Naeun ran over the community garden, panting as she held her phone in her hand. Just a few minutes ago, she was doing her homework and checking the answer to impress Taecyeon, who would be back at her house as a tutor tomorrow. However, when she received a text from Myungsoo that said "S.O.S," she left and ran off, carrying her phone in hopes that he would contact her. She tried calling him, but he wouldn't pick up.

When she arrived at the garden, she saw the usual duo, Yoona and Taecyeon, hanging around. Except, the distance between the two was unreal. Taecyeon seemed pleased for whatever reason he was doing, while Yoona was frightened to death. The high school finally looked up and saw Naeun approaching her. Relieved, she quickly grabbed Naeun's arm and pushed her in front of her like a shield.

"W-What's going on?" Naeun stuttered, obviously surprised by Yoona's sudden movements.

"T-T-Tell him to take away that monster!" Yoona shouted, whimpering.

"Oh, come on, Yoona. It's practically harmless. Plus, it's adorable," Taecyeon said.

Naeun squinted her eyes, trying to take a better look at the mass of fur Taecyeon had in his arms. Finally, the strange object began to move, poking its head up from Taecyeon's embrace. Seeing how it was a dog, Naeun almost squealed with joy. She raced up to the puppy, petting its young silky black coat.

"Oh my gosh! It's a puppy!" Naeun exclaimed. "Is it yours? Oh my gosh, it's so cute!"

"It's a yorkie, and apparently it's a guy. Hm, I don't know what his name is, though. I forgot. My friend, Changmin, let me borrow him for today. I'm supposed to return him before dinner time," Taecyeon said, playing with the puppy's paw.

"It's going to be dinner time, so go return him now!" Yoona yelled from across the garden.

"Is she afraid of dogs?" Naeun asked.

"She's terrified of them. She was attacked by one when she was a kid, and now she thinks that all dogs are violent creatures," Taecyeon explained shortly.

"Yet you still had the nerve to bring the dog?"

"I was hoping that Yoona would talk to me. She's been giving me the silent treatment. I thought that if I brought the dog, she would at least yell at me or something."

"Why didn't you just apologize?"

"She wouldn't take it. She's stubborn like that."

"Well, that just ," Naeun commented.

"It really does," Taecyeon agreed, nodding his head. Did he ever have a normal conversation with Naeun? If he remembered, she would always endlessly praise herself and criticize Yoona. Though today, the two were having a nice conversation. "By the way, where's Myungsoo?"

Naeun pauesd, then gasped as she fished out her phone. "Oh, this! I got a text from him, and I thought that he was at the garden. Do you know where he is?"

Taecyeon shrugged his shoulders, unable to answer her. She heaved a sigh, then shoved her phone back into her pocket. Nervously chewing her bottom lip, she looked around the community garden. The only movement she saw was Yoona, who kept walking back and forth, waiting for Taecyeon to take the dog away. Otherwise, there was no sight of a human anywhere.

Strange, she thought. I was sure that Myungsoo would be at the garden.

"Maybe he's back at home? Did you check there?" Taecyeon asked, getting up. When Naeun shook her head, he gave her a soft smile.

Her heart did not skip a beat.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Yoona hollered, snapping Naeun out of her jumbled thoughts.

"Yoona, let's go! We're going to Changmin's house and give him the dog. Then, we're going to Myungsoo's house to see if he's in trouble," Taecyeon announced.

"But if Myungsoo is in trouble, isn't it best to go to his house first?" she asked.

"Do you really want me to bring the dog?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You make an excellent point," Yoona said, following them as she kept their distance. "Why'd you bring it anyway?"

Taecyeon stopped to stare. Seeing him with his melting gaze, Yoona felt her cheeks burn. She quickly looked away while Taecyeon flashed her a fake smile.

"To hear your lovely voice, princess," he teased, embarrassing her.

As the two quarreled from afar, Naeun could only look back in silence. It was strange how she wasn't bothered so much by Taecyeon's and Yoona's little private time. Normally, she would interrupt their conversation and then be a schoomzer, but this time, she thought it would be nice to stay quiet. What made her panic was how she realized that she didn't care much about Taecyeon. She didn't know why, and she desperately tried to find the reason.

When did it start? Naeun couldn't remember. She thought that she stopped feeling all giddy around Taecyeon during the school festival, but there was no reason for her feelings to change. She thought that maybe Bora might've affected her feelings, but that was nearly impossible since Yoona was even closer to Taecyeon. Was she getting tired of Taecyeon? That was possible; she always got tired of falling in and out of love with guys. Though Taecyeon was different, right? He was more… mature and irresistible.

Naeun thought hard about her change in feelings. So if Bora and the long-time unrequited love didn't affect her, then what did? There was no possible answer. If Bora and Taecyeon weren't the ones who changed her, then did Yoona somehow manage to manipulate her? Naeun knew that she still didn't like Yoona for whatever reason she had left, but she refused to believe that Yoona was the one responsible for the change of heart.

Suddenly, she heard plastic bags drop to the ground. She looked up in surprise, and was alarmed to see Yoona standing next to her. While she was thinking, she wasn't aware of the fact that Taecyeon had returned the adorable puppy and had reconciled with Yoona.  

"What are you guys doing around here?" a familiar voice asked.

Naeun stared at the figure in front of her, and she regretted thinking too hard about her inner feelings. She faced Myungsoo, who gazed into her large brown eyes with an equally shocked expression. He seemed puzzled about her sudden appearance, and the way he tilted his head to the side made Naeun bite her bottom lip.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey, I see Myungsoo outside with our snacks!" Bora announced, putting a strand of her long hair behind her ear. Her eyes rolled over to the edge of the window, where she saw three other figures stand in front of him. "Ooh, and we might have guests over!"

"Bora, that's not a good idea. Your parents are only out of town for tonight. They'll be mad if they find uninvited guests to your home. Besides, I'm going to go home soon, anyway," Hyorin said, flipping a page of the comic book she was reading. Bora turned to her friend, pouting. 

"Aw, come on, Hyorin! You're no fun. Look, there's the Naeun girl you hate, too," she mentioned, her eyes glued back to the window.

"Even more reasons not to invite these guests to your home."

"Oh, I know! Let's have a sleep over!"

"Bora, you–"

"We can play spin the bottle, truth or dare, and we might be able to dress up the guys." Bora smirked. "Come on. Don't you want to see Myungsoo with make-up and his hair tied to a small ponytail? I bet he would look like a darling in a dress!"

Hyorin paused, thinking about her cousin cross-dressing for her own pleasure. "Call your mom and ask if that's fine."

Bora laughed as she opened the door to the first floor. "I don't need to. My parents aren't coming home until tomorrow night, and they're fine with me doing anything as long as I thought create trouble."

"Well, aren't we going to cause trouble? After all, this might be the perfect time to initiate Project Crush," Hyorin pointed out.

"Fine, fine." Bora heaved a sigh as she speed-dialed her mother's number. "I'll check if my mom's fine with it. I'm pretty sure she's going to say that it's okay. It's just a sleepover with a few friends."

"Then I'll go down and invite them over! This is going to be a long night," Hyorin said, running downstairs to greet the three other friends.