“Yixing-ah~” Hyunji sang as she slid her tray on the table and sat down next to him. “Why do you look so grumpy?”

Yixing didn’t say anything in greeting but continued with his work, pen moving swiftly over the paper as his brows furrowed. I set my tray down in front of him and observed him quietly. Although his attention was on his work, I could see the telltale signs of irritation on his features.

“Come on, Yixing-ah,” Hyunji said as she slid closer to him, bending her head so she can peer at his face. “Stop frowning. You’ll get wrinkles.”

Yixing shook her off lightly and continued with his work.

“I brought you food,” she said sweetly, sliding a plate towards him. “You know how much you like pizza.”

Yixing’s hand was frozen above his notebook. His bangs covered his eyes, so I couldn’t see the expression in them, but I heard him heave a great sigh before pushing it aside and accepting the plate Hyunji gave him.

“It’s a stupid program,” he piped up after he helped himself to a bite of the pizza.

I assumed that that was what he was so angry about.

“It’s just for a couple of months,” I said comfortingly.

“That’s two months for them to observe and report everything that happens in our practices to the captain of the WH basketball team,” Yixing argued.

“How are you so sure that’s going to happen?”

“The whole team is convinced that there’re a spies amongst those kids, at the very least one.”

“You are being paranoid,” I pointed out, taking a sip of my juice.

“I’m observing the possibilities!” Yixing insisted. He leaned back in his seat. “We tied with WH that day on the friendly match. I don’t doubt that they’ll do something this time to make sure that they’ll beat us.”

“You might be right, but just because you have a deep seated resentment towards your rival team doesn’t mean you should peg each and every one of them with the same brand of hate,” I pointed out.

“What a filthy school,” one of the girls of West High remarked as she and her friends passed by our table.

“I know,” another girl, one with mahogany hair, remarked. “When is the last time they redesigned this place? It’s so old fashioned.”

The three of us, and all the other students within hearing range, turned and glared at them as they passed by.

“Kinda hard not to hate that, don’t you think?” Yixing remarked drily once they were gone.

I opened my mouth, realised I couldn’t really argue, and shut it again.

“They just had to ship the snobbiest girls here,” Hyunji grumbled. “As if one Choi Minhee isn’t enough.”

“I know right? Why didn’t they just ship her there as one of our exchange students?” I asked, pushing aside my empty plate. “Let’s go. I’m done and I don’t think want to stick around much longer.”

Yixing and Hyunji nodded their assent and arranged the trays into one neat pile. We dumped them in the trash on our way out, chattering idly amongst ourselves while keeping a wide berth from the exchange students’ tables.

We were just rounding the corner when a voice spoke up from behind us.

“Hey there, stranger.”

Hyunji and I whirled around. My eyes widened at the sight of Kim Jonghyun appearing from the shadows, smiling as he approached us. Hyunji looked surprised and flustered at his appearance. “Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there.”

Jonghyun waved it off with a shake of his head. “Never mind about that. Are you available for that tour or should I come by later?”

I glanced at Hyunji, but she looked just as confused as I was. “What...”

“Papers here say that you’re my tour guide.” Jonghyun waved the folder he was holding, which I assumed contained his schedule, guide and some other documents. “So, up for the task? We kinda have ten minutes left, and I just got myself lost twice looking for the cafeteria.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, almost like a child.

“Who are you?” a voice, as cold as ice and twice as sharp, suddenly cut into the conversation. Yixing’s eyes were narrowed, and I could practically see the dark aura emanating from him.

Jonghyun glanced at him in surprise, as if it was the first time he noticed Yixing. “Um, hi.” He managed to give Yixing a smile. “My name’s Kim Jonghyun. I’m one of the exchange students.”

“I know that,” Yixing snapped, not very nicely. “What I mean is –”

“I’ll be happy to tour you,” Hyunji cut in, stepping in between Yixing and Jonghyun.

Jonghyun turned his gaze towards her and smiled. “Great. Let’s get started then.”

Hyunji turned and gave us an apologetic smile. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, before they walked away and disappeared down the corner.

“Who,” Yixing hissed, positively glowering at me once they were gone from our sight and off our hearing range, “the hell is he?”

Left with no choice, I was forced to give an account on Kim Jonghyun, starting from his unfortunate collision with Hyunji to the conversation between us at the cafe. Yixing didn’t say anything, but his face grew increasingly darker as I progressed, to the point that I thought the lines on his forehead and corner of his mouth were going to be permanently fixed there.

“I’m sorry, Yixing-ah,” I said apologetically, although I doubted that it was going to improve the situation. What else was there to say?

Yixing didn’t even look at me as he replied. “Forget it.”

“You’re not blaming me, are you?”

He gazed at me coolly. “Why should I? This has nothing to do with me anyway.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Zhang Yixing, for once in your life, just admit that you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” he said, his eyes flashing angrily. “I just don’t like the way her attention shifts so easily between guys. What if something happens to her?”

“First of all, her attention does not shift as easily as you think. Kris has been her only crush since the past year. Secondly, Jonghyun was admittedly nice to her, so it’s... understanding that she may have gained some interest in him.”

Yixing’s eye twitched at the word ‘interest’.

“All I’m saying, Yixing,” I said, whispering quietly so no one could hear me, “is that you should do something. If it bothers you so much, why not just go and confess to her?”

“I’m not hearing this again,” Yixing said brusquely, sidestepping me and walking away.

“Yixing!” I yelled at him. “What are so afraid of?”

I didn’t get an answer, because at that moment, he disappeared around the corner.

I didn’t see Yixing at all for the rest of the day. Since he was in a different class than Hyunji and me, it was a given that we rarely see him during class hours. However, I knew that he was making himself scarce on purpose. Usually, we’d at least see him walking around in the hallways, and on some occasions when he’s in a good mood, he’d peer in through the windows and offer us a tiny nod or a quick wave.

After lunch, Jonghyun was introduced as a temporary member of our class. Admittedly, I wasn’t really surprised to find him trailing after Hyunji after the lunch bell rang, deep in conversation with her and apparently in the midst of trying to make her laugh when they entered. His presence had an enormous effect on my classmates, for all brows furrowed when they caught sight of crimson red uniform, and all conversation ceased when they found him getting along so well with one of our own.

Jonghyun was placed in the seat behind Hyunji, on the aisle next to mine. This time, he offered me a warm greeting which I returned in kind, and proceeded to stare at Hyunji for the rest of the class. Hyunji seemed to have warmed up to him considerably, laughing at his jokes, entertaining his conversations and treating him for all the world like a close friend.

I was somewhat stuck in between. In a friendly perspective, I liked Kim Jonghyun, for he was charming and talkative and generally easy to get along with, but I wasn’t sure if I should befriend him as easily as Hyunji did. Yixing was already at tenterhooks with their relationship; he might think my acceptance towards Kim Jonghyun as a betrayal of sorts, since it was he that I should be supporting since I was his best friend.

So generally, I tried to stay away from the both of them, choosing instead to take Yixing’s side. Yixing needed some prompting and perhaps a good old fashioned kick to get a head start, and it looked like I was the one who was going to have to do it.

“Yixing just do it,” I insisted as we were trudging away from the large tree where we always sat under, three days after Jonghyun arrived. “You’re going to miss your chance.”

“Just shut up, Aeri. Can you please leave me alone?” Yixing huffed at me exasperatedly. I knew that I was driving him up the wall with my pestering, but I had to do it if I was going to expect any development from this one-sided relationship.

“I’m trying to be a good friend here,” I argued. “You’ve practically been deserting her for the past few days. Might as well tie her up in a bow and hand her over as a gift to Kim Jonghyun.”

As always, Jonghyun’s name always made his eyes darken. “I know what I’m doing Aeri.”

“Why do you have to be so stubborn when it comes to admitting your feelings?” I said, stepping in front of him and crossing my arms across my chest.

“Aeri,” Yixing’s voice was low, and his gaze was hard as he looked into my eyes. “I’ll tell her when the time’s right. For now could you just please just stay away from this?” With that, he stepped around me and walked away. It was clear from his quick strides and his tense form that he didn’t want me to follow him.

And when is that? I thought as I stared at his departing back. When you’re about to lose her?