P.E. class had finished but Hyesun had to stay for a while to clean the gymnasium together with a few of her classmates. One by one of her classmates then started to leave after finishing their respective tasks, leaving her alone in the gymnasium.

“You sure you want me to leave?” a girl named Dasom asked her, seeing there were only the two of them left.

Hyesun flashed a small smile, “Yeah, it’s okay. Besides I can finish this in a few minutes so it’s okay if you go first,” she told the girl.

“If you insist, then I’m going first. Meet you later in class, Hyesun!” Dasom then bade goodbye to her.

The left alone girl continued doing her work. She glanced at her watch. Next class is starting in 15 minutes oh god I need to hurry! She fastened her every move so that she wouldn’t be late for the next class.

Just then, she felt a presence behind her. Thinking it was their P.E. coach, she turned around and gave the person a smile before realising it wasn’t the P.E. coach. Her smile disappeared instantly when her eyes met the other’s eyes.

“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice was monotonous.

“Why else would I be here?” the other person asked her back instead of answering her question.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re ditching class, or maybe you just don’t know what else to do. I don’t think it’s because you want to meet me, right? Do I even worth your time?” she cynically questioned the person, particularly a male, in front of her.

“But this time around, I think you might worth some of my time,” he or specifically Chunji said.

The girl faked a surprised expression, “That’s such a surprise. I wonder why though?” she then continued doing her work without looking at him.

“I’ll be straightforward here since I have no time to waste. Jeon Hyesun, I believe you’re responsible for our loss to Infinite last night,” Chunji directly said. He then eyed the accused girl’s every move to see how she was reacting.

Surprisingly, she managed to keep a calm composure in front of him even though what he said definitely hit home. Besides, she had prepared herself for such attacks, especially coming from Chunji.

“How amusing of you to actually waste your time for me to ask me a funny question like that,” she chuckled, still doing her work, before going on, “What makes you think so anyway? Did I bribe the judges? No, right? Then how am I actually responsible for you guys losing over Infinite? Do you know how ridiculous you sound when you pointed to me like that?” she glanced at her watch. 10 minutes left before the next class. Great, I haven’t even changed to my uniform and does he really need to talk about this right now?

Chunji grasped his palms tight. He knew he had no valid proof to prove her involvement but his instinct told him she was the one who did this. “Well, you saw us performing—”

Hyesun laughed loudly and turned to look at him with an angry look, “Yes, I did watch you guys performed in front of me and that was only once! Do you think it’s possible for me to actually remember the whole choreography and even teach others the exact choreography? You are getting more and more absurd with your finger pointing on me. Even if you want to accuse me, then put a solid proof that I really did it!”

Frustrated that he couldn’t retort back, Chunji gave the girl a look, “Time will tell the truth, Jeon Hyesun. My instinct has never been wrong and I believe, who you really are will be revealed later. At that moment, I’m the one who’s going to laugh at you. Just remember, I’ll win over you in the end,” he later went out of the gym with fast steps.

Hyesun looked at Chunji’s disappearing figure. Time wouldn’t tell the truth. I’m the one who’s going to reveal the truth right in your face! At that moment, I won’t care about how any of you would react at all!

She then looked at her watch for the nth times that hour and quickly rushed to the changing room, realising that she would be late for her next class.

∞

L.Joe looked at the girl on the table next to his. He noticed how she was spacing out from the earlier lesson until now. She barely focused on what the teacher was saying and she was lucky that the teacher seemed not to care much or else she might have gotten a detention at the rate she was.

I wonder what’s bothering her. Is she probably missing her family or what? L.Joe tried to guess but nothing really came up his mind. Seeing her in such state made he feel bothered as well. Randomly took out one of his notebooks, he ripped one unwritten page from the book. He then wrote something on the paper and when the teacher was writing something on the whiteboard, he crumpled the paper and threw the paper to the next table. It landed right on Hyesun’s laps.

Even though the crumpled paper felt so light on her laps, it was enough to snap her back to reality. She looked at the paper and un-crumpled it.

You okay?

Hyesun read the two words repeatedly. The only person who would ask this to me is... her eyes then went to L.Joe. The latter then wiggled his eyebrows at her.

I’m okay. She wrote and quickly threw the paper back at L.Joe.

Quietly snorting at the girl’s reply, L.Joe wrote back: You sure look okay when all you did was dozing off the whole day.

While writing her reply back to him, she gave him a look. You sure you’re not one creepy stalker?

L.Joe chuckled at the word stalker that she addressed him as but quickly faked a cough to cover up so the teacher wouldn’t be suspicious of him. Is that your way of admitting that you’re not okay?

Maybe. But really, I’m okay. It’s just that I’m not really in the mood today. She tossed it back to him.

Then, I know how to make your moody-self go away! Hyesun read the line with a smile before noticing there was another crumpled paper on her laps, this time around it came from her right.

Quit it, you two! Mrs. Pyo has been constantly looking at you two in awhile! You’re welcome. – Pretty y Awesome Naeun.

Hyesun then quickly threw both papers in her table and straightened up her body. Her eyes went to front and noticed Mrs. Pyo was looking at her direction. She then shifted her eyes to the whiteboard, avoiding eye-contact with the teacher because god knows how uncomfortable it is to have your eyes meeting your teacher’s in class.

∞

“Have a nice date, you two!” Naeun and Mina waved at the couple before heading to the other direction. Their giggles could still be heard.

L.Joe shook his head while Hyesun rolled her eyes. Then, the lass turned to look at L.Joe, “So, where are we going?”

“To eat something that fits the season,” he sung while smiling.

Hyesun thought of something hot since it was in the middle of wet and cold autumn, where winter would be approaching soon, “But what is it?”

L.Joe’s eyes twinkled, “Ice-cream.”

Hyesun jaw dropped as she stared at the boy in front of her weirdly, “Did you somehow leave your soul in the summer?”

L.Joe pretended to think as he tapped his chin with his index finger, “Now that I think of it, it does make sense. Maybe I did leave my soul in the summer. So, ice-cream it is?”

He smirked when the girl grunted.

∞

“I can’t believe you really made me eat ice-cream in the cold!” Hyesun huffed as she glared at L.Joe.

L.Joe casually spooned his vanilla ice-cream into his mouth and smiled, “Seriously girl, it’s not even winter yet and you’re whining about eating ice-cream in autumn.”

Hyesun wasn’t the type that can stand the cold. She got frozen easily. She had lived in Korea since she was born but she still wasn’t used to the cold. She once asked her parents to move to any countries with hot and humid weathers but of course her parents didn’t listen to their daughter’s weird request.

“That’s a lot,” she commented when she saw how L.Joe took a spoonful of his ice-cream.

“Yeah, and it’s for you. Now open your mouth,” he urged her to.

Hyesun’s eyes rounded. There’s no way she’s eating such big portion of ice-cream when it’s not even summer! She shook her head at him and tightly pressed her lips.

L.Joe chuckled to see how terrified the girl was. He never thought ice-cream could be a weakness for her, “Come on. Fine, you don’t have to eat it all. Just at least, take a bite,” he persuaded her.

To Hyesun, brain-freeze is on the same level as hangover, “No, I’m not—”

The male immediately took the chance to shut her up by shoving the ice-cream into and to make sure she would eat it, he even clasped .

Hyesun hit L.Joe’s arm hard so that he would let go of his hand on but it was to no avail. Knowing she had no choice, she gulped down the melting ice-cream as she closed her eyes, feeling the brain-freeze coming to her.

Seeing that she had eaten the ice-cream, L.Joe put away his palm from the girl’s mouth.

“My brain freezes!” she yelped and slapped his arm once again. L.Joe only laughed at her and it got louder which annoyed her.

“I’m not eating ice-cream with you, ever again!” how she wished she could throw the ice-cream right in his face but she figured out it would be embarrassing for the both of them since they were at an ice-cream booth and there were many people around them.

“Don’t say that. It might jinx you,” he teased.

∞

Both Hyesun and L.Joe were on their way out from the terraces of shops as none of them spoke, letting the silence spoke for them. Once in a while, Hyesun would take out her phone and then put it back into her coat pocket and the same move repeated.

Curious, L.Joe glanced at her, “Who are you texting?”

“My neighbour’s dog,” she jokingly answered.

“I didn’t know dog can actually text people. If they can text people, they probably can talk as well, huh?”

Hyesun made a face at him but then smiled, “Silly. It’s my cousin asking where am I. And she doesn’t suit a dog, she’s a fox.” If Kyungri is a fox, then what does make you, Jin Hyesun? She bitterly thought.

“A fox can be cute or... sly?” L.Joe raised his eyebrow.

“She’s not cute nor sly, but she gives off a fox aura. Now, what am I talking about? Whatever about her, if you’re curious, maybe you can meet her later, then decide what type of animals suit her,” she waved off the topic.

Just then, someone bumped onto Hyesun’s shoulder hard which nearly made she fall but L.Joe was quick to support her body with his hands.

“You okay?” he worriedly asked.

Hyesun only nodded her head as she rubbed her shoulder.

“I’m sorry for that. I swear it wasn’t intentional,” the person who bumped onto her apologised.

The familiarity of his voice struck her so she quickly turned to look at the person. She was about to say it was okay but her anger suddenly boiled when their eyes met. Unintentional my ! As if I would believe you.

The person faked a shocked expression to see her, “Oh, it’s you. What a surprise to actually meet you—oh, and even your boyfriend here,” he stressed the word boyfriend and smirked when his eyes went to L.Joe’s and the latter was also staring, or actually glaring at him.

“I’m actually surprised to see you here with your friends instead of some chicks. Oh wait, you only need girls at nights, right? I forgot that nothing would change you and your disgusting behaviour, Lee Hongbin,” Hyesun boringly spoke to the person.

“Is it just me but you actually sound jealous at the fact how I treat girls gently in bed but you’ve never received the same treatment from me?” Hongbin said; his every word was laced with huge arrogance.

Holding L.Joe’s hand, she felt like she gained confidence to retort back at him, “Nah, I’m actually thankful that I didn’t receive those so-called gentle actions because I can tell how you are in bed is nothing compared to how great my boyfriend is. Seriously, Lee Hongbin, stop thinking so greatly of yourself when you’re actually nothing but a piece of trash!”

Taken aback by her confidence, which he never expected her to have since she was just a timid girl back then, he grabbed her shoulders, “So you’re calling me trash now?! Let me remind you once again, you once loved this trash so much and you even cried when you broke up with this trash!”

After trying to restore his patience for a few times, L.Joe couldn’t take it anymore to see Hongbin grabbing Hyesun by her shoulders so he harshly pushed Hongbin away from Hyesun, “Hands off my girlfriend, bastard,” he glared at Hongbin as he pulled Hyesun closer to his torso, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Hongbin put up his palms in the air, “Oops, sorry. I’m used to thinking that she’s still my Sunnie,” he smirked.

L.Joe glowered at him and he really felt like punching Hongbin in the face at the moment for an unknown reason. Noticing how L.Joe was tense, Hyesun took L.Joe’s hand and held it tight, “Don’t, L.Joe. He doesn’t worth it.”

Mark felt worried if they would cause a scene since he knew how unpredictable Hongbin’s temper could be at times, especially involving something that he truly valued. He tapped Hongbin’s shoulder, “Enough, Bin. It’s better if we go,” he advised.

Hongbin let out a light scoff. His eyes then lingered at the girl in front of him who was staring back at him with no signs of fear. Without another word, he turned around and walked away from Hyesun and L.Joe, followed by Mark and Taehyung.

Mark glanced at Hyesun and gave her a light smile which the girl returned with a smile too. He was glad that she wasn’t a person who held grudge, even though she might hate his friend, Hongbin but gladly she showed no signs of hating him as well.

Taehyung looked at the interaction between the two before nudging Mark, “Who the hell is she?” he whispered, so that Hongbin wouldn’t hear them. He knew Mark and Hongbin had known each other since they were little, but he only knew the two of them when he joined the basketball club so he had no idea about anything that happened in the past regarding the two of them.

Since it wasn’t nice to talk about it with Hongbin around even though he might not listen, Mark waved it off, “Later.”

Being on my sem break doesn't mean all I do every day is sitting in front of my laptop. I go out and meet my friends and relatives whom I haven't met for a long time a lot so I'm sorry for the not-so-often updates, hope you understand! (: