“I have great news,” Kibum smiled at Junghee as they walked to the car together. “Great news for me would be if you agreed to go on a date, but your great news is never that, is it?” Junghee smirked. Kibum rolled his eyes. “Enough with the dating! My news is about your math tutor. Jinki agreed to both tutor and rehearse with you starting this Saturday! Isn’t that wonderful?” He hummed happily as they got in the car.

“But he hasn’t spoken to either one of us in about a month. Why would he suddenly say yes?” Kibum shrugged, “Taemin asked him for me. Jinki must not be upset about the talent show anymore. I’m thrilled he agreed to rehearse for it. Aren’t you?” He carefully pulled out of the school parking lot and headed toward their home.

Junghee bit her lip and nodded slightly. She let out a soft chuckle. “What an… exciting development. Why did you pick Jinki Oppa as my tutor anyway?”

“Well, the secondary reason I chose Jinki is because he’s constantly the number one student in math class and has tutored students before.” Junghee glanced over at him. “If that’s the secondary reason, what’s the primary?” she asked. “The primary reason is that I trust my best friend. In fact, he’s the only guy around that I trust not to fall for your boy-crazed antics,” Kibum added with a slight smirk. Junghee frowned. “I’m not boy-crazy!” She huffed, “Okay, yes, I would love to have romance in my life. What person wouldn’t want that? Even cockroaches have more romance than me!” Kibum laughed loudly, which gained him a glare from Junghee. “You’re seriously jealous of cockroaches right now?” Kibum asked with a skeptical chuckle. After Junghee folded her arms and sulked, Kibum cleared his throat and continued the drive home in silence.

***

Sitting at her desk later that night, Minjung thought carefully about how to approach Junghee’s challenge of seducing Kibum. Minjung had been both intrigued and intimidated by Kibum for years. Kibum was different from her 99 Hyungs. About one year after she’d become friends with Junghee, Kibum explicitly told her not to call him Hyung anymore. She never understood the reason behind the sudden request, but ever since that day, there was an underlying awkwardness between the two.

Minjung hadn’t wanted to admit it to Junghee because she worried how it would affect their friendship, but Kibum was her secret crush. A couple months ago, she’d even subscribed to his vlog, BumKey Says, under the pseudonym Flaming Princess. Minjung didn’t know exactly when her feelings for him changed, when he’d stopped being Junghee’s annoying older brother and became someone who made her heart flutter when he entered the room, but Junghee’s challenge was the impetus she needed to finally reveal her secret feelings. “Chois never quit. Chois never give up. Chois never fail,” she said quietly to herself.

After debating internally the pros and cons of asking him to the dance in person, sending him a text message, or writing him a letter, Minjung concluded that the latter was her best option. She decided against asking in person because she was worried that she’d say the wrong thing and they’d bicker again. Minjung thought a text message was too impersonal. “First, I’ll invite him to this dance,” she said resolutely. “Depending on his response, I’ll tell him my feelings.” She swallowed, “That way, even if he rejects the invite, my feelings won’t be rejected.” Minjung carefully wrote a letter, which showcased her neat penmanship.

She folded the letter and placed it in a plain white envelope which she’d labeled “Kim Kibum Sunbaenim.” “I’ll slip this in his locker before school tomorrow,” she told herself. Minjung did a quick fist pump to cheer for herself. Then she climbed into bed and went to sleep.

***

Junghee looked at the lyrics she’d typed up for the talent show duet. Since Jinki had gone AWOL for the past month, Junghee took it upon herself to decide their song. After considering four different songs that they could cover for their duet, she ultimately picked Because of You by Ne-yo. She also edited the lyrics and decided on their line distribution.

“I guess the only thing left to do now is send this to Chicken Oppa before our tutoring/practice session this Saturday,” Junghee mused. She shook her head, chuckling softly at the absurdity of Kibum picking Jinki to be her math tutor. “Bummie really said that Chicken Oppa is the only guy he trusts. If only he knew… Sometimes,” she said softly, “sometimes I wonder if I should just tell Bummie everything.” She sighed and quickly emailed the line distribution along with the song’s instrumental audio file to Jinki. After that, she grabbed her phone to text him.

Junghee: Chicken Oppa, I picked Ne-yo’s Because of You as our duet cover song. I emailed you the lyrics, line distribution, and instrumental audio file.

Jinki: Got it. Thanks.

Junghee: Guess I’ll see you Saturday? I’m surprised you said, “yes,” after ghosting us…

Jinki: …Sorry.

Junghee: Not what I want to hear from you. ☹

Jinki: I know, still… Sorry for not telling you what you want to hear.

Junghee: Why did you agree to the Saturday tutoring and rehearsals anyway, Chicken Oppa?

Jinki: Actually, I didn’t… Taeminnie lied.

Junghee: In that case, I owe Taemin a huge hug… or maybe a kiss? 😉

Jinki: Don’t!

Junghee: See you Saturday, Chicken Oppa~ 😊

***

Minjung stood in front of Kibum’s locker, her hand shaking slightly as she raised it to slip the envelope inside, when she suddenly heard a demanding voice ask her, “What are you doing?” Minjung turned around suddenly. She gasped and held the envelope to her chest. “Ki-Ki-Kibum Sunbaenim,” she stuttered, “What are you doing here?” Kibum scoffed, “Are you seriously asking me what I’m doing at my locker?! That’s the same question I was asking you!” Minjung swallowed nervously and explained, “I didn’t expect you to come so early. There’s still 30 minutes before first period.”

“Choi, what’s that you’re holding?” Kibum reached for the envelope. “Nothing!” Minjung tried to run off, but Kibum grabbed hold of her black hoodie and stopped her. “Just give me the letter,” he told her. He let go of her hoodie and turned her around to face him once more. “It’s personal,” Minjung refused. Kibum tapped his foot impatiently. “It has my name on it,” He pointed out, pointing at the Kim Kibum Sunbaenim written clearly on the envelope.

“Fine,” Minjung groaned and shoved the envelope against Kibum’s chest. “Just read it after I leave,” she said, turning to walk away. “No,” Kibum refused. “Choi, if you want my response to this, stay right there until I finish reading it.” Minjung stopped in her tracks. She bit her lip and turned back around to face him. Kibum smirked at her and gingerly opened the envelope. He slowly unfolded the letter and read it. As he read it the second time, a slight smile briefly crossed his face, revealing his dimples. After reading it the third time, Kibum glanced up when Minjung cleared expectantly. “Well?” she asked. “Well, what?” asked Kibum as he arched an eyebrow. “What’s your response?!” Minjung asked, frustrated with both Kibum and herself at this point.

Kibum glanced at her thoughtfully, his eyes cloudy with emotions that Minjung didn’t understand. After a minute or so, Kibum finally asked her, “Why are you asking me? Why not ask one of the members of your reverse harem instead?” “Reverse harem?! Seriously? That is so sick and twisted. Every one of my 99 Hyungs is a valued friend,” Minjung ranted angrily. “That’s all the more reason to take one of them, isn’t it?” Kibum asked as he carefully folded the letter and placed it back inside the envelope. “The Hyungs treat me like one of the boys. I couldn’t ask them to the dance,” Minjung finally said, looking down at their shoes. She felt butterflies in her stomach and there had been something about the way Kibum looked at her just now that made Minjung incredibly nervous.

“Fine,” Kibum sighed. “Here’s the deal. Just answer one question for me, and I’ll think about saying yes. Otherwise, us going together is an absolute no.” “Fire away,” Minjung decided, feeling she had nothing to lose at this point. “Why now?” Kibum asked after a pause. “What do you mean?” “I mean, why are you asking me to an event now? The two of us have rarely hung out together alone in the past 8 years, and not at all in the last year. The timing of your request makes me wonder if Junghee possibly put you up to this,” Kibum said. He eyed her suspiciously when she let out a gasp. “It’s not what you think!” She said quickly, still unable to meet his gaze.

“Well, what is it then? Explain yourself within the next 30 seconds, or I’ll take your silence as proof of guilt,” Kibum said bitterly, tapping his watch once for every second. Minjung felt trapped. She didn’t want to lie to Kibum about Junghee and the challenge, and if she admitted that there was a challenge, he’d never agree to go. She also wasn’t ready to confess her feelings because he would surely reject them right now. So, Minjung silently held her head down as Kibum tapped away. At the end of 30 seconds, Kibum reached his hand out and lifted Minjung’s head, forcing her to look at him. She inhaled sharply. His face and eyes displayed a mixture of disappointment and disgust. “I guess we both have our answer,” Kibum said sadly as he softly her cheek.

Minjung gasped as Kibum just as suddenly removed his hand. He moved away from her and opened his locker. Kibum grabbed the history book he’d need for his first period and carefully placed the envelope inside of it. “Wait! If you’re rejecting the dance invitation, why are you keeping the letter?” Minjung asked suddenly. “Why wouldn’t I keep the letter?” Kibum asked, offering a sad smile before turning to walk away. “After all, you wrote it for me.” Minjung was in a daze as she watched Kibum walk down the hall toward his class. He’d frequently been an enigma to her, but his actions just now left her in a state of heart-fluttering confusion. Dare she hope against hope that Kibum has a crush on her as well? Minjung sighed and quietly said to herself, “Chois never quit. Chois never give up. Chois never fail. I may have lost this first battle, but I’m in this for the war.” She took a deep breath to prepare herself mentally for her upcoming battles, and then she walked to her first-period biology class.