A/N: Virtual cookies for everyone!! Cheers for 1k views! Thank you for the love, guys! Btw, I've decided I won't drag this on for too long. I'll end this story soon... On to chapter 3...

~+~

Tiffany was stumped.

She was baffled by Jesse’s behavior. It was unusual for him to act all normal one second, and then be fidgety and nervous the next second.

It wasn’t like him at all.

Why would he act that way?

It even felt like he was avoiding something…

…or someone?

Tiffany’s breath hitched at the sudden conclusion.

Could it be that he’s avoiding me?

…

…

Knock! Knock!

Tiffany banged hard on the door with her closed fist.

The door slowly opened to reveal Krys nursing a red nose.

“Hyung, if you’re here to apologize then I want you kneeli—oh, it’s you, noona. How’d you know my roo—”

“Tell me the truth, Soojung.”

Krys stared dumbfounded at the older girl. “What?”

“Just tell me the truth!” Tiffany looked like she was about to cry, her eyes becoming glazed with the tears pooling on her eyelids.

“Woah!” the young Jung held up his hands, getting more and more confused by the second. “Hold up, noona! I don’t know what you’re talking about. Seriously, I—”

“Did you tell him?”

“Eh?” Krys tilted his head to the side—much like how Jesse does every time he’s confused, and it irked Tiffany even more.

She wanted to strangle him—claw him, punch him, anything!—just to let out all the frustration and anxiety building up inside her.

“You know what I’m talking about, Krys! Did you tell him my secret?”

“No!” Krys waved his arms and shook his head, finally getting the question. “I swear I didn’t. I wouldn’t! I may tease you a lot, but I’m not a tattletale. I respect your feelings, noona.”

“Really?” Tiffany sniffed.

Krys nodded. “Yeah. What made you think I told him?”

“Because I felt like he was avoiding me…” the girl bit her lips briefly to stop the trembling. “So, I thought that he knew of my feelings, and felt disgusted by me…”

It finally dawned on Krys why Tiffany looked so distressed.

But why would noona feel that Jesse hyung was avoiding her? Why would hyung be even avoiding Tiffany noona? Hmm… gotta investigate more…

“Are you sure he’s avoiding you?” he asked nonchalantly, trying not to sound too interested.

Tiffany shook her head like a kid. “No, but it hurts,” she finally sobbed, traitorous tears flowing down her cheeks against her will. “If he begins to p-push me away… I d-don’t think I’ll be able to bear it…”

Krys panicked a little at seeing her cry. “Yah, noona, don’t be overdramatic—” he awkwardly chuckled, patting the older girl’s shoulder and miserably failing at consoling her.

“I d-don’t know what to d-do anymore…”

“Yah, don’t cry…” he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, but it only evoked more sobs. “Stop crying… Please, noona… if hyung sees this, I’m dead meat—”

“YAH JUNG SOOJUNG!”

Speaking of the devil. I’m in deep .

Krys waved his free arm in full panic as Jesse ran—yes, the Jesse Jung ran and quite hastily, in fact—towards them. “I didn’t do anything, hyung, I swear!!”

“What were you doing then?!” Jesse pushed his arm off Tiffany’s shoulder.

“Nothing! Nothing, really!” The younger Jung closed his eyes and lifted his arms to cover his face, bracing himself for an impact of injury – a punch or a kick – but after a few seconds, he still didn’t feel anything.

He opened his eyes and saw Jesse pulling Tiffany into his arms.

“Jesse…”

“Sshhh,” Jesse was cooing in Tiffany’s ears, her hair and letting her grip his shirt.

Krys smirked all knowingly at the scene playing before his eyes. He couldn’t help the victorious grin forming on his face… but it faded as soon as Jesse’s narrowed eyes focused on him.

“Later,” he mouthed.

Krys gulped at that.

Jesse smirked in satisfaction, before turning back his whole attention to the sobbing girl in his arms.

“Stop crying, Fany-ah… you know I hate it.”

Tiffany sniffed, trying to stifle her tears.

“What going on here?”

Mrs. Jung appeared at the end of the hallway. “I heard you yelling, Sooyeon. Is that Tiffany crying? What happened??”

Jesse shook his head once, signaling his mother not to ask anymore. “It’s fine,