I. The following morning, Namjoo caught up with Hyuk along the school hallway. He paused and stared at her, wondering what she needed from him as she catches her breath. She nodded a little and smiled as she lifted her face to look at him. "L-let me help you... with cleaning duty." She said, her voice still trembling from running. The guy clenched his fist and frowned, asking what she was talking about. She was about to answer when he stopped her and clarified that he doesn't need her nor anyone's help. She felt mildly scared; His voice sounded different and the stare he gave was striking. She gathered up her courage once again and tried reasoning with him, but the latter didn't seem to listen as he eventually continued walking. She sighed.



Class went on as usual. Their teacher reminded them of the upcoming exam and asked them to be ready for their reports soon after. There was awkward silence before the crowd started complaining. They had no choice, though. Their teacher has made up their mind.

During lunch, Hayoung sneaked into her friend's classroom and sat on the chair in front of her. She giggled as the other was completely surprised of her sudden appearance. Namjoo asked why she wasn't with Jaehwan. Her friend pursed her lips, and told her she doesn't always have to be with her boyfriend all the time. They both laughed. It seems as though they both haven't been seeing each other because Hayoung was lately busy with class duties, and hanging out with her boyfriend. But despite these, she couldn't just leave out her best friend like that. She reassured her that she'll always be there for her. Again, they laughed. Just then, a shadow casted beside Namjoo and a familiar voice resonated.


"Uh, Hayoung, right? Where's Jaehwan? I borrowed something from him, I need to give it back." It was Hyuk.


Hayoung smiled with a nod, and told him that Jaehwan was at the cafeteria with their classmates. Even asking him if he wanted to return it personally, or should she just hand it to him since it might be trouble for him to go to the cafeteria. He put the book he was holding up and replied with a tilt of his head. "Personally."

Namjoo somehow froze for that few minutes as she wasn't able to talk nor think. She mumbled softly, asking how her friend could talk to him so casually like that as he left. She laughed and gave a slight shrug. She admitted that whenever Hyuk asks for Jaehwan, he always seemed calm and well, not intriguing. She mentioned that the two has been talking to each other a lot lately. The other flinched. "Really?"

"Yeah. Although, Jaehwan doesn't tell me what they talk about that much. He just kept saying it's about his studies." Hayoung added how it frustrates her sometimes because despite not keeping secrets from him, it seems he's been keeping secrets from her. Namjoo giggled a bit. "It must be a boys' thing. But I'm pretty sure Jaehwan will tell you if something's troubling him."



After class, the teacher reminded Hyuk that he still has work to do and that he'll be watched. He gave a quick nod and grabbed his bag, striding out of the classrom. Namjoo hurriedly stuffed her things inside her bag and stood up. She walked to approach the teacher, even tripping on a desk, and told her she'll be helping Hyuk with the cleaning duty. She didn't even wait for her response and bowed to her as she walked out of the room to catch up with him.

Namjoo ended up meeting him at the staff room. He was a bit surprised to see her and asked why she kept bothering him. She put her bag down and persistently insisted in helping him clean up the school grounds. It'll cost less time if they work as two, she said with a small grin across her face. The guy replied with a click of his tongue and kept saying he doesn't need her help as he avoided eye contact. She grabbed a broom, rake and trash bags, and said she'll help anyway. She went humming as she skipped ahead and didn't even glanced back at him.


"You're such a pain..." He uttered.


Upon arriving at the school grounds, they immediately started cleaning up and both stayed quiet for awhile. Minutes later, she took a glimpse from a few meters away and expressed remorse as she looked down. She admitted she was mean to him recently and wanted him to know it wasn't intentional. Curious, he looked at her and asked to know why she was apologizing all of a sudden.


"I- I didn't m—" Hyuk suddenly cut her off with a heavy sigh. It was like he knew what she was about to say. He stopped her from talking further and told her to finish cleaning up immediately instead of babbling nonsense because he doesn't want to waste time and get in the way of her studies, and that even he needed to leave sooner to study. There's the exam, after all. Namjoo gave a quick nod and unconsciously uttered sorry once more. He gave a low grunt as he tied the trash bag and dropped it carelessly. "Am I going to hear you say those stupid words everyday? I don't like hearing useless apologies." He spoke, grabbed the trash bag angrily and walked away.

"Finish up, and don't ever help me again." He added, sounding vexed. Na