The next day, Eunji and Junhee went to Dasom's home together to visit her after finding out that she had skipped class again. At Dasom's room, Junhee handed her an adorable tiger keychain while giving Eunji the journal. Eunji was about to take the journal, but Dasom had snatched it away from her as she glared at Junhee.

"What?" Junhee finally asked after Dasom had been staring at her for too long.

"Let's see exactly what you did yesterday that was far more important than visiting your poor, ol' sick friend," Dasom muttered, opening the journal.

"Nothing important happened," Junhee said tiredly.

"Ha, ha," Dasom said, faking a laugh. "We'll see about that."

She took her time reading Junhee's entry. At first, she was quiet. Then, her eyes slowly widened as her brown orbs skimmed over the same text over and over again. She kept staring at Junhee's entry with large eyes and a gaping mouth.

Eunji soon grew curious of what she was reading and decided to take a peek. She glanced at Junhee's entry, then also widened her eyes when she realized why Dasom was showing such an expression. Eunji quickly looked at Junhee, who annoyedly looked away.

"You got confessed to by a first-year?" Eunji asked.

"It's in the journal, isn't it?" Junhee said. "Don't make this into a big deal. I already rejected him."

"What did Chanyeol say about this?" Dasom asked.

"Chanyeol?" Junhee raised her eyebrows, a little surprised to hear his name in this conversation. "I don't know. He didn't talk to me at all today."

"Does he know?" Dasom inquired. From what I remember, Chanyeol has a thing for Junhee. Did he do anything or is he planning to keep quiet?

"No, I don't think so. I didn't tell him." Junhee stared at Dasom. "Why?"

"Nothing," Dasom murmured, hiding half of her face behind the book.

"Besides, Chanyeol isn't interested in me. He has a crush on Jieun," Junhee said.

"He doesn't—" Dasom quickly stopped herself when Junhee frowned. "I mean, I don't think he does… He doesn't really give that kind of vibe anymore, right?"

"I still see it," Junhee declared.

More like you're too dense, Dasom thought, frowning. She sighed. "Well, that makes us two girls who're confessed to."

"Don't forget Eunji. She got confessed to by Daehyun and hasn't answered him since," Junhee said. She snatched away the journal and handed it over to Eunji. "Have fun writing."

Eunji faked a laugh while Dasom frowned at Eunji.

"That's right! You've been leaving more Daehyun hanging for who knows how long!" Dasom exclaimed.

"I'll answer him eventually. I'm still thinking about it," Eunji mumbled.

"More like never," Junhee whispered. She snickered to herself while Eunji blushed.

"I-I will! I'm really thinking about it!" Eunji exclaimed.

"What are you thinking about?" Dasom asked.

Eunji found it difficult to answer her question immediately, but ended up spilling the truth. "I'm… I'm wondering if I'm allowed to move on from Howon."

Dasom and Junhee kept awfully quiet. Eunji looked down at the ground while curling her fingers into a small fist. The two other girls stared at each other, trying to figure out a way to cheer her up.

"What do you think Howon would want you to do?" Dasom asked in a soft tone.

"I don't know. I wish I'd knew. Then it'd be easier for me to figure things out," Eunji said, breaking into a small smile.

"It's not like you two were married," muttered Junhee. Dasom gave her a sharp glare. "What?"

"Eunji, I understand that you're still…healing, but you can't leave Daehyun like this forever," Dasom told her. "I'm not sure how loyal Daehyun is to you, but one day, if you keep making him wait, he might change his mind."

"Unless he's really loyal," Junhee countered. Dasom gave her another glare. "You can't blame me. I know you're telling me to shut up in your head, but you can't deny that I'm partial right."

"That's precisely why I'm telling you to shut up in my head," Dasom said.

Eunji let out a small laugh. "Well, I appreciate both of you for trying to cheer me up."

She got up from the ground. Junhee and Dasom both looked up and watched her grab her bag.

"Are you leaving?" Dasom asked.

"Yeah. I came yesterday, so I don't see a need to stay here for today." Eunji looked at Dasom. "Why don't you tell Junhee about what we talked about yesterday?"

"You guys talked about something important?" Junhee asked.

Dasom reached out for Junhee's hand. "Oh, right! You see, I'm planning to ditch school for the rest of the year. All I need is for you guys to cooperate with me—"

"Request denied," Junhee stated immediately. She frowned at Eunji. "You guys were really going to help her do this stupid plan?"

Eunji chuckled. "Well, Jieun and Byunghun were in for it. Taemin and I tried to talk her out of it, but we feel like we need an extra person to help her realize that this isn't the best path for her."

"I'm dead serious! I can't go back there! My popularity will decrease and the amount of guys who ask me out for dates will decrease dramatically! Also, Myungsoo is there and—" Dasom turned bright red. She looked away. "A-Anyway, I want out! Come on, Junhee! You can help me, right?"

"Of course not," Junhee said, scowling. "You're going to school tomorrow no matter what."

As Dasom continued to complain, Eunji excused herself and bid her two friends a "goodbye." She walked out of the house and started to head back home.

On her way back, she glanced up at the purple evening sky. Thoughts about Howon and Daehyun came into her head. She knew that it was a bad idea to keep Daehyun waiting. However, she wasn't sure if she was even allowed to reject or accept his confession. If anything, she probably would've accepted his confession, but it was difficult to even think about the thought of betraying her ex-boyfriend.

I wish you'd give me a sign, Howon, Eunji thought. She looked back down at her shoes, then let out a small sigh. Things are a lot more confusing without you here.

From the distance, Taemin had stood hidden behind a tree, listening to her sighs. He was on his way to Dasom's house when he had seen Eunji leave on her out. He was planning to call out to her, but couldn't find the right moment to as she kept roaming around in a dazed manner, as if she was too occupied with her own thoughts.

Taemin looked up at the starless sky. Come on, Howon. You made a promise with me. You said that if you hurt Eunji, you're going to find a way to heal her wounds and leave her with a better guy than you. He closed his eyes and started walking back to Dasom's house. Please keep your promise. As her friend, I'm begging you.

"I'm ho—me," Eunji announced, entering her warm house. She sighed to herself as she took off her coat and scarf. She dragged her feet into the kitchen, where she started to smell her mother's cooking.

"Ah, Eunji, sweetheart! Welcome home," her mother said, greeting her back. "Your father is going to be late, so eat first."

"Thanks, I'm starving," Eunji muttered. She dropped her clothes and grabbed a seat.

"Can you call Daehyun over? He's in the living room," her mother said.

Eunji sighed. "Alright, fine—" She stopped herself. Her eyes widened and she turned to her mother. "Daehyun is here?"

"Yes."

"Daehyun? You mean our neighbor, Daehyun?"

"That's the only Daehyun I know," her mother said. She started to grin. "Unless, you know some other nice boy named Daehyun…"

"Why is he here?" Eunji asked.

"Why isn't he here? His mother told me that he'd be eating dinner all alone so I invited him over. He was unusually against coming over, but I eventually dragged him along."

"I-I'll eat later," Eunji murmured.

"But you said you were starving?"

"I'll eat later!" Eunji repeated. She grabbed her belongings and ran up the stairs to her room. Once she arrived, she let out a sigh of relief. Mom is crazy! Why would she invite him over here?

Just when Eunji thought that she would be alone, she heard the door unlock. She widened her eyes and noticed that her mother was carrying a tray of food. Behind her mother, Daehyun stood awkwardly in the middle of the hallway, unsure of what to say. He sheepishly looked away while Eunji gave her mother a look of despair.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Eunji hissed.

"Well, if you're not going to eat at the dinner table, then I might as well bring you the food here," her mother said in a reasonable matter. She turned to Daehyun with a smile. "Come in, come in!"

Eunji dropped her jaws. "Mom! You can't invite a boy in my room?"

"Oh, please. You have Taemin and the basketball boy over."

"Byunghun, Mom. The basketball boy is Byunghun."

"Well, I was always fond of academic boys compares to the sporty type."

"Mom, Daehyun is a sporty type."

"Nonsense! I heard that he got into the special class with you!" her mother cried out. She pinched Daehyun's cheek. "You excel both in sports, academics, and you have great looks! I wish you'd be my son!"

"Mom!"

"Relax, I was joking!"

Eunji wanted to face-palm herself. She glanced at Daehyun, who still stood alone in the halls. She sighed and turned around, leaving her mom to drag him inside. Eunji pulled out a small floor table, where her mother started to put the tray. 

"You two are in the same class. I'm sure you have things to talk about," her mother said. "I'll be back with fruits!"

With that, her mother left the two alone in Eunji's room. The two sat on the floor, staring at the food in front of them. They both glanced at each other at random times, trying to figure out when it was okay to eat.

"So," Eunji started quietly. She reached for a side dish.

"So," Daehyun repeated, drinking his water.

"It's been a while, huh?" Eunji said quietly.

Daehyun almost choked on his drink. He wasn't planning on talking about his confession this early. He quickly nodded his head and scratched the back of his neck.

"Y-Y-Yeah," he stuttered. Heat ran up to his cheeks.

"Sorry that I, uh, haven't been able to reply," she mumbled.

"No, no! Just take your time!" he quickly told her. He started to shove a lot of rice in his mouth so that he wouldn't have to talk.

"…How long?" she asked him. He looked at her with a questionable expression. "How long can I take to think about your confession?"

Daehyun slowly chewed and swallowed. "I don't know… I mean, isn't it a reject or accept kind of situation?"

"If I can, I'd like a little more time to think about it."

"I don't mind waiting," Daehyun said naively. "I'll wait."

"But for how long?" she repeated. "Daehyun, you can't wait forever. I know that as much as any other reasonable person."

"Are you planning to reject me if you can't come up with an answer when the deadline I give you passes?" he asked. Eunji kept quiet. He shook his head. "I don't want that. I'd rather just wait until you're prepared to answer me. I don't want you to regret it later."

"What if I'm never prepared?"

"Eunji, stop asking these stupid questions. I'll wait," he firmly decided. 

"I—"

She stopped herself when her mother came in with a tray of more side dishes. Her mother smiled at the two.

"I'm back!" her mother exclaimed. "I'll start cutting the fruit when Eunji brings down the dishes."

"Mom, really?"

"How is the food?" her mother asked Daehyun, ignoring her own daughter.

Daehyun politely smiled. "It's amazing as usual, Mrs. Jung."

Her mother laughed. "As I thought! I really wish you were my son."

"Mom!" Eunji cried out in disbelief. 

"What?" Eunji's mother asked innocently. The mother and daughter continued to bicker, while Daehyun watched over Eunji with a warm smile.

However, his smile faded and he could no longer hear what the two were arguing about. He looked down at his bowl of rice and started to stuff his mouth in silence.

I wonder, he started, how long I can wait. He let out a small sigh. I wish I can wait forever like I said, but can I really?