“Where'd you go?” Minah asked the moment Haneul sat down on her seat.

“Oh, just the sports field for some fresh air,” she explained, “First day nervousness and all.”

“Ah, I see,” Minah nodded and was going to turn away, “Oh and by the way, some guys were looking for you. They looked like they’ve been running around to find you. The flower boys too,” Minah chuckled, “It seems you’re quite something.”

Haneul began to panic, “No, not really. I just used to know one of them.”

“Oh, okay,” Minah responded before facing the front.

Haneul let out a relieved sigh silently, and then tried to calm her heart down. She took her time on the way back as she was trying to calm it down but it wouldn’t. Haneul’s heart was way too shocked, and frightened at the same time. But most of all, it was hurt.

She really didn’t mean to do those things to Seokmin, but every part of her basically says she needed to.

It was then she questioned everything. What was she protecting by doing those to him? Was she really protecting him from hurting himself emotionally? Or did she make herself be the reason that he really does it?

She popped out of her bubble when the Mathematics teacher came in, the same teacher who greeted her yesterday and brought her to the principal.

Time went by quickly for Haneul, perhaps because she most especially didn’t want the school day to end. She wasn’t really keen on bumping into Seokmin and his friends again… at least not yet.

The bell rang and everyone stood up and began packing their bags, just rushing to get home. Haneul, however, took her time. She just wanted to walk alone, so by the time she exits the classroom, she can rush out of the school.

Unfortunately, Minah waited for her, “Haneul, where are you staying? Wanna walk home together?”

Haneul was stuck, she didn’t really want to show Minah that she didn’t want to, “I’m actually staying at a hotel at the moment. I still have to find a place to stay in on the weekend,” she told her, hoping Minah would suggest to walk with her some other time.

“Oh,” Minah let out, “I’ll just walk you to the school gates, then.”

Haneul could only agree. Minah was really nice, and she seemed to be eager to be friends with her, so Haneul couldn’t risk losing her as a new friend.

They reached the door when Seokmin rushed passed them, his friends were just behind him. Unlike him, though, they were just watching him brush through the crowd of students also heading out of the building. He was on the phone, and the only thing the two of them heard was, “You’re at the gate? Hold on, I’m coming.”

“His girlfriend must be waiting there again,” Minah stated.

Haneul looked at him and watched him go further and further until she couldn’t see him anymore, ‘Girl… friend?’, she asked in her thoughts, and then looked away, only to meet eyes with his friends.

“How do you feel about Seokmin having a girlfriend?” The same guy from earlier asked, his hands were inside the pockets of his school pants, and his eyes still cold as ice.

“Good,” Haneul lied, “I hope she’s someone he’s really happy with,” she continued.

Lies, lies, and more lies. She didn’t feel good about it at all. The only thing she felt was her heart cracking. But her last words were true. If Seokmin really did find a person he really loved, then she was happy.

“You’re unbelievable,” the boy only commented before walking off, the rest of them following behind his tracks.

Minah kept blinking, “What was that about?” She asked, obviously confused, “That was really tense.”

Haneul sighed, and then smiled at her, “It’s kind of complicated,” she replied.

“Is Seokmin the one you used to know?” Minah asked again, “That’s all I got from that conversation.”

The two of began walking again, “Yeah.”

“What happened with the two of you?” The other girl just kept on asking, “I mean, I’m not trying to pry, so you don’t have to answer.”

“Uhm…” Haneul hesitated, “It’s alright, but for now, is it okay if I can’t tell you just yet?”

“No, of course it is,” Minah immediately responded, “It seems like a very personal topic, anyway,” she ended with a grin.

They continued walking together until they reached outside the building.

On the way to the school gate, Haneul’s heart shattered even more.

She saw Seokmin there. It seemed he just got there as well, he was running. She saw him stop in front of a girl, she couldn’t see her face, though. But what she saw was the two of them sharing an embrace. When they broke the hug, they began walking away.

“She’s really lucky, you know,” Minah commented while looking at the two of them, “You don’t just find a guy like Seokmin.”

Haneul faked a grin, “I agree,” this time, she really was telling the truth.

The way home was terrible for her. Now that she was walking alone, no one would bring her out of her thoughts anymore.

She was free to let her mind think of whatever, and that is what it did.

Haneul thought of Seokmin, and frankly, his girlfriend as well. She laughed to herself, ‘Who was I kidding? There’s no doubt Seokmin would be dating here in Seoul,’ she thought.

“So?”

“So what?”

“What do you mean ‘so what’?” Jeonghan asked, “What happened?”

Seokmin smiled, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. The pain in his eyes was way too much for him to hide his feelings, “Nothing happened.”