​       Irene had no idea how much longer this staring contest with Seulgi was going to last. He caught her in an act of doing something very suspicious, and she ended up in his arms awkwardly. The timing was so perfect for everything –– Irene couldn't have wished for even better (her sarcastic sense of humor was great). Seulgi was staring intently right into her, as if he was questioning her motives. She was grateful that he was there to catch her before she cracked her skull, sure, yeah, but no one was meant to see her in here at all –– nope not at all. She finally opened to mutter some kind of sentence.

​       "P–Put me down.." Irene managed to say. One of her hands were grasping tightly on his sleeve, and she continued to look at Seulgi wide-eyed, who slowly closed his mouth and put her down carefully. He remained silent the whole time, not questioning her actions –– surprisingly.

​       Seulgi looked up at the cabinet and saw a folder that she was trying to get. He didn't question her why she wanted it. He wasn't even sure if she was supposed to have it, since this was still Mr. Yong's class –– but he reached up for it, and got it for her anyway. He handed it toward her.

​       "Th–Thanks..." Irene looked away and avoided eye contact. She took the folder and held it close to her chest, while somewhat biting her lip.

​       "No problem," Seulgi said. His words weren't shaking, but his heart was racing rapidly, "Next time, y–you.." His voice cracked, "You should be careful."

​       Of course, Irene noticed the crack in his voice. She must have realized that she wasn't the only one who was wavering at the moment. Seulgi slightly nodded his head and turned around, signaling that he was going to leave her alone. Irene thought it was still strange, he hasn't questioned anything of her yet, and the fact that he could still remain normal and chill without fawning over her beauty is beyond her belief –– and the fact that he was a new student, which meant this was his firsr time seeing her –– someone like that has come, she thought.

​       "Wait."

​       He turned his head, "Hm?"

​       "Don't tell anyone I was here..."

​       "You mean...? When you come here after school?"

​       Irene nodded.

​       "Everyday? You come here everyday?"

​       She nodded again.

​       "I hope it's not too much to ask for."

​       "It's nothing. I can keep your secrets," he grinned, "It's sad you have to deal with such a burden every single day, and I hope you don't mind me calling it a burden, but it's because you don't look like you like the popularity you receive."

       Every word that came out of his mouth made her speechless. She was astounded and dazed by the movement of his mouth and the tone of his voice.

       "Y–Yeah, no.. That's okay. It really is. Burden is the right word for it," Irene chuckled anxiously, "But not only where I go alone after school... Rather –– "

       "It's fine. I won't tell anyone anything related to you and your business."

       "But if you get involved with me, the things and the people around you might be..."

       "I know already, I know how it feels. I think I kind of get the idea what it's like for you too."

       "Then that bruise on your cheek..."

       Seulgi brought his hand and ran his fingers on the surface of his cheek, "Don't think about it. It's not what you think it is either, so don't worry about it," Seulgi grinned and assured her. Maybe partially ––  a teeny, tiny bit ––  of Mino's punch was because of her. If Seulgi wasn't involved with Irene in any sort of way, then Mino wouldn't have questioned Seulgi overwhelmingly, and the frustration from the fact that Seulgi wasn't answering any of his questions might have prevented him from punching his face.

       But Irene was not to blame. Seulgi and Mino's competitiveness just got out of hand –– that's all ––  that's what Seulgi would like to believe. And he would like to continue to believe that it was Mino's fault for having ty sportsmanship.

       "Are you sure...? It looks like you should tend to it a bit more often then. It looks like it was quite a punch. Maybe I can –– "

       "It's okay, really. Doesn't hurt too bad. The whole school'll explode if they heard the famous Bae Irene tend a punch wound on a nobody on their first day of school," Seulgi laughed.

       Irene started chuckling along as well because his laugh was kind of contagious, but she was awkwardly laughing, even if she meant to really laugh.

       "Now I'll get going, I should. You should just keep on doing what you were doing –– whatever that was," Seulgi chuckles, leaving Irene to look at the floor feeling flustered.

       "If you're wondering why I'm here everyday in this secret room..."

       "I told you; you don't need to tell me if you don't want to. You don't owe me anything, and you can keep your secrets to yourself to prevent them from spreading. It's enough for me to know that much already, and I'm flattered with the fact that you trust me that much." Seulgi cuts her off before she could finish.

       Irene didn't know what had gotten into her as well. Since when was she ever explaining herself to other students? She didn't know why she bothered trying to explain to Seulgi. She did feel a little disappointed with the fact of his disinterest, but isn't that what she wants with everyone? It was just him, Seulgi, the first person ever in this high school, to ever decline to offer to listen in to her. He was the first one who was indifferent towards her (besides the teachers because they were probably obliged to), who showed disinterest and an attitude that did not concern of her. A part of her likes this, and another part of her doesn't like this.

       But she still wants to tell him what she wants to say to him. She insists on doing so; something is telling her that she's not going to regret telling him about it at all. He was just going to shrug off this fact, and live each day knowing it, but keep it to himself, right? She sees Seulgi turn around after the awkward silence of Irene being lost in her thoughts. He almost closed the door behind him, but before it was shut, he heard Irene say,

       "Mr. Yong is my uncle."

       Seulgi lays on his bed and stares up into the ceiling with his head on his arms. He sighs and thinks about the events that took place on the first day of school, from first period to fifth period. He knows that he's gained that one fangirl already, who told him to get off her seat, because that's where she sat for the next period –– third. That girl seems to have been Irene's friend. Seulgi saw her dragging the popular girl out of Mr. Yong's class during lunch, which prompted him to look after her belongings, along with his.

       Maybe the other students were talking about him, but in the good way. The man