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You sit with Hyunsoo at lunch the next day, but you're not easily amused by her playful remarks like you usually are. You're too enamored with the events of yesterday. Since this morning, everything you've seen has reminded you of Kai. When someone walks by you with a cup of coffee in their hands, when someone's wrist comes into view and you see their watch ... heck, when you see anybody's lips, you think of Kai. And you're going insane, you really are. You don't want to think about Kai. You don't want to think about what it will be like to see him again.

He wasn't in your class today, and you don't know if he's avoiding you, or if he's been detained by some important matter. Whatever the reason, you're just glad you didn't have to face him immediately after walking away from him so confidently yesterday. Maybe you looked like you knew what you were doing, but you sure hadn't felt like it. Walking away from him, from his invitation, was one of the most difficult things you had ever had to do.

But sometimes, the right decisions are the hardest ones.

You need to keep your distance from him, anyway. Think things over. Maybe convince yourself you don't like him. Because he's a jerk. It's strange, isn't it? That you can go on and keep liking someone who doesn't seem to show affection for you. If this continues, then, you really might force yourself to stop liking him. What's the point of this one-sided love? You're just setting yourself up for failure.

"Hey," Hyunsoo says, shaking your shoulders. You look up. It sounds like she's said your name multiple times, because she rolls her eyes and asks, "Are you okay? I said hi to you, like, five times."

"I'm fine," you lie. Changing the subject, you respond, "So how've you been?"

"Just great," she replies, turning back to her phone and scrolling down the screen. "Stocks went up," she informs you, but you don't really care. She notices this and tries to catch your attention, but you're too apathetic to feel anything. "Hey. Did you, like, not get any sleep last night when I left you?"

You give her a little smile. "Something like that."

"Well, I have good news for you," she grins. "I finally got a hold of Kai this morning. He called me, actually. Weird. He never does that. But anyway, his dad is doing better. He's in the hospital, and Kai's over there with him. That's why he wasn't here."

Oh. You nod, not wanting to show the slightest bit of interest about a subject that has anything to do with Kai. It piques Hyunsoo's radar, and she narrows her eyes suspiciously at you. "No questions? Comments? Concerns?"

"What?" 

"You usually say something when I mention Kai," she tells you. "You ask me more, or you say that's good, or whatever. But you didn't even say anything." She her head, considering the possibilities. "Did something happen?" 

"No," you reply, but you say it too quickly, too strongly. A glimmer of knowledge passes her eyes, and she leans back with a satisfied smirk on her face. Seeing that smirk reminds you of Kai, and you look away.

Hyunsoo looks worried, and it doesn't help. You want to say something to assure her, but you don't want to talk about it. Not about Kai. Not about anything. So you stay quiet, and as the seconds tick by, you wonder if maybe you should change your mind. 

"You want me to tell you something?" She suddenly asks. 

"Your choice," you reply, shrugging. 

"Hey, I have a story, so you gotta listen, alright?" She says, widening her eyes and moving forward to make a point. She points at your tray on the table and firmly states, "If it's about Kai, and if he's being a jerk, then we can share stories about him being a jerk. But if you don't wanna share, I'll just talk, alright? Don't even say anything. Just don't comment." And with that she launches into a tale, saying, "A few years ago, Kai and I ... we had this thing. Well. Correction. I had this thing for him, and he could have cared less." That sounds familiar. But this is a story you haven't heard, so you keep your comments to yourself. "I told you ... we were best friends, right? Best friends. And ... I confessed to him."

"You did not."

"I did too," she says, nodding. "And shush, I'm telling a story. So anyway. That was a while back. And obviously, if you're going to confess to your best friend, things aren't gonna work out that great. That's a line you don't cross, you know. And that kid? You know what he did? Instead of just telling me that he didn't like me that way, he gave me a hug, and then he told me that he thinks I'm crazy. I mean, are you kidding me?" She pounds on the table, but there's a mischievous sense in the way she does it. "That just makes it worse. Just say what you think, Kai. Don't beat around the bush."

"But you guys are still friends," you say. 

"Mm. Yeah. I guess. It's not the same." She cups her chin in her hand and looks away, at a distant place in the past. "I wish I hadn't done it. Confessed. Maybe he'd still talk to me like he usually does, you know? But even then, he didn't tell me much. I was the one who did all the talking. And he was just there, listening."

"So that's why you have that deal? With selling his stuff?"

"It's just something I like to do," she replies. "My dad does stocks, right? I've always wanted to get into business. So I asked Kai if he could help me, and he just randomly gave me his stuff, and goes, 'Sell this', so I do, and bam, I get income. Pretty great." She makes a face at this. "But I haven't gotten anything from him in a while. I don't want to ask, what with the situation his dad is in."

"There's a Rolex in the pond if you want it."

"What?" She squeaks, looking at you with confused eyes.

"Nothing," you reply, forgetting that the pond is supposed to be off-limits. Just then the bell rings, and you pick up your tray. Before Hyunsoo can leave for her class, you tell her, "I hope you guys can be friends again."

She smiles sweetly at you. "We are." She waves, and you wave back, watching her as she exits the cafeteria. You clean up your mess before heading for your next class.

At least you know one thing, now; Kai isn't avoiding you. He wasn't present because he is at the hospital. You hope everything is okay with Kai ... and then you think, no, what are you doing, thinking about that jerk? 

You want to call him. And you don't want to speak to him ever again. You want to see him. And you don't want to face him for the rest of the school year. You want to see him smile. And you want to just wipe that smirk off his face. 

Why did you have to like a guy that's so darn difficult?

You're so engrossed in your thoughts that you don't even notice you've left behind your phone on the table before it's too late. You rush back to the cafeteria to retrieve it and, with only a few seconds left until you're officially late for class, you grab your phone and spin around to make a dash into the halls when you run right into a chair. Wincing in pain and hopping on one foot, you grit your teeth and hobble for a bit before tentatively setting the pained foot on the ground and making your way to class.

"Watch where you're stepping," someone says. You turn around to identify the speaker, but then regret it immediately. It's Miyoung. She weaves in between the tables, her authoritative air suffocating you. "You're gonna be late."

The last bell rings as if to confirm her announcement. She just stares at you, waiting for you to make a move, but having her in front of you makes it difficult to make a decision.

"I have to get to class," you say.

"So do I," she agrees, but she doesn't step aside. After looking at you up and down, she crosses her arms and declares, "Can you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"If you see Kai, tell him I was looking for him," she says. It hits you that she doesn't know why he's absent, and it's gratifying to know that you're aware of something she isn't. 

"Sure," you say, not promising anything. If you see Kai, you probably won't even talk to him. "I really have to get to class now."

"Yeah. Later, then," she says, walking away. You start to leave the room, but then she turns around and says, "By the way, good luck."

You look at her quizzically. "With what?"

Her lips slowly form a secretive smile. "With Kai."