“Thank you,” Jieun said with her head down.

 

“Do those girls— ” Jaemi quickly looked up when she realized she was speaking Korean, “Do those girls—”

 

“I think we both know you can speak Korean pretty fluently,” Jieun muttered.

 

Jaemi fibbed, “What? No—I mean, I can speak a little bit, but I’m not fluent or—”

 

“You don’t have to lie. I already know,” Jieun said with a slight smile.

 

Jaemi looked at her speechlessly.

 

“Why exactly are you pretending?” Jieun questioned.

 

“To be honest, I don’t even know. All I know is that I just have to. But PROMISE ME, you won’t tell anyone! PLEASE!” Jaemi pleaded.

 

Jieun giggled and stuck out her pinky, “Pinky promise!”

 

Jaemi giggled back and did the ‘pinky promise and seal’ with her.

 

The two continued to talk and realized that they had a lot in common. Jaemi also found out that Jieun was one of the students who had the exact same schedule as her. Since they both weren’t eating, they decided to leave the cafeteria and head to class first.

 

“Ready for your tour, lucky girl?” a voice called out of the blue.

 

Jaemi looked up to see the jerk blocking their way, “Oh, it’s… you. And no, I don’t need someone like you to show me around,” she said coldly.

 

“Ouch, that hurts,” he said sarcastically, “And the name’s L.Joe, but you can call me oppa anytime,” he said smirking.

 

Jaemi rolled her eyes and pulled Jieun away, but instead, Jieun was somehow getting further and further away from her. She turned back and realized L.Joe was dragging her away. She quickly fought him off, “WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?! LET GO!”

 

“Were you born stubborn? From this morning to lunch and even now. Is it going to kill you if I showed you around school? No. It doesn’t. So don’t be yelling and acting so childish,” L.Joe hollered back, not knowing why he got so pissed.

 

He let out a sigh while rubbing his forehead with his fingers. He then looked at her, “You know what, forget it. You do whatever you want.”

 

He began walking away from her, thinking about why he even got mad in the first place.

 

Jaemi’s POV:

L.Joe and I started yelling at each other after I broke free from his grip. At that moment, I somehow had the urge to slap him right across the face. I had never been so mad my whole entire life, but what’s funny was the reason why I even got mad. I was angry for the stupidest reason ever and it completely made no sense, but I couldn’t control myself. My whole body was boiling with anger for some odd reason. He looked at me and said a few words before walking away. I hated the way he talked to me and his attitude just made it worse, so when he walked away, my urge to slap him was about to become a reality. I quickly ran up to him and grabbed his arm. He turned to face me as I raised my hand; however, once I reached for his arm, the anger I felt completely disappeared. Instead, I just froze in front of him with my hands semi-raised, like an idiot. He gave me a confused look when I didn’t say or do anything.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked.

 

“Huh? Oh. Um…” Jaemi mumbled as she continued to raise her hand and run it through her hair instead, “Can you, uh... give me that tour?” Jaemi asked feeling a little embarrassed.

 

He gave her a half smile and walked ahead. He turned back to see Jaemi still standing there, “Are you coming or not?”

 

Jaemi looked up and nodded her head. She turned back to Jieun, “Sorry about that. I’ll see you in class, okay?” she said before following L.Joe.

 

 

“Well, that’s pretty much it,” he said walking away, “Later.”

 

“WAIT!” Jaemi hollered at him.

 

He stopped and turned to face her.

 

“Why were you looking for me about the tour anyways? I mean… I could have just lied or asked anyone else to do it.”

 

“I don’t know. I just felt like it,” he simply replied before walking away.

 

She thought about his response, but was still confused. She decided to just leave it and walked over to her next class to find Jieun standing next to her locker.

 

“JIEUN!” she called running towards her, “Sorry about leaving you earlier.”

 

“It’s okay, he can be a handful sometimes,” she said giggling quietly, “Gaja, let’s go to class before we’re late!”

 

Handful? Are they close enough for her to know? She thought.

 

 

“Good afternoon class, please take your seats. I hope you all had a good lunch because now I’m going to assign your groups and explain this semester’s group project. And yes, I know. You all hate group projects, but if you want to pass this class, you’re going to have to do it. So when I call your name and group number, please find each other and sit together,” the teacher instructed.

 

After hearing the names of the three groups so far, Jaemi became even more anxious.

 

“Jaemi, Kai, Jieun, and... L.Joe. The four of you are in group 4.”

 

Jaemi’s eyes widened when she heard L.Joe’s name. Out of all people… She thought.

 

“JAEMI! We’re in the same group!!” Jieun squealed.

 

“Shut up,” L.Joe slurred under his breath.

 

Jieun eyed him before turning back to Jaemi to quietly squeal again.

 

Okay, something is definitely weird about them. Jaemi thought.

 

“Alright class, everyone is seated with their groups, right? This project is going to be worth half your grade, so listen up,” the teacher uttered, “You and your group are in charge of creating a film—and I’m sorry boys, you aren’t going to like the concept, but since Valentine’s Day and White Day is coming up soon, this project is going to be based on love and romance. The film can basically be anything you want—trailer, commercial, music video… anything. The project will be due a month from now on Valentine’s Day. So, be creative and discuss with your group to brainstorm some good ideas. Also, don’t forget to fun while doing this project, alright?”

 

Once the teacher finished speaking, everyone started to talk within their groups—everyone except Group 4.

 

The four of them looked at one other, but no one said a word until Kai finally broke the ice, “Alright Mr. Casanova, what ideas do you have?”

 

“About love and romance?” L.Joe chuckled, “Sorry, but that’s not my thing.”

 

“How about something like true love or love at first sight?” Jieun suggested.

 

“True love? Love at first sight?” L.Joe repeated with mockery, “How old are you, five? Those things only happen in dramas. This is the real world.”

 

Kai turned towards Jaemi, “What about you? You’re a girl, so what ideas do you have?”

 

She looked at him and hesitated, “Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I know everything about love.”

 

“No way… Don’t tell me you never received candy from a guy before,” L.Joe muttered.

 

She looked at him without saying a word.

 

“While living in the states, you never received candy on Valentine’s Day before?” L.Joe said almost laughing, “Oh my gosh, that’s—”

 

Before he could finish his sentence, Kai took his elbow and jabbed L.Joe’s chest, making him choke a little.

 

RINGGGG!

 

“Come on,” Jieun said pulling Jaemi’s arm, “We’ll be at the ice cream shop down the street if you guys want to come and discuss the film with us.”

 

After the girls left, L.Joe felt a huge smack on his head, “OW!” he bellowed, “YA! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?”

 

“For being stupid,” Kai said walking away.

 

“Aish,” he muttered then scoffed, “I was just having a little fun.”

 

 

As the girls were walking towards the ice cream shop, Jieun suddenly got a phone call.

 

“Mianhae, something urgent came up. We’ll talk about the project later tonight? Here’s my number!” Jieun said, handing her a piece of paper.

 

The two waved goodbye and went their separate ways. Since there was no reason for Jaemi to go to the ice cream shop anymore, she decided to go straight home.

 

“JAEMI-SSI,” a voiced hollered from afar.

 

Jaemi turned back to see Kai running towards her.

 

“Where are you going? You just passed the ice cream shop,” he said before looking around, “Where’s Jieun?”

 

“She had to leave,” she simply replied.

 

“Oh. Well, um… are you hungry?”

 

“Oh uh… not really,” Jaemi fibbed. Next thing she knew, her belly started to growl. She quickly grabbed onto her stomach and looked over at Kai awkwardly.

 

Kai laughed and walked ahead, “Gaja!”

 

 

Jaemi and Kai arrived to the restaurant and ordered two servings of bulgogi.

 

“About what L.Joe said, I just want to apologize—”

 

“It’s okay, you don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t your fault,” she said smiling.

 

Their order came out and Kai began to slowly cook the bulgogi while Jaemi was just eyeing each and every piece he placed on the grill. Noticing her stares, he gave her the first piece.

 

She looked at him and smiled, “Thanks.”

 

As they continued to eat, Kai couldn’t help but noticed how much meat Jaemi was eating.

 

“Wow, I’ve never seen anyone love meat this much before,” he said laughing.

 

She gave him a smile and began looking through her bag to find her wallet, but before she could get it out, Kai already paid for everything.

 

“How much was the bill? I’ll pay you back,” she said.

 

“Ani, don’t worry about it. It’s on me. Think of it as my ‘Welcome to Korea’ treat.”

 

Jaemi chuckled and kindly thanked him.

 

The two walked out of the restaurant, “Thanks again for lunch today. I’ll remember to pay you back next time!” she said before walking away.

 

“Remember that!” he said jokingly, “Wait, do you still want to talk about the project?”

 

Jaemi turned and answered, “We can discuss it in class tomorrow.”

 

He smiled and went his way, but he suddenly turned back and ran up to her, “Wait!”

 

She looked at him confused, “Yeah?”

 

“Uh... I’ll walk you home,” he hesitated, “It’s not safe to walk alone.”

 

She smiled and nodded her head.

 

 

“Thanks again for everything,” Jaemi said opening the gates to her house.

 

“Before you go,” he started, “can I borrow your phone really quick? I kind of left mines at home.”

 

She nodded and handed her phone to him. He began dialing, but instead of making a call, he returned the phone back to her, “If you need anything, call me!” Kai said running backwards as he waved goodbye.

 

Jaemi chuckled to herself and waved back.

 

 

The next morning, Jaemi was outside her house locking the gates.

 

“Hey.”

 

“OMO!” Jaemi shrieked as she slightly slammed against the gates, “What are you doing here?”

 

“Just thought we could walk to school together,” L.Joe said nonchalantly.

 

Jaemi gave him a weird look, “Okay? Now what’s the real reason. And… how do you know where I live?”

 

“Kai. He wouldn’t stop bothering me until I came over to apologize, so... sorry.”

 

Jaemi rolled her eyes and walked away.

 

“So does that mean you forgive me?” L.Joe asked, still unsure.

 

Jaemi ignored him and continued walking to school. Halfway there, Jaemi made a sharp turn around the corner.

 

OOMPH!

 

“Omo, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you ther—”

 

“Jaemi?”

 

“Kai?” she questioned back, “Why are you walking the opposite direction from school?”

 

“Uh… I thought we could walk together,” he answered, “Did you by any chance see—”

 

“L.Joe? Yeah, why? Are you going to make him apologize to me again?” Jaemi joked.

 

“He told you?” he said scratching his head awkwardly, “Uh… should we head to school then?”

 

Jaemi giggled and nodded.

 

 

As Kai and Jaemi entered the school’s gate, whisperings between the students increased.

 

“Isn’t she the new kid?”

 

“She’s the girl who stood up against Suzy, right? Daebak.”

 

“Why is she walking with Kai?”

 

“Damn… she’s hella hot.”

 

“She’s just in the same group project as him, Kai oppa would never go that low.”

 

Jaemi could hear all their loud whispers—whether they were compliments or rude remarks, they made her uncomfortable and upset either way.

 

Kai noticed and quietly whispered, “Don’t be bothered by them.”

 

Jaemi looked at him and slightly smiled before nodding her head.

 

They both arrived to their homeroom class, but she could still hear students whispering to each other in their seats. She tried her best to ignore them, but their words couldn’t help but go through her ears. She finally decided to take out Unchangeable Fate to distract herself.

 

“Morning Jaemi. Why didn’t you call me last night?” Jieun asked, running into class.

 

“Oh right, sorry. I totally forgot.”

 

“It’s alright. By the way,” Jieun said shifting to a more quiet tone, “what’s up with you and Kai?”

 

Jaemi looked around and whispered back, “I’ll tell you later.”

 

As the day slowly passed, it was finally time for lunch. Jaemi and Jieun headed over to the cafeteria line, but before they got there, Jieun suddenly walked away.

 

“Jieun-ah, where are you going?” Jaemi asked.

 

“You go ahead. I’ll find us some seats,” she answered.

 

After finding a table, Jieun sat down and took out her notebook and began writing. After awhile, a tray of food suddenly landed in front of her. She looked up to see Jaemi smiling.

 

“ENJOY! My treat!” Jaemi echoed.

 

Jieun looked at her almost speechless. Not knowing what to say, her eyes began to water.

 

“Pabo, don’t cry!”

 

Jieun jumped into Jaemi’s arm for a hug, “GOMAWO CHINGU-AH!”

 

While they were eating, someone suddenly came and sat down right next to Jaemi. They slid her tray over to their side and began eating.

 

“What the… YA! WHO DO YOU THINK—” Jaemi hollered out, but when she turned to see who it was, she was more confused than ever, “Oppa?”

 

“Wow, someone’s aggressive,” Jaesung joked.

 

Jaemi chuckled, “Not my fault. The people here aren’t exactly the nicest people. They bring out the ‘mean’ me.”

 

“Yeah, I heard what happened at lunch yesterday. Quite savage of you,” he laughed before looking over at Jieun. He awkwardly smiled before leaning over to Jaemi, “Remember what dad said? English.”

 

Jaemi giggled, “Don’t worry, Jieun already knows.”

 

“Really? Well then, Jieun. I hope you can keep our little secret,” Jaesung winked.

 

Jieun blushed and nodded her head before turning back to her notebook. Jaesung looked over, “What are you writing?”

 

“Just a few ideas for our group project,” she said shyly.

 

“Can I read them?”

 

A little embarrassed by her cliché ideas, she slightly hesitated before handing him her notebook.

 

“These ideas aren’t bad. They’re actually quite cute,” he praised before handing the notebook back to her, “Anyways, I’ll leave you two alone to eat and do your work. Good luck with the project girls.”

 

Once Jaesung left, Jaemi noticed Jieun blushing like crazy. Knowing what that meant, she smiled at her.

 

 

“Since this project is worth a lot, I’m giving you the rest of class to work on it. If you have any other questions, just come by my desk and ask me. Other than that, go ahead and get together with your group,” the teacher said.

 

While everyone got together, Group 4 was the only group still sitting separately. Jaemi and Jieun sat together on one side of the class while L.Joe and Kai sat on the other side.

 

“Let’s go over to them,” Jieun said.

 

“Why should we? They should be the ones coming over to us,” Jaemi said, defending her pride.

 

“Come on Jaemi! We need to discuss what we’re going to do. All the other groups have their ideas already, except for us. I don’t want to fail!” Jieun pleaded.

 

Knowing that Jieun was right, she agreed and went over to the guys. As the two sat down near them, they realized the guys were actually asleep the whole time.

 

“Ya. WAKE UP!” Jaemi quietly shrieked as she kicked their seats.

 

“You do know how loud you are, right?” L.Joe said sitting up, “What do you want?”

 

“The project,” Jieun answered.

 

However, the guys were slowly falling back asleep. Jaemi rolled her eyes and kicked their seats again.

 

“Okay, okay. What ideas do you have?” Kai asked.

 

“Jieun actually had a few,” Jaemi said flipping through her notebook, “Okay, not that I was ever doubting you or anything, but… he was right. These ideas are pretty good.”

 

Upon hearing the word ‘he’, both L.Joe and Kai looked over at Jaemi.

 

“What do you guys think about a drama? They’re usually a bit hit, so… maybe a trailer?” Jaemi suggested.

 

“I can be the director and editor!” Jieun volunteered.

 

“Kai can be the cameraman,” L.Joe said languidly as he laid back, “You still have that camera from your photography days, right?”

 

Kai gave a thumbs-up as he laid back in his seat as well.

 

“Great! So what’s our story going to be about?” Jaemi asked.

 

“Actually, I have a story in mind,” Jieun said shyly, “Why don’t we meet on Sunday and start filming. I’ll write-up a script and bring them to you guys.”

 

Jaemi nodded while the boys lazily agreed as they went back to sleep.

 

 

“Didn’t you tell them to meet us here at 1?” Jaemi said shivering in the cold.

 

Jieun nodded, “Do you think we should call them? Do you have their numbers?”

 

“N—” Jaemi suddenly remembered having Kai’s number, “Yeah, hold on.”

 

She clicked his name and he quickly picked up, “Yoboseyo? Where are you guys?”

 

“Turn around.”

 

She quickly did and saw the two of them walking towards them. Unknowingly, the corner of Jaemi’s mouth curved up as she hung up.

 

“YOU’RE LATE!” Jieun hollered as she shivered.

 

“At least we showed up,” L.Joe slurred.

 

Jieun glared at him, “Okay, since I’m the director, writer, and editor, and Kai is the cameraman. Jaemi, you and L.Joe are going to play the main leads,” she declared.

 

“Wait, what? You want us to pretend to be lovers?” Jaemi asked to clarify.

 

“Why? Scared you might actually fall in love with me?” L.Joe blabbered.

 

Jaemi made a disgusted face, “Oh please. You’re the one who should be worried.”

 

A little bothered, Kai cut in, “Enough. Let’s begin shooting the first scene already.”

 

“Alright, starting over there,” Jieun beckoned, “I want you two to walk over towards the playground. I’ll give further instructions as we film.”

 

They both nodded their heads and went over to the spot Jieun pointed to.

 

“Okay, record,” Jieun instructed, “Now… walk!”

 

The two started walking towards the playground like Jieun instructed, but within a few seconds, Jieun shouted out, “CUT!”

 

“What? Did we do something wrong?” Jaemi asked.

 

“What are you two doing? You’re supposed to play LOVERS, not strangers. Hold hands, link arms, have your arms around her—I don’t know, something! At least have some type of skinship people!” Jieun hollered, “Alright, let’s start over. Take two.”

 

L.Joe and Jaemi went back to their original spots and as soon as Jieun yelled ‘action’, the two of them just stood there awkwardly, staring at each other.