It was already 11:00 in the evening. The whole neighborhood was already quiet; everyone was already sleeping peacefully for sure, except for one person.

Heo Youngji was wide awake, lying in bed while hugging her rabbit plush toy. She did not have much schoolwork and household chores to do for that day, but her mind and body felt worn-out, and she had never experienced such intense weariness before. Her body wanted to get some shut-eye already, but her mind said no. Inside her head, scenes from that afternoon kept playing on loop; it was enough to make her feel devastated.

"Dang it," Youngji thought to herself, "This is all Bambam and Jackson's fault!" she closed her eyes to force herself to sleep, but only a few minutes passed and her phone rang. She immediately got up, grabbed her phone to answer it, thinking that the caller might be Hara.

"Hello, Hara?" Youngji spoke.

"What?!" a male voice responded from the other line. And Youngji already knew that it was Jackson.

"Why are you calling me?!" Youngji started to use that tone of voice she always used whenever she was annoyed, "Stop calling me!"

"Why are you so grumpy, eh? And shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

Youngji furrowed her eyebrows, "Wow, look who's talking! You should be the one getting enough sleep, you had just recovered from flu! And you're the one who called first so don't go babbling about sleeping!"

His laugh was heard from the other line. Youngji could already imagine Jackson's mocking face as he was trying to think of more ways to irk her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the one who called," Jackson spoke, "Um, sorry for bothering you."

Youngji gulped. She was not used to hearing Jackson Wang apologizing to her, "Why are you calling me? Just tell me what you're going to say because I need to sleep."

"Yeah, sure," Jackson spoke, before he stayed silent for a few seconds. From the other line, he was trying to compose his message first. He didn't want to seem wrong with what he was going to say. Meanwhile, Youngji already stood up, feeling uneasy. She knew that Jackson was going to say something important; he wasn't the type who would suddenly call someone in the middle of the night just for nothing.

"Okay, here it goes," he let out a deep sigh, "It's about what I told you earlier. Remember? In the arts room?"

Youngji felt her heart drop.

"I am serious about it, I swear to God. I just really in... you know... putting my thoughts and emotions into words, that's why I might have sounded like a creep a while ago. But yeah, everything I said is true. I like you, but I am not pressuring you to give me a response immediately."

Youngji bit her lip, trying to control herself from screaming due to extreme confusion and frustration.

"I know you like Mark. He's still your crush. And I know I can't be him. I can't be a Mark Tuan who can run clubs, be extremely kind to everyone, or perform in musical plays every semester. I know this sounds really cheesy, but I'll do my best to become a better person for you."

Silence followed. Jackson on the other line was waiting for a response from Youngji, but the latter was too dumbfounded to speak.

"Hey Heo Youngji, you still there?"

"Huh?" Youngji was startled, "Oh, um, yeah I'm still here."

"So, you don't have anything to say?"

"No, um, I guess I do not have anything to say anymore."

Jackson sighed, "It feels so weird to be like this to you, to be honest. I hope you won't avoid me in school or something. We'll still be the same, well, we'll try to be the same, right? I mean, no awkwardness between us even if you already know I like you."

Youngji held her forehead, checking if her temperature was still normal after all the things she had just heard. Jackson seemed genuinely concerned about her and their current relationship as close acquaintances, but to try and keep her cool around him despite his feelings for her was a bit difficult to do.

"Um, what else?" Jackson sighed again, and Youngji could already picture him looking anxious as he tried to think of what to say next, "About Bambam, we both know what that kid feels for you. And I am not backing down; I'm not going to give up this fight against that sophomore kid."

"Fight?! Are they taking this too seriously now?!" Youngji thought to herself.

"Heo Youngji, things will be a bit different from before starting tomorrow. But I hope you won't avoid me or act different. Let's keep everything normal, like we're still the old Jackson Wang and Heo Youngji."

"Um, okay," Youngji nodded, although she did not have even the slightest idea about what he was trying to convey. Things were starting to baffle her even more; Jackson wanted to keep things between them the same, yet he was letting her know that things might become different for them tomorrow.

Youngji wished to skip tomorrow already and just go straight to the part where she would not have to worry about Bambam and Jackson anymore.

"I guess I'm taking too much time from you already," Jackson added, "Good night, Heo Youngji. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, uh, goo--good night," every word was stuck inside . She still felt discomfort in interacting with a nicer, less annoying Jackson Wang. Silence hung around for a few seconds before Jackson ended his call. Youngji immediately squealed in frustration, letting all of the tension go through the random noise she was making.

"Oh dear," she held her cheeks with hands, "What have I gotten myself into?!"

-

"Um, are you sure you'll be fine like that?" Hara tilted her head to get a proper view of her friend's face, "It's too warm to wear a scarf today."

Youngji chuckled nervously, "I know. But I'm okay, don't worry," she responded, which was followed by a wide grin on her face. She adjusted the scarf to cover more of her face, trying to hide herself from whatever evil she might face in school for that day. And by the word 'evil', she meant Jackson Wang or Kunpimook Bhuwakul.

Hara could not do anything but let Youngji sport a brown scarf around her head, "Sheesh, you're a bit weird today, Ji."

The two were already inside the classroom, and the whole class was just waiting for their homeroom teacher to arrive and start the discussion. Youngji was already arranging her stuff on her desk when one of her male classmates approached her.

"Youngji, someone is looking for you," he spoke.

"Who is it?"

"Um," her classmate scratched his nape as he thought of what to say next, "He said you should just go out and see him."

The nervous look her classmate had while he spoke gave a hint.

"It's Jackson Wang?" Youngji stood up with a furious look on her face. She removed the scarf from her head and slammed her hands on her desk, "It's him?"

Her classmate nodded.

Her stomach suddenly ached; the pain was something she had not experienced before. Youngji did not quite understand if it was diarrhea or any other digestive ailment; it didn't feel like there were butterflies inside either. She held her stomach while trying to think of what to do next: was she going to see him outside, or let that jerk wait until her class ends?

"Um, please tell me your response," her classmate spoke meekly, "Jackson Wang is waiting outside and he might kick me in the face if you don't go out."

"Wait, what?!" Youngji's eyes widened.

"He looks upset."

Youngji was enraged after hearing her classmate's words. She did not appreciate the fact that Jackson was already threatening her classmates just to see her.

She rolled the sleeves of her uniform, "Do not worry. No one's getting kicked in the face today," she huffed before going out of the room.

Jackson stood outside, his eyes looking outside the window. Yes, just like what her classmate had told her, Youngji saw a furious look on Jackson's face.

"What the... why is his mood like that?" Youngji thought to herself as he approached him, "Last night, his mood still seemed fine though."

Youngji slowly took her steps to approach him, but even before she could completely get near him, Jackson suddenly moved and looked at her. His piercing gaze was enough to send chills down Youngji's spine.

Jackson stayed silent. Youngji waited for him to speak, but he didn't, so she already took the initiative to speak first.

"Um," she tried to think of what to say first, "What do--"

"Why did you do that, huh?!" the tone of his voice clearly showed how disappointed he was at something Youngji did not know.

Youngji gulped, "I--I did what?"

Jackson pursed his lips, "You're acting all innocent now, huh?! I thought we've talked about things properly last night!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Youngji sighed, "You're probably on your period right now but please stop PMS-ing at me."

Jackson's face blushed; he had to admit, but seeing Youngji looking calm made him a bit embarrassed, "Wh--what the heck! I am not PMS-ing! Stop changing the topic!" he took a step closer to her, "You said we'll try and keep things normal between us! But why did you do that?!"

"I did what?!" Youngji flailed her arms. She tried grasping what Jackson was trying to tell her, but she could not remember anything.

"You left your house without me!"

Youngji's eyes widened.

"You didn't wait for me! You left early on purpose!" Jackson explained himself like a kid would do whenever he complained to his mother, "I arrived at your house at exactly 6:15, I waited outside! But then Gayoon noona went out and told me you left early!"

Jackson's face spoke volumes: his eyebrows furrowed, his cheeks blushing, his whole face frowning, but all in a cute way. Youngji didn't expect that the tough Jackson Wang would be upset over the fact that he did not get to go to school with her that morning.

"You're unfair! This is not fair!" he huffed and averted his eyes away from her as he crossed his arms in front of him. Jackson tried to keep his face looking mad, but when he took a quick glance at Youngji, he couldn't help but feel calmer again. Youngji was just looking at him with a shy smile on her face.

"Wh--why are you looking at me like that?! You finally realized that you're wrong, huh?" Jackson smirked.

"No," Youngji lightly shook her head, "You're kinda cute when you're upset," she laughed.

Jackson suddenly felt his cheeks become warmer, "You--you're making fun of me! I knew it!" he pointed his finger at Youngji while shaking his head, "You--you are not real! Heo Youngji will never say that to me!" he slowly walked away, backwards, without taking his look away from her, "You are not real! Begone, fake Youngji!"

Meanwhile, Youngji just watched him until he went back inside his classroom, which was only beside hers. She had just witnessed another episode of Jackson Wang being an embarrassing piece of carbohydrate.

"What a weird guy," she thought to herself.

-

Gyuri held a white envelope on her hands as she ran her way towards the club office. She had a bright smile on her face, which was pretty unusual, since Gyuri was known for having a poker face to show every emotion she had. Whatever the reason might be, it must be really good to make her smile.

"Mark Tuan!" she called out as she opened the door. She raised the envelope above her head, "You better read this!"

Mark was busy typing excuse letters for the activities of the school festival. Without removing his sight from the computer screen, he spoke, "What's that?"

Gyuri quickly took a seat beside him, "Principal Song met with me a while ago, and she gave me this," she took the letter from the envelope and read what was inside, "Dearest Mrs. Song, I received your invitation for the school festival a few days ago, and I want to let you know that I am going to attend the said event. It's been a year since I last went to visit the school; I already miss the teachers, the students, and the surroundings. I am on my second year in Juilliard now, and since I am currently on vacation, it would be nice to visit the institution which I called home for almost three years."

Mark suddenly stopped typing.

"I look forward to enjoy the festival this year. Please send my regards to the faculty members and to the students. Sincerely yours, Bae Joohyun," Gyuri ended the letter with a wider smile on her face. She folded the letter again and placed it back inside the envelope, "Well, Miss Bae is going to come back just to see the school festival. How's that for motivation?" she grinned.

Mark felt his heart skip a lot of beats after hearing the words in the letter Gyuri read. He didn't expect that his past music teacher will visit the school. He could still remember the last time she saw her; he was in second year and she was their class' music teacher and the Performing Arts club's assistant teacher-in-charge.

It's been a year, Mark thought to himself. But even if Bae Joohyun already left to study abroad, he had to admit that his feelings for her were still there, hiding, waiting to be rekindled at the right time.

"We should exert more effort to make the events more fun," Gyuri remarked, "Let's show Miss Bae that our club is still doing great like before."

Mark nodded, "Yeah," his face was blank; his thoughts were lost somewhere in space, "We should do that,"

-

Youngji held Hara's arm as they walked; the two were on their way to the cafeteria to have lunch, and Youngji was being cautious over the possibility of seeing Jackson or Bambam along the way. Too bad she could not use the scarf anymore since Hara took it from her and hid it inside her locker.

"Look, Ji," Hara whispered, "Everything's gonna be okay. Chill." she added before pulling Youngji towards an empty table on the corner of the cafeteria. The latter immediately took a seat beside the wall, and her eyes were still peeled for any sign of Jackson or Bambam.

"I can't believe you're getting paranoid because of Jackson Wang and that boy from the second year class," Hara chuckled before taking a seat adjacent to Youngji, "I can't really support the two because I ship you with Mark, sorry."

Youngji pursed her lips as she watched Hara open her soda, "Please don't mention the names of those two anymore," she sighed, "They make me feel stressed!" she buried her face on her hands. Her feelings were getting ahead of her again. If only there was a way to uninstall them from her body.

The noise of everyone inside tue cafeteria could not beat the voice inside Youngji's head. Jackson's and Bambam's voices were taking turns resonating inside her head, and they were saying the same thing.

"I like you."

"Ugh," Youngji muttered to herself, "I think I don't like having guys have feelings for me. Feelings are disgusting."

"Ji, you should eat now," Hara interrupted Youngji's train of thought, "You'll feel better afterwards," she reached out her arms to take Youngji's lunch box and open it for her. Youngji responded with a shy smile; she felt thankful to have Hara with her for that day. How was she supposed to survive her dilemma without her friend's wise words?

"Let's eat now!" the two exclaimed before taking their chopsticks to start eating. But even before Youngji could take her second bite from the meatballs she was having for lunch, a familiar figure approached them, which made her choke on her food immediately.

Hara's eyes widened at the sight of Jackson Wang, standing beside their table.

Meanwhile, Jackson had no idea about what was happening with the two. He just had a smile on while carrying his backpack, "Hey," he greeted casually, before taking a seat beside Youngji, "I'm glad I saw you here."

Youngji was still holding after choking on her food, "Why are you here?!"

"Yeah, why are you here?!" Hara exclaimed with an annoyed look on her face, "Can't you see Youngji and I are having lunch?!"

Jackson moved his finger on his lips to shush Hara. He then turned to look at Youngji, opened his backpack, and pulled out a small lunch box, "I was supposed to buy lunch here in school, but then I thought that it would be nice to prepare my lunch at home and I made food for you too!" he explained cheerfully.

"Um, why are you doing this?" Youngji had a puzzled look on her face, "You said we should keep things like they're supposed to be."

Jackson nodded as he opened his lunch box, "Yeah, I did say that," he took his chopsticks and placed shrimp tempura on Youngji's lunch box, "I'm guessing you're not allergic to seafood, no?"

"Answer my question first," Youngji responded, quite irritated by Jackson ignoring her question, "Why are you doing this?"

'What?!" Jackson furrowed his eyebrows; he was already upset over the fact that Youngji was ignoring the tempura he made, "What's wrong about cooking food for you, huh? You cooked me lunch before, right? I am just returning the favor. Don't assume too much, sheesh," he huffed, before continuing to put tempura on Youngji's lunch box.

Youngji was stunned. She was pretty sure that Jackson was doing it because he likes her, but he still kept on reiterating that everything was normal between them. He was so good in denying things; he deserved an award for it.

"There!" Jackson beamed, "Eat that! That tempura might help you get even 10% of my intelligence; it'll be helpful for you."

"Oh, shut up," Youngji sputtered, "I'm still gonna beat you flat on your face in our next exams," she added before taking a bit of the tempura he gave her. Jackson placed his arms on the table and rested his chin on top of it, while he intently watched Youngji eat her lunch.

Meanwhile, a baffled Hara just sat in front of the two. She was shocked to see Jackson Wang being nice to her friend. Too nice, and it was very suspicious already.

"Dang it, so this jerk really likes Ji," Hara thought to herself.

"How is it?" Jackson asked.

"Um, it's good," Youngji tried to keep a straight face on, hiding the fact that the tempura tasted better than how she expected it to be.

"Eat more, eat more!" Jackson spoke giddily. It was nice to see Youngji liking the food he made, since he exerted much effort in cooking the tempura, "Ah, by the way, I'm womdering if you are free this Saturday?"

Youngji creased her forehead, "Why?"

"Um, there will be a warm-up exhibition at the sports center near the shopping mall for the national athletes," Jackson's voice suddenly sounded more gentle, "I'm going to be there, so I'm wondering if..."

Youngji gulped. She knew what was about to come.

"I'm wondering if you could come and watch me," Jackson looked shy as he spoke the words, "And perhaps, cheer for me as well."

"Huh?" was the only thing Youngji could utter. And her short response immediately made Jackson feel uneasy.

"Hey, it's not like I'm forcing you to come!" he explained, "I'm just asking if you're free, but if you have other plans for Saturday, it's fine!' Jackson did not want to seem like he was too eager to have Youngji watch his game on Saturday. Although he had already confessed, he knew that it was not a good idea to show his adoration for her. And just by looking at Youngji's stunned expression, he was already getting a sign that she might decline the invitation.

Youngji pursed her lips as she tried to think of a proper response. She did not want to seem rude by declining, since Jackson was sincere when he asked her. However, she also did not want to seem like someone who was easy to get.

She thought that it would be better if she gave the safest answer, "I don't know but I'll try to come."

"Try" was the right word, Youngji thought to herself. She had a satisfied smile on as she looked at Jackson straight in the eye. The latter still had a nervous face on, not quite sure if her answer was a good thing or a bad one.

Hara just watched the two silently, thinking that her friend had done the right thing.

"Um," Jackson scratched his cheek, "Okay then."

"I'm not sure of my schedule this Saturday," Youngji added to make things seem better, "So I am not sure if I can watch."

Jackson glanced at her shyly, "But you'll--you'll try to come, right?"

The uneasy, but pitiful, expression Jackson had immediately made Youngji feel guilty. He was loking forward to hear her response that she would definitely come but she failed him. The least thing she could do was to nod hesitantly.

"Well then," Jackson sighed, "I'll try to see you on Saturday," he spoke before standing up to leave, "I need to go first, you guys enjoy your lunch," he closed his backpack before carrying it over his shoulders. Youngji amd Hara watched him as he went out of the cafeteria.

"He looked... glum," Hara remarked, to which Youngji also responded with a nod.

"And he left his lunch box here too," Youngji added as she stared at the blue lunch box beside her, with half-eaten tempura.

___