“a2 + b2 = c2,” Sowon mutter to herself with disinterest as she read her notes for trigonometry.

She was at her university’s library, cramming for her midterm that was in less than two hours. Even though Yuju helped her study a bit last Friday, all the things she learned went down the drain when SinB told them her longheld secret. That revelation turned Sowon’s world upside down. It was as if years of friendship and trust suddenly meant nothing.

Part of her understood why SinB neglected telling them about running away from home. Sowon has never met SinB’s parents, but she could tell that SinB didn't have the best relationship with them. But, she never let that bother her for too long. After sulking in silence, SinB would return back to her fun, dorky self that Sowon came to love as a best friend.

Though Sowon and Yuju expected to not see SinB at Destiny Dance Studio when they attended on Monday, a tinge of worry overcame Sowon’s thoughts when SinB failed to show up on Tuesday. Yuju, who still had ill-feelings towards the younger girl, told Sowon that she shouldn’t forgive SinB so easily. Still, it was a troublesome hunch that was difficult to get out of her mind.

Knowing that she should focus more on studying, Sowon gave her head a quick shake to clear her thoughts and continued to read back the formulas. “Sine alpha times cosine beta plus cosine alpha times SinB... Wait, what?!” Sowon loudly said in disbelief in the quiet library, causing several heads to look up at her direction. “Mianhae,” Sowon whispered in embarrassment. She rubbed her eyes, blinking a couple times and looked back at the trigonometric identity: sin(α + β) = sin(α)cos(β) + cos(α)sin(β). “Sine beta,” Sowon silently said to herself, realizing her error. Mentally exhausted, she abruptly sat back in her chair and exhaled an irritated breath before forcing herself to concentrate again.

“Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” a sweet, aegyo-filled voice asked Sowon.

“No, go right ahead,” Sowon replied with her eyes still glued to her notes as she shifted her belongings to clear up some space for the other girl. Typically, Sowon would throw a polite, reassuring smile at the person and continue on with her business. But, when she looked up and saw the girl’s cute, bob-cut hair and innocent yet dangerous eyes, Sowon froze as she stared at the girl in awe.

“Kamsahamnida,” the girl cheerfully thanked Sowon as she sat in the chair next to her. “I’m not really comfortable in places where the sun is directly shining.” She gestured to how the study space Sowon occupied was at a dim corner instead in front of the bright, large windows.

“Well, you picked the right place,” Sowon said with some nervousness in her tone, but made sure to put on a friendly smile. Fearing that she might make a fool of herself in front of the dazzling girl, Sowon returned back to her nonsensical notes.

“Are you studying for Professor Cho’s trigonometry midterm?” the girl spoke up in curiosity, her delicate voice still prevalent.

Surprised that the girl wanted to conversate with her, Sowon decided to answer back. “Yes, I am. Are you in his class? Did you take the test already?” Sowon asked in hopes that the girl could give her some clues, or maybe even some answers, to the questions on the test that counts for one-third of her grade.

“I took his class last semester,” the dainty girl replied. “As I recall, the midterm isn't as bad as you think it is. The majority is just remembering formulas and knowing how to use them.”

Sowon slowly nodded her head. “That's good. Sounds easy enough. Except, the test is in in less than an hour and a half, and I cannot recall one single identity,” Sowon frantically admitted.

The girl gave Sowon an amused, closed-mouth smile. “If my memory serves me correct, I passed the exam with flying colors. Since I don't have anything too important to do as of now, do you want me to give you a quick tutor session?” she kindly asked.

“That would be perfect,” Sowon released a breath of relief. “Kamsahamnida…um. Forgive me, what is your name?”

“Jung Eunha-imnida,” Eunha sweetly replied, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear before bowing her head in formality. “And, your name?”

“Kim Sojung-imnida, but friends call me Sowon,” Sowon responded, returning the bow.  

“May I call you Sowon, Sojung-ssi?” Eunha asked innocently, her eyes full and gentle.

“Sure,” Sowon eagerly answered, before adjusting her composure. “I make friends pretty easily,” she confidently attested with a cool smile.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us for lunch, Yuju-yah?” Wheein, another trainee at JGM Entertainment and a close pal of Yuju, asked the girl who was tuning an acoustic guitar. They, along with several other trainees, were just finished with vocal practice.

“No, thank you, Wheein-unnie,” Yuju politely declined the older girl’s offer. “My health advisor says that I should cut off from eating flour-based foods. I’m just going to hang out here for a little while and brush up on my guitar skills.”

“Aish, that health advisor should check their records again. There is no reason for you to be dieting when you’re perfectly healthy,” Wheein told Yuju in annoyance. “Well, see you later, then. Fighting!” With that one declaration of support, Wheein exited out of the practice room.

All by her lonesome, Yuju sat herself in a chair as she strummed a random tune. To keep her emotions at bay after the situation with SinB three days ago, Yuju has found herself spending more time training. The rigorous schedule comprised of dancing, singing, exercising, among other skill sets that any good K-pop idol has to develop helped give her a much needed sense of clarity.

Finding out that her best friend since elementary school became a part of some messed up scheme which resulted in a fellow dancer wanting to take their own life was too much for Yuju to deal with. She was displeased with SinB and thinking about her made Yuju feel uneasy, mad even.

Plucking the strings on the guitar, Yuju gave the instrument one quick strum before settling on a song to play.

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

'Til you put me down, oh

I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been

Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

Another strum of a chord and Yuju ended the song. She breathed heavily as a result of the unexpected adrenaline she gained during her impromptu performance.

All of a sudden, the sound of hands clapping reverberated in the hollow room. Startled, Yuju turned her head towards the door and saw an adorable, pint-sized girl standing motionlessly, clapping at a slow rhythm.

“Your performance was amazing,” the girl complemented Yuju with a shy smile.

“Kamsahamnida,” Yuju responded sounding slightly flustered. “I'm sorry. I didn't know I had an audience.” She proceeded to lift the guitar strap off her shoulder, returning the instrument back to its stand.

“I should be the one to apologize for disturbing your practice session,” the girl timidly protested.

“No, it's fine,” Yuju smiled with reassurance. “I was just messing around with a song that's been on my mind.” Walking closer, she decided to introduce herself to the cute stranger. “Choi Yuna-imnida, but I go by Yuju,” she said with a respectful bow and a smile that could melt hearts. “Are you a new trainee? I don't think I've seen you around.”

The girl’s eyes went wide. Yuju wasn't sure, but she swore a hue of pink brightened the girl’s cheeks.

Blinking back to reality, the girl cleared . “Kim Umji-imnida,” she said with an awkward bow. “I'm not a trainee. I'm the CEO’s niece, actually...from America. I'm visiting from America.” Though Umji rehearsed her made up story hundreds of times in her head, for some reason she was having difficulty with reciting it. “H-he asked me if I wanted a tour of the building, but I said that I was fine exploring on my own. I heard you playing, so I decided to check out the future talent of JGM Entertainment with my own two eyes.” After that slight stumble of her words, Umji hoped that Yuju actually believed her.

“You're visiting from America? That's so cool,” Yuju responded in admiration. “I've been trying to improve my English by singing American pop songs. Was my pronunciation okay?” Her eyes lit up, waiting for Umji’s response.

“It may be even better than mine,” Umji joked, earning a giggle from Yuju. “But, your voice is incredible.” There was much sincerity in her tone.

“You really think so?” Yuju quietly replied, taking a couple steps closer to the docile girl. “Perhaps, you can put a good word for me with your uncle,” she whispered to Umji. “I'm kidding. Don't do that,” Yuju laughed to herself as she lightly tapped Umji’s arm to create a relaxed atmosphere. “But, kamsahamnida, Umji-ssi. It means a lot to me.”

“Are you not confident in your abilities?” Umji asked in a childlike manner.

“It's not that I don't have confidence. It's just that in this industry, you never know,” Yuju admitted. She grabbed two chairs from the other side of the room and brought them closer to where Umji was. They both exchanged polite smiles as each took a seat. “Recently, a friend, or more like an ex-friend of mine, revealed that she was doing something that I never thought she would ever do. It made me a bit paranoid, I guess. In a similar manner as my broken friendship with this girl that I've known for most of my life, what if all that time and effort I put into training ends up being useless?” She dropped her gaze to the floor.

Yuju wasn't entirely sure why she decided to tell Umji, a complete stranger, about her insecurities. Perhaps, it was because she kept it locked inside from her fellow trainees, not wanting to mix business with her personal life. She glanced back at the girl, sitting attentively.

“Forgive me if this sounds too harsh,” Umji quietly spoke up, treading on her words, “but if this friend of yours died today, would you have any regrets?”

Yuju was shocked by such a morbid question coming out from the girl who looked much too innocent to be saying such things. Still, Yuju let the question settle in her brain.

“I'm only asking this because of the utmost regret I had when my parents died,” Umji solemnly explained. She heard Yuju gasp, but before the older girl could say anything, Umji resumed. “My parents and I had an argument. They tried to be reasonable, but I was too stubborn. The next thing I knew, they got into an accident. I never got the chance to say how sorry I was. How much I loved them.” She looked up at the ceiling, blinking away tears. “If this friend still means a lot to you, don't let your pride get in the way. Life is far too unpredictable.”

Yuju didn't know what to say. But, she did know that Umji was right. Sowon was able to forgive SinB, so why couldn't she? Yuju nodded her head as a small, appreciative smile formed on her face towards the cute, yet wise girl. Umji returned a shy smile of her own as they sat in silence.

Quack. Quack.

The two of them erupted in laughter at the sudden sound of a duck quacking, pulling them out of their serious reverie.

“Mianhae. That's my ringtone for text messages. A friend of mine picked it as a joke. I must have forgot to put my phone on silent,” Yuju said sheepishly between fits of giggles. “Just give me a second.” She stood up from the chair and went to the other end of the room where her workout bag and phone was located. On her phone, a text from Sowon was displayed: “I think an angel descended from heaven to tutor me for my trig midterm *o*.”

Quirking an eyebrow in amusement, Yuju shook her head and decided to text Sowon back later. Right now, Yuju was interested in getting to know more about the intriguing, though quite peculiar girl who was waiting for her.

With her back still turned, Yuju called out to the Umji as she fixed her things, “Hey, if you're not busy, maybe we can go out and grab a bite to eat. I know this place that serves ddeokbokki not too far…,” Yuju turned her head to look back at Umji, but noticed that the girl was no longer sitting in her chair. In fact, she was no longer in the room. “Umji-ssi?”

The practice room didn't contain any nooks or crannies to hide in, so Yuju doubted that the girl was playing a trick. Jogging to the door, she opened it and peered out the hallway which remained completely empty. No sign of the adorable girl who made her realize that life was too short and fickle to constantly be mad at those you really care about. Yuju closed the door and stared at the chair that once occupied Umji.

The way Umji just left without a sound made a tingle crawl up her spine. Yuju hoped that she really wasn't going paranoid.

Sowon was pressing buttons on her scientific calculator, her forehead crinkled with determination. For the first thirty minutes, Eunha helped refresh Sowon’s memory of the material. The remainder of the time, she made Sowon solve a couple practice problems.

There were times where Sowon had a difficult time paying attention to what Eunha was teaching. She found herself staring solely at the girl’s pouty lips, the mathematical jargon going in one ear and out the other. Sowon wasn't the type to instantly develop a crush on a person, but she felt quite drawn to Eunha.

“Is it...3π?” Sowon asked hesitantly. She already did six of these problems, this being her seventh one. She got half of them incorrect, so far, but Eunha was gracious enough to assist her in figuring out her mistakes. Sowon pursed her lips in anticipation.

“Correct,” Eunha announced, giving her a congratulatory smile. Sowon exhaled a breath of relief as she ran a hand through her silky hair. Though Eunha has kept her heart locked on Yerin for many, many years, she was surprised at how comfortable she felt in Sowon’s presence. The tall girl was refreshingly charming and sincere. When Sowon tried to discreetly send a text message to whom she could assume was Yuju, Eunha couldn’t help but use her mind reading powers to pry. She was flattered when Sowon described her as an angel. Eunha smirked to herself as she thought how extremely far off the girl was in characterizing her.

“We achieved the impossible, Eunha-ssi. I may actually stand a chance of getting a decent grade,” Sowon mused, a gigantic grin formed on her face. “Kamsahamnida,” she thanked Eunha as she began to pack up her things. In less than fifteen minutes, she would be in her lecture hall taking the midterm. At least, now, Sowon was much more prepared in properly solving an equation.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Eunha coolly replied, her feline eyes blatantly staring at Sowon. “It’s nice to see a capable, young lady find her sense of knowledge in a subject that’s not her expertise.”

“Right,” Sowon simply responded, surprised at the girl’s sudden change in tone. Her voice was still sweet, but there was a certain elegant pizazz to it. Still, Sowon didn't think much of it. “I don’t typically have a difficult time learning things, well except for math. It’s just that this week has been particularly stressful for me,” Sowon felt strangely compelled to talk to Eunha about her personal situation regarding SinB. She reasoned that if Eunha could effortlessly help her with something as complex as trigonometry, maybe she was also a wizard in the intricacies of life. It was a far stretch to assume, but Sowon did not mind taking that chance.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Eunha gently asked, eyes filled with empathy.

“Honestly, yes,” Sowon shyly admitted. She glanced at Eunha who nodded her head as if to say "go on," giving Sowon the opportunity to explain. “Someone who I regarded as one of my best friends revealed to me and another friend of mine that she got caught up in something...bad. Very, very bad. I was shocked and angry and disgusted. A few days have passed and I’m actually worried about her, now. I’m the oldest in our group, and I can’t help but feel that I have an obligation. For the past three months, my friend has been doing this thing in secrecy and I never even had any suspicions. It’s just frustrating when you know a person for a long period of time, and they’re still so reluctant in telling you certain things. It makes me wonder if I’m being a good friend or not.”

“It sounds like you’re being a good friend,” Eunha spoke up, her voice gentle. “You can’t force someone to admit to something that they don’t want to admit. If you’re worried about your friend despite of the ‘very bad’ things that they’ve done, then there’s no harm in reaching out to them, showing them that you still care.”

Eunha internally cringed at her own nurturing words. She was never that great with comforting others. Yerin was always the one who was able to sympathize with clients. In fact, Yerin never really let others, even Eunha, worry about her. Was SinB similar in that aspect, too? Always thinking about others, but never allowing the people she cared about to show their own concern towards her?

“Your friend, though, reminds me of a dear friend of mine,” Eunha continued. “Self-righteous. Dismissing her own pain and problems if another person displayed dilemmas of their own. I also wondered if I was doing something wrong. But, then I realized that no one’s at fault. It could be aggravating, but that’s what friendship is sometimes; a cycle of aggravation that soon makes your bond more meaningful when the both of you overcome it.”

“Wow,” Sowon said, impressed, “it’s like you have the answer to everything. Quick. What’s the meaning of life?” She joked, not expecting a serious reply.

“Life should always be enjoyed...even when you have a trigonometry midterm in less than five minutes,” Eunha casually informed Sowon.

“What?” Sowon checked the time on her phone and saw that Eunha was right, yet again. She quickly stood up, swinging her backpack on her shoulder. “I have to go. Maybe we could exchange numbers? In case I need tutoring.” She held up the paper filled with worked out solutions to the practice equations.

“Believe it or not, I already did. They’re the numerical answers to the practice problems I gave you,” Eunha smugly replied.

“Well, that’s clever,” Sowon looked at the paper in astonishment, before snapping back to reality. Walking backwards, she kept her attention on Eunha. “Hopefully, we can see each other on campus. Kamsahamnida, again.” She clumsily bowed, trying to avoid any obstacles.

“Call me when you get an A,” Eunha said, throwing her a stern look which caused the taller girl to frown. “Or at least, a high C.” She playfully smiled.

“That, I’m willing to guarantee,” Sowon responded in relief before jetting out of the library and running to her class.

Author’s Note: Yep! I’m incorporating the Sowon and Eunha pairing into the fic. As for Yuju and Umji, I’m not sure if I want them romantically involved. We’ll see. But, expect more SinRin moments in the next chapter!