“Junah!”

I turn around. Nam runs across the crosswalk to chase after me. He gives me a hug, and I happily hug him back.

“Hey! I haven’t seen you forever, how’ve you been?”

“I’m all right,” he shrugs. Nam’s always like this. I have to force the information out of him.

“Just all right?” I say, punching him in the stomach. He hunches over, and then he lightly taps his fist against my shoulder.

“That hurt!” He fixes the strap of his backpack as he walks with me. “Naw, I met a girl.”

“Ooh,” I say, my interest immediately piqued. “When?”

“Yesterday when I went to late night,” he tells me. “She’s real cool. You got to meet her.”

“What’s her name?”

“Seya,” he says with a dazzled glitter in his eye.

“Aw, you totally like her!” I say, jostling him.

“I already said that!” He says. “What have you been up to, anyway? You talked to Lange?”

“Not really,” I say when I put my and Lange’s one and only conversation into perspective. “I talked to Chanyeol, though.”

“Yeah?”

“He, uh, he’s helping me. With Lange.” I expect him to judge me, comment about how he thought that I was done with Lange, but he doesn’t. He simply nods and doesn’t say anything. I almost want him to say something, to scold me, just so I can hear his opinion. “Chanyeol is cool,” I comment. “He’s really nice.”

“Yeah? You making friends?”

“Yeah, actually,” I grin. I didn’t think I would. But I guess that’s what me and Chanyeol are right now – friends.

“Where you heading off to?”

“Room,” I say. “You?”

“Same. I’m off,” he says as he deviates from the sidewalk to cross the parking lot. He waves at me, and I wave at him back.

“See you at dinner?” I shout, and he nods before running off. I’m about to start walking back to my dorm again when my phone buzzes. I find my phone to view the message.

Chanyeol: Are you free for dinner tonight?

What’s he asking? I glance at the direction Nam went.

Me: Why, what’s up?

Chanyeol: I’m going to eat dinner with Lange. Why don’t you join?

No way. What?

Me: Are you serious?

Chanyeol: Of course! Just come to dinner at 5:45. I’ll be there.

Dinner? With Chanyeol and Lange? I haven’t eaten a meal with Lange since the first time we met. I’m so nervous, I can barely breathe, although that could be due to the wind that keeps stealing the air out of my lungs. I duck my head and scurry to the dorms to get my homework done. When I get into this proactive mood, I get the feeling that I can finish everything, including the homework due tomorrow. I do just that today, starting off with my math homework and finishing off with the English paper I have to submit. By the time I am finished, it’s 5:40. I hurry to fix my hair and makeup as well as add a dab of perfume against my neck. Taking a deep breath, I grab my keys and jog to the cafeteria.

I scan my ID, and then I browse the people inside the cafeteria. My trained eyes quickly spot Lange and Chanyeol, but they aren’t eating dinner with themselves; they’re with half of the soccer team, as well. I can’t go over there. That guy who said those words to me, who called Lange ‘my man’ is sitting there. They’re all jerks. Every single one of them. Even Lange, a thought slips. I push it aside and walk forward. That’s not true. A jerk wouldn’t look at me the way he did when we first saw each other. A jerk wouldn’t say hello to me. A jerk wouldn’t … a jerk wouldn’t … would he?

“Junah!” Chanyeol lifts his head and sees me. He shouts my name and raises his arm high, causing everyone who heard him to turn to look at me. This includes Lange and his teammates. I see the surprise in his eyes, and then a smile on his lips, which is enough encouragement for me to coerce my legs to bringing me to their table.

“Come sit here,” Chanyeol says, pointing to the empty seat beside Lange. I hesitate, but when Lange looks up expectantly, I place my ID on the table.

A “Hey” leaks from my mouth before I can hinder myself. The table murmurs an indifferent greeting, but Lange looks me straight in the eye, smiles, and says, “Hey, Junah.”

He said my name. Oh my gosh. He said my name.

“I’m going to get food,” I say, my head becoming lighter by the second. I move too quickly and end up almost tripping on a chair leg that was in the way. I apologize to the person using the chair, and then, humbled, I wait in line for food. When I come back to the table, Chanyeol is happily engaged in a conversation with the soccer boys. He has them all laughing at every word he says. His face, his smile, his voice – they’re all enchantments that have grasped their integral attention. I wonder if he uses his social skills to catch girls for himself, as well.

“Junah,” he says as soon as I sit down. He nods at my plate, and then he nods at Lange’s. “You guys got the same thing.”

I look down at my food, and then I glance at Lange’s. He didn’t finish it.

“It ,” he says, piercing the meat with his fork.

“Really?” I squeak. I cough to clear my voice. “It doesn’t look too good.”

“You should’ve gotten the stuff at the othe