I updated chapter 31 a few days ago! If you haven't read that one yet, this chapter will be a little confusing lol!

Conflict seems to follow some people a bit too closely. Doyeon had dealt with a lot of conflict in her lifetime, it was no secret at this point. But, she thought that things would begin to go smoothly now, despite her never ending journey of trying to understand the things going on in her head, but here she was looking down the hall as Jaemin walked past her. It was like the feeling of when someone would stick an ice cube down your shirt, freezing and irritating. 

He'd ignored her when she said hello. She would love to chalk it up to the fact that he simply didn't hear her, but she had a hard time believing that the same thing had happened earlier when she walked into the classroom, and he'd never answer the text she'd sent over the weekend. He was giving her the cold shoulder, and she had absolutely no idea why. She tried to think back to anything she might have done wrong, but she hadn't spoken to him since Friday night, despite her texting him Saturday morning and asking how the party had gone. The last time she talked to him was Friday at school, and nothing in particular jumped out when she thought through their conversations from that day. 

So why was he acting this way? And is she supposed to act just as rude back to him? 

Doyeon huffed to herself, as she slammed her locker shut. 

~

Lunch time felt like it took an extra two hours to arrive today. Maybe it was because Doyeon was so eager to have a moment to try and talk to Jaemin again. No matter how many times she'd thought about it, she couldn't think of anything she'd done to upset him. So she told herself, yet again, that he just hadn't heard her, or seen her. She was the last to get out of the lunch line, and arrive at their table. When she did, her eyes immediately landed on Jaemin, who sat diagonal to her. She was about to try and entice him into a conversation, but Renjun began speaking before she could.

"It's already almost time to send in applications for universities." He said, stress shining through his calm facade.

Haechan eagerly nodded his head, "I already know where I'm applying~ My dad wants me to go to the same college my grandfather did, I don't really mind since I get to pick my major." Renjun threw a piece of his muffin at Haechan, clearly miffed that the boy was so carefree when Renjun was anything but. 

"My parents are making me major in pre-med, but allowing me to pick the uni." Renjun explained, "I don't mind the major, but I don't like the stress of having to pick where I'm spending the next chapter of my life."

Chenle shrugged, "I'll probably just apply wherever Jisung and Doyeon are going." He slung his arm around the shoulders of both of his best friends. "The pack must stay together!" He howled. 

Doyeon shook her head in amusement, "I'll probably apply at KookMin university, it's where my grandparents went." Deciding her major was the real problem, but even then she wasn't too worried about it. She knew her father would support whatever decision she made, and that was comforting enough. 

Jisung scrunched his nose up, "I'm not even as stressed about starting uni as I am about our upcoming graduation! My parents are wanting me to start thinking of who I'm inviting to the ceremony." He laid his head against the table, "We still have, like, eight months." 

Senioritis seemed to be affecting all of them in one way or another. The only ones who didn't look worried were Jeno and Mark. "Both Jeno and Mira said they were going to Konkuk, so I'll probably go as well." Mark said. 

Jeno nodded in affirmation, "My dad went there, so my grandmother's always wanted me to." He found it odd, considering that his father wasn't on good terms with Grandma Lee--or I suppose it would be easier to say not on speaking terms. He turned to Jaemin, "What about you?" They'd talked about it many times, but Jaemin never gave a direct answer.

The boy looked at his friend with lazy eyes, "Wherever I go, I'm going to be the one that picks it." He said as if that was the only thing he had ever been sure of. "Same with graduation, I'll only invite my parents, I don't want to invite grandparents I haven't seen in five years." Everyone went quiet, it was clear that Jaemin wasn't in the best mood today. In a messed up way, Doyeon found comfort in knowing he wasn't only being so harsh towards her. 

The conversation turned towards the much simpler topic of food. But, Doyeon couldn't help but contemplate on who she'd be inviting to her graduation. When she pictured the day, she'd only ever pictured her father, Taehyun, and her paternal grandparents being present. She stabbed at her food, a small ache in her chest. 

~~~~ 

Jaemin only half listened to his friends as they walked home. For some reason the version of him from this morning thought it would be a good idea to walk to school, the current him didn't feel the same way. He just wanted to get back home and lay under his blankets. 

"Doyeon, what's your dad making for dinner tonight?" Chenle asked, slinging an arm over his friend's shoulder. Doyeon has already given up on asking him to stop, it wasn't like she cared that much anyway. 

"My dad won't be home till tomorrow, he had a work meeting in Seoul." She explained, "So Taehyun and I will probably just order pizza or something." Jaemin listened in, but tried to act like he wasn't