"You are sooo unmanly."

"Give him a break, Lichen."

"No, seriously, Yixing. Did you even see them? Sojin was suffering on that blasted sofa while he was snuggling in the comfort of his bed."

I tossed my books inside my bag, oblivious to Lichen's accusations. I was too happy to entertain ungrounded taunting. All thanks to Sojin, of course.

Lichen sighed. "You're not even remorseful."

"Why should I be?" I chuckled. Lichen was such a bee, prying and buzzing. Still, I liked having her around - even when it was her fault why Sojin hadn't explained anything to me in the morning.

Lichen had bustled inside my apartment searching for Sojin and well, the rest was history.

It was lunchtime and I scanned the room to look for Sojin. She had settled in the front seats today, owing to the missing armchair she usually sat on beside mine. I wanted to spend lunch with her. Or I could ask her to join us or something. She never really stayed in the cafeteria during lunch breaks, I suddenly recalled.

I zipped my bag close and flew it over my back. Half the class had already absconded the room.

"Hurry up, Luhan."

I chortled at Lichen's giddiness. "What's happened to you?"

"Sojin happened," she sputtered like she found it moronic to even answer such a question. "Our team's invincible now."

It was Yixing's turn to laugh. "Aren't you being despicably functional? We don't even know if she really is back in the team."

Lichen ignored him and sauntered towards the door, Yixing and I following suit. The three of us gasped and were forced to freeze when Sojin suddenly popped out of nowhere.

Grinning, she said, "We're being pulled out from afternoon classes. I'm handing my homework for Physics now, do you want me to include yours?"

We had double Physics later but obviously, we were no longer attending. And by 'we' did she mean the four of us?

Wait, when and how did she even know we had homework? Didn't she just come back yesterday?

"How'd you know?" Lichen sounded skeptical but she was already passing Sojin her homework. Yixing did the same.

"I just had a chat with the Head Principal and he said we're spending whole Friday afternoons for training sessions starting this quarter. In addition to the regular sessions, that is."

"Whoah, aren't they being too paranoid?"

"Sorry, it's all my fault." Sojin smiled apologetically. It was the sweetest thing I'd laid my eyes upon this entire morning. "I told him I could catch up by myself but he wanted the team to be there with me so.. you're going to miss classes for my sake."

"Wait," Lichen blurted, seeming to just infer something. "So you're back in the team?"

"Er, technically, I was never out."

As Lichen, Yixing and I exchanged nonplussed ganders, Sojin strived to suppress an unpleasant recollection, her brows twitching a little.

Lichen coiled an arm around Sojin's and trudged alongside her through the corridors. "What d'you mean you were never out?"

"Long story."

"I think we have time," Lichen pressed, skipping towards the lounge and waving at a few lagging Seniors along the way.

"Later," Sojin uncoiled and went for the staircase. "I'll have to pass this now." She indicated on the papers she was clutching, smiled one last time and descended.

I made a beeline for my locker to deposit all of my books and collect my texts for the afternoon training.

Training. With Sojin. I bit back a grin. This day was going to be so much better.

Yixing peered over my shoulder. "I noticed you didn't give Sojin your Physics homework."

Wha -

I the spine of my Physics book and hauled it out. There, inserted, was my three-page homework. I yanked them free and slammed my locker shut.

I shot Yixing a look. "Tell me sooner?" And I flew towards the Faculty Building.

The hallways were deserted until I bumped into someone as I rounded the corner leading to the Sciences Department on the third floor. It was clear that I was the only one sprinting - the other was just walking - but instead of me being catapulted, it was the other person who'd been hurled away. She landed flat on her bottom, a thud echoing out.

"Sojin!"

"Luhan, hi." She had risen up before I could offer a hand. "What're you doing here?"

I was getting rusty, wasn't I? She wasn't even flustered for goodness' sake. "I forgot to.. I mean, my homework. Er, I haven't passed it yet so.."

"Hm." She narrowed her eyes. "I wondered why you didn't give it to me earlier."

"Yeah, um." I shook my head. "I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

"Sure," she smiled. "Are you?"

"What? Me? Oh, er, yes. Can you -" I scanned beyond her for the door to the teachers' cubicles. "Wait for me here, okay?"

Our Physics instructor seemed to have expected my intrusion and motioned for me to place my homework atop the others' as soon as I entered. Then she resumed to whatever she was doing, undisturbed. I muttered a quick, "Thanks" before exiting where I had entered.

Sojin was leaning against an extended and open glass window when I rejoined her.

"Doesn't it scare you?" I asked, struggling to keep my distance. The window was too wide; it revealed so much of the open space below. It revealed too much of our current altitude.

"What, windows?" She glanced at me when I didn't answer. "It thrills me actually."

"Thrills you how?" How could dangerous places - high places afford to stir up her sense of thrill?

She straightened up and faced me, leaning her elbow this time. "Well, Luhan, as you have probably noticed, I'm quite claustrophobic -"

"Very," I corrected, a knowing smirk on my lips.

She grimaced. "Very claustrophobic, then. In sharp contrast, I love freedom, crave it, feel it me toward realms unknown. Open spaces, overlooking places - they liberate me. It's very.." She looked back over the window, sighing. "Very emancipating, you know."

I wished I could say the same for myself, but of course I couldn't. Heights had always been my worst fear.

"Well, we better go now." She reached for my hand, instantly fitting her fingers between mine - a feat she seemed to have perfected since the very first time she did so.

That, or maybe our hands were really just perfect complements of each other, like the edges of two puzzle pieces too unique in their patterns that one piece refused to fit with any other except the one intended for its completion.

The idea made my stomach do a series of dizzying somersaults.

"You like holding hands, don't you?"

"Funny you just noticed," Sojin replied, complacent.

"I.." It wasn't that I only noticed now. "I simply wonder if it's.. if it's just with me.."

Beside me, Sojin's lips curled up to a subdued smile. "I wonder that, too."

I stared at her, trusting to not bump into something as we careened around edges and hurdled over staircases to our exit. Her dimpled smile was rare - it'd been a long time since I marveled at those tiny etches adorning her cheeks.

Could Sojin actually control the appearance of her dimples?

Fearing I'd be accused of staring again, I cleared my throat. "What did you mean earlier? About always being part of the team."

"Oh," her irritated brows were back. "That."

"Yes," I pressed. "That."

We lingered by the building's awning, Sojin releasing me and clasping her own hands together behind her, as though the gesture would appease her foul moo