I’ve been watching her, and all she did was avoiding me at all costs. She’s starting to get suspicious and I didn’t like it how she acts this way like I’m the criminal mastermind in her story. I don’t know what’s her big deal is but she’s like avoiding me like I’m some kind of plague. Am I that scary and intimidating to her, or is she is just being Krystal?

  I’d take the first option because normally she would just go with the flow whenever she’s inside the same room as I am but she’d flee immediately the second she sees me. The rest of my friends also noticed this—just because I mentioned it to them, but they all were also intrigued with the idea as well because this is not how Krystal should have acted.

  “Wow, Jongin, I never thought that you would actually care; normally, you would just let this slide,” said Kyungsoo as he widened his eyes at me, amazed with the fact that I actually cared about Krystal. Is that right? Did I actually care for her for acting really strange around me when she’s not? To me, it’s just a normal topic you usually talk about in your daily life—like you’d ask somebody what date is it and what day was the day; I never thought the rest of my friends thought that I actually cared for her.

  “Is our Jongin finally realized that he actually likes Krystal?” Chanyeol suddenly suggested and the rest of them howled as I eyed him lazily. “Don’t be silly, Yeol, why would I realize that just now?” I asked him but he just shook his head and messed with my hair. “These things always happen, dude—first you’re all cold and stuff and then when the girl stopped liking you, you realized what you were missing all this time and bam, you like her,” he explained and Kyungsoo nodded in agreement as I looked at them with a lazy look.

 “Don’t be ridiculous—seriously, does that even happen in real life? I don’t think so,” I said as I flailed my hand but Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at him. “You may not know this, Jongin, but I shipped you two since I knew about it two years ago,” Kyungsoo suddenly confessed and by the looks on his face, he was serious. The determination in his round eyes has no lies and the spirit is there, I could feel it—he was being totally serious. “I agree with him, I totally think you both look cute—especially in that photo of you two at the science emporium last year,” Baekhyun suddenly recalled and I could feel my cheeks warming up.

   I saved that picture in my computer but I never told a soul about it and thank goodness no one knows about it because it would be very embarrassing. To be honest, I look very good in that photo and Krystal was no different—she had her happy smile plastered on her face, like the one I usually see on some days when she’s  with her friends but I never see it now since the year started and I kinda miss it because it looked so good on her. I sometimes look at the photo just to remind myself of the happy moments I had at the emporium and those were gold times.

 “You still remember that? I thought everyone already forgot about it,” I said, trying to maintain my cool look as I looked away from him and trying to find something in the cafe to capture my attention. “I was the one who took the picture, how could I forget?” said Baekhyun flatly and I mentally face-palmed myself for forgetting about it. Surely, he saved it in his computer or somewhere in his hard drive.

  “Whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore,” I just shook my head but Baekhyun gave me a knowing smile and I ignored it. “Anyways, back to what I just said,” I quickly returned back to the original subject. “What do you think that’s up with her? Is her family depressing her or something?” I asked them but they exchanged glances with each other but shook their head.

  “She told me that she would go to the theme park with her cousins in the courtesy of her parents this weekend, so I don’t think that her family is depressing her,” Baekhyun supplied and a thin line formed on my lips when I heard that. So I would have to cross out her family for that. “How about her friends? Are they causing her any trouble?” I then asked them but they shook their heads once again.

  “Are you kidding me? When the teacher didn’t came in, she and her friends suddenly  busted out singing random songs and without a reason, the whole class joined along,” Chanyeol explained and I gaped at him. “That explains why we heard singing from next door while we were learning history,” said Kyungsoo and I nodded at him.

  “If not her family; and not her friends, then what made her so… not Krystal-ish?” I asked them again and they all gave me weird looks as if they were being told to wear tutus and go out the street, performing the Swan Lake. “I have a theory,” said Baekhyun as he stood up from the seat of the booth and I cocked an eyebrow at home.

  “Firstly, you got to sit down and don’t get mad when I show you this theory,” he said first-hand and I just rolled my eyes and sat down beside Kyungsoo. “Since school started, she’s the same like she ever was—quirky, fun and of course, hyper,” he started as he moved around our booth. “Then, when she saw the changes that’s happening to you, Jongin,” Baekhyun suddenly pointed his thumb