A strange phenomenon had been occurring lately.

"Morning, Yeona. Morning Jaeni." Lu Han slid to the seat next to me on Tuesday morning.

I swallowed. "H-hi," I greeted back without glancing up from the deer I was doodling at the edge of my notebook. How could I stumble over that measly two-letter word? Well, that was the strange phenomenon I had mentioned.

"Are you mad at me?" Lu Han asked and I could feel his gaze on me. "You didn't really reply since that day. Sorry if I had inconvenienced you too much."

"No," I blurted out as my head jerked in his direction. And when my eyes met his, a jolt of panic hit me and I returned my attention to my doodle. "I mean I'm not mad at you. I was just busy," I said to my notebook.

"Really? Because you seem like you're avoiding me." 

I shook my head again, my eyes deliberately away from his direction, just as the school bell rang. Thank goodness.

As the classes for the day went on, I snuck glances at Lu Han. The truth was, I was kind-of avoiding him. Ever since that day when he lent me his shirt and I met his mom, every time I would meet his eyes and hear his voice, I would get nervous and embarrassed. I couldn't even remember what we talked about the rest of that day because I was so distracted. What I did remember was when his mom came to let us know that the coast was clear, I got up and practically ran out of their house (after thanking and saying goodbye to his mom, of course, er, but not to him).

I didn't know what was wrong with me. Something happened that day, because all of a sudden, I was a stammering idiot.

The school bell rang and Lu Han blocked my way instantly.

"What?" To my relief, I didn't stammer, but the word didn't sound like a snap either which was how I had meant to say it.

Lu Han heaved a sigh and just looked at me, his eyes pleading for some sort of answers even though it was me who asked a question. Two seconds in and that was it, I had to run out then, no matter what.

"Noona?" "Unnie?" 

I vaguely heard the twins on my way out, but I ignored them. I had managed to avoid their question yesterday about why I didn't join them for lunch, but for sure, they would pester me about it today. That's why I needed to know the answer myself. Why was I so nervous around Lu Han? More importantly, why was I running away from him?

Like yesterday, I headed to the big tree behind the gym to eat my sandwich. I liked the quietness of the area and the big roots beneath the tree. Maybe I would have better luck today than yesterday. 

I was just taking a bite out of my sandwich when I saw Jaeni walking into view.

"Found you," she said with a beam and proceeded to sit on the tree root beside me.

I raised a curious brow. "You were looking for me?" 

"Not intentionally." Jaeni opened her lunchbox, revealing a traditional bento. Yum.

I took another bite out of my sandwich and focused on what Jaeni said. "How do you look for someone unintentionally?"

She laughed. "My two lunch buddies aren't at school today and I just didn't feel like eating at the cafeteria alone. Then I remembered you running away from Lu Han and your siblings so I figured loneliness loves company?"

I snorted. "I think that was misery. So you just magically knew where to find me?"

She gave me a funny look as if that was a dumb question. "Of course I asked around and, voila! I found you." She gave me a sheepish smile. "So maybe it wasn't really unintentional."

Who could she have possibly asked around? I barely remembered our other classmates so who else could have known me?

I finished my sandwich and waited for her to go on. 

"So?" she asked.

I frowned. "So what?"

"What's bothering you?"

I blinked at her. I wasn't expecting that. 

She shrugged and picked up a small slice of fish from her bento. "I mean you always ate with your siblings, and then plus Lu Han when you started the pet-setting thing. Something must be bothering you if you're suddenly avoiding them."

Wow, I didn't know Jaeni was observing me.

"So what happened? I didn't hear any Lunar Sages event cancellation so I'm curious."

I threw her a curious look. "You think this is about Lunar Sages?"

She squinted at me and thought about it. "From what little I know about you, I can't imagine you caring about anything else other than LS."

Her words were like a splash of water to my face. She was right. Since when did I start to care about things outside of Lunar Sages? Since when did I start to fret over how I acted around Lu Han? Those questions alone started to become answers.

I bit my lips, contemplating whether I shou