The next day, Jieun saw something interesting at Taemin's classroom when she decided to go and see Hyunwoo. She walked up to the nearly dead figure, who was on his desk, resting his head with a blank expression. Jieun grabbed a random pencil and poked the guy's pale cheek. However, he didn't move. She continued to poke him until someone grabbed her hand to stop her. She glanced over her shoulder, where Hyunwoo stood still with a grim expression.

"What are you doing to Daehyun?" Hyunwoo asked.

"I'm checking if he's dead," Jieun said innocently.

"Ah, that might be because of what happened yesterday," Taemin said, approaching the group. He handed Jieun the journal. "Here. From Eunji."

"What happened yesterday?" she asked him.

"Read it yourself," Taemin said. He looked at Hyunwoo as Jieun opened the journal to Eunji's entry. "I'm going to run some errands. Mind watching the classroom for a bit?"

"For what? No one does anything," Hyunwoo said.

"Just look over that stack of paper. They're important," Taemin said.

"What are they?"

"Permission slips. I'm supposed to deliver them after I come back from the bathroom."

"Why didn't the teacher take them?"

"She asked me to deliver it later during break," Taemin said. "I can trust you with them, right?"

"Of course you can. I'm more trustable than you," Hyunwoo said, snorting. Taemin was about to say more until Jieun let out a shriek. 

Everyone in the class stared at Jieun, who looked at the book with wide eyes and looked back at Taemin. She stared down at Daehyun, who continued to remain zombie-like. 

"He got rejected!" Jieun cried out.

Daehyun whipped his head upwards. "Who said that? Who said that I got rejected?"

"The journ—"

Taemin quickly covered . "Eunji. Eunji told us."

Daehyun whimpered. "She told you? Did she tell everyone?"

"Just us," Taemin assured him. "Don't think too much into it."

"I wasn't until this morning!" Daehyun cried out. "I mean, she wanted to remain friends, so I was okay with that, but what about in the future? What if she decides to date someone else instead of me? Then what does that make of me, huh? Am I just her friend throughout the entire way?"

He sobbed lightly and hid his face in his arm. Taemin clicked his tongue in a pitiful way while Hyunwoo snorted. Jieun looked at him with a purse look of sympathy.

"I'm so sorry that you're not dating one of the most amazing girl in the world," Jieun said, patting his head.

"Enough, enough," Hyunwoo said, slapping her hand away from Daehyun. "Why don't you find something else to do?"

"I am. I'm working my way to becoming your bride," she insisted.

"Let's set realistic goals, Jieun. Realistic," Hyunwoo repeated.

"I think becoming your lover is quite realistic," Jieun said.

"Anyway, you can look over those papers for me, right?" Taemin asked Hyunwoo, ignoring jieun.

"Sure, whatever," Hyunwoo responded.

Jieun narrowed her eyes. "I know what you guys are thinking! You think becoming Hyunwoo's bride isn't realistic!"

"No one said anything, Jieun," Hyunwoo said, sighing as Taemin walked away.

"But you were thinking it," Jieun said.

"You don't know that," he said, unaware that he was actually teasing her. He glanced over and saw her blush a little. He smirked and started to look over the stack of paper just like Taemin told him to until he came back.

"Hey, are you really going to marry Hyunwoo in the future?" asked Junhee, who happened to be walking down the school hall with Jieun. Jieun, sipping her strawberry milk through her straw, glanced at her red-haired friend.

"What? You don't believe me?" she asked.

"Oh, I believe that you will marry, but is Hyunwoo even interested? I mean, you two aren't even dating."

"It's technically dating from my point of view."

"One-sided dating? That's not dating at all, Jieun," Junhee pointed out.

Jieun giggled. "Well, I wouldn't be too worried about it. Hyunwoo has things he wants to do, and my goal is to not let be a burden to him."

"Things he wants to do? Like what?"

"Like study abroad," Jieun said. She continued to walk, but stopped when she felt that her friend was no longer by her side. She glanced behind her, noticing that Junhee had froze up. "What?"

"Study abroad? Jieun, that sounds serious," Junhee said. "What did you say?"

"I told him that I'm going to become a chef while he's out of the country."

"What if he decides to stay out?" Junhee asked.

"Then I'll go live with him!"

"Jieun, you don't even know the language. It's not easy learning a new language. You know that, right? Especially with you. You're not good with learning new languages."

"If it's for Hyunwoo, I can do anything—"

"But what about you?" Junhee asked. "What can you do for yourself?"

Jieun paused, then tilted her head while making a smile. "You're acting strange, Junhee. What's up?"

"I'm just worried about you," Junhee said. "I mean, you and Hyunwoo aren't officially dating or anything. I don't even know if he has any intentions of dating you. He's so focused on his academic and his career while you… Well, you're just focused on him."

"What are you trying to say?" Jieun asked.

"You'll be getting into a long-distance relationship, too," Junhee said, rambling on. "Like, sure, we still have another year of high school left, but Jieun, it's only one year. Once we become third-years, we're going to be studying and applying for college. Have you even picked out which college you want to attend?"

"I just know that I want to be a chef and cook for Hyunwoo," Jieun said simple-mindedly. "Besides, who's thinking about where they want to go to college right now?"

"A lot of us are," Junhee said seriously. "Once we become third-years and graduate, I'm heading straight to art school. That's my goal."

Jieun stopped smiling. "Wait, what?"

"I'm going to try out for the top art schools and hope to major in music," Junhee said.

"Then we won't be able to hang out much. We'll be separated," Jieun said. She paused. "Wait, did everyone already decide?"

"Not everyone, but most of us," Junhee said, blinking her eyes. "Well, back to you. If you're going to be a chef, then culinary school sounds good. Have you thought of anywhere in particular? You know that you can't be a chef in just one day."

Jieun pressed her lips. "Um, Junhee? Tell the teacher that I'm feeling a bit sick and that I'm going to stay at the nurse's room."

"What? Why? You were perfectly fine this morning," Junhee said.

"Sorry. I just feel a bit…ill," Jieun murmured. She quickly turned and ran away while complicated thoughts jumbled in her mind.

For most of the day, Jieun rested on one of the available beds, feigning sickness. Although the nurse showed skepticism towards Jieun's acting, she decided to leave the girl alone when Jieun showed signs of distress. As Jieun laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, she couldn't help but think about Junhee's words from earlier.

To be quite honest, Junhee's words actually scared her. A lot.

The thought process was simple: Be a chef, marry Hyunwoo, and live happily ever after. However, the more Jieun thought over it, the more she realized that reality had other plans. There were so many little steps in between the goals that made her feel sick inside.

Be a chef? She would have to go to culinary school (like Junhee said) or find some other way of getting the job. In fact, if she wanted to be one of the better chefs, she would definitely have to work hard and make a name for herself.

Marry Hyunwoo? Sure, she didn't find this thought too troubling, but like Junhee said, when would Hyunwoo return? How would the two contact? Phone or e-mail was the reasonable answer, but it was already difficult for her to contact him through phone and e-mail when he was just a few inches away from her.

Live happily ever after? That could only happen if her two big goals happened, and just thinking about those goals created a repetitive circle in her head. She groaned as she rubbed the side of her temples, struggling to focus. She sighed and turned to her side as she stared aimlessly at the curtains.

I'm not even officially dating Hyunwoo, Jieun thought. Her eyes softened. What if he wants to date someone else? I'm sure there are a lot of prettier girls who live out of this country. Over here, I'm able to chase them away because he's close, but if he's over there, then I won't be able to do a thing. Plane tickets are expensive, and with the grades I have, I probably will have to stay at a regular college. She closed her eyes. Dreams only stay dreams, huh?

The curtains opened. Jieun looked up, surprised. Hyunwoo stood in front of her, but he had the usual annoyed expression. She tried to smile, but her lips wouldn't curve upwards. 

"Move," Hyunwoo said.

"Aw, why?" Jieun complained, trying to act playful.

"I'm seriously pissed over and need to cool down my head by lying down. Move," Hyunwoo said.

"What happened?" Jieun asked, slowly getting up.

"It's Taemin! He didn't even—" Hyunwoo stopped himself and glanced at Jieun. He frowned even further. "Now what?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you upset?" Hyunwoo asked.

Jieun sat down at the side of the bed while Hyunwoo said down closer to the corner.

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"Jieun, anyone with eyes can see that you're not being…you," Hyunwoo said, not exactly sure how to describe the situation.

Jieun smiled a little and faked a small chuckle. "So you noticed?"

His expression eased up. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Jieun took a deep breath. "Hyunwoo, you're really going to study abroad, right?"

"That's my plan," he said. "You're going to be a chef, right?"

She almost flinched at those words. "Well, that was the plan, but…"

"But?"

She paused for a moment before gathering up the courage to ask him, "Hyunwoo, what exactly are we?"

He blinked his eyes, puzzled. "What?"

"I mean, I love you and I chase after you, right? I keep telling you how much I love you, and I know that you—somewhere deep inside—must love me, too. I keep chasing after you and try to match up with you, but…" Tears started swelling up in her eyes. "What if I'm not able to match up with you?"

Hyunwoo froze, completely shocked by her tears. Seeing Jieun swell up like this was new for him. Sure, he had seen her cry a few times, but this time, he sensed something else from her tears. Was it fear? Perhaps anxiety? He wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was, he knew that he was probably the cause of them.

Why do I only know how to make her cry? he wondered silently.

"Junhee was talking to me about art school and asked me if I was going to culinary school," Jieun told him, "but I don't even know if I can go to culinary school. Sure, I like cooking, and sure, the idea of being a chef seems fun, but is it something that I really want to do? I just want to love you and be by your side. I don't mind being a chef because I'll be able to make delicious food for you and make our family a dual-income family, but what if things don't work out? What if I'm doing all this for nothing?" Her lips trembled. "If you study abroad, you'll surely date someone else, right? There are so many girls who're better than me, and I won't be able to block them from here." She sniffed. "Long distance relationship sounds more scary the more I think about it. Am I overthinking this?"

Oh, Hyunwoo thought, as he gazed down at her. I'm making her feel insecure. The only reason why I'm able to make all these decisions out loud is because I know that whatever happens, Jieun will always be waiting for me. She definitely proved herself over and over again that she's willing to wait for me and put up with me, but I didn't do anything to show her that I'll stay by her side. I've only pushed her away and showed annoyance towards her, but she always knew how I was actually feeling inside. He let out a small sigh. I guess words really do matter. Saying 'I love you' really does make a difference.

He opened his mouth, but the words couldn't come out. Those three simple words—the words that Jieun had always said so easily—could not come out of his throat. It wasn't like he didn't love her. No, he knew that he wanted Jieun to stay by his side. It wasn't like he was being stubborn or shy about revealing his feelings.

So what was it?

Maybe I'm not the type that says 'I love you' so easily. Maybe there's another way… Hyunwoo paused. He bit his bottom lip, then held out his pinky finger in front of her. Jieun stopped whimpering and looked at him through her glazed eyes.

"W-What is this?" she stuttered.

"Date me when we graduate high school," Hyunwoo said.

Jieun choked on her own spit, getting red. "W-W-What?"

"You heard me," he said seriously. His ears started to heat up. "Date me when we graduate high school so that I can assure you that I'll marry you."

"But long distance—"

"Once I get into a serious relationship with a girl, I don't look at other girls. I'm not the type to cheat, and you know that," he pointed out. "And once we go out, we'll build our future together and then make your wish come true."

"My wish?" Jieun asked. "You mean of being a chef?"

"Of being a bride," he said. By this point, his whole face was turning red. "M-My bride, more specifically."

Jieun stared at his pinky. "You really mean it?"

"What?"

"Do you really mean it?" she asked him.

"…You know, I'll just take it back—"

"No!" she exclaimed, grabbing onto his pinky. Before he could pull away, she locked it with her own pinky. "Promise. Pinky promise."

A smile crept along his face. "Good. Now, move so that I can lay down."

Jieun quickly nodded. She wiped her eyes, got up, and watched Hyunwoo get on the bed. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, ready to rest. Jieun was about to leave, but she paused and stared at him for a few more minutes.

"Hyunwoo?" she called him.

"What?" he asked.

"Can I do something that you might not want me to do?" she asked slowly.

"What is it—"

He stopped when he felt a light peck on his lips. He widened his eyes and stared at Jieun, who cheered a little while touching her lips. She giggled enthusiastically and scurried away before he could say anything. As he remained stunned, he reached for his own lips and touched them, causing a gentle expression to appear on his face.