Finals were coming up. Chaewon couldn't concentrate. Finals were coming up and Chaewon couldn't concentrate. Could it get much worse than that? Yes, drastically so, she was being dramatic. Chaewon was usually no slacker, she had a good GPA, and her grades in all of her classes were satisfying. She wouldn't suffer if she failed a final or two. But she also didn't like the idea of failing. She didn't like feeling so unfocused on her work. It wasn't like her. But Spider-Man—What the ?

What the actual ? It wasn't like Chaewon never cursed, but it wasn't like her to just, well, do it. Out in the open and so vulgar. Her friends poked fun at her for it over the week and she couldn't blame them. She had slipped up in front of the entire nation and she was sure next time she met up with Spider-Man, the hero would about it as well. Because that was so Spider-Man, watching re-runs of their own news.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man.

Their only friend in the persona, Spider-Man had said? What a joke, Chaewon thought. Jealous? No, she wasn't jealous. Surprised, confused, perplexed, astonished, incredulous, just to name a few things that she was. But jealous? Hah. What a joke. What did Chaewon have to be jealous about? The Dark Spider-Man? Hah. No. Of course not.

Sure, there was someone else out there that Spider-Man was close to, someone else who Spider-Man was friends with, someone who probably knew who lain beneath the mask even though Chaewon didn't, despite her strong desires to—Where was Chaewon going with this? Right. She wasn't jealous. Except, she was.

Spider-Man had said she was the hero's only friend with the mask on and it made her feel special. And now? This? Another Spider-Man? Fighting along their side? Acting like they're all buddy buddies? Hah. Hahaha.

Honestly, what even was up with that? Forgetting all the jealousy—which wasn't jealousy, Chaewon would still refuse to accept—what was up with there being two Spider-Man's? The other Spider-Man, who Chaewon assumed could also be a girl, wore a very contrasting suit to the original, being all black with red accents that matched the blue and black accents on the original. And they were, well, their fighting style and their entire tactic and approach was different. It wasn't bad, really. Quite the opposite, actually. Through the week, the two had fought side by side a total of five times already—almost every single day. The people loved it, the duo. And it was understandable, because they fit well together. With original Spider-Man having a straight-forward way of attacking with some sarcastic side-comments, and the new Spider-Man having a more tactical and well-thought out approach with some more cutting comments. They were different in style, and that was what made them such a good vigilante duo fighting against crime. Talking about crime, it had drastically gone down since the duo formed.

Chaewon saw on the news a day ago, her sister Eunbi being the deliverer, that the vigilante duo had managed to defeat some of the gang leaders. And that scared the gangs. There were charts and everything. And that was good. Yes, that was good.

But something still felt heavy in Chaewon's chest. That anxious feeling and the unbearable dread. Like something bad was going to happen. Chaewon hoped she was wrong, she wouldn't be able to bear it if something happened to her hero. And she tried convincing herself it was only because things were finally starting to look up for her savior, that she felt obligated to be weary. But the feeling wouldn't go away.

Still, the Spider-Man duo was doing great, and when Chaewon had interviewed the two just three days ago, they mentioned something about digging deep and finding the main culprit behind everything, who they suspected was some highly-known rich man trying to pay off the gangs for some top secret reason which they couldn't reveal yet to the public. Not until they caught the guy and confirmed their suspicions. Chaewon so much as swooned right on the spot, admiring eyes over her hero and how brave and valiant and hard-working they were. Which led to a bigger problem.

Chaewon didn't think she was infatuated anymore. Infatuation only lasted for some time and it usually was just that, infatuation. But this, well, Chaewon might have been crazy, because she was starting to think she liked Spider-Man. Madness, it was literally madness. How she could like someone without knowing what they looked like? Okay, that sounded superficial and Chaewon swore she wasn't that kind of person—but there was still that .001% chance the person beneath the mask was an old erted man. Unlikely, but the chances were there. And Chaewon didn't like those chances.

So, what then? Was she supposed to move on from her crush? That was plausible, but the best way to move on from a crush was to find someone new—or, at least that was what she found when she googled 'How to move on from your hero who you don't really know, but you also kind of know enough to like?'—and Chaewon didn't have anyone else to move on to. Well, there was Minjoo, but if she was being honest, she was pretty sure the reason she liked Spider-Man had something to do with her suspicions over Spider-Man being Minjoo. Her stupid wishful thinking.

Chaewon sighed, closing the textbook that sat in front of her. Numbers were hurting her head, thinking too much was hurting her head. Chaewon looked up and scanned the library. It was packed with stressed college students that were studying for finals. She could relate—well, if she were actually studying. Which she wasn't because she couldn't concentrate or think and—

Chaewon's eyes lit up and her entire body straightened and stiffened when she caught sight of someone whom she hadn't talked to in a week—no, not Spider-Man, though she understood the hero was busy—Yena, who was standing at the other side of the library, at the check-out area, talking to a librarian.

There was that fast heartbeat again, and that stupid chest clench. Chaewon truly must have felt guilty over what happened before. Not only had she snapped at her friend, she hadn't contacted her afterwards to apologize, knowing well enough she was in the wrong. And Chaewon knew Yena would not contact her, feeling bad, thinking Chaewon was right for snapping at her, feeling like a horrible friend—it was just a very Yena thing to do. And she needed to let her know that wasn't the case.

And without thinking much, Chaewon quickly gathered her things, stuffing her notebooks and pencils into her backpack, and grabbing hold of her textbook as she got up and ran over to the girl who was already walking out of the library.

"Yena!" Chaewon called out when the girl was already further down the hall. She froze and Chaewon quickly made her way over.

When they were finally standing face-to-face, Chaewon allowed herself to release a big exhale. Yena looked different. Not a bad different, though. The eyebags that had been painful just to look at a month or so ago looked long gone, returning Yena's youth to her. Her eyes had a certain sparkle to them once again, not like before the whole mess between them happened, but a different one. Chaewon couldn't figure it out, but she thought it was nice. That Yena looked—lively, once more.

"Chaewon," Yena breathed out, and that sparkle instantly vanished. It made Chaewon's heart drop. Had their friendship really taken such a big hit?

"Uhm, I was wondering if we could talk," Chaewon glanced around the hall, taking notice of the people staring at them as they walked by, "somewhere else?"

There was a flash of panic in Yena's eyes and she bit her bottom lip, eyes glancing down to her phone in hand. Chaewon took notice of the way Yena's eyes shifted around, as if in search of something or someone. "Uh, I-" Yena looked around once again before finally bringing her eyes back to Chaewon. She nodded. "Okay."

They had chosen the school's cafe, a seat far in the back where there was only them. Chaewon glanced down at the cup she was holding, the looked back up to find Yena also avoiding eye-contact, gaze fixed on her own cup.

"I'm sorry."

Yena looked up, an incredulous look on her face. Was it that hard to believe that Chaewon could apologize? That she could admit when she was in the wrong?

"I-I don't understand. You were-"

Chaewon shook her head. "I'm sorry, Yena. I was in the wrong. You told me to wait for you, and I said I would. And because of my own problems and frustrations, I lashed out on you that day when I should have understood."

Yena shook her head. She glanced down at Chaewon's hand that lied atop the table. She reached out for it and there was something about the touch that felt like fire and Chaewon almost pulled away from the burning feeling. "Chaewon, I told you to wait and I understand if you can't. I'm sorry for not being there, I really am. And you aren't wrong for feeling the way you do. If you feel upset because I suddenly disappear without a trace or explanation—that's okay. I just—" There was a pause, hesitation. "I want you to know I'm here for you. No matter what, no matter when, trust me, I'm here for you always."

There was that heart clench again and Chaewon was starting to think she may need to see a professional about this. She nodded, staring deep into Yena's eyes. She was searching, searching for something else. An undertone, an underlying message. But Yena pulled away and backed up in her seat.

Chaewon smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Yena—" Chaewon was avoiding eye-contact, and her fingers were playing with her cup. "—Why don't we do something? Right now? Like—" There was an inhale and an exhale. "—Like the old days? You know, watching High School Musical in my living room couch, wrapped up in blankets with hot chocolate even though it's spring, just the way you like it—"

There was a look in Yena's eyes and Chaewon frowned when she saw the older girl quickly glance down at her phone. Oh.

"I'm sorry, Chaewon," Yena spoke, eyes closing for a moment. She exhaled. "I have to study for finals and help my mom with some things at home—you know how it is—and—"

"It's fine, you don't need to apologize," Chaewon said, another smile that wouldn't reach her eyes. "I get it. You go do you."

Yena looked hesitant, but then her phone buzzed and she picked it up, saying one last goodbye before walking away.

That one hurt more than the previous times and for the love of god, Chaewon couldn't figure out why.

Chaewon was probably sighing dramatically, staring out the window longingly when Eunbi walked in, kicking off her high heels and placing her bag on the side table, because she instantly glanced around before looking over at her sister.

"I haven't seen Yena around in a while."

Chaewon knew what she meant by that and she wasn't sure if she wanted to play into the game that her sister had set up. But she found herself speaking before processing. "She's busy with things she won't tell me about."

"Keeping secrets?" Eunbi asked, walking over to the fridge, pulling out the wine.

"Can't call them secrets if she straight up tells you she's keeping things from you and can't tell you because it's a burden."

Eunbi hummed and Chaewon turned to find her sister pouring herself some wine. She rolled her eyes, turning back to the window.

"That's a tough one," Eunbi spoke, heading to the couch.

Chaewon frowned, turning once again to look at her sister who was already flipping through Netflix. "And why do you care? You always said Yena was too loud."

"Yeah, and I stand by it," Eunbi scoffed, taking a sip of her wine. She then stopped, eyes softening. "But she's a good kid with a pure heart and the main friend of your life since you were, what, fourteen?"

Chaewon opened , ready to argue, ready to talk about all the other friends she had that weren't Yena—but she couldn't. She had other friends, but during the past few years of her life who would she call first when she first got accepted for the internship? Whose house would she bike to straight away when she got the email from her college, not even opening it up so see if she got in or not until she was there with her? Who did she cry to when senior year got so hard she considered dropping out of high school? Yena, it was always Yena.

Another sigh slipped out. Eunbi must have heard her distress, because she changed the subject. Though, not entirely.

"What about Minjoo? She's been here almost every day up until last week."

"She's been busy at the high school," Chaewon shrugged, finally removing herself from the windowsill. "They have finals this week. We're meeting up this weekend though, she's introducing me to her freshman friends."

"Hmm. So, when are you and Minjoo going to get together?"

The question was so sudden Chaewon found herself blushing a deep red and stuttering endlessly. "W-w-what? M-Minjoo an-and I? Like, what?"

Eunbi snorted before taking another sip of her wine. "If you're going to deny it at least act less obvious. I thought everyone knew you two have a thing?"

Chaewon went tight-lipped, fearing that anything else she might say would come out as a stupid stutter. She slowly shook her head before deciding to speak up once again. "I don't know if I feel that way towards her."

Eunbi gave her sister a side-glance and studied her face for a moment before smiling and turning back to the television. "You should trust your instincts more. They know what's right. What your heart desires."

Chaewon raised an eyebrow, but spoke no more. Huh. What her heart desires. Her instincts.

"Chaewon, this is Yujin, a first grader at the high school. And this is Wonyoung, a last grader at the junior high, though she seems to think the high school is her true school. And girls, this is Chaewon. You've heard about her."

Chaewon's face flushed, but she smiled at the girls nonetheless and greeted them kindly.

"Wow!" Wonyoung, the extremely tall baby one, exclaimed. "You really are pretty, like, classy!"

Chaewon blushed and glanced over at Minjoo who was rubbing the back of her neck bashfully.

"I thought Minjoo was lying, but you do seem as elegant as she claims," Yujin said, once again, no help to Chaewon's reddening cheeks.

The four girls sat at the table where Chaewon usually sat with her friends. Yujin and Wonyoung were across from her and Minjoo.

"So these are the two girls who approached you first when you moved back?" Chaewon asked, an amused smile tugging at her lips. "You didn't tell me how pretty and tall they are."

"Thanks, we're practically models, we know," Yujin said, sending Chaewon a wink before flipping her hair. Wonyoung followed along.

"No, but I did tell you they were embarrassing and—" Minjoo sighed, staring at the two young girls who were creating a series of different poses "—You can see for yourself."

Chaewon laughed, finding the whole exchange rather amusing. And it remained that way. Wonyoung and Yujin were two very interesting and rather amusing girls. In a weird, but nice way. Chaewon liked them, and she could see why Minjoo had also taken a liking to the two girls.

Wonyoung and Yujin both talked about their first meeting with Minjoo, rather animatedly so. And Chaewon loved it. She loved the way the two girls made Minjoo smile, such a beautiful and radiant sight that she could never get enough of. And she loved how young-spirited and spontaneous the two girls were in contrast to her and Minjoo. It reminded her of the the days when she was their age, fourteen and fifteen and with—Yena. Two inseparable best friends.

"So we can definitely call and text you now, right?" Yujin asked, taking her phone back and looking over the contact number that Chaewon had typed in.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, if you two would like," Chaewon said and the two younger girls grinned. They said their goodbyes and they were off, leaving