The next day, Sungjae sought after Joy when he went to school. His search wasn't in vain when he saw the lady near the window, staring at the open field outside. It looked like she was more refreshing, easygoing that day. Sungjae couldn't avoid staring at her. It was so different compared to the fragile child he held in his arms the previous evening. 

At first, no one noticed his presence but after a few minutes, a few classmates of Joy did notice him. They a few times before finally snapping Joy from her trance. She blinked a few times before turning her head to the door. She waved a bit at Sungjae before approaching him.

"How are you?" Sungjae asked. It was obvious he was worried. Joy managed to hide a lot from everyone's eyes. She was a master at pretending she was happy, that she was whole. She looked like a happy virus. But masks did hide everything from the eye. And Sungjae was lucky enough to see through Joy's facade.

"I'm doing well, better than last night," Joy reassured him with a gentle smile. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me," Sungjae patted her head. "It was a pleasure getting to know you better."

"I..." Joy's face burned up. "I... Sungjae, OMG."

Sungjae blinked a few times before stepping back. Joy looked up to him and showed him a red face. She looked so embarrassed. Sungjae wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. He thought she was perfectly comfortable with him but he guessed he was wrong. 

"I'm so..." Joy fanned herself," sorry. I'm still getting used to... Gahd, I look so silly right now, don't I?" 

"No," Sungjae shook his head," you don't. You look like yourself. Silly's not the right word."

"Then what is?" Joy asked. Sungjae thought of the word before shaking his head. He smiled at her before ruffling his head. He ran towards his classroom right after.

"It's a secret you need to figure out, Park Sooyoung!"

Park Sooyoung...

Joy hadn't been called that name for a while. She didn't hate it. But she couldn't say she had an attachment to the name. The only people who called her Sooyoung was her family. She preferred being called Joy by the outside world. Joy felt a slight pang in her heart every time she recalled the times she was called by that name. She shook her head and stared at where Sungjae used to be standing. 

'It's not wise to have him this close to my heart,' she thought, 'because I'm falling deeper in love with him instead of having him fall in love with me.'

"Hey, Joy!" Seulgi tackled her from behind. Joy took a step forward to balance them. She looked at Seulgi before grinning at her. She shook her friend away before facing her.

"You have a lot of questions, don't you?" Joy snickered. "I'll answer them later. A teacher of ours might see us." 

Hyuk raised an eyebrow when Sungjae appeared to be immersed in his thoughts. Sure, Sungjae was always thinking rather deeply but usually, he didn't when a teacher's in front. Something big might've happened to him and Hyuk guessed, it concerned Joy. When their teacher exited the room, Hyuk immediately called for Sungjae's attention. He failed a couple of times but when he succeeded, he glared at Sungjae.

"What?" Sungjae asked. "Sorry, I was thinking about something." 

"Maybe the right word is someone," Hyuk corrected him. "Am I right?"

"Well, it's a theory about her so it's a something," Sungjae chuckled. "Have you seen Joy cry before?"

"Of course," Hyuk scoffed. "I've known her since middle school. She's a big crybaby. It's a handful to comfort her. She's easy to cheer up though."

"What does she cry about?" Sungjae asked. 

"A lot of things, once I think about it," Hyuk looked up," since she cries a lot. But recently, she hasn't been crying so I'm quite shocked."

"Maybe her life turned out for the better?" Sungjae said before shrugging. So that's how it was. Joy was a crybaby but recently, her tears stopped in front of her friends. She revealed her tears in front of Sungjae the previous night. Sungjae felt special. He was able to see Joy's vulnerable side. Surely, this was different compared to the tears she showed in front of other people. Sungjae thought he saw Sooyoung, and not Joy. 

"Hopefully," Hyuk whistled. "Heard her life was a tragedy. But be careful, okay, Sungjae? You don't want to get caught by the web she weaved herself."

"So that's how it was. Didn't your father scold you?" Wendy asked. "You know how uptight your dad is, Joy."

Joy shook her head with a small smile on her face. 

"He didn't," Joy answered. She felt fluffy inside. Though it was embarrassing for her to show Sungjae that side, she felt relieved to release everything. She wanted Sungjae to fall in love with her; it came with a price. She needed to show her everything to him. But as she showed her different sides, she was only falling for how Sungjae reacted to them. Joy felt like Sungjae was dangerously close to her heart. If he left, if he didn't fall for her, she knew it'll only destroy her. 

"So he hugged you, under the moonlight?" Wendy tried to confirm it. She wasn't sure if she should believe her best friend. Though Joy was great with boys and her charisma wasn't questionable, she's a stuttering mess in front of any guy she liked. Sungjae wasn't an exception. And the scene seemed like it was pulled out of a movie. It was impossible to happen in real life. 

"Not exactly," Joy bit her lower lip," but it would've happened if the guard didn't chase us out. It's not like it was romantic or anything, though. Sungjae doesn't like me the way I like him. We're in two different worlds."

Wendy pouted before crossing her arms.

"Maybe it's about time those two worlds clashed, right? After all your work, you should make your dreams happen, girl. Sungjae's right there. Take him and make him yours."

Lunch arrived and Joy felt hella nervous. Like hella. She felt like she'll be meeting an idol she's infatuated with. Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest. She tapped on her desk restlessly and would bump her head against it. She needed to shake off the nervous feeling or Sungjae would catch her that way. She needed to chill and be like the Joy in the morning. But she was trembling, shivering, she might even shake off her chair any minute. 

"Hey, Park Sooyoung," Sungjae's voice called out to her. Joy's eyes stayed glued at the desk. She didn't want to look at him just yet. Her heart was thumping and didn't want to calm down. She might do something stupid in front of Sungjae. She didn't want that. She already cried in his chest the previous night. Ugh! She didn't even want to remember. Her face was slowly growing red as she recollected it. 

"Hey! Do you plan on ignoring me?" Sungjae called once more. Joy's head slowly turned to him as if she was a robot. She forced a smile before digging her face into her desk. Sungjae couldn't avoid chuckling at the cute reaction. He knew Joy was adorable, but he didn't expect she would overflow with that charm. She should teach him sometimes. Sungjae knew it would be hopeless if he would only stand there. Joy's classmates already told him he could come in. He inhaled before finally stepping into the classroom.

Joy could hear the whistles and cheers from her classmates. She knew Sungjae was steps away from her. The more she couldn't control her heartbeat. She felt someone beside her and she knew it was game over. Sungjae pulled her hair away and Joy soon found herself looking into Sungjae's eyes.

"I thought we had an agreement? Chickening out?" Sungjae teased. Joy shook her head before removing Sungjae's hands from her hair.

"I don't chicken out, never," Joy said. "I was just..."

"Enough with excuses," Sungjae chuckled. "Let's go?"

"Let's."