Both Myungsoo and Min go back to their room with fear. Even though they are in different room, they both silently jumps on the bed and cover their whole body with a thick blanket.

How embarrassed!

Not because of the little punishment in the cold weather.

But for the teachings from the coach.

‘Even though you’re in a relationship, you have to follow the regulation! If you break the rules like that, who else will follow?  But is this training camp or dating place? I gotta to orientate the students once again about this whole thing!’

Min lies there and then sits down. Without a word, she gets off her bed and asks for the way to the coach’s room. All the grade 3 students are not allowed to think that Min and Myungsoo is dating, especially Jiyeon. If the coach tells the students that they are so deep in love that break to curfew for a date, it would totally destroy Myungsoo’s plan!

Therefore, Min is here to beg him not to reveal this and in return, she will take all responsibility for that!

The door to the coach’s room is slightly open. It seems like he has guests. Min leans aside and glances into the room. Suddenly she catches sight of a familiar black jackets turning its back to her. It’s Myungsoo’s ! But what the hell is he doing here?

Min tries to eavesdrop but she can’t hear nothing but the reply from the teacher.

‘Okay, I will think about that but you shouldn’t commit it again!’

Is there any possibility that Myungsoo is here for that thing? But he was determined that no one should know about his feelings for Jiyeon before he confessed to her.

The door suddenly opens and Myungsoo walks out. Min steps back, trying to hide in the dark but her running nose makes her snort. And that sound helps Myungsoo realize it’s her there.

He silently walks towards Min, grabs her hand and once again, they together break the rule and climb into the middle of that huge heap of straw.

‘Why are you there Min?’

Myungsoo questions. Min wipes her hand across her nose, her voice turns husky.

‘I wanted to ask him not to tell people that we broke the rule. We can’t let Jiyeon misunderstand about what’s going on between us.’

‘But how are you going to do that?’ – Myungsoo interrogates. –‘There’s no way that he believe we’re not in a relationship knowing that we broke the rule to meet up at night.’

‘Still, don’t you want to confess to Jiyeon? Or you want people to think…’

Min frowns and tries to hold back her sneezing. All of the sudden, Myungsoo throws his muscular arm across her shoulders and pulls her closer to him. And the feeling of that morning waking up in his embrace is recalled. Warm. And Peaceful.

Myungsoo says gently.

‘Of course I do want to confess to Jiyeon. I met the coach for that but not in the way you thought.’

Min slightly rests her head on his shoulder, feeling much warmer. She asks.

‘So what’s that?’

‘Just believe that it’ll be ok.’ – Myungsoo’s voice is still mellow next to her ears. –‘It’s for you, not for me.’

25.  

And here she is, sitting at the heap of straw and waiting for result from Myungsoo. Min can’t think of any place to eavesdrop the confession. First, it’s abusing personality and second, Min isn’t confident. It means that if Jiyeon says yes to Myungsoo, she’s not sure if she would jump out from somewhere and yelling at their face ‘No way!’ or not.

Therefore, she just waits there with her running nose.

Right then, her phone rings. A call from Ahn Hani – the monitor of class 3C. Wondering about the purpose of this call, Min picks up the phone.

‘What’s up Hani?’

‘Min. Did you happen to see Kim Myungsoo anywhere?’

‘Nope.’ – Min says shortly although she for sure knows where he is. –‘But any problem?’

Hani replies rather hastily.

‘I’m consolidating the result but don’t understand why his score is extremely low. I want to ask whether he broke the rules or the coach mistook something.’

‘Ah…’ – Min hesitates. – ‘I’m not sure about that. But what about mine?’

‘Yours is normal.’ – says Hani. –‘There’s only Myungsoo to get such low score of all the grade!’

Finally something dawns on Min.

Surely Myungsoo asked for score reduction for both of them in exchange for that the coach wouldn’t reveal to the whole grade about their “date” last night. But why does he have to take all the responsibility? It’s also Min’s fault. If she hadn’t agreed to go with him, this wouldn’t have happened. For a student with unimpressive academic record like Myungsoo, this training camp is a precious chance to earn more good grades but if he gets bad grades, every effort of him (and her) would be wasted.

Now Min doesn’t want to wait for him anymore, she doesn’t want to sit in his embrace either. She just wants to find him and ask for an explanation.

Being friends means going through wax and wanes together. Min is aware of that and Myungsoo is supposed to understand it!

Min doesn’t care about Hani’s blabbering on the phone. She cuts the monitor off indifferently.

‘Fine. I will ask him in case I meet him.’

‘Yup. Hurry up.’

Min hangs up the call and immediately dashes to the field where Myungsoo meets Jiyeon. She runs against the wind’s direction and hears it breezing in her ears until bumps into someone going on the opposite way.

Someone is glowing in the HwaYang High uniform. Someone has the face of the person she wants to meet.

Yet, that’s just the one who was born a few minutes earlier than that person.

‘Why are you running like crazy?’

L frowns and rubs his forearm which Min has just bumped into. She looks up and widens her eyes in bewilderment to see the ghost in such an unexpected place. Why the hell is he right here? Right now? Doesn’t he know that she’s in urgent that he blocks her way? Min meagerly replies him.

‘I’m busy. See ya round.’

But L doesn’t let her go. Instead, he grabs her hand. Looking at his tight grip on her hand, Min grumbles.

‘What are you here for?’

‘I don’t know.’ – The ghost replied coldly. –‘But I think you’ll need me tonight…’

‘Don’t need to worry about me. We’re not in Ulsan. Let me go!’

As Min says so, there’s a voice calling her name from afar.

‘Is that Min?’

It’s Myungsoo. The person she wants to meet instead of the ghost holding tight on her hand. Min wheeled around to see Myungsoo running towards her with a bright smile.

‘I’m here.’ – Min replies.

And then she doesn’t expect that her feet are lifted off the ground and the world around her starts spinning…

…as Myungsoo embraces her and spins her around in extreme happiness. After two rounds spinning, Myungsoo stops and grins with her.

‘Jiyeon said that she’d agree. You rocked!’

‘But’ – Min reaches her hand to hold her spinning head. – ‘Why ‘would’?’

‘She said that if I won in the competition, she’d be my girlfriend.’

‘But what if you lost? Or you weren’t qualified for the competition? If I’m not wrong, students with too low academic record would be disqualified, isn’t it?’

The smile on Myungsoo’s face fades. Perhaps he’s just realized someone strange in his friend. She should’ve been happy with his good news instead of frowning like that. Myungsoo lowers his voice.

‘What happened to you ?’

‘I ask you’ – Min still frowns and stares straight into Myungsoo’s eyes with anger. –‘Why was your score reduced TWICE ?’

And as Myungsoo is about to say something, Min cuts him off.

‘Don’t tell me that it was because you asked me out so it was none of my fault. You don’t need to be that noble, Myungsoo ah. I’m not the kind of friend who is happy for having a friend taking responsibility for my own mistake ! How can I be happy when you might be disqualified because of me ?’

‘It’s not like that Min ah.’

Myungsoo tries to explain but Min doesn’t give him a chance. Instead, she hardens her voice and wipes his hand off her shoulder.

‘And is that what you called ‘for me, not for you’?’

‘Min, calm down babe!’

The ghost standing next to her, though not understand a bit what is going on between his twin brother and his bridging mediator, interrupts. But Min pays no attention to him. Ok, Min intended to accept any form of punishment from the coach for both of them because she thought that a bad result in this training camp wouldn’t affect much to her outstanding record in contrast to how it would affect Myungsoo’s. He should have been aware of its importance in his eligibility to join the competition, especially when the principal had announced that only student with more than 6.0 accumulative point to be eligible for all the competitions.

In a nutshell, sacrificing for friends is good but you should also think of yourself Myungsoo ah!

‘Don’t stick your nose in my business!’

As she is overwhelmed with anger, Min scolds the ghost without acknowledging that his twin brother can’t see him.

But he does hear she say.

‘Who are you talking to?’

‘What?’ – Min rolls her eyes. –‘What did I say?’

‘Are you ok Min?’ – Myungsoo looks at her with care. He must understand that she’s angry at him and doesn’t want to hurt her with his words. –

There’s only you and me here.’

‘Forget it.’ – Min her eyebrows at him. –‘I’m going to ask for score adjustment and don’t ever see me again. That’s not friends!’

Min turns her back and went. But she is held back. Suddenly. Myungsoo hugs her from behind.

26.  

If Min were the person Myungsoo liked, that’d be awesome.

If Min liked Myungsoo, that’d be awesome.

If they both had feelings for each other or even were in a relationship, that’d also be awesome!

But in reality, Min knows that Myungsoo doesn’t like her (as a girl). She also knows that she is still unsure about her feelings towards him (whether or not more special than other guys) and above all, they are not in a relationship, they are having a fight.

That’s why the backhug is no longer awesome.

Min silently withdraws herself from his embrace, which she longed for minutes ago. And she leaves in silence.

Before going to meet the coach, Min drops at the bathroom to wash her face. She can’t meet the coach with a messy hair and grumpy face.

As she’s about to get out, she hears voices and footsteps getting closer in the tranquilty of the night. That voice gets clearly and it turns to be two female students stopping in front of the toilet section, one wall apart from Min. Min hides herself behind the door when she spots the silhouette of Jiyeon – who is speaking drily.

‘Oh he’s just overestimating himself to confess to me. That idiot only looks like his brother, he’s nothing good…’

‘But you said yes to him?’ – the one going with her askes.

The cheerleader who Min thought to be gentle shooed.

‘I plan to make fun of him for being overconfident about himself. It’s unsure that he’s quailified for the competition!’

‘Yup. I heard from Hani that his score in this training camp was surprisingly low. But he hasn’t been too bad to you, has he?’

‘Shut off.’ – Jiyeon snaps. –‘I have to keep my pride anyway. He’s just paving his own way to failure this time. And that low score thing…’

Jiyeon pauses to wipe water off her pretty face and goes on with her undone words.

‘Maybe that freak forced him do something terrible.’

Those words stirs up Min’s blood. ‘That freak’? Although Jiyeon doesn’t say it out loud, who else but Min? Since her moving here, apart from Myungsoo and Minzy, people have been looking at her as a freak for her style and manner. Sure, no one knows that her father is the branch manager for the powerful ShinhaCorp, no one cares what kind of person she is prior to HwaYang High, so what’s the point in bothering about their judgements?

But saying that Min is a freak and that she forced Myungsoo do something terrible – well, Min isn’t sure if helping him confess to Jiyeon is on that list. – is a little bit too much.

And that Jiyeon is going to make fun of Myungsoo in front of the whole grade is just unacceptable for Min. What kind of right for her to do so? Myungsoo might not be as excellent as his past twin brother (or Jiyeon’s ex boy friend) but he doesn’t deserve such treatment.

Well, after raging at Myungsoo, she is now worrying about him. How great!

But worrying is one thing, reacting is another thing that Min would never expect herself to do so. Even so, it happens.

Jiyeon closes the lid of her lipbalm and flips her hair backwards.

‘You’d better wait for an interesting play tomorrow.’

‘No need to wait til tomorrow.’

That’s Min’s voice. She leaves her hiding place behind the door and walks towards Jiyeon with furrowing eyebrows. A hint of surprise dashes across Jiyeon’s face but she quickly regains confidence and smirks.

‘Oh did you hear it all?’

‘Uh.’ – Min nods and also curves up a corner of her lips. –‘I heard it all and realized that I’ve been so wrong about you, Jiyeon ah.’

Jiyeon seems at ease at Min’s appearance as she’s bigger than Min and has a friend to accompany. Therefore, she looks at Min disdainfully.

‘So what do you want?’

As Jiyeon finishes her words, Min slaps hard on the cheerleader’s face. She says scornfully.

‘it’s for calling me a freak.’

‘Just that ?’ – Jiyeon rubs her cheek which is blushing and glances at Min from her head to toes. –‘But look at you, with your style like this, who else in HwaYang High deserves that title but you ?’

‘Not just that.’ – Min cuts her off and Jiyeon gets another slap from Min. –‘It’s for what you did and are going to do with my friend.’

‘Your friend ?’ – Jiyeon hisses. –‘ That jerky Kim Myungsoo ?’

‘He’s not a jerk !’

‘I say he’s a jerk. What can you do ? Just go on slapping me !’

Jiyeon’s challeging makes Min lose her consciousness. She jumps to her place and grabs a fistful of her hair. Min starts punching, kicking continously that hateful girl. Despite the difference in figure, Min keeps on hitting Jiyeon as if she wants to let go of all the frustration and anger so far. Because of Jiyeon. And of course, Myungsoo.

She doesn’t notice that Jiyeon doesn’t or little react to her fight. Until.

‘Min, stop that !

•  

The next morning.

‘Ya, Min, you rock, huh? You dare hitting Park Jiyeon!’

‘Min, is it fun to break the rules?’

‘Freaky Min…Haha…How freaky you are!’

Min pretends not hearing the greetings from other students as she gets on the bus. Settling down, she turns on the volume of her out-of-date MP3 player, to the extent that she can’t hear anything around. She can say that Jiyeon won that fight last night. She didn’t bother to fight back and secretly told her friend to inform the coach. As the result, Min was punished with one week grounded at class and her score for the camp was reduced by half, making her the one with the second lowest score only above Myungsoo. Not only that, she has become the target for the many joking from other students as she was scolded  in front of the whole grade for breaking the rules.

But she just doesn’t care. As she keeps in mind, school is just for knowledge and diploma. She doesn’t want to involve in anything else so she just ignore all those jokes.

Those students are wasting their time humiliating her.

Myungsoo looks confused about which seat he should take as he gets on the bus. One seat is over the back of the bus, where there’s Jiyeon waving at him smiling. And the other is right at the first row, with Min’s ignoring him and under the supervision of the coach. Ultimately, Myungsoo makes up his mind to silently sit down on the empty seat next to Min.