During the past few days, Serin got busier with her council duties, resulting to Youngmin often walking back home, alone. He doesn’t even have the chance to at least eat lunch with her.

The council is preparing for an annual school fair. It wasn’t for the school’s founding anniversary, but just an open festival. Their school holds a festival open to all people whether they’re from other schools, or even people living near the school, as long as you can pay a visit, then go.

The teachers also use this opportunity to give practicals held during the festival so that, there would be something to watch for the duration of the festival. Some clubs set up fund-raising booths or prepare performances, too.

The festival is always from a Saturday to a Sunday. The Monday and Tuesday after that will be non-class days, and serve as the weekend they’ve lost due to the festival.

It’s already a tradition that on the first night of the festival, the last activity before the festival closes, would be flying lanterns. Before releasing the lanterns into the air, you should write a wish on any side of the lantern you have. It doesn’t guarantee that your wish would come true, but people still do it for fun.

Meanwhile, on the last night, there would be a fireworks show. The teachers would be the one to set this up, but of course the council has to help plan the flow of the fireworks show.

The show usually starts at 11:30pm, until 11:45pm. But with Serin as the current president, she’ll try to either start earlier or finish later. She wants to try starting it at around 11:00pm - 11:30pm so, people could wish for the second time at 11:11pm (the first one would be the lanterns) while the fireworks are going on. If not that, she wants to try extending it until 12:00am, like Cinderella’s story.

There’s still a month before the festival, but of course, everyone should be fully prepared for this festival, and not let anything fail at all. Serin wants everything to be perfect so, if she won’t be the president next school year, anymore, at least she could say that she didn’t fail at this festival. She needs to check every clubs’ banners for their booths, fliers they’re going to post or pass around, the subway station and bus stop advertisements, layout and theme for the fair, and everything, in general.

She doesn’t even sleep well these days. She has to stay up late for plans and school works.

Youngmin, on the other hand, has his loads quite free. Their club will set up a booth exactly the same as they did last year, so the preparations are quite small. They just need to wait for the theme to be announced before they can prepare a banner, and other theme-related props, and costumes

Oh, and Youngmin never got the chance to ask about Seongwoo. Sure, he knows, Seongwoo. He’s the same year as they are, but from a different class. He never thought Seongwoo would develop feelings for Serin, at all. He can’t even make a move on him, because he doesn’t know what’s going on between them, and he doesn’t want Serin to know that he saw Seongwoo kissing her forehead. Thank the heavens it wasn’t on the lips or Youngmin might’ve flipped all the cars parked at the sidewalks, at that time.

He knows he doesn’t have the right to interfere with whom she dates. Hell, he doesn’t even have the right to get jealous. But, he cannot help it. He likes her a lot. He’s been liking her for a long time. And, if only he can control his own feelings, he’ll choose to delete these feelings for her, so nothing will happen, anymore. No more troubles. No more jealousy.

Life would’ve been easier that way, but unfortunately, reality isn’t nowhere near that. As a result, he saw the two, at the same cafe, and at the same seats, on his way back home, again. But this time, Serin noticed Youngmin, but Youngmin didn’t know she did. And, this time too, he didn’t go back to her place to see them standing in front of each other doing whatever it can be. He just went straight to his apartment, and cried his eyes out, soaking his pillows and blankets. So much for being a coward who can’t even confess in those five years. So much for being a jealous best friend who did not even stand a chance in the first place. So much for everything about Serin.

The next day, he went to school looking like a walking dead man with puffy and bloodshot eyes. He wasn’t able to sleep even for a minute, last night. He either cried, or stared onto anything. He didn’t even try so hard to avoid Serin. She’s busy, afterall. She doesn’t have time for that.

“But she had time for Seongwoo.” he snorted, sarcastically. He’s not mad, he can’t be. He’s just.. just feeling lonely, somehow. One can’t really describe his feelings, sometimes. And, Youngmin isn’t an exception to that.

“Who had time for whom?” he suddenly heard from someone behind him, which made him jump in surprise, even though he’s too tired for that. He turned to look behind him, and found Serin right behind him.

“Hey.” Youngmin managed to say. That was the only word he can say, right now. And, in just a second, his feelings are scattered everywhere when he was just halfway in collecting them. Guess, he’s too head over heels for her.

“Why do you look and sound like you’re sick?” Serin asked him. He just continued walking, and Serin caught up.

“No sleep.” Youngmin answered with the last of the energy he has left. It's still morning but, he’s already dragging his feet with his depleting non-existent energy. Actually, he wanted to disappear to anywhere Serin wouldn’t go to. How would he explain his appearance, right now?

He definitely won’t say he cried because of her. He won’t. He can’t.

“Don’t you have something to ask me?” Serin questioned while looking down at her feet, but still walking beside Youngmin. Youngmin looked slightly to the left, since he’s at Serin’s right. But his eyes grew wider as they pass the opening of a classroom door. It was Seongwoo, kissing another girl. They passed the first door without Serin noticing them, but when they were about to pass the second door, Youngmin saw his friend was about to turn her head towards their direction. So instinctively, he shielded her sight from the two with his body. He hugged her, and blocked the opening of the doorframe. Serin looked at him with confusion.

“Can we go out tomorrow?” Youngmin hurriedly thought of a question to ask her, and avoid the topic why did he hug her.

“Is this a confession?” Serin asked back, as they stared at each other’s eyes. They broke out into large smiles as soon as Youngmin got that she was mocking what he said, before.

And like before, Serin didn’t answer it, so he won’t answer, too. He just ruffled her hair, and threw an arm over her shoulders, and pointing her sight to his arms, and while she didn’t look at the doorframe, Youngmin immediately dragged her somewhere else.

What was that? Why is he with that girl? Is he playing with Serin? Should I ask her? What is happening, seriously?