Soojung can’t believe that the school festival was starting. Aligning with several of her classmates in their big gymnasium, she notices Jinri making her way to the stage and gives her a small wave. The other girl smiles brightly back. It seems she need not worry about her little friend anymore; more than anything Jinri looks very happy and please with the festival’s outcome. Now with that in mind, Soojung can’t shake a weird feeling off her chest. Obviously she’s happy with the festive going around (no classes!) but she’s too distracted to have fun.

She shouldn’t be. She’s been trying to tell herself that for days now but the thought has been implanted on her head. Taemin isn’t coming today and she’s upset.

Seriously! What is wrong with her? She doesn’t even like him and they aren’t even an item together for her to be so furious at him. What the hell is wrong with her? It’s not like she hasn’t seen him for days now; she always sees him at least thrice a week!  She shouldn’t miss him but she does anyway! It’s eating her mind.

“Hey Soojung—let’s go to that place where they sell takoyaki! I hear it’s delicious!” Sang Hyun says beside her, looking dumbly excited with the line of food stalls in front of him. Soojung isn’t sure either how she ended up being with Sang Hyun but she guesses she’s okay with him instead of being with the Twins. God, they annoy her to hell—

At least for now, Soojung will distract herself with him than think about certain red-head she’s been missing.

By lunch time, Jinri is making her roundabouts and checking for any minor difficulties within the festival. So far, there aren’t any problems she has encountered yet and if there are, well it is easily reprimanded by other people in the council. To her relief that everything is alright, she finally convinces herself that maybe she can relax and enjoy the fun. For now, anyway.

Just as she is heading towards her own class to find Soojung, she notices a red-haired boy outside the school gate, looking rather hesitant. He’s wearing a different uniform and she vaguely recognizes the emblem on his right shirt pocket. Being her usual friendly self, Jinri smiles and makes her way towards the stranger. “Hello. Can I help you?”

“Hi—ummm, I’m a bit lost? I need to find someone.” The boy says, giving her a small grin.

“Okay—what’s his name? I don’t know if I know him but maybe I could help you find your friend?” She inquires, gesturing him to enter the school grounds. He enters and slowly they walk towards the inside of the building.

“It’s actually a girl.” Taemin isn’t sure if the girl could see the faint tint of red displaying on his cheeks. He is so embarrassed right now. “Her name is… Soojung. Jung Soojung? I think she’s a sophomore? I’m not really sure what grade—she doesn’t talk much you see.”

“Soojung? How’d you know Soojung?” Jinri inquires, raising a brow at him. Soojung isn’t the type to socialize with people. She doesn’t like to talk very much— her classmates, teammates… let alone a stranger from outside school. “What do you want from her?”

Taemin scratches the back of his head thoughtfully. This girl is awfully annoying asking him so many questions. He will give her the compliment of saying she’s cute and the fact that she probably knows Soojung too. “We met a few weeks ago. She invited me here for… the school festival? I kind of turned her down when she asked me before because I had this thing… And well, ‘the thing’ sort of cancelled on me so…”

“Oh.” The girl’s face breaks into a smile. “Well, okay… Soojung is around here somewhere. Do you want me to show you around?”

Taemin eyes her and then smiles. “Yeah. Thanks.”

While they find Soojung, Jinri tells him about the festival. She enlightens him how the student council had worked and prepared for it for months and now, it seemed it would be successful. He doesn’t listen much (because he really didn’t want to know) but he looks around where she points and Taemin thinks that the girl before her is way too easy and trusting. Unlike when he first met Soojung, she was too wary and suspicious of him. He really found it funny how she acted like she wasn’t thoughtful of his presence, when all in all she was worried about it. Seriously, Soojung acts totally different from what she thinks, from the way she acts.

“Has anybody told you, you’re way too gullible?”

“I’m sorry?”

Taemin starts, shoving his hand in his pockets. Glancing this way and that way, he hopes to catch a glimpse of Soojung. “You know—you showing me around the school grounds, trusting me to approach your friend. Don’t you think you should be more worried around me? You never know, I may be some murderer or .”

Jinri snorts. “As if. I don’t think you need to come up with a plan to me or whatever. Not with that pretty face anyway.”

“Pretty face?”

Realizing her mistake, Jinri blushes as red as a tomato and stammers, “I m-mean, K-Soojung isn’t stupid to just—and you’re her friend—she’s like—she just doesn’t let anyone i-into her life just like that. A-and I mean, you’re not pretty. You’re like… unattractive.”

The red-head merely laughs at her explanation. To be honest, it didn’t make sense to him but he won’t tell her that. He proceeds on staring at her blushing face instead, just to see what kind of reaction he would get. Biting her lip and refusing to lose, Jinri merely tries to fight him with a glare. He doesn’t back out and neither does she. Her futile attempt to stomp him down with a half-hearted glare doesn’t do anything and she is readying to accept her loss when he surprises her with a pat in the cheek. Jinri feels the warmth in his palms and it makes her heartbeat faster.

“You’re pretty cute when you act tough.” Taemin says and smiles at her. Jinri is about to do something like slap his (wonderful) hand away, or say something like he’s stupid when a voice intercede her.

“Taemin? What’re you doing here?”