Hina's mind was spinning with confusion.

She was thankful that she wasn't drinking water at that moment or else she'll end up spraying water everywhere.

The woman, Jaemin's mother smiled vaguely before going back to the kitchen. When Hina was certain that she's far enough to hear them, she gently hit Jaemin's arm. "You're crazy! You should have told me"

He smiled and pushed a glass of water to her.

Hina tried to remember if she have seen his mother before while gulping down the glass of water. On their graduation ceremony, as far as she remembered, his mother wasn't present. Hina recalled that only his father came up to the stage when Jaemin received an award for being an outstanding student.

"She's living here in Seoul because of this restaurant" Jaemin began. "When my grandmother died two years ago, my mother was the one who kept this restaurant alive. When she heard that I was going to study here in Seoul she was beyond ecstatic" He continued, as if he noticed that Hina was lost in her own thoughts.

"Ah" The only word that came out from , she doesn't even consider it as a word. The restaurant was starting to get crowded since it's almost dinner time. Several students entered inside and as expected, some girls would steal glances at Jaemin.

Jaemin called the waitress and asked for another glass of water after noticing that Hina's glass were almost empty. The waitress looked at her with a sceptical look before walking away.

"Do you know her?" She asked.

Jaemin followed her gaze before answering. "Not really. I think she's a new hire. Why?"

Hina shook her head. "Nothing"

"Are you jealous?"

She looked up, stunned that he dared to ask such question. "Are you crazy?"

"You didn't answer" He pressed with a smile plastered on his face.

Was she supposed to answer the question? Hina thought. "Well, she was looking at me as if she's disappointed"

His eyebrows knitted together. "Eh?"

Hina smiled and tried to change the topic. "But really, your mother.. You should have told me!"

At the same exact moment, his mother appeared with another bowls of ramen. When she reached the table, Hina immediately stood up and bowed his head. "Mrs. Na, I'm sorry I wasn't able to address you properly awhile ago"

She flashed another smile, her laugh lines showing. "Oh dear, no need to worry. Jaemin can be a little mischievous sometimes you know"

Hina nodded in agreement. "Yes, he is" and then sat down again when his mother placed the bowls on the table. She thanked his mother before she went back to the kitchen again. She was already full with the first bowl but thinking that wasting food was a sin, she forced herself to finish the second bowl. Jaemin finished his too in no time.

After their dinner, Hina thanked his mother and promised to come back again. His mother told her that she will be more than happy to serve her. When they stepped outside, she felt the wind blew, sending chills down to her spine. Although she dressed for the cold weather in a black turtleneck shirt under a navy blue coat and a jeans, Hina couldn't help but shiver due to the cold weather. It had gotten cold already.

Jaemin excused himself from Hina and went back inside as if he left something. She waited patiently outside, checking her phone to see several messages from Herin and her mother reminding her not to forget dinner. She smiled to herself and inserted her phone back to her bag when Jaemin appeared.

He handed her a scarf and Hina seemed confused.

Still holding the scarf, he spoke. "It's getting cold so you should use this" but instead of handling it over again to her, he folded the scarf in half and draped it around her neck.

Hina was too stunned to move so she stood there like a statue while Jaemin was adjusting the knot. Deep inside, her heart was thumping unsteadily. She suddenly realized that this was the closest physical contact they made, ever.

Jaemin's lips formed a satisfied smile after putting the scarf around her neck. "Much better"

The scarf smelled amazing. It smelled like a baby cologne.

When she looked up, their eyes met. If her heart was thumping unsteadily awhile ago, this time, she felt like her heart stopped beating for a second. It took them a few seconds before Hina looked away, clearing .

Jaemin, on the other hand, didn't look embarrassed at all. As if it was just a normal thing to do.

"I should go home now" Hina spoke, checking the time on her watch. She still have some undone homework. Jaemin nodded in agreement but before they leave, Hina noticed that Jaemin doesn't have his bag with him. "Aren't you going to bring your bag with you?"

"My bag? I just live right there" He answered, pointing a gate few steps away from the restaurant.

His answer left Hina confused. She remembered yesterday they walked home together after the dinner with Jeno and Mark because he said he lived close to her dorm. "But if you live here.. then the last time we went home together.. you told me that..."

"I'm not going to make you walk home all by yourself, Hina" He sounded really sincere. "If I didn't lie, you wouldn't let me walk you home"

She was still dumbfounded. "You didn't have to do that!"

In return, Jaemin grinned at her. "You don't have to feel guilty"

"You're unbelievable" Hina muttered before walking a few steps away from him. Jaemin followed behind. She still couldn't believe that he lied to her so that he could walk her home but she couldn't help but feel giddy after knowing that he wanted to walk her home. He was truly a gentleman.

"Are you mad at me?" Jaemin asked, walking forward to catch up on her steps.

Hina looked at her with a soft smile. "Of course not. How can I be mad at you?"

Jaemin smiled back as he tried to read her expression. "I thought you'd be mad at me for lying"

"Well on that part, I think I am mad at you" Hina noted. Jaemin's brow puckered for a moment. "You don't have to lie or to walk me home. It's not that far of a walk, you know"

"Just making sure that you'll get home safe and sound" He answered simply. The two continued to walk side by side. Hina would sometimes glance at him when he's looking away.

On their walk, they talked about their high school days. Of course, Hina was careful enough to keep the memories about how she fancy him before left untouched. Their conversation was going well and she doesn't want to ruin it by bringing up that topic. She also found out that Donghyuck is in Seoul as well and is now a trainee of SM Entertainment.

"Hul. When he told us about that before, I thought he was lying"

Jaemin laughed at her. "So do I. Who would believe? Anyway, he's the reason why I met Mark hyung. They're both trainees"

"Really? That's so great. I can't believe I know at least two people who is now a trainee under SM. Next time that I meet them, I should ask them to help me get an autograph from Eunhyuk oppa" Hina said in excitement.

"You should ask for their autograph first! They're going to be famous someday too" Jaemin noted with a smile while Hina nodded in agreement.

"Well, you're right. Anyway, so it's because of Donghyuck that you got to know Mark right?"

He hummed in agreement. "Lami as well. She's also a trainee there"

'No wonder Mark and Lami knew each other'. Hina thought.

"Ahhh really?" Hina tried to sound surprised. They became silent for the rest of the walk. They were already close and Hina could almost see her dorm building. She then suddenly remembered the text message she received from him last night and contemplated whether to ask him about it or not. When they reached the entrance of her dorm building, she took all her courage to ask him about it.

"About last night..." She began, looking down to her feet. "Did you send a message to me?"

Hina looked up and saw him staring at her. She tried to read his expression and it looked like he was unsure what to answer. Deep down, Hina wanted to run away for daring to ask him about it. What if it wasn't him who sent that message?

Realizing that it's taking too long for him to answer, Hina tried to change the topic before she leave. "Forget it. The message isn't that important, you know. I think it was just a spam message" and let out an awkward laugh.

"It was me" Jaemin finally confirmed. Hina looked at him as if she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"It was me" He repeated again, then continued. "Hina, I missed you"

Hina wanted to pretend that she didn't hear him but it was too clear to not hear it. He looked too serious so he's definitely not joking. Not knowing what to do, she wanted to just walk away but it would be too rude of her to do so.

"We're here already. I should get going" Hina said awkwardly, looking around so he could avoid his gaze. She started walking away and then looked back when she realized that she haven't thanked him for walking her home. "By the way, thank you"

She wasn't able to hear his reply since she already left before he could do so. When she reached her room, she immediately entered and locked the door. Myungeun, her roommate noticed her.

"Why do you look like someone was chasing you?" She commented after seeing Hina catching her breath.

Hina wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. "Oh, it's nothing"

Her roommate didn't look convinced. She stood up and walked towards the window to check the people outside the dorm. Thankfully, Jaemin wasn't there anymore. "Well, I guess you were just too excited to go home"

"Yes I am" Hina tried to sound wholeheartedly.

That night, the two ate their dinner and Myungeun was the first one who slept while Hina tried to finish her papers so she doesn't have to worry anymore. She wanted to finish it before Saturday so that she can just rest on Sunday. The party on Saturday was still being pushed through. Thankfully, Hina was able to finish the last paper but had to sleep late just to finish it.

Hina was tempted to ditch the rest of the class that Friday but she knew how important those subjects are so she endured the rest of the day jotting notes and listening to her professor's lecture. There were no signs of Jaemin. She wanted to return the scarf he lent her yesterday. Hina was