The most important thing that Seulgi failed to notice was that the next day, following her errors of pushing away Sehun, was the first day of April. Not only were students playing tricks on each other or on the teacher, but it was also more difficult to approach Sehun. After all, April marked the month of his birthday—April 12.

Soojung came up with two different options that she thought was fit for Seulgi to take on: One, wait until April Fool’s Day was over to apologize and fix up the relationship; or two, apologize today and hope that he takes it seriously.

“The first one might be more difficult,” Soojung said. The two were in the middle of their physical education class, where all the students were either talking or stretching before their name was called for the sprint test. “The second one is a lot more risky, given the fact that we don’t know what kind of personality Sehun has.”

“Don’t you have everything about Sehun in that little journal of yours?” asked Seulgi, who started to reach for her toes.

“I don’t have anything important on him, and even if I did, I don’t have anything that would contribute to the reason why he’s acting so strange,” Soojung explained. She frowned. “I just don’t know why Sehun started to approach you. You two crossed paths multiple times, but never like this. There wasn’t anything that would make him interested in you.”

“Well, that kind of hurts,” Seulgi muttered.

Soojung paused before asking her a question. “Hey, did you get anything suspicious?”

Seulgi frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Next! Kang Seulgi!” 

Seulgi and Soojung looked up to hear their physical education teacher blow the whistle. He motioned Seulgi to come to the tracks. Just as Seulgi was going to make her way to the tracks, Soojung grabbed her arm. Seulgi turned and frowned until she saw Soojung eye at the other class, who was also outside doing physical education. She glanced over to the other class, then hitched her breath when she saw a familiar figure in the crowd: Kim Jongin.

“Chances are, your friend Youngji is going to call your name and cheer for you,” Soojung whispered. “He’s watching. Make a good impression.”

Seulgi gulped nervously and nodded. She took a deep breath, then started to jog her way to the tracks. Just like Soojung had told her, Youngji, who was standing nearby, started to call for Seulgi’s name.

“Woohoo! Let’s go, Kang Seulgi! You can do it!” Youngji cried out, clapping her hands together.

“Are you ready?” the teacher asked.

“Yes, sir,” Seulgi replied, getting in position. She tried to focus on her breathing, but she would occasionally distract herself whenever she glanced at Jongin.

“Ready… On your mark… Get set… Go!”

Seulgi started sprinting. She sprinted as fast as she could. She didn’t really care about her uneven breathing. All she wanted was to reach the end. She knew that Jongin was looking. Soojung said so. He was probably looking at her, impressed with her skills. He—

Thud!

The next thing Seulgi knew was that she was on the ground. She coughed out some dirt that had went into when she crashed against the ground. She closed her eyes; half the reason was because she was flinching from the pain on her knee, and the other half was because she was incredibly embarrassed. She bit her bottom lip and groaned as she heard footsteps running from behind.

“Are you okay, Seulgi?” Youngji asked, helping her friend up. “You don’t look like you’re bleeding anywhere. Are you okay?”

Seulgi swore that she could hear a few giggles in the back. Her cheeks burned red with humiliation. She bit her tongue and took a quick peek at the other class. She noticed a few people from the other class laugh at her for tripping over nothing. She clenched her fist, but stopped when she saw Jongin stare at her. 

Oh god, oh god, oh god. Seulgi repeated those words in her head until Soojung finally came over and forced her to turn her back against him.

“You’re fine, you’re fine,” Soojung said. She started to help Youngji dust some of the dirt off of Seulgi’s clothes. Seulgi was about to turn around until Soojung gave her a sharp look. “Don’t turn. You’re fine. You’re good.”

“This is so embarrassing,” Seulgi muttered. 

“You’re okay, Seulgi. Lots of people fall,” Youngji told her. “Do you want to go to the nurse’s office?”

“No,” Seulgi weakly mumbled. She groaned. “I hate myself. Only five-year olds fall.”

“Only five-year olds fall and cry,” Soojung said. “When we grow up and fall like this, we just got to it up and get up again. Stop whining and compose yourself. The way you’re acting is more embarrassing than tripping.”

Seulgi obeyed. Youngji stared at Soojung, surprised with her harsh words. Nevertheless, she only helped Seulgi clean up before looking at her friend.

“Do you need to go to the nurse’s office?” Youngji asked her carefully.

“No,” Seulgi told her. “I’m okay…”

“Is she hurt?” The three turned and looked at the teacher.

“She’s okay!” Youngji shouted back. She turned. “Can you still run?”

“I want to take a break,” Seulgi said. Youngji nodded.

“Okay, I’ll go tell him that,” Youngji said. She started to jog back to the teacher.

As Soojung glanced over Seulgi’s outfit to see if any dirt was still on her clothes, Seulgi glanced behind her shoulder.

“Is he looking?” Seulgi asked Soojung.

“Who?” Soojung asked. She looked at Seulgi, then understood who she was talking about. “Oh, Jongin. No. He stopped looking a while ago.”

Seulgi let out a sigh of relief. This is what makes Jongin so special. He’s so nice and considerate. Everyone else is looking at him and laughing. He doesn’t look and laugh. He respectfully glances away.

“Sehun was looking,” Soojung told her.

“Sehun?” Seulgi repeated. “Was he laughing at me?”

“Yeah,” she replied honestly.

Anger burned in Seulgi’s veins. “Well, I don’t care about him. He’s to me.”

“He did look slightly worried,” Soojung said. “But overall, he was laughing.”

Seulgi was about to say something, but the two were interrupted when they heard the teacher blow his whistle. They turned and saw the teacher wave his hands. He called for Soojung, which only made her scowl.

“,” Soojung muttered. “I got to run.”

“Good luck,” Seulgi told her.

“Thanks,” Soojung said.

The two started to walk back. As Soojung approached the track, Seulgi went back to where most of her classmates stood. Youngji joined her shortly.

“You don’t need to go to the office or anything, right?” Youngji asked.

“Youngji, I’m fine,” Seulgi said tiredly. “Thank you for helping me out there.”

Youngji smiled. “No problem!” She paused. “Did…you and Soojung talk about anything important over there?”

“Huh?”

“I’m just wondering! I’m not trying to suspect you or anything,” Youngji blurted. “I just… If it’s nothing important, then drop it. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“Of course,” Seulgi said a bit too easily. “It’s nothing important. If anything important comes up, I’ll tell you, okay?”

Youngji smiled. “Thanks. It really means a lot when I hear that from you.”

Seulgi smiled back, but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the teacher blow his whistle. The two girls looked up to see Soojung. Everyone else looked away, uninterested in whatever time Soojung would get. 

That’s right, Seulgi thought, Soojung doesn’t have a lot of friends, or any friends.

“On your mark… Get set… Go!”

Seulgi watched Soojung run across the track. Not only was Soojung steady with her pacing, but she was fast. It was amazing to see how seriously Soojung was when she ran across the track. It was so awe-inspiring, that Seulgi started to cheer for Soojung out loud. Youngji, who was shocked to see her friend cheer for someone else, soon joined her.

Eventually, their classmates started to turn their heads just to see who the two girls were wildly cheering for. They all looked at the track, and noticed Soojung race across the field. Everyone watched, impressed with her ability. They got so riled up with how fast she was going, some of them started to cheer along for Soojung. 

Even the people in the other class—including Jongin and Sehun—turned to see what was all the commotion. They all stared at Soojung with wide eyes until she finished the track. 

Soojung panted hard. Her hands were on her knees, and she was ready to collapse. The teacher, who was standing at the other side of the track, stopped the timer and blew his whistle.

“Soojung, pass! New record for the girls: 5.6 seconds!”

“5.6?” Youngji repeated, her eyes widened. “The guy’s fastest record is, like, 5.2 for sprinting!”

“Was she always this fast?” Seulgi asked.

“I never noticed her, so I’m not so sure,” Youngji said.

“Good job, Soojung. You improved .4 seconds compared to last year,” the teacher said as Soojung made her way back to her classmates. 

When Soojung arrived in front of Seulgi, she looked at her with a confused expression.

“What?” Soojung asked.

“Why the hell are you so fast?” Seulgi asked her.

Soojung scoffed. “I’m not fast—“

“You just ing broke the record!” Seulgi exclaimed.

“It’s no big deal. Anyone can break any record as long as they work smart,” Soojung said.

“You mean work hard,” Seulgi corrected.

“No, I mean work smart,” Soojung stated firmly. “Anyone can work hard and get nowhere, but if you work smart, you’ll probably get there.”

Looks like I have a lot to learn about Soojung and the way she thinks, Seulgi realized as Soojung took a seat besides her.

/ / / / /

“Wow, she’s so fast,” said Hyeri, who was standing in between Sehun and Jongin.

“Impressive,” Sehun said. “Did she ever stand out in athletics? I don’t think she was part of any sports club.”

“Not that I know of,” Hyeri replied. She glanced at Jongin. “What do you think about athletic girls, hm? Honestly, if they’re too athletic, I don’t think they would match you. You probably wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

Jongin paused. “Well, I don’t really mind…”

“Of course you mind. You’re Jongin, after all!” Hyeri cried out. She turned to Sehun. “Hey, say something to your best friend here. He’s got to look at certain things when it comes to getting a girlfriend, or else he’s just going to be toyed with.”

“You heard her, Jongin,” Sehun said, not interested in whatever Hyeri wanted him to do.

“On the other hand, your birthday is coming up,” Hyeri said. She gave him a smile. “You’re inviting me to your party, right?”

Sehun smirked. “Well, that’s only if you find the invitation.”

Hyeri stopped smiling. “What?”

“I’ve hid a total of fifty invitations throughout the school,” Sehun informed her. “I’m the only one who knows the location. If you want to come, then you better find the invitation card.”

Hyeri let out an uneasy laugh. “You’re fooling around, aren’t you? You’re bluffing, right? Today is April Fools, so you’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s whatever you want to believe in,” Sehun said. 

Hyeri dropped her jaws, but her thoughts were interrupted with the teacher called her name. She gave Sehun one glare, then started to storm away to the teacher.

Sehun grinned, satisfied with her reaction. It would only be a matter of time until people discover how to get into Sehun’s eighteenth birthday party. He knew that everyone wanted to be invited, but of course he would only invite a limited amount of people every year. 

However, this year, he decided to spread his invites throughout the school randomly. He made sure that every invitation was hidden just about anywhere—books, trees, bushes, desks, and so on. It was the only way to lure in a particular person whom he had been wanting to talk to.

“Why did you tell her that?” Jongin asked him.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Sehun asked.

“I got your invitation. You placed it in my desk,” the tanned boy pointed out.

“Yours was special. I definitely wanted to invite you, so I hid an invitation card in your desk,” Sehun explained. “Everyone else is completely random.”

“Why would you do that?” Jongin inquired.

Sehun shrugged his shoulders. “Just for the heck of it. It was a fun thought.” He looked at his friend with a wide smile. “Hey, are you busy later on?”

“Kind of. Why?”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was planning to make a quick trip to the library.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“To find a book.” Sehun smirked. “What? You go to the library to find books, too, right?”

Jongin only stared at Sehun’s unusual expression. He only nodded his head and looked away, feeling that Sehun was trying to get him to admit something else other than the idea that he went to the library to find books.

/ / / / /

After school, when most of the students cleared out of the building, Soojung started to make her way to the library. It was easy to distract Seulgi and to make sure that she was off campus. All Soojung had to do was recommend Youngji a new shop and have Youngji take Seulgi away from school. This way, she would have the comfort in knowing that she wouldn’t be spied on.

Soojung opened the door to the library. As excepted, it was empty, except for the librarian and a few students who were studying diligently. She casually walked to her usual spot, but stopped briefly in front of the table when she saw a familiar figure sitting at the chair across from where she would sit.

Sehun looked up from the book that he had been pretending to be reading. He smirked at her appearance, and she returned the smirk with a clearly peeved look. She stared at the way he crossed his legs with one foot dangling in the air.

He’s comfortable, she noted. He’s satisfied. He’s fooling around with me.

“Well, and who might you be?” Sehun asked, staring at Soojung.

“Cut out with the act, Oh Sehun,” Soojung said. She opened her bag and dropped a beautiful sealed envelope on the table. Sehun stared down at it, then back at Soojung. “What the is this?”

“It’s an invitation,” Sehun said. “I see that you’ve found one of my fifty invitations that I scattered throughout the school.”

“You ‘scattered’ the invitation? Then why was it happily sitting in my desk?” Soojung snapped. “Did you put this in the wrong place or what?”

“What? Maybe one just happened to be in your desk,” Sehun said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Why was I invited?” she asked him.

“Jongin is going to be there,” Sehun commented.

“So what?”

Sehun blinked his eyes. Is she not attracted to Jongin? I know Seulgi has a huge crush on him. If she doesn’t like Jongin, then… He snapped his fingers. “You have a crush on me.”

Soojung gave him a disgusted glare. “What?”

“You like me, don’t you?” he asked, grinning.

“Why would you even think of something like that? I don’t like you in a romantic sense,” she declared firmly.

He frowned. So she doesn’t like me or Jongin? Then why is she involved wth Seulgi?

“Look, I think you put this in the wrong place. Here. I don’t want to go to your stupid party—“

“I know that you’re up to something,” Sehun blurted, not exactly knowing what he was saying. 

Soojung stopped frowning and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“You do?” she asked.

At least I hit something, Sehun thought. “Yes, I do. Well, I don’t know what you are doing, but I do know what Seulgi is up to. In short, I don’t appreciate with Seulgi is doing.”

“Is it because of her attitude yesterday? She’s going to apologize,” Soojung assured him.

“Apologies or not, I don’t care. In fact, I find this quite entertaining,” Sehun said. “I’m sure you have a lot of obstacles, but imagine if I was an obstacle to what Seulgi wants.”

She glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Oh, I would. This looks like it’s a lot of fun.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I told you: this looks like fun.”

“So it’s just a game to you?”

“Isn’t it a game to you?” Sehun asked her. He leaned back in his chair. “Honestly, I’m quite interested in seeing how Seulgi is going to win over Jongin’s heart. I know that she has a crush on him, and I thought that you had a crush on me, but it looks like you don’t.” He rubbed his chin and squinted his eyes. “What’s your role in all of this? I’m curious.”

“I don’t have anything,” Soojung said. She finally forced a smile. “I’m just a normal, quiet girl in the background.”

“Honestly, I would love to believe that,” he said. He chuckled softly to himself, but stopped as he gave her a serious look, “but I don’t believe in that bull at all.” He finally stood up and hovered over her head. “Jongin is my friend, but I don’t mind using him to play around a bit.”

“Who would use another human being as a toy?” Soojung asked him, still smiling.

He started to fake a smile in return. “Isn’t he the prize, though?”

There was a long pause between the two. They were still smiling, but it was only clear to the two of them that it was a fake expression. Deep inside, the two could tell that there was some kind of wall or tension rising in between then. Sehun was going to be involved in this mess just for sheer amusement, and that threatened Soojung’s seriousness in helping Seulgi reach popularity.

“I hate you so ing much,” Soojung murmured with a tight expression.

“I’m flattered,” Sehun said, putting a hand over his heart. He grabbed the invitation on the desk and shoved it into Soojung’s hands. “Keep that. Since you found it, you deserve it.”

“I don’t need it. I’m not going—“

“But what if Seulgi finds one? Surely she’ll try to find one for you. After all, it seems like she’s always waiting for your signal,” he pointed out.

She bit her tongue. “I still wouldn’t go—“

“Oh, you will go,” he said, interrupted her.

“How are you so sure?” she asked him, tilting her head.

“Because as of now, Hyeri is probably telling everyone about how to get invited to my birthday, and Seulgi is going to hear it. Everyone will find out that Jongin is going to be there, and Seulgi would definitely see this as an opportunity to not only get into my party, but to also get closer to Jongin,” Sehun said. “If she finds that invitation, then she’s going to drag you along. You know this. You definitely know that she’s capable of doing this.”

Soojung continued to glare at him, but she felt pathetic doing so. She only took a deep breath, then carelessly dropped the invitation in her bag. She gave Sehun only last glare before flashing him a false expression.

“I still hate you,” she told him as she smiled.

Sehun smiled back. “I’m looking forward to our little game.”