The sound of my phone’s alarm woke me up. I felt lighter and happier than the past few days. I never knew that the trouble I got into is slowly getting fixed. It’s coming to an end.

I got up from my bed and did my daily ritual.

“Noona, let’s go,” Taemin excitingly said as he continued knocking on my door. I quickly fixed my black rucksack bag and wore it. I opened my room’s door and went outside the house with him. I think he’s extra hyper today because him and Krystal are going to meet at the café again.

When we reached the café, Taemin went inside. I knew it, I thought. When I looked at the glass window, I saw Krystal waving at me and making a gesture suggesting to be with them. I waved back and went inside the café.

I first went to the counter to order my favorite strawberry caramel Frappuccino. I also ordered a chocolate Frappuccino for take out. The cashier told me to sit and wait for them to serve it. I got my receipt and went to Krystal and Taemin.

They’re at the small brown sofa, sitting beside each other. I sat on the wooden chair beside the sofa. It felt like I was out of place, as they were really close to each other, holding each other’s hands. They’ve been whispering things and kept laughing about it.

I felt uncomfortable seeing my dongsaeng being sweet to my friend. I cleared my throat loudly and they both looked at me. “You’re being too sweet,” I told them.

“Mianhae,” they both said as they laughed. They sat properly and unlinked their hands.

“Looks like noona is jealous on both of us,” Taemin jokingly said as he looked at Krystal while smiling with squinted eyes. Krystal chuckled and slapped Taemin’s right arm lightly.

I felt a slight discomfort and said, “Yah! I’m not!”

They exchanged looks, as if they’re conversing through their eyes. They laughed again and took a sip from their coffee.

A waiter went towards our table and gave my order. I grabbed my strawberry caramel Frappuccino and took a sip. Krystal looked at my order and asked, “Why do you have an extra Frappuccino?”

“Ah, it’s for Minho,” I said as I placed my Frappuccino on the table. Again, they looked at each other and smiled. “Why do I feel like you’re talking secretly about me using your eyes?”

“No, we’re not,” Krystal said quickly and giggled.

I disregarded the thought. I grabbed a neon pink sticky note from my bag and wrote something. Afterwards, I placed the note on the cup. I checked my phone and realized that classes are about to start, so I quickly grabbed my bag and stood up. “Let’s go, classes are about to start.”

They both picked their bag and stood from the brown sofa. I grabbed the chocolate caramel Frappuccino in a cute sky blue cardboard packaging and we both exited the café.

Taemin got separated from us, as his room is a floor below from ours. Krystal and I both entered our classroom.

I saw Minho in the front row, talking with his friends. I was shy to interrupt them, but I tapped his shoulder lightly. He turned at me and his expression went from blank to radiant.

“Can we meet outside?” I whispered. He agreed and I went ahead of him.

When he went out, I gave him the chocolate Frappuccino I ordered a while ago. He grabbed it with his right hand and grinned. “Wow, you never forgot! Thank you.” He kissed me on the cheek.

“Why would I? Happy monthly anniversary.” I laughed. When I looked down, I noticed he’s hiding his right hand on his back. I stared at it and asked him, “What is that?”

“Ah, nothing,” he said in a flat tone. After a while, he showed what’s in his hand slowly to me. It was a DVD in an orange plastic case.

“What is that?” I asked nicely and smiled.

“It’s a DVD. Watch it later,” he said.

“Gomawo,” I said enthusiastically. He grinned at me.

“Let’s go inside.” I agreed and he opened the door for me. I went directly to my seat.

I put the DVD in the bag, and while I was placing my bag below my desk, I eavesdropped the conversation of my two girl classmates sitting in front of our seat.

“Daebak! This ‘gossip girl’ sure know a lot of things in school!” the girl said.

“She keeps telling things we don’t know from our schoolmates! One of the latest and trending gossips is Krystal dating a hoobae. Rumor has it that it’s his leading man in the upcoming musical,” another girl said.

“Dating a hoobae? Yuck!” The girl laughed hard. I went back to my normal position and looked at Krystal. Apparently, she heard their conversation.

“What did you say?” Krystal shouted at them, furious. The two girls looked back at us and raised their eyebrows.

“Isn’t it true?” the girl said. She looked at Krystal, enraged.

Krystal wanted to punch her as her fists are already clenched. I held her arm tightly. She looked at me and I gave her a stare advising her that she should calm down. She slightly nodded, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She faced the girls.

“You girls should just keep your mouths shut. Yes, I date a hoobae. Is there a problem with that? Girls like you should just focus on your studies and stop talking about other peoples’ lives. Now, go face your textbooks and start reading,” she said calmly as she slightly squinted her eyes. “Arasseo?” she shouted and widened her eyes.

The girls were startled and slowly faced the board. Krystal took a deep breath again and faced me. “This ‘gossip girl’ is really invading our privacy. People are starting to talk about it and it just irritates me!”

“After we confess to Minho later, let’s start our search for this ‘gossip girl’ freak,” I suggested. She agreed.

The bell rang and Mr. Kim Heechul entered the classroom. As always, he’s always on time. Though I’m still attracted to him, he does not match my love for Minho. I don’t daydream about him anymore, but focus on what he says.

“The final exam for this semester is near. Be sure to study.” Oh shoot. I almost forgot about that. I need to study and do my projects as early as possible to avoid conflicts.

~

“I’ll just go somewhere. Go buy me my lunch. You know my favorite,” he said and winked. He patted my head and went somewhere in the school.

I proceeded to the cafeteria and bought our lunch. I went to our favorite table and sat there. I placed his lunch in front of me.

I was eating ramen when I saw Minho entering the cafeteria. I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. He was walking fast towards me. Something’s wrong.

Minho stood in front of me. “Is there something wrong?” I asked hesitantly. He went beside me and grabbed my left arm. He was holding my arm tightly and I slightly screamed in pain.

“Minho, it hurts,” I said.

“Follow me,” he said in a flat tone. I stood and he dragged me somewhere. Why is he doing this? As far as I know, our day has been going smoothly and nothing went wrong.

He released his tight grip on my hand and faced me. He seemed mad and irritated at me. Isn’t it because…

“This was all a plan of you five? To make me fall in love with you and break my heart in the end. Huh?” he yelled as his voice echoed the entire room. I was frightened by his reaction.

He knew it. Someone said it to him before we could.