Chorong sighed to herself as she walked along the quiet hallway, ignoring her friends and staring at the floor blankly.

Suddenly, she felt herself bump into someone.

“Omo! Mianhe,” she said distractedly before walking off.

The person grabbed her arm.

“Wha-“ she started to say.

“Rong-ah…”

“Oppa!” She hugged him and he chuckled.

Bomi and Hayoung looked at each other. Who is he?

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“I was her neighbor for the longest time. Rong-ie and I knew each other since we were children.”

“Minhyuk oppa took great care of me, and he was my only friend when other people bullied me,” Chorong continued.

“She transferred to a different school from me when her pa-“ Minhyuk stopped mid-sentence after Chorong kicked him under the table.

She cleared . “But we’re in the same school again, right oppa?”

He smiled.

“Anyway, Bomi and Hayoung have been great friends to me,” Chorong introduced them to Minhyuk.

The four of them continued chatting until the break was over.

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Minhyuk and Chorong were walking down the hallway when they came face to face with Woohyun. Chorong subtly linked her arms with Minhyuk.

Woohyun immediately pulled her arms away from his and glared at Minhyuk.

Minhyuk remained composed and asked, “Rong-ah, who is this?”

Mwoh? ‘Rong-ah’? Who is this guy?! Woohyun could feel his anger mounting. “I’m her b-“

Just then, Suzy appeared. She narrowed her eyes at Chorong.

“His name is Woohyun, and he’s just a friend,” Chorong said firmly.

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“Bomi-ah,” Yoseob called out.

“What? Are you following me now?”

“I saw you walking home alone today, I thought it’d be a good time to talk to you since no one’s around.”

“We don’t really have anything to talk about.” She picked up her pace.

“There’s no one here, no one’s gonna see us,” he said.

She stopped walking and pondered over his words for a moment. Does he know…?

He took the chance and caught up with her. “Bomi-ah, please, tell me if there’s something wrong, why are you ignoring me?” He pleaded as he looked into her eyes.

He seems sincere… but why is he so concerned about me? She frowned slightly in confusion.

“Did they threaten you? Malhaebwa, I can protect you,” he took her hands in his.

How did he know? Are they in this together? Does he have a motive? Countless questions came into Bomi’s mind and she suddenly recalled the scene at the stairwell. I can’t trust him, she thought, not if he is anything like Woohyun…

Why isn’t she answering me? Doesn’t she know how I feel? Yoseob thought.

“Bomi-ah…”

His voice startled her out of her thoughts. “Keumanhae,” she said. “And don’t call me that, we’re not that close.”

Her words were like a knife cutting into his heart. Bomi-ah, why won’t you trust me?