Three Years Ago   I leaned against the window, my elbows against the sill, my chin propped against my hand. From our classroom, I kept watching the small animal outside. The squirrel was quite a fascinating being—surprisingly sly despite it’s adorable appearance. Perhaps ‘sly’ wasn’t the right word. They were determined beings who knew how to keep what was theirs to begin with.   “What are you doing?” Myungsoo asked, suddenly appearing at the door.   I glanced up at him, seeing him in his baseball uniform. I didn’t realise time passed by as I stood there observing the wood critter. I missed Myungsoo’s practice session for the first time today.   “I’m watching a squirrel,” I said, stepping aside so he could lean beside me. My lips curled into a furtive smile when I felt the side of his arm brush against mine. He smelled like sweat, and his arm was a little sticky, but I accepted him as he was.   “Why would you do that?” He asked in confusion, following the direction of my finger pointing at the animal.   “It’s called the eastern gray squirrel,” I said, watching the animal move around from spot to spot, digging holes without burying anything inside it.   “What is it doing?”   “It’s setting traps,” I said, widening my grin in admiration. “It knows other squirrels are trying to take its nut, so it creates a variety of holes to confuse them. They’d have to dig up a lot of empty traps, and eventually gives up before finding the actual nut.”   “Are they that smart?” Myungsoo asked, sharing the same amazement as I had when I first discovered the fact.   “Yes. Sometimes they even leave a pile of leaves or dirt on one spot to trick the thieves into thinking something is underneath it,” I continued telling. It was a theory I had watched on National Geography before, but seeing it with my own eyes was an astonishing phenomenon.   “That’s really…” Myungsoo hummed to find the right word. “Sly.”   “Really? I think it’s admirable,” I corrected him, continuing to stare at the squirrel as it finally stored its nut after digging numerous holes.   “I probably would’ve done the same thing.”   ***   Present   As we exited the haunted house, Myungsoo went up to talk to Suzy, trying to separate her from Jongin again. For once, Jongin let him be and walked over to me. He had that confident grin on his face.   “What went on in there? Took you guys some while before you exited,” Jongin remarked, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.   “Do you think we made out?” I asked him bluntly without filtering my words.   This statement made him scoff, as if there was something ridiculous about the possibility alone. “You gotta try harder if you’re trying to lie, Soojung,” he said in a singsong voice, teasing me.   “If I tried to lie, you wouldn’t even have known,” I said with a smirk, flipping my hair as I continued ahead. I did not know at what point I had given up on my fake persona when I was with him.   “That’s what you think,” he hummed as he stayed by my side. He matched his footsteps with mine, trying to keep a distance from Suzy and Myungsoo as we observed them from behind. I kept quiet, watching them chat and laugh so heartily.   “Would you think they were a couple if you looked at them?” I unconsciously blurted out, uttering my inner thought out loud.   Jongin raised his eyebrows, giving me a weird look before he stared at the two in front. “Perhaps not a couple. Their movements are too stiff for a couple.”   I smiled in relief. It was crazy how those mere words managed to revive my hope. “What about me and Myungsoo? Do we look like a couple?”   Jongin stared at me once again, and this time he laughed. The piercing sound mocked me and I glared at him, demanding an explanation.   “Those two may not look like a couple, but at least they have chemistry,” Jongin spoke, using the same bluntness as me. I hated the observations he made, cause I knew they were truthful to some extend. “You and Myungsoo are close, but he never looks at you the way he looks at her.”   His words stabbed my heart, confusing me in an array of swirling sadness and anger. I ended up laughing pathetically, trying hard not to show my vulnerability. “You make some sharp observations, Mr. Kim.”   He smiled at my words, knowing I tried my hardest not to let him get to me. “It is an observation only I could make. To commoners, you two would be mistaken as a couple.”   “To commoners? You speak as if you’re higher above the others,” I said.   “Am I not? We both are. The two of us.”   Everytime he likened himself to me, I felt a tinge of annoyance, and at the same time, some assurance. Knowing I wasn’t the only corrupted one with a rotten heart somehow comforted me. This world had not only tainted me, but the downfall in humanity was a sick virus evident in others.   “Would you still like to get closer to Suzy?” I asked, knowing what his answer would be. Someone like Jongin took pleasure in creating drama even if it did not benefit him. He simply hated the status quo and would take extreme measures to rebel against it.   “I never refuse a challenge,” Jongin said, staring at Suzy. He noticed the way Suzy’s eyes radiated whenever she looked at Myungsoo, and found it intriguing to direct that gaze toward himself instead. “Beside, the more I look at her, the cuter she gets.”   “Alright, then I shall tell you what will happen and what we should do,” I said, staring at the two in front of me. They were still laughing, so unaware of the calamity heading toward their direction.   Jongin turned to me momentarily before shifting his gaze at them as well. So I told him of the plan.   “Myungsoo is going to confess to Suzy, but she is going to reject him.”   His eyes widened in surprise. “How would you know that?”   “Because I have made it so,” I answered him, not masking the filthiness inhabiting my heart. I noticed that twisted smile of his, knowing he was interested in the plan. We may have different reasonings, but our objective aligned as one.   “So what do you want me to do?” He asked eagerly, impatient to take part in my dark schemes.   “When we’re back in school, I need you to start a rumor. Say that she rejected Myungsoo because she feels she is too good for him,” I said.   Unexpectedly, he chuckled, shaking his head.   “What?”   “You’re too naive, Soojung. Don’t you see the flaw in your plan?” He asked me, his mocking tone returning.   “What do you mean?”   “Your rumor is going to make Myungsoo seem pathetic, and it lacks reliability. I have only been here for a few days, but I know Suzy isn’t regarded as the popular girl. Why would Myungsoo want to date her?”   I unconsciously