Eunji stared into space as she stood at the center of the Special Class. She watched everyone scurry around, attending to their business. Everyone seemed busy with everything, and they all held up an air that made it hard for Eunji to approach them and ask if there was anything she could do. Some managed to give her a glare or two for doing absolutely nothing when everyone else was helping with the class set up.

She glanced around, only to see that Taemin was busy handling both class activities and the student council activities. She knew that Taemin would be extra busy during the next few weeks until the festival. Earlier, he had offered her to stick by her side for a short period of time, but she had insisted that she would be fine.

Maybe I should've taken his offer, Eunji thought. She looked around and saw Daehyun laughing with some of the girls and guys in the class. Daehyun's always easy to talk to. He fits right in. She looked at herself. Where do I fit in?

She felt something something heavy on her head. She turned and noticed that Daehyun was resting his chin on top of her head.

"You're heavy," she commented.

"Really? That's all you say?" he asked.

"People are going to look at us," Eunji said. "You don't want that, do you?"

"Well, you had a bad look on your face. I didn't like it," he said. "What's up with the long face?"

"I'm not sad," she said. She gently pushed him away. "I was just thinking about something."

"Well, stop thinking about that 'something.' It's making you get wrinkles on your face," he told her.

"You're acting strange. You usually don't approach me at school unless it's for academics. Do you need anything from me?" she asked him.

Daehyun started to feel irritated. It was true that in the past, he avoided Eunji as much as possible to achieve popularity. However, he didn't care about that anymore. His priority was to make Eunji happy again, but every time he tried to approach her, she'd be skeptical of his actions.

"What? I can change," he murmured. He continued to rest his chin on top of her head. She scowled. "What?"

"You're heavy," she repeated.

"Am I?" he asked. 

"When I mean 'You're heavy,' I'm actually trying to say, 'Get off of me,'" she said, pushing him away again.

"Hey, Eunji!" Eunji and Daehyun looked up to see Taemin calling for her. "Can you go and do me a quick favor?"

"Sure," she said. She walked over to him. Daehyun followed, curious of her task.

"I need you to go to Dasom's class and get some black curtains," Taemin told her as he scribbled something on his clipboard. "We need it for one of the photo booth sections."

"Black curtains?" Eunji repeated. "From Dasom's class?"

"Yeah. Her class is doing some kind of fortune-telling thing. They said that they were going to use the black curtains to bring out the 'mysterious vibe' and told me that they would return it as soon as they were done. In the end, they never said anything, so I want you to go and talk to them about that," Taemin said. "Besides, you're not doing anything else, are you?"

Eunji only nodded. She knew that Taemin had been secretly watching her and had noticed that she wasn't doing much. She felt a little thankful, but felt burdened by the fact that she had to depend on him.

"I'll go with you," Daehyun said out of the blue.

"Oh, it's okay," Eunji said. "I can go alone—"

"Actually, if you're going with Daehyun, then can you stop by at Junhee's class, too? I need you to pick up—"

"Taemin! We need help!" shouted someone from the hallway.

Taemin looked up, and widened his eyes when he saw a couple of students carrying a large, heavy canvas. He flinched when he saw some of the students collide against others, ruining the flow of the hallways. He bit his bottom lip and started to inch closer to the situation.

"Oh shoot, that's going to take a while," he murmured. He turned back to Eunji. "Anyway, if you ask Junhee what I'm talking about, she'll tell you. I'm sorry, I need to go. Remember, black curtains and—"

"Taemin!" someone else shouted. There was a scream in the hall followed by a loud thud and metal clangs. Taemin groaned and scurried off, leaving Eunji speechless.

Daehyun glanced down at Eunji.

"So, what are we going to do?" he asked her.

Eunji took a deep breath through her nose. Then, she looked up at Daehyun and gave him a small smile.

"Let's go get the black curtains first, okay?"

"…Honestly, I don't know why Taemin couldn't just wait another day for these curtains. I told him that I was going to give it back, right? It's not like I forgot about it. I'm not that irresponsible. I mean, come on! Even if I forgot about the curtains, then Byunghun would've taken the responsibility and—Oh, who am I kidding? Byunghun isn't that responsible. He's probably off doing some other task as we speak. He's been hanging out with his girlfriend too often, you know? Not that I'm complaining. Actually, what am I saying? I am complaining. Why can't I have a good boyfriend? I'm a good girl, right?" Dasom stopped rambling for a moment. She looked at Eunji and Daehyun, who had been staring at her with blank eyes. "Right?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," Eunji and Daehyun murmured, looking away.

Dasom rolled her eyes. "Typically. Not listening to what I'm saying."

"Oh, I was listening to everything!" Eunji exclaimed. 

"I believe you, but I don't believe him," Dasom said, pointing at Daehyun.

"What? I was listening," he murmured. "You were talking about Taemin and how he's impatient, how Byunghun is irresponsible, and how you need a good boyfriend."

Dasom stared at him quizzically. Then, she pursed her lips and nodded her head as she handed the curtains to Eunji. Before Eunji could touch the curtains, Daehyun swooped in and took the heavy curtains in his hand. Dasom nodded her head again, impressed. She turned to Eunji.

"He's a good one," she said.

"H-Huh?" Eunji stuttered, her eyes wide. Daehyun turned bright red.

"I'm just saying that he's a good one," Dasom said, grinning at Eunji.

"D-Dasom, stop!" Eunji said bashfully, letting out a small laugh. "We're not like that!"

"Someone's like that," Dasom mumbled, eyeing on Daehyun. Daehyun shot her a small glare while Eunji stood still, clueless.

"Why does everyone know that?" Daehyun murmured to himself.

"Anyway, here are the black curtains," Dasom said, dusting her hands. "What's your class doing?"

"A photo booth room. We basically have different types of background and there's going to be a couple of people taking photos," Eunji explained. "I heard that your class is doing fortune-telling?"

Dasom grinned. "Right, and guess who's one of the fortune tellers?"

"You look excited," Eunji said, smiling, "so I'm going to guess that you're one of the fortune tellers?"

"Bingo! I'm the fortune teller of romance!" Dasom exclaimed. She clapped her hands and smiled. "I'm so excited for this. Watch me make romance bloom between fellow students."

Eunji laughed, but Daehyun quickly tapped on her shoulder.

"We should go," he said.

"Oh, right. We need to go to Junhee's class," Eunji remembered. She turned to Dasom. "We'll be going now."

"Sure! Stop by at the festival when you can," Dasom said. "Oh, and if you manage to find Byunghun, tell him to bring his over here. The class needs help with reaching some stuff."

"But he's so short," Daehyun blurted. Eunji gave him a nudge on the rib. "Ow!"

"He's short, but he can jump pretty high," Dasom said, laughing. "Go on, go on. Oh, and tell Taemin to be more patient next time, okay?"

"Got it, got it," Eunji said, smiling. She turned and started to leave the classroom.

Daehyun was about follow right after her, but Dasom grabbed ahold of his sleeves and pulled him back for a second.

"Treat her well, okay?" Dasom whispered. "If you're curious of what the fortune teller of romance is thinking, then she's saying to go and confess."

Daehyun dropped his jaws and turned crimson. "W-W-Wha-Wha—!"

Dasom snickered. "Alright, alright. Hurry up and chase after her, okay?"

"I hate you and Jieun so much," Daehyun grunted, feeling small and helpless.

"Aw, how adorable. Eunji would love you," Dasom teased.

Daehyun was about to protest until he heard Eunji call for him. He gave Dasom one last glare before running over to catch up with his childhood friend.

"What's up with you? Your face is all red," Eunji said.

"Nothing," Daehyun murmured.

The two continued to walk in silence. When they arrived at Junhee's class, the classmates told them that Junhee was probably at the theater room at the other building with some of the other classmates. Eunji thanked them and started to walk in the direction of the theater room. Daehyun, of course, tagged along behind her.

For a moment, Daehyun continued to look at Eunji's back. He watched her short hair skip side by side. Sometimes he would want to reach for a strand of hair and just touch it. He didn't know why, but he felt like touching her hair would make him feel closer to her. He felt like it'd close the gap between them—the gap he had built for years just for the sake of his popularity status.

"Eunji?" He called her name subconsciously with little thought.

"Hm?" she answered, startling him. She turned her head. "Yeah?"

"Um, uh…" Daehyun blinked, feeling a bit dumb before he continued. "Are you, um, okay? You know, mentally and emotionally?"

She furrowed her eyebrows, but kept a smile. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm just worried about how you're handling Howon's death—" He quickly stopped himself. At that very moment, he wanted to hit his head against the wall. How could he bring up such an inconsiderate topic? He knew he messed up when he noticed Eunji's face crumble into a despair. "I'm sorry. Don't mind me. That was a dumb question—"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that I was okay," she started. She tried to smile. "I'm doing better, though. Maybe it's because of the haircut, but I feel like I'm doing better." She let out a small laugh. "In fact, it feels refreshing to talk about Howon once in a while! No one knew him like how I knew him. I just hope he's doing well in heaven—"

"Eunji." Daehyun called her in a soft tone, causing her to stiffen. "Please don't lie to yourself."

"What do you mean?" she asked, refusing to look at him.

"Stop," he demanded. She obeyed. She stopped her tracks, but still didn't turn to face him. "Let's go in there for a second, okay?"

She slightly turned her head, only to see him point to an empty classroom. Before she could protest, he used one hand and dragged her inside. He quickly locked the door and placed the curtains on a desk. Eunji walked up to the window and stared at it.

"I said I'm fine," she mumbled.

"How long are you going to stay in place?" he asked her.

"What? Is it so wrong for a girl to mourn for her ex-boyfriend—"

"It's not wrong to think about the past once in a while, but it's wrong to be stuck in there!" Daehyun lectured.

"Why is it so wrong to stay in the past? Are you saying that Howon is just a memory?" Eunji asked, clearly offended.

"Maybe, and maybe not. I don't know what Howon is to you now, but right now, he's part of your memory. Eunji, we can never bring Howon back. We can never go back to the past and do anything—"

"I could've treated him better!" Eunji stated, raising her voice.

"I'm sure you could've, but we can't now! What's done is done!" Daehyun said.

"No, it's not done! I can still do more! I can!" she insisted desperately. Tears were aching to fall from her eyes.

"What else can you do? He's gone and he's not coming back!" he shouted.

"So what? Are you asking me to forget about him?"

"I'm not asking you to do that! I'm asking you to accept his death and move on!"

"I know that he's dead!"

"Are you sure about that?" His final words left her stunned. She stood still, trying hard to breath. Every time she inhaled, it felt like air was stabbing her chest. She clenched her fist and watched Daehyun's desperate expression. "I'm not asking you to forget about him, but I'm not asking you to mourn for him forever. Whatever guilt or love that he left you with, I want you to embrace it, but don't cling onto it." He slowly approached her, and she slowly tried to back away. When she bumped against the wall, he gently grabbed onto her shoulders. "Why do you forget that there are other people in this world?"

She let out a shaky breath as tears slipped down her cheeks. "If I remember to lean on others, then I might forget Howon…"

"You will never forget Howon. You can never replace him with anyone else, but you can always make room for more," Daehyun told her. He bent down to make eye-contact with her. "Please stop suffering alone. You can mourn, but you also need to recover." He ran his fingers through her hair. "You're strong, beautiful, and know how to stay happy while making others happy." He broke into a small and painful smile. "Why do you think Howon chose you to be his girlfriend?" He looked down into Eunji's round orbs. "It's because he knew that you'll learn to stand up and move on soon. He wasn't expecting you to mourn for him forever. No, he would never do that to someone he likes…" He looked down at his feet. "He liked you a lot… He really liked you…"

Eunji wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She sniffed and tried to stop, but it was difficult. Daehyun could only wrap his arms around her shoulder and pulled her into a tight hug. She started to cry, letting out small hiccups in between her cries.

She continued crying for the next fifteen minutes. During the time, Daehyun kept hugging her. He refused to let her go until she was done crying. After she was done, she let out a shaky sigh and stood still. Daehyun looked down at her, checking to see if she was fine. Then, she gently pushed him away and reached for a tissue from her blazer. She blew her nose and wiped her tears while Daehyun watched her cool down.

She finally looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath before sighing loudly again.

"Ah," she whispered, "I haven't cried like for so long."

"You miss him, don't you?" Daehyun asked her.

"I didn't love him like I should've," she said with a regretful smile, "but I did love him as a friend. He was a very good friend. I didn't want to do anything to hurt him."

"And you didn't," he said. "You helped him a lot, and I'm sure that he's thankful for that."

"Yeah," she said sadly. She looked out the window and stared at the sky. "I miss him."

"Yep," Daehyun agreed, looking at the sky. He opened the window and inhaled the fresh autumn breeze. "I hated his dialect, but he was a good kid." He paused. "I would've liked to know him more."

"I'm sure he's thinking of the same thing," Eunji said. She looked for a nearby trashcan and threw away the tissue. "Oh, and don't tell my friends that I cried, okay? They've been trying to cheer me up for weeks and haven't seen me cry at all. It's embarrassing."

Daehyun kept quiet, but nodded his head. Eunji took another deep breath and slapped her both of her cheeks to focus. 

"Okay!" she exclaimed, finally smiling. "I think I'm ready to go and see Junhee. Let me stop by at the restroom before we go, okay?"

She was about to leave the classroom, but Daehyun stopped her. He grabbed her wrist and forced her to turn around. She stared at him, surprised, but he kept of his hands on both of her wrists.

"Eunji, look, I need to say something and I want you listen," he said quickly. "I know that you're not ready and I know what you're response is probably going to be, but I need to say this or else I'm going to drive myself crazy if I keep delaying it."

"Wow," Eunji said, blinking her eyes. She looked their shoes for a moment.  "Well then, feel free to blurt whatever you need to say—"

"I like you."

Eunji stopped. She widened her eyes and stared at him Her brown orbs lifted from the ground and stared at the bashful man standing in front of her. A strong wind came through the opened window. Her hands felt cold but she could feel her cheeks grow hot. The breeze stopped, but Eunji did not stop staring. She looked at Daehyun for a long time, and he only looked back with a soft gaze.

"W-What…did you say…?" she asked him slowly. She gulped, hoping that she had misunderstood him.

"I like you," he confessed. He gave her a foolish grin. "I like you a lot, Jung Eunji."