The next few days went well for Momo as she got closer to Mina as they spent more time together. It was made better with the fact that Jeongyeon or whoever had been bullying her had laid off for the time being. However, things took a turn for the worse when the teacher introduced the assignment for the term. It was a group project with the theme of ‘Are you a Star?’

‘Our project for this term is an artistic one where we are trying to express ourselves. I have talked with Ms. Park of Class 3B and we are making this a joint class project of groups of 3. You will have 2 weeks of class time to work on it and we will be making an end of term presentation. I will be allocating groups and you have the rest of the day to get to know your partners and discuss possible ideas.’

Ms. Kim began reading down a list of groups and as the list narrowed, Momo crossed her fingers. So far neither she nor Mina had their names called and the chance that they would be in the same group increased. When the teacher finally got to Momo’s name, she looked over to Mina who didn’t seem too worried.

‘Hirai Momo, you will be with Myoui Mina-‘

Momo felt a smile spread across her face and did a silent fist pump but the teacher’s next words instantly sobered her.

‘- and Yoo Jeongyeon. Next on the list…’

Momo didn’t hear the next words as she instantly regretted the grouping. “It would be my luck to get the dream partner and then the nightmare one to even it up,” she thought bitterly. Jeongyeon was largely popular among the student populous and Momo was worried that others who wanted her position would put her into the spotlight. Momo was just that blonde girl who kept to herself and that made her an easy target.

She sighed as the teacher finished reading off her list and the class moved off to join the other class. With her thoughts occupied, she walked ahead of Mina to peek into Classroom 3B and saw Jeongyeon looking perfect as ever with her short hair and immaculate face. She gritted her teeth and she walked with Mina to greet her.

‘Hi. My name is Hirai Momo. This is Myoui Mina and we’re going to be partners for the term project. Please take care of us.’

Mina bowed beside her and Jeongyeon greeted them in turn.

‘Annyeong. I am Yoo Jeongyeon. I look forward to working with you.’

Momo made a face at that, surprised that Jeongyeon was acting like she didn’t dislike Momo. Putting the thought aside, she promised herself that as long as Jeongyeon was acting nice and civil, she would reciprocate.

They sat down as the teachers left and the students were left in their groups to decide their ideas. Momo just rested her head on her hand as she watched Mina and Jeongyeon brainstorm. She began to think back to the conversation she and Mina had had the day before. She wondered what Mina dancing would look like. Ballet was a genre entirely alien to her. Suddenly, Mina poked her arm and she quickly turned her head to face her.

‘I said, what do you think we should do? Any ideas to share?’

Flustered by the sudden question, she said the first thing that came to her mind.

‘I want to watch you dance. I mean, how about dancing?’

Jeongyeon looked at Momo skeptically. “Can you even dance?” she asked. You look like a potato with two left feet. No offence or anything.” Feeling offended all the same, she was saved from replying by Mina jumping in.

‘I can vouch for her. I’ve seen her dance, she’s really skilled. This is a great idea I think. If you give us a chance, we can show you that we can actually dance.’

Jeongyeon pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Mina’s claim before finally agreeing.

‘That’s fine, but I can’t do it this week. I have dancing and singing lessons. There’s a recital coming up that I need to prepare. I should be fine for time after that though.’

They agreed and set a date for the following week where they would get together to work on the project. Momo still surprised at her dextrous save and having her wish fulfilled, cheered internally. For the meanwhile, it would seem that they would get along just fine. Having still to decide on whether to move forward with the idea to dance, Momo watched on as Jeongyeon struck up conversation. Feeling slightly jealous, she sated herself with thoughts of her beloved jokbal.

She was woken from her stupor as Mina called her name. She turned around and was too slow to react as Mina’s finger poked her cheek. “Tsun tsun!” Mina exclaimed as she giggled at Momo’s clumsiness. “It’s break time. Let’s go eat.” Momo felt her heart melt at Mina’s aegyo, not knowing that the girl could be so cute. She stood up and saw Jeongyeon with one of her lackeys and decided not to say goodbye to her.

She walked alongside Mina through the halls to the cafeteria and saw Mina’s hand limp by her side, she wondered how Mina’s would react if she held it. Instead, Mina initiated the contact and clutched Momo’s arm as they walked. They sat down with their freshly made ramyeon and Momo ate as she listened to Mina talk. Remembering Mina’s slight from before, she randomly interjected with a word of her own.

‘Anata wa totemo kawaiidesu.’

Mina instantly stopped talking and blushed, letting her hair cover her reddening face. “You’re using the wrong subject,” she said shyly. “My bad,” Momo chuckled. “I haven’t spoken Japanese much lately.”

Mina flipped her hair to the side and playfully slapped Momo’s arm. Momo pretended to be hurt and they both laughed as they began speaking in Japanese.

After school, Mina was already waiting before Momo had even opened her locker. Momo grinned at Mina’s eagerness and opened her locker only to fall back as a pungent stench hit her nose. Lying on one of her textbooks was what looked like faeces from what Momo could only guess. Framing the pile of were painted the words in black marker: ‘Have some of what you’re worth. Know your place.’ Horrified, she quickly pulled her bag out and slammed her locker shut.

Puzzled at Momo’s actions, Mina tentatively lay a hand on Momo’s shoulder. “Are you alright? Anything wrong?” she asked. Not wanting to worry Mina, she just nodded and they began walking home. Realising that the droppings wouldn’t be going anywhere, she told Mina to wait for her at the school gate and made an excuse that she had forgotten something. She ran back to her locker and was pinching her nose and using some spare paper to grab the turd when she saw Jeongyeon turn into the locker bay. Jeongyeon scrunched her nose up and asked, “What’s that smell?” Angry at Jeongyeon feigning ignorance, Momo snapped back a reply.

‘I would have thought you would have known. Having put it in there.’

‘Huh? What are you on about? I don’t even know where you’d find whatever it is you’re holding.’

Strangely, Jeongyeon’s words sounded sincere. Momo then wondered who would have out such a thing in her locker. From her behaviour during the day, there would have been no reason to take such an extreme action. Puzzled at this new mystery, she disposed of the droppings and sprinted to the gate where Mina was still waiting.

‘Did you find what you were looking for?’

‘Yea. All good. Let’s go.’

They continued walking and Momo listened half-heartedly to Mina speak. She felt a bit guilty but Mina didn’t seem to mind being the one who spoke more. Momo was preoccupied with who had been spying on her and the culprit for the attacks on her. Deciding to try and get to the bottom of the issue, as they arrived at Mina’s door, Momo told her that she wouldn’t be able to walk her home the next day and maybe the day after that. “Why not?” asked Mina disappointed. “Do you have something on?”

‘Yea, uh dance practice thingy... Sorry. But I think I’ll be able to walk you for the rest of the week after that.’

Mina nodded as she realised Momo has made her mind up and went into her house. Momo continued walking, but then with a random thought, she instead walked towards the local park. The park was deserted and she played on the swings, feeling free as if she was dancing. The wind rushed through her clothes, and her exultation allowed her to ignore the winter cold. She played for a long time and thought all the while, the fading light helping her think. There was a familiar *deng* as the nearby lampposts lit up, giving the world an ethereal feel. She felt calm and determined having made up her mind to catch who was doing the misdeeds.

She let the swings slow down and waited until her feet scraped the ground before picking up her bag and making the quick walk home. However, as she entered her house, the emptiness washed away her confidence and she stumbled around as she made her dinner. She took a shower and lay on her bed as she pondered the next day. If Jeongyeon really was telling the truth and wasn’t involved in the acts of violence towards her locker, who had done it? And Jeongyeon had bowled her over the day before in the cafeteria. Worried and confused again, Momo hugged a Kiyomi doll and fell asleep wishing that life would make itself clear.