I wasn't sure if it had been one of the best or worst days of my life. On one hand I had become one of the most sought after girl in school. On the other hand, Semmi had made herself MIA between classes, obviously avoiding me like I was some eight legged creature. I didn't really have the chance to sniff her out since everyone seemed to not only want to interview me, but also just hang out with me, all Teen Top talk aside. It would have been so much easier to stay grounded if they'd only been interested in me because I'd been on TV, but when the other kids decided I was a good enough companion outside of my five minutes of fame I found myself enjoying their company -- and forgetting about Semmi's.

Even if Semmi hadn't been as upset with me as she was, I knew we still would have needed to smooth things over. She would probably understand where I was coming from if she heard me out, but getting her to do that would be the hard part. I wasn't very confrontational or assertive, but in Semmi's shoes I was the bad guy and I needed to be the one to clear my own name. When I realized how everything must have looked for her, it was clear that I had to play damage control as soon as possible before things got too far out of hand.

Unfortunately, with my sudden popularity at school and evening shift at the store, I wasn't able to corner Semmi on D-Day for our heart-to-heart. I spent the entire bus ride home with my cell phone in my hands, trying to come up with a simple but meaningful text to send to her. I hated the idea of texting her an apology, but since I didn't have a choice I settled with the message, "I'm sorry about all this and want to explain. Can I?"

I went home, changed into casual clothes, and made for the store. When I got there I checked my phone for a response one last time only to be disappointed. Left in limbo without an answer, I put my phone away and reported for duty.

There were a few customers gathered in one of the far aisles, but since I wasn't near them I didn't bother to acknowledge them. I shot straight for the counter, meeting up with my mother. She greeting me by getting right down to business.

"I'm going to hang around a bit," she told me, moving away from the register to give me some room. "I'll be working in the back."

I made a face at her as she stalked away. It was a good thing I'd been scheduled to take over for her if she was going to be such a crab.

Time ticked by and more people came in. I couldn't help but notice a trend. Most of them were girls, and most of those girls were students still in their uniforms. They did more hanging around than shopping, speaking in whispers and giving the door their undivided attention whenever it opened and someone new came in. I tried to give them the benefit of doubt and tell myself there must have been some kind of sports meet or inter-school club activity going on nearby, but I could only handle so much.

Those stupid girls. Did they really think Teen Top would just pop in for a visit? In broad daylight? When they were so obviously loitering in every aisle?

Some of them did realize the pointlessness of their stake-out, at least. Another plus was that they apparently felt obligated to buy something to make up for their behavior before they left. But for every one of those decent fans there was a more delusional one who put their life on hold to stand in a convenience store waiting for their favorite idols to show up. If anything, they would only scare the idols away.

My mother emerged from the back room about an hour into my shift. Her eyes darted to the girls, probably attracted by their chatter, and she kept shooting them glances as she made her way to me.

"Those girls are still here?" she questioned under her breath as soon as she got behind the counter.

"They're different girls," I corrected her. I wasn't even sure if they were all different from the one's I'd seen when I'd come in. Some of them could have been hanging around all day for all I knew.

My mom raised her eyebrows at me. "More? What's going on?"

I only shrugged, keeping my head down. I'd taken one of the crossword puzzle books that we sold at the counter and started working on it. I wasn't a fan of mind games, but it was something to do. I considered it promotion since someone might see how much "fun" I was having and decide to get one for themself.

My mother sighed, and I felt her leave my side. I stole a peak and saw her stalking up to one of the groups of girls but looked back down before she got to them, pretending I couldn't hear a thing.

"Can I help you ladies find something?" my mother asked. The girls hushed in tandem.

"Uh, no, thank you," one responded after a beat. "We're just looking."

I held in a snort.

"If you need any help, make sure to ask. You don't need to be wandering around all night, do you?"

My mom's tone was pseudo pleasant and jesting. I wondered if the girls could read through it as easily as me.

My mom made her way back to me. I waited until she was up to the counter before giving her my attention. She motioned for her coat hanging up behind me so I turned around to grab it. I handed it over and picked up her bag while she was putting the jacket on, placing it on the counter for her. She took her time adjusting the coat, and something in her features gave away that she was still hung up on the girls behind her.

"Ask them to leave if they stay for too much longer," she muttered to me when she came a little closer and pretended to look through her bag."Call if anything happens. This is a family store, not a shopping mall. All this ruckus is suspicious."

I arranged my expression into a deadpan since that was less rude than rolling my eyes. Had she really just used the word 'ruckus'? She wasn't that old.

"Okay, Mom."

"Be careful," she told me. I came dangerously close to scoffing. "I'll see you later."

My mother made her way to and out the door. All eyes seemed to follow her as she went. When she was gone, I looked to the girls she had spoken to out of instinct and gave them an awkward half smile. They seemed to take that as a go-ahead that negated everything my mom had said and reformed their tight, giggly groups.

My smile dropped. It was going to be an even longer night than usual.

Despite spending no less than two hours formulating at least seven different methods on how to approach my would-be customers and ask them to either finish their business or take it elsewhere, I never stepped out from behind the counter -- or even uttered a single word. I just let the girls do whatever they wanted in my store because I was too afraid to take a stand.

My "guests" hadn't bothered me massively in the beginning, but as time wore on I caught the foul mood my mother had left behind. Didn't those girls have lives? Weren't there better things to do than stand in a convenience store? Didn't their parents care about where they were and what they were doing?

Apparently those questions could have been answered with "yes" when it came to about half of the remaining Angels. They drifted off periodically, some making a purchase for the trouble, others only sending me a departing gesture, and a few retreating without giving me a single look. By the time the night wore out and it was time to close, only about six girls were left. (It was still six too many, if you asked me.)

Since it was closing time, I couldn't avoid asking them to leave. Even though I didn't exactly have an air of authority the girls complied without a fight. To my surprise, they didn't even seem all that disappointed that their dedication hadn't paid off; they'd even thanked me for what I could only assume was my cooperation. Somehow, once they were all gone and I was left alone in the store, the air was more breathable but simultaneously dead.

It wasn't until I was walking home that I realized no one from Teen Top had paid a visit. It wasn't like they came by every night anyway, but could all of those fangirls have had something to do with them not showing up? I'd said it myself, that they would only scare idols away. Had Teen Top seen them or predicted that they'd be there? Had my streak finally ended?

Was I ever going to see Teen Top again?

I'd been so hung up on Teen Top that it wasn't until the next morning that I remembered I'd been waiting for Semmi's response to my text. It turned out I hadn't had any reason to wait anyway, because she hadn't bothered to respond.

Needless to say, I exactly didn't skip to school.

On the bus I was hoping to stare out the window and contemplate the meaning of my life. I was granted about three seconds of peace before it was punctured.

Ju Il sat down next to me when he boarded the bus. To his credit, he waited until the bus was moving in full swing before opening his mouth. "I watched that program you were on with that boy band you like."

I didn't feel all that bad about turning to Ju Il with the face of a zombie. He didn't seem to mind -- he sent me the same expression right back.

"Oh?" I said it just to break the tension and get things moving. The single word served its purpose. Ju Il nodded and slouched more than he already was.

"Your face was blurred out but I guess it was pretty easy for people who know you to tell it was you," he said off-handedly. His eyes were on his backpack the entire time. "You get really star-struck, don't you?"

I scowled and turned back around to the window. "Seems like it."

We didn't talk for the rest of the ride. When we got to school, Ju Il went off on his own somewhere while I went straight to the classroom.

Semmi wasn't in class yet when I arrived, so I tried to go to my seat and settle down. I was intercepted by Hye-Jin and her crew trying to rope me into their conversation. I was sort of stumped by it but didn't really have the energy to entertain them. I was vaguely aware of telling them how tired I was, which they laughed off and accepted as a valid excuse. Apparently I agreed to eat lunch with them somewhere in the exchange, but that fact still hadn't fully hit me even when I made it to my seat.

Ju Il came in with a few minutes to spare, but Semmi was one of the last to arrive, just before the bell. I tried to make eye contact with her, but she ignored my telepathic beams.

I had no choice but to sit back and wait.

I didn't know how I was supposed to approach Semmi, so I procrastinated. I probably shouldn't have been afraid to talk to my best friend about anything, but I was.

At the end of the day I took my time packing up, not really in a rush to get anywhere. At one point I scanned the room and noticed Semmi was one of the few left behind, too. I decided then that it was time to make my move.

I took baby steps towards Semmi's desk and hovered off to the side of it, waiting for her to notice me. She stiffened up when she did and her movements slowed down for a second until she straightened up, meeting me head on.

My hands were wringing the straps of my book bag. "Did you get my text last night?"

Semmi didn't react right away, making my stomach swoop. Was she really that angry with me? Did she really have the right to be that angry with me?

Semmi averted her eyes and lowered her head. "Yeah."

I took her body language as a sign of submission or guilt or something that wasn't direct animosity towards me. It made me brave enough to ask, "Well, will you hear me out?"

Semmi finished loading her bag, taking excruciating care in making sure all of her zippers were closed and buckles buckled. When there was nothing left to do she bit her lip and faced me again.

"Sure," she said, shouldering her bag. "Are you busy now?"

I shook my head.

"Let's go to my place."