"Um, so you cooked these?" Youngji had a puzzled look on her face after opening the lunch box. She was quite surprised to learn that Jackson Wang can cook.

Jackson watched Youngji as she took her chopsticks and stared at the food. Her eyes were fixed on the meal in front of her, and Jackson already wanted to know what she has to say about it.

"You cooked these?" Youngji repeated. She must admit, the food looked... edible so to speak. The meal had rice, mandu, and stir-fried vegetables. For a guy, Jackson had good taste in food presentation.

"I did," Jackson wore a smug smile on his face; he was too proud of his cooking skills, "Go on, eat! I bet my cooking is better than yours!"

Youngji smirked, "You're overly-confident, Mr. Wang," she remarked before taking a bite of the mandu.

Jackson observed her as she slowly chewed her food. Youngji gave him a blank stare, which made him feel uneasy. Despite his proud remarks about his food, Jackson was deeply worried inside. He knew he was not a very good cook, but his foods were decent and edible enough, and so far he hadn't received any negative comment about it. The last person he cooked food for was Jaebum, and when he asked his friend about how it tasted like, Jaebum just gave him a thumbs up.

But that time was different. It was Heo Youngji who would eat his food. And he had not cooked food for a girl yet. Girls' taste buds might be different from his friends.

"Hm," Youngji averted her eyes after swallowing, as if she was thinking of something deeply.

"How--how was it?" Jackson leaned closer towards her, and rested his elbows on the table.

Youngji looked at him with a dead stare...

And seconds passed, a smile slowly formed in her face.

"The mandu was good."

Jackson's eyes widened, "What?"

"I said, the mandu was good," Youngji sighed, "Just the right amount of flavor. And it didn't poison me."

Jackson smiled awkwardly, "Hah. Of course. Told you I can cook better than you!" he exclaimed, trying to hide the worried feeling he had a few moments ago.

Youngji took another bite of the mandu, then next was the stir-fried vegetables. She was too occupied with eating that she didn't notice Jackson was already observing her.

Jackson pursed his lips as he silently watched Youngji eat. She looked happy, bright, and her energy seemed to be back.

"Heo Youngji," he called out, calmly.

"Yeah?" she responded, without looking up at him.

"I--"

"Hey Jackson!" someone called out from behind him.

Jackson and Youngji turned to look, and saw a smiling Mark Tuan approaching them.

"Hey there!" Mark beamed as he took a seat beside a dumbfounded Jackson and wrapped his arm around Jackson's neck, "It's been years since you visited the club office, what's up?"

Jackson blurted out, "What are you even talking about? It's only been two days since we last saw each other!"

Mark laughed heartily, "Aww, but I missed you, man!" he said before pulling Jackson closer to pinch his cheeks, while the latter struggled against his friend.

Youngji, on the other side of the table, just remained motionless. She can already feel her heart beating faster as she watched Mark Tuan just a few inches away from her. Was it real? Mark Tuan in front of her?

"Cut that out!" Jackson exclaimed before pushing his friend away from him, "Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"Tch. Busy with what?" Mark smirked, before turning to look at Youngji, "Oh," his eyes widened, "Hi!"

Youngji was startled, "Huh? Me?" she asked as she pointed at herself. She couldn't believe Mark was talking to her.

Mark nodded, "I remember you! We were classmates back then, right?"

Youngji immediately smiled widely, "Ah yes! Back in second year!" her face lit up; she was overwhelmed to know that Mark still remembered her.

Jackson was already silent in his seat. He already had a glare in his face, shifting his eyes from Youngji to Mark.

"You're Jiyoung, right? Heo Jiyoung?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows as he tried remembering her name.

"Youngji! My name is Youngji," Youngji interrupted with a hopeful look on her face. She was already holding the chopsticks tightly, too enthusiastic to talk to Mark.

Mark slapped his forehead, "Ah, yes. Youngji. I'm really sorry I got your name wrong," he bowed his head. But Youngji quickly shook her head, "No, no, it's okay! It's fine! It's okay if you got my name wrong, I understand. It's been two years since we've shared the same class."

"Heck yeah. Now I'll start calling you 'King Kong' since it's okay to get your name wrong," Jackson retorted with an irritated look on his face, which surprised Mark and embarrassed Youngji.

"Why don't you listen more carefully?!" Youngji exclaimed, "I said it's okay to get my name wrong because it has been years since we shared the same class!" she slammed her hands on the table as she spoke.

Mark cleared his throat, before speaking, "Um, look guys, I don't mean to cause an argument here--"

"It's okay," Jackson smiled widely at Mark while patting his back, "It's not your fault. It's just that Heo Youngji can be quite featherbrained."

Youngji's eyes widened, "Why, you irrelevant jerk!" she was about to aim the lunch box at Jackson, but then she saw Mark looking at her with a surprised look on his face. Youngji quickly averted her eyes and bit her lip in embarrassment.

A few seconds passed, and she heard Mark chuckle. She and Jackson were surprised.

"Ah, you're too cute," Mark said as he scratched his head, "You seem fun to be with."

Youngji was flustered, while Jackson was aghast.

“Cute?” Youngji hummed under her breath, she could already feel blood rushing up to her cheeks. The only persons who had called her ‘cute’ are Hara, Gayoon, and her mom.

So, being called ‘cute’ by Mark is a different thing.

“Yeah, you’re cute!” Mark beamed, “And since you’re cute, I think you’d be a great addition to the Performing Arts club,” he said as he held out a folded piece of paper in front of Youngji, “We need volunteers for the school festival, and I’d really want you to be a part of our team.”

Jackson swiftly snatched the paper away from his friend, “So you came here just to offer us this volunteering stint?”

“No, not you,” Mark snarled, before shifting his eyes towards Youngji, “I am giving the offer to Youngji. I know she could do well.”

Youngji just kept frozen, still trying to let Mark’s words sink into her. Her day couldn’t get any better. Mark slowly slid the paper towards her direction, “If you want to join, here’s the application form. Just drop it on the application box in front of our office.”

“Heo Youngji’s always busy,” Jackson huffed, already giving her a piercing look, but Youngji didn’t seem to notice him.

“Ah, is that so?” Mark wore a disappointed look on his face, “Okay, I guess—“

“No.”

Both Jackson and Mark were surprised with Youngji’s sudden interruption. She had a smile on her face, and she was already holding onto the paper Mark left in front of her, “I want to volunteer for your club!”

Mark’s eyes lit up after hearing Youngji’s response, “Really?”

Meanwhile, Jackson could already feel his guts falling into pieces inside his body.

___

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