Mark held out a bouquet of roses in front of Youngji, while the other students stood around them and watched intently.

It was the annual school dance, usually held after the school festival has ended. And apparently, Mark asked Youngji to be his date for the dance. Youngji held the hem of her dress tighter, trying to keep herself from screaming and squealing. But to be honest, she didn't expect such thing to happen.

"Youngji," Mark called her name with a shy look on his face, "I'm sorry if it took me years before saying this to you."

Youngji chuckled nervously, "What are you talking about?"

"Um, you see..." Mark averted his eyes away from her, "I have something to confess."

The crowd started getting noisy with whispers, gasps, and snickers. A group of freshmen even started making fangirl noises. Everyone already knew what was going to happen next.

"Look, Mark," Youngji forced a smile, though she was already feeling awkward with what was happening, "I have no idea about this."

Mark slowly held Youngji's hand, and gazed at her longingly, "Heo Youngji, please be my girlfriend."

Youngji's eyes widened, "Huh?"

"I love you."

Youngji felt her cheeks become warmer, "I-- I-- I couldn't believe this. Are you serious?" she asked.

Mark nodded, before moving closer towards her, "Is this too good to be true?" he whispered softly before cupping her cheeks with his hands, "I love you, Youngji. Please be mine."

Youngji closed her eyes shut after sensing that Mark was about to kiss her. She felt cold sweat on her back, her stomach turning upside down, and her knees trembling with Mark's motion. It was her first kiss; it should be perfect.

Until she heard a loud ring.

Youngji quickly opened her eyes. She was not at the school dance. There was no crowd around her. And Mark was gone.

It was just a dream. Everything was just a dream. Youngji quickly got up with a disappointed look on her face and sat on the edge of her bed, before running her fingers on her lips. She still couldn't believe what she had just dreamed of. It was very unusual for her to dream about something like that. Youngji stared blankly into space, trying to grasp her dream and completely wake herself up.

"Oh crap," she thought to herself, "What was that supposed to mean?!" her eyes widened with the thought, "Am I foreseeing the future?!"

Youngji blushed. It might sound weird, but for the first time, she wanted to believe in clairvoyance. She wanted her dream to actually happen in the future.

"Ah! I can't take this anymore!" she screamed, before burying her face on a pillow, "Why is Mark Tuan doing this?!" she exclaimed as she rolled all over her bed. Her deep infatuation was getting more frustrating.

A few more seconds passed before Youngji remembered the loud ring which made her wake up in the middle of a great dream. She quickly got up and looked for her phone.

"Ah, where is it?" she hummed under her breath as she looked under her blanket and pillows, until she found her ringing phone underneath the comforter. She held her phone in front of her and the bright light made her squint her eyes, making reading a bit difficult. Nevertheless, she was able to see who sent her a message in the middle of the night.

It was from an unknown number:

Hey Heo Youngji, tomorrow, let's go to school together, okay?!

"What the-- Who is this even?!" Youngji thought to herself. It was only 11:00 in the evening and it was quite unusual for her to receive a message on that time, especially from an unknown number.

She quickly typed her response:

Who are you? Where did you get my number? >:(

She bit her lip in anxiousness while waiting for the anonymous sender to reply. She was already feeling curiousness and fear, especially after remembering the horror movies she had watched before which involve anonymous people sending messages.

"Oh good grief," she froze, "Who could this be?"

Youngji was already panicking inside her hear when her phone rang. And yes, it was from the anonymous sender again.

Are you angry at me?! Well, it's Jackson Wang, your best-est pal, the person who knows your secret and is willing to tell it to Mark Tuan once you don't follow what I say. ;) Oh, and about where I got your number... it's a secret... I have my sources. Now peasant, we'll go to school tomorrow together, aight?! Be early; meet me... in front of your house. >:)

Youngji's eyes widened after reading the message. She could not believe that Jackson Wang still managed to haunt her in the middle of the night.

"This jerk!" she seethed as she deleted Jackson's messages from her inbox. But then, after hitting the delete button, she paused.

Youngji suddenly remembered what Jackson had told her yesterday when they were on their way home from the club volunteer meeting.

She remembered that Jackson Wang lives alone in his apartment.

"What... did I just do?" she mumbled to herself. And in a heartbeat, random thoughts of a sad Jackson Wang entered her mind.

"Maybe he just needed someone to talk to..."

"Or he is suffering from insomnia that's why he was looking for someone to send a message to..."

"Or maybe he misses his parents; overseas calls are expensive, that's why he opted to text the people he knows here in Korea."

Youngji's eyes widened. Conscience hit her like an eight-wheeler truck driven by Schumacher. She took a quick look at her phone again, thinking about replying to Jackson's last message and to start a small talk. But to her dismay, she had deleted his messages.

"I've done something wrong," she thought to herself.

-

"Youngji, wake up," Gayoon whispered as she lightly tapped her sister's shoulders, "It's already 5:30, you might be late for school if you don't get up."

Youngji squirmed under her blanket, trying to fight off the sleepy feeling she got, before opening her eyes, "Huh? It's already morning?" she slowly got up, while Gayoon went to open the curtains in her room.

"You should fix yourself now. Breakfast is already served and your friend is waiting for you downstairs," Gayoon grinned which made Youngji gulp.

Youngji already had a feeling of who could the person be, but she was too scared to admit it, "Who--who are you talking about?" she stuttered.

"Just move quickly and immediately go downstairs," Gayoon responded without looking at her younger sister, before going out of her room, leaving Youngji with a devastated look on her face.

-

"...yes, and she's really enthusiastic about arts and crafts. When she was still in grade school, I would always make her join kiddie art competitions in their school!"

Youngji bit her lower lip as she stood in front of the stairs which lead to the dining area. She was hearing her sister's conversation with their 'guest' clearly. And despite taking a hot bath, her body unusually felt colder than before. And Youngji knew it was not a good sign.

"...no wonder she joined volunteering for the Performing Arts Club. I didn't know she enjoys arts."

Youngji was startled. The voice sounded familiar. Too familiar. Her fear became a reality.

The 'friend' her sister was talking about was Jackson Wang.

"...oh my, I didn't know she volunteered! Are you also a volunteer?"

Youngji heard her sister giggle as she said those words. Youngji shook her head in disbelief; her sister was too fond of Jackson Wang that she even allowed him to come to their house early in the morning. But Gayoon seemed happy talking to him.

"...um yeah, I volunteered too. The club president is my friend. I just did him a favor by helping out with his club."

Youngji sighed after hearing Jackson's statement. He was a good friend after all, she thought to herself. She was about to take her first step downstairs to meet them but her sister's next question made her freeze on the spot.

"...really? Are you sure that you only joined because of the club president? Or is there another reason?"

Youngji felt a quick bolt of electricity hit her spine. What was her sister implying? That Jackson joined the volunteering to see her? Youngji closed her eyes shut and lamented about how Gayoon can effortlessly embarrass her in less than one hundred words.

"...ah," was all Youngji heard from Jackson, and then it was quickly followed by an awkward silence.

Youngji silently took another step, then stopped. The silence between Gayoon and Jackson was still there. And Youngji was torn between going downstairs to meet them and staying upstairs until her sister calls her.

Youngji let out a deep sigh as she weighed down her choices... but she was interrupted by Gayoon's voice.

"Youngji!" she called out, "You'll be late for school already!"

"Coming!" Youngji spoke in an anxious voice. She quickly ran downstairs, and the first person she saw in the dining area was Jackson.

"Good morning!" he greeted with a wide smile, to which Youngji responded with a nod. She noticed the light and optimistic aura coming from him; she knew something was happening.

Youngji took the seat adjacent to Jackson's, while Gayoon placed a bowl of cereals in front of her before going to the kitchen to get more food. Jackson, on the other hand, just watched her intently as she poured milk on her cereals, slightly mixed it with spoon, and took her first bite.

"You look so cute when you eat," Jackson blurted out.

And Youngji immediately froze on her seat. She gave Jackson an extremely puzzled look on her face, "Huh?"

"A--" Jackson gaped after realizing what he had said.

And the awkward silence fell on the two of them.

Jackson averted his eyes after noticing that Youngji was still staring at him with a dumbfounded face. He knew he might have sounded creepy when he said those words. Deep inside him he was cursing himself for letting his guard down.

Youngji was still in mild shock on the other side of the table. She was already holding her cereals-filled spoon in front of her, but she was hesitating whether to continue eating or not. It was already the second time Jackson Wang has complimented her in such an unusual manner.

Gayoon went back to the dining area from the kitchen, carrying with her a loaf of bread, "Oh, what happened?" Gayoon asked after noticing the dead air between Youngji and Jackson.

"Ah, it's-- it's nothing, unnie," Youngji forced a smile, before continuing with her food…

While Jackson stayed motionless on his seat, moving his face away from Youngji's direction.

-

"Ahhhhhh!" Jackson exclaimed as he buried his face on the palm of his hands, "I was so stupid for saying that loud!"

He was already inside the classroom, seated on his desk. And in front of him were his friends, sans Yugyeom, who had to attend a taekwondo practice for his club.

"Well, good thing her sister didn't hear it," Jinyoung responded, "If I were Youngji's sister and I hear a guy calling her cute, I'd immediately make that guy marry her."

Jackson gave Jinyoung a glare, "I need to hear something useful, okay?"

"But come to think of it," Jaebum butted in, "What's so wrong about calling someone 'cute'? Look at me, I always call my sister 'cute', and also my nieces."

"Shall we draw a fine line about calling relatives 'cute' and calling a total stranger 'cute'?" Jackson sighed after realizing that his friends were not much of a help to him.

"Heo Youngji's not a total stranger, Jackson," Jaebum retorted, "She's your schoolmate since first year."

Jackson nodded, carefully thinking about Jaebum's statement. If Youngji shouldn't be considered a 'stranger', then how should he consider her? A friend? An acquaintance? An enemy?

Jackson did not notice that his friends were already staring at him because of the very serious look on his face.

"Uh, did we say anything wrong?" Youngjae asked, but Jackson didn't answer. The latter was already lost with his own world, staring blankly into space.

Jackson was confused; since when did he get too affected by what Youngji might think of him? He used to a lot, pull a couple of jokes on her, and banter with her. For the past three years, that was how he lived his life.

But suddenly, something has changed between them, although he was not sure if he was the only person noticing it.

"Maybe you already like Heo Youngji."

Jackson was startled. He quickly got back to his senses after hearing Jaebum speak. He gave his friend a dumbfounded look on his face.

"What--what are you talking about?!" Jackson stuttered.

But Jaebum had a straight face on. He was extremely serious, "I said maybe you like her."

Youngjae and Jinyoung giggled, much to Jackson's dismay.

"You stop talking nonsense, Im Jaebum!" Jackson exclaimed, "You are not funny!"

Jaebum sighed, "Do I look like someone who's pulling your leg right now?" he pulled his seat in front of Jackson's desk, facing him directly, "Let me tell you something.., all of us are already sensing something different from you, ever since that day we saw the exam results last prelim period."

Jackson gulped. He knew how much of a psychic Jaebum could be.

"You're always with her, and you kept separating her from Goo Hara and even that sophomore kid," Jaebum squinted his eyes, inspecting Jackson carefully, "Tell us, Wang Ka-yee, what's up with the two of you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jackson chuckled nervously as he adjusted the collar of his uniform, "Dang, since when did our classroom get this hot?!" he shifted himself in his seat away from Jaebum.

"Are you dating Heo Youngji?" Jinyoung gushed.

"I said stop! I don't know and I don't care!" Jackson exclaimed in annoyance, "Ah, you guys are getting on my nerves today! I should've talked to Yugyeom instead; that kid always makes sense! Where is he?! I'm going to look for him! Goodbye!" with that, Jackson stood up from his seat, and trudged his way outside the classroom, leaving his friends in confusion.

"What did he say?" Yugyeom creased his forehead.

"He said he doesn't know if he's dating Heo Youngji and he doesn't care," Jinyoung responded, "Um, I didn't get it, to be honest."

"Is it even possible?" Yugyeom rested his chin against his hand, "How would you not know if you're dating someone?"

Jaebum let out a deep sigh, "Only Jackson Wang knows how to do that, my friend," he said as he patted his friends' shoulders.

___

Let's talk! ask.fm & twitter

Happy 300 subs to us! And also, special thanks to the upvotes given by rietokki and JinMark_MarkJin. :) Please let me know what you think about this chapter. Comments and additional upvotes always motivate me. Happy reading everyone~