Stare.

Blink.

Stare.

“Do you have anyone in mind? Anyone at all who would do these things?”

Their guidance counselor’s questions started playing inside her mind once again. She had this worried tone the whole time. Jieun could still remember the expression of their security guard and how Ara’s hands were shaking the whole time. At that moment, Jieun couldn’t pinpoint a single person. There are many kids in their school who do not like her but she’s not even sure if they really have the guts to do those gruesome threats.

Why is that psycho targeting Ara? But…what if it’s not related to what happened to my locker and my desk? Jieun rolled over her bed and picked her phone. It’s only 4 in the morning. She’s not sleepy at all. I should just do something.

 One more lap. Jieun took in a lungful of air as she pushed herself up. She’s been running in circles at the near park. That’s the place where she was dragged to every morning during their summer break by Jongin. Even at that time, there were a couple of joggers running all over the park. She’s been there for 30 minutes and she actually feels good. Sweating and catching her breath makes her feel actually better. She said to herself that she could jog for an hour at that state.

Since it’s already autumn, she could feel the cold air against her skin. She realized that there were many couples jogging together. She’s been curious for a long time about how it would feel to have a boyfriend. She’s never had one before. The closest thing to a boyfriend is her best friend – Jongin.

“Jieun?”

She halted and turned around when he heard Jongin’s voice. She thought she was just dreaming. “Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked. She was taken aback by his sudden presence. She was just thinking about him some seconds ago. Jongin jogged towards her with a smile.

“Jogging. What else should I be doing here?” he asked in return. Jieun just shrugged and they continued jogging side by side. When you have a crush on your best friend, what should you do? When he’s so oblivious about your feelings for him, what should you do? Jieun swore that there’s a magnet on Jongin because she couldn’t help but tilt her head towards his direction to take a glimpse of him. Heart…why are you so hard to control? Isn’t it about time that you move on?

“You can’t sleep?” he suddenly asked, making her look away. She was trying to focus on matching her pace with him. There’s no use of lying.

“Yeah,” she replied, almost whispering.

“That psycho’s going to get it from me if I find him.”

Jieun swallowed hard when she heard that. With that tone and with that look, Jieun’s sure that her friend’s not joking. She’s been seeing Jongin’s serious and angry side too often. He’s originally a calm soul so to get him angry like that means that you’re really stepping on the line. Without saying anything, they spent 20 more minutes jogging around the park.

“Here,” Jongin said, handing Jieun a bottle of water which he got from a vending machine nearby. “Thanks.” Jieun reached for it and she immediately took a sip. Jongin sat beside her. There was a minute of silence between them. They were just blankly staring at the horizon. Jongin sighed. He’s also been sighing a lot.

“Sorry.”

Jieun slowly turned to him. “For what?”

“For what’s happening right now.”

“Kim Jongin, why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.” She was dumbfounded. “So…please don’t apologize.” She was trying her best to lift the mood. Jongin looked at the bottle of water that he was holding. He forced a smile. It did not even reach his eyes.

“Remember what that fortuneteller told me?”

Jieun pursed her lips. How could she not remember? After listening to what the fortuneteller said, Jongin became extra careful. He became sensitive about his every action.

“That was a long time ago. Things changed and I’m sure that whatever that fortuneteller said will not happen. And I-”

“It did happen,” Jongin said, cutting her off. He slowly turned to her. She couldn’t decipher the reason why her heart started aching so much. He just looked so sorry. “I don’t want that to happen again. I’m going to die if that happens.”

“Jongin, you don’t-”

“So…” Jongin muttered. “Don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t…”

“Don’t…”

Jieun couldn’t shake Jongin’s voice and words inside her head. What is happening to me? She sighed before opening the door of their classroom. She saw Chanyeol and Baekhyun talking to each other animatedly. What’s Baek doing here?

“Hi Jieun~” Baekhyun brightly greeted while waving his hand like a kid. She smiled at him in return. With everything that’s happening, Baekhyun’s like a ray of light in the dark. Jieun noticed a pile of orange skin on her desk then she realized that Baekhyun’s eating an orange. “Where’d you get these oranges? They’re actually delicious,” Baekhyun asked as he shoved another piece inside his mouth. Chanyeol was also eating an orange.

“Umm…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, brows bristled. “Where’d you get those?”

“They were lying on your desk. I thought you left them for us to eat,” Chanyeol answered. He sounded like he’s telling the truth. What the hell. I didn’t buy any oranges…Wait…Oranges? Orange? Oh-range-y? She quickly looked at Sehun’s seat. He was not there. Her eyes spotted something. Peeled orange skin inside his desk. She almost laughed to herself. That guy really is…weird.

Jieun hit Baekhyun’s hand when he was about to reach for another orange. He looked at her in surprise and pouted. “Meanie,” he muttered.

“Where are you going to put your lunch if you keep on eating oranges?” she asked and Baekhyun shrugged. He snatched a piece of orange from Chanyeol. “I have different storages inside my stomach. I have one for fruits and another for lunch~” Baekhyun replied cheekily.

“Whatever. Let’s go. Ara’s waiting at the cafeteria,” she stated, picking the oranges and putting them inside her bag. Baekhyun stood as fast as lightning. “Ara? She’s eating with us?” Baekhyun asked excitedly. Jieun’s sure that Baekhyun really likes her new friend.

“You’re going to scare her if you keep acting like that,” Chanyeol stated as he stood. He looked at his phone for some seconds before looking at Jieun and Baekhyun. “I need to check on something. You go first. I’ll come later.”

“Okay. Don’t take too long though. They’re serving tonkatsu today. That’s the only food that tastes decent in the cafeteria,” Baekhyun reminded the giant. The latter just nodded his head and started running away.