"Good idea. We can acquaint ourselves Yonghwa," Daehyun agreed with Leeyoung's suggestion of their double date. He looked at Shinhye, who stared at the ground obviously uneasy, "but I think ditching class would be a bit much. We could always go out during the weekend or even after school." 

She bit her lip in hopes everyone else would follow along his plan without her having to openly agree with him. "Where's the fun in that? Go big or go home," Yonghwa opened his big mouth. Her nails were pressing against his arm like in the theater as a warning to stop. It wasn't a surprise he didn't listen. "Shinhye and I can ditch cuz' my girl is too smart for this anyway. You two can go to class and we'll just meet up another time." 

"No we'll come along won't we Daehyun?" Leeyoung held onto his arm and smiled at the opposing couple. "What did you two have in mind?" 

Hell...Shinhye thought.

---

"Waaaaah!" Shinhye squealed from feeding a group of rabbits hay in a petting zoo. Her smile was bright as the sun beating down on the four of them. She giggled when a couple more rabbits hopped over to where she crouched in sight of the food she shared. "Oh you're so soft!" Her fingers caressed the fur of a rabbit in front of her. 

Yonghwa crouched beside her providing more hay for the animals. "Better than class right?" He asked. She nodded happily watching teeth around her nibble the straws of hay. He too fed those around him. A rather chubby rabbit hopped to the front of his shoes and he raised an eyebrow, "you need to lay off some of this buddy." 

A couple more gathered around him and he held the hay closer to his body. "Hey I don't have a lot and you guys need to share. A man can only carry so much hay," he announced in a 'teacher' voice. Shinhye smiled in amusement at his interaction with the bunnies. "What's so funny?" He asked noticing Shinhye's expression. 

She shook her head still smiling before getting up to walk over to the ponies. He watched her leave and wanted to follow but the rabbits were keeping him occupied. "Ugh you guys are ers," he glared at them. One rabbit made a soft chewing noise to which he replied, "yeah yeah eat your hay."

"Yonghwa," Daehyun towered over him with his hands in his pockets. "You're pretty popular here," he gestured to the audience of bunnies. 

Yonghwa held up one hand, "please Daehyun I'm taken. Try flirt with a miniature pig in the other pen." 

"Good one," Daehyun laughed. Yonghwa interally rolled his eyes bored by the small talk. "So how did you and Shinhye get together? I'm sure you know she's known for being the-"

"School nerd?" Yonghwa finished his question. Daehyun opened his mouth in thought of a kinder wording for her title but came out blank. "How her head is wrapped around school and school alone while cutting off all social interaction excluding her one best friend and parents? That's what you're curious about?" 

"Well I was her friend too," Daehyun pointed out.

Yonghwa couldn't help but scoff and think, was. "Yeah her head is full of all that academic stuff but not her heart. She's a regular person that wants to have fun just as much as you and I. But she's scared," he started. "I'm providing that fun and as you can see she's happy." The two boys looked to the girl and watched her laugh at the pony her hands clean from the hay she gave her. 

From the sight alone, it was enough to make both males develop deeper feelings for the girl. The smile she wore, the way her eyes lit in the sunlight and her messy strands of hair in her face made their hearts almost skip a beat. No it wasn't love. It couldn't be yet, they just discovered her. Even now, Daehyun just realized how beautiful she had grown. The boy who didn't care as much for the girl who looked his way now gazed intently with no plan to turn away. 

Yonghwa felt the same as Daehyun did. It wasn't her physical beauty alone that attracted him. Her actions warmed his heart in a way no one else did. She carried a little girl to sit up on the pony and walked alongside because the child was scared. After a while the little girl smiled and enjoyed the ride. The pony even left them a present and it smelled horrible. But Shinhye ran to get a worker and when they returned, she even offered to help clean it. Of course the worker rejected her kind offer but was extremely grateful. When she looked up from the pony, she automatically locked eyes with Yonghwa and smiled. He was done for.

"What do you mean she's scared?" Daehyun asked still under the trance Shinhye unknowingly placed. 

"She doesn't want to get hurt," Yonghwa answered. "She doesn't want to get close with people again. Not when the person she supposedly loved left her without a word." 

Daehyun was dazed but his hearing was fine. He turned to Yonghwa flabbergasted at his words. "Did she-" 

"Babe I'm bored," Leeyoung walked up to the guys and hugged her boyfriend's arm. "There's a lot of shrieking kids here and it smells like ." 

Yonghwa scattered the small remains of hay he had left and wiped his hands on his jeans as he stood. "Watch your language," he spoke in a flat voice. "Like you said there's kids here." 

"Yonghwa the ponies are so cute but they sure poop a lot," Shinhye told him after making her way to the group. He smiled at how giddy she was after seeing a couple of animals and ruffled her hair. Daehyun watched the action and couldn't help but think back to the time he once did that. The image of her flustered face came and went through his mind.

"Ew," Leeyoung sniffed the air around Shinhye. "You smell like ." Yonghwa clenched his jaw at the comment and wanted to insult her back. Shinhye pulled at the collar of her shirt and took a whiff. 

"I guess I do," she pouted. "It's because of Laura. She just pooped and I helped clean it up though they told me not to. Wouldn't want the kids accidentally stepping in it."

"You need to learn how to listen to orders," Leeyoung frowned. "Let's leave please. This whole place could use a shower," She took one more look at Shinhye as she walked past to the exit of the petting zoo. "You need two showers," she told her. 

Daehyun knew how blunt his girlfriend could be and over time learned to adapt to it. But hearing her speak to Shinhye reminded him of the time she texted derogatory statements about her to him before in middle school. Although he told Leeyoung about a girl who was obsessed with him, never had he mentioned her name. He now contemplated whether to do so or if it even made a difference. What he was sure of at the moment was that Shinhye didn't smell bad. To him at least.

"," Yonghwa muttered under his breath but Shinhye heard as they walked hand in hand. They were at a good distance behind the couple he disliked and muttered another insult to his ex. 

"If you keep glaring like that your face might freeze that way," Shinhye warned. 

"Says the girl who always glares at me," he retorted. 

She blew a few strands out of her face, "whatever." Her eyes were on Daehyun's back but her thoughts weren't on him. She thought of how much fun it was to play with the animals and how she would have been sitting through another boring lesson in school. Soo Rim texted her updates on the lessons taught today and she had nothing to worry about. They were mainly reviews and everyone knows how well she's already off. Her thoughts drifted off to the boy next to her and how if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be having this much fun. Not just today but lately. She remembered the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled and pretended to discipline the bunnies for eating so much. At that, she smiled. 

Yonghwa followed her line of sight and found it was on Daehyun. Seeing her smile after a while made him want to punch a wall again. Their hands were joined but their fingers didn't weave together so he made it so. The action surprised her but she didn't mind it. In fact she liked it this way. Of course as stubborn as she was, she wouldn't admit this out loud.

"Are we really leaving the zoo?" She asked him. Like before, she didn't want the date to end soon. 

"No we should see the other animals. If they want to leave then they can," Yonghwa assured her. "I'm not taking you back to school or home yet till you've eaten." 

At the mention of food she smiled up at him. "Jackpot. Thanks," she said. 

"You're going to my wallet dry aren't you?" He asked. She was about to give a witty reply until Leeyoung spoke up.

"So you're a gold digger too then?" She asked. "And I thought you were just smart Yonghwa, but rich too? I wouldn't have left so quick." 

"Hey-" Yonghwa stepped forward but Shinhye held onto his arm. He looked at her and she shook her head mouthing don't. 

Daehyun pulled Leeyoung away from the two and sighed. "Why do you have to say things like that? He's the guy you ditched isn't he?"

She shrugged, "I'm just messing with them." She looked back at the two and then lowered her voice so only Daehyun could hear. "They're lying about being in a relationship. I guess Yonghwa's using Shinhye as a cover because he never got over me." 

"So the reason for what you said just now and telling Shinhye she smelled bad is because of this?" He asked. "How do you know they're lying?"

"Yes and no. I told Shinhye she smells because she does and I don't like her," she explained. "And I heard them earlier at school. It's all an act." 

Leeyoung wasn't the type to lie, she was very straightforward and it was a trait Daehyun really liked about her. But he couldn't imagine Shinhye agreeing to a facade that sacrificed her time away from school. "You're sure?" He asked. 

"I'll prove it to you," she crossed her arms and walked back to the other couple with her chin up. 

As Leeyoung and Daehyun spoke, Shinhye tried to talk to a silent Yonghwa who stared into the distance with brooding eyes. "Yonghwa," Shinhye called him softly. She squeezed his hand with both of hers and called his name again. He didn't respond to her and it was a first having him upset with her like this. 

"Shinhye I need to pee," Leeyoung walked up to her. Shinhye tilted her head slightly not sure as to why she announced this specifically to her. "C'mon I need someone to go with me." She didn't want to leave Yonghwa's side in this state but Leeyoung seemed like the kind of person who didn't take no as an answer. "You need to at least wash your hands too after touching that pony's ." There's that too.

She reluctantly nodded and the girls left the boys to the restroom. Besides, she was sure Yonghwa didn't want to talk to her at the moment. 

"How about we get food for the girls when they come back? There's a concession stand where the restrooms are," Daehyun recommended. Yonghwa agreed with the idea and so they went. When they arrived there, they chose a vendor that sold personal pan pizzas for a reasonable price. Daehyun bought one so he and Leeyoung could split it, eating two slices each. Yonghwa on the other hand bought three personal pan pizzas. "Are you that hungry?" 

"One is for me," he said. "The other two are for Shinhye." Upon noticing Daehyun's confused expression Yonghwa added, "she's a fatass." 

Meanwhile Leeyoung was doing her business in a stall as Shinhye washed her hands thoroughly to free the stench of Laura's present. There was no one else using the restroom surprisingly and lucky for Leeyoung. "So, you and Yonghwa. How?" Leeyoung asked still in her stall. 

Shinhye found it a bit funny to share a conversation in this way but answered casually, "uh it's complicated." 

"Complicated how?" Leeyoung asked.

"Uh it's complicated how someone like him would get with someone like me?" Shinhye answered hoping this conversation would end quicker. She dried her hands with a couple of tissues and decided to wait for Leeyoung to finish up before exiting the restroom. 

Leeyoung spoke but it was muted by the loud roar of her toilet flushing. After she came out Shinhye asked her to repeat her words. "You're both nerds so it's not complicated," she said. 

"He's definitely not a nerd," Shinhye defended. "The guy doesn't even care about school, he only shows up for the girls." Leeyoung scoffed in disbelief. Shinhye realized what she said and corrected, "of course he changed though! He doesn't look at girls anymore because we're dating! And he helped with our project so I guess he does care about school but well that was just one assignment so I guess it doesn't count...But you know what I me-"

"You talk too much," Leeyoung interuppted. "Just like him. I guess you two are meant for each other." 

Shinhye felt her cheeks heat up at her comment but it quickly died down when Leeyoung spoke again.

"Too bad it's all fake," she added. "And he's only using you because he's still in love with me." 

Shinhye gulped, a habit she did whenever she became nervous. She knew she had to deny her quickly in order to sustain the act. If Leeyoung knew it was a lie then did Daehyun know too? She wasn't sure how she found out but what she was sure of was, "he's not in love with you anymore." 

"Excuse me? Have you seen me?" Leeyoung chuckled. "It's kind of hard to get over this." She gestured to herself and even checked out her own reflection in the shared mirror. "He was so shattered when I dumped him too." Shinhye felt envious of her confidence but knew she had some gumption of her own as well.

"Ever heard of a 'new love can heal an old one?'" Shinhye quoted.

Leeyoung laughed, "that sounds ridiculous."

"I thought so too but I'm beginning to think it could be true," she said this not only for Leeyoung but for herself. It was step closer to either a sad ending or a beautiful beginning. Although she was scared, it wasn't like she could control her heart. "He's happy now. Or at least more than before when he was with you." 

"Are you implying you're better than me in keeping a guy?" Leeyoung questioned. Shinhye shook her head, it was a huge twist of her words. "You have no say in who can keep a guy, I'm the one who does the keeping and dropping. You see, I kept Daehyun and made him drop you." 

She knew this already but it still stung hearing it come out of the mouth of the girl who was behind her heartbreak. 

"I'm not stupid. You're using Yonghwa just as he's using you. Did you like seeing my boyfriend every time he goes to the library?" She pressed on. Shinhye's jaw dropped and she tried to form some argument against her. But what she was saying had truth in it. She was using Yonghwa in a way and she did like seeing Daehyun. "How about I tell him how creepy you are for going to the library just for him. He's not even there everyday and yet you wait like a sad puppy." 

Shinhye shook her head again a bit desperately this time. This wasn't entirely truthful but it wasn't wrong either.

"Then don't ever think just because you seem unavailable now Daehyun might look your way. Because compared to me you're nothing," she warned. "And when I drop Daehyun when I feel like it, Yonghwa will come back to me. And you know what maybe I'll date him again because he looks better. Plus I can see you're getting a little close to liking him even though you're using him." 

"Why?" Shinhye could only ask this. 

"I don't like people who pretend to be what they're not," she answered simply. After brushing her fingers through her hair as she checked her appearance in the mirror she looked back at Shinhye. "You can't even deny it well.

"But I won't tell Daehyun what a creep you can be. He already told me all about it back in middle school," she smiled reminiscing the memories. "Honestly you were our entertainment. We both laughed at how pathetic you were." 

Shinhye's hands rolled up in fists at her sides. I need to get out of here. I need to go to Yonghwa. She kept thinking. 

"I won't tell Daehyun you guys are fake either but you have to go with whatever I say on this double ditch okay," Leeyoung demanded. "Or else I think I will reveal it all." Tired by the whole discussion Shinhye felt tears gather, threatening to fall at the corners of her eyes. But she couldn't, especially not in front of Leeyoung. So she nodded covering her face with her head down. "Don't look sad when we leave this restroom. We're going to be good friends okay." 

"Okay," Shinhye agreed after calming down a bit. She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. When the girls exited the restroom they found the guys sitting on a table with pizzas and drinks. 

"What took you girls so long?" Daehyun asked passing Leeyoung her drink. 

"Girl talk," she answered. "We became really close right Shinhye?" She smiled genuinely to her and it sent shivers down Shinhye's spine. But nevertheless she nodded and returned a small smile. 

She looked at Yonghwa for some comfort after having been bullied by his ex. But he still gave her the silent treatment and looked off in the other direction. She bit her lip and it took a lot for her to refrain from breaking down right there.

A/N: Happy late 4th of July~