“She kissed you?”

Kyuhyun stretched his legs out, letting the length of his legs take up most of the space in the narrow walkway. Jongwoon shrugged and stretched his legs out too, realizing that his legs paled in comparison to Kyuhyun’s. “Ha, look at our legs.”

Kyuhyun scratched his nape. “You wanna continue?”

“Oh, right. So, uh, it turns out that she actually appreciated my courage and… I guess that’s where it all began.” He paused, as if taking a moment to reminisce about what used to be. Then he looked straight at Kyuhyun. “Okay, so my point is… Things may not be as bad as they seem. You don’t know what could happen. This could be a blessing in disguise after all.”

“A blessing in disguise?”

“A blessing in disguise.”

“…a blessing in disguise.”

=

Taeyeon leaned on Stephanie’s shoulder. Stephanie leaned on Taeyeon’s head. They had cleared up the previous night’s issue.

“So we both got rejected.”

“Yep.”

“What do we do now?”

Stephanie chuckled. “We should date.”

“We?”

“We.”

“Maybe next time.”

Both girls laughed.

“But really… Just because the guy I liked rejected me and no one has a crush on me, doesn’t mean I should be this upset about everything.”

Stephanie clapped. “You really are the warrior of the team.”

“I haven’t always been the warrior, but thanks.”

After a while Taeyeon poked Stephanie in the gut. “So, lunchtime’s almost over.”

“Mmhmm.”

“And I just wanted to tell you… That you might want to consider Kyuhyun.”

Stephanie sighed. “You know I feel nothing for him.”

“I know! But I also know that it’s time for us to move on. I can’t dictate what you should or shouldn’t do. It’s just a suggestion.”

“We’ll take this slowly. See what happens!”

=

After lunch, Kyuhyun was supposed to meet Taeyeon in the library for tutoring again.

He went to the library, a certain weight pulling at his steps, slowing him down. He wondered how Taeyeon was.

He felt a lot of guilt, but he didn’t want to apologize. He knew he should, but he didn’t think that that was what Taeyeon wanted to hear.

He went to his usual table at the library, intending to sit there and wait for Taeyeon, as he usually did.

But instead of the typically empty table, he found Taeyeon sitting there already, with a file in front of her.

“Hey,” he greeted.

Taeyeon gave a small smile. Then she opened her file. “I figured you should see these.”

Kyuhyun settled down in his seat and watched as Taeyeon retrieved her mathematics result slips from the past years.

After giving her results a quick scan through, he realized that he had an answer to the question he asked his professor a month ago.

“So, why isn’t the second best in the level for math not in this special math class? Afraid to lose to me?”

“She didn’t want to be in here,” the professor answered, a sigh tugging at his lips. “My favorite student would never lose to you.”

“Who is she, anyway?”

“Can’t tell you! She got me to keep it a secret.”

He looked up, shell-shocked and at a loss for words.

“So I guess I don’t need anymore tuition from you.”

Taeyeon got up and left, her steps heavy, but in a different sense from Kyuhyun’s heavy. Her steps were heavy with confidence as she exited the library.

He looked back at her result slips and smiled, suddenly realizing what the whole deal with Taeyeon really was about. From the new year countdown to today, something hit him.

He realized that he didn’t know everything after all.

=

Taeyeon went to the mall with Stephanie after that. While browsing through clothes in a boutique, Stephanie had a thought come to her.

“So, since you left tuition at that, what are you going to do about your math now?”

Taeyeon picked out a blouse and put it against her torso, turning to the mirror to survey her appearance. She smiled, content.

“My math will be fine.”

=

Siwon stood at his locker while Kyuhyun descended the steps from the library. He saw Siwon waiting, and he wondered if he should go nearer. Then Siwon moved and saw him.

“Hey, Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun decided that he had to face Siwon after all. “Hey, Siwon.”

“Listen, about Fany, I…”

“Okay, wait. I don’t want our friendship to fall apart like that, okay? We’ll just let things take its run.”

“…alright. But I just wanted you to know that I didn’t want to become the obstacle between you and her.”

Kyuhyun shrugged. “I kinda figured that out just now.”

“So we cool?”

“Not yet. The fact that you made Fany sad…”

Siwon tried not to curse. His expression grew hard and Kyuhyun chuckled. “I’m just kidding. But you really didn’t have to do that.”

“I had to do it for my best friend.”

“I know… You’re Siwonman, after all. That’s why I don’t blame you for anything. But I do blame myself.”

Siwon punched him in the shoulder. “Hey, come on.”

“It’s no big. I’ll get over this. Just the momentary ‘aw, shucks’ feeling.”

=

After separating with Hyukjae after their final lessons, Hyoyeon went off to the mall, where Stephanie and Taeyeon were.

Taeyeon was trying on an outfit inside the fitting room when Hyoyeon arrived. She greeted Stephanie and took a seat beside her on the couch in the boutique.

“Hey, Hyo, about last night…”

Hyoyeon scoffed. “It’s just a game! Man, you and Hyukjae are so paranoid. I don’t mind, not at all.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Hyoyeon smiled at her, then looked away. “Okay, not really.”

Stephanie put her bag down on the floor and turned to her. “I really didn’t mean to kiss—“

“It’s not about the kiss, Fany,” Hyoyeon retorted, her voice unusually small and meek.

Stephanie smelled trouble. “Then what is it about?”

“It’s about you never telling me about the Hyukjae thing.”

“You mean… When I noticed him first?”

Hyoyeon nodded, almost a little helplessly. Stephanie creased her brows. “I really didn’t… think it mattered,” Stephanie replied.

“Well, it did.”

“Hyo, I’m sorry, but—“

“But…? Fany, you’re my closest friend in this school. I expected that you would tell me everything.”

“Hyoyeon, come on. This isn’t something you’d get mad about, right?”

“But it is. Why was my friend dishonest with me? I want to know the deal with that. Because I expected full honesty from you.”

“Hyoyeon!”

“You do not scream my name like that.”

“Hyo, I can’t believe that this is actually bothering you!”

“Believe it, Fany. It actually is.”

“You’re more taken by the fact that your closest friend hid something this irrelevant to you, and not by the fact that your closest friend kissed your boyfriend?”

Hyoyeon stood up, agitated, almost knocking Stephanie over. “First of all, this whole thing,” she gestured wildly in the air, “isn’t irrelevant to me! And second of all, the kiss was for a game! If you guys didn’t feel anything, then it shouldn’t bother me at all!”

“But does it!?” Stephanie’s eyes were basically pleading for Hyoyeon to think this through. So Hyoyeon did.

A moment of silence passed, and Hyoyeon cursed. “, it does.”

Stephanie sighed. “Hyo…”

“Okay, I can’t take this right now. I thought I got it all under wraps but clearly not. I… I have to go home and sort out my thoughts. I’m sorry.”

Before Stephanie could hold her back, Hyoyeon was out the door already.

Taeyeon exited the fitting room then, watching Stephanie carefully.

“You heard everything?” Stephanie asked.

Taeyeon nodded. “Unfortunately so.”

=

Donghae rung the doorbell of the Jungs’ house the moment he reached home. Krystal answered. “Oh, you. What’re you doing here? And oh, that shirt.”

He tousled his hair up. “I know, I know. But your sister liked it on me.”

She smirked. “I think my sister would like anything on you now, because it’s you. Heck, she’d like it even if you had nothing on you.”

Donghae blushed. “Alright, let me in.”

“Why are you here, anyway? She’s not home yet. But you should know that, anyway.”

“I know that. I just figured that I could do something for her. I mean, it is the first official day since we’ve gone… official,” Donghae stammered at the last word, suddenly noticing how weird that sounded. Krystal’s look affirmed that worry.

“Woah, woah… This whole official talk makes it sound so… official.”

Krystal’s look got Donghae worrying. “What are you saying?” he asked.

“I mean, you’re talking as though you’re going to marry Jessica in two months and start a family with her and have babies and grow old and die together.”

Donghae blushed again. “I did think of that last night.”

Krystal chuckled. “She hasn’t even called you her boyfriend yet, has she?”

Donghae’s expression changed immediately, the smile flying off to nowhere. “You mean she has to?”

Krystal shrugged. “I don’t know, am I her?”

“Now you’re making me scared.”

She scoffed. “That’s my job, isn’t it.”

“Quit kidding around!”

“I’m not kidding around, Donghae. I guess you’re just going to have to check with her on that.”

“Oh, man.”

“But it doesn’t mean you should give up now. So what were you going to do for her tonight?”

Donghae grimaced. “Should I even still do it?”

“It depends. If you’re going to propose, no.”

“Ha, ha, very funny. Thanks for rubbing salt into the wound right now.”

She feigned a diva gasp. “Nuh-uh! You do not say that about me! I helped you through it all, and this is what I get?”

His expression softened and the warm smile from earlier on came back. “You’re right. Sorry. And I thank you. Sincerely. Right now.”

She smiled. “That’s more like it.”

“I really am grateful to you, you know. Because without you, I don’t think anything like this could’ve happened at all.”

“Nah, it’s no big deal,” Krystal shrugged.

“No, it is a big deal. I think it’s a really enormous deal, too. The fact that you’re willing to help a random, awkward guy who lives next door get into your sister’s heart…”

She poked Donghae in the shoulder, a certain glow in her eyes that was different from the mischievous spark Donghae usually saw. “I helped you because I wanted to help her. Because she’s my sister and I love her.”

They both sat on the couch to continue talking. “Help her with what?”

“Help her… Grab onto this chance. So she wouldn't have to look back on this in the future and realize that she’d missed out on a great guy. What more when he lived just next door.”

Donghae wasn’t one to look out for little details, but he noticed how Krystal’s eyes had gradually shifted further and further away from his side, and to the empty walls instead. He watched as she leaned away just a bit, and as she shifted her weight to the other end away from Donghae.

“Are you okay?”

Donghae could make out the faint silhouette of Krystal swallowing. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Krystal, hey. Look at me.”

After a beat had passed, Krystal didn’t turn, and Donghae didn’t know what to do with the hand on her shoulder. So he applied a bit of pressure to perhaps pull her in, to face him.

The next thing he knew, he was staring at Krystal’s tear-stained face.

=

Taeyeon paid for her outfit and left with a solemn-looking Stephanie. “Retail therapy does work,” Taeyeon said, trying to open a new conversation.

Stephanie grunted in response. Taeyeon frowned. “Are you going to stay like that, all quiet and gloomy?”

Stephanie sighed. “I’m just… not in the mood to talk about anything happy right now.”

Taeyeon slid an arm around Stephanie’s shoulder. “And that’s why we’re going to go around the whole mall until you find the moment to say something about just now.”

=

Donghae was in a fluster. He looked around, desperately trying to find some tissues, then mentally cursed that the Jungs’ house barely had anything in it – from milk, to cereal, and now to tissues.

He was on his panic mode, watching Krystal cry without any seeming halt. Heck, he was about to cry!

“Krystal, shush… Don’t cry!”

Krystal just continued letting the tears flow, with no intention to stop anytime soon. This was the first time her defenses were coming down, and she didn’t expect Donghae to be the one right in front of her at this moment.

Donghae could only stare in desperation. He tried to keep his voice steady and calm and gentle as he bent down a bit to match Krystal’s height and to level his face with hers. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong. Did I say something wrong? I apologize—“

Krystal shook her head, cutting Donghae off halfway. Her cries were starting to get slower and softer, but the sorrow in her tears didn’t seem to get any lesser.

Donghae had no other choice but to put Krystal into his arms gently, as if he was cradling a baby. Krystal let his shirt soak up the tears.

About half an hour later, Krystal finally quieted down, and Donghae was still her hair gently. Krystal had either fallen asleep or just stopped weeping, but Donghae couldn’t tell because moving her might not be his best choice at the moment.

Then Krystal lifted herself off Donghae’s torso, straightening herself up and wiping her tears away.

“Oh, hey. I thought… I thought you fell asleep.”

“I haven’t exactly slept in a while,” she answered, her reply soft and meek and completely unlike her usual voice.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

Krystal swallowed again and strained a smile. Donghae expected a ‘no’, but the Jungs always took him by surprise.

“Yes. I do want to tell you what’s wrong.”