Hyeri turned around, feeling like she was being followed.

But when she turned, no one was there.

After school, she would always hurry back home as soon as possible. Now that Suzy was the only friend she had, it was easier to excuse herself from hanging out after school. Besides, Suzy also had personal things she had to attend to. Neither of the girls questioned each other when they needed to get something done. It was a sign of mutual respect and both girls decided to be patient until they were ready to bring up what was going on with their lives after school.

Upon leaving campus, Hyeri would always claim that she didn't have a car ride because she was walking back home. Sometimes, there would be a few groups of students who would try to follow her to see where she lived, but they would always have to take the bus or the subway before they could continue following her. Once she was sure that no one was following her, she would always take a strange path that no one seemed to really know, only to end up in a poor neighborhood.

For a while, Hyeri wasn't thinking much about someone following her until she arrived in her low-income neighborhood. No matter how many times she turned around, she couldn't help but feel that she was being watched. Gripping her hands around her school bag, she finally took a deep breath to call out her little stalker:

"Okay, I know you're there! Come out before I scream!"

There was a minute of pause. Hyeri turned slightly red, feeling a bit embarrassed for raising her voice at particularly nothing.

Then, she heard a soft chuckle before a familiar man came out from the shadows. Seulgi's "boyfriend" appeared with his hands in the air as if he was caught committing a crime.

"Like I thought, you're a sharp one," Myungsoo said lightly.

Hyeri narrowed her eyes. "Seulgi's boyfriend? Why?"

"No reason. I was in the neighborhood."

"Doing what?"

"Trying to find a friend's house." He handed her a slip of paper. "This is the address."

She slowly took it and looked at it. Her eyes widened before she frantically pushed the paper back in his hands.

"Your friend doesn't live there."

"Oh, really? I'm sure I got the address right…"

"Well, you got it wrong. There is no such address around here."

"Are you sure? I thought this was…your house," Myungsoo said cunningly. He gazed at her from the corner of his eyes. Hyeri felt shivers run up across her spine. Her grip around the strap of her bag tightened.

"E-Everyone knows that I live in a large house. A rich house—almost like a mansion. You could ask my friends. They've been there before."

"They've been there years ago," Myungsoo pointed out. She paled. "It's been quite some time. Things could've changed."

What's with this guy? What does he want from me? Hyeri wondered.

"Besides, the rich house is where you father lives, right?" Myungsoo smirked. "With his mistress. Without his family."

Hyeri gave him a harsh look. "What the are you trying to do right now, huh?"

"Nothing! I just wanted to visit a friend's house—"

"You? Me? Friends? We've never talked to each other before!"

"We greeted each other—"

"Bull! This isn't friendship! What are you trying to get out of this?"

"Confirmation," Myungsoo finally blurted. Hyeri widened her eyes. "I just wanted to check something."

"Well, don't," Hyeri said coldly. It was as if she knew what he was trying to get. "Stay away from me and my family."

"It's weird how you're not telling me any of this when you told everything to Soojung," Myungsoo commented.

Hyeri stared. "Soojung told you?"

"In some way and form, yes," he said happily.

"There's no reason for Soojung to tell you. She's not that kind of person."

"So Soojung was telling the truth all along?" Myungsoo remarked. Hyeri stopped herself, realizing that she was being dragged into the upcoming subject. She clenched her jaws, figuring out a way to get out of the situation. Myungsoo smiled at her silence. "So I guess she was, right?"

"…Look. I don't like you, and I don't plan on liking you a bit. For Soojung, who's known my family's condition for years, there's no reason for her to suddenly spout this at all," Hyeri told him.

"Well, she found out by chance when she was in the neighborhood. Just like me," Myungsoo said. He flashed her a smile. "It's not so different, you know?"

"It's completely different. I can tell that you have malicious intent. She didn't," Hyeri stated firmly.

"Hyeri, Hyeri, Hyeri…" Myungsoo clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Why are you being like this? If you need help, you should admit to it!"

"Not to you," Hyeri replied coldly. She slowly shook her head. "Not to a monster like you."

Myungsoo's smile faded. He cocked his head to the side and gave her a blank expression.

"I'm not a monster," he told her. His voice was sharp and cold like an icicle. It sent a shiver down her spine. "I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need help from someone like you."

"Not you. I'm not trying to help you. I'm trying to help Seulgi."

Hyeri froze. Her fingers started to curl up into a tight fist. Every time she heard that name, every time someone mentioned her, every time—

Her blood began to boil. She narrowed her eyes and gave Myungsoo a bitter expression.

"Oh. Her? Right, that's right. You're her boyfriend, aren't you? Of course you'd take her side, too," Hyeri grumbled.

"Be careful, sweetheart," Myungsoo said in a low voice. He leaned close to her ears. "I know you're smart, so here's a little piece of advice: Don't get in Seulgi's way. She's going to destroy you." He pulled back, then smiled blissfully when he saw her frightened expression. "Well, you're smart enough to know that. You're just like Soojung, anyway."

"What is it that Seulgi wants from me?" Hyeri asked him.

He uttered his final words: "Everything." 

Then, he turned and silently waved his hands, heading back home. Hyeri couldn't help but hear Myungsoo's voice ringing in her ears like those annoying bells from the clock towers. Her trembling hand reached over to cover the ear that Myungsoo whispered into. Calming herself, she closed her eyes, trying to think of happier thoughts instead of her impending destruction.

/ / / / /

A few days later, Myungsoo and Seulgi were having a small meeting (in public, they called it a "date") at a park near the school. The only reason why they were talking in the open was to let students who happened to pass by see her with her new "boyfriend" having a meaningful moment. No one seemed to want to approach them whenever they saw Myungsoo's gentle smile, believing that the boyfriend was spending all his energy and time in happiness with his "girlfriend."

As they were talking, Myungsoo had brought up a topic and had asked what Seulgi wanted out of all the planning. Her answer:

"Popularity."

Seulgi was swinging on the swing sets with her feet on the seat, standing and swaying back and forth with her body and arms. Myungsoo was swinging next to her, sitting and rocking himself back and forth slowly.

"And?"

"And?" she repeated.

"And what else?" he asked her.

"Oh! And Jongin," she said. She flashed a wide smile as her cheeks flushed. "I want Jongin as my boyfriend."

"And?"

"And?" she repeated again, frowning.

"Isn't there more?" he asked.

She paused, then shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Your goals—they're a bit too dull, don't you think?" he asked. He stopped swinging. "Don't you want more?"

"I don't know. I know that I just want popularity and Jongin."

"What about likability?"

"That comes with popularity, no?"

"You don't have to be likable to be popular, Seulgi," Myungsoo told her.

"That's true, but the kind of popularity I want is the kind where I'm liked by everyone. Where everyone knows who I am. Where they'll respect me, love me, and will want to be around me."

"I see," he said with a nod. "So like Hyeri?"

Seulgi looked at him. "Huh?"

"You want to be like Hyeri, right? Loved by others and always in center of attention. Close with the popular guys, especially with Jongin," Myungsoo remarked.

"W-Well, I guess. But I can do a better job than her!" she insisted.

"I'm sure you can," he said. He looked up and locked eyes with someone. Then, making a sly smirk, he stopped rocking in his seat.

He got up from the swing set and used one hand to stop Seulgi from swinging. She twisted around a little bit and complained, but stopped when he used his order hand to grab the other side of the chains. Since she had the extra boost of height from standing on the seat, she was able to look down at Myungsoo with their faces only inches apart.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

Seulgi frowned. "I'm not going to kiss you—"

"There's something on your eyelashes," he claimed.

She was skeptical, but closed it softly.

"Bend your head down a little."

She let out an exasperated sigh, but obeyed. She bent her head down with her eyes closed, waiting for Myungsoo to blow off whatever was on her eyelashes.

Seulgi waited for a few seconds, but didn't feel anything. She could feel Myungsoo nearing, but he wasn't kissing her or brushing her eyelashes. A few seconds later, she could hear someone panting heavily. She opened her eyes and locked eyes with Soojung, who was out of breath and grabbed Myungsoo's arm with both hands. Soojung looked shocked, maybe scared and hurt. Her eyes were glued to Myungsoo, who looked at her over his shoulder. Seulgi stared at the two, getting a feeling that there was something going on between them at that moment, but wasn't sure what else to do.

She looked up and saw Jongin and Sehun standing a few feet away from them. The way their chest rose up and down looked like they had just ran to catch up with Soojung. It seemed like the two boys were following Soojung, but when she had suddenly bolted towards Myungsoo, they had chased after her.

Of course, Seulgi could've been wrong. After all, no one was saying anything. They were all staring and breathing, waiting and thinking about what to do.

Myungsoo smiled warmly at Soojung. He knew what to do. He was the only one who knew what to do. He gently Soojung's head, petting her and snapping her out of her jealousy.

"Hey Soojung," he said in a soft voice. 

He had opened a way for Soojung to revert back to normal.

You're being too affection, Soojung's eyes told him. She quickly released her grip from Myungsoo's arm.

I wasn't the one who initiated it, Myungsoo replied silently.

"H-Hi," Soojung managed to stutter out. She could feel her heart racing when he rested his hand on top of her head.

"Were you walking back home with your friends?" Myungsoo asked. He eyed at Jongin and Sehun. "You should've told us. Seulgi and I were waiting for you so that you wouldn't be lonely walking back home."

Again, he had paved another path for her to be reasonable in front of everyone.

"That's why I grabbed you. I wanted to check that it was really you and Seulgi. I-I was planning to walk away, but I thought, 'What if they're waiting for me?' I would've felt bad going ahead without confirming whether or not you were two were waiting," Soojung explained. She looked at Seulgi, trying to give her a sign to speak.

Seulgi opened . "R-R-Right!"

The way Seulgi replied was awkward and out of place. Sehun was able to understand that this was just a little act that they were putting up. There was no waiting, and he was certainly convinced that there was no "date."

I'm so sure that there's nothing going on between Myungsoo and Seulgi, he thought. There's definitely something between Myungsoo and Soojung, though.

On the other hand, Jongin couldn't help but focus on the way Myungsoo had his hand over Soojung's hand. He felt a sharp throb in his chest as he frowned. He didn't like it—at all.

"Don't you think you're being too affectionate with someone who's not your girlfriend?" Jongin blurted to Myungsoo.

Sehun stared, a bit surprised. Jongin wasn't the type to speak like this. 

Myungsoo blinked, then looked at Soojung. Then, he withdrew his hand and raised them up to his shoulders.

"Oh, sorry. This was done out of habit. You know, Soojung is really like a little sister to me," Myungsoo explained. He smiled at Jongin. "Well, I guess it's a little bit odd because she's my ex-girlfriend, too, but trust me, everything we had was in the past." He turned to her. "Right, Soojung?"

"…Right." She replied after a little bit of hesitation.

"Besides, I have my eyes on Seulgi," Myungsoo said. He extended his hand for Seulgi to grab before jumping off the swing set.

She didn't need it. Seulgi easily got off the swing by herself. Sehun smirked and laughed inwardly as Myungsoo blinked and was left with his hand in the air. He chuckled a little as he slid his hand back in his pocket.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Sehun asked, feeling a bit more confident after witnessing Seulgi rejecting Myungsoo's hand offer.

Seulgi instantly recalled the scene of Sehun kissing her during the winter break. Her eyes narrowed and she instinctively became more aware of everything. 

"Nothing," she said in a tight voice, surprising him. "At least, nothing with you."

It took Sehun two seconds to remember that he had still failed to apologize to her properly. 

"Wait, Seulgi, let's ta—"

"Myungsoo, let's go on a real date!" Seulgi yelled.

"'Real' date?" Jongin repeated.

There was a minute of pause. Seulgi realized that she had slipped up while Soojung internally screamed at her carelessness. If Jongin realized that Seulgi wasn't dating Myungsoo, then there would've been no point to having the two date. Everything they had done would've gone drown the drain.

Myungsoo seemed rather calm about the situation. He didn't even need a moment to recover. Instead, he laughed lightly.

"I guess our little dates at the park isn't enough for you, is it, Seulgi?" Myungsoo said. "Okay. What do you want to do?"

Seulgi seemed speechless. It was such a smooth recovery, she wasn't sure how to follow up on that. Myungsoo took note of this and continued:

"Do you want to go watch a movie? We can eat dinner together afterwards."

Seulgi nodded. "I-I'd like that."

She was embarrassed because she knew she had messed up, but it seemed like everyone was able to follow Myungsoo's flow of conversation and ignored Seulgi's strange comment. She could see how natural conversations and atmospheres came to Myungsoo. He was like Soojung and Hyeri, who knew how to read the mood and knew how to follow it. They were like a water running through a stream, able to move forward while smoothly avoiding the rigidity of awkwardness.

"Okay, then." Myungsoo turned to Soojung. "Looks like we won't be able to walk together after all. Will you be okay?"

"She'll be fine," Jongin said, stepping up. "I can take her home."

Soojung looked at him, then at Seulgi. Seulgi instantly had a worried expression, as if it was like Soojung was going to steal him from her.

Don't worry, Soojung told Seulgi with her eyes. There's nothing going between us.

Seulgi remained skeptical.

"Take her home after your date, okay?" Soojung told Myungsoo. "Don't screw up. If she starts crying, I won't forgive you."

"Of course," he said, nodding his head.

He stared at her for a few seconds. Then, he instinctively reached his hands to touch Soojung's cold cheeks. She hitched her breath and stiffened as she felt his warm hands heat up her cheeks. Then, he nonchalantly took off his scarf and wrapped it around Soojung's neck slowly. She stood awfully still, feeling a strong throbbing in her chest.

"Stay warm, Soojung. Sooyeon will kill me if you get sick," he told her. He bent down a little, leaning closer to her face. She stared at him like an owl. He laughed. "What's with that face you're making?"

A blush—a furious rush of red on her cheeks, burning with at the sight of his wide smirk. Her thoughts were jumbled, mixed, unclear. She could no longer think about escaping, but only gazing into his warm gaze. If he still loved her, he would say it, but he wasn't saying anything. He was only staring, taunting her, teasing her—making her hopeful.

"Soojung, you're so cute," he said lightly. To him, they were empty words of flattery.

To her—even though she knew they were lies—they still meant a little bit of something.

Jongin stared hopelessly at the situation. His eyes burned with jealous rage, but he couldn't bring himself to intervene. Myungsoo had easily and perfectly enclosed the bubble between him and Soojung. If Jongin wanted to be part of the conversation, he would have to burst the bubble and risk the awkward atmosphere.

Risks were something he didn't take.

And Myungsoo knew that very well.

"Um," Seulgi chirped. "Should we get on with that date?"

Myungsoo slowly glanced at her while Soojung snapped out of her thoughts. Myungsoo made a soft scoff at Seulgi's attempt to continue her life without realizing that she had just intervened his plan to manipulate Jongin and Soojung.

As expected of Seulgi, Myungsoo thought. She's not a bright one.

"Yeah, let's go," Myungsoo said. He took out a hand and extended it towards Seulgi to take. Seulgi smiled a little and finally took his hand. His warmth started to spread all over her skin.

Sehun sulked.

"See you later," Seulgi told the rest. Jongin and Soojung nodded and they watched Seulgi and Myungsoo walk away, swinging their hands happily. 

Soojung faced the opposite direction and began to walk.

Sehun sighed. "Let's go Jong—"

He stopped when he realized that his friend was gone. He frowned and turned around until he saw Jongin chasing after Soojung. He let out another heavy sigh and shook his head. Then, he started to walk away, knowing that Jongin was going to make an attempt to walk Soojung back home.

Jongin quickly followed Soojung, thinking about what to say. Just like he had told Myungsoo, he was going to walk her home. He was going to walk next to her, strike up a conversation, and hopefully know her likes and dislikes. He was going to use this moment to get closer to her, to have her feel comfortable around him, to have her notice him. This was his chance! It was his chance to show his good side—his best side. This would be a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity where he could establish some sort of friendship with her, and maybe that friendship would turn into a relationship.

A few seconds later, Soojung's legs gave up on her and she dropped to a squat. She covered her face with her hands and let out a frustrated groan. Jongin widened his eyes and blinked before kneeling down next to her.

"A-Are you okay?" Jongin asked. Should I carry her? But what if she feels uncomfortable? Wait, what if she really needs help? I should—

"Yeah. I'm fine," Soojung thought. Jongin let out a sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, Soojung started realizing what Myungsoo had just done. He was setting up the situation for her. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she knew what she had to do next to help with Seulgi's plan.

"What's wrong?" Jongin inquired.

Soojung glanced at him. There were a set of words that she had to tell him—a phrase that would make Jongin stop chasing after her.

She uttered the next words in a small voice:

"I think I'm still in love with him after all."

Jongin felt a sharp pang of pain. He remained speechless. He didn't even need to ask her who she was talking about. 

And now he didn't know what to do.

/ / / / /

That night, Sehun received a call from Jongin to meet up with him. Sehun figured that Jongin wanted to talk about how he had left him to walk home by himself, but he didn't see why that was a big deal. It didn't make sense for Jongin to call him out for something like that. A simple apologetic text would've done the trick.

The two boys met at the same park where they had stood just hours before they had departed. Jongin was sitting on a nearby bench, holding a can of hot coffee between his hands. Sehun whistled a small song, catching Jongin's attention.

But Jongin didn't smile. Instead, he gave Sehun a small nod and scooted over, letting Sehun sit next to him. Sehun stopped whistling and frowned as he took his seat.

"So what did you call me for?" Sehun asked. "It isn't like you to call me all the way out here."

Jongin remained silent. He looked down at his drink before handing it over to Sehun to hold. Sehun took it, warming his hands while Jongin slipped on his gloves. Jongin continued to stay quiet for a few seconds, then let out a small sigh. He looked like he was about to say something guilty, something shameful.

"Soojung… Soojung can't forgive anyone who hurts Seulgi," Jongin murmured to himself. There was a small pause. "So I just have to get him to hurt her, right?"

Sehun stared. "What?"

"I just have to get Myungsoo to hurt Seulgi, right?"

Sehun gave him a glare. "Jongin, what are you trying to do?"

"I don't know yet, but I want to do something that can make Soojung completely over him. I don't like the idea of her crushing on him when he's dating her best friend. If he hurts her best friend, then Soojung will be over him," Jongin explained.

"So you're going to use Seulgi?"

"And get her hurt. I want it to look like Myungsoo was the one who hurt her."

There was a long pause.

"Jongin," Sehun finally said, "you know that you're my best friend, right?" Jongin nodded. "Then you should know that if you do anything to Seulgi, I won't forgive you."

"What do you mean?" Jongin asked.

"If she ends up crying and if it turns out to be your fault," Sehun continued, "don't think twice about whether or not I'll hurt Soojung as well. I'm telling you right now, if Seulgi gets hurt, so does Soojung."

Jongin made a deep scowl. "Aren't you supposed to be my best friend?"

"Yeah."

"Then shouldn't you support me?"

"I'm not going to help you make stupid decisions."

"I'm just going to hurt Seulgi a little."

"I don't want that."

"But you're okay with hurting Soojung?" Jongin narrowed his eyes. "I don't like that."

Sehun wasn't sure what to say. 

"Jongin, let's not do this. Let's not… Let's not fight over girls. That's stupid. Look at us!" Sehun scoffed. "We're being stupid! Idiots!"

Jongin gave him a painful look. "But Sehun, I'm not joking…"

Sehun began to feel weak. "Why are you acting like this, Jongin? This isn't like you!"

"…You know that I'm a patient guy, right, Sehun? I don't go and act according to my feelings. You know that, right?" Sehun nodded. Jongin took a deep, shaky breath. His eyes were wet. "But every time I think about Soojung and how much Myungsoo still means to her… I-I get frustrated. I get mad at myself, and I don't know why. I know that Myungsoo is a good guy, that he's just…just moving on… But he has Seulgi to help him move on. What about Soojung?" He pointed at himself. "I'm starting to realize that I really need to step up.

Sehun was starting to realize the real enemy. It wasn't Soojung pulling the strings right now. No, she was completely consumed by another master: Kim Myungsoo.

I bet Hyeri realized this a long time ago, Sehun thought, remembering the cautious look Hyeri had been giving him from the moment they met. He felt dumb not to notice this before. He felt even worse for realizing this so late. He had been so occupied over looking good in front of Seulgi again, he had completely ignored the fact that his best friend was blindly walking into their trap. I need to fix it. Somehow, I need it fix it.

But there wasn't any way to fix it.

At this point, the game was in Myungsoo's hands.