"Thank goodness that I managed to avoid meeting Soojung when I entered school. Like I thought, coming to school early is the best, Taemin thought to himself as he crept among the hallway. Every day, whenever he arrived at school with his friends, Soojung would be waiting for him at the front. Then she would start acting all clingy and girly, annoying him while trying to getting Myungsoo (who was always around Dasom at this time) to be jealous.

Of course, such a tactic wouldn't work. Taemin was beginning to see that Myungsoo might have eyes for Dasom, and only for Dasom. He was starting to agree with his other friends that maybe Myungsoo might really like Dasom, and Dasom was being an air-head.

When he turned around at the corner, he gasped and felt something bump into him. The figure was just about to fall down until Taemin managed to grab her by the waist and slightly pull her from reaching the ground. At the spur of the moment, Taemin found the stranger grab him by his shoulders, trying to stop herself from falling. It was then when Taemin helped her up on her feet and examined her uniform: a red blazer with a cherry-colored skirt.

She's definitely not from our school, Taemin thought. As the student council president, he decided to question the girl. "Who are you, and what's your name?"

She opened to say something, but nothing came out. He noticed that she was quite attractive for a high school girl. She had bright wide eyes and an egg-shape face that most girls at his age would want. A slight tinge of red appeared on her cheeks, but he assumed that she was blushing because she was embarrassed of the fall.

"I…I…"

Her voice was small, but each sound was sweet and delicate, like honey dripping down from a bee hive. For a second, Taemin thought that she looked a lot prettier than Soojung. If he had more interest in love and beauty, he would surely go out with this stranger.

"Who are you? I know you're not from this school," Taemin said seriously, almost frowning at her. He looked near her chest, where a golden plate was attached to the right-side of her chest. He carefully read the name, and muttered the year she was in. "Lee Hyeri, a first year?"

She gasped and quickly bowed at him. "Eek! I'm sorry!"

With that, she took off, running away before Taemin had the chance to question her. He was about to chase after her, but he waited for a bit while looking out the window. After a few minutes, he saw her running out of the school and turned at a street, probably heading to her own school.

I wonder what she was here for, Taemin thought, scratching his head. He sighed to himself. Girls. Why are they such a handful…?

"Red blazers and deep red skirt? Isn't that the all-girls' high school down the hill?" Eunji asked, raising her eyebrows. "By the way, when are you so interested in a girl?"

"I'm not interested," Taemin defended. "I'm investigating."

"Sheesh, what a creep," Dasom muttered, shivering. "You're dating someone, but you have the audacity to check out another girl at another school. What, are you planning to get into some kind of love affair?"

Taemin rolled his eyes in disgust. A love affair was the least thing he wanted. If he ever did find a girl he wanted to date, a simple break up with Soojung would do. Besides, the two didn't even harbor any romantic feelings. The only reason why he was helping her was for self amusement. 

"Oh, come on. I would think that Taemin is the last person on earth to ever have an affair," Byunghun said, protecting his friend. "Besides, Taemin doing some investigating seems legit to me."

"By the way, how are you with Soojung? I don't see you together too often," Junhee mentioned.

"Are you kidding me? I see them every single time when I'm roaming around the halls," Dasom exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes. "Are you two trying to make me jealous?"

"Who'd want to make you jealous?" Byunghun retorted. He earned a good smack on the back of his head from the girl he offended. Groaning in pain, the boy rubbed his head and shot her a glare. "Dasom, are you being serious? Did you really just hit me? I'll have you know, this head has all the plans and skills that you'll need if you want that coed team."

"Eh, we have Daehyun, anyway. He's a much better player than you," Dasom said earnestly.

As the two continued to quarrel, Eunji turned around to Taemin, who was keeping quiet and staring at Dasom. She gently pulled him back from the group, leaning close to his ears to whisper.

"I saw the journal," Eunji told him. By now, Taemin had completely forgotten about the journal. He was so caught up with Soojung and his school work, he lost track of the journal and its entire existence. "But you won't believe who has it."

"Who?" Taemin asked urgently.

Eunji looked back and to the side, then back at Taemin. "Your girlfriend."

Taemin's eyes narrowed. "I knew it! What's she planning…"

"But then by third period, she didn't have the journal. I think Hyunwoo had it," Eunji informed him. "I verified this information with Jieun, and she was sure that Hyunwoo had our journal."

"And she didn't take it away?"

"Of course not. You know how Jieun is. Hyunwoo is first, then us."

"Okay, then do you know who has it now?"

"Hyunwoo gave it to Chanyeol, thinking that it was Junhee's. But Chanyeol thought that he had the chance to talk to Jieun about this, so he gave it to Jieun, and Jieun gave it back to Hyunwoo, thinking that he lost it." She bit her bottom lip. "This morning, I saw the journal being passed to Soojung. So now, Soojung has it."

"Wait, you gathered all this information, and you didn't even try to get the journal?" Taemin asked her.

She only shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, I had classes to attend. More importantly, haven't you been trying to track down that journal?"

"Good point," he muttered. "So are you official sure that Soojung has it?"

"Positive," she reported. She paused, looked around again, then leaned close. "By the way, we're hoping that you can take the journal away from Soojung by the time school ends. Dasom seems to suspect that you still have the journal. We plan to meet after school once you have the journal and fill in any missing days."

"No, I'm pretty sure that there aren't any big missing days. It ended with me, and I believe that it would continue with Dasom," Taemin said.

"What would continue with me?" Dasom asked, appearing out of nowhere. She startled Taemin by having her arm over his neck, as if she was acting chummy with him. "Are you guys talking behind my back?"

"N-No!" Eunji exclaimed, shaking her hands. "It's not like that!"

"What? What is it, then? I heard my name," she said. The older girl paused, then grinned. "Hey… Are you two dating?"

"What are you talking about? I'm dating Soojung," Taemin said, annoyed. He was glad to use Soojung's name in these types of situations. It seemed as this was the only benefit he had whenever it came to Soojung.

Dasom clicked her tongue, irritated. "Whatever. Anyway, my name was popped up, and I want to know what you were talking about." She paused for a second. "I also want to know what happened to my jour—"

"We're setting you up on a blind date!" Eunji blurted, distracting Dasom.

Dasom gave her a suspicious look. "A blind what? A blind date? You plan to set up a blind date for me?"

"Um, well, I—"

"It's a double blind date, actually," Taemin interrupted, thinking of a way to help Dasom. "Soojung has been asking to go on a date, and I'm…not too comfortable with going out alone. So, I planned to invite you and hope that the fourth party would continue to date you or to distract you while I get more comfortable with Soojung."

Dasom continued to look at him in a funny way. Taemin prayed that she wouldn't suspect anything. After all, this was Dasom. Even though she had a sharp eye, when it came to romance, she always fell weak in some way.

Fortunately for Taemin, his plan worked.

"Oh, Taemin! I can't believe that you would have trouble with love! To think that everything went well for you! Of course, it's expected for you to have some kind of flaw! Of course I'll help you! Eunji, I can't wait to see who you plan to invite! Taemin, don't worry! I'll do everything for you and Soojung to have a blast!" Dasom cheered enthusiastically. She whirled around to Eunji once more. "Oh, and make sure that the fourth guy is hot! I won't help him if he's not handsome."

"Y-Yeah… Sure," Eunji muttered, fishing out her phone to check out her contact list. She sighed in disappointment when she realized that she had no one else to call in place. When Dasom danced away with joy, Eunji looked back at Taemin with a worried look. "You sure that you'll be okay at the double date?"

"Yeah," Taemin said, taking out his phone to contact Soojung. "Well, I wasn't lying when I said that I wasn't comfortable with going out with her. I prefer staying in a crowded place when I'm with her."

"Who should I hook up with Dasom, though? I mean, Howon is busy catching up with his studies since he was discharged from the hospital not too long ago. I could ask Daehyun, but he's done so much by joining our side. Maybe I should ask Byung—"

"You're inviting me as the fourth party," a voice behind them said. They jumped from their spots and turned around, only to see Myungsoo giving them a death glare. "Don't even think about inviting someone else. You will invite me and keep it a secret from Dasom."

Taemin scowled. He didn't want Myungsoo to join them. If he was going to invite Soojung, then she would act abnormal and start getting in front of Myungsoo's face. Taemin could only imagine finding himself and Dasom left alone, with Dasom having second thoughts on their relationship. He figured that it would be too risky to invite Myungsoo out with them.

When he was just about to reject him, Eunji quickly accepted his offer, thanking him for his kindness. Myungsoo responded with a smile, and exchanged numbers with Eunji, telling her to text him the details about the date, and that if she forgot, then he would hunt his way to them (which Taemin believed he would do). After exchanging numbers, Myungsoo walked away, waving at them and excited about the date. The moment Myungsoo left, Soojung had responded Taemin's text, saying that she was willing to go and to tell him all the details tomorrow, adding that she wouldn't be available next week.

"So what are you going to do about the journal? You got to get it back before the date," Eunji reminded him.

Oh, right, Taemin thought, nodding his head. He quickly sent a text to Soojung, asking her to meet him at the student council's office. He looked up from his phone and patted Eunji's shoulder. "I got to go. Thanks for the information, Eunji. That really helped."

Eunji smiled. "No problem, but where are you going?"

"Back to class. I'll be meeting Soojung later after school," he answered, glancing at the text where she replied. "I need to ask her for the journal, of course."

At the student council office, Taemin found Soojung sitting on his desk. She had a book in her hands, but it wasn't the journal. Rather, it was a record for students that could be exclsuively accessed by the staffs themselves. The students—not even the student councils—were able to retrieve such confidential records. Soojung glanced at Taemin, then faked a smile.

"Why don't you close the door behind you?" Soojung asked sweetly.

Taemin followed her instructions, and when he did, he realized that the room was quite dim. The curtains were closed, and the white light illuminated around the rims of the covered windows. Just when Taemin was about to turn on the lights, his girlfriend had stopped him by walking over to him and putting the book between his hands and the light switch.

"Keep the lights off. It saves energy," Soojung said. "Plus, I believe that we won't be here long." She paused, then couldn't help but break into a smirk. "You know, you look kind of cute when you're angry."

Indeed, Taemin was angry. He wasn't furious, but he was mad enough to express his anger through his eyes. His glowered down at Soojung, putting out his hand as if she already knew what she had to give him. When she innocently placed her hand on his palm, he started to lose his patience.

"Give it back, Soojung," Taemin demanded.

"Give what back?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"The journal. I know you have it. I got someone keeping tabs on you," he lied.

Soojung rolled her eyes. "Taemin, I don't even know why you want that journal. I know that you don't care about something like that."

It's cause there's Kim Dasom, and I'll be pummeled if Dasom knows that I lost it, Taemin wanted to say. However, he only clenched his teeth. "Just give it back. It means more than you think it does."

Soojung kept quiet for a moment. Then, she walked over to the vice president desk and pulled out the journal from one of the many drawers attached to the desk. She sighed and lazily handed the book back, which Taemin snatched away. He was a bit surprised that she gave in so easily, so he asked her why she gave him the journal so quickly.

"Well, I didn't plan to give you the journal right away, but once I learned that you were setting up a date that included Myungsoo's attendance, I decided to just give in the journal as thanks. Now, we're both equal," Soojung said, grinning. "See? We work perfectly as a team. Now, we're even."

"Whatever. We're done, so I'm leaving," he said. He twisted the door knob, but stopped for a brief moment. He turned his head around, looking at Soojung's curious expression.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to open the door?" Soojung asked him.

"Do you happen to know a girl with a red blazer and a dark red skirt?" Taemin asked. "I saw her this morning, and she was running around the school."

Soojung frowned. "A red blazer and dark red skirt? Why would I know…" She paused, then her eyes widened as shaped into a circle. "Is she really pretty? Did she have long hair?"

"Pretty? I guess, but yeah, she had long hair. Do you know her?" Taemin asked. "Her name is Lee Hyeri, first year. I remember seeing her name tag."

"Hyeri? Of course I know her! She was my best friend in middle school! We were both supposed to go to the same all girls' high school, but I decided to enroll here last minute so we parted away. She came?" Soojung asked, her eyes glowing with excitement. "When did you see her?"

"This morning, before school started. I was going to inquire her, but she ran away. Does she know that students from other schools are not allowed to enter here—"

"Oh, come on, Taemin! This is Hyeri, okay? She's practically innocent!" Soojung exclaimed. "Anyway, since we're going on a date soon, we should get to know each other more. Let's walk back home together."

"You and I live in different directions," Taemin pointed out.

"It's okay! You can walk me to my house, and then head to your home," Soojung said.

"But that's more work—"

"Look, it's not bad, okay? Recently, my friends told me that it doesn't seem like we're dating. We got to prove once in a while that we're really together!" she protested. She frowned at him until he sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'll walk you home. Just wait a few minutes, okay? I need my friends to fill in this journal."

"Alright! Let's go!" she exclaimed, dragging him out of the room.

The two ran to Taemin's classroom, where his friends were waiting for him. To his surprise, Dasom was sitting at the table, waiting for him with the others. She looked angry, but when she saw the journal in Taemin's hands, she brightened up and smiled.

"Oh my gosh! Finally! You took forever giving back my journal!" Dasom exclaimed. "Man, all those dates were lost! Precious time was lost! I can't even remember what I did!"

Taemin laughed then looked over at Junhee, who motioned him that they weren't going to fill out the journal. He suspected that they had convinced Dasom about something that had to do with the journal, but he decided to keep quiet. 

"Doesn't this mean that Taemin gets a double entry?" Jieun asked, hovering over the journal. "Ooh, Taemin! You're special!"

"A double entry? I really shouldn't…"

"Well, the rules do say that you should get a double entry," Dasom muttered.

"Wait, there were rules?" Byunguhn asked, widening his eyes. He earned a quick slap on his head as Dasom shook her sore hand.

"Man, I feel like your head got harder or something. Anyway, forget about what Byunghun said. Taemin, it's up to you to fill in your entry for today."

The boy paused, looking at the journal. With a small smile, he gently pushed it towards Dasom and shook his head. 

"I prefer skipping today's entry with the rest of you. It's not fair for me to do a double entry. Dasom, I'll depend on you to continue."

Dasom smiled, then placed the journal in his bag. She glanced over at Soojung, who gave her a doubtful look. Curious, she decided to ask her a question.

"So you're the girl who's always around Taemin," Dasom said. "Soojung was your name, right? I've heard your name around here and there."

"Yes, my name is Jung Soojung,  a first year. You're the girl who's always around Myungsoo, right?" Soojung asked, flashing a smile.

Is she picking a fight with Dasom? Taemin wondered, widening his eyes at Soojung. Before Dasom had the chance to say anything else, he quickly intercepted them by putting his hand in front of Soojung and gently pushing her behind his back. "W-Well, the two of us are planning to head home right now."

"Really? Then let's go together," Dasom said, motioning the others to grab their bags. "I mean, what else do we do here?"

When everyone muttered in agreement, they began walking down the stairs. They left the building, heading towards the gates, which were still open for students to come in and out of the campus. Before they arrived at the gates, Soojung stopped half-way and gasped. Taemin, noticing her short disappearance, turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" Taemin asked her.

"I think I forgot my textbook!" Soojung exclaimed, opening her bag to check for her textbook. "Oh my gosh, I need to go get that book…"

"Go. We'll wait for you over by the gate," he said. Soojung nodded and ran back to the building. Once she left, Byunghun nudged his elbow against Taemin's arm.

"Dude! When were you such a gentleman?" Byunghun asked. "Waiting for her to get her book? Dude, if I were you, I'd leave immediately."

"He's be more of a gentleman if he went with her," Dasom countered, shaking her head. "Seriously, Taemin. You're perfect, but when it comes to love, you're not that perfect. Well, I can't blame you. I mean, you'd be really perfect if a really pretty, sweet girl loved you and dated you. Soojung is okay, but I can tell that she has this second personality in her."

"How can you tell?" Junhee asked.

"Girl's instincts. You should be able to tell, Junhee," Dasom criticized her. 

The six approached the gates, chatting for a few more minutes until Eunji looked up and realized an odd figure. She slowly reached over to Taemin's shoulder and tapped it. When he looked over at her, he followed her gaze. His eyes widened a bit when he saw the same girl in red he saw this morning. Except, her cheeks were much more red than usual. She seemed more timid (or nervous) as she paced back and forth near the gates. When she finally looked up from the ground, she gasped when her eyes locked with his. She tried to hide behind the thin black gates, fixing her hair frantically in order to make a good impression. Then, she took a deep breath, and quickly walked over to the group.

"H-Hello!" the girl squeaked. "I… I don't know if you remember me, but I'm the girl you saw this morning. U-Um, my name is Lee Hyeri. See! Right here, my name tag."

Taemin kept quiet for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Byunghun took this time to get to know the girl. She was cute, in his opinion, so he figured that he could strike up a conversation.

"What kind of business do you have with my friend Taemin?" Byunghun asked her.

Hyeri's ears turned red as she briefly looked away. "So Taemin is his name…" She cleared and looked at Taemin with glowing eyes. "U-Um, I know that I did wrong in coming to this school without any special permission. I came to apologize for that! U-Um, I was just looking for my friend. I heard that she got herself a really good boyfriend, and I wanted to check who he was."

Taemin nodded his head, recalling that Soojung was close friends with her. So she must've been looking for me.

"B-But when we bumped into each other, I…I think I fell in love with you!" Hyeri blurted out. The group became awfully quiet. They were unable to make any comments regarding the situation. Byunghun glanced over at Dasom and poked at her ribs. 

"You totally jinxed that," he said, referring to Dasom's earlier statement about a pretty girl falling in love with Taemin.

"Shut up, donkey," Dasom grunted, pushing Byunghun away. She stepped up, glaring at the girl. "Look, I don't know where you came from, but you shouldn't say—"

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! Are you two dating?" Hyeri asked, alarmed. She began to whimper to herself. "Of course… Of course he would be taken! She's so pretty!"

Dasom stopped. "Excuse me? What did you say?"

"I said that you were pretty. Of course, you're so pretty he would date you! I am so dumb!" Hyeri muttered, gently hitting her forehead with her hands.

The older girl broke into a chummy smile. "Really? I'm pretty? Really? I'm so flattered! You're such a sweet little girl! Has anyone told you that?"

Taemin rolled his eyes and decided to continue. "No, this girl isn't my girlfriend, but—"

"T-Then is it the girl with red hair behind you?" Hyeri stammered, glancing at Junhee.

"Not over my dead body," Junhee responded coldly. Hyeri looked at the orange-haired girl with worried eyes.

"Oh, don't worry about me! I'm not into love," Eunji said, shaking her head. The younger girl glanced over at Jieun, biting her bottom lip.

"I am for Hyunwoo and Hyunwoo only. I find it offensive that you even thought of such a thing," Jieun stated.

Hyeri heaved a sigh to herself. "Oh, thank goodness! You all are very pretty and mature. I was worried, really! So what I'm hearing is that you're single, yes?"

Taemin let out a deep sigh. "Look, I'm flattered that you confessed to me, but I already have—"

"Lee Taemin!" a familiar voice called behind them. Everyone looked up and saw Soojung running up to him. She was delighted to see him waiting, but she was even more ecstatic when she saw her old best friend. "Oh my gosh! Hyeri!"

"Soojung!" Hyeri cried out. The two ran towards each other, embracing each other into a friendly hug. 

"It has been so long since I saw you!" Soojung said. "I heard that you were here before?"

"Yeah! I was! I wanted to see your boyfriend. I mean, you kept bragging about him, so I was really curious to see what kind of guy he was," Hyeri explained.

"Well, you are in luck! This guy," Soojung said, pulling Taemin closer to her, "is my dearest boyfriend!"

Really? Did you really have to add 'dearest' in that sentence? Taemin wondered. He glanced over at Hyeri, who paled at the sight of her best friend next to her crush. She gasped and covered , her eyes as large as poppies.

"For the record, "Byunghun said out of nowhere, "I would hate to be in Hyeri's position right now."

"I said shut up!" Dasom yelled, elbowing Byunghun's ribs. He groaned in pain as Taemin awkwardly smiled at him.

The genius looked back at the two girls, finding himself feeling dumb for the very first time in his life of the strange situation he had driven himself into.