Hyemi kept on looking at her phone while Jangmi was slumped on the seat next to her, soulless. Her eyes were fixed on the floor. Jeno was playing games with his tablet while lying on the other couch. He had his headphones on and was obviously absorbed in whatever he’s playing.

“So this is the reason why you closed all your accounts?” Hyemi asked as she swiped down, still reading the blog post. Jangmi nodded and pulled the pillow next to her. “That guy’s fans are no joke. They left many hate comments on my wall. This is what I get from talking with him. I should have known better” Jangmi whined as she buried her face on the pillow.

Hyemi never saw this side of her friend before. “Why are you backing out? Did you do something wrong for you to back down? You should tell them that you’re not dating him” Hyemi said, trying to cheer her friend but Jangmi just grunted. “I already told them that but they were attacking me. I guess some of his fans are just immature” Jangmi replied.

Hyemi sighed and put her phone down and pulled Jangmi up. “Or just tell Kai to clear things up” Hyemi suggested and Jangmi just stared at her. “Do you think he’ll really do that? He’ll be even happy to mess with my life” she said while rolling her eyes.

Jeno rolled on the couch and looked at his sister before staring back at his tablet. Hyemi sighed and pulled Jangmi up but the latter was resisting. “Get up” Hyemi said and pulled her harder. Finally, Jangmi stood and glared at her friend. Hyemi patted Jangmi’s shoulders. “Let’s go for a walk. You need to get some fresh air or you’ll go crazy here” she said and turned Jangmi towards the stairs and pushed her. “Get dressed”

After 5 minutes, Jangmi came down the stairs. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and white shirt. Hyemi pulled her immediately before patting Jeno’s head. “We’ll be back in an hour. Your sister needs to go out with me” Hyemi said and Jeno looked at her while taking off his headphones.

He nodded immediately. “Don’t forget my ice cream” he said as they walked towards the door.

Jangmi and Hyemi found themselves sitting at their usual spot in Donghae’s café. Jangmi lifelessly played with her straw as she looked away. “Hey, don’t think about it too much or your head will hurt” Hyemi said as she nudged her friend’s arm. Jangmi couldn’t help but just sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Donghae suddenly asked and they both looked at him. He placed two plates of their favorite cakes on their table before pulling a chair from the other table. “There’s this guy who’s making Jangmi’s life miserable” Hyemi replied before grabbing her fork and shoving the cake inside . Donghae looked at Jangmi who looked so tired.

“Who is that? I’ll go and give him his lessons” he said and Jangmi let go of a small chuckle. “Will you really do that?” Jangmi asked. “Well, I can do that. Just make sure that he’s not the son of the president or any high ranking president or a rich family” Donghae replied while shrugging his shoulders.

“Then it won’t work because he’s the son of S Telecom’s owner” Jangmi said soullessly before taking a sip on her coffee.  “Oh” Donghae muttered and he looked at Hyemi who just shrugged. There was silence and despite Donghae’s playful nature, he couldn’t say anything because of Jangmi’s mood which is not like her. She’s scary.

Jangmi took in a lungful of air before grunting and running her fingers through her hair. She suddenly slammed her palms on the table, making the coffee spill and making Hyemi and Donghae jump in surprise. “That monkey, I’ll really skin him alive. This is all because of him” she said before she blurted a chain of profanities.

Donghae was just thankful that there were no people in the café. He never heard Jangmi saying profane words and he knew that whoever the guy is, he’s really a total work of wrecked art to piss gentle Jangmi off.

The two just stared at Jangmi as she sat like nothing happened.

Donghae leaned towards Hyemi and whispered. “Remind me to not piss her off. She’s scary” he said and Hyemi just nodded her head.

Kai’s really something and she knew that Jangmi would never let him off the hook easily.

As the time passed, Donghae tried calming Jangmi with his jokes and his usual talks about his everyday life. Hyemi was just thankful that Donghae is such a fun person to be with. She knew that her friend felt a little better.

And before they made their way home, Jangmi bought ice cream for her dear brother. She also needed some cold stuff to cool off her head.

Jangmi couldn’t even raise her head and look the other students in the eye when she walked through the hallway. It was a very tiring morning and she just wished that the day would be done quickly. Kai, on the other hand, was very casual. He looked like the stares were just normal. That was making her even more pissed off.

He was trying to take her attention but she was just ignoring him. She mentally noted to just treat him like a piece of rock – lifeless. It was quiet effective until their self study period came. Their room was unusually quiet but she thought she could hear their classmates’ thoughts about her and the person sitting next to her.

Krystal suddenly passed a piece of paper to her. She raised her brow when she opened it. Krystal was asking if the rumor was true. Jangmi could just sigh and shook her head. Baekhyun also asked the same question. For the first time, they united in one thing. Jangmi said the same thing and Baekhyun casually nodded.

Jangmi always liked having a quiet time to herself but that time was really making her uncomfortable. She stood and made her exit. When she reached the restroom, she pulled her phone and looked at it. She put it in her pocket and entered a cubicle. When she closed the door, she suddenly heard some students talking. They were chatting about their rumor. She shut her eyes and sighed.

The students’ chatting continued until Jangmi opened the door of her cubicle. The three girls looked at her and their faces suddenly turned pale. They quickly made their exit and when they reached the door, they suddenly gasped.

Jangmi washed her hands and looked at her reflection for some time. She couldn’t even count how many times she told herself to just ignore everything. She’s trying to brainwash her own self.

When she turned towards the door, she almost jumped in shock when she saw Kai leaning on the wall. He looked at her and he stood straight. “Are you a ert? This is the female’s restroom. If you can’t read the sign, the male’s restroom is on the other side” she spat while pointing at the other direction.

“Why are avoiding me?” he asked straight to the point.

“Why? Am I not allowed to avoid you?” she asked in return. All the sass that she have with her were being poured.

“Well, after that ice incident, I thought we’re getting closer. What’s with you?”

Jangmi raised a brow. “I’m sorry Mr. Kim Jongin but I don’t have any intention of getting close to you so don’t try.”

It was his turn to raise a brow now. But suddenly, he chuckled. “Are you waiting for me to tell you that you look pretty since you’re fuming right now?” he asked and patted her head. “You look pretty” he added.

Jangmi swatted his hand hard enough to make a sound. She glared at him.

“Are you taking me as a joke now? Look here Mr. Kim, I’m this school’s SC Vice President and you’re just a transferee. I don’t know you and you don’t have the right to act like how you’re acting right now. I hope you’ll act according to how things are supposed to be” she said and he just stood there in shock.

“There are rumors going on, if you’re clueless, that we’re dating. I hate being tangled with such rumors. Do you know how much your fans dissed me? I closed all my accounts thanks to them. I don’t want to have more stress in my life so just leave me alone. I’d be thankful if you do that” she added.

She walked past him and he called for her. She was just thankful that there were no students at that area. She looked back at him and it was a wrong thing to do.

“I like you”

Those three words rang like thousand bells inside her head. But before her heart could beat faster, the words came to .

“The feeling’s not mutual”

And with that, she left him there without even listening to what he would say.

Two days passed and Kai did not bother Jangmi at all. The rumors calmed down and she was able to breathe after all the things that ha