With a loud groan, Haru slams her hand on the surface of her futon to look for her phone. She was nearly tempted to chuck it against one of the four walls that enclosed her bedroom to stop the alarm.

Opening one eye into a slit, she shuts it off.

With a sigh, her limbs fall limply back down at her sides with her staring up at the ceiling. It may be her imagination but, she really hasn’t been getting the same amount of sleep these days.

***

An alarm echoes through the room and Yongguk gently rolls over to shut it off. With a sigh, he heaves himself up into a sitting position with a small stretch.

Opening his eyes, they fall on the blue uniform hanging on the outside of his closet – ironed to rid of all the wrinkles. Looking at the time, a smile appears on his lips. 

He was certainly excited to see what today held.

***

Leaving her bedroom, Haru heads for the front door with her cellphone up to her ear. 

“Jongup, are there other people besides you?” She enunciates each word in order to be clear as possible. His answer will help her decide how to react to the current situation. That is, decide who she needed to beat up. “You better be honest with me.” She opens her front door and stills at the sight.

“No.” He answers with the phone up to his own ear while staring at her. Dropping his hand, he ends the call before stuffing it into the jacket of his black suit and Haru does the same as she steps out. “Why have you been asking that?”

“Who is that? You said there is no one else but you.” She changes the topic, her curiosity needs to be satisfied first. 

“It’s his first day on the job.” 

“…Why is he here? You’re already annoying enough.”

“Because you’re proving to be a handful.” Jongup retorts before motioning towards the tall young man beside him. “Meet Barom, he’ll be in charge of you when I’m not around.”

So, why isn’t he going to be around? Did it have anything to do with what she did a few days ago? Wait, who cares. “Go home.”

Ignoring her, Jongup continues. “Why have you been asking about Geomi?”

“Technically, I didn’t ask about Geomi. I asked what you were up to.” She knew he would get information from Hana in no time. So, she wasn’t the least offended or surprised.

“Why?”

“I’m interested in your life, Jongup.” She presses her lips into a forced smile and pats his shoulder. She doesn’t even care if it was believable. 

“Do not try anything.”

Ugh. Here he goes again. “I liked you better when you were busy.” Walking past them, she ends the conversation.

“Where are you going?” Jongup stared after her as she hooks the straps of her backpack on.

“None of your business.” 

“Hey!” Jongup’s voice carried across the alleyway though it doesn’t have Haru turn back around. “I’m going to be busy for a while, so Barom will take care of things.”

Must be big trouble if Jongup is skipping out of his mundane babysitting job. 

“Geomi, you are certainly giving me a run for my money.” Haru mumbles under her breath with a sigh. 

***

“Haru, you need to finish all of this! School starts Monday.” 

With a sigh, Haru leans back into her chair while Jieun seems to be more panicked than she was about her own situation. “Who cares. It’s impossible.” 

Jieun gasps and it was so loud it seemed to have disturbed the other patrons of the coffee shop. “How could you say that? Good grades would get you far…with a good education, you can do what you want.”

Unconcerned, Haru looks out of the window. “I’ve seen someone do it without the education part.”

“Haru, come on. I’ll even help you. Didn’t you say Mr. Jung praised you last time?”

The mention brings the thought back to mind. “…Yeah.”

“It felt good, didn’t it?”

“…Yeah.”

“Finishing your break homework would earn you the same reaction.”

Shutting her eyes, Haru groans. She was so torn. But, after a few more convincing words, Jieun gets Haru to get back to work. By the end of the evening, Haru finished her work, something she didn’t know was possible. 

“You did the impossible.” Jieun beamed as she scanned the homework.

“Hey, Jieun.” There was something on her mind. “…You’ve only been hanging out with me. Don’t you have other people to nag.” She joked lightly.

The smile on Jieun’s lips don’t disappear but it lacked its initial luster. “I don’t – well…I don’t have anyone else I’m closer to.”

It takes a minute before her words settle. “But, you’re not me.” It was understandable that no one wanted to approach Haru but Jieun? She couldn’t understand.

“Yeah, ‘I’m teacher’s pet Jieun’.” She uttered her nickname with a chuckle. “I work hard in school, which I thought was commendable but to others, it