With a heavy heart, Naeun dragged her feet down the corridors, heading towards her class to get her mathematics exercise book. Having not yet recovered from the unexpected turn out of events, she felt anxious, immensely worrying about what Donghan could possibly do next.

She had no idea whether he's worth being trusted or not.

What if he leaks the recorded audio regardless of whether or not she followed his instructions? Plus, this obviously isn't going to be the only thing he'll ask her to do, there probably is a chain of more activities to it.

"Unnie!" a female voice soon called from behind, snapping her from her string of thoughts.

Turning on her back, she was faced an equally worried Oh Hayoung, uneasiness clouding her face.

"Unnie, are you OK?" she asked, walking closer before cupping the elder's face as she keenly studied her facial expression.

Concluding the only possible reason behind the latter's doleful face, Hayoung let go before firmly gripping onto her hands.

"Im sorry, I failed you," she apologized, shifting her gaze to the floor.

Guilt shrouding her soul, Naeun slipped her hands off the younger warm hold, before softly mumbling, "You don't have to be sorry, it's all my fault".

"We're in this together, unnie. It was I who exposed us, I shouldn't have told him that you too were-"

"Hayoung listen to what I have to say," the elder cut her off, her tone solemn as she lifted her face, eventually locking their gazes.

"It all was just... a lie," she confessed, breaking their eye contact, her gaze wondering off everywhere else, except the younger's face.

"W-what do y-you mean?" the latter's eyes widened a fraction as she stared back in disbelief at her partner in crime.

"Well, not exactly... I-I mean, I didn't tell you anything that day, but whatever I was planning t-to say wasn't true either," she spat the truth right out, felt her heart weigh lighter than it did, carrying the burden of that lie.

Dissapointed, Hayoung let go of the elders' shoulders as she took steps backwards, her expression soon morphing into a disgusted face. Her reaction spoke a massive, making clear the thoughts filling her head to the latter. Her newly found friendship was fading into thin air, right before her eyes, as guilt further engulfed her soul.

Attempting to keep the little that hasn't vanished yet, Naeun stepped forward as she softly called out, "Hayoung-ah... " but before she could even mutter one last apology, the younger girl put up her hand, gesturing her not to speak further.

"Don't ever talk to me," she spoke through gritted teeth, her voice trembling, tears threatening to fall off her eyelids.

Naeun was left in a loss of words, entirely putting the blame on herself thus losing the will to further defend herself. Without exchanging anymore words, Hayoung her back before walking further away. She felt humiliated, insulted in the worse way possible. How could someone senselessly take advantage of her kindness for their benefit?

On the other hand, Naeun stood frozen on her spot, her eyes glued on the latter as her figure drifted out of her sight. "I'm sorry, Oh Hayoung," she mumbled, shifting her gaze to the floor before walking towards her intended destination.

As instructed, she took her mathematics exercise book before heading back to the auditorium to hand it over to Kim Donghan. The moment she stepped in, his gaze immediately met hers before settling on what she had in hand. A tiny smirk crept its way onto his lips, which completely wiped off in a matter of seconds, before he approached her, who was standing still next to the hall's entrance.

Snatching the book from her hold, he whispered, "See you in class 10B" before taking his leave.

Heaving a sigh, she reluctantly headed back to her respective class, not bothering to satisfy her empty stomach as she suddenly lost her appetite. Strolling aimlessly around the corridors, trying her level best not to step anywhere close to the cafeteria, completely avoiding her friends, Naeun couldn't help but replay the recent events in her head. It didn't take long before the bell rang, dissapointment clouding every single student's face, wishing they could be granted more free time.

Stepping her foot in class, oddly after everyone else, her eyes landed on the one person who seemed most delighted by her presence, unable to wait any longer to have the void space beside her filled. Naeun stared back blankly as she stood next to the door frame, unable to mirror the latter's radiant smile. It was then when she recalled what Donghan earlier said to her.

Your pathetic attempts of hooking me to Seulgi, can you stop them?

Do you even have the slightest idea of how much it irks me?

His words mercilessly stung her heart, guilt surging her chest at the fact she had no other option but to fulfill Donghan's request rather than her friend's dreams.

Was she being selfish for prioritizing her reputation?

Unable to find the right answer to the question she formulated, she walked past her usual seat, to the back of the class before requesting to have her seat exchanged with Namjoo for the time being. As usual, Namjoo didn't hesitate to switch.

Seulgi had a hard time resisting the urge to turn on her back and steal a glance at her friend. Naeun's face was a clear reflection of what she was going through, Seulgi was no fool to not notice how troubled she seemed. Hinting she's aware the latter isn't OK would only increase Naeun's uneasiness, and that's not what Seulgi wants to happen, hence resolved to acting neutral.

"You don't look good at all," commented Seungwan as she eyed the depressed Naeun, comfortably re