Jinyoung honestly couldn't say that she was broken up when she learned that the Man Upstairs had a girlfriend. After all, she hadn't decided to like him yet. But she was disappointed. Her fantasy of the Man Upstairs had completely shattered and what was left was the Man Name Sungyeol, whom she truly knew nothing about.

She looked down at the puppy at her feet. I probably know more about you than him now . Which was most likely true. Thanks to Sungyeol’s detailed instructions, Jinyoung knew when and what Aga ate, what her favorite toys were, and that she couldn't do as long of walks as Jinyoung liked to take. Jinyoung learned the last one on her own. Aga was laying down in the middle of the street just after 10 minutes of walking. Jinyoung sighed as she picked the puppy up and cradled her in her arms as she continued down the street. She’d started this walk with a destination in mind and she was set on going, whether she'd have to carry her companion the rest of the way or not. And within the next few minutes, she reached the shop. “You couldn't even last this long, could you?” Jinyoung teased the little puppy in her arms. She then poked her head through the shop door. “Is it okay if I bring a dog in here?”

The worker looked over at the door and smiled. “A puppy that cute, yes! Come on in!”

And Jinyoung was glad to hear it. She didn't think she'd have the gumption to make this trip a second time. It was a music store, an older one that seemed to be stuck in a time warp. It'd be a gamble if it was in here, such an old album with probably only a few copies made. Jinyoung didn't even know where to look.

“Is there something in particular that you’re looking for?” the worker asked when Jinyoung had been just wavering at the front of the store.

“Yes,” Jinyoung answered but she was a bit sheepish to admit what she was looking for. How else will I know it's here? “Do you happen to have any...Heartthrob albums?”

“Heartthrob?” the worker repeated. “I've never heard of them,” she muttered under her breath and scanned the store, wondering herself where the age-old Idol band would be.

Jinyoung smirked. If she couldn't recall Heartthrob, there was no way that this young worker had ever heard of them. “They’re an old idol band. They've disbanded years and years ago. I don't know if you even have them.”

“We might in the back room. Let me check the inventory,” the worker offered and disappeared behind the desk.

While the worker searched, there was nothing for Jinyoung to do but wait and browse the shop, and to carry Aga around because the puppy would rather sleep in her arms than to explore the store. What will I do if they don't have it? Jinyoung sighed. She probably could find one online, second hand. But the fan girl still living deep, deep inside of her wanted a brand new album. There was nothing as satisfying as ripping the plastic off of a new album, opening  a new era of a beloved band. She didn't want anyone to take that from her.

“Did you want a particular album or all four of them?” the worker asked.

“You have them?!” Jinyoung couldn't believe her luck.

“Yes!” the worker responded just as excitedly. “It seems like we have some posters too. Would you…”

“Yes!” Jinyoung cut her off with a broad smile. “Please bring them all out!”

Jinyoung left the store with four new albums and two posters. It was hard to carry all of them and Aga in her arms, but she did it happily, with a spring in her step. She felt years younger again. And after dropping Aga off at her home, still fast asleep, Jinyoung snuck downstairs and dusted off her old CD player. If she was going to listen to old albums, she might as well do it the old-fashioned way, like she used to do in high school. Delicately she took the plastic off from the album and took out the disc, placing it in the player. And while the album’s intro was playing, Jinyoung thumbed through the photo booklet that came with it. It was rather small, as it was their first album and they were from a small company. But it brought Jinyoung great joy as she flipped through it. Her laughter drowned out the music blaring through her apartment. Heartthrob’s first concept just seemed to be “boy band,” and they were dressed in whatever their stylist thought was cool or edgy. And the boys posed in ways that suited their clothes, trying to be cool. Jinyoung had to put the booklet down when she came across Sunggyu’s solo photo. Why was he hunched over like that? And that shaved hair! It renewed her giggles all over again. And while that new fit was dying down, Jinyoung picked up the booklet again and scrutinized the photo once more. She sighed and closed the booklet. Jinyoung had to give Sunggyu some credit. It didn’t feel like her colleague in that photo. The face was his, but his aura had altered. This isn’t the Snuggly that I know . No, he was Heartthrob’s main vocal.

Jinyoung walked over to her posters and unfurled one. The music shop actually had quite a few of them. Jinyoung was tempted to bring them all home, especially since the worker offered them to her for free because the posters were doing nothing but cluttering up the backroom. No, Jinyoung would let some other fan rescue those. But she took home two. One was a group photo from their third album. This time, the group finally had a concept, a cute one. They just looked so cheerful and happy that Jinyoung felt happier just by looking at it. She was going to put it up on the wall of her bedroom so that she can start the day with a smile on her face. However, the poster in her hands now wasn’t that one. This poster, it would probably collect dust in her own closet instead of the store’s, but she wanted to take it home, rescue it from that place. It was of just Sunggyu for his last album. I wonder if he knew, Jinyoung caught herself thinking. The man in this poster was closer to the one that she knew, but, he looked sad. He wasn’t frowning or anything, but a cloud of sadness seemed to envelope him. I bet he knew , Jinyoung concluded as she rolled the poster back up. After all, he wasn’t just the main vocal of Heartthrob but the leader too. There was no way that the Sunggyu she knew hadn’t caught a whiff of disbandment in the air. Along with the sadness, there were airs of desperation.

Jinyoung put that poster down and unrolled the other one, walking towards the bedroom as she did so. It cheered her up to see those smiling faces. And after tacking it up on the wall, Jinyoung smacked Sunggyu’s face in it. “You! You probably never thought that you’d see my bedroom, did you?” she joked. She smacked it again because it was fun. “And I was right about Jiyeon! I told you so! I...told...you!” Jinyoung smirked as she brought her hand back down. Yea, this was a good idea. She then walked out of the room, only to run back it and hit the poster again before she went back to Aga.

The rest of the weekend past much like that. When she wasn’t taking care of Aga, Jinyoung was cleaning in her apartment while listening to the albums on repeat. Occasionally, she’d stop by the Hyuns. And she’d go out to dinner with Yewon, which was starting to be a daily thing. Nights were hard for her friend, and Jinyoung made it easier for her, just with her presence alone. Yewon hadn’t had nightmares for days. Overall, the weekend was pleasant, and then it was over. Jinyoung had to go back to school.

And if her second class was indicative of anything, it was going to be a challenging week. Her students’ attention slipped through her fingers, like smoke. There was no way for her to gather it. It was that time of year when everyone fell into a slump, when everything felt monotonous, when no one could afford to care. And one particular student slipped down into that slump much further than the others. His head was on the desk, long arms draped over the edges. He was not only deep in the slump but also in sleep. And no matter how much Jinyoung raised her voice, or how excitedly she’d talk, the boy did not stir. Daeyeol, Jinyoung recalled his name the day after their first meeting for the sets. Daeyeol was the student who sat by himself in the theater, the one who looked out of place. But in spite of his appearance, Daeyeol kept coming back for every meeting and was becoming one of the more active members. He was still quiet and sullen, but he’d help Jinyoung gather materials and do other tasks, like cleaning paint brushes. And today, when she was planning on cleaning the prop closet with the students, she was sure that Daeyeol would be just as helpful as he normally was.

And so she was confused as to why Daeyeol was sleeping now. It didn’t seem like him. And all of the rest of her students were confused that Jinyoung just let him sleep and never tried to wake him up. It looks like he needs it, she reasoned and tried to distract her students from their slumbering classmate in the corner and onto the chalkboard, where she was poorly drawing a map of Korea.

“Is that a dog?” Jaesuk asked.

“No!” Jinyoung objected and then tried to quickly draw Aga on the board. “That is a dog,” she declared, tapping on her wiggly drawn ‘Aga’ with a piece of chalk. She then pointed at her map. “This is our country.”

“They look the same,” Youngtaek argued.

“No, they...okay, they do just a bit,” Jinyoung finally gave in. “Good thing that I’m not your art teacher, huh?” A few students sniggered at that remark. Then the bell rang, signalling the end of class. “Thank god,” slipped through Jinyoung’s lips without knowing it. More of her students laughed at that, so she playfully told them, “Everyone, get out.” And they did, including Daeyeol. Jinyoung’s voice had passed right through him, but the bell got him up and out of his seat. As he passed by her, he mumbled out an apology, rubbing his tired eyes, and told her that he’d see her after school. Jinyoung nodded and let him go. “I wish I could just sleep through class,” she remarked once she was alone and yawned. “These students don’t know how lucky they are.”

Her feeling had been correct: it was a challenging week in many ways. Neither she or her students ever surmounted over the slump. Daeyeol kept turning her class into nap time. The nights were long too. It took her and the students days to clean out the closet, and they pulled out the things that they could use for the musical. And several times, Jinyoung had to pull the portrait of Chilgoo back into the closet because students kept taking it out. “I thought you didn’t want the sets to look cheesy,” Jinyoung reminded Jiae as she and Sujeong were dragging the portrait back out.

“But...look at it!” Jiae lamely argued.

“If we don’t use it, can I keep it?” Sujeong asked with such a deadpan expression that Jinyoung couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.

And while Jinyoung was figuring that out, Daeyeol walked up to the two girls and pulled the portrait out of their hands. “Just put it back,” he muttered as he dragged it back inside.

Jiae pouted. “Daeyeol ruins all of the fun,” she grumbled and then followed the boy back into the closet. Jinyoung was happy that the comment wasn’t directed towards her because she was tired of saying ‘no’ to the students and was on the brink of giving in.

Maybe I should just give the blasted thing to Sujeong and be done with it.

But Chilgoo stayed in the closet, and the closet itself was organized and had room to move around. And just in time too because Jinyoung was sick of it.

And by the end of the week, Jinyoung was growing tired of one more thing. There was this heavy feeling, settling on her chest. She wanted to talk about it with someone, someone who wasn’t Yewon. But I promised , she reminded herself when she found herself opening to Hyunae, about to tell her everything. Then she’d close it and tell Hyunae that it was nothing.

And as much as Jinyoung loved having Yewon back in her life, being with her was trying at times. Jinyoung loved having dinner with her. It was always full of good conversation. But the nights and early mornings were filled with phone calls, from a friend too afraid to fall asleep lest she be haunted by those nightmares again. Jinyoung wanted to help, but maybe the burden of this whole situation was too much for both of them to carrying.

But she couldn’t talk about it with anyone except Yewon. And Jinyoung felt stifled.

She needed a distraction. And so when her students finished sketching the backdrop for the bar, Jinyoung called it a day. With the free time she had, Jinyoung walked around the hallways, looking for something to stick her nose into, and she found it. In a dance practice room, Jinyoung saw the musical’s cast learning their new dance moves, with Dongwoo in the front leading them. Oh this is interesting. A smirk spread across her face, and Jinyoung cracked open the door and slipped inside the practice room.

There was a bench along the side of the room, and Jinyoung settled herself on it. If anyone questioned why she was there, she’d lie and say she needed inspiration for the sets. Or was that really a lie? She wanted to inspire a smile back onto her face. And this was surely doing the trick. Dongwoo was teaching the boys how to swivel their hips around and then showed the girls how to shimmy. What is this? Jinyoung was biting her lips, keeping the laughter inside.

“What are you doing here?”

Jinyoung let lips free from her teeth and pulled a tight smile across her face, flashing it to the man on the other side of the bench. Of course he’d be here too. “I finished early, and I wanted to see what was going on on your end,” it wasn’t the white lie that she had planned on telling, but what was the point of lying to Sunggyu. He was well aware of how curious she was.

Sunggyu slid down closer to her so that he could lean over and whisper, “It is quite a spectacle, isn't it?” He pulled away and Jinyoung could see him grimacing.

She finally let out the giggle that she’d been holding in. “Is this really the choreography?” she asked. The entire cast was now swinging their arms back and forth as they grape-vined across the room.

“No, I think that they're just warming up,” Sunggyu guessed as he crossed his arms over his chest. He brought up a finger to scratch his forehead. “I hope that they're just warming up,” he mumbled lowly with a short laugh.

“In any case,” Jinyoung began, changing the topic because he was starting to look very concerned. “I'm glad we’re doing this musical. Everyone wants to be a part of it. Like Dongwoo,” she gestured over to the man now leaping across the room and the students struggling to follow him. Jinyoung quickly moved on when she saw Sunggyu shaking his head out of the corner of her eye: “And the plot is fun. Cute. Sort of like a drama with all of the love lines darting around. Everyone will enjoy it.” She then twisted in her seat, turning towards the other. “Who chose this musical?”

“I did,” Sunggyu replied with a cocky grin.

“Really? Why?” Jinyoung blubbered in disbelief.  She furrowed her brows as she studied him, looking for any hint of an Elvis-fan in him. She saw none. “It seems like an odd choice for you.”

He appeared taken aback by that. “Why is that?”

“To be honest, I can't see you choosing any musical,” she answered honestly. “You don't seem to be the musical type.”

“Well then you don't know me very well,” he spat back, arms tightened over his chest. “I was a musical actor for a few years.”

Jinyoung now turned towards him fully. “What? When?” she asked excitedly. She was oscillating between disbelief and enlightenment. On one hand, Sunggyu had never mentioned musicals before, aside from the ones that he directed, but one the other hand, he was Sunggyu. If he was an idol once, him being in musicals wasn’t too much of a stretch.

Sunggyu nodded, smiling at her reaction. “When I was in college. I actually was a part of this musical once,” he revealed. Jinyoung actually gasped and gazed at him, eyes wide in anticipation, patiently waiting for…“I was Elvis.” That!

“You were Elvis?!” she didn’t care for how loud her voice was, how it carried throughout the room, unlike Sunggyu who quickly brought his finger to his lips and whose eyes darted right over to the students. But Jinyoung kept facing him and kept speaking, although now in a lower voice, “Blue suede shoes? Leather jacket? The whole thing?!” Sunggyu slowly lowered his finger and nodded slightly. He was so apprehensive right now. Actually, he often was. It was hard to imagine Sunggyu onstage, in front of hundreds, curling his lips and slicking back his hair. It was hard to imagine, but Jinyoung managed to do it anyway and bursted out laughing at the image her mind conjured up.

“What?! Why are you laughing now?” he asked, his eyes were on her, all over her, trying to figure her out.

“I'm just picturing it and…” her hands flew up to cover , holding back the rest of that sentence. Since was covered, Jinyoung snorted through her nose. She was smiling so much that her eyes closed and Sunggyu disappeared from her sight, but not her thoughts. Jinyoung imagined it again, Sunggyu in a white fringe jacket, pulling a comb out of his pocket. Then she opened her eyes again when she felt her hands being lowered from . Jinyoung saw Sunggyu putting a finger to his lips, again, and he lifted his other hand from hers. Trying to calm herself down before she attracted attention from the students who should be learning their dance, Jinyoung brought her hands into her lap and folded them. She then took a deep breath, straightening herself up, looking prim and proper before begging, “Please tell me that there are photos of this.”

Sunggyu eyed her cautiously before responding, “None that you’ll ever see.” And he dashed all of her hopes.

But Jinyoung tried to not let her disappointment show. She nodded slowly. “That's fair,” she replied casually.  And true to form, the bobblehead nodded along with her, or he did until Jinyoung nodded over towards the students. He stopped and waited for Jinyoung to explain herself, which she did seconds later, “Did you have to dance like that too?”

Sunggyu probably thought that he could cover his “Yes” by lowering his head and coughing slightly, but Jinyoung caught it.

“Show me!” she urged him, slapping his thigh lightly, trying to rile him up.

But he just scooted away from her and groaned, throwing his head back and screwing his eyes shut. “Aish, why do I tell you these things?” he lamented, shaking his head a bit before lowering it again and looking at his fellow teacher.

“Good question,” she retorted and then broke out into giggles. And before Sunggyu could even begin to look tired of her, Jinyoung quickly added, “But this is good. The kids could learn from their senior Elvis. So don’t just show me, show them too.” If Jinyoung couldn’t see pictures of Sunggyu as Elvis, she was desperately hoping that she could convince him to dance, or maybe just sing one line of a song. And it was a bit cheap of her, but she tried to appeal to his love for his students. It seemed like Sunggyu saw through her tactic. He arched a brow, looking her up and down, and then his eyes darted over to the students who were all laying on the floor with the exception of Joochan and Dongwoo. It was the perfect moment to look over too because Dongwoo was trying to teach the Elvis how to swivel his hips, but Joochan looked more like he was hula-hooping than seducing the ladies. Jinyoung took the opportunity and leaned in closer to Sunggyu. “Go ahead. Show them how it’s really done,” she whispered.

Sunggyu pulled his head away from her and groaned lowly. “I was just hoping to show them how to sing coolly,” and after he let out those grumbles, Sunggyu actually got up from his seat.

“Are you going to do it? Really?” Jinyoung asked excitedly. She had scooted so close to the edge of her seat, following Sunggyu as he got up, that she was in danger of falling onto the floor.

“I have to show them how it’s really done and not whatever Dongwoo is doing right now,” when Sunggyu said that, Jinyoung nearly slid right off. And she finally did when Sunggyu yelled, “Yah!” as he approached Dongwoo and the students. She didn’t bother to climb back onto the bench. Instead, Jinyoung just stayed on the floor, pulled her knees to her chest, and rest her back against the bench, as if she meant to get onto the floor. It was harder to see Sunggyu this way, especially after all of the students got onto their feet when their teacher/director came to the front of the room. Jinyoung leaned over to one side, hoping to get a better peak, but the view was no better. Luckily, Sunggyu had pulled Joochan to the side, away from Dongwoo and his crazy influence. Now, she could see both teacher and student, young and old Elvis, through the gap between students. “Follow me. Forget everything that Dongwoo just taught you, and just follow me,” Sunggyu instructed him.

He wasn’t talking to her, but Jinyoung’s eyes followed his every step. Although quickly it became unbearable to watch, almost. Follow me. Jinyoung’s hands flew to her face,trying to cover her eyes and her wide-open mouth, but she was peeking through her fingers. And nothing could cover that laugh. But how could she stop? Sunggyu had tucked his lips into his mouth and was moving his hips around so seriously. And how could she even sit up? Jinyoung was leaning over so much to get a better look, but at the same time, she wanted to stop watching. And her laughter was knocking her over, knocking the wind from her lungs and sense from her head. She was melting into a mess, a bright pink, squeaking mess. She couldn’t keep herself together.

But she had to. At first, it was just Jisoo. The girl was in the back and must’ve heard her teacher’s laughter. When Jisoo caught sight of the mess she had for a teacher, she nudged Myungeun next to her and gestured over to Jinyoung. The two students shared a smile and exchanged some comments. Jinyoung couldn't make out what they said, but the fact alone that they were talking about her sobered her up. Jinyoung gathered herself up and sat on the bench again. Biting the inside of her cheek and keeping her eyes on the floor killed her laughter within seconds. Her hands gripped her knees. Maybe it's time to go. I didn't mean to stay for so long anyway. Jinyoung wanted to be remembered by her students, to have a reputation. But she also wanted a good one. She doubted that after her students saw her like this, there would be any good comments. Jinyoung closed her eyes for a moment, tuning everything out (the laughter of her students, Dongwoo’s whooping, whatever nonsense was spilling out of Elvis’ mouth), and grew the will to leave. She stood up.

“Hong seonsaeng-nim,” her name wasn't shouted over the hoots and hollers of the students but Jinyoung managed to still sense it. She looked towards the front of the classroom. The students had parted in such a way that Jinyoung could clearly see Sunggyu, looking right back at her with his hands on his hips. Actually Dongwoo was staring her down too, and the students as well. Have I done something wrong? It seemed like she had. I did stay for too long.

“We need your help,” Dongwoo revealed.

Jinyoung’s smile quivered, shaken by her nerves. “I'm no dance expert,” she tried to refuse.

“You're not, but you know what's fun,” Sunggyu argued. “Come up here.” She didn't. She stayed where she was, eyes looking longingly at the door.

“Come on, Jinyoung! I need your help,” Dongwoo pleaded. “Please?”

“Okay,” Jinyoung relented and came in front of the practice room. It was a bit jarring. Jinyoung never faced so many attentive students, or students standing in front of her for that matter. She gave them a tight lipped smile and a small wave.

“You came when he asked,” she caught Sunggyu grumble as she walked past him.

“He said ‘please,’” she hissed back. Jinyoung then stepped in between the two teachers, facing Dongwoo with her back to the other. “So what do you need me to do?”

Dongwoo pulled Joochan by the shoulders until the student was in front of Jinyoung. “Okay Joochan, do it exactly how we taught you,” he instructed and lifted both hands off from the younger and stepped away. She sensed Sunggyu stepping away too. Her head whipped back towards him, and sure enough he was a few feet away now.

“What's going on?” she whispered to him.

“Watch,” Sunggyu mouthed back and pointed over to the young Elvis.

Jinyoung did as she was told and began to immediately regret it. Right as her head turned back around, Joochan struck, swiveling his hips around in a wide circle and ing at the close. Jinyoung gasped. Her hands clamped over her gaping mouth. And she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes but they remained wide in shock. But she did lean back, trying to get away from it all. She leaned so far that she had to take a step to balance herself.

“This!” Sunggyu yelled to the students. “This is how you all should react.”

“What?” Jinyoung muttered, looking over at the man who’d walked up to her side. She wasn't catching on. She was still in shock. Her hands were still holding her face. Ah, I'm getting red .

“Joochan, do it again!” Dongwoo urged him.

And the poor student tried, but as soon as he was getting ready, Jinyoung snapped, “Stop! Stop it right now!” And Joochan froze.

“Jisoo, that's you, okay?” Sunggyu instructed their Miss Sandra. “During the Hound Dog scene, make your face exactly like this.” Sunggyu pointed at Jinyoung's face, who was now huffing, snarling, and glaring at the other in annoyance. Jisoo nodded.

That's when Jinyoung finally realized what was going on. They're using me for reactions . Now she was really red. Around the room, she saw the girls mimic her shocked expression. Some were checking themselves in the mirror; others were using their friends as references. And then Jisoo kept yelling at Myungeun to stop, in the same tone as Jinyoung had just seconds earlier.

I really should've left when I had the chance , Jinyoung thought. But then again ...The fever of embarrassment was slowly dying down, and a real smile graced her face. While it was unintentional and forced upon her, Jinyoung taught them. She taught them something that she never thought she could (or would ever have to teach them for that matter). The students were taking her ‘lessons’ seriously too, so it was hard for Jinyoung to remain upset at that. She didn't want to be. I'm glad that I came in here.

“Thanks for your help,” Dongwoo said as the students were busy practicing.

“I'm glad that I can be of help,” Jinyoung was honest.

“It was my idea,” Sunggyu interjected. “You have the strongest reactions. You express it with your whole body,” he stated as if he was critiquing one of his students.

“Me?” Jinyoung couldn't believe it. “Out of all three of us, I have the strongest reactions?” she pressed them. It couldn't be true. Dongwoo’s features were so strong that any expression he made was amplified by them. And as for Sunggyu, his eyebrows leaped across his forehead as if they were doing an interpretive dance of his feelings. That can't be true.

Sunggyu and Dongwoo looked at each other and quickly came to a consensus: “Yes you do.”

“Unbelievable,” Jinyoung muttered under her breath.

“Let’s all get something to drink after this,” Dongwoo suggested.

Jinyoung was shocked yet again. “Me? You want me to come too?” she asked.

“Of course,” Dongwoo responded like the three of them went out all the time. “Come with us. It'll be fun,” he thought she needed encouragement to go, but that wasn't the case at all.

“Yes!” Jinyoung cheered with a jump, unable to contain her excitement.

“See, you have the strongest reactions,” Sunggyu .

Jinyoung shot a glare over at him, but then realized that that response could be proving his point too. So instead she reined in her smile and folded her hands together. “I will meet you in the office,” she calmly told them. She then bowed slightly in goodbye and walked at a steady pace out of the room.

When she was in the hallway, she began cackling. “Who has strong reactions now?” she retorted and stuck her tongue out towards the men still in the practice room. She then skipped down the hall to change back into her work clothes.

I finally get to join them!

“Let’s make a bet! Whoever loses has to pay for drinks!”

“Do you guys do this every time?” Jinyoung asked with her head between her knees as she was stretching out her legs.

“No,” Sunggyu answered. His voice was distorted as he was rolling his neck and shaking his limbs loose. He then stopped and reiterated, “I mean, we often play games to see who pays, but it's the first time we’ve done something like this.”

“It's because Jinyoungie is joining us for the first time,” Dongwoo responded. He was crouched down low to the ground with one leg out stretched. “So we have to make it special.”

“Because rock-paper-scissors is too boring?” Jinyoung joked.

“Exactly,” Dongwoo replied and bounced back up onto his feet. “We should put our lives on the line for this!”

Jinyoung laughed as she kicked off her high heels. “Okay, let's do it,” she agreed and walked up to the starting line. As it would turn out, Jinyoung got dressed in her work clothes again too early. Right as the two men came into the office, Dongwoo suggested that they should have a race out on the track. Loser would have to pay for the drinks. It seemed like the matter had already been decided by the two of them before joining up with Jinyoung. And Jinyoung didn't mind wagering. She had a competitive spirit. But she did mind being set up for failure. There was no way that she'd win this race, or even come in second place. Well, not without cheating. And Jinyoung wasn't above doing just that. All she needed was a target.

“Have you always been this short?”

Jinyoung glared at the man coming up to her right, locking on. Kim Sunggyu . She then forced a laugh out to make her smile, looking harmless. “Have you never noticed before?” she gave him a question of her own. “I wasn't wearing heels earlier.”

“I noticed,” Dongwoo chirped.

Jinyoung turned towards him. “Why thank you,” she responded with a cheeky grin. She then signaled with her eyes down the track. Dongwoo got the hint. The timing couldn't be more perfect. Sunggyu was stretching again, looking the other way.

“Ready, set, GO!”

And the two of them were off, leaving Sunggyu behind in their dust.

“Y-yah!” Sunggyu shouted after them. “That's a foul!”

Jinyoung would've loved to taunt him, but she wanted to win even more. So she saved her breath and put her all into running. She was at a great disadvantage, being the shortest of the three and running in a pencil skirt. Dongwoo was already meters ahead of her, running with both arms outstretched as if he were flying. And he was. He flew around the track, already rounding the corner into the home stretch.

Whereas Jinyoung was starting to struggle. She felt herself slowing down, even though she was pumping her arms faster. Her breath was getting shorter. I'm almost there. Just...hang...on ! Wow, she was breathing really heavily now. It almost sounded like...no! That wasn't her panting. It was Sunggyu! He had caught up! No, he was passing her!

“No!” Jinyoung shouted and tried to grab at his shirt when he passed, but she missed him by centimeters. And now he was too far away. Jinyoung lost. She tucked her head in and sprinted with all of her might. She was going to lose but she wasn't going to quit.

“He-hey!”

Jinyoung lifted her head. Sunggyu stopped just meters away from the finish line. Or it was more like someone stopped him. Dongwoo had charged at him and was now hugging the other while pushing him back. And Sunggyu was trying to peel Dongwoo off. Jinyoung smirked and lowered her head again, running past the two of them. And she crossed the finish line, nearly seconds before Sunggyu managed to cross it with Dongwoo hanging on his back.

“I won!” Jinyoung cheered, jumping around the two of them.

“Dongwoo won,” Sunggyu corrected her. “And you cheated! Will you let go of me?!”

“You still lost,” Dongwoo pointed out after he let the other go. “And have to pay for drinks.”

“B-but…” Sunggyu stammered. “You cheated.”

“You can cheat next time then,” Jinyoung offered. She grunted as she slipped her heels back on. “But for now, let’s drink! Come on, Dongwoo!” she exclaimed, putting her arm around her friend. And the two of them skipped down the track towards the exit.

“If you think I'm above cheating, I'm not!” Sunggyu shouted after them. “Next time, you won’t stand a chance!”

“Good,” Jinyoung retorted. She liked the sound of that, ‘next time.’

But ‘this time’ was far from over. It was just getting started. They settled on going to a place nearby. The same old place the staff goes to for every gathering. But for Jinyoung, it was like going there for the first time. Dongwoo and Sunggyu, those two were like a part of a club that she’d always wanted to join. She waited and waited for an invitation. And now, she had one. Jinyoung didn't understand why today was different from any other time that they went out. It didn't seem special. She didn't think that she did anything different. But she must've done just the right thing. And now, she was part of the club.

“Wait, wait,” Sunggyu pulled her back from the entrance of the restaurant, from following Dongwoo who just went inside.

“What? What?” Jinyoung mimicked him as she let herself be pulled to his side.

“Remember that secret I told you?” he whispered lowly.

Jinyoung giggled. “How could I forget, leader-nim?” she and gave him a nudge in the shoulder.

“Of course, that you won’t forget,” Sunggyu groaned and gave her a slight shove right back with two of his fingers at her shoulder.

“Nope,” she chirped, taking a step back and away from him.

“Well can you not mention it tonight, please?” Sunggyu begged of her. He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice again, mumbling. Jinyoung had to lean in to catch it all. “I sort of...didn’t tell Dongwoo about it yet.”

“You never told Dongwoo that you were an idol? Really?” Jinyoung whispered back. Her gaze flew over to the door, which Dongwoo had gone through moments before.

“No, I didn't,” Sunggyu reiterated. Jinyoung’s eyes drifted back to him and narrowed. I don't understand. They're friends. And we are...whatever we are . There was no answer found in Sunggyu’s face either, intentionally, Jinyoung guessed. He was a little too stoic right now.

So she went directly for the answer, “But you told me?” Jinyoung pointed to herself as she asked.

“That's because you're really good at pretending like you're trustworthy,” that was his excuse.

Jinyoung frowned. “I am trustworthy,” she argued. Her word meant something. She fulfilled her promises the best she could. What did he mean?

“What's the passcode to the your home?” Sunggyu shot back with an unrelated question.

“1989. Why?” Jinyoung answered without hesitation. But then she realized and gasped, “Oh!” before clamping shut. It wasn't an unrelated question at all.

“See!” Sunggyu exclaimed with a cocky grin and wagged a finger at her. “You can’t be trusted with secrets. Not even your own!” He had a point. The words slipped through her disobedient lips without much thought. Why do I do this? Bad lips! Bad! She slapped a few times. And Sunggyu watched in amusement as she did so. After clicking his tongue at her a few times and chuckling, he grew sober again. “You won't tell him, will you?” he begged.

Jinyoung lowered her hands. “Not if you don't want me to,” she replied, hoping that she could keep that promise. Jinyoung couldn’t understand why it still needed to be a secret. Being an idol was cool, in her opinion. And she was sure that Dongwoo would think so too. But it also wasn’t a complete surprise that Sunggyu was being so careful. It was a part of his nature. Jinyoung just wished that he wouldn’t feel so ashamed about it.

“I don't,” Sunggyu replied. He was going to hold onto that shame for just a bit longer. He tilted his head as he gazed down at her. “Can I trust you?” he asked.

Jinyoung hung her head while she pondered for a second or two and scraped her foot against the pavement. She was starting to lose faith in herself to keep anything a secret. The corners of fell, and her lips pursed, not even risking air to pass through. It felt heavy, her chest, and tight. There was only one secret she’d kept for a long while, and it was literally weighing on her. She doubted if she could carry it for much longer. And this was a secret that she needed to keep. It was a big one. In comparison, Sunggyu’s secret was so small, itty bitty, and exciting. It would slip past her lips as easily as her passcode did. Jinyoung paused for a bit too long. Sunggyu had called out her name. She raised her gaze again, to his. And she was met with concern. Is he really that worried that I’ll spill it? “I trust you to stop me if I get close to saying it,” that’s all she could promise him with all honesty. And it was enough.

Sunggyu smirked. “Good point,” he remarked as if she had just said something witty (and it probably seemed like she had because she was smiling again thoughtlessly). Sunggyu then gestured for them to join Dongwoo inside, and they began to walk in together. “So your passcode is 1989?” the silence didn’t last for more than a few seconds before Sunggyu renewed and diverted their conversation.

“No,” Jinyoung lied, smiling so brightly that she wished that it would blind him and make him forget.

It didn’t. Jinyoung expected that Sunggyu would never forget her code, especially when he asked, “What would happen if you came home one day and I was at your apartment?”

“I’d scream,” she replied honestly this time.

“Of course you would,” he responded with a sigh. He then opened the door and let her through first. “You should really change it, you know. It’s an easy code to figure out,” but he did not let her pass without some chiding.

“But no one has figured it out yet,” Jinyoung retorted with a joke, like her simple passcode was good enough. She flashed that big grin again, hoping that he’d let it go.

“It’s still risky,” he held on. Jinyoung stopped in front of him and replaced her fake smile with a genuine, and threatening glare. She didn’t appreciate being nagged by him, especially since they were...whatever they were. But no matter how much fierceness Jinyoung had lit behind her eyes (which was a surprising amount, considering how cheerful she normally was), Sunggyu didn’t falter. “Just change it,” he responded, half-smiling.

Jinyoung yielded, but not happily. “Well, now that you know it, I’ll have to,” she grumbled and then turned around to join Dongwoo at the table, taking the seat next to him. When she settled in, Jinyoung noticed Sunggyu was still standing where she left him, puzzled. But something in him soon snapped and spurred him back into motion. Sunggyu joined them and slid into the spot right across from Dongwoo.

“What were you two doing?” Dongwoo asked when the last of their party arrived. “I turned around and the both of you were gone!”

Jinyoung opened , but she wasn’t the one to speak. “We were talking about the sets,” Sunggyu lied. Jinyoung shut and fixed her eyes on him. A slender smile split her face. Sunggyu really was set on stopping her from exposing him. And there he was, sitting there and acting nonchalant, except his fingers were fiddling with the menu. “Should we get the usual?”

Jinyoung turned to Dongwoo. “What’s the usual?” she asked. And that shift in conversation was enough to led Dongwoo away from his original question. Dongwoo continued on and on to tell her what they usually ate and how they usually spent their time here, with anecdotes littered here and there by both men. And that conversation lasted until the food arrived. It all pleased Jinyoung, to the food, the conversation listening to the stories, and to be a part of the ‘usualness.’ It pleased her very much.

“Thanks for helping out today, Dongwoo,” Sunggyu remarked when the food was nearly done, but the drinking was just beginning.

“No problem. It really brought back memories,” Dongwoo replied and poured himself a fresh glass of soju. He then offered to fill Jinyoung’s glass, and she gladly accepted it.

“You were in musicals too?” she asked as she stretched her glass out to him. She then felt a tap at her elbow and she instinctively slid the soju bottle over to Sunggyu but kept her attention on Dongwoo.
“No, I danced a lot in high school,” he answered. But his brows were furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean by ‘too’?”

Jinyoung’s eyes went wide and dropped. “Uh,” she held that shaky note as her eyes drifted over to Sunggyu, who was now digging the heel of his hand into the side of his head. Seriously? This too?

Sunggyu soon drew his hand away from his head and fixed his hair, acting like that’s why his hand was there the whole time. “Dongwoo was a really good dancer,” Sunggyu attempted to steer the conversation again. “He used to help out at his old dance studio.”

Luckily for him, and Jinyoung, Dongwoo could be easily distracted. “Dancing was about the only thing I was good at in high school,” the science teacher joked. “I wasn’t like Kim Shin over here.” He stuck his thumb out towards Sunggyu.

Now Jinyoung was steered away too. She wiggled excitedly in her seat and propped her elbows onto the table, cupping her cheeks in her hands, tilting her head. “Kim Shin?” she repeated. She had a feeling that this was going to be good.

“I was popular in high school. Really popular,” Sunggyu bragged, which wasn’t taken seriously by Dongwoo at all. His friend burst into a roaring laughter. Sunggyu cursed, “Aish! This kid always laughs when I say that.”

Dongwoo waved his hand and quickly sobered up enough to tell Jinyoung (via badgering Sunggyu), “I've seen your graduation photo. You didn't look popular. You looked old-timey.” He then turned to Jinyoung and said, “I swear that it must’ve been taken like 60 years ago. That’s why I call him Kim Shin. He’s been alive for a long long looooong time.”

Jinyoung gasped. “I haven't seen it!” she exclaimed. Pulling her focus from Dongwoo, she devoted it all to Sunggyu, praying to him earnestly, “Can I? I want to see it. Where is it?”

Once more, Sunggyu didn’t falter (even if his ears were growing ruddy). “No where. It doesn’t exist,” he grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest and refusing to look at either of them.

He only looked over at them when Dongwoo revealed, “I saved it.”

Sunggyu groaned, rolling his head around before looking at them again. “Why would you do that?” But as soon as his eyes fell on them again, he saw Dongwoo with his phone out and handing it over to Jinyoung, whose mouth was now hanging wide open in astonishment.

“Oh!” she gasped. shut, clenching into a wicked grin as she chortled through her teeth. “I would save that too. Oh my gosh! Little Kim Sunggyu!” she exclaimed, refusing to tear her eyes away from the picture on the screen. How could she? It was enchanting, just like the goblin Kim Shin was. Little Sunggyu had a sad and wise look in his, such gravity in his expression, like children from years past had. Even his clothes and hair appeared old fashioned. Jinyoung, however, did manage to free herself from the trance of the photo and studied Sunggyu, who appeared to not age much since the photo was taken, not as much as he should have. “How old are you?” she asked softly.

Sunggyu responded to her whispered question with a shout and outrage: “I’m your age! It only looks old because it’s black and white.”

Dongwoo ripped his phone from her hands and scrolled through his roll. “Then why do you look old in this one too,” he murmured and then placed the phone back into her hands. The photo was from years earlier, when Sunggyu must’ve just entered grade school. But, my goodness, when did he? In the 1920s? What was this? Was it the work of magic or a shoddy camera?

“Why are you showing her? Show me! Which one…” Sunggyu grumbled but his complaints soon stuck to his throat after he leaned over and saw the picture that enraptured Jinyoung. But a scoffed escaped through his tight throat. “Oh, come on! Why do you have that one?” he cried.

“Evidence,” Dongwoo plainly replied.

“Delete it!” Sunggyu demanded with a fierce glare, piercing through his friend. It seemed to affect the Science teacher because Dongwoo laughed a bit anxiously and put his phone away. Seeing how effective it was, he then tried to stare some guilt into Jinyoung, but when he tried, his evil glare softened into a look of confusion. Jinyoung was glaring straight at him, but not at his face. She was looking lower, at his chest. Sunggyu shifted in his seat and tightened his arms across his chest. “What are you doing?” he finally asked although apprehensive.

“I trying to see the sword in your chest,” she answered as if it were a natural thing to do. But after looking at those photos, it was natural for her to wonder that. Is there another secret that this...creature is hiding?

“I don’t have one,” Sunggyu muttered and polished off the rest of his drink. But by doing that, he left his chest open for more scrutiny. When he put his drink down, both Jinyoung and Dongwoo were staring at his chest. “Not you too! Stop!” he cried. He drew his jacket in close, covering his chest, and averted his eyes again. “It’s creepy.”

“Ahjussi,” Jinyoung called to Sunggyu, doing her best Euntaek impression possible.  She waited until Sunggyu dared to look over at her from the corner of his eyes. “I love you.” To that, he whined and hung his head. He used his fingers to massage the space between his eyes. Jinyoung’s teasing was giving him a hard time, and Dongwoo was about to make it worse.

“Let’s pull it out!” Dongwoo declared as he stood up from his seat and leaned over the table, trying to tear Sunggyu’s jacket away from his chest.

But Sunggyu wouldn’t let him. He held on tightly while yelling, “Stop! Nothing’s there! Stop!” Sunggyu might’ve been going through the Hell that the goblin never did, but Jinyoung was practically in Heaven. Seeing those two mess around brought her such joy, too much joy. She was laughing so hard now that her sides were aching.

“I thought I recognized that laugh.”

Jinyoung spun towards that familiar voice and she was greeted by a face that she knew so well. “Howon!” she exclaimed. For a few seconds, she hesitated between standing up to greet him properly or to keep sitting down, but Howon soon put that indecision to rest by putting his hand on the back of her seat when he came to their table. Jinyoung leaned back in her chair as she looked up at the man. Her back hit his arm, and that sensation filled her with an odd mix of comfortable familiarity and awkwardness. She was smiling, genuinely happy to see Howon again, but her eyes darted nervously over to the two other men. One was beaming and the other was pouring himself another drink.

“Hello, Jinyoung,” Howon greeted her with an equally as warm smile and drew her attention back to him. But as soon as he held it, he let it go again. He nodded to the man next to her. “Hey Dongwoo. How’s it going? It’s been awhile.”

“It has. I’m doing pretty well. And you?” Dongwoo began to chat with his friend.

“Good,” Howon answered. He then removed his hand from her chair and stuffed it into his pocket. His attention too was withdrawn entirely from her. Jinyoung’s smile faltered; she didn’t like being passed over like this so soon. But I guess it suits us now . She let out a deep breath and followed Howon’s gaze over to the Science teacher. “Dongwoo, can I talk to you for a second? I want your advice on something,” Howon asked him, gesturing away from the table and over to the side of the place.

“Yea sure,” Dongwoo muttered, getting up immediately from his seat. “Excuse me,” he begged as he brushed past Jinyoung. “I’ll be back,” Dongwoo told them before joining Howon a few feet away.

And Jinyoung rest her head in her hand as she watched them animatedly talk to each other, while she was here, sitting in silence and twirling an empty soju glass in her hands. Well, there was no point for one of those two things to be empty. So Jinyoung took the bottle and filled her glass again. She then sipped from it as she watched the two men talk some more. It felt weird. She almost felt obligated to join them, to be at his side again. But that was only habit and not necessity. She didn’t need to be there. I guess I belong here now . Jinyoung put down her glass and cocked her head as she grinned at the man still at the table with her. He seemed to be equally at a loss as to what to do. So Sunggyu did what he did best: he talked.

“So that was Howon,” he breached the topic.

Jinyoung decided to fling it wide open: “Yes, that’s my ex-boyfriend.”

“You guys seem to get along still,” Sunggyu remarked.

Jinyoung giggled a bit. We’re seriously going to talk about this? Sure, why not? Sunggyu had divulged much about his past today. Now it was her turn. “Getting along wasn’t the problem,” she began. The giggles came out again when Sunggyu shot her a quizzical look. “I get along with a lot of people. The problem was that we realized we couldn’t be anything more than friends,” she clarified for him.

“Are you sure?” he pressed. Now he was the one fiddling around with an empty glass in his hands.

“It was the definition of an amicable break up,” she assured him. And to prove this, she tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned to the side, furrowing her brows as she tried to listen into the conversation. “In fact...he’s asking Dongwoo...what to get his girlfriend for her birthday,” she revealed to the other and sat back in her seat.

Sunggyu smirked and put the glass down, his hands in his lap. “Psh, so nosy,” he .

But she was going to take it as a compliment: “It comes in handy.” Especially when it comes to proving that you are over your exes to your colleagues.

“What is he thinking of getting her?” he challenged and rest his arms on the table as he shifted in his seat to face her better.

“Hm,” Jinyoung hummed as she tucked her hair behind her ear again and leaned towards the two men again. She bit her lips as she concentrated. “Sounds like a bag,” she whispered to Sunggyu, as if those men could hear her. Jinyoung then shifted her attention towards Sunggyu and sputtered when she saw him trying to listen in on the conversation too. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes were practically shut as he concentrated.

“Sounds more like luggage,” he remarked after listening for a few moments. He then snapped his fingers and looked over to her excitedly. “They're going on a trip,” he concluded.

Jinyoung slammed her hand against the table, getting carried away with his excitement. “Oh! You're right! You're good at this,” she praised him.

And he carried that away, with a shrug of his shoulders and a cocky grin. “I know,” he replied. Jinyoung scoffed at that and then tore her attention away from him and returned to eavesdropping again. Now that she knew what Howon had in store for his current girlfriend, Jinyoung want to know where they were going and when. She did not feel one pang of envy while listening, but her curiosity was tearing through her body. She hoped that Sunggyu was having an easier time hearing them. Maybe he could catch it and tell her.

“So...What about you?” Sunggyu suddenly asked. Jinyoung spun towards him, confused. She had no idea what he was referring. Sunggyu reiterated his question: “What were you like in high school? You must’ve been popular.”

Ah, so we’re returning back to this . Jinyoung decided to move from her seat and slid into Dongwoo’s. This really wasn’t something she wanted to talk loudly about across the table. But she made sure to bring her glass over, and Sunggyu was ready with the bottle to fill it for her (and for himself). When Jinyoung took the glass back, she didn’t drink from it yet. Instead she gazed down at it while she talked, “No, I wasn’t…I mean, I was well liked. But not everybody knew about me, and I didn’t know everyone.” She looked up at the other when she finished. He hadn’t touched his glass either. He was sitting there with his arms loosely crossed in front of him, rocking a bit in his seat.

“Really?” he challenged. Jinyoung nodded. “But you’re so…cheerful. Like what people call ‘a vitamin.’”

Jinyoung snorted at that and took a sip from her glass. A long one. She cupped her warm cheeks in her hands. A ‘vitamin,’ she’d been called that many times before, and it still made her feel good to hear. “I was like that then too, but…” she paused and gazed up at the other again. “I concentrated on my studies, mostly. I was serious about that, but I also wasn’t the best in the class. So I kinda escaped the notice of a lot of people.”

“I would’ve noticed you,” Sunggyu stated, words falling slowly as he looked down at his glass.

Jinyoung snorted. “It sounds like you noticed a lot of girls in high school,” she retorted.

“Ah no, I didn’t,” Sunggyu spat out a denial and snapped his head back up. His eyes were wide; he appeared offended, until he smirked wickedly. “They noticed me,” he corrected her. While Jinyoung scoffed and rolled her eyes at him, Sunggyu chuckled and continued, “I concentrated on my studies too. I placed second out of my entire school one year.”

When he said that, Jinyoung had taken a sip from her glass. She sputtered and choked. One hand flew to and the other to her chest, knocking against it until the alcohol burned down . “ And you were a trainee?” she managed to ask that while wheezing. Sunggyu nodded with the smirk again. “How did you manage all of that?”

“I wasn’t a trainee until after I graduated high school,” he explained. He then tried to reach for the bottle again, but Jinyoung tore it away from him, leaving Sunggyu with nothing but a pout on his face.

She wasn’t swayed by that pitiful face. “You lied! To me!” she yelled with a hand still on her heart.

Sunggyu scoffed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest again. “No, I never told you. There’s a difference,” he argued.

Now it was Jinyoung’s turn to pout and she put the soju bottle back onto the table. “Then why didn't you tell me?” she asked in a small voice. Her hand was still on her chest, rubbing it gingerly. It hadn’t felt right since she choked on the soju earlier. She sighed and raised her eyes to him again. Her frown deepened as her finger circled around the rim of her glass and she slunk deeper into her seat. Sunggyu had told her many things recently, but now it seemed that each time he opened his mouth something unbelievable would pop out. Sure, it was true that he was an idol, but was he really in musicals too? One of the smartest kids in school and popular with that old timey looking face? Jinyoung narrowed her eyes into a glare. Could she trust him?

Sunggyu began chuckling again, probably at her reaction because he looked very amused right now. He tilted his head and joked, “You didn't ask.”

Jinyoung decided to shove her worries aside and play along with him: “Oh, so I have to ask now?” she tried to act offended, but her acting was as good as her drawing. Her giggling broke her ‘character.’

And Sunggyu kept laughing along with her as they continued their ‘spat’: “Not unless you can read minds. Can you?”

“Yes,” Jinyoung immediately replied with a straight face, which she somehow managed to keep even when confronted with Sunggyu’s contorting and doubtful expressions.

“Read mine,” he challenged her.

“Okay,” she picked it up. Devoting herself to the bit, Jinyoung rubbed her temples with her fingertips and focused her all of her concentration on the other. She didn’t know what psychic she was acting like, but she had seen it somewhere. Humming lowly, she tried to keep the other’s gaze, but with Sunggyu looking at her incredulously like that, it was hard to keep up. Jinyoung sputtered into a laugh and collapsed onto the table.

“See. I knew you couldn't do it,” he boasted. “They shouldn't let liars like you teach kids.”

At that remark, Jinyoung snapped her head back up and glared at him. She’d caught Sunggyu about to drink again, and he paused with the glass to his lips. “Did you know?” she asked.

Sunggyu then drained his glass and put it back down. “Know what?” he prodded her.

“Did you know Heartthrob was going to disband when you were preparing for the last album?”

“What?” He looked like he didn’t expect that question at all.

“I…” Jinyoung stopped herself from admitting that she owned posters of him, his CDs too. She barely knew why she brought it up. Well, besides her curiosity prompting her. It been a question in the back of her mind for a long time, and the alcohol leaked it out. Although the alcohol was to blame, it might also be the solution right now. She finished her own drink herself before she was calm enough to continue again, “I saw a picture of you, for that album. There was something about your expression that made me think that.” She pressed the cool glass to her warm cheek and leaned against it as she studied the other. I’m not the only one with big reactions. It was obvious what the other was thinking right now, so Jinyoung decided to impress him even further, “You looked desperate. ‘This is our last shot,’ that was what you were thinking way back then.”

“Woah,” fell from his lips as his whole body shivered. “I just got goosebumps,” Sunggyu admitted with a slight laugh and rubbed his arms to warm them again.

Jinyoung opened , ready to brag and reprimand him for saying that she lied, but a squeal came out instead. Dongwoo had slid into the seat next to her, rejoining the table, and she’d forgotten than he was a part of it. Jinyoung lowered her head and ruffled her hair as the other two laughed at her. Maybe she did have the biggest reactions of the three of them.

“Sorry for that,” Dongwoo apologized. “I didn’t think I’d scare you.”

“Jinyoung startles really easily. Even when you think she should notice you, she can still be surprised,” and it was no surprise that that word of advice came from her ex. Jinyoung lowered her hands and looked up at the man with a tight lipped smile. Howon had startled her more than she’d like to admit. He had some light feet.

“I know,” Sunggyu responded and went to open up a new bottle of soju. But his eyes were on Howon as he did so. “We’ve worked together for three years.”

“Ah right, I guess you would know,” Howon admitted. He then looked over at his ex with a smile to match hers. “We should get tea and catch up sometime, Jinyoung.”

“Eung,” she readily agreed and her smile widened. They said that to each other every time that they met. Maybe they’d actually do it this time. Jinyoung wanted to hear more about the trip. Howon could be surprisingly romantic and thoughtful. I bet it would be like a scene from a drama . But Howon chuckled in response, probably knowing that they wouldn’t meet up, like every other time. She laughed too. “I'll see you around, Howon,” she told him and waved goodbye. The man waved and left the restaurant.

And Jinyoung kept laughing to herself as she picked up her chopsticks again to eat some of the food that was left. She didn’t really know why she was. Maybe it was the alcohol again. Or maybe because it was from embarrassment. Or both. It was hard to tell. But the laughter soon died, and she started to eat again. While she was stuffing her face, she looked over at the other two. Dongwoo was trying to rehash the whole ‘Kim Shin’ conversation, picking up where they’d all left off (which felt like so long ago now). And Jinyoung expected to see Sunggyu glaring at Dongwoo for even trying, but instead his eyes were on her. Jinyoung looked down again, at the side dish that she was picking from. Did he want some? She assumed that he did and offered the dish to him. Sunggyu shook his head. He didn’t want it. Jinyoung smirked after she put the dish back down and saw something else next to her. She picked up the soju bottle and offered to fill his empty glass. That he accepted. Jinyoung began giggling again as she poured the soju. Maybe I can really read minds!

She then poured another drink for Dongwoo too and the three of them talked more about the musical and reminisced about their high school days. And after Dongwoo told them a funny anecdote about a particular talent show performance he did that involved crossdressing (he joked about relating to Natalie then because he did the dance to impress a girl), he stood up. “I’m gonna get going,” he announced, which lured out a whine from Jinyoung. She didn’t want the night to end so soon. “I wanna see my niece before she’s put down to bed. Night!”

“Night,” her and Sunggyu responded in unison and waved at Dongwoo as he left. She spoke it reluctantly whereas the other sounded happier.

Sunggyu turned around and faced her. “Let’s finish this up and go too,” he suggested as he filled her glass with the last bottle of soju that they had. Jinyoung only nodded and held the glass in her hands. She watched Sunggyu pour the rest of the bottle into his own glass. A sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at her hands. With this one glass, this night would be over. What would happen if I don’t drink it? While she was lost in her thoughts, Sunggyu clinked his glass against hers. “Cheers,” he muttered. “One shot!”

Jinyoung glared at him as she watched him drain his glass. Damn you , she mentally cursed and then turned to the side to do the same. When she finished it, she began coughing. The burn was too much right now. She could feel it spread all over her body, especially her cheeks. I’m so tipsy , she thought as she rubbed her fists against those hot cheeks. She then pushed her cheeks together until her lips pouted. Drank too much.

“Oh,” she gasped, lowering her hands as he saw Sunggyu stand up suddenly. His hand went to his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. That was right! Jinyoung had forgotten. Sunggyu had to pay for this meal because he lost. And he lost because she’d cheated. I have an idea . Jinyoung stood up with him. “Wait. I feel bad for making you pay. I cheated. I should pay,” she offered and rummaged through her purse for her own wallet.

“That’s right! You did!” Sunggyu exclaimed, quickly stuffing his wallet back into his pocket. “You should be the one to pay. Come on,” he urged her to walk around to his side of the table. When she did, he slapped her on the back, like he was praising her. “It’s nice to know that you have a conscience.”

“Of course!” Jinyoung chirped with a cheeky smile. She finally found the bills that she wanted and handed one of them over to him. “Here. Use this. It should be enough, right?”

“Why are you carrying bills like this around?” he remarked as he studied the large bills in his hand. And indeed, why would a teacher carry such a large amount of money in her purse? How could she have that much? Jinyoung bit her lips to stop her giggles from betraying her again. She only shrugged in response, leaving Sunggyu none the wiser. “I’ll be back,” he said before rushing off the to cash register to pay for their meal.

Jinyoung followed him, slowly, creeping up step by step. She’d let her lip go and the laughter was spilling forth now. Sunggyu had a right to be suspicious of her money. Jinyoung had given him one of her counterfeit bills that she’d gotten from Sungyeol. She finally got to pull the prank that she wanted to pull with them. And maybe Sunggyu did trust her too much. He took the money easily. But the old woman behind the register didn’t. She probably could spot a counterfeit from miles away after being in this job for so long. And she did. The old woman was now yelling at Sunggyu for giving her bad money.

That was when Jinyoung sped up and ran up (and into) his side. “Imo, it’s my fault,” she confessed. “I gave him the fake money. It was a prank.” She then handed her over the card in her hands. “Here. I’ll pay. For real,” she ended, flashing an apologetic smile to the other, and patted his arm when he only responded with a glare.

But words finally came from him when they left the restaurant. “Why do you always mess with me?” he grumbled.

“It's fun,” she replied and then bumped into him again. “ And I know you won't get offended. You have a soft heart. You'll always forgive me, right?” That was more of wishful thinking than a truth that she knew.

Sunggyu stepped away from her and frowned. “Maybe not one of these days if you keep it up,” he retorted.

Jinyoung laughed nervously. “Then I'll try to treat you better,” she promised.

“You should,” he agreed, nodding, and his frown slowly picked up into a smile. They both walked with a dragging step, knocking into each other. Jinyoung wasn’t sure of where they were going, if she was even walking in the right direction. But it felt nice. Tonight just felt nice. And she wanted that feeling to last just a bit longer, revel in the cool night air that brushed against her warm skin and cleared her mind. It’d be a long time since she ambled around, tipsy like this, and even longer since she had someone by her side when she did. I guess Howon was the last one...Oh . She felt something other than the night air brush against her hand. Too close , she thought and stuffed her hand into the pocket of her coat.

“Hey,” Sunggyu called out to her (informally but Jinyoung didn’t heed that). She stopped turned towards him, too quickly or unexpectedly. Sunggyu kept moving forward and knocked into her. And she lost her balance a bit, but was kept steady. The two of them could only laugh, not knowing what else to do other than to also step away, which Jinyoung did. She also pulled her phone out of her pocket. She hadn’t checked her messages since dinner had started.

“Do you…”

“Oh,” Jinyoung muttered.

Sunggyu came closer. “What's wrong?”

“I missed a call.” Not just one, but several of them, all from Yewon. Panic set in, chasing the alcohol euphoria out of her veins. Was she supposed to meet with her tonight? Was Yewon having another panic attack? Nightmare? Only one thing was for sure: Yewon needed her, and Jinyoung drank with the boys instead.

“It happens,” Sunggyu replied, not really understanding what was so bad about it. Jinyoung shook her head, her eyes still on the phone. “What's wrong? Were you expecting it?” he pressed.

“No, but…” Jinyoung swallowed hard and dropped her voice before continuing, “I should've answered it.”

“Then call it back,” Sunggyu suggested.

“Right,” she muttered right back. Her mind was so muddled and agitated right now that she couldn’t see that simple solution. Her fingers glided swiftly across the screen as she called her friend back. But there was no answer. Jinyoung could only leave a rushed message, apologizing for not picking up and asking Yewon to call her back. She didn’t say much more than that. Sunggyu was probably listening in (and he was, judging by how close he crept up to her). Jinyoung turned to him. “She didn't pick up.”

“I'm sure whoever it is will understand,” he tried to reassure her but failed. Jinyoung groaned and kicked at the pavement. She felt like she failed her friend. Even if Yewon did understand (which she would), Jinyoung couldn’t get rid of this guilt swelling up in her chest. And it just grew heavier and heavier.

“Hey, are you okay?” Sunggyu sounded worried, and when she gazed up at him, he looked it too.

“Me? Yes,” Jinyoung lied.

He saw right through that. “No, you aren't. You've been acting weird these past few days. Gloomy. Even now,” he pointed out and was literally pointing at her, accusingly. He then stuffed his hands into his pockets and nodded back towards the restaurant, which still wasn’t too far away in spite of how long they’d been outside. “You were fine inside there...with Dongwoo,” his voice dropped lower as he spoke.

Jinyoung grinned as brightly as she could, trying to chase away any of the gloom that Sunggyu thought he saw. “It's nothing. I promise,” she told him. And Sunggyu just sighed at that, at her. I have to go . “Well…” she muttered as she took a step back and then another, getting away from him before he could...

“Oh! I know what it is!” Before he could do something like that. Jinyoung faced him again. He was proud. “I know what’s wrong with you!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands at his revelation.

“What what is?” Jinyoung was still feigning ignorance, hoping that she could make Sunggyu feel so awkward that he’d stopped. But that didn’t happen. He was too confident. There was no way that he was going to back down now.

“You have a secret,” he declared. Jinyoung balked at that. Dang, he really knew it . And Jinyoung began wondering what her reaction to that was because Sunggyu started laughing and exclaimed, “Wow, you really look like you're about to burst. You really…” he swallowed the rest, and his face grew sullen. “What is it? Are you okay?” he asked.

Jinyoung stared at him for a few seconds. Her hand was on her chest again, this time touching the weight that settled into it. I can trust him, right? Has he given me a reason not to? Sunggyu was standing across from her, waiting for her answer. The only sign of his impatience was his eyebrow slowly drifting up his forehead. Jinyoung closed her eyes. I can’t live like this anymore.

“No. Can...can we talk?” she stuttered. “Would that be alright?” She was completely unsure if she should do this. Yewon had begged her profusely not to tell anyone. But, Jinyoung was having a hard time dealing with this on her own. “I know it’s late,” Jinyoung told him, giving him an out. “And I probably shouldn’t,” she ended with a heavy sigh. But the weight just felt heavier and heavier, like a breath that she couldn’t exhale. It was suffocating.

“Sure. That would be fine. Let’s talk,” Sunggyu agreed. He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her down the street. “Come on. Let’s find somewhere we can talk.”