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"Yah! Yoon Jaemin! You can't be serious, are you?!" SooJung hollered and Jaemin winced at her sudden outburst. "Lay, get your girlfriend away from me." Jaemin scowled and turned her attention back to the assignment she was working on. 

"Yah! Yoon Jaemin!" SooJung groaned in frustration and brushed a hand through her hand. She heard chuckles behind her and she turned, glaring daggers at the guy that was leaning against his chair. "It's not funny, Lay." SooJung said through clenched teeths. 

Lay shook his head with a grin on his face. He reached out for her wrist and pulled her closer to him. He got up from his seat and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Just calm down, will you, hmm? You look scary when you are fierce like that, baby." He whispered softly into her ears. 

A blush crept up SooJung's cheeks and the anger that she felt was gone instantly. "Well, it's not as if I like to yell at the top of my lungs either. But look at her, Lay." She turned her head towards Jaemin who was ignoring them. 

Lay sighed and slung his arm over SooJung's shoulder, guiding her towards Jaemin's table. Jaemin glanced up at them with one of her brows raised. "Come on, Jaemin, just join us for this once." Lay tried persuading her but Jaemin was a stubborn bull. 

She shook her head. "Nah, I... Don't belong there." She muttered and tapped her pen against her chin. SooJung let out an exasperated sigh. "What are you even talking about, Jaemin? Lay's friends aren't that bad as you think they are, Min. Not all men are the same." SooJung lowered down her voice at the last sentence. 

Sadness and fear were evident in Jaemin's eyes and Lay was worried that SooJung brought up something she shouldn't. Jaemin shifted her gaze to the floor, staring at it for a few seconds. Lay felt SooJung's shoulders deflate and he glanced at her. Her brows were furrowed and she was frowning. Lay squeezed her shoulder, comforting her. 

Jaemin lifted her head up suddenly, looking straight into SooJung's eyes. "Next time, Jung, I promise." SooJung sighed softly but nodded. She grabbed her bag and so did Lay. "Remember to take your dinner, alright? I don't want you ending up in the hospital again." SooJung nagged and hugged Jaemin briefly. 

Lay was standing by the door, waiting for SooJung. Jaemin hummed in response and waved to Lay who smiled and waved back. *I'm sorry, Jung.* Jaemin stared at the door where she last saw SooJung. She in a deep breathe before turning her attention back to her assignment. 

"Hey, don't worry too much about Jaemin, okay? She's going to be fine, Jung. You know how strong she is, don't you?" Lay stopped walking and cupped SooJung's cheeks, making her look him straight in the eye. 

SooJung bit her lower lip and looked away. "I know, Lay. But there's a reason why I kept forcing her to join us today. Today... Isn't a good day for her to be alone, Lay. I'm really worried about her." 

Lay smiled warmly and tilted her chin so that she's meeting his eyes again. "Remember the same day one year ago? You weren't around her that day but nothing happened in the end, did you forget that?" 

SooJung twisted her lips. "I guess you are right, maybe I'm just thinking too much." Lay patted her head and pulled her in for a hug. "If you are really worried about her, you can always give her a call to check on her." 

Lay pulled away from her and ruffled her hair, attempting to cheer her up. "Yah." SooJung stared at him while fixing her hair. Lay chuckled and slipped his hand into hers, dragging her down the hallway. "Let's get going, they are waiting for us." 

~~

"Wow, bro, took you long enough, huh?" D.O snorted when the both of them arrived at their usual hangout. Lay ignored him and walked over to the table they were seated at. SooJung took a seat beside Lay, with Baekhyun sitting across her. 

"Where's Luhan and Kai?" Lay asked when they noticed that the table was a little empty. "Luhan is late because he has detention and Kai... Well, he's still the same." Baekhyun answered while taking a sip of his Peach Tea. "We should really do something about Kai, guys." Chanyeol spoke up. 

"Like what? Throw a girl at him and make him forget JaeIn?" D.O said sarcastically. "Yeah, D.O, you are helping SO much." Lay scoffed. SooJung shook her head with an amused grin on her face. They are the best of friends but sometimes the way they communicate makes you think twice.

"But really, we can't help him if he doesn't want to help himself." D.O said with a shrug. "At least we can try distracting him, right?" Baekhyun suggested. 

"Woah, good one, dude." D.O patted his shoulder. Baekhyun rolled his eyes and sat up straight, resting one of his elbows on the table. "I think that's a pretty good idea though." Chanyeol nodded and so did Lay. 

SooJung stared at Lay's side profile. *Jaemin needs a distraction too... No, wait, she needs a change in her life.* She broke into a huge grin when an idea came onto her mind. "I've an idea." 4 heads turned towards her immediately. 

"You guys know about Jaemin, right?" SooJung looked at each and every one of them. D.O and Baekhyun began nodding moments later, remembering about the said girl. As for Chanyeol, he sat there, totally confused. 

SooJung turned towards Lay and he could see a glint of mischieve in her eyes. He knew what she was planning. SooJung told the rest of them her plan that she had in mind and they listened attentively. 

"Are you sure she's going to accept your dare?" D.O asked skeptically. SooJung shrugged. "It's worth a try though." 

Baekhyun nodded. "I agree, it sounds like it's going to work." SooJung smiled at him, elated that someone actually supports her. She turned towards Lay who didn't say a word since earlier on. She nudged him and his eyes shifted towards her immediately. 

"What do you think about it? You weren't talking at all previously." SooJung gazed at him expectantly, secretly hoping that he gives her his support as well. 

Lay slipped his arm around her waist and leant closer to her. "I agree with every single thing you come up with, baby." Lay whispered into her ear. 

D.O groaned. "Argh, get a room, the both of you!" That set Baekhyun and Chanyeol laughing their heads off at D.O who was looking grumpy from head to toe. 

Lay pretended that he didn't hear him while SooJung was blushing furiously. Lay glanced at the clock in the cafe. *I should probably give Luhan a call.* Lay thought as he took his phone out of his pocket, dialling Luhan's number. 

Lay frowned when he wasn't picking up his phone. "What is it?" D.O asked when he noticed the frown on Lay's face. Lay sighed as he ended the call, placing his phone on the table. "Luhan isn't picking up his phone. His detention should have ended by now, isn't that so?" 

D.O nodded as he took a look at his watch. "Yeah, in fact, it ended 15 minutes ago." Baekhyun nudged D.O, his eyes glued on certain object behind D.O.

"What?" D.O grumbled as he look towards the direction he was staring at. "Isn't that Kris?" Baekhyun asked, meeting eyes with Lay. Lay nodded instantly. It can't be wrong, he can be easily recognised with that tall built of his. 

"Kris!" Chanyeol called out to the figure that was standing by the counter, waiting for his drink. His head snapped around immediately. "Chanyeol?!" He walked over towards them and hugged Chanyeol who jumped up from his seat. 

"Yo, Kris! It's been a long time, huh?" D.O lifted up his arm and slightly moved his fingers, as a form of greeting. "D.O, you still look as grumpy as ever." The whole table broke into laughter, even SooJung. D.O sat in his seat, unamused. 

"Where are the others?" Lay asked, curious about how their other childhood friends were. "Oh, you mean Xiumin and the others? We are still stuck together and I'm meeting them later on. Do you guys want to join us? I bet they will be ecstatic to see you guys after 4 years." 

"Yeah, sounds good, I'm coming." Baekhyun said excitedly. "Me too, me too!" Chanyeol bounced in his seat like an overactive puppy. 

"I will join you guys later, I need to drop SooJung home first. I will see you guys later then!" Lay got up from his seat. "Oh, Baekhyun, give Luhan a call and ask him where he is." 

Baekhyun nodded and Lay slipped his arms into the straps of his backpack, before reaching out for SooJung's hand. "Bye, SooJung." Chanyeol waved at her cutely and she waved back while smiling at him. SooJung bade goodbye to the rest of them before walking out of the cafe with Lay. 

She shivered slightly as a cold wind blew against her, messing up her hair. It was approaching winter and the temperature was dropping slowly. SooJung stuffed her hands into the pocket of her blazer, scowling slightly when it doesn't help much. She looked up in surprise when a scarf was wrapped around her neck. 

Lay's face was just inches away from hers and his nose was getting red. "Yah, you look like you need it too." SooJung reached out for the scarf, wanting to return it back to him. Lay glared at her and stuffed her hands back into her pocket immediately. Lay laughed lightly at how cute she was. "There you go." He removed his hands from the scarf after he wrapped it around her neck securely. 

"Let's send you home before you freeze to death." Lay reached for her hand which was tucked in her blazer's pocket and slipped their intertwined hands into his pocket. SooJung buried her face deeper into the scarf, touched at how caring he is towards her. She breathe in the scent that the scarf was filled of. It was filled of Lay's scent - Peppermint. 

She inched closer towards Lay, leaning her head against his shoulder. 

~~

At the same time, Luhan, whose detention had just ended, was making his way towards the cafe when he bumped into someone. "Ouch." Books were scattered on the floor and a girl was sitting on the floor, rubbing her forehead. 

Luhan bent down, picking up her books. She quickly regained her composure and grabbed the other books that was near her. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was heading to." She apologised while she got up from the floor. Luhan arranged her books neatly and handed them back to her. 

"I was partially at fault too. Are you okay?" Luhan asked, a little worried since the impact made her fall onto the floor. "Yeah I'm perfectly fine." She looked up and smiled at him before walking off. 

Luhan's heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. He placed a hand over his heart. *What's wrong with me?* He glanced at her figure who was getting further and further away from him. A vibration in his pocket brought him back to reality. He quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered Baekhyun's call. 

"Yah, Luhan, where on earth are you? Your detention ended 30 minutes ago if I'm not wrong." Luhan took a look at the time on the phone. *He's right. It's already 6pm, my detention should have ended at 5.30* He pressed the phone back on his ears and started walking towards the main gate of the school. 

"The teacher was nowhere to be seen so I couldn't go off before she comes back." Luhan grumbled, unhappy that he stayed behind longer than necessary. He heard a chuckle from the other side of the phone. "Judging from your voice, you weren't aware as well. Forget it then. Oh right, we met Kris at the cafe we usually visited and we are joining them for a gathering with the other guys!" 

"The other guys?" Luhan asked, confused. He stopped by his locker, shoving in the redundant books that he didn't bother to bring back home. 

"Yup, Xiumin, Sehun and the others! Don't you remember them?!" Luhan's face lighted up instantly. "Are you referring to Xiumin, that bun?!" 

"Do you happen to know anyone else with the name Xiumin, you fool?" Baekhyun answered him with sarcasm. Luhan laughed. "You know, Baekhyun, you are becoming more and more alike with D.O." Luhan shook his head with a smile on his face. 

"Shoot, have I caught his grumpiness?! Oh god, I need to stay away from him." Baekhyun exclaimed dramatically. "Right, I'm going to send you the address where we will be gathered at. Hurry and make your way over, Luhan!" 

"Okay, I got it! See you guys later." Luhan hung up and a text from Baekhyun came in right away. Since the place he was heading to was far from the school and he couldn't possibly walk there, he decided to take a cab instead. 

**

Jaemin rummaged through the stacks of paper piled on her desk, looking for her phone which was vibrating. She could hear it but she didn't know where it was. 

"Argh, where is it?" Jaemin groaned in frustration. "Finally!" She grabbed her phone which was buried under the papers scattered across her table and she answered the call without any further delay. 

"Yoon Jaemin! What took you so long to answer my call?!" Jaemin held her phone slightly away from her ear, afraid that SooJung's loud voice might result in her going deaf. 

"Sorry, I couldn't find my phone earlier on." Jaemin heard a loud sigh from the other end of the line. "Did you take your dinner?" Jaemin's eyes widened, realising that it actually slipped her mind. "Yup, I did. Don't worry about me, SooJung. I'm fine, really. You should probably be enjoying your time with Lay, Jung." Jaemin felt bad for lying but she didn't want SooJung to be even more worried. 

"You are not lying right, Min? Lay's spending time with friends that he haven't met in 4 years so he dropped me off earlier." Jaemin tidied up her study table while responding. "I'm not lying, Jung. Aww, you are missing him already?" She teased. 

"You are right, I am. From the moment he went off, I'm already missing him." Jaemin heard SooJung sighed once more. Jaemin shuddered at how cheesy SooJung sound. "God, I shouldn't even have brought up Lay." 

SooJung laughed heartily. "It's getting late, Min. Turn in early tonight, alright? I have something to tell you in school tomorrow." Jaemin's brows furrowed. *What is it that she wants to tell me?* She shrugged and hummed in response. "Goodnight, Jung. See you tomorrow!" With that, she ended the call. She tossed her phone back onto her bed. 

Stretching her sore back, she made her way into her bathroom to shower before heading to bed. Obviously, she wasn't aware of how her life is going to change after today. 

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First chappie hehe! I hope this story receives lots of love! :p

Do leave a comment behind! ;D