The Performing Arts Club's office was already filled with paper lanterns and streamers which will be used for the festival. Those assigned for the props team occupied themselves with fixing the decorations and planning the design of the school's front area for the event.

Youngji focused herself on putting decorations in the paper lanterns, along with three of her group mates. Their hands were already filled with glitters and pieces of adhesive tapes, but she didn't care; she was actually having fun.

"I told my mom I'll be joining the volunteering team to meet new friends," Sowon, one of her group mates, giggled, "But she didn't know that the real reason why I joined is because I don't like attending Chemistry class."

A loud laugh was heard from their group. Youngji was having too much fun with their company that she didn't realize that Mark was already behind her.

"Ah, you guys are up to no good," Mark interrupted their discussion as he slowly leaned closer behind Youngji.

"Ah!" a startled Youngji almost fell from her seat after noticing Mark was already behind her, "Ah-- I'm sorry, it's just--"

"I didn't really mean to say that," Sowon spoke in an apologetic voice, interrupting Youngji. Their group became silent. But after a few seconds, Mark let out a hearty laugh after realizing that a serious atmosphere started among them.

"Geez, why are you guys so serious?" he spoke with a wide smile on his face, "Just enjoy what you're doing right now. We don't want gloomy and aloof members," he said as he patted Youngji's shoulder while shifting his eyes from her to her group mates.

Youngji froze on her seat while Mark's hand was still on her shoulder. It was the closest encounter she had with Mark. And it was a first.

"Well, I should go now and check on the others' works," Mark smiled before removing his hand on her shoulder and walking away from their group. Youngji watched him as he approached another group, but she was interrupted by the audible whispers of her group mates.

"Ah, ain't he the cutest?"

"He's not only good-looking, he's also very sweet and thoughtful!'

"I wonder if Mark Tuan already has a girlfriend."

Youngji couldn't help but let out a deep sigh; it seemed like the whole female population of their school has a crush on Mark. She bit her lip as she thought of the reason why she liked Mark Tuan, even though he was too far to reach.

"Why do I even like torturing myself?" she muttered to herself.

-

"...and they kept asking me if I was dating Heo Youngji?! They're so annoying!"

Just like how a five-year old would complain to his father, Jackson complained about his friends to Yugyeom. The two were inside the training room of the taekwondo club.

"How am I supposed to like her? I have really high expectations on women, you know?" Jackson furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke, while his younger friend just kept nodding. Yugyeom was supposed to be taking a rest after his training, but since Jackson was there, he had no choice but to listen to his lamentations instead.

"Heo Youngji's not a girlfriend material anyway," Jackson sputtered, "She's so arrogant, she's such a go-getter, stubborn, and short-tempered! And I like girls who are sporty. And she's not; she even faints after a two-minute sprint!"

Yugyeom took his bottled water from his bag to take a drink while listening to Jackson.

And he was quite surprised how talkative his friend could be.

"...and she doesn't even put enough effort to fix herself, or put on BB cream, at least!"

Yugyeom might be the youngest among their group of friends, but he is certainly the one who gives better advices than his hyungs. Even their teachers and classmates and acquaintances thought the same.

"...why does she always have to shout at me whenever we talk?! And even when she's happy, she talks too loudly!"

He also has the ability to sense whenever his friends have a problem, or when they are hiding things.

"...and guess what, she's too heavy for a girl! When she fainted during PE class, I carried her from the school oval to the infirmary! And it felt like I was carrying a water buffalo along the way!"

That's why even if Yugyeom is the youngest, Jackson trusts him, because of his dependability and mature disposition.

"...and she's really greedy with chicken balls! I had to give her mine because she seemed like she was about to bawl because she had fewer chicken balls than--"

"You do like her, hyung," Yugyeom spoke with a calm voice, and his words were enough to make Jackson speechless.

Jackson gave him a dumbfounded look. But Yugyeom just had a poker face on as he looked at his friend straight in the eyes.

The deafening silence fell upon the room.

Jackson froze.

Yugyeom stayed quiet.

A few minutes passed before Jackson let out a hearty laugh, "What are you even talking about, kid? Haha! Haha!" he slapped his knees repeatedly while he laughed.

But Yugyeom just kept quiet. He waited for Jackson to finish before starting to speak.

"You are just denying things. And you already look stupid for denying it," Yugyeom sighed before drinking water, while his friend stared at him with wide eyes, quite surprised with Yugyeom's statement.

Jackson felt his heart beat faster as he grasped what Yugyeom had said. And since he trusted his younger friend, he knew that Yugyeom was telling the truth.

"Jaebum hyung and the others were right," Yugyeom nodded, "We have no idea why you always keep yourself close to her these past few days. But one thing's for sure: you're up to something," he smirked, and that gesture was enough to make Jackson nervous.

"How can you even say that I like her?" Jackson scowled, "I mean, it could also mean that I just wanted to be friends with her, right? Can't a girl and a boy be just friends?!"

"You have a point, hyung," Yugyeom shifted his eyes from Jackson to the far end of the room, as if he was thinking of something deeply, "But as far as I'm concerned, I don't chase away sophomore students who like my female friend."

"Well, if you are talking about that Bambam kid who follows Youngji around, it's just that he'll be a nuisance to her, so I'm already doing Youngji a favor by protecting her from bothersome students who might distract her in her studies!" Jackson crossed his arms after saying those. He was quite sure he had won in their petty argument.

But Yugyeom was not the type who easily backs off.

"Since when did you become Youngji noona's mother? I don't remember you being so mindful about her studies. You even wanted to beat her in the rankings, so why help her keep her focus?" Yugyeom retorted.

Jackson pursed his lips. He was certain that he didn't like Heo Youngji. Everything they were doing was just a part of the consequence of him discovering Youngji's unrequited love for Mark Tuan. Liking her was not part of his plan.

Yugyeom noticed the blank expression Jackson already had. He seemed like he was already pondering about something. Yugyeom tilted his head to see Jackson's face clearly.

"You might need help," he grinned.

"What help?" Jackson responded without looking at him.

"You're still stuck in the denial stage," Yugyeom spoke, "You need help in acceptance. You don't have to undergo anger stage and--"

"Yugyeom, I don't have a terminal disease and I am not dying," Jackson sighed,  "I'm just trying to understand things."

Yugyeom held Jackson's face and looked at him straight in the eyes, "Hyung, please answer me honestly," he said as he moved closer towards Jackson's face. The latter quickly swiped Yugyeom's hands away from his face.

"What are you doing?!" Jackson exclaimed.

"Do you enjoy being with her? Yes or no?!" Yugyeom asked with a serious look on his face.

"What?"

"Yes or no, just answer honestly, hyung!"

"Um," Jackson looked up as he thought of his answer, "I guess so."

"Does the day pass without you thinking about her?" Yugyeom shooted another question at him.

"Um, not really," Jackson answered, shyly, "Why are we even doing--"

"Does your stomach churn whenever you see her with another guy? Do you get the feeling of wanting to punch any guy who gets closer than 5 meters from her?" Yugyeom asked immediately, cutting off Jackson's chance of protesting. He enjoyed interrogations too much that Jackson couldn't even handle him.

"I am not violent, kid, you know me," Jackson grinned before turning his back at his friend, "So, it's a no--"

"Hyung, look! The sophomore kid is carrying Youngji noona's bag!" Yugyeom exclaimed as he pointed out towards the glass window of the room, where the hallways are visible,

Jackson quickly stood up and examined the hallways, "Where?!" but he saw nothing. No trace of Bambam, or Youngji. Or even her bag.

It took him a few minutes to realize that he just fell into the trap of Yugyeom.

"And you even said that it's a no," Yugyeom chuckled, "Ah, young love. Why can't you accept your feelings Jackson hyung? We're seniors already. In a few months' time, we'll be off to college. And you might never see Youngji noona again."

Jackson took his seat beside Yugyeom again, and ran his hands through his hair as he thought of his friend's words.

"Some people end up living life miserably because they've made bad decisions in the past," Yugyeom spoke, "They didn't do the things which made them happy, and that made them regret living."

"What do you mean?"

"If you let the chance pass, you might end up living miserably, always doubting life and regretting things. If you like her, then tell her. Or do you want another guy to do that to her?"

Jackson sighed as he remembered Mark and Bambam. Youngji likes Mark, while Bambam likes Youngji. And anything could happen as they worked for the school festival.

"What should I do, then?" Jackson slowly turned to look at his friend, "What should I do to make her like me back?"

Yugyeom cracked a smile after seeing the determined expression Jackson had. The last time he saw Jackson like that was during a fencing competition. Jackson had a happy-go-lucky personali, but when he is serious, he definitely works hard for what he wants.

"What kind of guys does Youngji noona like?" Yugyeom asked.

"Guys who are like Mark Tuan, I guess," Jackson responded with a flustered look on his face. He was wondering if he sounded weird for admitting Youngji's crush on another man.

Yugyeom stayed silent for a moment...

And so did Jackson.

"It's pretty dysfunctional if I ask you to be Mark," Yugyeom spoke, "But... why don't you try being yourself, but a hundred times better?"

Jackson froze, "Huh?"

"Be Jackson Wang, improved by a hundred times, so you can make her like you back."

___

Let's talk! ask.fm & twitter

Hello again~ I'll just make this author's note really quick. I really want to thank everyone for the subscribing and upvoting. We're not yet in the twentieth chapter but we already have 39 upvotes and 308 subs, yay! Thank you to GOJaeJM, moistchoc31, and BigBangVIP4Life for the additional upvotes. :)

I love reading your comments, so please let me know what you think about this chapter. Happy reading~