It was very fortunate because Dabin did not have any encounter with Jaemin after that little incident in the convenience store. She was the one who missed their class together during the Monday after that particular weekend and Jaemin missed the next. They both attended the next one but neither spoke a word to another. They did not encounter each other as well, partly because both of them were busy and partly because Dabin had made sure to stir out of Jaemin’s way—she hoped it was not that obvious.

The exam week for the preliminary period was such a great distraction; Dabin devoted her time to study. Aside from academic concerns, the students themselves were distractingly interesting with their blatant display of their lavish lifestyles. Once, Dabin had to work on a project with some classmates and everyone else (except for her, of course) somehow forgot to bring their own laptops and ended up purchasing themselves a new one. That was not the craziest deal yet. One of Sera’s friend bought a new van when she realized that everyone else she invited for her birthday party would not fit in a cramped van (despite fully knowing that everyone else could just take their own cars); the new van was delivered barely an hour later.

“Let’s go to Japan.” Dabin flinched when Sera urged her and Hina. The three of them were sitting across one another in a round table in the cafeteria on that Thursday while studying earnestly for their last exam. “I am craving ramen and sashimi and I guess it is a good reward for myself.”

You can’t just go to Japan because you crave something; if only she had the courage, Dabin would point that out.

“Deal,” Hina immediately agreed. “Right after our last subject?”

“Dabin’s exam ends at 2:30, yours too while mine ends at 3pm,” Sera trailed off, picking up her phone to scroll through an airline’s flight schedule. “We can probably get a 4:30 or 5pm flight then return at around nine or ten in the morning tomorrow.”

“We have to be in the airport at least two or three hours before the flight so I don’t think—” Dabin cut herself off upon remembering that she was talking to two women from an influential family. Of course, they could just take the SVIP route without any hassle.

“Have you ever been overseas, Dabin?” Hina asked.

Dabin nodded her head. “Yeah… twice, my family visited Thailand and Cambodia before.”

“Then, you’re missing a lot. Don’t worry, we will handle this for you and make it memorable. In no time, you would start considering to have dinner in Japan as well,” Hina proudly stated, sounding so sure. One thing she did not understand was that Dabin was not from a very rich family, something that they kept on forgetting or dismissing.

Sera tapped her chin, thinking. “It’s set then. And, this will be my treat! I’ll contact a hotel nearest to the airport and ask a chauffeur to send us there.” She clasped her hands together as if she was very excited. “Dabin, remember saying that you want to go to Japan when we were kids? I promised you that I’ll bring you there when we have time, right?”

Dabin scratched her head, not knowing how to explain that they did not really have time since they still had classes the next day. “All of us have a nine o’clock class tomorrow,” she pointed out, still not finding the sudden overseas trip to be a good idea especially on a school day.

“The professors do not mind though,” Hina said. “I mean, most of the students are helping their family businesses and are actually having their own private lessons, they just needed the diploma. With that said, the professors only want you to pass, attendance is such a small deal.”

We’re going to eat, not help in a family business. Dabin heaved a sigh inwardly. Before she could even think of a better reason to not go with them overseas, Sera’s eyes caught Koeun’s figure from not too far away—about to exit from the cafeteria. Without second thoughts, Sera called the said female over.

“Koeun, do you want to go to Japan? Let’s eat ramen,” Sera urged when Koeun came over with thick accounting books on her hands.

Koeun gave them an apologetic look. “I can’t. My boyfriend and I will have a dinner in Hongkong later. After arguing for days, we finally settled on a place for our dinner this morning. Hope you enjoy though,” she replied, giving the three girls a sincere smile.

“Aww…” Sera pouted. “The more the merrier though. Do you think the other girls already have something to do tonight?”

“Two of them still have an exam tomorrow. I don’t know if our other friends are busy though. Let’s just hang out some other time, okay? Maybe next week?” Koeun suggested.

Sera nodded her head before nodding. “Nothing can be done about that. All right, let’s hang out next week. See you.” She bid Koeun her goodbye and the latter did so too before leaving the cafeteria. “Well, at least the three of us are together.” She turned to Hina and Dabin, grinning widely as if Dabin had not previously expressed her thoughts.

As if on cue, Jeno trudged into the cafeteria, smiling as if he was not stressed with all the examinations coming at him. He was the complete opposite of the other students who were frowning as if the world had offended them big time. Sera saw Jeno too so she called him over with her loud voice and flailing arms—one could easily think that they had never been on countless fights over nothing.

“What?” Jeno sounded rude when he asked, approaching the girls’ table but with a smile on his face. He acknowledged Hina and Dabin’s presence with a nod of his head to their direction.

“We’re going to have dinner,” Sera replied, narrowing her eyes at Jeno.

“And I care because…?” Jeno raised an eyebrow, earning himself a smack in the arm by Sera who was still sitting down. The male laughed, his eyes turning into smaller crescents. “I’m kidding, kidding. Where will you eat?” He finally sounded more serious, albeit still smiling.

“Tokyo, Japan,” Sera replied. “I’m craving ramen and sashimi plus Dabin had never been there. We better enjoy it, right? Do you want to come?”

Dabin began to worry upon hearing that. If Jeno and Jaemin were really that close, Jeno would not go to Japan alone—he would bring his pals with him which was not very ideal for Dabin and her situation. She started fidgeting on her seat, hoping that it would not be obvious. But her frantic actions started to be more obvious when, in the corner of her eyes, she saw Jaemin and Renjun coming over (all thanks to Jeno for signaling them to come over).

“Renjun, you had been craving ramen, right? Let’s go to Japan with them,” Jeno suggested.

“Why would they go to Japan?” Jaemin asked, peering at Dabin even if he directed the question to Jeno. “Who’s craving Japanese food during such a hectic time?” He chuckled, smiling beautifully.

“Sera is,” Hina replied, rolling her eyes.

“Then, I can just lend one of my family’s private plane. That way, we won’t have to reserve tickets. Just tell me what time we’ll have to leave Korean and when to return,” Jaemin declared, an action that caused the others to cheer as if their family did not have their own private planes. Except for Dabin, of course.

Instead of feeling happy, Dabin’s heart pricked—because she knew that Sera had feelings for Jaemin before. She was not even sure if it was totally erased already. Also, she was scared that Jaemin might have feelings for Sera as well. Somehow, that’s the scariest thing that might happen.

“I—” Dabin cut herself off when she realized that she just spoke in a loud voice, about an octave or two higher than her normal speaking voice. It was enough to grab the attention of the three guys and her two friends. “I have a class tomorrow morning so I can’t…” she once again tried to reason out.

Sera cackled. “Dabin, you should seriously give yourself a break. Since we’re young, you had been plenty obsessed with your grades and class attendance, even Daye said so. Treat this vacation as your mini vacation. Plus, I would be really sad if you do not come.”

Dabin gulped, Sera was playing that ‘I’d be sad’ card and it was something that got Dabin trapped every time. She hesitated. She really did not want to be near Jaemin nor did she fancy watching her ex-boyfriend’s new love story. Anyway, even if she were to go or not, nothing would change. However, she could feel that everyone was anticipating her answer so she felt her heart thumping against her ribcage.

“I-I have to ask my older sister first,” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh, no problem, I can just tell her.” Sera sounded excited as she once again clasped her hands together. “I am so excited! I might not be able to concentrate on the exam if it’s like this.”

Dabin frowned, shooting Sera a look. “You cannot just waste the things you studied.”

Sera laughed. “I won’t, I won’t. I’m just feeling jittery in excitement.”

Dabin had an ample time to pack her things and to tell her parents about the trip. The old couple agreed simply because they said that Dabin could really use some break but she should never forget to study hard or it would be her last trip with her friends.

Heaving a sigh, she finally made her way out of the elevator, her backpack was slung on both of her shoulders. She did not bother to bring a trolley bag or other huge luggage since she would only be gone for a little while, unlike Hina and Sera who looked like they would be gone for at least a week. The said girls were sitting on the sofa that was placed in the lobby, chatting away as they waited for Dabin. Both girls were not living inside the campus because their houses were quite near—their butlers had delivered their stuff for them to bring to Japan.

“Dabin!” Sera squealed, running over to Dabin to give the latter a bear hug. “This will be our first trip together! Aren’t you excited? Because I am!”

“Calm down,” Dabin chuckled. “You should probably save your energy for later.”

“I have been telling her that since earlier,” Hina chimed in, approaching the best friends. “But that won’t stop her. Seriously Dabin, how did you endure being with her these past years?”

“Hey!” Sera groaned in feign annoyance, making the two other girls laugh.

“Enough, enough, we shouldn’t make Jaemin’s private plane wait for us at the airport,” Hina said albeit still laughing. She held Dabin’s wrist like a close friend. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

“Yeah and we cannot make the Japanese ramen wait for us,” Sera added. “To the airport we go!”

The way to the airport in Hina’s van was a blur, Dabin was more focused on her worries about going to a trip with Jaemin rather than the way to the airport. She wondered if feigning a sudden illness would help her get out of the situation—it’s just that she was so bad at lying she did not know if anyone would actually believe her. Lazily, while hoping that something sudden would come up, Dabin trudged behind her friends, both of her wrists were held by the excited girls.

“You girls look so excited,” Renjun commented as the group of six headed towards the plane. Except for an almost empty backpack, he had brought nothing else.

“They look excited no matter what,” Jeno did not hesitate to tease the girls.

“Well, this is my first time going overseas with Dabin.” Sera hugged Dabin’s right arm, clinging like a baby koala. “Whenever I asked, she would always be busy with her school. I mean, I am not that disappointed because she would appease me by buying me dinner or meeting up with me once in a while but still!”

Dabin felt like the spotlight was thrown at her, everyone—that include the pinkhead too—seemed to be expecting her to say something. Then again, what was there to say? She might just ruin their day with her nonsense joke or speech. She didn’t know what they expected from her.

“This is a nice way to relax and take a breather,” Jaemin spoke up, unintentionally—or intentionally, Dabin would never know—saving Dabin from her dilemma while smiling widely. “After all, all of our examinations are finished by now and it had been a very stressful week.” As he spoke, he ushered everyone to board the plane with the help of several crews.

Inside the plane was nothing less than what you would expect from a rich person. The inside was filled with the scent of expensive leather and just a tiny bit of mahogany because of the seats and tables. It was huge, showing that Jaemin’s family was really rich—she heard that even millionaires were having a hard time in buying private planes or jets because of the price it demanded. The pinkhead led the group to the seats that seemed to be specifically for a meeting of a small group. There was a short beige couch that would fit about three to four people, across it were two single beige seats and on the furthest left was another beige seat. In the middle was a mahogany table, adorned with a white table cloth and a center piece of red roses. The arrangement of the seats allowed them to watch the show that would be shown on the flat screen television that was attached to the wall.

Settling on the seats, Dabin somehow ended up seated on the beige coach in between Sera and Hina. Jeno was seated on one of the three single seats across Hina while Renjun occupied the seat beside the taller guy. Jaemin sat on the furthest left, making him sit in between Hina and Jeno.

Having the noisiest people, the group chattered as they waited for the announcement to take off—even Jaemin would randomly input some jokes while Dabin quietly watched, chuckling occasionally.

“In our dorm, there are two bunk beds but since there are only three of us, one of the lower bunks is used for storage,” Renjun told the girls. “I occupy the upper bunk that is right above that ‘storage’. I have a habit of putting my water bottle on the stairs, balancing it and I never failed in doing so.”

“Why would you even do that?” Sera gave Renjun a judging look, raising her fixed right eyebrow.

“That’s not even the point of the story. This is supposed to be a scary story.” Renjun scowled, making everyone else laugh.

“How is placing a bottle on the stairs scary?” It was Hina’s turn to ask the brown-haired boy.

Renjun’s scowl deepened. “That’s why you should make me finish.” The others laughed once again which the boy took as a cue to continue. “As I was saying, I woke up in the middle of the night and found my bottle already on the floor. And no, it did not fell because it was standing up right as if someone deliberately put it there. I wasn’t able to fall asleep after that.”

“I told you, you must have placed that there earlier and you forgot about it. Or it really just fell,” Jaemin tried to be logical as he talked to Renjun. He then turned to the girls, smiling widely. “He was actually very scared that time and forced us to wake up in the middle of the night just to listen to him.” He was chuckling.

“Yeah, and he slept on my bed for about a week after that!” Jeno exclaimed, his left eye twitching in annoyance—probably feigned but still hilarious. “I told you, that’s not a ghost.”

Before Renjun could open his mouth to retort, there was an announcement about their take off. A few moments later, the airplane was moving—Sera had to squirm in excitement even if she had been overseas several times already.

“Calm down, Sera,” Dabin had to tell her best friend who was almost jumping on her seat even before the aircraft actually started flying. The flight to Japan might take about two hours and an excited Sera should not last for that long.

“But Dabin, aren’t you excited?” Sera leaned her head on Dabin’s shoulder like a drunk person, hugging the latter’s arm before sitting back up. “I have been craving for Japanese food since forever!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeno mockingly agreed, throwing a magazine at Sera’s direction. “Go and read that. That’s the newest line of Éclat. That might help in shutting you up.”

Sera, fortunately, managed to catch the magazine and flipped through it—not before glaring at Jeno though. That did help in making her calm down. She was quiet as she looked at the new designs of Éclat, a newly established accessory boutique in France yet already well-known.

Dabin, on the other hand, was quiet but this time, for an entirely different reason. As the aircraft started to go higher, she started feeling a very uncomfortable churning of her stomach. She was feeling both dizzy and nauseous. To be honest, she did not easily get dizzy. She was not a person to succumb to motion sickness. The reason why she felt such thing was probably because she was not exactly feeling so well the past few days. She had been studying so much, completely neglecting her proper rest and sleep.

“Dabin,” Jaemin called out, startling the female. He handed her a pack of strawberry candies. “Eat that. Or would you rather go to the bathroom?” Although he spoke in a more formal tone, there was concern visible in his eyes and it coated his gentle voice. Everyone else seemed confused but the male only had his focus on the female and her to him as she slowly took the candy from his hand.

“You look very pale.” Sera was the second one who noticed. “Are you okay, Dabin?”

“Y-yes,” Dabin replied, putting a candy in . The sweet taste of the strawberry was calming as it spread inside . Even though the nausea and the dizziness were still there, the candy was very helpful in trying to make the uncomfortable feeling subside. She felt her eyes closing but she fought hard to keep them open—it would be very embarrassing to just fall asleep like that. Sera was looking at her in concern and so was Hina. Even Jeno and Renjun looked like they were worried. Still, Dabin’s eyes wandered to one direction, towards that pinkhead who was looking at her.

Jaemin stood up, turning away from Dabin. The latter felt the disappointment spread through her system. She could not help but to wonder about how many times had it been that she had seen him turn away from her. She almost let out a sigh yet she still didn’t. She turned her focus on the sweet candy inside .

“Here.” Dabin raised her head when Jaemin spoke. The said male was holding a pillow and a blanket which he took from somewhere—weird because he had his own attendants to do that for him. He ushered Dabin to take it. “Go and sleep first while we wait for the landing. You can take a seat somewhere else if you like.”

“T-thank you,” Dabin thanked Jaemin, bowing her head slightly as she took the pillow and the blanket. “But it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, Dabin.” Sera frowned. “You should sleep if you’re not feeling that well. We still have almost two hours before we land. A nap wouldn’t do you harm,” she scolded Dabin.

“I don’t think she’d be able to sleep properly sitting up though,” Jeno pointed out.

Without a word, Jaemin took the pillow and blanket from Dabin. “Then, let’s get you to lay down on one of the seats,” he told Dabin before turning to the female attendant and male attendants who had been standing by the side, waiting for an order. “Please prepare one of the seats for her to sleep on,” he commanded, handing the pillow and blanket to the male attendant who immediately heed to the order.

With the help of her friends and the female attendant, Dabin steadied herself and was eventually led to the seat just a few steps away from the others. “Rest well,” the female attendant politely said with a kind smile on her face as she finished in tucking Dabin in.

Dabin awkwardly bowed, not quite used to being overly pampered. “Thank you,” she mumbled. Her eyes finally closed and she did not try fighting her sleepiness anymore. She succumbed to sleep, the last thought inside her mind was that she was lucky that she was with her friends and of course, Jaemin.