As Sooyoung headed out of her house the following morning, she saw Sungjae leaning against the wall, his head leaning to one side with his eyes half-closed. Sooyoung went up to him and tapped him gently on his shoulder. “Oppa~!”

Sungjae gave a jerk and looked at Sooyoung with bloodshot eyes. “Ah Sooyoung-ah. You’re here. Let’s go!”

“Oppa! What happened to you? Why do you look so tired and frail today?” asked Sooyoung concernedly.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” replied Sungjae, trying to wave it off. “I just didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“Wae, oppa? Did something happen?” asked Sooyoung.

Sungjae looked deep into Sooyoung’s eyes for a moment, his heart feeling a prick as he lied, “No, nothing happened.”

Sooyoung was about to say something but Sungjae cut in before she could speak, “Do you have something that you want to tell me, Sooyoung-ah? Did something happen to you recently that you want to talk to me about?”

“Me? What’s there to talk about, oppa?” asked Sooyoung in a puzzled tone.

“I don’t know. Did something out of the ordinary happen?” insisted Sungjae.

“Nothing out of the ordinary happened, oppa. Are you okay? You don’t look and sound like yourself today. Are you feeling well enough to go to school?” asked Sooyoung.

Sungjae’s heart sank at Sooyoung’s answer.

Yah, Park Sooyoung. Are you really not going to tell me?

“Kwenchana. Let’s go,” replied Sungjae shortly.  

Sooyoung tried to chat with Sungjae as they walked along their usual route to school. However, Sungjae gave her such short answers that she eventually gave up.

For the next two weeks, Sungjae continued to give Sooyoung the cold shoulder. Even though they still walked to school together, Sungjae never spoke much to Sooyoung. During break times, Sungjae would spend most of it in his classroom to avoid bumping into Sooyoung. Eventually, Sungjae stopped walking Sooyoung to school by going to school earlier than he usually did and taking a different route. At the end of the two weeks, Sooyoung finally couldn’t take it and went to Sungjae’s classroom personally to confront him. Sooyoung walked to Sungjae’s seat and dragged him out of the class by his arm, before turning to look at him.

“Why have you been avoiding me, oppa?” asked Sooyoung.

“What are you talking about, Sooyoung-ah? Haven’t we still been going to school together?” asked Sungjae.

“But you’ve grown so much quieter these days. And I don’t seem to see you around as much in school anymore,” insisted Sooyoung.

“I think you’re overthinking, Sooyoung-ah. There’s nothing wrong with me,” replied Sungjae.

“Don’t lie to me, oppa. I know you’re hiding something from me. What’s bothering you?” asked Sooyoung concernedly, as she reached out to hold Sungjae’s arm.

“You’re the one who’s hiding something from me, Sooyoung-ah,” Sungjae finally turned to look Sooyoung in the eye.

“Bwoh? What could I be hiding from you, oppa?” asked a bewildered and hurt Sooyoung.

“I’m sure you know the answer better than I do,” replied Sungjae, before pushing Sooyoung’s hand off his arm and walking back to his class. Sooyoung was left standing in the corridor with a bewildered expression on her face.

…

The next day at school, Sooyoung sat by herself and ate her lunch in the canteen. She poked moodily at the salad on her plate, as she mulled over what happened the day before. Joohyun and Seulgi saw her eating alone and walked over to talk to her.

“Sooyoung-ah, kwenchana?” asked Joohyun.

“Ah, unnie. Kwenchanayo,” replied Sooyoung.

“Did something happen, Sooyoung-ah?” asked Seulgi.

“Anni, it’s nothing, unnie,” said Sooyoung.

“You’re hiding something from us, Sooyoung-ah. You’re never this quiet unless something happens. Do you want to tell me what happened?” asked Joohyun.

“Unnie…” began Sooyoung. “Sungjae-oppa has always been a very good friend but recently he’s been avoiding me and being very cold to me. I don’t know what I’ve done to make him behave this way. He said I’m hiding something from him but I really don’t know what he means.”

“Sungjae’s been giving you the cold shoulder? But don't you two walk to school together every day?” asked Joohyun.

“We don’t anymore, unnie. I don't see him on my way to school nowadays,” said Sooyoung, who finally began to tear. “Aish, why am I crying over him?”

“It’s because you’ve had feelings for him for so long. Furthermore, he’s been a good and close friend to you, Sooyoung-ah,” said Joohyun soothingly.

“Are you sure nothing happened?” asked Seulgi. “I don’t know Sungjae very well but he doesn’t seem like the kind who will suddenly turn on you.”

“Did something happen with Hyunwoo that made Sungjae react like this?” asked Joohyun.

“Bwoh?” asked Sooyoung. “Hyunwoo-oppa? Nothing’s happened between me and Hyunwoo-op…”

Sooyoung’s voice trailed off as she remembered the conversation between her and Hyunwoo.

“Something did happen,” said Sooyoung. “But Sungjae-oppa couldn’t have found out about it.”

“Bwoh?” asked Joohyun. “What happened?”

“Hyunwoo-oppa… Hyunwoo-oppa confessed his feelings for me and asked me to be his girlfriend,” said Sooyoung in a rush.

“BWOH?” exclaimed Joohyun and Seulgi together.

“When did this happen, Sooyoung-ah?” asked Joohyun.

“About two weeks ago,” mumbled Sooyoung.

“TWO WEEKS AGO?” Seulgi and Joohyun seemed to be like twins in their reactions that day.

“How could you not tell us something this important, Sooyoung-ah?” asked Seulgi in a hurt tone.

“Mianhe, unnie. But I was really confused and Sungjae-oppa turning cold made me forget all about it for a while,” said Sooyoung apologetically.

“Do you think this made Sungjae turn cold to you?” asked Seulgi.

“But how could it, unnie? Only Hyunwoo-oppa and I were present when Hyunwoo-oppa confessed to me. I haven’t told anyone si