Jieun didn't see Chanyeol since their serious conversation at the café. From what she had heard, she discovered that Chanyeol had decided to go back home to find his parents and apologize to them. She later found out that Chanyeol was actually planning to bring Jieun to their parents, but until he found them, he wouldn't keep in contact. There was a small hope that he would one day return, but she had a feeling that she would never see him again.

A couple of months later, Minah was finished with shooting the drama. Kiha was extremely pleased, knowing that he was going to rake in a lot of money from the drama. He had witnessed everything and even had his own input into certain scenes, making sure that they came out just like what the webtoon showed. Jiho was always annoyed with the way Kiha kept taking over the directing since it took out extra time from Minah's schedule, but Kiha never seemed to care while Minah was just happy to stay in Jieun's neighborhood a bit longer.

Jungkook had taken his college exams and was planning to go to his second choice of college. He seemed rather dejected about entering his second choice, as he wasn't accepted to his first choice. Jieun was always sorry about this, but Jungkook repeatedly told her that it wasn't her fault and that it was his own problem to deal with.

Everything seemed rather peaceful for the next three days. Kiha was being himself, Jungkook was waiting for graduation, and Minah and Jiho reported that they were going to leave for Seoul in three days. While everyone seemed to be doing fine, there was a day where Jieun found herself in a tight situation when she was called to go to the principal's office.

"Miss Lee," the principal said, greeting her, "how are you today?"

"I'm fine," Jieun said, awkwardly sitting in a chair across from the desk. She was confused, wondering why she called by the higher authority.

"Good, good." The principal kept quiet for a moment. "Miss Lee, do you like this school?"

"Yes, sir. I love this school very much," Jieun said quickly.

"How about the pay?"

Pay? Jieun frowned a bit. "Well, I think it's sufficient."

"I see, I see," the principal murmured. He folded his hands while making a small frown. "What would you say if I offered you a transfer to a better school?"

A better school? Jieun thought. "Did I do something wrong, sir?"

"Wrong? Oh, no, no!" The principal made a small smile. "It's just that my granddaughter is becoming a teacher and is having a hard time applying. She specifically asked me to open up a spot for her. I'd love to open up a spot for her, but I've been finding it difficult to fire any of the teachers. I've asked all the teachers so far about transferring to a better school, but they all rejected. You're the last option I have left."

"So you're asking me to transfer for the sake of your granddaughter?" Jieun repeated.

"Yes. Otherwise, I'll have to fire you," the principal said. "I don't think you should worry about school since there's only two days left."

"I don't know, sir…"

"They pay double," he said. "The school that you'll be transferring to will pay double."

Double? That's incredible! she cried out, widening her eyes. "I don't see why the other teachers would reject this offer. If the other school is paying double, then shouldn't it be reasonable to go there?"

"Ah, it's the location that's a bit of a problem for the staffs here," the principal murmured. He smiled at Jieun. "The school you'll be transferring to is located in Seoul."

• • •

In the evening, Jieun found herself with Jiho and Minah, who were taking Jieun out for dinner. While Jiho and Minah talked in the lively atmosphere, Jieun had a deep frown on her face and kept thinking about the principal's offer. She was dazed and confused, wondering if this was some sort of sign.

Jiho was the first to notice Jieun's troubled expression, but Minah was the first to say something.

"Hey, Jieun. Are you okay?" Minah asked, snapping her fingers in front of Jieun's face.

Jieun snapped out of her thoughts? "H-Huh?"

"I'm asking you if you're okay." Minah raised the alcoholic beverage to her lips. "You can't possibly be drunk. You only had two shots."

"And you," Jiho said, taking away Minah's fifth bottle of alcohol, "are having too many."

"Oh, boo-hoo!" Minah cried out, snatching back her drink. "It's not like I'm going to be drunk."

"You always get drunk," Jiho muttered.

"Stop spreading rumors, Woo Jiho," Minah told him. She turned back to Jieun. "Anyway, what's up?"

Jieun looked at her two friends for a long time. I can tell them, right? I trust them enough to hear their opinions, right? I can tell them what's going on and about the transfer-deal, right?

"If you can't say it now, then don't say it," Jiho said. "Say it when you're comfortable."

Jieun broke into a small smile. "It's nothing, really."

"Your face says otherwise," Minah murmured. She looked away while Jiho shot her a glare.

Jieun remained quiet, but slowly started to reveal what was going on inside her head. "I…actually got a job offer."

"Already?" Jiho asked, shocked. "Jieun, that's great!"

"So what are you now? Are you some sort of super teacher?" Minah asked. Jiho shot her another glare. "What? I never liked studying."

Jieun giggled. "No, it's not like that. It's…I got a job offer to transfer to a school that's willing to pay double the salary I have right now."

Jiho seemed a bit stunned while Minah looked genuinely happy. Jiho frowned a bit, but carefully picked up his chopsticks to grab a random side dish.

"So…where are you going now?" Jiho asked, struggling to get the words out of his throat. He didn't like hearing Jieun move around. It made it seem like she was just trying to get further away from him, as if she didn't want to see him.

"Seoul."

Jiho and Minah widened their eyes. They stared at Jieun, who looked down and started to grab a meat from the grill.

"S-S-Seoul?" Minah stuttered, shocked. "If you go to Seoul, then…you'll be with us!" Minah started to shake Jiho's arm. "Jiho! Did you hear that? Jieun might come back to Seoul with us!"

"I don't know for sure," Jieun said quickly. "I asked the principal to give me more time."

"You should definitely take the offer," Jiho blurted. Excitement filled his eyes. "If you come to Seoul with us, then not only will you be in a better financial state, but you'll have m—your two best friends here!"

Minah frowned and smacked his arm. "You were about to say that she'll have you, weren't you?"

He turned a little red. "Shut up…"

Jieun giggled. "I don't know. I had a feeling that you two would encourage me to go, so I wasn't planning to tell you."

"Of course we're going to tell you to go!" exclaimed Minah. "How can we not tell you to go?" Minah chugged down the rest of the bottle. "Let's drink and celebrate!"

"Okay, now you're drunk," Jiho murmured.

"Wha—at?" Minah yelled loudly. "I think you're drunk."

"I didn't even touch alcohol, stupid," Jiho mocked.

Minah giggled and chugged down another bottle. Jieun gave her a worried smile while Jiho flipped the meat on the grill. At one point, he glanced at Jieun, who was watching him flip the meat. Then, in a small voice, he whispered:

"I really hope you come to Seoul with us."

Jieun lifted her eyebrows, showing that she had heard him. Jiho quickly looked back down at the grill while she stared at him. She took a deep breath through her nose, then let out a small sigh as she thought about the offer once again.

• • •

"Are you sure you don't need to call the cab?"

"I'm sure. The bus is five minutes away, after all," Jieun told him.

She watched Jiho catch a cab and carry a drunk Minah on his back. Minah started to mutter incoherent words, which only seemed to annoy Jiho even more. He struggled for a few minutes, trying to lay her down in the back seat. However, Minah kept clinging onto his back, refusing to let go. Eventually, Minah released her grip after Jiho kept yelling and shaking her off. He closed the door and was about to hop into the front passenger seat before looking at Jieun.

"You sure you don't need a cab?" Jiho asked.

"I'll be fine," Jieun assured him. He looked at once more, but she waved her hand. He slowly nodded and hopped into the car. The taxi drove away, leaving Jieun to walk to the bus stop.

Just like she had told him, she arrived at the bus stop in five minutes, and the bus came shortly after she arrived at the stop. She got onto the bus, but froze for a second when she saw Jungkook sitting in the back. Jungkook was staring out at the streets, occupying himself in his own thoughts. Wanting to surprise him, she slowly crept towards him, making sure that she wouldn't notice.

Then, she slowly sat next to him. She smiled and waved at him through the window's reflection. Jungkook seemed to have noticed, but he scoffed quietly to himself while shaking his head.

"Now I'm seeing her in the reflection," he murmured.

"What does that mean?" Jieun asked.

Startled, Jungkook widened his eyes and flinched. He placed his hand over his heart, completely shocked to see her. Jieun playfully stuck out her tongue like a child, while Jungkook tried to regain his composure.

"H-How long were you there?" he stuttered.

"I just came," Jieun said. She started to fan herself. "I had dinner with Jiho and Minah and drank a little. Those two took the taxi cab and I decided to take the bus."

"You were going to go back home drunk and alone?"

"It's not like I had a choice," she said. "Whew, it's pretty hot. Maybe I drank too much." She looked at him. "Anyway, what did you mean when you were seeing me in the reflection?"

Jungkook reddened and swiftly looked away. "N-Nothing. You're just drunk. You must've heard me wrong."

She pondered on that for a few minutes, but nodded her head. "Yeah, you're probably right. I've been having a lot going on in my head."

"Like what?" he asked.

"The offer to Seoul." Jungkook stared at her with incredible wide eyes. Jieun sighed. "I can go to a better-paying school in Seoul, or I can sort of stay here."

"W-W-Wait. Seoul? Like the capital city?" Jieun nodded while Jungkook frowned. "D-Doesn't that mean that you'll be with that Jiho guy?"

"Practically. Yeah. I'll be with him and Minah," Jieun said.

"You can't…" Jungkook stopped, then grimaced. As much as he wanted to tell her not to go, he knew that he was in no position to discourage her. After all, if anyone deserved to go to a better place, then it would be Jieun (in his opinion, that is). He pressed his lips together and heaved a sigh. "Do whatever you want."

Jieun looked at him. "Hm?"

"I said to do whatever you want," Jungkook said, trying to act like he didn't care. "It's your choice. You should do whatever you want."

"Aw, you're being very sweet, Jungkook," Jieun said, smiling at him. She grabbed his hand and gave it a tight squeeze, causing his heart to skip a beat. "Do you mind if I take a nap? You're heading home, right?"

"Yeah," Jungkook said. "I'll wake you up when we get to our stop."

"Thanks," Jieun murmured. She closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep, letting go of Jungkook's hand.

As she fell asleep, Jungkook took out his phone and began to send a text to his friend, saying that he wouldn't be able to make it to the group party, then hid his phone back in his pocket while he looked out the window, staring at Jieun's reflection with gentle eyes and a soft smile.

• • •

The next morning, Jieun woke up with a small headache. She groaned and got up shortly to drink a glass of water. However, as she walked down the hall, she started to recognize that her house wasn't actually her house. When she arrived at the kitchen, she saw Kiha doing the dishes. She blinked her eyes, then rubbed her eyes.

This is Kiha's house, she realized. She looked down at her clothes. Aw, darn it. I'm wearing yesterday's clothes, too.

Kiha noticed her entrance and started to smile. Jieun started to feel warm and fuzzy inside while Kiha took off the rubber gloves and poured her a glass of water.

"Good morning!" he exclaimed, handing her the cup. She croaked out a small "thank you" before drinking. "Jungkook brought you home last night."

"Jungkook?" Jieun repeated.

"Yeah. He came home and brought you over. He wasn't sure about leaving you drunk at your own house, so he brought you over here," Kiha explained.

"I need to thank him later," she murmured.

"You seemed quite bothered last night," Kiha said. "You kept muttering about 'Seoul' in your sleep."

Jieun paused. I feel like everyone knows.

She sighed. "Yeah. I've been offered to go to Seoul for better pay."

"Oh."

Jieun opened her eyes when she realized how Kiha became. She stared at his broad back as he went back to doing the dishes. She waited for him to say something, but he didn't seem like he wanted to say much. Clearing , she gathered her courage to say anything that would make him talk more.

"Is that all?" Jieun asked slowly.

"I have no words," Kiha replied.

"I mean, you usually have something to say."

Kiha kept quiet. Then, he chuckled a little as he finished washing the dishes. He took off the gloves again and slowly turned to face her with a small smile.

"Well, do you want to go?" he asked.

"I… I don't know," she murmured.

"I think you know," he said. "Actually, I think we both know what you want."

Jieun kept quiet. "What do you think I know?"

"You want to go, right?" Kiha pointed out. "I mean, it's Seoul and it might have bad memories, but you're probably ready to start a better life there, right? Besides, if you go there, you have a better pay."

She smiled to herself. As expected, Kiha knows exactly what I want—

"But I'd like it better if you don't go," he blurted. Jieun stared at him, a bit startled. He paused, then laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for saying something like that and being unhappy."

"I don't understand," Jieun started. "You usually support me on a lot of things, but why don't you like this idea?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "Is it for the webtoon? Do you want me to stay so that you can gain inspiration from my character?"

"No. That webtoon is almost over," Kiha revealed. He looked down at the floor before looking at her eyes. "I just don't want you to go."

"Why?" she asked again.

He gave her a small look. "Honestly, I never expected you to leave my life."

Jieun felt a pang of pain stab through her chest. She swallowed and looked away, unsure of what to tell him. Kiha sighed, then gave her a much brighter smile.

"However, don't listen to me," Kiha told her. "If anything, you should go. If you stay back for my sake, then that means that you weren't ready to go to Seoul at all. On the other hand, if you're ready to face Seoul again, then go and face it. It's better to that early than later."

Jieun was about to say something, but her phone started ringing. She looked down at the caller ID and noticed that it was the principal. She stared at the phone, then looked at Kiha, who noticed that it was the principal caller her. Kiha gave her another warm smile before patting her head.

"Kiha…" Jieun felt her heart skip a beat when Kiha chuckled.

"You go and conquer the past," Kiha encouraged her. "Good luck."

Jieun gulped and nodded her head as Kiha left the kitchen to give her privacy. With a deep, shaky breath, she picked up the cell phone and raised the device right besides her ear.

"Ah, Miss Lee! I was calling you to talk about the offer," the principal said.

"Yes, sir. I'm fully aware of it," Jieun said. She took a deep breath before confidently saying, "About that Seoul offer—I'll take it."