A week had passed since Mina and Chaeyoung decided to showcase their little facade. The gossip had died down, as they always do, and everybody seemed to accept the fact that Chaeyoung was involved with the Japanese. Of course even then, they still received glances here and there, eyes looking at them with curiosity and with interest, something in which Chaeyoung still couldn’t get used to.

Because she was supposedly her girlfriend, Chaeyoung began to notice that her classmates seem to tiptoe around her. It was like they were wary of her every movement and they didn’t want to get in her way. Like when she stood in line for the vending machine, the girl in front of her saw her, hesitated for a bit, and then walked away without even finishing her buy. Like when she enters the restroom, the conversations of the girls in there stops, and they don’t even bother finishing their sentences. Somewhat, all these made Chaeyoung uncomfortable.

The only ones that seemed to treat her the same was Jeongyeon and her friend, Dahyun. After their little interaction, Jeongyeon hadn’t brought up the topic to Chaeyoung, and they spoke to each other like before, as if their whole confrontation never happened. But because she knew her unnie well, Chaeyoung could tell that it still bothered her to a degree. The change in her expressions became more noticeable when Mina was around.

As the days go by, Chaeyoung had found herself sitting at the Japanese table during lunch. She had also started tagging along with them to their little adventures after school.

It was the same routine in the morning, and by that point, Chaeyoung knew exactly what time Mina’s car would roll into the parking lot and into her designated parking space. She stood there, waiting for the older one to unlock her car for Chaeyoung to reach into the passenger seat and grab her things.

“Until when do I keep carrying your things exactly?” Chaeyoung asked as she trotted behind her.

“Until my new one arrives. I already ordered it.”

“You sure you don’t want me to lend you another one of my bags? It would be much easier than to have me follow you around.”

Mina stopped walking, which caused the younger one to stop right behind her. She turned around, “You shouldn’t be following me in the first place. You should be right next to me. If you stay behind me, you’re going to look like my slave rather than my partner.”

“Well, you kinda treat me like one anyways...”

The Japanese gasped somewhat with exaggeration, “I do not! You were the one who made the offer. I didn’t force you into anything.”

“I’m basically trapped. I had no choice.”

The Japanese glared at her for a moment, then she huffed. “Fine. Give me that,” she reached over and took her things from her hands. Struggling at first, but finally managing to position it just right on her right arm, she then reached her left hand over and grabbed Chaeyoung’s right hand. “Better?”

Chaeyoung looked down at their connected hands and then at Mina. “I would rather hold your books,” she said with a tone of sass.

“No,” Mina said in a teasing tone and started walking again, practically dragging Chaeyoung into the building and through the hallways.

They got to their first class and the moment they entered the room, Chaeyoung freed her hand and made her way to her own seat at the back. She dropped herself onto the chair, all the while wiping down the sweat that had formulated on her palm.

Her friend, Dahyun, glanced at Mina and then at Chaeyoung. She leaned in slightly, “So the rumors are true? You’re dating Myoui Mina?”

Chaeyoung nodded without making eye contact. She had to watch herself with Dahyun. Her friend was good at telling apart lies, especially since Chaeyoung had never been a really good liar.

The purple-haired girl narrowed her eyes at her for a moment, and then dismissing her suspicions, she sat straight in her seat.

The teacher instructed them to write the notes on the powerpoint projected in front of them. While everyone else scribbled away with their pens, Chaeyoung seemed to stare off into space. She kept her eyes up front, with her pen in hand but not moving.

Dahyun looked over at her friend and sighed.

When the class bell rang, Dahyun stopped Chaeyoung from immediately jumping out of her seat. “Let’s meet up at the library after school,” Dahyun said. “You can’t keep slacking off. You’ll barely pass at this point.”

“I know. Thank you,” the younger one smiled. Then she her heel and approached Mina who was waiting for her.

When they got to their next class, Dahyun kept a worried watch over Chaeyoung. She was seated at the back and right within her view was her dear friend situated right between Momo and Mina. She felt somewhat protective all of a sudden, and she could only hope that her friend’s rumored girlfriend didn’t have any ill will towards her.

Dahyun had known Chaeyoung since they were kids. They were childhood friends and became close during junior high. However, they weren’t the kind of friends that spent every free time they had with each other. Chaeyoung was extremely busy with her studies, always aiming for the top spot and working hard to make sure everything she turned in was perfect. All the while, Dahyun was the kind of student who was content with a mere passing grade.

The two grew distant from each other after middle school because Chaeyoung went to a different high school for her first year. But even then, Dahyun still considered her a close friend, which was why she couldn’t help but be concerned over her, especially since she knew how much Chaeyoung didn’t like being the center of attention. And now, everywhere she turned, her younger friend seemed to be the center of gossip.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the person next to her spoke to her. She turned to see Sana leaning in to whisper.

“Do you have another pen?” the Japanese asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Dahyun started digging into her backpack for her extra pen. She paused and then looked at her. “You have it. I let you borrow one last time, remember?”

“Ah. You’re right.” Sana bit her lip. “Sorry. I must’ve left it on my desk. I’ll give it back to you tomorrow.”

“We don’t have school tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah. Hmmm,” the Japanese thought about it, lightly biting the tip of her nail. “I’ll definitely bring it back next week then.”

“You don’t have to go that far for a pen… You can keep it.” Dahyun couldn’t help but slightly smile at how hard this girl was trying. Isn’t she a part of Mina’s gang? she thought. I always thought she was stuck up or something, but she’s kinda nice?

Sana shook her head, “I’ll feel bad. And I’d probably ask it from you again either way.”

Dahyun covered and chuckled. “I’ll just bring more pens then.”

The older one looked at her and smiled. She watched the purple-haired girl open her notebook and quietly take her notes, glancing up and down from her desk to the board. Sana glanced into her bag on the floor, eyeing her own pen, which she can’t really take out after saying she didn’t have one.

Therefore, Sana just sat there staring at the board. After a few minutes, the teacher stopped talking and looked at her, “Sana-ssi, why aren’t you writing any of this down?”

Sana sat up straight, suddenly conscious that everybody had turned their eyes on her. “I-I don’t have a writing utensil.”

The teacher placed her hands on her hips and sighed. “Would somebody lend Ms. Minatozaki a pen, please?”

The girl next to her handed her an extra pen, which Sana shyly took. “Thank you,” she mouthed to her.

“Don’t forget to return it,” Dahyun whispered with a playful tone.

Sana gave a light giggle. “I won’t,” she whispered back.

Chaeyoung took out her textbook from her bag, causing Momo to look over at her. “You found your book?” Momo asked.

“Ah, no. Mina got me another one.”

“Ahhh.” Momo gave a light pout as she opened her own textbook for the lecture. She had hoped she could share with Chaeyoung for a bit longer. The younger one was quite good at explaining things Momo found hard to comprehend. But since they’re no longer sharing, their desks remained distant, making her unable to whisper questions to her without the teacher scolding them to keep quiet.

Momo focused on her teacher’s words, but the more she listened, the more confused she got. She looked down onto her notes and frowned. Scratching her head in confusion, she did the formula over and over, but somehow kept getting the wrong answer.

Chaeyoung scooted closer, noticing her having a hard time. “That’s supposed to be a 9,” she whispered, pointing at Momo’s mistake.

“Oh.” Momo redid the problem and finally got the correct answer. She looked at Chaeyoung with a smile. “Thank you.”

The younger one smiled, then went back to her notes.

She really is nice after all, Momo thought with joy. She felt her disappointment fade away along with her fear that Chaeyoung would stop helping her out during lectures. Throughout the duration of the class, she would lean towards her and ask questions if she couldn’t understand something. Chaeyoung was more than happy to be patient with her and explain. Momo felt relieved.

Mina glanced over at the two, their desks practically touching. She looked over at the increasing distance between her own desk and Chaeyoung’s. Somehow, that big gap bothered her. She didn’t know why, but the more she looked at it, the more she couldn’t help but look over at them.

The Japanese looked up and waited for her teacher to turn her back on them. When she did, Mina slowly, and quietly, moved her desk a