"I am not walking to school looking like this."

Seulgi awkwardly stood in the middle of the entrance. A bold, rich red lipstick smeared her lips to go along with her extremely dark shade of eyeshadow. Her eyelashes were drenched in tick mascara while her eyebrows were slathered in a mysterious gray tint. The rest of her face was powdered with a ghostly white hue to emphasize the intense makeup.

Even the way she wore her clothes screamed rebel: her white shirt was wrinkled and untucked, her school tie was loose around her neck, and she even left her cotton vest and blazer back at home.

"You're going to march in there right now. Back straight, nose in the air. Act haughty and like you know everything. Don't forget to act like you hate the world."

"Soojung, you're ing crazy if you think that I can go to school looking like this!"

"Seulgi, you're crazier than I am, so you shouldn't even be saying—Oh! Look! It's Yezy and Minzy!"

In matter of seconds, Soojung pushed Seulgi to the duo. Seulgi yelped loudly, stumbling over her feet before catching herself from falling. When she stared down at the ground, she saw two pairs of shoes resting before her. She gulped and slowly looked up, only to see Yezy and Minzy stare at her with incredible wide eyes.

me, she thought when she realized that Yezy and Minzy were only shocked and not impressed. Still, Seulgi straightened her back and cleared . She shifted her weight to one side and pretended to give them a spiteful look.

"Move," Seulgi demanded coldly. On the outside, she wore a mask of confidence, but in the inside, she was shaking with fear.

"You move, ," Yezy snapped cruelly, almost snapping her at. Seulgi was quickly pushed to the side as the two women marched into the building.

Seulgi scoffed, trying to emphasize her presence. However, everyone passed by without a care. Some gave her strange looks while others smiled and attempted to take pictures. Her cheeks started to color red. She panicked and turned around for Soojung's aid, but Soojung only pointed to the building.

God damn it, Soojung! This isn't going to work! Seulgi thought grudgingly as she forced herself to go inside the building.

Meanwhile, Sehun couldn't help but tremble with laughter. He had been watching her for the past few minutes as he entered through the gates. He had absolutely no idea that Seulgi would be this desperate for a ticket. To him, it was a pure source of humor and entertainment. 

Jongin, who was standing besides him, tried to shake Sehun out of his laugh.

"Come on, Sehun. Don't be so mean," Jongin said, who also happened to notice Seulgi's unusual look and behavior. He let out a small sigh when Sehun refused to stop laughing. Jongin gave him a simple smile as Sehun started to howl with laughter.

Well, if it makes him this happy, Jongin thought, then I shouldn't say much. It's been a while since he laughed this much.

/ / / / /

During lunch, Seulgi poked her head out of the window, staring blankly at the baby blue sky. A gentle breeze swooped into bring more life into her expression, but she stood still, feeling displeased with herself. 

"Did something happen, Soojung?" Youngji asked, turning to Soojung, who was invited to join them for lunch.

Youngji would've been lying if she had said that she wasn't troubled by Seulgi's unusual behavior. In the morning, she was completely shocked to see Seulgi's new makeover. She tried to convince Seulgi to rub off the makeup, but Seulgi had refused to do so and claimed that it was "necessary." 

"She'll be fine," Soojung said calmly, biting into her sandwich. "She's just acting melodramatic."

"A-Are you sure?" Youngji asked, staring at Seulgi's dead appearance. "I mean, she normally doesn't come to school looking like that…"

"She's fine," Soojung assured her. "Give her some time."

"Yeah, Youngji. Give her some time," Jackson agreed.

"I still don't like how she's forcing herself like this," Youngji murmured. "Do you guys know why she's like that? I mean, she usually comes to school dressed well."

Jackson casually shrugged his shoulders. Youngji looked at Soojung, who calmly shrugged. She frowned a bit, knowing that Soojung was hiding something. However, she kept quiet and got up from her seat. She walked over to Seulgi, who continued to look like a zombie.

"Seulgi, come on. Sit down and eat with us," Youngji said.

"I can't," Seulgi said. "I'm a failure. I can't even tell people to move."

Youngji tried to laugh. "Oh, come on, Seulgi. It's not like you're invisible. Sit down and eat."

"She said, 'You move, .' She called me a . I must be a ," Seulgi mumbled, her energy draining away by the second.

Youngji whirled around and stared at Soojung. "Soojung! Who called Seulgi a '?'"

"Well, it was technically Seulgi's fault," Soojung said, glancing up at the ceiling. "She could've started a topic without telling them to move first."

"I'm going to punch whoever called my friend a '!'" Youngji announced, getting ready to stand up on her chair. It took Jackson a whole five minutes of struggle to persuade her to stop acting irrationally.

Soojung, who had been watching Youngji in amusement, glanced at Seulgi, who took no notice of the whole situation.

"You know, we can think of something else today after school," Soojung told Seulgi. "I don't think you made that much of an impact on Yezy and Minzy. They didn't talk about you much. Rather, they were complaining more about what our history teacher told them."

Seulgi's ears perked up. "So you're saying that whatever I did had no effect on them?"

"None at all," Soojung said, nodding her head.

Seulgi brightened up. She smiled enthusiastically and turned to Soojung. She threw her a hug, surprising Soojung.

"Yes! Thank you so much, Soojung! You made my day so much better!" Seulgi exclaimed.

"Get off, get off!" Soojung demanded, trying to push her off.

Youngji, who had finally calmed down, watched Seulgi snuggle closer to Soojung, who looked like she wanted to throw up. She stared at the duo for a long time. A pang of envy stabbed through her chest. Jackson, who noticed Youngji's sick complexion, gently wrapped his arm around her. Startled, Youngji quickly drove her attention back to Jackson, who looked down at her with an encouraging smile.

"They're getting closer, but you're still Seulgi's number one friend," Jackson told her confidently.

Youngji smiled a bit. "You really think so?"

"Of course," Jackson said, glancing back at the two. His smile faded once Youngji looked away from him and gazed at Soojung and Seulgi with tender eyes. 

Actually, I lied, Youngji, Jackson said. To me, it looks like that those two are getting closer, and that your relationship with Seulgi is just drifting apart…

/ / / / /

Just like what Soojung promised after school, Seulgi found herself walking on the streets with her eyes glued to a small piece of paper. The paper contained a map of the new meeting place. Soojung had drawn it earlier and only told her to follow the map. When Seulgi protested and claimed that just going to the new location with Soojung would be better for her, Soojung pointed out that it would draw eyes. Seulgi wasn't sure whose attention they would draw, but she only kept quiet and followed Soojung's order.

In fifteen minutes, Seulgi found herself in front of a small café. She examined the building for a moment, then looked back down at the paper to see if she got the address correct. After minutes of contemplating and looking around, she finally concluded that Soojung wanted to meet up at this particular café.

"BLANC & ECLARE," Seulgi murmured, reading the name of the café. She looked around, then stepped inside. A small chime from the bell above echoed in the small room. In seconds, the aroma of coffee beans hit her nose. 

Sweet and chocolatey, she concluded, with a hint of bitterness.

"Welcome!" A woman in her twenties with chocolate brown hair gave Seulgi a warm smile. Seulgi blinked her eyes, feeling extremely awkward with the sudden attention on her. "Will it be just you or do you have other friends coming later?"

"She's with me," Soojung said, popping her head over the half wall.

Seulgi sighed in relief. Just seeing Soojung made her feel more comfortable. She scurried over to Soojung's side, but started to notice that the woman was following behind her with a huge smile. Seulgi, feeling even more uncomfortable, quickly grabbed a seat at Soojung's table. To make it even more weird, the woman stood still at their table and didn't move. She continued to put on a huge smile.

"Aren't you going to work?" Soojung asked, turning to the woman.

The woman finally laughed. "I will, I will! It's just that I don't see your friends often, even though the school is quite close to this café."

"Mhm, whatever. Just get us two iced Americano."

"A-Ameri-what?" Seulgi repeated, blinking her eyes. She wasn't the type to order coffee. Most of the time, she spent her time at tea shops with Youngji. Coming into a café was more of a foreign experience for her.

The woman laughed again. "Aw, this girl here is adorable! So, what's her name?"

"Can you not—"

"Why? I'm already talking to you like this. She'll feel even more awkward if you don't explain things properly," the woman said, flipping her wavy hair.

Soojung sighed. "Fine, fine. This girl is Kang Seulgi. She's a classmate of mine." She pointed at the woman, who gave Seulgi a small friendly wave. "This person here is my older sister, Sooyeon."

Sooyeon extended her hand to Seulgi. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Seulgi! I hope you continue to be good friends with my sister."

"Y-Yes!" Seulgi stuttered, shaking her hand. She's really pretty.

"Alright, now will you leave us alone?" Soojung asked. 

"Yes, yes. I'll go back and do my job," Sooyeon said. "Two iced Americanos, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Sooyeon walked away. Seulgi let out a sigh of relief while Soojung got up from the table.

"Come on," Soojung said, gathering her stuff.

Seulgi stared. "Are you serious? You tell me to come all the way here and now you're saying that we should go—"

"That's not it. This café has a second floor. You see the indoor balcony right there? Yeah, it's open for any customers. They just don't go up there too often. It's a lot more quiet and an easier environment to work in," Soojung explained. Seulgi shaped into a small "O" and followed.

The two started to walk a little further into the café, where, just like Soojung had said, had a staircase waiting for them to climb up. Soojung led Seulgi up to the stairs, but stopped when she arrived at the top. She made a small frown and groaned.

"Ugh," Soojung muttered, "never mind. Let's go back down."

"What? Why?" Seulgi asked. She took a quick peek at what Soojung had saw. Her eyes widened when she saw two girls with stacks of books scattered across the tables. She quickly grabbed Soojung's arm. "Oh my god! Soojung! It's Yezy and Minzy! It's them! It's Yezy and Minzy!"

"Yeah, I know," Soojung said, climbing down the stairs.

"Why are they there?" Seulgi asked her. "Are they studying?"

At the bottom of the stairs, they saw Sooyeon holding a tray of two iced Americanos. She looked up at the two and made a small frown.

"Soojung, you need to tell me if you want to switch tables," Sooyeon complained.

"We're not. Well, we were, but the tables up there are occupied," Soojung said, returning to her old seat.

"Oh, yeah. Those two girls have been there for the past couple of days," Sooyeon said, nodding her head as she glanced up at the second floor. "They come here often to study. Apparently they have a test that they have to pass or else they'll be dropped down a grade."

"Slackers," Soojung mumbled.

"Well, they look like they're working hard," Sooyeon said, trying to smile. "Sometimes they'll ask random strangers how to pass history. They came up to me a few times and asked me to help them memorize stuff."

"Hard workers," Seulgi murmured.

"You can't really categorize them as 'hard workers' since they chose to slack off in the very beginning," Soojung told her. "Those are the type of people where you just want to be nice to, but not actually be close friends with."

"Why not?" Seulgi asked. "If you're friends with everyone, doesn't that make you popular?"

"You can't always be friends with everyone. Some people are more…insignificant than we imagine them to be," Soojung blurted.

"Soojung!" Sooyeon scolded, glaring at her younger sister.

"It's true," Soojung argued.

Sooyeon sighed. "Well, I'm not going to go into this topic any further. Here are your Americanos—" She placed the drinks on the table after the two girls sat back down. "—and these drinks are on me for today."

"Oh! Thank you!" Seulgi exclaimed.

"No problem, sweetie," Sooyeon said, trying to smile. "Well, I'll be in the back of you need me."

With that, Sooyeon disappeared back to work. Seulgi watched the older sister for a minute, then looked back at Soojung, who took out her small notebook and began to jot something down. As she quietly waiting for Soojung to finish whatever she wanted to finish, Seulgi's eyes continued to roll back up at the second floor.

"I wonder if they're going to pass the test," Seulgi said, trying to start up another topic.

Soojung scoffed. "It will take a miracle for them to pass. I saw their grades, and it's life-threatening."

"Well, miracles can happen," Seulgi stated.

"Miracles?" Soojung looked at her. "Are you a kid? You can't possibly believe in miracles at this age. It's all about reality, not fantasy."

"W-Well, I—"

"Anyway, I say that we should wait a few days. Sehun's party is soon, but I'm sure that if we follow the new tactic, we might be able to get it…"

Seulgi tried to listen to Soojung's plan, but anything that came out of her lips didn't reach her ears. Instead of listening, Seulgi kept glancing up at the second floor, peeking at what the two other girls were doing. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted Minzy and made a brief eye-contact with her. Minzy's eyes widened a bit, but she disappeared behind the balcony's railing.

I hope she didn't recognize me, Seulgi thought, turning her eyes back at Soojung.

/ / / / /

"The results to last week's tests are out," the history teacher announced. Everyone sat in their seats, feeling tensed up more than usual. He tapped the stack of paper against the podium. "We got four complete marks here. The rest of you did…somewhat okay."

Seulgi groaned and banged her forehead against her desk. "I must've done below 'okay.'"

"Aw, don't be so hard on yourself, Seulgi!" Youngji said, trying to cheer her friend up.

"That's easy for you to say," Seulgi said, snorting. "You're always getting—"

"Heo Youngji!" Mr. Lee called. "You are one of the four who got full marks. Congratulations. Please get up to receive your paper!"

Seulgi moaned. "See? I told you!"

Youngji let out a small laugh as she got up to get her paper. Seulgi turned around and faced Soojung, who only gave her a weird look.

"What?" Soojung snapped.

"Are you good at tests?" Seulgi asked her.

"I'm only good at specific subjects," she replied.

"I hope it's not history—"

"Jung Soojung!" Mr. Lee shouted. "Full marks! Congratulations!"

Seulgi started to whimper as Soojung cooly got up from her seat and accepted her test results. She walked back, only to see Seulgi moping around. She sighed and took her seat anyways, while Youngji, who had already returned to her seat a while okay, let out a meek laugh.

In a second, the atmosphere got gloomy. The teacher skeptically looked at the two papers in front of his hands. Everyone knew that the two papers he held had full marks, just like Youngji's and Soojung's. However, the way he looked at the class compared to how he looked at them before informed the students to brace themselves.

"I am very disappointed with these two tests," Mr. Lee finally started after taking a deep breath. "I find it remarkable that these two students actually got a hundred-percent on these tests. They received full marks—no errors whatsoever. While I do believe in miracles, I believe more in cheating." The teacher angrily looked at Yezy and Minzy. "You two! Stand up!"

Yezy and Minzy widened their eyes. They were clearly shocked with not only the results, but what the teacher was asking them to do. They slowly got up from their seats, unsure of what else to think. The teacher grabbed a long ruler and tapped it against their desks. He gave them a painfully frustrated look.

"I can't believe," the teacher continued, "that you two had the audacity to cheat in my class."

Minzy looked at him. "We didn't che—"

"I'm not sure why I'm surprised. Students like you are definitely the type to cheat when they're desperate," Mr. Lee said, interrupting her.

Minzy quickly sealed her lips. Seulgi frowned, wondering why Minzy didn't do anything. She even looked at Yezy, who shut and only glared at the teacher.

I don't get it, Seulgi thought, blinking her eyes. She leaned back and whispered to Soojung. "They didn't cheat, so why aren't they saying anything in their defense?"

"Would you try to defend yourself when the teacher already categorizes you as a bad student?" Soojung whispered back. "These girls are smart. They know that it's useless to argue with the teacher. He only sees them as cheaters and they're biting her tongue just for him. If they argue, then they'll get into a lot of trouble. It might end up back-firing."

"But that's wrong," Seulgi murmured. "They didn't cheat. Remember? We saw them at your sister's café! They were studying! Your sister even said that they've been going to the café for the past few weeks just to study!"

Soojung only kept quiet. She shrugged her shoulders and gestured Seulgi to just watch the two girls get punished in silence.

"You two! Out of my classroom, right now," the teacher ordered. "I'm taking you two to the principal's office."

What? Seulgi widened her eyes at the situation, flabbergasted. She watched the two girls helplessly get up on their own two feet. Yezy and Minzy started to drag themselves away from their classmates, who gave them weird looks and frowns. This isn't right. The teacher can't just do this. Those girls have a voice! They have a voice! Why aren't they using it?

Seulgi started to chew on her bottom lip. She nervously stared at the girls prepare to leave the room. Her heart pounded against her chest as anxiety traveled through her veins. Soojung, who had been noticing Seulgi's unusual behavior, was about to reach out to touch her shoulder until Seulgi snapped.

"E-Excuse me!" Seulgi stuttered, shooting up from her seat.

Soojung and Youngji gave her wide-eyed stare, shocked with her sudden behavior. Everyone turned their heads towards her direction, including Minzy and Yezy. The teacher stared at Seulgi for a moment, trying to remember her name.

"Yes?" Mr. Lee asked when he still couldn't remember Seulgi's name.

Seulgi clenched her fingers into a fist and looked directly into his eyes. "Yezy and Minzy did not cheat."

The class bursted into whispers and murmurs. They all gave Seulgi a suspicious look, wondering if she was forced to say a thing. Seulgi gulped, but didn't remove her gaze from the teacher's brown orbs.

"Do you have proof?" Mr. Lee asked, crossing his arms.

Seulgi stared at her teacher. At that moment, she felt dumb. Of course she didn't have any proof. Rather, she sat rows away from where Yezy and Minzy sat. It would be impossible to confirm that those two didn't cheat.

But I saw them study, she thought. I saw them!

"I-I don't have proof," Seulgi stuttered, "but these two girls aren't the type to cheat!"

"I'm sorry, but without proof, how can I believe you?" Mr. Lee asked.

"Then what will it take for you to believe me without proof?" Seulgi countered, furrowing her eyebrows.

Mr. Lee tried to read Seulgi's facial expression. He was trying to look for any signs of her feeling fear or uncertainty. If anything, he believed that the two girls were black-mailing Seulgi into saying these words.

But Seulgi did not sway. She stood tall and firm, her eyes boring straight into the soul. The teacher calmly rubbed his chin, then glanced at the two girls.

"Did you cheat?" Mr. Lee asked.

"We did not," Yezy stated.

"We actually studied and worked hard," Minzy added. "You said that if we flunk this test then we'll be dropped back down a grade. We didn't want that so we studied hard."

"I did say that," the teacher murmured. He paused, then sighed. "Okay, you two, go back to your seats. However, stay back when the class ends." Mr. Lee looked at Seulgi. "And you!" Seulgi jolted. "You stay back after school, okay? I want to have a talk with you."

Seulgi gulped, but nodded. She sat back down at her seat when the two other girls started their way back to their own seats. The teacher walked back to the front of the class, then took out his textbook. The rest of his students followed.

"Page 304, starting at the second paragraph." Mr. Lee looked up for any dazed students. "Heo Youngji."

Youngji, who had been looking at Seulgi for the longest time, gasped and quickly sat up. "Y-Yes?"

"Read the directions," the teacher ordered.

"Y-Yes sir," Youngji murmured. She frantically flipped a few pages before managing to get the right page. She started to read the directions while the teacher turned to scribble something on the chalkboard.

Seulgi was trembling. Her cheeks grew hot as she started to realize what she had done. Rather than thinking of the fact that she had probably saved two girls from any non-needed punishment, she kept thinking about how she had actually stood in front of the class and made a loud announcement. It was a humiliating thought. She could only imagine what everyone around her were going to say after class was over.

I just want to dig my grave right now, Seulgi thought, groaning in the inside.

Soojung, who had been watching Seulgi for the past few minutes, smiled. It wasn't because she thought that Seulgi's small action was laugh-worthy. Instead, her eyes were mainly glancing at Yezy and Minzy, who kept glancing back and glancing at each other. When Soojung saw the two girls nod their head at each other after looking at Seulgi one last time, she smiled to herself and glanced down at her book.

/ / / / /

Ugh, that was a boring lecture, Seulgi thought after leaving the staffroom. Just like she was told, she met up with her teacher after school at the staffroom, where he continued to address her "disruptive" behavior during class. Following the end of his forty-minute remarks, Seulgi apologized and promised to never act of out-of-the-blue and to behave more properly. 

She rubbed the back of her neck and started walking. The moment she left the building, she noticed two familiar figures standing near the gates. Her heart stopped for a moment when she saw Yezy and Minzy guarding the gate as if they were waiting for someone. 

"Hey, you," Minzy said in a dark tone, staring right at Seulgi. Seulgi felt shivers run through her spine when she noticed that Minzy was ready to pounce.

Oh my god, that's right, Seulgi thought. I called them out in the middle of class. They must be so embarrassed and now they're waiting to teach me a lesson.

"Hey!" Yezy shouted, gesturing Seulgi to come closer in a threatening way. 

Without a second thought, Seulgi started to run around the building. To her disbelief, Minzy and Yezy quickly followed after her. Adrenaline rushed through Seulgi's blood as she dashed through the campus. She could hear the two girls shout and call for her name, but she refused to turn around. Instead, she kept running, panting hard until she had arrived at the back of the school next to a tree.

She gasped for air and stopped, resting one hand on her knee while the other hand gripped itself around the tree's rough bark. She choked for hair and wiped her sweat. She turned behind her and noticed that the two girls were gone. She let out a small sigh of relief and continued to look down at the ground, trying to keep herself from collapsing.

"Hey."

Seulgi looked up. Then, to her surprise, she saw an object fly towards her. She gasped, but managed to catch the object by slapping her hands together. She blinked her eyes, staring at the envelope stuck between the palm of her hands. Her eyes slowly rolled up to Minzy and Yezy, who gave her a small smile.

"T-This is…"

"Take it," Minzy said, interrupting Seulgi. "You're the one who seems to want it the most."

"Yeah. We overheard you and that other girl talk about Sehun's party. We figured that since we're not going, we should give it to you," Yezy added.

Seulgi looked down at the envelope. "I don't understand. Why are you giving this to me?"

"You're weird," Yezy blurted. Seulgi felt her self-confidence shrink. "You're really weird, but we kind of like odd-balls."

"You deserve it," Minzy said. She looked away. "Besides, we kind of owe you for stepping up for us when Mr. Lee accused us of cheating…"

"Yeah, how'd you know that we didn't cheat?" Yezy asked.

Seulgi stared at them for a minute. It took a second to realize that even though the two girls overheard her conversation with Soojung, they didn't realize that she had seen the stack of books on the tables at the café.

She cleared and bit her bottom lip. "I, uh, kind of saw you guys studying at the café I saw you guys working hard, so when Mr. Lee accused you guys of cheating, I couldn't help but remember how hard you two worked…"

Minzy and Yezy blushed, a bit embarrassed by the fact that they were scene studying and working efficiently.

"Well, thanks," Minzy said. She turned, and so did Yezy. The two girls were about to walk away, but Yezy stopped to turn back at Seulgi.

"See you around, Seulgi," Yezy said, giving her a small smile. 

"Yeah, see you," Minzy agreed, smiling.

Seulgi blinked her eyes, but ended up smiling. She watched the two girls leave the scene until they disappeared to the corner of the wall. Then, once she was sure that they were completely gone, she collapsed on her knees and stared at the invitation. Her hands started to tremble and her heart raced with delight.

I got the invitation, she thought. I got the invitation…!

"Nice," Soojung said. Seulgi gasped and looked up, noticing that Soojung was hiding in the tree. The girl jumped down from the tree, causing Seulgi's heart to panic.

"You were up there all the time?" Seulgi cried out. "You were spying on me?"

"I was going to blackmail them if they didn't give you the tickets," Soojung said, "but it looks like things went well."

"How long were you up there?" she asked.

"Anyway, I also have an invitation," Soojung said, lifting her envelope.

Seulgi dropped her jaws. "How'd you get one so fast? I thought they were gone from their hiding place?"

"Sehun forgot a place," Soojung lied. "I was just coming over here to tell you that, but you ended up getting one. Good job. Now both of us can go to the party."

Seulgi kept quiet. She glanced at the tree, then back at Soojung.

"Seriously, how long were you up there?" Seulgi asked.

Soojung rolled her eyes. "Enough. Anyway, let's go. We need to start talking about the party."

She started to walk away. Seulgi stood still, staring at the tree, then back at Soojung. Then, she took a deep breath before running to catch up to Soojung.

"Oh, come on, Soojung!" Seulgi shouted. "Wait for me…!"

/ / / / /

Sehun smiled, impressed with what he had scene through his class's window. He tucked in the extra invitation back into his blazer, hiding it from the eye. The door opened. He looked up, expected Jongin, but returned to his resting position when he noticed that it was Hyeri. The girl closed the door behind her and started to approach Sehun with a disappointed look on her face.

Sehun continued to smile. "What may I do for you, Hyeri?"

Hyeri forced a smile. "Where's Jongin?"

"Probably at the library. He's usually there."

"Okay, so why are you here?" she asked him. She glared at him. "You're not supposed to stray away from Jongin's side. You're supposed to be close to him."

"And why is that?" Sehun asked.

"Don't you get it? If you leave Jongin alone, then other girls can approach him," Hyeri snapped. She dropped her bag onto a random desk. "Honestly, Sehun, can't you help me a little bit? You know that I love Jongin."

"But Jongin doesn't love you," Sehun blurted.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Oh, so you're aware?"

"Shut up," she hissed. "Look, I've been noticing that something weird has been happening. I don't know what's going on, but something is definitely up."

"Oh, whatever could it be?" Sehun asked dramatically, putting the back of his hand against his forehead with one hand over his chest.

"All I know is that you're involved with it, and so is that pesky Seulgi girl out there," Hyeri stated, spitting out her words rapidly. She looked out at the empty sunset. "She's scheming something, Sehun. I know that." She looked at him. "I'm pretty sure that you're scheming something with her."

"Well, you're right that she and I have plans," Sehun said, glancing out the window. He looked at the orange sky with a smirk. "Unfortunately, we don't have the same kind of path in mind…"

Hyeri studied his expression. Then, she let out a sigh and started to rub the back of her neck.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but stop it," she demanded. "It's our third year of high school. Let's go through our final year without any big drama, okay?"

Sehun kept quiet. When she realized that he wasn't going to reply, she groaned. She grabbed her bag and stormed out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her. 

The boy paused a bit longer. He stared out the window. Then, another haughty smirk appeared on his lips.

"Without any big drama, eh?" Sehun murmured. "Unfortunately, I can't do that, Lee Hyeri." He glanced at the door and whispered, "I just can't."