The classes went smoothly—by that, I didn’t mean understanding all the lessons. They were just smooth in the sense that catching Jessica’s secret glances at me through my peripheral vision was so satisfying. Of course, I wasn’t going to let her catch me looking at her too, no matter how desperately I wanted to.

Who wouldn’t want to look at that goddamn beauty anyway? Her s though, she should hide them better. They should only be for my eyes to see. Also, it’s winter. Wear some turtlenecks, woman!

I could only heave a sigh as I thought about how her unmistakably expensive white tank top and blue unclosed jacket were revealing the milky skin of her cleavage.

Out of the blue, “Right, Tiffany?” the professor hacked into my attention.

Right, what?

My forehead scrunched, and I said the first thing that came to mind. “Yes?” For reasons unknown to me, it sent the whole class bursting into mocking cackles. I scanned the room and caught Sunny doing a facepalm, Jason stifling a chuckle, Yuri playfully rolling her eyes, Taeyeon wrinkling her nose, and Jessica being the only one who seemed uneasy.

“I said we shouldn’t have tests as they are extremely unnecessary. Is that right, Tiffany?” The professor repeated himself. Clearly, I wasn’t able to catch it the first time because I didn’t clean my ears well enough this morning.

Okay, lie. I was totally spacing out. And lusting over Jessica’s soft s.

“Oh. I mean, no.” I put my hands over my chest for theatrical effect. “Tests are important to—to really determine if we learned something here,” I uselessly expounded.

After a quick, but felt so long, minute, everyone finished laughing at my expense. A few more minutes later, the dismissive bell rang.

Sunny and I were walking together towards the door when Jason strolled towards me. “Tiffany, do you have a minute?” He queried, wearing a troubled face.

My best friend’s face swept to me with evident curiosity. She simply stood until I gave her a heads up, pointing at the door, wordlessly telling her she can go ahead and meet her boyfriend in the hall.

The moment I turned to Jason, memories of the last time I was in their house flashed before my eyes. Right, he found out about Jessica and me, and we had not spoken since. I wanted to at least say hello when I first saw him yesterday, but guilt got the best of me.

I cleared my throat to get rid of the forming lump. “How’s it going, Jason?”

I knew very well that he must have felt betrayed, considering he confessed to having adored me all these years, and we actually had a great time as friends.

“It’s been like what—more than three months. I’m just wondering how you’re doing.” He started pacing towards the corner, making sure we would have some privacy, so I followed his lead. “I didn’t have the guts to text you after that incident, which makes me feel like a horrible friend,” he rambled, struggling to compose his thoughts.

I was embarrassed but still managed to smile appropriately. “Yeah. I feel bad for not texting either. It’s just that I didn’t know what to tell you.”

He shrugged with a small, optimistic arc on his lips. “If I’m being honest, I still don’t know what to tell you either. Right now, I guess I just want to tell you that I didn’t tell anyone about you and my cousin being, you know, more than just friends.” He coyly admitted, breaking eye contact.

He really is a nice guy.

“I really appreciate that. I hope you know I regret going behind your back and not telling you about our,” I paused and rolled my eyes. “Well, Jessica and I’s relationship.”

I watched as his demeanor shifted from extremely awkward to more laidback. “You don’t owe me anything. That includes no heads up, no explanation.” He smiled and gave me a quick pat on the head. “Are we cool?”

It felt as if a boulder had been lifted from my chest. “We’re good.” I sighed in relief.

That was basically how the end of the class went. The encounter with Jason made me lose track of Jessica and Taeyeon, so I didn’t get to have one last glance at her pretty face before she went home.

I went to catch up with Sunny and Sungmin, then bid my farewell. They went to have dinner at a restaurant nearby while I went straight to the dorm, planning to hit the hay early.

I was walking in the dorm hall while rummaging through my bag to get my key. As I was nearing, I saw—wait, is that an ?

“Are you being for real right now?” I madly spat as I rushed, ready to punch whoever was by my door.

The quickly transformed into a face when the previously crouching body stood erect and turned to look at me. “Jesus Christ. You should just give me a key. I look suspicious with all these pins,” the queen lesbian complained, waving the hairpins in front of me.

“Oh, it’s just you.” I exhaled loudly, releasing all the annoyance that quickly built up, thinking I was getting robbed. “Are you seriously using bobby pins to unlock my door?” I hit her shoulder with the back of my hand, indirectly commanding her to step aside.

“Yeah, so what?” She angrily squinted and moved to the side.

How dare she squint at me? I should be the one getting mad here. The audacity!

As soon as I unlocked the door, she spoke, but it sounded more like a complaint. “Finally.”

I shot her a killer glare, though we both knew it was unserious. She responded with a short laugh and even had the nerve to walk in first.

I tossed my bag on the couch, and she did the same. “So, what is it now? Are you here to haul your flowers back?” I asked as I sat on the chair of my two-seater dining table, kicking my shoes off.

“Flowers are all yours.” She slumped on the couch and briefly said. “I’m in hiding.”

Okay, that isn’t really an explanation. Oh right, that judo club president. Is hitting on her not enough, so he’s stalking her too?

Before I could say anything, she started explaining. “I’m going to start sleeping here for a few days, maybe weeks. Let’s not get caught by the nun. You should be very careful.”

Why is she talking as if I’m the one trespassing? Whatever, she’s the queen and will do anything she fancies anyway. It’s pointless to counter at this point. Besides, she’s helping me a lot with Jessica. This is the least I can do.

“Do I even have a choice?” I sarcastically answered, showing her an obviously fake smile. “Stay as long as you want.” I threw my hands in the air to express my surrender. “You will have to sleep on the couch, though.”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare sleep with your closeted gay .”

That was essentially how the day ended. Fortunately, the queen didn’t snore, or I would’ve kicked her out right there and then.

The following day wasn’t like yesterday. There was no Jessica showing up at my doorstep with a Starbucks paper bag in hand. I wasn’t surprised, but I was surely disappointed.

She gives up that easily? She really ain’t .

Well, not until I got to the classroom, and the first thing that caught my attention was a Starbucks drink on my desk. My sight quickly found its way to Jessica, who was wearing a smile.

The feeling of butterflies in my stomach swiftly washed all over me. I did my best to prevent a beam from crawling out of my features, but as expected, I didn’t have any success on that. I shot her a small smile before sauntering towards my seat.

“Good morning. And there’s coffee from your not-so-secret admirer,” Sunny stated the obvious as she watched me park myself on my chair.

“Good morning, indeed,” I enthusiastically greeted her back.

“I’m not even going to lecture you anymore. Act cool, play hard to get, and get rid of that smile. It’s giving you away,” she hopelessly concluded.

The following days were almost identical. I would wake up, fight with Yuri on who gets to shower first, walk into the classroom, acknowledge the Starbucks coffee on my desk, and shoot the sponsor a smile without saying anything else.

In between classes, I spent most of my time trying not to look at the girl I used to love.

Fine! Who am I kidding? I spent most of the time trying not to look at the girl I still love.

On most days, I would adore her gorgeous face and how her luxurious outfits wrapped her flawless body perfectly. But on some days, I would fantasize about how hot she was. I could still vividly remember her being , and us doing things in bed.

Oh my God, Tiffany. You’re hopeless.

The routine went on for two weeks, and she still had not once attempted to talk to me. The most interaction we had was exchanging smiles every morning and me catching her stealing glances at me as I sip on my coffee.

Why is she not talking to me? Does she really still want me? At this point, I’m quite convinced she’s just trying to make me fat with the amount of caramel macchiato I had been consuming. Hm.

Not to forget the killer glares I constantly got from Taeyeon, even knowing damn well that Nick set me up. She should have forgiven me like how Jessica did, but taking into account they were best friends, she probably was just being protective, the way Sunny was also protective of me.

It was a chill Friday night when I got back to the dorm. There was no lesbian poking her head around the room. I thought she was out and about like usual, but I heard water dripping from the shower.

I was about to change into my pajamas when the bathroom door flung open. “Go hop in the shower,” Yuri hurriedly said as she struggled to tie her robe.

All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind. “What the hell,” I stupidly sent off. Flabbergast was clearly written all over my face, and I added, “Are you insane?”

The remaining water on her hair dripped to the floor as she put her hands on her hip. She narrowed her eyes, judging my sum total being. “Did you think I’m inviting you to a in the shower?” She lifted her chin and grinned self-righteously.

When realization dawned on me, I instantly wished the ground would open up and swallow me alive. Like a deer caught in the spotlight, I stood not knowing what to say. When I finally realized there was a body part called a tongue, I used it. “Oh, no, no, no.” I tried to deny while awkwardly shaking my head sideways and waving both hands in the air.

She sneered at me in disgust, but I saw a hint of animation in her eyes. “You’re so gross.” She swiftly dismissed. “Go take a shower and wear something nice. We’re going to a gay girls’ bar.”

I didn’t have the slightest interest in going out. Since the classes started a few weeks ago, I had not gone anywhere with anyone. There was only one time when I went to grab dinner with Sunny and Sungmin, and that was it. Well, they weren’t together for a few months when they had to go to their hometowns during the school break, so I let them bond on their own.

Yes, that’s a lame excuse. My still-broken little heart just didn’t have the energy for it.

Maybe it was time to cut the moping around and actually start going out. Besides, Jessica still hadn’t made a move aside from the morning coffees. “Can I bring Sunny and Sungmin?” I inquired.

“What are you—a trouple?” The taller girl chuckled openly.

I gave her a blank stare to let her know that it was a serious question.

“What?” She returned the same expression.

“If people see me alone with you, they’ll know I’m gay. So, can I bring them?”

She rolled her eyes. “Are they gay girls?” She raised an eyebrow, questioning my intellect.

“No,” I stated matter-of-factly.

“Then why would you bring them to a gay girls’ bar?” Okay, if she was previously questioning my intellect, now she was insulting it.

“Maybe Sunny can disguise as one.”

“She can if she doesn’t bring along that—dong.” She made up a disgusted visage, referring to the boyfriend’s .

“But they’re inseparable.” I protested.

“They can keep being inseparable…” She left her words hanging, then added, “outside the bar.” Apparently not wanting to pursue the to