Junhee began to realize that Chanyeol had developed a strange habit of annoying her. He kept talking about Jieun, and he would only talk about her when he was alone with Junhee, like now. The two were supposed to be getting ready for the second day of the spring fair, but all Chanyeol did was talk. He claimed that as long as Junhee didn't touch anything, he would be able to track down the items.

However, it was Junhee who was a bit nervous. Unlike Chanyeol, she didn't have time to calm down and talk. Two things filled her head: One, organizing the place and tidying it up so that little kids could enjoy their time at the craft room; and two, thinking of a way for Chanyeol to shut up about Jieun and force him to change the subject.

Was she always this bitter when someone talked about Jieun? Well, no one really did talk about Jieun. They would always complain about her, pointing out her flaws and scolding her abnormal behavior. Maybe the reason why Junhee was so ticked off was because someone was finally praising her loud friend, which was something out of the norm.

"Ah! Junhee, don't put that artwork in the closet," Chanyeol said, noticing Junhee carrying a rolled construction paper. "Leave that over there at the corner. I'm taking that home later."

"So you actually go home," Junhee muttered, walking across to room to put it at the corner.

"I just go home really late. Oh, and do you mind getting the clay out of the oven? They should be dry by now. I accidentally left them in the oven. Fortunately, the oven wasn't heated, so the clay shouldn't have melted," Chanyeol told her.

"Geez! Why don't you do that yourself? Don't you see that I'm busy cleaning up this room? What were you doing yesterday? You were supposed to clean up—"

"Knock, knock!"

Junhee turned around and scowled when she saw the familiar guest. "What are you doing, Dasom?"

"What do you mean? I'm here to paint!" Dasom exclaimed, reminding her about their little activity they did yesterday.

Chanyeol got up from his seat as Byunghun walked in. "Just sit anywhere you'd like. I'll go get the supplies."

"Woah! What happened here? It looks like a storm came in and made glitter fall all over the place," Byunghun noted. 

"They were supposed to clean yesterday, but they didn't. Come over here. It's cleaner here," Junhee told them, gesturing them to the cleanest table.

As the two friends sat down, another head poked in. Dasom heaved a loud sigh when she saw Myungsoo enter the room. However, Myungsoo didn't seem to mind the complaints. He casually walked inside with his hands in his pockets, and sat in between Dasom and Byunghun, squeezing between them until Byunghun got the hint and scooted over to give him more space.

"So, we're here again?" Myungsoo said, smiling at Dasom. "How are you doing, Dasom? Everything good?"

"Oh, everything's terrific!" Dasom retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Nice, nice. What about you, basket boy?" Myungsoo asked, turning to face Byunghun.

"I'm good, but I have a name. It's Byun—"

"And you, cherry-head?" The third-year quickly looked at Junhee, obviously not interested in striking up a real conversation. "How are you doing on this lovely day?"

"No comment," Junhee responded, walking away to clean the other tables.

"So, Dasom," Byungun started, "who are you going to hang out with later? I know that Eunji and Jieun are busy, and Junhee can't play with you the entire day. What are you going to do alone?"

Myungsoo raised his eyebrows. "Alone? She's going to be alone?"

"I have no idea. I'm just planning to walk around and visit you guys. There's nothing for me to do!" Dasom whined, pouting.

Chanyeol came back into the room and handed the three their items. He looked down at the fourth clay—the music note—and looked behind his shoulder.

"Junhee," he called her. This caused her heart to skip a beat. "Why don't you come over and paint?"

"M-Me? No, I-I'm good," she stuttered. She mentally cursed at herself, biting her bottom lip as she shyly looked away. 

"It's okay. I know that you don't like art, but it's just painting. I mean, you did this in, like, kindergarten? Join your friends…" He looked around for a chair, and brought it closer to her group of friends. "…and sit down."

"But—"

"Junhee, this guy is practically begging you to come over here. Just paint!" Dasom cried aloud.

"B—"

"Yeah, Junhee. I mean, what's the harm in painting?" Byunghun added.

Junhee let out a sigh. "Fine, fine. I'll sit and paint."

She reluctanctly walked over to the table and sat next to Dasom. As she settled in, Chanyeol placed down a tray of paint and dropped a couple of brushes. He encouraged the group to start once he gave them a soft nod. Dasom, Byunghun, and Myungsoo wasted no time and dug into the paint supply. The three became quiet, immersing themselves into painting the object with extra caution.

Junhee picked up rather thick brush and stared at it. Then, she glanced over at her little music note. In music, colors would burst out when she heard the song or read the notes. In art, she had trouble figuring out which colors would match her note. 

"Hey, Chanyeol," Junhee called him. "What's your favorite color?"

He didn't respond. She looked up behind her shoulder, wondering if Chanyeol was even in the room. She spotted him glancing out the window, holding another set of clay in his hands. He had a tender expression on his face, but his eyes were filled with sorrow. She watched his fingers tighten its grip on the tray, his veins popping out as if he was irritated at something…

Junhee didn't even need to think about why Chanyeol looked so upset. There was only one thing—or person, more specifically—that made him have such a face: Lee Jieun.

Still holding onto the biggest brush, Junhee dipped it in the black paint, coating the bristles with a glistening black color. Then, she roughly painting her note, coating it in black, hoping that it would cover up the clay's plainness much like how she wanted something to cover her lonely heart.

Suddeny, her phone rang, informing her that she had received a text message. She looked up at Chanyeol, who seemed to have noticed the alarm. She looked away, fishing out her phone and checking the message.

It's from Taemin, she realized, reading the note. She bit her bottom lip, then looked back at Chanyeol. "Can I go on a bathroom break or something?"

Dasom stared at her. "Already? You hardly started working."

"I'm done panting," Junhee told him, ignoring Dasom's comment.

"Junhee, we just started. You go on your break during lunch," Chanyeol told her.

"Please? It's important," Junhee said.

"Important? What could be import—" Dasom stopped, and stared. "You're meeting up with a guy."

Junhee wasn't sure how to respond. Yes, she was going to meet up with a guy, but this guy alraedy had a girlfriend. Moreover, it seemed like Dasom didn't get Taemin's message, which made Junhee suspect that she wasn't invited to meet him at the student council room. 

"A guy? Junhee's in love with something besides music?" Byunghun gave her a funny look. "Dasom, you're way over your head on this. We're talking about Junhee."

"So who's this guy? Are you two dating? Is he cute? Is he single? Can I meet him?" Dasom asked, throwing her several questions.

"It's no big deal! It's just a message I got! Besides, I'm asking Chanyeol if I can be excused." She turned to Chanyeol. "Can I go? I promise I'll be back."

Chanyeol studied her for a moment. "So you're meeting up with a guy? Does he like art?" His eyes narrowed. "Does he like Jieun?"

Junhee opened , but then closed it when she decided not to deal with Chanyeol's little crush on Jieun. "No, this guy doesn't like Jieun. Can I please go?"

"Fine, but be back in ten minutes," Chanyeol told her, letting her off.

Junhee muttered her thanks and left the room, leaving Dasom calling her name and demanding who the "lucky guy" was. The red-hair ran as far as she could from the room in order to avoid hearing her name from Dasom's mouth. She heaved a sigh and slowly walked in the hallways when she figured that she was far away from them. She looked back, checking to see if Dasom or Byunghun were trying to follow her. 

At that moment, she bumped into a rather large figure. She gasped and fell on her bottom, groaning in pain as the other person gave her an apologetic look.

"Oh geez! Sorry, I didn't see you there," the man said, extending his hand.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking forward," Junhee said, brushing away the man's hand. "It's fine, I can get up myself."

"No, I was just reaching down for my wallet. I dropped it. It's right next to you. See?" The man bent low and picked up his wallet. 

By now, Junhee's cheeks were burning bright red. "O-Oh."

"Please don't blush because you fell in love with my looks or mistaken my kindness for something else. I have a girlfriend, and she's a college student. She is a much better choice than you," the young boy said.

Junhee glared at him. "What? I have dignity! I don't fall in love easily like tha—"

"You look like you're a second-year. Are you in love? Here's my card," the man said, opening his wallet to pull out a sloppy hand-written business card. He shoved it in Junhee's hand and gave her a warm smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find my friend."

Junhee frowned, unsure of what to say. It was difficult to keep up with this man, especially since he switched conversaitons often. He seemed strange, but he was very good at embarrassing other people. She looked down at the card, trying to read the messy writing.

Byun Baekhyun - 3rd Year
Need a match? Fret no more!
Contact: Room 3-B

Junhee heaved a sigh and crumbled up the note. She shoved it in her pocket, reminding herself to give it to Dasom, who would probably want to meet the mysterious man. Besides, it was a good excuse to say what kind of man she met.

Oh shoot! she thought, running in the halls again. I almost forgot to meet Taemin! He'll kill me for sure…

"You lost the journal?" Eunji cried out, widening her eyes. 

"Sh! Lower your voice! It's not like I lost it on purpose!" Taemin exclaimed, hissing at her.

"What are you going to do? Dasom is going to kill you," Junhee commented. Even though she was late, she was just in time to hear Taemin's little confession. 

The three were in the student council room. The door was locked for specific reasons, and in order to pretend that no one was inside the room, the three had to whisper to each other. Sometimes Eunji would occasionally start screaming, causing Taemin to have this look of regret for inviting one of the most trusted friend among the group.

"I'm pretty sure someone took it, but I'm not sure who did it. I suspect Soojung, but she's not admitting it," Taemin explained. "I had it two days ago. I just misplaced it."

"Are you sure it's not at your house?" Eunji asked.

"I'm sure it's not. My room is clean and there's absolutely no journal there," Taemin responded.

"Do you have any enemies here? Maybe they took it," Junhee said. "Maybe one of your fan girls took it."

"Nope. Hyunwoo wouldn't play dirty like that, and I don't think that my 'fan girls' would want a journal written by more than one person. I just have a hunch that it's Soojung who took it," Taemin said.

"Try asking her again. Maybe she really took it. I don't know why she would want it, but yeah," Eunji suggested.

"I asked her twice already, and she keeps denying it. I don't know what happened to it, and I'm already freaking out. My goal is to avoid Dasom until I get that journal back." He paused for a moment. "Do not tell this to anyone, okay? Jieun would probably tell Hyunwoo, who would tell Dasom in order to get back at me. Plus, you guys know that Byunghun's not great at keeping secrets."

"Our lips are sealed," Eunji said, pretending to zip with an imaginary key.

"So do you have any plans?" Junhee questioned him.

"My plan is just to avoid Dasom and have you guys help me find the journal," he said. He groaned and hid his face in his hand. "Ugh… I don't even know why I lost it. I guess I was lost in the spring fair mess…"

Eunji gave him a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Taemin. Everyone makes mistakes! You know that you're not perfect."

"What are you talking about, Eunji? He is perfect. He has a girlfriend and he's the top student at our school." Junhee's eyes darkened. "He's one lucky guy…"

"You're reminding me of Dasom. Don't give me that look. I hate it," Taemin said, looking away. "Anyway, just remember that if you see the journal, give it to me or Dasom, okay? I need to find that journal. Now if you'll both excuse me, I'll be out. Soojung is probably looking for me."

With that, Taemin left the room. Eunji stretched her arms, letting out a small yawn as she rubbed her eyes. She glanced at Junhee, who had a terrible expression on her face.

"Is something wrong, Junhee?" Eunji asked her with a soft tone.

Junhee shook her head. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just a little out of it, that's all."

Realizing that Junhee wouldn't confess, Eunji gave her a small smile. "Why don't we go to a karoke place after school? I think it'll be fun."

"Thanks," Junhee replied, returning the smile with a faint grin. She studied Eunji, then looked down at her shoes. "Eunji, what do you think of boys? Especially the strange ones."

"Strange ones? Like who?"

"Like… I don't know. Let's take Chanyeol. He's a strange fellow, right?"

"Well, he's very compassionate about art, just like how you are with music."

"But he's strange, right? Don't you think that it's weird for him to fall in love with someone? It's like strange people fall in love with other strange people. I mean, how could anyone possibly like Jieun?" Junhee retorted.

Eunji pressed her lip together. "Jieun is definitely unique, but she's just devoted. Honestly, everyone has something that they're compassionate about. Maybe you see Chanyeol and Jieun as strange people, but aren't you just like that? Compassionate and devoted? Wouldn't that make you a strange person, too?"

Junhee didn't respond, and she definitely didn't need to. Eunji gently patted her shoulder, gave her a look that she was going to leave, and walked out of the room. Junhee sighed to herself, knowing that Eunji was completely right. She, too, walked out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her. She glanced at her watch.

She had exactly three minutes left to return to the room before her ten minutes were up. Junhee took her time, though, and paced herself as she arrived at the art room. When she did arrive, she realized that Chanyeol wasn't there. Her friends weren't there, either. The room was empty except for the artworks.

"Um, excuse me," a voice behind her said. Junhee turned around and saw a mother with her shy daughter hiding behind. "Is this the arts and crafts room?"

"Y-Yes," Junhee replied, nodding her head. "You may sit anywhere you like. Each table has their individual stations. If you need anything, please inform me or help yourself to look at another table."

The two people entered, taking a seat in the room and playing with papers and scissors. Junhee looked around, wondering where on earth Chanyeol was. She glanced out the window, hoping to track down the older (and irresponsible) boy.

Her eyes stopped when she saw Jieun following Hyunwoo, her eyes sparkling with love and her cheeks red with joy. Her heart almost stopped when she saw Chanyeol walking next to Jieun, holding a large box of art supplies. It was clear from her view that Hyunwoo was trying to get rid of Jieun, and Chanyeol was trying to grab Jieun's attention. However, Jieun remained unfazed by both of the men's individual goal and kept her eyes on her prized possession.

No matter how Junhee looked at it, Chanyeol looked like a fool! He looked so dumb and clueless. Why couldn't he just give up? Everyone in the entire school knew that Jieun loved Hyunwoo. They all knew that from the bottom of their hearts. So why didn't Chanyeol know that?

"Idiot," Junhee muttered. "What a strange man…"

Strange people attracted other strange people, and maybe—just maybe—Junhee was part of that strange group.