Jaemi, Jieun, and JB were in class talking to one another when all of a sudden they noticed everyone gossiping about the same thing.

“Did you see the new girl?”

“She’s so tall and beautiful… I’m so jealous.”

“I heard her family is really rich too.”

Jaemi laughed, “I’m guessing there’s a new student.”

A random student came up to the three of them, “The new girl is looking for you,” she said nervously.

Jaemi looked at her, “Me?”

The student nodded her head and left.

She looked at JB and Jieun, “Why would the new girl look for me?”

They shrugged their shoulders, “Do you know anyone who’s coming?” Jieun asked.

“No, why would I know—”

Suddenly, a familiar face walked into the classroom.

“Wait… isn’t that—”

The girl took off her sunglasses, “JAMIE! I MISSED YOU!”

“Oh my gosh… KRYSTAL!!” she said running towards her for a hug, “I haven’t seen you in so long!”

“I know!! We have a lot to catch up on!” she said as they both jumped up and down.

JB coughed, “You forgot another best friend over here,” he said walking over.

They both laughed, “I missed you too JB!”

“Me too,” Jaemi teased.

He lightly smacked her head and hugged Krystal.

“I can’t believe they are all from America. Hearing their fluent English is so cool,” a random student whispered in awe.

The three of them overheard and giggled.

“Oh, let me introduce you to my best friend, Jieun.”

“Hi, I’m Krystal,” she said smiling.

Jieun smiled back, “Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You must be amazing since,” she coughed, “Jaemi is very picky with her friends.”

Jaemi gave her a look, “Are you calling yourself amazing?”

Krystal looked back at her, “Uh… duh? I mean look at me.”

Everyone laughed.

“We should hang out after school and catch up, plus I want to get to know Jieun too!” Krystal suggested.

Jaemi and Jieun agreed.

“Yay, I’m excited! We can go to this really pretty cafe I saw on my way here.”

“I can’t. I have some errands to do for my father,” JB said, “But you girls have fun.”

“Boo, party pooper!” Krystal joked.

 

 

At the cafe, the girls began to get to know one another and catch up on each other’s lives.

“Wow Jaemi, you went from zero boys in America to a hottie in Korea,” Krystal joked.

“Ha ha, very funny. Kai and I are just friends now.”

“What about that L.Joe guy?”

“What about him?”

“Have you ever dated him?”

Jaemi choked on her drink, “Dated him? No, what? Where did you get that from?”

“I don’t know, you guys seem like you would make a cute couple.”

Jieun giggled to herself.

Jaemi slightly shoved her, “So not funny.”

The girls laughed, but it suddenly got quiet.

“I don’t know if I should bring this up or not, but… why did you guys—”

“Break up?” Krystal interrupted as she placed her drink down.

Jieun looked at them confused as Jaemi nodded her head.

Krystal paused for a minute and sighed, “Our feelings as a couple just weren’t… mutual.”

“You mean… JB had feelings for someone el—”

“Yeah.”

Jieun choked on her drink, “I’m sorry for being rude, but you dated… JB?” she whispered loudly.

Krystal laughed and nodded, “But we still love each other. Just as friends, not lovers.”

“Well, I’m glad you guys are still friends,” Jaemi said smiling.

Suddenly, someone sat down beside Krystal.

“Who are still friends?” JB asked.

“What are you doing here?” Jaemi asked back.

“I finished early,” he said taking a sip from Krystal’s drink.

She giggled, “AH! By the way, when do I get to see you in your gumiho form!” she whispered.

JB and Jieun froze as they looked at each other and then at Jaemi.

Jaemi looked at them and chuckled.

“You know?!?” JB questioned.

“Of course, I was the first to know!”

“How? You were in America.”

“I talked to her the first day I found out over the phone,” Jaemi said.

“And not me?!?” JB joked.

Jieun laughed, “I never seen him so jealous in a single day before.”

They all laughed.

“Why did you decide to come here so late though? School is literally ending in a month,” Jaemi questioned.

“It’s so lonely in America without you two. I rather just finish the rest of my school year here with you guys!”

Krystal looked at the time, “Oh, I should get going. I need to help my parents move in. I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

“I actually have to leave too,” Jieun said, “My mom’s probably looking for me.”

The two left, leaving Jaemi and JB alone.

“It’s nice having our group together again,” JB said while munching on the snacks on the table.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

It got quiet and Jaemi decided to speak up, “Random question, but... do you like anyone?”

JB stopped midway of eating, “W—what do you mean?” he faked laugh.

“Oh don’t lie to me, do you? Who is she?”

JB looked into her eyes, but turned away and laughed, “No one.”

She looked at him in disbelief, “Okaaaay, if you say so.”

He chuckled, “Come on, I’ll take you home. It’s getting late.”

 

 

“Why aren’t any of my friends at school yet?,” Krystal mumbled to herself, “How am I supposed to pick up my uniform if I don’t even know where the office is.”

She made a sharp turn around the corner and bumped into someone. She fell to the floor and rubbed her head.

“I’m sorry,” the guy said bending down.

Krystal looked at him. Wow... he’s handsome. She thought to herself. He quickly examined her.

Kai looked at her, “Pen girl?”

“Huh?”

“I was the one who returned the pen you dropped yesterday.”

Krystal looked at him again, “Oh! Yeah, thank you for that.”

Kai smiled, “You just transferred here yesterday, right?”

She nodded her head.

“You’re probably looking for the office for your uniform. I’m heading there right now, so we can just walk together.”

Krystal smiled and followed his lead.

When they reached the office, Kai pointed her to the back where she could pick up and change into her uniform. She thanked him and went to the end of the office. When she left, Kai grabbed a form on the desk, but soon realized there was no pen in sight. He began to rummage through his backpack to find one.

Suddenly, a pen appeared in front of him.

Kai turned to see Krystal handing him a pen, he chucked, “Thanks.”

“I’m a pen girl for a reason,” she laughed.

“Thank you…” he paused.

“Krystal.”

“Thank you Krystal,” he said handing the pen back.

She looked at the time on her phone, “Oh, I’m going to be late. Thanks again for helping!” she said running out of the office.

She suddenly stopped outside, “Did I forget something?”

She pondered a bit, “It’s probably nothing,” she said before dashing off again.

 

 

“HIS NAME!” Krystal shouted, “I forgot his name.”

Jaemi jumped from her sudden shout.

“Forgot whose name?”

Krystal looked at her, “There’s this cute guy I met, but I totally forgot to ask for his name. He knows mine though.”

“Do you have class with him?” she asked.

“No…”

“Maybe you do! I hate you.”

Jaemi laughed out loud, “Harsh.”

She laughed, “I mean, how did you get classes with all your friends. JB, Jieun, even Kai and L.Joe. And I’m here with no classes with anyone. I couldn’t even get at least one class with you guys, especially with your ex-boyfriend and future boyfriend. I want to know how they look like!!”

Jaemi choked on her own saliva, “Ex-boyfriend and future boyfriend?” she said getting up.

“I WAS KIDDING!” Krystal said running away.

“YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET YOU EVEN SAID THAT!”

Jaemi began chasing Krystal around the house as they laughed.

 

Once Krystal left, Jaemi took a shower and laid down on her bed and began to think about what Krystal said.

“Future boyfriend?” Jaemi said to herself.

She scoffed out loud, but a smile couldn’t help but appear on her face. She quickly smacked her head, “Ugh, I need some sleep.”

 

 

Footsteps could be heard as someone came closer to her. The person bent down to her face and placed her hair behind her ear, “I’m sorry,” he said.

L.Joe leaned in and gently kissed her.

Jaemi bolted up from her bed and rubbed her forehead, “Why do I keep dreaming about the same thing…”

 

 

“Unnie!” Jaemi called as she walked through the door.

No answer.

“Hyomin unnie?”

Silence. Jaemi looked around and found a note sitting on the table.

Sorry, Jaemi. I won’t be able to meet you today. An old friend unexpectedly came to visit, so I thought I would catch up with her. She may be a great help to you later on, so I’ll introduce you to her when the time is right. However, since I won’t be there, I just want you to continue to practice with what we have been working on during the past week. I know something has been bothering you lately, but try to clear your mind and focus on you and your breathing. Don’t stress too much about it, your skill will reveal itself eventually. Good luck!

Jaemi placed the note down and took off her school’s uniform jacket, “Alright, let’s do this.”

She sat down on the floor and began clearing her mind. Within an hour, her mind went completely blank. All her thoughts went toward her breathing, but that didn’t last long before a sudden thought of L.Joe leaning towards her appeared. Jaemi opened her eyes in shock and sighed, “Again?”

She stretched out her legs and leaned back on her arms as she tilted her head up. She took a deep breath and brought her head back down, “I should just help Hyomin clean up.”

Jaemi got up and began to organize and clean around the studio. After a few hours, she sat down and rested her head on the table. A growl began to rumble inside of Jaemi’s stomach. She rubbed her belly, “I’m so hungry… Ugh, I just want some meat right now, I haven’t eaten any in so long... I seriously feel like a vegetarian gumiho.”

Jaemi suddenly heard footsteps coming into the gallery. She quickly got up, “Sorry, we’re clo—”

“Nice gallery,” L.Joe said.

She looked at him, “What are you doing here?”

“I was around the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by,” he said looking around.

She looked at him without saying a word.

L.Joe nodded his head as he looked around then turned to face her, “Should we get lunch?”

“Huh?”

“I heard you haven’t had meat in a while,” he smiled.

 

 

A tray of meat came out and all Jaemi could do was stare at it.

L.Joe laughed, “Go ahead.”

Jaemi smiled and began to devour everything on the plate. He sat there smiling as he watched her.

“Why aren’t you eating?” she asked.

He chuckled and ate a piece. She looked at him and chuckled back.

When they finished, Jaemi’s phone rang, “Sorry, I’m going to take this really quick,” she said leaving to the bathroom.

A few minutes after she left, L.Joe called the waiter, “Can I get the bill?”

“Your bill has already been paid for.”

“What?”

“Your girlfriend paid for the bill just a few moments ago.”

“Oh,” he nodded his head in confusion as the waiter left.

L.Joe’s phone suddenly buzzed.

Sorry, something came up, so I have to head back to the gallery. Thanks for taking me out though. And don’t worry about the bill, I took care of it since you have been paying for all my meals every time we go out. Today will be my treat!

Jaemi

He smiled and replied back.

Ouch, the waiter probably thinks I’m a bad boyfriend now since he thinks my girlfriend left me.

L.Joe

She read the text and laughed.

 

 

Jaemi arrived to an empty gallery.

“Professor Seon?” she called, “That’s weird… he said he was already here.”

She picked up her phone to make a call, but a woman suddenly appeared.

Jaemi looked at her, “Who are— Wait… you’re — you’re the lady I keep seeing around.”

 

After a while, L.Joe decided to go back to the gallery to check up on her. He walked in, but quickly stopped when he heard people talking.

“What do you want? Why are you following me?”

“Jaemi-ah—”

“How do you know my name? What do you want from me?” she questioned, “Who are you?”

Concerned, L.Joe took a step to go in, but he suddenly stopped when the lady spoke up.

“Naneun… dangsin eomma,” she said almost tearing up.

Jaemi’s eyes widen.

 

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Sorry for being MIA, but I'm going to be slowly coming back!