Mingyu seemed to be doing all that he could to make Wonwoo feel at home and to distract him from the situation from his parents. It worked sometimes. Actually, it worked a lot of times. Wonwoo found that he had forgotten his parents for extended periods of time when he was with Mingyu.

Wonwoo loved it, but he also hated it, because he found that there was another bothersome thought that was starting to occupy his mind.

Why was Mingyu so exceedingly kind to him?

Wonwoo tried not to delude himself into believing that Mingyu just might be dropping hints. Though that thought admittedly passed through his mind countless times, especially when they were out in public together.

It seemed like Mingyu simply did not care that people were staring at them and assuming things that were not true. Mingyu still entwined their arms, still took his hand on various occasions, still hugged him in public as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

People had started whispering. Wonwoo could tell, but either Mingyu was completely oblivious to it or did not care.

Whatever it was, it drove Wonwoo mad with uncertainty.

That was not the only thing that Mingyu did that confused Wonwoo. There was also the one time Mingyu had randomly kissed his head, or the many times in which he would just lay his head on his lap, or the few times he would lay on the comfortable mattress right beside him.

Wonwoo had hung out with Mingyu and his other smart engineering friends to see if it was the same with them. There was definitely a lot of skinship between Mingyu and them as well, but it never went as far as Wonwoo had experienced. Or, at least as much as Wonwoo saw of them.

Mingyu was just a touchy guy that liked skinship, but there was still a limit that Wonwoo felt Mingyu had exceeded many times.

And it was so confusing for Wonwoo. On one hand, Mingyu was this traditionalist who prayed everyday and was very much embedded into the heteronormative tradition; he was definitely, without a doubt, interested in girls, and this manfiested in his After School fanatacism. He had After School posters hung around his dorm, followed every single activity the members did so closely, and he even saved images of them in his laptop. His phone background was of Kaeun doing a y pose for crying out loud. He was so straight.

But then again, the things Mingyu did with him were just so gay.

Wonwoo shook the thought of the possibility of a gay Mingyu out of his head. It was wishful thinking, and he knew it. He would not get his hopes up.

-

Wonwoo opened up the bag he had only recently unpacked to pack again for the trip that was already the following day.

It would be a three-night and four-day trip, the third day being his birthday. He packed enough changes of clothes and swimming trunks. He looked later and saw that Mingyu had slipped in After School’s album.

When Wonwoo confronted Mingyu about it later, Mingyu said: “When you’re bored, just listen to it or look through the photobook. I’m doing you a favor here by giving you eye candy to bless your eyes if you’re ever bored on the trip there.”

Wonwoo laughed and nodded, “okay, I’ll take it,” he said.

“I would give you some boy group eye candy too, but unfortunately I’m not big on boy groups. I have none of their albums.”

“It’s okay,” Wonwoo responded amusedly, “After School is eye candy enough.”

“Oh, wait!” Mingyu said as he turned to open one of his desk drawers, “I actually do have some hot boy eye candy for you!” He took out four modeling magazines and handed them to him. “I was in all of these, so I bought them. There are plenty of other hot guys in there too.”

Wonwoo took the magazines and flipped through one of them. He stopped when he spotted Mingyu.

“I’m good-looking aren’t I?” Mingyu said as he raised his eyebrow in Wonwoo’s direction and slumped down on the sofa beside where Wonwoo was.

Indeed, he was. In the photo, Mingyu was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking into the camera with this alluring look in his eyes. He looked stunning, and if Mingyu wasn’t there watching him, Wonwoo would have stared at the photo for ages.

“You really are good-looking,” Wonwoo admitted to Mingyu, tearing his eyes away from the image.

“They actually Photoshop the hell out of these pictures,” Mingyu added, “my face isn’t that smooth and my shoulders are not that broad.”

“I’m not talking about the picture,” Wonwoo said hesitantly. “You are good-looking.” He shyly locked eyes with Mingyu, who blushed and averted his eyes back to picture in the magazine.

Wonwoo did not really expect Mingyu to blush or to avert his eyes. He expected Mingyu to take it lightheartedly, as he did with almost everything else. Wonwoo felt stupid, and he wished that he didn’t say it. Mingyu probably felt awkward, and it probably seemed like Wonwoo was hitting on him or something. Wonwoo felt very embarrassed.

There was an awkward silence that Mingyu thankfully broke by saying, “the magazine with your photos will probably come out next week. Don’t be surprised if they use a lot of Photoshop. They do it to everyone.”

Wonwoo nodded, but he couldn’t let the awkwardness from before go unresolved. “I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable with what I said just now.”

“Don’t be. I didn’t feel uncomfortable,” Mingyu reassured, “It was a compliment, and I’m flattered by it.”

That was the end of that conversation.

-

Will you ever answer me? Seokmin’s message to Jin read. He had been texting and calling her ever since the kiss that they shared, but she had just been ignoring them all. When she passed by him in the hallways, she did not even look up at him. She just did not know what to say to him; she had nothing at all to say.

And now, after everything Jin learned about Vernon, she was even more discouraged from talking with him.

S: I get it. You won’t answer. I just wanted to tell you that I’m going to buy all decorations and games and stuff for the trip, so don’t worry about any of it… just get Wonwoo a gift if you can.

S: I’ll see you the day after tomorrow <3

Jin read the message and was about to respond just to acknowledge his efforts, but before she could, she received a text from Mingyu.

M: I’ve been reading accounts of women who have reported to the police, and I found that, unfortunately, the accused rapists are not often convicted because there is not enough evidence against them, even with the medical report…

Jin felt her heart sink when she read the message. She did not know why she just assumed that the police would believe Sena. Now that the possibility that they would not was raised, Jin felt anxious.

M: One girl said that she had a reference to the counselor she spoke to after it happened. I know Sena is talking to one, and so tell Sena to provide that reference for the police. They will interview the counselor and that testimony will help Sena’s case. I don’t know what other evidence Sena has against him, but I hope she has enough…

His message was tinted with so much doubt, and it made Jin doubtful as well. Would Seungcheol really not be convicted after this because there is not enough evidence against him? And so even after Sena would make the effort to report him, it could still go wrong for her? He would still have to be around her knowing that she reported him? Jin suddenly understood why Sena was so reluctant to report him in the first place; in the likely possibility that Seungcheol is not convicted, he would probably do everything in his power to “punish” her again.

Jin thanked Mingyu for the research he did that she stupidly neglected to do herself. Without him, she would have been so clueless. He helped her get down from of the clouds and stop being naively hopeful of her plan. The medical report was not enough. They needed to present more evidence against Seungcheol, and Jin was determined to get it.

-

Sena went back to her dorm after her class ended, saying she needed to inform her counselor that she would be travelling the following day for four days. Jin, however, knew that this was just an excuse not to go back to the cafeteria where Seungcheol always was.

It was the perfect opportunity for Jin to finally confront him.

Jin had a plan to collect more evidence against him, and she needed to be alone with Seungcheol in order for that to happen.

When she went to the cafeteria, Jin found Vernon, Seungcheol, Aron and Baekho eating together as usual.

The sight of Vernon after learning all the she did from Nayoung about him made her feel so many things all at once. For one, an overwhelming wave of warmth washed over her. Something was suddenly so much more comfortable about him, so much more genuine. At the same time, the photo that Jin had seen on Nayoung’s phone resurfaced and a bitter feeling came to her.

Jin felt that she needed to set things right with him. She wanted to be alone with him, to talk with him… she tried to imagine what she would tell him if she were alone with him, but nothing really came to her. She did not know what she wanted to say to him, but she knew that she did have something to say. There was something in her heart that she was itching to convey to him, but she really had no idea how to convert it to words.

Mingyu came up from behind her with a water bottle in his hands.

“Is that him?” Mingyu asked, looking over at the table where Seungcheol was sitting.

Jin nodded.

“Vernon’s friend?” Mingyu looked to Jin doubtfully with narrowed eyes, as if asking her why she was dating a ’s friend.

“He’s… not…” Jin tried to explain herself: “Vernon’s different.”

“I hope so,” Mingyu replied doubtfully with a shrug, “anyways, don’t worry, I got this. Do you have your phone ready?” he asked. Jin clicked record and got in position. She watched as Mingyu walked past Seungcheol and so convincingly pretended to drop the water bottle so that it spilled all over Seungcheol’s clothes.

Mingyu pretended to apologize to Seungcheol, but Seungcheol just brushed him off coldly and headed towards the bathroom, just as Jin had predicted he would.

The bathroom was located outside of the cafeteria, and so as Seungcheol left, Jin silently followed. He heart started beating loudly in her chest. She hated being alone with that person, but she knew she had to if Seungcheol were to even have a chance of being convicted.

Seungcheol entered the bathroom, and Jin waited outside patiently. Her heartbeat accelerated. She was so nervous about confronting him, about what he could potentially do or say to her.

She had practiced what she would say to him a lot with Mingyu, and she was confident that it would yield the right results as evidence against him, she was, however, not confident in herself enough to convincingly pull it off.

When he came out of the bathroom, she quickly glanced at her phone to make sure it was recording, put it in her pocket and pretended she had been walking in the same direction that Seungcheol was.

“Seungcheol,” she called out to him. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you,” she asked, pretending to just notice his wet clothes.

“Some spilled his water on me,” Seungcheol answered her as she caught up to him.

“Oh,” she replied, stopping in front of him. “Can I ask you a question?” She felt the nerves build up inside her.

He sneered at her. There was something scary in his eyes. “Ask away.”

“What did Vernon tell you the day before yesterday, during the date?” she asked him. The question had nothing to do with the evidence that Jin wanted to collect, but it was a question that she would believably ask him, and she was actually curious about the answer.

It, however, did not seem to be the question Seungcheol was expecting. He looked disappointed with it. “I’ll tell you,” Seungcheol said, “if you follow me.”

“Why can’t you just tell me here?” Jin asked, her blood freezing in her body. She had specifically chosen this location to speak to him because there were constantly people walking to and from the cafeteria, and so Seungcheol would not do anything weird, like her again.

“You don’t trust me?” Seungcheol asked with a pout.

He was tripping her up and she knew it. She gained the confidence to agree to follow him wherever he would take her. If he tries anything, it would all be recorded anyways, which meant more evidence against him. She was willing to take the risk.

She followed him to a corner of campus, and of course, no one was around. Seungcheol suddenly took off his wet shirt, and Jin froze. She was tempted to run away, but instead she simply averted her eyes.

“Sorry if this makes you uncomfortable,” he said, “it’s just that it’s wet and I wanted to dry it. I can’t do that with people around.” He squeezed the water out of it, eying her intently. Jin kept her cool despite the raging fear inside of her.

Jin asked again: “what did you say to Vernon?”

“Oh, that’s a secret between me and my best friend,” Seungcheol said, raising his eyebrows obnoxiously.

Jin frowned at him.

“You’re really cute,” Seungcheol laughed; he reached out to touch her arm but she dodged him.

“I know you’re playful and you like touching people. Nayoung and Vernon told me that you are, but can I ask that you don’t touch me please? I’m not very comfortable with it,” Jin said, making sure to say it loud enough for the recorder in her pocket to catch it.

“Okay,” Seungcheol said, raising his arms, “I won’t.”

“I also wanted to ask what you meant when you said ‘I know that you know.’ What is it that I’m supposed to know? You said someone would be punished for it. What were you talking about?”

“I was just playing around,” Seungcheol replied to her. “Did I scare you?”

“Honestly, yes. And then when you me, I was even more afraid.”

“Are you sure you got those chills because of fear?” he asked with a grin that gave Jin even more chills.

At this point, Jin felt like she got everything she needed from him. She recorded his voice admitting that he her, and that he had told her that “he knows that she knows” and that “someone was going to be punished for it.” She would present it as evidence against him, and the police would surely find that enough to prove that it was him.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Jin said quickly. “Thank you for your time. I’ll go now.” She turned to leave, but Seungcheol grabbed her wrist tightly before she could.

“Come on, girl,” he said to her, pulling her closer him, “let’s play together.”

Jin felt like everything in her life was leading up to that moment. She felt the impending pain she would feel through his grip on her wrist and she was tempted to cry out.

“Oh, there you are!” came the voice of Mingyu as he turned to the corner that they were in.

Seungcheol let Jin’s wrist go, looking quite angry and annoyed with the interruption.

Mingyu did not even look at Jin. He turned immediately to Seungcheol, and said: “oh good, you took it off. I found another shirt for you in my locker,” Mingyu held out a t-shirt for him. “You can keep it as an apology from me. I’m sorry for being to clumsy with my bottle, but…”

Jin was able to scurry away as Mingyu carried on with the act. Jin was ever so thankful for him.

She slipped away quickly, took out her phone, saved the recording and ran back to her dorm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Diary,

I just carried out the plan with Mingyu. I recorded my encounter with Seungcheol, and the results were good. Right now, I’m still so jittery from that encounter; it felt like he wanted to do something bad to me, and I was so scared.

The recording was clear, and it caught everything that I wanted it to catch. It is potent evidence against him; there is no way the police would reject it. It caught Seungcheol’s unwarranted approaches to me, and it showed that he had uttered suspicious statements and implicitly threatened to punish Sena.

Tomorrow morning is our bus out of town, and so tomorrow morning, we’re going to the police station to hand in this evidence. Sena still does not know this, but there is no way she could refuse now. She wouldn’t, right?

There is also one more thing I want to do before I leave on the trip, because after it, I’m afraid I might not be able to. I want to talk to Vernon. I still haven’t spoken to him since the conversation with Nayoung, and I feel like I have so much to say to him. I’ve thought long and hard about what it is that I want to say to him, and I think I’ve figured it out.

Vernon, you have been treating me with so much more kindness than I would have ever expected from you. And so I will commit to you, even if you won’t do the same for me.

A/N: I ALWAYS TEASE YOU BY POSTPONING VERNON CHAPTERS IM SORRY. But hey I still gave you some meanie and creepy seungcheol all in one chapter~~

(don’t hate me but the next chapter won’t be Vernon either /shields myself from all the tomatoes yall are gonna inevitably throw at me/)

KEEP STREAMING!!!