Following the same afternoon, Jinri leisurely strolled around the city, excited to grab lunch with Taemin. She waved to him when she spotted him right across the street, waiting at the crossing point. Once red lights showed up, drivers stopped driving and the boy found his way to Jinri. Smiling contently, she greeted him and both went to a nearby park. Once seated on a bench, Taemin awkwardly eyed the ground.

“You said you needed to see me. Is it about Krystal and Kai?”

Jinri grinned. Even though it stung at bit, that Taemin wasn’t interested in her at all right now, instead she felt quite happy. Happy, since she had some big news to break to him.

This early morning (10am is considered early for Jinri on off-work days), she received a call from her so called best friend. Krystal felt like what happened with Kai was a bit of an accident, and felt like she should tell Jinri about it. The latter just listened to every word, very carefully, trying to picture every detail precisely like it was. Jinri repeated that Kai felt something for Krystal over and over again, till the caller admitted starting to believe it. The minute the call ended, Jinri texted Taemin, ready to kill his possible interest in the other girl.

“Krystal called me before I messaged you. Kai went to her place last night.”

“Did he do anything?” Taemin’s worried eyes met Jinri’s expecting ones. Although she kind of expected this response, it didn’t hurt any less.

She crushed on him really hard, she mentally admitted.

“Aside from hitting her childhood friend and forcefully landing his lips on hers, not much.” As much as she wanted to laugh at boy’s surprised face, she found will to look nonchalant.

“It’s not the first time. I mean the kiss, not the punch.”

“So they have that kind of relationship?”

“Well, they’re… hitting it off.”

Taemin raised eyebrow. “So they aren’t together?”

Jinri thought carefully how to respond. What she says next might chance Taemin’s mind on how serious his younger brother really is about Krystal. If he decides that Kai is only playing around, Taemin might think about wooing the said girl.

“Not officially, I believe. There surely are some sparks there, I assure you.” Pausing, she studied his reaction. He didn’t seem hurt, though. Maybe he thought that were some chances for him left? “I accidentally bumped into Kai last night. His mind was occupied by my best friend. I think he was considering his playboy ways. He might become serious for her.”

“I cannot actually believe this,” Taemin finally spoke up, leaning his back onto solid bench. “He never was that interested before. You really think this might end up well? What about Krystal?”

“I believe that people can change,” Jinri wasn’t really saying a lie, she just wasn’t so sure herself that Kai could change. She felt guilty towards Krystal for pushing her towards that playboy, but what could she do, when her number one priority right now is the boy sitting next to her. Acting as best as she could, Jinri continued, “And Krystal is feeling something too. I’m a girl, obviously, so I can tell. At first she despised him, like some of us, but now she’s warming up. I mean, she didn’t even sound angry at him.”

Maybe she should leave the fact that Kai was drunk out, since, even if alcohol had a part in his actions, it was still his true intentions? Assuring herself, Jinri stood up.

“Listen, you should believe in them. It will work out. But for now, I’m hungry. Want to grab lunch with me?”

Shrugging, Taemin also stood up and met her hopeful gaze. “Sure, why not. It’s my treat, thanks for your help.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just watching over my friend.” ‘And it’s for my own benefit, too,’ she mentally added. Surely, she doesn’t do any damage for her friend, right?

*

Luhan was helping his co-worker, Kris, to clean some dishes. He got to café right after that intruder left, a tad later than usual.

“What’s on your mind?”

Luhan turned his head to Kris, who just stared at the plate he was cleaning.

“Nothing,” the owner shook his head. “Why do you ask?”

“Aside from the fact that you’re washing the same fork again and again, you seem frozen in spot.” Signing, he stopped tap and slid his eyes to the slightly shorted guy who was considered as his friend since their college days in China. “You know you can tell me if something’s troubling you.”

Luhan placed the clean-as-new fork on the counter and took his gloves off. Rubbing his forehead, he sheepishly smiled to himself. “Yeah, I know. I don’t think it’s worth talking about, though.”

Without any notice, Kris smacked his friend’s head. This boy was the only one who could do such an action, even if he was a bit younger. If it was Chanyeol or Kyungsoo, Luhan would probably punch them back (slightly, of course).

“Parents or that girl?”

“Father had said nothing for the last month, so no, I’m not worrying about their thoughts now.”

“Then it’s that childhood friend of yours.”

“I’m surprised you even remember.”

Kris chuckled, which was a rare thing to see, and fixed his styled hair. “How could I forget those stories you told me about her.”

“That was in the college, so it’s pretty old now.”

“Hn, I clearly remember how passionate you looked when talking about her. So, you probably found her whereabouts?”

Luhan squinted his eyes while wondering why he hasn’t told Kris yet. Both Chanyeol and Kyungsoo knew about it, but Luhan was keeping Kris in the dark, even if they are the closest of the gang. “Actually, I’ve been her neighbor for a while.”

A moment of silence fell upon the two. Suddenly, Kris took off his apron and gloves and went outside the kitchen. Luhan hesitated for a minute before following his buddy. Kris went to the backyard and leaned on the wall, gazing at the sunny sky.

“Sorry, should have told you earlier.”

“You should have. So you were wooing that girl all this time and I didn’t know?”

“Wooing? You misunderstood. We just meet up sometimes, that’s all,” Luhan explained.

“Ts. As if. You somehow got the information where she lived, didn’t you?”

Older boy gulped. Kris probably knew too much how desperate he was on finding Krystal. All those years, he couldn’t really contact her family, and when he did, he didn’t tell his best friend.

“My contacts finally reached her parents. But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect anything from her.”

“But you do now, right?”

Luhan gulped again. His mature friend knew him well.

“I thought my crush would end once I’ve seen her, changed.”

“But?” Kris' hard gaze fell upon Luhan, who now tugged a smile on his lips.

“It’s hard, Kris. She grew up so beautiful, she’s so much more than I remembered. I think my feelings have increased.”

Kris let out a deep breath and turned to his melancholic pal. “So what’s the problem? I don’t think she can resist you charm, other girls can’t.”

“To start, I hit it off badly. She saw my playboy self a few times, now I’m probably in the friend zone. Last night, we were playing around at my place barely clothed and she didn’t even look concerned about it. I had hit the rock bottom.”

Kris smirked. “Why did you show her that side of you?”

“At first it was an accident. She came unexpectedly, and I was just lonely that time.”

“Something tells me that’s not the true reason, Lu,” Kris suspiciously narrowed his eyes.

“You’re right, as always. I was afraid of trying to win her over…”

“…Instead, you wanted to forger her.”

Luhan was a bit taken aback by Kris’ statement, but he couldn’t really deny it either.

“Not as much as forget, well, she was living downstairs after all, maybe I just wanted to show myself that I don’t like her after all.”

“So it backfired, huh?”

“Yep,” Luhan bitterly smiled, his sad eyes saying more than needed.

“So win her over.”

“What?”

“Easy as that. Admit your feelings to her and show your best traits.”

“It’s not that easy. There are some other difficulties.”

“Like what? Does she have a boyfriend?”

“Well, not a boyfriend, but someone else interested in her.”

Kris stood quiet for a while, deeply in thoughts. Luhan patiently waited for what his friend will have to say this time.

“Is she interested in him?”

“I’m not sure. Hope not. But last night he crashed at her apartment and she was okay with it. I think she might have liked his unexpected attitude. That guy sure is troublesome, even I have to admit. He gives that-- true playboy vibe.”

“I know guys like that. Maybe I’ll be able to help you, buddy,” Kris smirked and went back to work, leaving slightly smiling Luhan outside.

*

Krystal rushed towards her next lecture. This Tuesday will be a really hard one: her architecture teacher decided to invite some famous artists today to present some promising students. And Krystal wouldn’t be second top student in whole university if she hadn’t exceeded in her major, which is, arts. So, today she has to show her full potential in the auditorium. How, was the first question the Krystal gave to her architecture teacher when he broke out the news. Apparently, this upcoming lesson will be even more different. Today, all students will have to draw. Sounds easy? Well, it won’t be as easy as it may sound at first. The artists will come up with what the students will have to draw, or design. Krystal is really stressed out by this, since she couldn’t practice before hand. How could she practice, if everything today will be impromptu?

Hissing quietly, she slowly opened the auditorium’s doors and gasped. Only few students were sitting inside, eyes focused on her slow entrance. Checking her hand watch, she made her way to her usual seat which was located at the back of the auditorium. Few students were still watching her, looking as confused as she was. Krystal took out her phone and checked the time again. There was little time left until the lesson starts, but so little people were inside. No professor or promised artists were found either.

“Hey, you look stressed.”

Krystal’s eyes shot right above her desk and met with dark brown orbs. Kai sneakily came up to her unheard, what caused a sudden scare for the girl. Smugly smirking, he sat next to her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Had nothing else to do. Heard some artists are coming today.”

“But you don’t attend architecture,” Krystal reasoned.

“Well, in fact, I do. I most of same lessons as you, remember?”

Krystal distrustfully scoffed. “I can’t believe it. You skip all your lectures. How are you still on the attendance list?”

“My parents do all the work. Well, their money does, actually.”

“How am I not surprised,” she chuckled, focusing on her watch once more.

“I thought more students would show up,” Kai took his backpack (which he surprisingly had today) on his lap and took out a sketchbook and two pencils.

The girl nodded and rested her chin on the left palm. “You said it.”

Eight minutes into the lesson, professor finally showed up. After him came in six people, who Krystal immediately thought were some artists. It was unusual for this teacher to be late.

“Sorry for the long wait,” professor said right away as he carefully eyed his students.

“Wasn’t that long though,” Kai quietly murmured, to what Krystal just spared him one short glare.

“As of now, you may be concerned about other kids. I told them all to not attend today’s lecture.”

Surprised questions were asked there and here, but the teacher shushed them all.

“Only the most talented were chosen for today. So, show these well-known artists,” he waved for the said group of elders to come closer, “and show us all how good you are.”

“Then why am I here?” Kai asked out loud, receiving some soft giggles from girls seated at the front. Professor seemed to only now notice the lost boy, who definitely wasn’t that good at drawing.

Professor scratched his head. “Why are you here?  I didn’t expect you to attend any of my lessons, at least not this month.”

Krystal couldn’t help but laugh, not that loudly though. Somehow teacher’s surprised look made it ten times funnier. Boy seated next to her shifted uncomfortably in his set as those artists gave him confused looks.

“Sorry, but could we begin? We came here later than expected, so to not waste more time-“ one elder woman began, pointing at her expensive Rolex.

“Oh, yes, you take it from here,” professor took his place at the back and watched as others joined that lady at the front.

“Hello, everyone. Your teacher has chosen you because he thinks that your talents are enough for you to shine out there, in the big world. And our mission for today is to select a few of you that could accompany us on our trip to artists’ gathering in Milan. Not only painters and architects, but also designers, composers and choreographers will be there, and many contests will be held. So, the one or two students that catch our eyes this morning will possibly have a chance to work with worldwide known art companies; your graduation will also come sooner too. But let me warn you: we are strict. If no one will interest us enough today, no one will come with us to Milan. So please, give everything you got in this lesson.”

When the lady ended her speech, most of students were left hanging there, waiting for any further information. A man next to the first speaker coughed and smiled to the youngsters.

“Don’t look so scarred, kids. We may be strict, but your professor chose you for a good reason. If you impressed him, I’m sure you will do the same to us, too.”

“On the way here, we discussed on what we want to see from you for today. Some wanted to see your perception on human body; others questioned your way of expressing your feelings. And so we came to conclusion- today you’ll have to construct your perception on yourself. It can be your own body, your face, your emotions- everything you can think of.”

“You may now begin. You have less than two hours left,” professor ended. Panicked murmurs could be heard among concerned students. One stood up, probably too immersed in the heavy atmosphere and walked out of the auditorium. The lady just smirked, as if she was expecting that.

“What will you do?” Kai quietly asked Krystal, who was frozen in her spot.

Wild eyes looking through working students at the front, fingers tightly grabbing her pen, the girl obnoxiously answered. “I have no idea.”

*

“Only twenty minutes left!” professor informed, eyes showing pure concern for his intense students.

“Crap!” Krystal almost screamed, receiving some chuckles from artists.

After what felt like ages to Krystal, she chose to project a house which would represent her mind. She chose a difficult idea, and was really struggling to get it done.

Kai, on the other hand, leisurely painted some dance steps, not giving a care about the time limit.

When the time came, all students had to shortly present their work. Kai volunteered to go first. He danced to a remix of three songs; he called his choreography “Dancing 9 Mix”. Most were left impressed by his swift moves and ability to dance right away, without any practice, just by drawing it. However, artists didn’t praise him as much as the professor did. Krystal was fourth to go, nervously presenting her house of mind. Her architected building design reminded a bit of brains. There were two different sides of the house: one dedicated more on entertainment, there was a library and complex swimming pool, and the other- on work, sleep and eatery zones. To her dismay, none of the artists commented.

When the last one student was done presenting, artists went outside to discuss. Most of the students were shocked by how badly they have worked today.

After ten prolonged minutes, the artists came back.

“Jung Soojung, come here,” the lady announced, her eyes landing on the said girl. Gulping, Krystal quickly found her way next to her professor, who signed upon seeing her expectant eyes.

“I’m really sorry to break it to you guys, but no one met our expectations,” one artist began.

“Professor,” the lady looked at the teacher, “Please send us this girl once she has improved. Right now, we can sense her talent, but she’s lacking too much.”

Others were soon dismissed, even Kai went out. Only Krystal and the lady were left in the auditorium.

“This won’t take long. To tell the truth, we were looking forward to your performance today. Your professor has talked a lot about you, he even send us some of your best works. But, something changed in your heart, hasn’t it?”

Krystal’s eyes wondered around. “I don’t exactly recall what you mean by that, ma’am.”

The lady smiled, removing her strict façade. Placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder, she explained. “Your heart wasn’t fully with us today. Your mind is too complicated right now, even for an artist. Perhaps something bothering you.”

“It’s only because I wasn’t ready for…”

“Nonsense. Fix your mind, solve your problems. Then, we’ll meet you again. Hopefully, it won’t take as much as it took me.”

*

Something about the lady’s words irked Krystal to no end. Taking out her phone, she tapped on messaging application and opened her chat with Jinri. Before she could write a message to her friend, her eyes caught a glimpse of Jinri’s last message.

Are you kidding me? Kai is probably head over heels with you right now. This time, I’m supporting your relationship, Soo. Don’t disappoint me by keeping your feelings to yourself. You like him also, right?

Krystal rubbed her forehead, as if trying to soothe her headache. ‘Maybe you’re right Jinri, maybe I have feelings for that jerk. And if that’s the only thing keeping me from my artist-self, them I’m going to solve this problem.”

*