It happened every time and it only got stronger.   Every time I heard his voice or got a glimpse of his little face, the annoyance only worsened. So, I decided to do the very thing that would make the irritation stop.   Avoid Hanbin.   At all cost.   I didn’t want to be in his presence because I knew the relentless feeling would only visit me again. But, even when I find myself alone, he still manages to bother me – he clings to every single one of my thoughts.   I need to tell you all that it has been a few days since that evening I saw Hanbin and Woochan together. And since then, I figure this was the only way and I thought the awful feeling would get better because in this situation, my way was the obvious solution.   But, the thing is; it never stopped.    The memory replayed in my mind over and over again and it was so darn hard to distract myself from it.    “Jiwoo.”   “God, leave me alone.” I mumbled but it didn’t stop Bobby from coming into the classroom to bug me.    “What’s up with you?” He sat down in the seat in front of my desk, wondering about my obvious bad mood.   I motioned around the classroom. “Sitting…in a classroom.”    Bobby wasn’t amused by my smart mouth and continued staring at me blankly. “So, why don’t you share what’s going through your mind?”   “Are you sure that’s safe?” I retorted, trying to keep my temperament calm.    My answer spurs a small smile from Bobby. Who allowed him to be amused? Because I sure didn’t.   “So, you think it’s a good idea to avoid Hanbin…while he’s avoiding you – where is the logic in that?” Bobby questioned.   “I had realized something, Bobby.” Fine, I’ll share some of my logic. “I am in a bad mood because of Hanbin and if I want the bad mood to go away, I obviously have to stay clear of the very thing that is causing my bad mood.” I was just a second away from shouting.   I can’t handle these sudden angry emotions. Just for all of your information, I don’t really get angry often. I never cared to. But according to my plan, these emotions should soon disappear and I shall be free again.   “So, how did Hanbin cause this bad mood of yours?”   I’m really not in a good place to answer Bobby’s obvious question but I knew if I didn’t go along with it, it’s only going to get worse for me. “He has no right to be mad at me or ignore me and the funny thing is – and it’s really funny so you can laugh –“ I stated pointedly. “In the beginning, this is what I wanted but he didn’t give it to me then but now that he has Woochan, he does it so readily.” I didn’t do anything wrong so there is nothing for me to admit. I revealed the secret as a way to fix their friendship and to stop Mino from lashing out – I was acting as the solution in the given situation.    “So, you don’t want to be ignored by Hanbin.” Bobby reasoned after listening to me.   I breathed out in frustration. “That’s not what it is.” I denied though it didn’t seem like Bobby was convinced. “I feel wronged.” I corrected him curtly.   Bobby pursed his lips as he became busy with his own thoughts. “…Let’s go back to the ‘Woochan’ thing.”   His response only encouraged my annoyed attitude. “That’s not even the focus.”   “Yes, it is.” Bobby interposes. “You feel pushed aside now that Woochan is in the picture.”   I looked elsewhere, pretending like I didn’t hear him.    “You got comfortable because Hanbin has been stuck with you ever school started but now you’re feeling the pressure.” Bobby adds. “So, what reason is there to explain why you’re afraid of losing Hanbin?”   I snapped my head back to face Bobby, whose teasing smile did nothing to calm my unnerving feelings. I had no response while I could tell Bobby was satisfied with my silence. The kid lived to do this to me.   Before my silence can drag on any longer, Bobby suddenly realizes something – not much of a surprise. “Well I guess there could be another reason to this whole thing –“ Though he did say that, it still looked like he was doing it to humor me. “It’s also a normal response. When someone is mad at you, you tend to get mad back at the person – “   “Now you’re making sense.” I finally break my silence.   “ – That’s what you wanted me to say, right?”   See? I knew he was just humoring me.   “I think the second reason may be a more plausible one.”    “Of course you do.” Bobby sighs while leaning back into his seat in a more relaxed manner. “It’s in your nature to take the safe route. But, I think it’s something else.” Bobby interjects and it only makes me drop my head into my hand.    Here it comes.   “Why don’t you be clearer this time?” I can only hope since Bobby is never straightforward when it comes to disclosing or sharing things.   I was met with silence and I lifted my head to meet his eyes.    “Well?”   “Is it because you’re a beginner that you don’t even understand what is clearly going on?”   “Beginner in what?” I questioned. This isn’t sharing or being clear, this is Bobby giving me more riddles that I have no patience to solve – which proves my point. My eyes followed Bobby as he gets up from his seat.   “This is easy and I gave you enough hints – figure it out yourself.”   I scoffed after hearing the words he left for me.    This is what he lives for.   He wants me to lose my mind.   Catching myself – I took a deep breath and leaned back into my chair. I was only sitting here in this classroom – skipping lunch (which is such a surprise) because I fully intend to avoid Hanbin but that wasn’t the only reason. I am completely aware of my bad attitude and I didn’t want to displace it on someone else – like Sanghee…or Donghyuk…or even Jinhwan. The more I try to suppress the irritation, the more it worsens.    This is all Hanbin’s fault.   ***   Making my way out of the school building, I shivered as the cold wind sent chills down my spine. It would have been bearable if I had those lovely hand warmers but I decided to set it aside – remove it from my sight. It was another solution I thought up but as you can see, it wasn’t effective. The cold would remind me of them…then they would remind me of Hanbin –    Nope, not effective at all.   Standing at my bus stop, I decided to focus on conserving warmth and the fact that someone appeared beside me went completely unnoticed.   “Jiwoo, right?”   The feminine voice prompted me to stop shaking and I looked to the side, peering out from underneath the hood of my winter coat. My eyes landed on the girl’s profile, her cheeks reddened from the cold and I watched her turn to face me.    Woochan.