingers into a small fist and looked away. With a shaky breath, she only nodded her head and sighed.

"Of course," she choked out. "You're leaving. Of course."

Myungsoo opened his mouth to say something, but the words didn't come out. Instead, he withdrew himself from the table and got up. Soojung started rising, but quickly noticed Jongin's blazer falling down to the floor. She swiftly reached for it, but ended up letting it drop to the floor. She sighed, bent down, and picked it up, dusting it off and properly folding it.

"I forgot about this," Soojung said.

Myungsoo looked at the blazer. "He really likes you."

"I know," she replied.

"It'd be nice if you liked him back."

It'd be nice if you liked me back, she thought. She didn’t say anything. Myungsoo sighed and walked away without another word.