"I still can't believe that the school burned down."

"I can't believe that our school gave us an extra week of break because the school burned down. I was sure that they'd force us to attend school elsewhere," Soojung commented as she and Seulgi crossed the streets.

On the day when Hyeri and Naeun had their fight, the school had burned down. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but half the school had burnt down due to an explosion in the chemistry room. Unable to do anything else, the school had given their students an extra week of winter break, hoping that they'd be able to investigate and figure out who was the arsonist. The school had asked students to confess, accident or not, but no one had stepped it. No one could even tell the authorities who did it because no one knew who did it. The whole case was a mystery, but the students were happy to have an extra week off from school.

Due to the chaotic event, Soojung and Seulgi decided to take a break from the whole popularity project. Soojung clearly wanted Seulgi to reflect on her actions, and she did for the past few days. At the same time, Soojung couldn't deny that her friend's unexpected tactics were well-planned and well-executed. After promising once more that Seulgi wouldn't stray away from Soojung's plan, Soojung finally forgave her and decided to regroup and talk about how to boost her popularity.

Was Seulgi really sorry?

Soojung couldn't tell. The more she tried to observe Seulgi, the more of a blur she felt. Soojung figured that Seulgi was getting smarter and was starting to understand how the whole social network worked. Still, the monolid girl lacked certain traits, which was perfectly fine by Soojung's standard. For her, it was better to keep Seulgi naive and subtly weak instead of making her into something much more difficult to handle.

Did Soojung really forgive her?

Seulgi didn't really care. What mattered for her is that Soojung was willing to help her again. That was all that mattered.

The two girls headed towards BLANC & ENCLARE, debating on whether or not they should study for their test or if they should map our their next move. With a week taken away from school, that would mean that Seulgi wouldn't be able to do anything to get closer to Jongin, which would hinder her process.

"It'd be great if I met Jongin during the break," Seulgi said, sighing. "Then we might get close enough and spend Christmas together…"

"That'd be great if that really happened, but it's not happening," Soojung said, scoffing. "Where's Youngji?"

"She's on a family vacation."

"Jackson?"

"Him, too."

"You're not going anywhere?"

"My family doesn't have the luxury to travel often," Seulgi said. She looked at Soojung. "Are you going anywhere?"

"I'm going to take a part-time job at my sister's café," Soojung said.

Seulgi's eyes widened. "A-A part-time job?"

"Yeah. I plan on working and saving enough money. Maybe I'll buy my sister a gift or something," Soojung said.

"I wish I could give Jongin a gift…"

"Seulgi, stop thinking about Jongin. You just created a whole mess, and he's in the middle of it. Do you think he'll just magically appear in front of you and push away all his other problems?" Soojung retorted. Seulgi pouted and kept quiet.

Soojung opened the door, but froze at the entrance. Seulgi, curious, peeked over her shoulders. Her eyes lit up in surprise when she saw Jongin, Sehun, and Hyeri hanging around at the center of the café. Although there weren't a lot of people at the café, the sole worker was seen running around frantically. Once Sooyeon caught Soojung's eyes, she gave her a grateful sigh and ran up to her.

"Hey, I need some help!" Sooyeon exclaimed to her sister.

"On it," Soojung shouted back. She handed her back to Seulgi, who seemed startled. "Take care of my bag. Don't you dare touch anything inside. Also, find a seat somewhere."

"J-Jongin is here," Seulgi stuttered.

Soojung scanned across the room and finally noticed the popular trio. She raised her eyebrow in surprise and in suspicion. It was clear that upon entering, Soojung didn't even notice their presence and was fixated on how busy the café seemed to be.

"Don't sit near them—"

Once Soojung turned to give instructions to Seulgi, she was gone. Eyes wide, Soojung whirled around and noticed Seulgi approaching the three. She was about to scream and run towards her until Sooyeon called her name again.

"Soojung! Table thirteen still needs to order!" Sooyeon exclaimed.

Soojung gritted her teeth. She heaved a loud sigh, then ran to the staff room, changing her casual clothing to a black collared shirt and skinny jeans. She tied the black apron around her waist before fixing her hair a little to look more presentable. Then, she ran outside, grabbing the pen and a notepad to take notes.

She briefly looked over at the trio's table, noticing that Sehun had allowed her to join in under the condition that she sat next to him. It didn't seem like Seulgi minded too much because she was sitting in front of Jongin. Hyeri, on the other hand, frowned in disapproval. made movements—probably about how Seulgi shouldn't be there—and her brows furrowed deeper. 

For a brief second, Jongin looked up and met eyes with Soojung. Soojung quickly turned around and tightened her ponytail, pulling her hair. She cleared and walked over to table thirteen, taking their orders and thanking them for being patient.

Jongin's cheeks turned a little red. He picked up his cup of coffee and sipped it carefully, keeping a close eye on Soojung. He really liked how her raven hair bounced around in a ponytail. The way she smiled so warmly and generously at the customers made him feel a bit jealous. He kind of wished that he had came later so that she could take his order. He wanted to talk to her, even if it would be just a minute. Maybe even thirty seconds.

You look beautiful today, Soojung, he wanted to say. He made a gentle smile before putting his cup down.

"So what's Soojung doing here?" Sehun asked Seulgi.

"She's going to work part-time here," Seulgi said. "Her sister owns this café."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Soojung usually comes here after school to do her homework. She helps out sometimes when there's no school, but her sister doesn't really like that," Jongin blurted. The group stared at him a little. Jongin, realizing that he might've slipped up a little, nervously laughed. "W-Well, I've only been here three times. Fourth, now. I hear her sister scolding her sometimes."

He sipped his drink, refusing to make any more comment.

"Do you like her?" Sehun blurted.

Jongin choked on his drink. He coughed and placed his hand against his chest, pounding it and hoping to soothe the small burn down his throat. Seulgi was about to run to him to hit his back, but Hyeri was quicker. The bob-headed girl used her fist to hit his back, hoping that it'd help him swallow and clear his lungs. Jongin cleared his throat and glared at Sehun.

"W-What?" Jongin said, raising his voice a little.

Sehun grinned. "So you do like her."

"L-Like who?"

For a moment, Soojung crossed Seulgi's mind. Seulgi stared at the flustered boy for a long time.

He can't possibly…

"The café owner," Sehun guessed. "Soojung's sister."

There was a moment of silence. Then, Hyeri gasped and clung her hands around Jongin's arm, shaking him.

"Jongin, you like older girls?" Hyeri cried out.

"N-No!" Jongin stuttered.

"So you don't like my sister?"

The four turned and saw Soojung standing in front of them with an inquisitive look on her face. Her eyes were on Jongin, who turned completely red in embarrassment. He quickly shook his head and hands in shock.

"N-No! I love your sister! Your sister is great!"

"So you do like older girls?" Hyeri whined.

"I don't like her—"

"So you don't like my sister?" Soojung repeated.

"I like your sister! I do, I just—" He stopped when he saw Soojung grinning at him in a playful manner. When he realized that he was being teased, he blushed even harder and looked away. His heart pounded, wondering if it was from her unexpected playful attitude or from her dazzling smile.

Sehun raised an eyebrow as he rested his chin against his hand. So he does like Soojung.

"So why are you here?" Hyeri asked Soojung. "Your sister already took our orders."

"I need to take her order," Soojung said, pointing the end of her pen at Seulgi. Seulgi pointed at herself.

"M-Me?" Seulgi asked. She frantically grabbed a menu and looked through it. She had been drinking iced drinks for a while and wasn't sure what to get. 

Sehun, who had been observing her, took the menu off her hands and scanned through it. She was about to protest until he started talking to her in a nonchalant manner.

"Do you like sweet drinks? Bitter?" Sehun asked. "You said that you've only drank Americano here, right?"

"Y-Yeah, but I don't want anything cold," Seulgi murmured.

"Then get it hot," Sehun said. He put away the menu and turned to Soojung. "One hot Americano, please."

Seulgi's eyes went a little wide. "You can get hot Americano?"

"Yeah," Soojung said, nodding her head. She scribbled something on the notepad and smiled. "I'll be back with your drinks."

She gave Sehun a brief look. Don't watch her fall.

He smirked in response. Soojung walked away, heading towards one more table before handing her sister the orders.

Once she was gone, Jongin finally calmed down. He looked over at Seulgi, who scratched her head and stared at the menu a bit longer. Then, he cleared his throat and called her name:

"Hey, Seulgi?"

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Y-Yes?" Seulgi stammered, looking up with eyes sparkling with pure love. 

Sehun felt something tug his heart.

"You said that Soojung works part-time here, right?" Jongin asked. Seulgi nodded slowly. "Um, by any chance, is this place hiring?"

"What? You're going to work in this dump?" Hyeri exclaimed.

"A job is a job," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Why do you need a job? You can basically ask your parents for money if you want anything and they'll give it to you in a heartbeat," Hyeri pointed out.

"Hyeri has a good point," Sehun said. "Besides, if you want a job, you can work under your father's company. The pay is better and the working conditions are probably better, too."

"I just wanted to see how it feels to work in a place like this," Jongin mumbled, staring down at his reflection in his drink.

Moments later, Soojung came back with Seulgi's drink. As she placed the cup down on the table, she also placed four papers on the table. The group looked down at the papers, noticing that it was an application form.

"I overheard a little of your conversation," Soojung said. "I just talked with my sister. We'd be happy to have extra help here. Two people quit because they found themselves an office job. That's why we're so busy today." She turned to Seulgi and flashed her a smile. "Seulgi was going to work here, too. Part-time."

"No, I wasn't—"

"Yes, you are," Soojung said, stressing the last word. "You said that you didn't have anything else to do for winter break, anyway."

Seulgi sulked. I'm going to be working the entire break? That's so pointless of having a break!

"T-Thanks!" Jongin exclaimed, grabbing the sheet of paper. "I-I'll fill it out and bring a resume tomorrow. When can I start working?"

"Well, my sister is going to interview you first, so it's all up to her," Soojung said. "Just show up tomorrow looking nice and you'll probably get the job on the spot."

"Yeah," Jongin breathed softly. "Thank you…"

"You're really going to work here?" Sehun asked. Jongin nodded. Sehun pondered for a minute, then glanced over at Seulgi, who was scowling. She looked a bit conflicted between the idea of working and seeing Jongin if she worked. He pursed his lips before nodding his head. "Well, I guess I can try this out, too."

"I'll pass," Hyeri said, pushing the slip of paper away. She grabbed her bag and stood up. "I can't work here. I have other things to do at home."

The two girls stared at each other intently. Minutes later, Soojung nodded and took the form from her hand.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Soojung said softly.

"Whatever," Hyeri said. She flipped her short hair and turned to the boys. "I'm leaving the bill to you. Let me know how much I owe you when we meet next time."

"You're leaving?" Sehun asked, surprised.

"Stay a little longer," Jongin urged.

"No thanks," Hyeri said. She glared at Seulgi. "You know that she just causes trouble for me. I want to stay away from her as much as possible."

"You don't have to be so forward about it," Jongin scolded.

Hyeri glared at him for a minute. "Have you talked to Naeun properly? I mean, she did confess her feelings to the entire world. If that didn't reach you, then I don't know what will."

Jongin made a small frown. "I'm going to talk to her once she calms down. Haven't you heard? She's been locking herself in the room—"

"Of course I heard! I've been trying for days to get her to open up and for us to talk, but she's refusing to see me. The only person she's willing to see is Jinri, the girl who accused me of something I never did before."

"Well, in her defense, it seemed highly likely that you did it," Jongin said.

"I thought you believed in me!" Hyeri exclaimed.

"Well, with Naeun's incident, too…"

Jongin looked away a little before glancing at her. Hyeri remained still. Then, she looked at Seulgi.

"I think it's strange," she said, "that every time something big and chaotic happens in my life, you're involved."

With those words, she left the café for home, leaving everyone else slightly dumbfounded…

…or slightly guilty.