“Hey guys. Do you know any private investigator or something like that?” Yoona suddenly asked as they were having their lunch break. The two were surprised by her question.

“My unnie’s husband works as an investigator.” Yuri replied.

“Why do you need it?” Seohyun curiously asked.

“I want to find Donghae’s mother.” They were surprised by what she said. They all know Donghae haven’t seen his mother for years.

“Really?” Yuri said.

“Yes, I know he miss his mother. This would mean a lot to him.” Yoona then smiled at Donghae when they arrived. “He’s just stubborn so I’m taking the initiative to let them met.”

“That’s so thoughtful.” Seohyun said as she smiled at her friend. “Yong oppa told me that he used to be close to his mother when he was small. I know he’ll appreciate it.”

“I hope so. I think it’s time for him to forgive and forget. This would be a big step for him as he moves on with his life. He has to let go all of the hatred in his heart.”

“Oh! How sweet of you! I hope they’ll patch things up.” Yuri squealed.

“When can we talk to him?” Yoona asked.

“I’ll send my unnie a message. I think it would be best if we would go there later so that jahyoung would have a lot of time to search for him.” Yuri said as she text her sister.

“Okay. Let’s go together after we meet with our partners for the project proposal.” Seohyun said as she got up from her seat again. “Aish! How many times would I remind Yonghwa not to drink cola!?” she then left and went towards her boyfriend’s table.

After classes, Yoona met with Donghae to inform him about her meeting with Nickhun later.

“Jagiya, I can’t go home with you for today. Khun and I are going to discuss our plan for our project. We will meet later at the library.” Yoona said as she met him outside Donghae’s room.

“Ah really? I also have a meeting with Jessica at the library.” He smug as he said her name.

“Kaja! Let’s go together.” Yoona then held on his arm and walked happily. Donghae was stunned by Yoona’s sudden action.

“Yoong? Didn’t you always say we shouldn’t be too affectionate around school?” Donghae said as he jerked his arm away from her.

“Why? They already know we’re friends. Can friends be not this close?” Yoona then loosen her grip.

“If you don’t want then I won’t do it.” She then abruptly left and walked faster.

“Yaaa! Yoong! Wait for me!!” Donghae then chased her.

“Yoong! Why are you walking away?” he then said after he kept up with her pace.

“I will walk by myself so that I can’t disturb you, MY FRIEND!” she said as she emphasized the last words. She then walked away again leaving him dumbfounded.

“Aish!! When I wasn’t sweet to him at school, he would always complain. And now! Aish!! I really can’t understand him!!” She mumbled to herself as she walked towards the library.

Yoona looked around the library but Nickhun was nowhere to be found. She then decided to find a vacant table so that she can start ahead while waiting for him. Along the way, she found Jessica sitting alone as she waits for Donghae to arrive. She smiled at her but Jessica just shrugged her off. She was listing down some ideas when she felt someone’s presence.

“Yaaa Khun!! Why are you late!?” Yoona exclaimed but she found Donghae instead. She then looked back at her notes.

“What does he want now?” She mumbled to herself. He then sat in front of her.

“People can see.” She said as she continued to scrabble on her paper. She was startled when Donghae passed a note on her. She hesitated to read it at first but she was curious so she just glanced at it.

My dear Yoong,

I’m sorry for acting like that a while ago. I was just startled by your sudden affection. I’m not used to it when we’re here at school. I know I’m always the one who initiates it, but this time I think it would be the best not to. I don’t want you to get involve with my issue here at school. I hope you understand.

                                                                                                                Mr. Fishy 

She ignored it at first so that he could give him a hard time. But afterwards, he kept on passing too many notes with messages like “I’m sorry :(”, “Please forgive me”,“Smile my Yoong deer”, “This fish will be sad if you’re still mad” and so on and so forth. Yoona found his gesture sweet and touching so she also made a note for her with “^_^” written on it. He then chuckled after reading the message.

“I’m sorry.” He said as he held her hand.

“I’m sorry too for misunderstanding you.” They were suddenly distracted when Nickhun arrived.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” He said then he eyed Yoona and Donghae’s intertwined hands.

“It’s okay. Let’s start.” Yoona then removed her hand and started to organize the notes Donghae gave her.

“Shouldn’t you be at Jess’s table? She’s been waiting for you.” Yoona said when she noticed Donghae still sitting in front of her.

“Yeah. I saw her a while ago when I came in.” He sighed then finally stood up. “Arasso. I’ll go now. Anyway, are we going home together?”

“Anni. I’m going somewhere with Seo and Yuri. You know girl’s stuff.” She replied as she avoids his gaze. She knew Donghae would notice it if she’s lying. They knew each other too much.

“Take care, okay? Text me as soon as you got home.” He then went over her and kissed her in the forehead. Nickhun then looked the other way. Donghae then left with a heavy footstep.  Nickhun’s face fell when he saw that. His heart would cringe every time he sees her with Donghae. He then sadly took out his notes.

“I’m sorry you have to see that.” Yoona replied as she looked down. She knew Nickhun was hurting inside.

“It’s okay. I knew it from the start that you like him. I’m fine with it as long as you’re happy. I’d still be here for you even as a friend.” He said as he smiled at her. It was the smile Yoona always likes to look at.

“Thank you. You’re one of the few friends I really treasure in my life.” Yoona replied. She knew being friends with him would only hurt him more. As selfish as it may sound, but, she doesn’t want to lose him in her life.

“Let’s get started partner.” Nickhun said as opened his notes.

“Fighting!” Yoona squealed.

Meanwhile, Donghae left Yoona’s table with a heavy footstep. He wasn’t quite thrilled with the partners the teacher made up for them. Of all people, he doesn’t know why it has to be Nickhun and Jessica. Even though he told Yoona its fine with him, he can’t help it but still feel jealous. He knows Nickhun has interest on his girlfriend and now he’d get more time with her because of the project. On the other hand, it has been months since he broke up with Jessica, but he still can’t forget what she did to him. He can’t still forget the pain he felt when she left him. There are wounds that had been opened when she returned. There’s still a piece of him that wants some answers. As he was walking towards the familiar girl he used to be close to, memories flooded his mind. He can still recall the things they did before.

“Oh! You’re here! I was actually calling you a while ago but you didn’t notice me.” Jessica said as he sat in front of her.

“Yeah, I went over to Yoona.” He replied as he took his notes, avoiding her gaze.

“Oh, girlfriend.” She said as she looked down. “Actually, I’m happy that you’re my partner since you’re the only person here that I’m close to.” Donghae didn’t know what to say so he just kept his mouth shut.

“Anyway, while I was waiting for you, I actually did some brainstorming and I came up with this. It is a rip off of a business I saw in Chicago but I injected Korean flavor. I’ll explain it to you and you can give your feedback.” She then started to explain. Donghae was suddenly disturbed when he looked at her face. He realized Jessica dyed her hair again. Before she left, it was jet black, and then it was blonde when she came back and now she dyed it to brown.

“Nothing much has change to her. Her skin is still fair. Her face is still flawless. Her smile is still there. But one thing I noticed, her eyes weren’t as bright as it was before. I wonder what happened.”Donghae thought to himself.

“YAH DONGHAE! What are you thinking!? You shouldn’t feel this way. You already have Yoona in your life. Why are you still entertaining these thought?! It’s unfair to Yoona”he thought again as he absent-mindedly slapped his face.

“ What’s wrong?” Jessica said as she noticed Donghae being weird.

“Ah nothing. I thought there was a mosquito.” He lied then pretended to find the mosquito.

“So do you have anything to ask?” she said. Donghae shook his head and looked at her notes again. Actually, he hasn’t understood a thing because he was too preoccupied with his own thoughts.

“Uhm. Can I make a copy of this? I want to look thoroughly on it. I will give my suggestion after.” Donghae said still not looking at her.

“Uhm. Okay, I’ll just re-write this and I’ll give you a copy first thing in the morning tomorrow.” Jessica replied then fixed her notes. “Since you don’t have any questions, we can go home early.” She then placed back her things inside her bag. As she was about to stand up, Donghae suddenly spoke.

“Actually I have a question.” He said as he looked at her. Jessica was startled then sat on the chair again.

“What is it?” she asked. Donghae was silent at first. He swallowed hard then answered her.

“What happened to you these past few months? Why did you go back to Chicago? Where is Taecyeon? What happened to the both of you? Did something bad happen?” Shock was visible through Jessica’s eyes. She was caught off-guard by the questions Donghae bombarded on her.

*What  do you think happened to Jessica and Taecyeon? Are the rumors correct?

Please do share your guess, comments, thoughts and suggestions. I want to know all of them so that I can improve my story. Khamsamnida! ^^