I topped the midterms for my course. I learnt that in two separate texts from Mingyu and Minghao that day, because I couldn't bring myself to go to class. The last thing I needed was to face Mingyu, or the extremely curious Minghao for that matter. I was not going to avoid Mingyu and start an awkward battle between us, but I deserved this break for myself. 

I cleaned and gave the bear to Hyeyoung the morning after my "healing trip", as it was now officially known as between Mingyu and myself. As she embraced the bear with the most innocent grin in the world before throwing her arms around me to thank me profusely, I really didn't know why I hadn't seen the signs earlier. She was exactly what he'd always said he looked for in a girl. She was sweet, adorable, gentle, softspoken, pants only when it was compulsory, depended on others and was probably the epitome of what a girl should be. Specifically, the epitome of what Mingyu wanted. Suddenly everything made sense, it was as if the puzzle pieces somehow pieced themselves in my head all of a sudden. He pulled me in front of the shop window because Hyeyoung and I had similar sizes; the night I fell ill they cooked the porridge together; he's been volunteering with grocery distribution so that he could see her, or even sneak a conversation with her. I was suddenly so acutely aware of my differences from her, I could not even imagine why I thought I was the one. Just over a kiss? Was that it?

And he was probably one of the very few guys that Hyeyoung was ever comfortable with talking to, knowing how shy she was. It was incredible to know that she would open up to him, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy for her. 

Yet I would be kidding myself if I said I was totally elated for them right now. 

A lady looked at me funny as I put ten packs of tissue into my supermarket cart. She tapped my shoulder and pointed me to the adjacent product, which was a bundle discount at a much cheaper price than what I had. I thanked her and replaced the stuff accordingly. I was glad the shopping list came in early that week, because it was a timely escape. 

I thought it was the large amount of shopping that was weighing on my shoulders, but when I arrived at the dorms to see Mingyu waiting at the entrance, I realised it was the immense loneliness that made me drag my feet. He looked at me quizzically, and visibly confused as to why I had to shop during lesson hours. 

"Urgent stuff for some of the girls." He seemed to accept my excuse readily. I flinched slightly when he reached out to take my shopping bag, but I handed them to him quickly without complaint. My instinct was just to run away from him at that moment. Either that, or I wanted him to go away. 

"Are you alright? You don't look so well." He asked, visibly concerned. "Your fac