a note from the author: hello everyone! thank you for your patience these past two weeks. i’m happy to say i’ve finally settled into my new place and all of my college papers are ready. i won’t have anything to worry about for a while now, so you should expect that updates will be frequent again! i would also like to say thank you so, so much to you guys – my readers – for your love and support. a2l reached 100 subscribers yesterday and i really couldn’t have done it without your help!

this chapter is a little wordier and dialogue heavy this time around. to be honest, it’s something i’ve been thinking about for a while now. i thought it would fit into the story and something you guys might also be interested in (or not - i don’t know hahaha). nonetheless, i hope you enjoy this chapter~

They say when a person who doesn’t often smile smiles, it’s as if the sun is shining.

In Jinyoung’s case, he looked as if the sun was about to fall from the sky and come crashing down on him. Though he was smiling, he also clenched his teeth hard enough that his jaw started to hurt. Sooji accepted the gift and cradled it in her arms admirably. A sensation like when you drink hot chocolate on a cold winter day swirled in Jinyoung’s chest. There was a twinkle of excitement in Sooji’s eyes when she looked up, opening to thank him. The first syllable had barely left her lips when someone calling her name interrupted her. The two students turned their heads towards the direction of the voice and saw her parents walking towards them. Behind her parents was another couple. Looking at them up close, Jinyoung could recognize familiar features that gave away which classmate of his they were the parents of – Kim Dongbin.

As they came to a stop before Jinyoung and Sooji, Sooji’s father nods at Jinyoung as a greeting before returning to his daughter. He gestures to the family beside him and asks, “Sooji, you remember Dongbin’s family, yes?”

“Congratulations, Sooji. It seems you haven’t changed a bit since we last saw you, huh? Still winning awards… your parents must be very proud of you,” Dongbin’s mother took a step forward, extending a bouquet arranged with a vibrant assortment of flowers towards Sooji. Compared to the one Jinyoung had given her, it was bigger and more attractive. A ribbon held the bunch together with a card that read ‘From: The Kim Family’. Sooji hesitantly accepted the gift, trying her best to make room in her arms to carry another bouquet. After giving her an embrace, Dongbin’s mother turned to face Jinyoung who had been quietly standing there. She feigned surprise, “Oh, hello. I’m sorry, I think I might have come into the middle of your conversation. You are…?”

“Bae Jinyoung,” Jinyoung bowed his head as a greeting, “We’re classmates.”

Dongbin’s father examined him up and down, “I don’t recall your name – are you a recipient?”

“Oh no, I’m not. I’m just a guest,” Jinyoung explained, glancing over at Sooji. She seemed preoccupied with keeping the bouquets in her arm balanced so he didn’t make eye contact. Honestly, he was irritated at the way adults – not just Dongbin and Sooji’s parents – were always quick to assume that because he was in Class 1-A, he was like all the other Class A students. “I came to congratulate Sooji for receiving her awards. I’m receiving mine at the athletic banquet next week.”

“Huh, that’s quite interesting,” Dongbin’s father looked away; his interest had faltered. He glanced at his wife with a disappointed look, “I didn’t know they admitted athletes in Class A. In our day, they were all in Class B. Times are changing, it seems.”

Jinyoung grit his teeth, holding back on saying something he might regret. And for Sooji’s sake, he didn’t want to embarrass her. He knew it must’ve been hard for her to explain to her parents they were friends; they didn’t need more reasons to dislike him right now. Sooji’s father eventually broke the silence by asking Sooji if she was finished with her business so they could get going to the restaurant they made dinner reservations at. And as if to take a jab at Jinyoung, he added Dongbin’s family would be joining them all while maintaining eye contact with him.

“Yeah, I’m done here. Can Jinyoung come with us?” Sooji turned to face Jinyoung so fast that a stray strand of hair caught on her lips, “Did you eat yet? Do you want to come with us?”

“Maybe another time. Winter formal is almost over so Jihoon and his dad should be coming by to pick me up soon,” Jinyoung didn’t look at the adults, but he could feel their stares on him as they listened to his answer. Clearing his throat, he bowed towards the adults and Dongbin before walking backwards to leave, “Congratulations, Sooji, Dongbin. I’ll see you at school. Have a good rest of the evening.”

Jinyoung made sure he exited the banquet hall before he stopped speed-walking. Once in the lobby, he took a seat at one of the ottomans. Throwing his head back against the wall, Jinyoung frustratingly ran a hand through his hair; his fringe now looked like a black bird’s nest atop his head. He wasn’t exactly sure why he ran; there was no life-threatening reason to. Still, the pressure the adults were exerting was getting too much for him to bear. He made a mental note to thank his mom later for not being as intense as his classmate’s parents were.

As Jinyoung was stared thoughtlessly at the revolving entrance door, the voices of Sooji’s parents echoed from the nearby hallway. His eyes widened in panic. They couldn’t see him just sitting in the lobby – it would look like he lied about being picked up. With light steps, Jinyoung ducked for cover behind a tall plant by the receptionist’s desk just as the two families entered the lobby. Jinyoung shut his eyes, praying that the staff behind the desk wouldn’t ask him what he was doing. They had seen him after all. He peered through the gaps between the plant’s leaves, watching both families head towards the revolving door he was watching earlier. Once they were out of sight, only then did Jinyoung emerge from behind the plant and bow to the desk staff for not ratting him out.

Jinyoung’s gaze lingered at the exit as he remembered Dongbin and Sooji leaving the building. They were walking behind their parents, laughing about something. Shaking his head, he dug his phone out of his pocket and opened his messages to his conversation with Jihoon.

Jinyoung: I’m done here.

Jinyoung: You don’t have to leave the party though.

Jinyoung: I have a ride home.

Jihoon: Are you sure?

Jihoon: There’s still time before the party is over.

Jihoon: My dad is downtown. He can pick you up and bring you here.

Jinyoung: It’s fine. Thanks though. I’ll see you at school.

Jihoon: Alright, then. See ya!

A sigh left Jinyoung’s lips when he closed his messages and dialed his first contact; it rang twice before the person picked up. “Hey dad, you pass by the big movie theatre on your way home, right? Can you pick me up by the hotel?”

Midnight is the time when you come alive. Because the rest of the world is sleeping, it’s like the world becomes yours.

Sooji, on the other hand, didn’t even have the energy left to close her bedroom door behind her. Without pins, her hair was no longer holding itself together. Wherever her pins had fallen, may the person who would find them would be fashionable now. Sooji passed by her full-length mirror hanging by the door, but took a few steps back to admire herself. Though her makeup was now smeared and her shawl was worn only on one shoulder, Sooji believed she was still prettier than she ever would be on a regular basis. After all, that’s what Jinyoung had said. Jinyoung’s words echoed in the back of her mind; the thing he said about her looking different and that it was a nice kind of different. With a sigh, Sooji took one last good look at her reflection before reaching up to remove her contacts. The glare of her ceiling lights reflecting off her glasses once again covered her deep brown irises as she slipped out of her dress and into an unwashed set of her gym uniforms. It took her a few minutes of mental debating before she headed to the bathroom to wash her makeup off.

Once the after-party ritual was over, Sooji wandered back into her room and towards the mirror. A more familiar reflection of Sooji stared back at her – the real her. Though it wasn’t the person she had seen earlier, she was still okay with this one. It seemed more natural anyway. She felt like when she dressed up, she was simply playing the role of herself in an alternate universe. Taking the bouquet of flowers Jinyoung had given her from her bed, she headed towards her desk and removed the wilting flowers from the vase on her desk; she replaced the old bunch of daisies with her new bunch of lilacs. Lilacs were favorite flower, though, she had never told Jinyoung this. What Jinyoung knew was her favorite color. It wasn’t common