“Chanyeol!” Hae Ryung whined, hitting his arm over and over again. “What? I don’t understand why you’re so worried. Baekhyun’s stupid, yes but I don’t think he’s that stupid to not know about your feelings for him,” the taller guy said as he pushed Hae Ryung’s face away and settled on a random bench-table. 

The girl puffed her cheeks, plopping her bag beside her as she sat opposite Chanyeol. “What do you mean?” Hae Ryung asked with furrowed brows. Chanyeol stopped taking his things out and stared at her like she’s the most oblivious person in the world (because maybe she is). He sighed deeply.  

“What I mean is–” Chanyeol started, turning to her. “–Baekhyun probably knows by now that his best friend is in love with him.” Hae Ryung stayed quiet and bit her lip as she blankly looked at Chanyeol. “Then why hasn’t he said anything?” 

As Chanyeol finished taking his things out, he flipped his notebook open then shrugged. “It could mean two things,” he told her as he held up two fingers. “One, he’s pretending not to know or two, he’s waiting for you to tell him.” 

Personally, Hae Ryung also thinks that Chanyeol’s stupid, a perfect match to her idiot best friend but he does make sense sometimes, now is one of those rare moments. Her eyes widened in realization. “You mean confess to him?” she nervously asked and Chanyeol bobbed his head nonchalantly as he scanned through his notes. 

Hae Ryung pursed her lips, gripping the bench she was sitting on. She was still so embarrassed and hurt from yesterday that she couldn’t even think of trying to confess to her best friend. That’s just so, so weird and awkward.  

How much more embarrassed and hurt would she be if he rejects her? She’s sure things would be different if she does anyway. He’ll be different. She’ll be different and she’s afraid that it’ll get in the way of their perfectly good friendship. No. No, she can’t have that!  

“Hae Ryung-ah!” she suddenly heard a voice call, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up at the loud and familiar voice, smiling. Jongdae was waving at her like a mad man and she waved right back at him. Her brows pinched together when she noticed that there was someone unfamiliar with him as he jogged to where she and Chanyeol were. 

Chanyeol put a hand to his chest, offended that Jongdae only acknowledged her and not him. “Excuse me? I believe that I’m your friend too,” he said once Jongdae set his bag on the table. Jongdae only scowled. “Yeah but I like her more,” he replied with a roll of his eyes. Chanyeol mimicked him and continued his studying. 

“How’s my favorite friend doing? Still hurting over your douche of a best friend?” Jongdae said casually, a smile gracing his face. She scrunched her nose at him in response then turned to face the other male. Jongdae followed her gaze and scratched his head awkwardly.  

“Oh! Sorry...” he mumbled sheepishly, pulling his friend to stand in front of her. Hae Ryung blinked in surprise and  looked up at Jongdae’s rather tall friend. “This is Sehun. He’s a transfer student and doesn’t really know his way around yet so I’m tasked to help him out,” Jongdae explained.  

Hae Ryung just nodded and bowed as a greeting. “Sehun, this is the very beautiful and super smart, Cha Hae Ryung,” Jongdae turned to Sehun and beamed at him. Sehun looked quite shy, glancing at her before bowing his head as well.  

Chanyeol knew Jongdae wouldn’t introduce him so he did the honors himself, holding his hand out to Sehun. The latter chuckled nervously and shook hands with the taller boy. Hae Ryung just stared at Sehun the entire time.  

Because yes, he’s extremely handsome and yes, Hae Ryung is drawn to that physical trait of his. No, she didn’t start feeling things. She was merely appreciating his beauty. She is, afterall, the type to really stare at people even if she knows that some aren’t comfortable with it. She just… couldn’t help it sometimes.  

Seeing that, Chanyeol grinned to himself, an invisible light bulb suddenly popping up above his head. He eyed Jongdae who was busy blabbering away even if no one was really listening. It took awhile for him to actually understand what Chanyeol is up to but when he figured it out, a smirk played on his lips.  

“Uhh, Sehun, do you have classes to go to at the moment?” Jongdae asked, sporting a smile that can only mean mischief. Sehun shook his head in response. “Good! Let’s hang out with these guys for a bit, kay?” Jongdae didn’t even wait for a reply.  

He immediately pulled Sehun down and sat him next to a very flustered Hae Ryung. She sent daggers at Jongdae who’s already scurried off to sit next to Chanyeol, a teasing look etched on his face. Seeing her glare at him like that only made the guy smile wider, feigning innocence. Hae Ryung rolled her eyes and turned to Sehun. 

“I’m sorry if he’s being harsh to you. I’ll be your friend if he continues to abuse you like that, okay?” Hae Ryung joked, smiling when Sehun nodded his head. Jongdae looked very satisfied with himself, Chanyeol pretty much sharing the same sentiments. The two high fived under the table as Jongdae pretended to be offended and started whining. 

So Eun barged into Suho’s apartment with a scowl on her face. The boys had suddenly called her, claiming they had to meet ASAP because of an emergency. “I’m going to murder you guys if this ‘emergency’ of yours is something irrelevant and stupid! I’m supposed to be studying for–” 

Suho covered with his hand and sat her down on his bed before she could say anything else. So Eun flashed her eyes at Suho threateningly and in a muffled voice, told him she’ll bite his hand if he won’t let go.  

Suho looked up at Jongdae and Chanyeol with pleading eyes but Jongdae only sniggered, clearly not wanting to help his friend. “Jeez, calm down!” Chanyeol chuckled. “It’s about Hae Ryung.” Immediately, So Eun stopped her glaring, making Suho sigh in relief. He let go of her and walked away in case she’d attack out of nowhere.  

 
She crossed her arms and  raised an eyebrow at the giant. “What did Baekhyun do to her this time?” she asked in a menacing tone. Chanyeol only grinned. “This has nothing to do with him,” he responded proudly. So Eun’s eyes grew wide with shock.  

Her eyes darted to the others for confirmation and the two nodded at her, grinning as well. To someone who’s not part of their clique, her reaction would seem too exaggerated but to them this is truly surprising because when it came to Hae Ryung, Baekhyun is always, always involved. 

It immediately sparked interest so So Eun leaned in closer. “What’s up then?” Chanyeol continued to grin. “Earlier today, Hae Ryung met Jongdae’s friend Sehun. Now, we all know how she’s shameless at staring. That’s a normal thing for her but it also kind of looked like she was checking him out.” 

“Will you just get to ing point?” So Eun deadpanned, sighing a little. Chanyeol glared at her while Jongdae and Suho snickered into their fists. “I’m– We’re going to set them up so she can finally get over Baekhyun!” 

Chanyeol was beaming. He looked very pleased with himself, as if what he just was the most brilliant thing he’s ever come up with in his entire life but the quietness from So Eun’s end was a little concerning to him. Her silence can mean many things but right now she’s actually just letting Chanyeol’s words sink in.  

The boys knew her well enough though, they knew that she wouldn't be that easy to convince. When her eyebrows started to scrunch together, they prepared themselves to retaliate to whatever she’ll throw at them. “Are you sure about this? T