To Kim Chaewon, keeping a promise is the most sacred thing a person could do. She has never broken one, that's why her friends, Choi Yena and Ahn Yujin could surely give one hundred percent of their trust on her once she says these words;

 

"I solemnly swear..."

 

Now that they are studying law, she takes note even more of the promises she'll keep. It's very significant to maintain dignity and trust while pursuing the course.

 

"It's just almost a month since the classes have started, and we've got loads to work out, and all of these papers have to be submitted next week?" Yena whined as she stopped typing a variety of words on her laptop.

 

"This is pure agony." Yujin countered her friend's statement.

 

"Come on guys, we're literally studying at Korea's top university, this is already expected." Chaewon sipped on her coffee before continuing her statement. "Besides, we have the whole weekend to work on our loads, we actually have a good time allotted with all of these paperworks." 

 

Chaewon couldn't be more thankful than passing the entrance examination with her friends. They've been together since the start, with her and Yena being cousins and finding common interests with Yujin in their middle school years, that's how it all began.

 

She sighed as she watched her friends slouch on their seats.

 

"Okay, okay, I get it. Let's continue working on these in our dorms." Chaewon gave up on keeping them motivated with their work. 

 

The three thought that they could get some of their tasks done with the current ambiance. Seeing the minimalistic type of coffee shop they're currently in is a whole different mood from the chaotic world outside, although their fellow college students in the room are getting busy with typing in their laptops while drinking their coffee, compared to what they got used to outside, everything seems calmer.

 

With this atmosphere, Chaewon was reminded of something else, another reason why she brought her friends here after a long exhausting week of adjusting themselves to college life. 

 

"You know what? We could talk about something else if you're bored but don't wanna leave this good coffee-."

 

"I know you want to talk about 'that' particular something." Yena cut her off. Yujin looked at her and agreed by nodding.

 

Chaewon's cousin knows her too well, the same goes for the youngest one on their table, what does she expect though? 

 

Yena sighed before clasping her hands together, leaning her arms on the wooden slab in front of her.

 

"It's about that Eric Sohn again, isn't it?" Chaewon felt like she was being interrogated with a crime she committed and being guilty about it. 

 

She looked away before nodding slowly.

 

"Can you help me with it?" Chaewon looked at both of them, the two looked at each other and already knew what their friend wants to imply.

 

"Why don't you just confess to him already?" Yujin asked while raising an eyebrow.

 

"It's not that easy, Yujin." Chaewon chuckled.

 

"You will be awkward in front of the person you like once you planned to confess, you'll get distracted by your feelings." She explained while the youngest one gets serious about listening.

 

"Also, getting rejected is the most crucial thing to consider, you might not want to gain the pain afterwards." 

 

"Chaewon, it's pretty obvious that our dongsaeng has never fallen in love with someone." Yena chuckled while staring at the youngest, Yujin just scratched her nape while grinning.

 

Despite being in the same year, Yena and Chaewon won't forget that they're a year older than Yujin. She began earlier in school than she's supposed to be. Although she's the youngest, her height gap with her older friends are very visible, she's much taller.

 

"One more thing..." Chaewon paused for a while, looking at her friends back and forth, she's trying to earn their whole attention to what she would tell.

 

"...he should make the first move because he gave me hints first." She beamed afterwards, the two rolled their eyes at their friend's testimony. 

 

It is expected with Chaewon to put her pride first over everything. Whatever it takes, she doesn't give a damn as long as she keeps her vanity high. 

 

Another reason why she's careful of every pledge she engages in.

 

"So you're saying that he should be the one to confess?" Yena made sure that she gets the point right.

 

Chaewon nodded and smiled sheepishly, "Uh-huh."

 

Her smile went away when someone familiar entered the shop. Suddenly, she felt her heart beating fast.

 

"Speaking of the devil." Yena plastered a grin at Chaewon, who's awkwardly staring at the guy who had entered the cafe.

 

"Hey, how about we play a game?" Yujin leaned closer to the table and stared at her.

 

She just raised an eyebrow at the tallest girl, "A game?"

 

"Yena unnie and I will think of a dare for you." The youngest girl grinned.

 

Yena looked at her while smirking. "That's interesting Yujinnie." 

 

They finally finished their coffee and waited for moments until the short-haired girl spoke again.

 

"I'm really intrigued by your words, it's been a while since we've done this." Chaewon remembered their high school days, always seeking for thrill by playing truth or dare. By then, she realized something.

 

"Yujin, if our game is truth or dare, why didn't you ask me to choose between those?"

 

"Well, " Yujin sat up straight before proceeding with her statement.  

 

"Truth is not an option anymore since we already got something essential from you today." Chaewon rolled her eyes, though it makes sense. 

 

She noticed that her cousin wanders her eyes around the shop interior, which is very unusual for her to act like it. 

 

Yena flicked like a bulb has lightened up in her head. A sign that she had something in her mind already.

 

"You definitely don't need to pick 'truth' anymore."

 

Chaewon got enthralled with Yena's words. Still, she managed to put a smirk on her face.

 

"So, what's the dare?" Chaewon sounded like she's ready to play the game.

 

"Try to hit on that person over there." Yena lowered her voice which adds up to the thrill of her idea. She pointed at someone across their table.

 

Chaewon looked for what her cousin had pointed. The short-haired girl can't precisely tell who her cousin was talking about so she furrowed her eyebrows.

 

"You mean that guy?" She gave a look at the skinny lad, he's not the type Chaewon would date, so she felt slightly repulsed.

 

Yena laughed, "No! I mean that one." There are only a few college students left inside the cafe, across their table, Chaewon couldn't see any guys left except for the previous one she had seen. Aside from that is a group of busy girls doing their work on their laptops while discussing.

 

"That brunette one with glasses." If Chaewon was still drinking her coffee, she might have splattered it on her cousin's face. 

 

She let out a snarky laugh, "Are you freaking serious, Yena? Yujin?" And then she looked at the two of them, Yena beamed at her and Yujin, who agrees with what her friend had come up just nodded.

 

"You both know that I like men and not girls, right?" Chaewon looked at them with disbelief in her eyes, she felt betrayed.

 

"Well, there's no thrill for you to hit on men, besides, you just told us that you don't like to make the first move." Yena just shrugged while explaining.

 

Chaewon rolled her eyes. She knew her friends won't go easy on her when they play, but she certainly didn't expect this one coming.

 

"Am I really going to do this in front of him?" What makes Chaewon nervous is not the dare itself, but the fact that she'll ruin her own reputation in front of the guy she likes.

 

"Exactly! Who knows he might get jelly after seeing it." Yena winked.

 

She's also challenged to do it, flirting with women isn't her thing, for she is straight as a ruler. It wasn't impossible for her friends to have such an idea like that, particularly coming from Yena, who's currently hitting on a girl she met weeks prior to the start of college.

 

"Look, her companions are leaving, grab the chance, Chaewonnie." 

 

Although, Chaewon is still open with this thing, and so she stood up from her seat as if she's saying 'challenge accepted'.

 

Yena smirked and mumbled "nice" while Yujin clapped her hands silently, both cheering for their beloved friend.

 

"Mind if I sit here?" Chaewon smiled at the brunette while grabbing the chair.

 

"Sure." Her short response made Chaewon a bit bothered, the woman is busy typing on the laptop so she didn't even take a glance at the short-haired girl.

 

This is going to be hard.

 

Chaewon stared at the lass in front of her. She couldn't ignore the fact that the girl who's wearing a simple white long sleeve shirt and has glasses could have a dulcet face that stands out.

 

Notwithstanding her ual orientation, she would prefer this woman rather than the guy across their table. 

 

She spurned at the thought of it. Chaewon, this is only a dare.

 

After a few minutes, she fake coughed to gain the brunette's attention.

 

"Oh, hello there, beautiful," The girl had finally lifted her head to look at Chaewon and smiled at her.

 

"I'm Kim Minjoo by the way." 

 

Chaewon chuckled meekly, "Kim Chaewon."

 

It took moments to realize that the short-haired girl was unconsciously staring at the brunette, she looked away after that.

 

Minjoo laughed, "Kim Chaewon, is it okay if you try to consult this?" 

 

Chaewon leaned closer as the brunette moved her laptop facing the other way. 

 

"The topic is all about the national health crisis. I've included how the government dealt with it using constitutions. I need to make sure it's accurate," Minjoo explained while Chaewon listened to her.

 

They've been talking and discussing for a while, Minjoo got a lot of stuff to get help with so it took them longer than Chaewon had expected with their first meeting.

 

The brunette even got the both of them something to drink to spend the time well inside the coffee shop. Chaewon's friends approached her to tell that they'll leave already.

 

"Aren't you gonna wait for me?" She furrowed her eyebrows.

 

"Don't worry, we'll take care of your dorm for you," Yujin winked at her.

 

She sighed and got back to help Minjoo.

 

A few hours had passed before they finished all of the paperwork, literally. They consulted each other's assignments despite the difference in their faculties.

 

"I never thought that we could finish all of these in one sitting, huh?" The brunette looked at Chaewon, seeking for her agreement.

 

"Uhh..." Chaewon looked over the glass wall of the coffee shop, it's already getting dark.

 

"Kim Chaewon! Thank you so much for today." She grabbed her hands and shook it, then she smiled at the short-haired girl.

 

The other gulped and laughed sheepishly. 

 

As soon as they cleared up everything on their table, Chaewon immediately stood, "I have to go." Minjoo just nodded at her. "See you again!"

 

"Yena unnie, don't follow me here, you should focus on guarding the weapons!" Chaewon heard her friends' loud screams when she stepped inside her dorm, they're playing games again.

 

"Yah, Yujin I need your help- oh, you're here," Yena took a quick glance at Chaewon before giving her whole attention to the game again.

 

She just shook her head at how comfortable her friends are in her dorm, Yujin lying on her bed while Yena is sitting at the edge of it. They're even more comfortable here than with their own dorm. 

 

Even if they're cousins, Yena and Chaewon chose to separate dorms, with Yujin accompanying Yena as her dormmate. 

 

Chaewon cleaned her bag and changed her clothes. She went back to her bed afterward.

 

"Have you eaten dinner?" Chaewon sat down beside Yena, taking a look at her gameplay.

 

"Not yet, we're waiting for you, let's order spicy chicken wings!" Yujin said without looking away at her phone.

 

"Yeah, I'm kinda craving for it- Yujin! We won!" Yena yelped with a big smile on her face.

 

Yujin got up quickly from the bed, celebrating their victory on a game. Chaewon just chuckled at their actions.

 

"Chaewon, tell us the story," Yena began to talk after recovering from the triumph.

 

"What story?" Chaewon is confused with what Yena was talking about.

 

"Of course, your interaction with that girl in glasses. What story are we gonna talk about other than that? Your inexistent love story with Eric?" Yena said sarcastically.

 

Chaewon just rolled her eyes at her cousin.

 

Then she remembered her interaction with that girl, Kim Minjoo. It made her felt tired, with all of those things they've done at the coffee shop.

 

She began to tell them everything they did for the whole three hours spent.

 

" isn't stopping from discussing stuff, she even made me check out her medical essay. I mean, I only examined those constitutions that have already taught to us but still," she sighed after explaining.

 

"Honestly, she's a complete nerd, a nightmare," Chaewon gave them an exhausted look, which just made laugh.

 

"At least you learned something even from a complete stranger," Yena commented

 

"Yeah, you two could never," she rolled her eyes. 

 

As they've planned, they started to order delivery food. They ate their dinner immediately after it has arrived.

 

"Isn't the girl pretty though, Chaewon unnie?" Yujin suddenly asked.

 

Chaewon nearly choked on her food. She glared at Yujin

 

"It doesn't have to do with her being all loquacious." 

 

Yujin and Yena looked at each other, Chaewon stared at them confused.

 

"Chaewon, don't you know her?" Yena scratched her forehead.

 

"Do you know something that I don't?" Chaewon furrowed her eyebrows, she's completely confused with everything the whole day. Except for their lectures, of course.

 

"Kim Minjoo is quite popular," Yujin told her calmly as she knew it for a long time already.

 

"You're joking, right?" All this time, Chaewon thought that they totally picked their target randomly.

 

"Our blockmates are actually talking about her, she's the it girl of our batch," Yena added.

 

"How could I not knew it, then?" The short-haired girl asked them, quite helpless with her tone.

 

"Duh, Chaewon unnie, you never really cared about your surroundings because you're too focused on your studies," the younger chuckled while reminding her.

 

Yujin's right as Chaewon thought. She didn't think of anything else aside from her studies for the whole month. She's that studious, setting high expectations for herself is nature, for her parents are doing the same to her.

 

She was reminded of what happened a while ago. Even though she likes studying, she didn't enjoy it with her company who's a complete stranger to her, Minjoo. 

 

"Did the studious girl just complained studying with the it girl?" Yena gave her a teasing smile. 

 

"I have my reasons! She almost made me look like her secretary with all those paperwork I've checked for her, it felt like my assignments were doubled," 

 

"We're not that close for her to do that to me," she pouted.

 

"Isn't it a good sign? I heard that she's usually quiet." Yena rubbed her chin as if she's examining something.

 

"Good sign? Where?" Chaewon started to furrow her eyebrows as she drank from her water.

 

"The possibility of you two becoming close, it means she's interested in you!" 

 

She almost splattered the water on her cousin's face after her statement. Her eyes widened.

 

"What?!" 

 

"I didn't even approach her that nicely, or did I?" Chaewon also questioned herself, there are too many things that happened today.

 

"How could we know?" Yena smirked which made Chaewon raised an eyebrow.

 

"I bet she's just being pretentious," Chaewon concluded.

 

"I just know Kim Minjoo unnie could make a straight ruler bend," Yujin said while looking at the short-haired girl, then she winked.

 

"Hey! Let's bet," now, both of her friends are staring at her, while she's waiting for them to finish their statement.

 

"If Chaewon falls in love with Kim Minjoo..." Chaewon gaped at her cousin's statement even before she finishes it.

 

"...then Yujin and I win." 

 

"As if I will?!" Chaewon started to glare at them.

 

"If you won't, then you win. We might also treat you mint choco ice cream anytime you want," Yena's last statement seemed to make Chaewon change her eyes' deadly glare into a hint of sparkle and hope.

 

"Why are we still putting a bet on this anyway? I don't find it challenging," Of course flirting with the same gender considering she's straight is a challenge, but her falling in love? It just seems impossible to her.

 

"We're trying to see something," Chaewon sighed out of frustration at Yujin's vague explanation.

 

"Uh-huh, I know we're gonna see more aside from Eric's feelings for you," Yena added, making Chaewon more confused.

 

"With what you've told us about your first impression with Kim Minjoo, who's known for being quiet and snob, is actually talkative and nerdy towards a certain girl named Kim Chaewon." 

 

Her friends are starting to get on her nerves, so it is with Kim Minjoo, she can't really imagine falling for that girl after making her more exhausted than she already is.

 

"We know it's impossible to happen, right?" Chaewon became more serious now.

 

"But, I'm in this game, for the sake of mint choco ice cream, "

 

"Are you really sure you're not going to fall?" Yena raised her eyebrows at her cousin.

 

Chaewon then raised her right hand, like she's going to do a pledge. Yujin and Yena knew at that moment what she would say next.

 

"I solemnly swear that I will never fall for that nerd slash chic named Kim Minjoo."