Bang Somi has been off my radar for as long as I could remember. The last time I talked to her was in high school—it ended up with my stinging hands and salty cheeks as she walks away with no ounce of regret etched on her face.

Jaehyung had made me vow to never talk to her again or involve myself with anyone remotely close to her.

There are a lot of things left unsaid between the both of us, and I don’t know if I want anything else to be said. Which explains why I’m utterly confused when I see the said girl walking towards me with a determined look on her face, although her steps seems heavy.

It takes me a couple of seconds to react to Somi standing right in front of me, completely catching me off guard.

“I have something to say,” I notice her fists clenching and unclenching, a thing I know she always did when she’s nervous.

“Don’t you always do?” I reply, not one bit interested in anything she has to say to me. She glares at me, but I only shrug at her. The things she does to me no longer has any effect.

“Can we go somewhere else private?” she asks, tone a little desperate. Too bad nothing she does is worth any of my time any more. I look around and see that every other student around us is a good couple of feet away from us, and I take a step back from her.

“Here is private enough,” I tell her. Let the rest of the student body be the witness to her horrifying true self if it gets to it. I’m not risking being a victim of slander by her anymore. She groans.

“Fine, if that’s how you want to do it, let’s do it here,” she retaliates obnoxiously, folding her arms underneath her chest. Turns out it’s loud enough to make a few heads turn at her questioningly, and she bites her lip in frustration.

“Whatever you plan on doing with Baekhyun, I want you to stop.”

I wait for her to say something else, but she doesn’t, and I throw her a look of confusion and disgust altogether. Who does she think she is?

“Uh, for the record, it’s tutoring and I didn’t ask for it. The professor asked Baekhyun to and he agreed, so it really isn’t me you’re supposed to talk to,” I explain offhandedly.

“I don’t care, Minhwa. I’ve had enough of you taking things that are mine, and I want you to stop!” she suddenly explodes, red in the face, and everyone in the close vicinity actually stops and turns to look at what is going on. I take a few steps back as a precaution, absolutely baffled at her ridiculous misdirected anger at an oblivious me.

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’ve never taken anything that’s yours?” I keep my voice calm, trying to find her eyes that are looking at everywhere else but at me. She frowns like a spoiled little girl, and it scares me how much she’s changed and how much of her I don’t recognize anymore.

“You think you’re some saint, Minhwa, but you’re not. Baekhyun is mine, and I’m going to keep it that way. If playing dumb is how it’s going to be, then be my guest,” she spits.

I look at her like she’s crazy, before finally laughing at her distressed state.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you and I don’t think I ever want to. All of this misdirected anger just shows how unwell your state of mind really is,” I say quietly, and I can see Somi having trouble with keeping herself together as her breathing grows more rugged.

“Maybe if you stopped treating Baekhyun like he’s your property and more like the human he is supposed to be, he’d be more loyal,” I flash her my most sincere smile. Her face looks like someone has slapped her, and I turn around to walk the other way before she gets to tell me more bogus things to make her feel better.

Before I get completely out of earshot, she yells, “You !”

I don’t even have to turn around to see her sorry face as everyone looks at her, and a few seconds later I hear the sound of her hurried footsteps running away to hide her embarrassed face.

***

The dreaded Saturday finally arrives and I find myself standing in front of Baekhyun’s apartment’s door clutching a few stupid books like “Finance for Dummies” he insisted for me to bring along even though I’m a senior and so is he.

Even though I can handle Somi and her unpredictable rage, Baekhyun is a completely different person and I have no idea how to handle his dislike for me to be able to turn it around and make him mildly tolerate me.

I sigh as I press the doorbell, heart pounding against my chest. The last time I’ve been this nervous was when I was waiting for my college entrance exam’s results, and even then I was sure I’d get in. But right now, I’m not so sure.

“Come in,” Baekhyun mutters, opening the door in an SNU hoodie and sweatpants, hair soft and fluffy. I