Song recommended: I wish - FT Island (I focus on the song lyric when I wrote this chapter.)

"Left! Left! Yena yah!"

"I know! I know! Can't you keep your calm?!"

"Stupid!" Hyewon throws her phone on Yena's table and leans back with her furious face.

"Lose?" asked Chaewon as she watches them from her place. She is in the mood of completing the homework and yeah, she finished it just in the time the girls stop playing the mobile game.

Hyewon nods to the question and rolls her eyes when she meets Yena's gaze.

"You are so bad at this!" She mutters in an angry voice while pointing at the girl.

"You see that, right? I was coming to support you guys but I got stunned by the enemy and got killed on the spot!" Yena is trying to defend herself, shamelessly. Obviously, she is bad at the game. No kills but got killed instead the seventh time.

"Just admit you are bad."

"It's just not our luck today."

"Because of a duck."

"The heck-"

Chaewon chuckles at their endless bickering. Start to get bored, she unlocks her phone, scrolling down her notification tab, and snorts when she read the group chat.

"Sakura unnie is raving about Yena unnie in the group." Chaewon chuckles.

"That's why you can't mess up when you play a game with her." Hyewon grabs back her phone and joins the raving session in the group.

Yena pouts. She decides not to open the chat because she knows they won't let her off. And Sakura is so savage despite a bit lacking in Korean language but when it's about roasting and raving, she suddenly become fluent, even Yena loses to her when they start to bicker.

Instead, she turns her chair around and slumps her head against the table with her arms as the pillow. Her fingers next make their way towards Chaewon's hand resting on the table and start to play with it out of boredom.

Chaewon frowned upon the sudden touch but loosens up after she realizes it was Yena. Thus, she just let it off and low-key enjoying it. It's not the first time the older doing it. Chaewon acknowledges Yena's habit of having a little skinship whenever she's bored or nervous. She is always the victim of rubbing cheeks with the older. Yena said her cheeks are soft and to be honest, she secretly like Yena's cheeks too. They are like soft rice cake!

"Great!" Hyewon suddenly blurted out and startled the other two.

Chaewon quickly unglues her stare from her crush when she realizes she has been staring for a while and luckily didn't get caught.

"What?" Yena asks lazily.

"01's are having baking class right now." Hyewon explained.

"Baking? Since when we got that class? What subject?" Yena sits straight with a puzzled look but her hand never lets off the other thin hands in her grip.

"Food and Nutrition." Chaewon answered. She just repeating the answer they got from the group chat after Chaeyeon asked the same question to the girls just now.

"I think the administration added this subject into the syllabus for the first-year students starting this year." Hyewon comments while brushing her fingers through her hair. Her lips curled up when she see Yuri's reply in the group chat.

"That's unfair! We should have a baking class too! I have never been to the kitchen before. I thought it's just for the pastry club. " Yena complains but received instant denial expression from the other two girls.

"We won't get a cake but burnt school instead if we have you in the baking class." Hyewon roasts.

Chaewon couldn't agree more with the statement and she feels amused about it.

"You want to say I'm bad at it?" Yena pursed her lips.

Here we go again.

"Depends on how you interpret it." Hyewon sticks her tongue out.

"Whatever~" Yena rolls her eyes but looks back at Hyewon with a smirk on her face.

That's suspicious.

"What?" Hyewon lifts her eyebrow when she catches sight of it.

"Want to sneak out and watch the girls?"

"And we can taste some. Count me in." Hyewon agrees instantly. They are about to step out of the class when Chaewon suddenly reminds them of something that they almost forgot.

"Aren't we having cleaning time later?"

Chaewon is referring to the class cleaning period and this week is scheduled for third-year students to clean their classes and the corridors. It's quite interesting for Chaewon to know this elite school could have this kind of tradition or concept or whatever it's called and yeah, you know what I mean.. Rich kids and cleaning tasks... It doesn't really match or not at all. You can take these two rich girls in front of Chaewon as an example and you can already expect their reaction.

A heavy sigh.

Both of them give a glance at each other before nodding simultaneously.

"Sneak her out too, then." Yena concludes their thoughts.

"Hey- " Clueless Chaewon didn't get any chance to speak when her hands got pulled by the girls and she almost gets dragged out of the classroom at the same time -

"Choi Yena! Kang Hyewon! Where are you going?!" Gaeun's voice is echoing through the room.

They pause at the door and neither of them dares to turn their head to the class representative.

"Are they trying to skip the cleaning time?" 

"Huh? Chaewon too?" 

They become the center of attention among their classmates. 

Yena turns her head towards Hyewon on her left with a defeated look and Hyewon just shrugs with an amused expression.

"Sorry, leader-nim. It's Yena's plan. She threatens me and Chaewon to join her." Hyewon raises her hands like surrendering while walking back to her seat.

Woah, what kind of betrayal is this?

Yena's eyes widening. She's at a loss for words. At the same time, Chaewon silently going back to her seat, leaving the older standing alone at the door and getting stared at like a criminal by the others.

"Not-" Yena tries to arrange her words properly but gets cut off instead.

"Now you are trying to influence Chaewon to be like you?" Gaeun folds her arms as she narrows her eyes in front of the class.

"No! I-" 

"Go back to your seat. I can't waste any more time on you. We have to discuss the upcoming Sports Day before we start cleaning." Gaeun cut her off again.

"Ah! This is driving me crazy." Yena obeys the order and ends her words with a pout. She takes her chance to show her fist when she meets eyes contact with Hyewon. Hyewon snorts in response.

As the class representative, Gaeun takes charge of recruiting the participants for the event and she gains good cooperation from her classmates that many of them volunteer to join except for the woman relay event. 

"So no one would volunteer for this?" Gaeun asks again. 

Yena raises her hand confidently. 

"I volunteer! And Hyewon too!" she says out loud.

"When did I say that?!" Hyewon sends a death glare but Yena refuses to accept the warning and just grins.

"Nice. So two volunteers. Just need two more." Gaeun writes down the names in the form including her name. "I join too so we need one more person. Please consider this so we can start cleaning sooner."

The other students especially the girls show no interest in volunteering that makes Gaeun sigh. Same thing happened each year. They don't like the pressure gained from joining this event because it's one of the most anticipated events during Sports Day.

Yena raises her hand again and points at her back.

"Chaewon said she wants to join too!" 

"What-" The younger is dumbfounded. She was just doing her own things at her place. Not to get mentioned like this!

"That's so nice of you, Chaewon. We are counting on you." Gaeun finishing up the form and beams a smile towards Chaewon.

Chaewon stands up quickly and is about to open when she suddenly receives loud applause from her classmates including Hyewon and Yena. They are all looking at her with hopeful eyes and Chaewon feels like she would be sinful if she rejects the responsibility.

"Er.. Yes. Thank you. I will try my best." She surrenders at last and sits back instead.

"What are you trying to do, unnie?!" She scolds the older in a whisper with her legs trying to kick the chair from under her table.

Yena giggles. 

"Remember our deal before?"

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A big kitchen, complete appliances, and good quality of the ingredients will not secure the good taste if you don't have skills. Yes, I'm talking about myself. It has been 20 minutes of beating the mixture, why mine is not looking like seongsaenim's. Let's not go far, even compared to my friends, it's not the same! Did I miss any steps? Should I add more flour? Or is it lacked of water? Or should I add a bit more sugar?

Minju grabs the flour packet and pours it with a full of confidence, followed by a cup of water and another cup of powdered sugar.

"Minju-shi, just now you said to me, you want to give it to Chaewon unnie, right?" asked Yuri while looking at the bowl hold by Minju right now.

Minju nods with her sparkly eyes. She can't wait to gift it and her heart can't beat normally whenever she thought of the idea.

"Just to confirm, are you trying to kill her or what?" Yuri's is so serious matched with her frowned face.

"Why would I want to kill the one I like?!" Minju glared.

"Then why are you adding more and more sugar? I bet it's already your tenth
time doing it. You want her to get diabetes?" Yuri points at the bowl.

Yuri was saying the right thing. I think it's almost 10 cups. Argh! I ruin it already! I can't give this to Chaewon unnie!

But her ego still saying she can make the thing right.

"I know what I'm doing. I'm planning to make some extra for myself." Minju defends herself because if she's not, this brat will the whole day.

Yuri shrugs.

"If I was her, I won't spare my life to eat it after watching you at this moment." 

Still, she got teased by this brat. Minju bites her lips as she stares at her bowl of mixture. 

"Is that a clay or what?" Second roast coming up. 

Hitomi is frowning hard at the sight of Minju's masterpiece. Yuri tries to hold her laugh hearing that.

"That's mean, Tomi." Minju pouts.

Nako also approaches as curiosity sparks in her when she notices the group. 

"Oh? Should I say it looks like a rock then? Is it better for you?" Hitomi asks innocently.

"Tomi yah.." Minju doesn't know if it's really a question or a mock for her.

Nako laughs in instant as she arrives there.

"Well, I agree with her." Yuri interrupts and joins the laugh together with Nako.

Minju stomps her feet in her place before grabbing a dispenser on the counter containing cooking oil and pours it into her bowl without hesitation.

"Yah! What are you doing?!" Yuri quickly pushes Minju's hand aside to stop what she's doing.

Hitomi's jaw dropped. Nako's eyes are wide opened. 

"To make it better! Instead of clay and rock." Minju argues back. She wants to continue but Yuri snatches the dispenser in a second.

"You just make it worse!" Nako finally speaks in a high tone. 

"Seongsaenim! Minju didn't follow the instructions!" Hitomi exclaims.

It turns into chaos. 

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"Rock paper scissors!" 

"I win." Hyewon smirks.

"Hell no! You put up late! Let's do it again!" Yena grabs back Hyewon's shoulder when she's about to walk away.

"No such thing in my dictionary." Hyewon rejects. She pushes the pail of dirty water towards Yena with a raised eyebrow. 

"Your dictionary is outdated! Come on! Let's do it again!" Yena pushes it back in the middle and gestures towards Hyewon to accept her request.

"No." Hyewon rejects again.

"Coward!" Yena mocks.

"Who's coward?!"

"You!"

"Bickering again?" Chaewon coming towards them with her hands resting on her waist. 

"She starts first."

"She's a coward."

99z are pointing at each other.

Chaewon shakes her head when her sight falls on the pail. She then squints her eyes at them.

"Wow, the water is still not replaced." Her tone is kinda sarcastic and 99z notice it. The tight expression of Chaewon gives them a chill in their bones. It has been 15 minutes since they have been asked by the class leader to replace the water and look at what they are doing now.

"You lose, right? Get your move now!" Hyewon nudges the elbow beside her as she controls her voice not wanting Chaewon to hear it but she forgets the fact the younger can read her moving lips.

"It's okay. I will go get it." Chaewon grabs the pail and dashes out from the class with no more words after that. 

Hyewon and Yena throw a puzzled look towards each other.

"Is she mad?" 

.

.

Her eyes are glued to the wall in front of her as she's waiting for the water filling up.

"Remember our deal before?"

What do you mean by the deal?  I never say yes to that!  From what I remembered, I just give you a frowned look and walked away. That never means a yes!

Then why won't you say no?

Because your smile was so beautiful at that time.

Even in the class just now?

"Yes!" She blurts out and knocks back to her sense a few seconds later.

"I might be out of my mind. Now her voice is haunting my mind." Chaewon knocks her own head and notices the water already spilling out of the pail so she closes it. The moment she wants to carry the pail out from the toilet, she heard the door opened and a few students coming in.

Seems like second-year students...

Chaewon is so sure of it because the name tag colour is different for each batch. Thus, it's easier to guess what year are they from. Not wanting to waste more time in there, she starts to carry the heavy pail but stops in her track when she heard her name in their conversation. She then hides behind the wall that blocks their view towards her place, tries to eavesdrop more. 

"I don't see her in the class. Good thing she's gone. My eyes hurt whenever they laid on her especially when she's with Yena unnie." 

"Yeah! That cocky girl is not deserved to be friends with our cool unnies. She must be thinking she could be popular like Yena and Hyewon unnie."

Ahh.. their fangirls.. Seems like I gained some haters.

"But she's indeed popular, right? A lot of second-year students and even first-year students showing their interest in her." Another girl with a cute tone of voice chipped in.

"She's just popular because of her family background. I don't see anything good in her. Her appearance is just average plus her attitude is so arrogant and I hate the way she gazes at others. , I hate her so much." The first girl replied. 

Chaewon didn't even flinch a bit at those hurtful words. They are the same things she heard again and again since a long time ago. 

"She smiled at me once when we passed each other before. She seems nice." The cute tone counters her back in a calm tone.

"What tf are you- Do you like that ?! Are you on her side?" The first girl got irritated. 

"I- I'm just saying the truth..." The cute tone changed into a timid tone.

"She's no joke. How the hell she can be that close to Yena unnie since the first day while we are trying so hard to get Yena unnie's attention." The other girl spoke in a not-so-deep dialect but Chaewon still can understand most of them. Chaewon carefully peeking from behind the wall, wanting to see those girls. 

"She and that girl from class 1-2. Both are pathetic, craving for attention from my unnie."

Chaewon frowns.

Does she mean Yuri? That's her class.

"Yes! That motherer also drives me crazy. Ah! I swear I want to teach both of them a lesson. They should not get in our way!"

A snort can be heard from the other girl. Not the one with the cute voice but the first girl with y talk just now.

"Just wait. I will make sure both of them know their places. Especially that arrogant girl. She's so shameless to stand beside our unnie. She's just a ty that-"

"Chaewon-ah!" A loud voice coming from behind the door. 

"Isn't that Yena unnie's voice? She's outside?" The girls start to get panic when they heard it. 

Chaewon on the other hand hides back. 

Urgh! Why she's calling me?! I will be dead meat if they know I'm here!

"Chaewon! Come out now!" Yena yells again. Her husky voice is mixed with a raucous tone.

"That ? She's inside here?" One of them whispers in fear.

A few harsh knocks on the door after that caught the girls restless. Their eyes start to wander around the ladies' room after that, and Chaewon almost got caught by the juniors when Yena barged in.

Her icy expression greets the juniors.

"Yena unnie? W-we don't know you are-"

"Chaewon! I know you are behind that wall. Come out! Irene seongsaenim calls you to office." Yena simply ghosting those juniors. She doesn't even bet her eyes on any of them and just staring straight to the wall behind them instead. A few seconds later, Chaewon appears with the pail of water and slowly steps with it passing the pale-faced girls before stopping in front of Yena. Her lips are tightly shut on purpose due to the intense situation at the moment.

The warm hand brush against Chaewon's hand holding the pail, gesturing her to put it down.

"I will carry it. You can leave first." Her soft murmurs passing through Chaewon's eardrum.

Chaewon hesitates at first but a darting gaze from the older urges her to obey and she trails off to the class as told.

The door is shut closed again and the three girls still don't move an inch. They can't believe they can see their favorite senior this close. This is a great chance for them!

"Yena unnie! I'm your fangirl. I always send letters to your locker. Do you read it, unnie?" 

Yena read their name tag, one by one.

"Me too. You are so cool, unnie. Especially when you are in the training. You really work hard, unnie."

Yena bends down and lifts the pail slowly.

"Unnie, are you close with that girl? I heard she's not a good-"

Splash!

The girls gasp hard with their hands gripping the sides of their heads as a response to the unexpected action.

"U-unnie.."

They thought they already got drenched by the water but they aren't. The older just splash the water to the wall beside them, fortunately. They should be grateful for it.

"She what?" The older throw the pail aside before turning her head to the girls, specifically to the girl who spoke before the sudden splash. 

"W-what.." The girl with her confident trash talk just now changes drastically to the girl with fear in her eyes. Her muscles start to quiver as she got the sharp stare by the older, that she never see before.

"Tell me, what kind of person she is, Seo Yeji?" Yena steps forward to the girl slowly, forcing the girl to step back inch by inch. The other two just stand still, with mouths shut tight and bodies tensing. No one dares to interrupt the two.

The mentioned girl keeps backing away until her body touches the sink behind her but Yena doesn't have the intention to stop moving until her face is only a few centimeters away from the girl.

"She- She's not a good person f- from what I heard. He said she flirted with every boy in her previous school and was a bully." The girl put up her courage to speak.

"Oh really? And who tf is that 'he'?" Yena brings her pointing finger up, lifting the girl's chin so their eyes are on the same level.

"K-Kim Jaemin." Her face is blushing so hard.

Upon hearing the answer, Yena moves back slightly with the right corner of her lips lifted a bit. 

"That bastard never learns his lesson." She mutters under her breath. 

"You should avoid her, unnie."

She turns her head back to the girl in front of her, causing her to gasp. The older lets out a sarcastic laugh later.

"You tell me to avoid Kim Chaewon?" Yena leans forward and pins her hand to the mirror behind, locking the stonic girl to the sink.

"Let me tell you, girl. Kim Chaewon is a friend with the best personality I ever meet. Don't ever talk trash about my friend as if you know them more than me." 

She then steps away to grab back the lonely pail but turns herself back to the girls as she recalls something.

"Pathetic girls you mentioned just now.." Yena glares. "Try to lay your dirty hands on them if you want to see the real meaning of pathetic." She slams the door hard, leaving the startled girls behind.

The sound of hands clapping greet Yena outside.

"Here comes the hero." Hyewon snorts.

"Shut up."

"What did you do to them?"

"Fan service I guess." Yena shrugs.

"More like a lecture from what I heard."

The two begin to walk back to the classroom. Yena reveals the pail in her hand and Hyewon chuckles.

"At the end, the water still not getting replaced." 

Yena laughs. "And I lost my fans instead." She shifts to a pouting face.

"Duh, is that really matters?" Hyewon frowns.

"It is! They are the ones who give me free orange juice during the training. No more orange juice from now on." The pouting lips then sigh.

"With the money your family has, You can even get the whole factory if you want and ask them to send a carton of it every day to our training. Don't act like a poor duck." Hyewon rolls her eyes.

"That's their money. Not mine. And my father cut my allowance because of my previous exam result. Help me, Kwangbae~" Yena whines while hugging Hyewon's arm.

"How and why should I help you? Money? Hell no." Hyewon shakes her off.

"You got a lot of fans too, right? Share some of them with me. Oh! I remember that cute middle student. What's her name again? Minami?"

Hyewon narrows her eyes.

"In your dream. My fans are all nice and cute. You don't deserve them. Especially Minami."

The mentioned girl is in the same year as Yujin but different class. Hyewon and her know each other since the School Festival last year when Hyewon and the others visit Minami's class after hearing they made a dessert cafe and Minami served their table at that time. Hyewon then found out the girl was having a big crush on her when she received a gift of a small cake at the end of the day. They became closer and Hyewon treasures the cute girl so much like her own little sister and would fight anyone who bothered her knowing the fact she is so small and having a cute innocent face as her charms.

Yena casually puts up both hands behind her head as she pouts.

"I won't share my fans with you either. "

She sneaks a glance at her buddy and notices the girl just scoffs.

"As if I need one from you." 

Yena smirks. 

"You think so?" 

Hyewon pauses her steps when she notices a change in Yena's tone. She then digests the meaning behind that question.

"You-"

"Oh! They are here!" Yena changes the topic.

Hyewon's eyes trained on the back of Yena's figure rushing forwards and caught the sight of a group of students walking not so far from them. Looks like they are holding something but Hyewon can't see it clearly. One thing she can be so sure of is that one girl walking in the middle, is the one Yena referred to just now.

How many times do I need to wish to have you giving that bright smile and starry-eyed to me instead of her?

She then let out a small sigh followed by a thin smile when she sees her precious girl smiling so brightly that the sides of her eyes wrinkle a bit. Hyewon knows it is definitely not for her. It hurts for real but at least she gets to see it too.

"Say.. You come to give us the cake you baked?" Yena asked excitedly while gesturing towards the small box Yuri is holding right now.

"Actually, each box got the owner already." Nako chimed in from behind Minju. The other three girls coming with her fidget at their place with a flushed pink face. Nako is right. Each box is dedicated to someone and the girls didn't tell each other about it but we already know the answers, don't we?

"Oh? Oh! So which one is mine?" Yena's question leads to the change in Hyewon's expression.

Is she pretending not to know or what? 

"In Yuri's hand, of course." Minju interjects with a teasing smile towards her best friend. Yuri just rolls her eyes in response towards Minju and when she wants to explain more to Yena about the cake, her eyes accidentally fall on Hyewon standing behind her crush who never divert the stare from her. Guilty feelings start to spark inside Yuri.

"So you are giving this to me, Yuri?" 

Yuri turns up at her name. 

"Err.. yes. For you, unnie."

Her eyes want to check back at Hyewon but the older already enter the class. Yuri bites her lower lips as guilty feelings haunting up in her. She knows Hyewon is not fond of this scene so that's why she stepped away.

The girls then watch Yena slowly open up the box and reveal the whipped cream cake inside it. 'Yena unnie 💕' is written beautifully on top of it. In conclusion, everyone knows this cake is made full of love.

"Wah~ it's beautiful!" Yena's eyes sparkle at the sight of the cake. Her compliment boosts up Yuri's happiness that she momentarily forgets the guilty inside her.

"You like it, unnie? I hope it tastes good." Yuri beams a smile.

"Of course it is. A cute girl made it for me. I'm so grateful." Yena grins.

Minju, Hitomi and Nako share their cringe reaction at the conversation. Instead of wasting their time and hurting their eyes watching these two, finding their precious one is the best decision at the moment but not Nako. She doesn't need to search for that person because that girl is already standing beside her right now. Nako however can't find the right time to give the cake.

I guess I need to wait until we go back to our class. Or maybe on our way home.

Leaving the two in their immersed conversation, Minju and Hitomi peek secretly into the class, lingering around looking for their favourite person without knowing the fact that they are searching for the same person. Nako just enjoys watching the cute scene of Hitomi tiptoeing at the glass window to get a better view inside. 

"Are you looking for someone?" 

They now realize they are gaining attention thus they awkwardly backing away from the window. The boy who asked just now can't divert his eyes away from the girls especially Minju. Minju frowns a bit because of the fixed stare she gets from him. 

Both of the girls including Nako choose to let the question unanswered. But the boy seems don't want to let them off.

"What are you guys holding? Can I take a look?" The boy points at it. He made up a topic just to create a conversation with the girls and his voice is not that loud but already enough to attract the other male students to draw near them after acknowledging it's Minju he's talking to.

That moment caught the youngers off guard which made them freeze at their place. What they could do right now is exchanging discomfort glances at each other. Not just that, the boys start to ask so many questions at once that the girls can't even capture any of them even though they are not intended to.

"Oi! Aren't you guys have more important things to do other than hitting on the girls?" A loud firm voice startled everyone in the class and the girls outside. It is fascinating to see the boys quickly dismiss to their supposed places and continue their tasks knowing they would be dead if they disobey the class leader. 

Minju and Hitomi swallow their saliva as Gaeun approaches the window where they are standing right now.

"And what are you guys doing here?" Her voice sounded calm but still stirring the girls mentally especially Minju because she is the one being stared at by Gaeun right now.

Minju just managed to give an awkward smile to the class leader, hoping that Hitomi or Nako will help answer the question instead, but unfortunately, they are too unprepared mentally.

"Go easy on them, Gaeun. They were just stopping by to share their baked cakes with me and friends."  Yena steps in between them and shows her grin to Gaeun. She then lingers her eyes into the class before continuing her words.

"Chaewon is not here. Where is Chaewon?" She asked and a few seconds after that she realizes the reason why Chaewon is not there.

"She went to the teacher's office." Hyewon interrupted from behind the class.

"Why?" Gaeun frowns. 

"Ask Yena." Hyewon easily passes to Yena and continues her cleaning as if she knows nothing about it.

..

Yena curses to herself in her mind. She then lets out an awkward laugh when all eyes are on her, waiting for the answer.

"If you want to see Chaewon, you can go there." 

She chooses to cover up instead of telling the truth. 

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[At the same time]

Chaewon comes out from the teacher's room with a tense face. She quickens her pace climbing up the stairs with only one thing lingering in her mind.

I'm gonna speak to her!

Reaching the second floor with herself short of breaths, She bumps into someone and when she looks up, her expression changes as if she sees a ghost. It's the girl badmouthing her in the ladies' room before with her friends. 

Today is really a tough day for me..

"Ah, really! Are you blind?!" The girl leashes out her anger and when their eyes locked, the girl's face reddened so much with her both fists clenching at the sides and Chaewon knows she has to be ready physically and mentally for what happens next. If the girl starts to insult her, she will just play deaf and apologizes afterward and if the girl chooses to throw hands at her, Chaewon will just close her eyes and pray it won't give her a bruise later. 

However, none of them happens.

"Let's just go back to the class." Her other friend with the dialect pulls the girl's arm and diverts her away forcefully even though the girl refuses at first.

"Annoying ." 

Chaewon could only catch those words under whisper from the girl with 'Seo Yeji' written on her name tag and they just leave her dumbfounded except the girl with the cute voice. 

"Sorry!" The girl bows to her with an apologetic face before catching up to her friends. Chaewon managed to read her nametag, 'Son Ji Han'.  

"Okay, that's weird." Chaewon mutters as her eyes trained on them until they enter their class.

I should be grateful I'm still alive.

After that, Chaewon turns back to the stairs just to get shocked by the sight of Minju standing straight on the stairs, staring at her.

"I almost got a heart attack." Chaewon rubs her chest to calm herself down.

"Sorry, unnie." Minju apologizes sincerely. She then walks closer to the older.

"Are you okay? Your face is so red." Minju asked worriedly.

I nearly face my death but of course, I'm not gonna tell her that.

"Just tired of walking." She gives a different answer from her thinking but it's still considered the right answer.

"Why are you here? The baking class is over already?" She raises her brows at the younger.

Your face is also red, Minju.

"We went to your class but you were not there and Yena unnie told us you were at the teacher office so I come to find you to give you this." She shows the box of cake in her hands. 

Chaewon takes the box and opens it carefully to see what's inside. Her eyes widened when she see a small size of whipped cream cake inside.

"I can tell you are skilled in baking." Chaewon beams a smile when she shifts her eyes back to Minju.

"Err.." Minju feels wronged after receiving that compliment. She wonders if she should just reveal the true story behind the cake but pause her thinking when Chaewon speaks again.

"You come here alone? Where's the other?" She asked while grabbing Minju's wrist gently and pulls her closer because the younger is blocking the other student's path walking down the stairs at the moment.

"Yuri is still talking with Yena unnie in front of your class. Nako and Hitomi supposedly join me to meet you but Nako needs to go back to the kitchen room to grab back her left behind stationery." Minju explained. She's trying hard to hide her flustered face from the older because of the skinship they had just now.

Chaewon nods at the words. She closes the box back and steals a glance at the small silver watch on her wrist.

"The cleaning period is almost over. I should get going now and you too." Chaewon portrays her smile for the second time and it never misses to steal Minju's heartbeats.

"Y-yes. You are right." Minju fixes her hair out of force of habit to bring down the nervousness in her.

"Thanks a lot for the cake. Should I consider this as my early birthday present?" The older chuckles.

"Birthday? Is your birthday coming soon?" Minju asked in a shocking tone. 

Chaewon can't help but chuckles again when she witnesses Minju's shock face. She can't lie to herself that she can see the resemblance of a frog in that expression. But in Minju's case, she's an upgraded version. She can win the cutest award.

"Yes. It's on upcoming Friday." Chaewon lifts pointing fingers to her own lips and continues. "Don't tell anyone. It's a secret." 

She says so because she really never told anyone about it other than Hitomi and Nako. She did celebrate it every year only after these Japanese girls become her best friends and it was just a small occasion between them three. They will either having dinner together at Chaewon's place or celebrating it at the booked luxury restaurant. Chaewon's parents would join the occasion, only if they are free that time but to tell the truth, out of 17 years, only 5-6 of them Chaewon get to celebrate together with her parents by her side. The other years - only a text message wishing her birthday from each of them or having a video call together. Still, she's grateful they remembered it every year.

It's 2 days after Sports Day. I still got time!

"Please don't consider it as a birthday gift. I will prepare a better one for you!" Minju addressed.

Chaewon shakes her head.

"You don't have to, Minju. This is already good enough for me. I appreciate it so much." She opposes nicely.

However, Minju is still firm with her decision.

"No, unnie. You should have received a better gift from me for your birthday. I will prepare hard for it. Thank you so much for telling me. I should be going now." Minju bows a little before quickly going down the stairs to get to her class. She knows the older would still oppose her idea and that's why she instantly making an excuse to leave even though she still wants to talk more with her crush.

"Okay then." Chaewon sighs a little as she sends her stares to the back of Minju. 

I feel like a bad person now.

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"And you are saying the cake she's giving to Chaewon was not made by her but Seohyun Seongsaenim?" 

Yuri nods to the question and Yena instantly bursts into a laugh.

"I should not laugh but this is so funny." Yena wipes her teary eyes. 

"But she made the decoration by herself." Yuri added. She recalls back how Minju having a mental breakdown the moment she screwed up her mixture so bad, it cannot be helped anymore. Minju asked for help from her and the other classmates, but everyone followed the measurement exactly as instructed so no one got any extra for her. At the end, Seohyun seongsaenim comforted Minju and offered her mixture instead. That really helped Minju to bake the new one on time.

"But we know she did her best and at the same time we know it's Minju.. again." Yena chuckles.

"You are right." Yuri agrees.

"Looking at her endless efforts, we can see she really likes Chaewon." Yena comments. She then leans closer to Yuri.

"I think Chaewon likes her too." she whispered while Yuri listens to each word carefully, not knowing they are getting stared hard by someone in the class.

"You think so?" She looks at the older, waiting for confirmation.

Isn't this useful information for me and Minju? It's a win situation for us if Yena unnie is right.

Yena rests her both hands on the waist as she takes a few seconds having a thought.

"I'm not sure about it. Chaewon is quite difficult to read. She rarely shows her feelings on her face. But don't worry! We will know it sooner." Yena shows her confident face at the end of her words.

"What do you mean?" Yuri's forehead creased.

"I make a deal with Chaewon so we can know who's the one she likes. But not now, soon." Yena winks.

"What kind of deal is it?" 

"Secret." Yena refuses to reveal. 

Alright. As long as I get to know the useful information, it's okay. But why do I feel a bit displeased about it?

Oh.. Then..

"How about you?" 

"Hmm?" 

Their eyes meet.

"Who is the one you like?" 

The colour drained from Yena's face. Yuri notices the older pressing her lips slowly.

"I know I've no right to ask. I'm just curious." Yuri smiles, hiding the urges in her heart and mind to know the answer.

The silence fills in between them as Yena brings up her hand, rubbing her nape, trying to act naturally but inside her is already like a storm. She decides to take some time to think carefully. 

Isn't this sounded like a good chance for me? I don't have to wait for Sports Day to do it. I don't have anything to worry about anymore.

Her eyes coincidentally meet Hyewon's in the class. 

Yeah, I should just face whatever happens in the future. You are right, Kwangbae, we can't lie to our feelings anymore. Friendship or love? I don't know anymore.

Hyewon straightens up when she receives a suspicious smile from the blonde-haired girl.

What with that smile?

She promptly walks up to the girls. Her heart doesn't feel good right now.

Yena turns her head back to Yuri in front of her.

 

"The person I like .."

 

Hyewon heard the words and her expression changes drastically.

It's a confession?!

 

"Hey-"

 

But she is not even that close to stop the girl.

 

"... is in front of me right now."

 

The time is not stopped. But it feels like it. The two girls facing each other right now are not moving at all, even their stares won't leave each other.

Hyewon on the other side pauses her steps, standing straight facing the girls. Her right hand which supposedly helping her interrupt the scene now falls back to her side and her face clearly shows both disappointment and defeat.

 

I lose. Again.

 

 

"In front of you?"

 

 

"Yes."

 

 

"Yena unnie."

 

 

Yuri turns to the voice behind her.

Yena shifts her attention in the same direction and waving happily to the walking girl.

 

"Hey, Chaewon."

 

Chaewon looks at the silent Yuri as she approaches.

"Oh! Hey, Yuri." She greets with a smile.

Yuri didn't react other than a blank stare to the older, resulting in an odd feeling in Chaewon.

Chaewon raises her brows to Yena, wanting an explanation but the older just give her a shrug. Yena is also confused by the sudden change in Yuri's expression.

Shouldn't she be happy that I confess to her and it's a mutual feeling? Why she's showing that cold expression?

"Am I disturbing you guys?" Chaewon asked after getting the silent treatment. The atmosphere seems so awkward and she senses something is wrong.

"No." Yuri answered in a low voice and her head are lowered.

The two older exchange their confused glances.

"I should be going now. Thank you for your time." Yuri bows a bit and quickly departs away, leaving the girls in question.

"Am I the reason why she acts like that?" Chaewon questioned while sending Yuri away with her gaze.

"No." Yena answered in a low voice. She stares at Yuri's back until the younger is gone from their sight with mixed feelings inside.

Chaewon arched her brows when she turns her eyes towards the older.

What in the world is happening right now? Why both of them looked sad suddenly?

She then follows behind when the older starts to walk into the class and meets eyes contact with Hyewon. 

Another one with a sad expression. For real, what is going on here?!

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[Writer's note]

Hi guys! Sorry for the really late late late update. Well, after what happened, I decided to rest for a while for mental health and I'm back on track! Eheee

Back to the story..

Why do you think Yuri suddenly changed like that? Shouldn't she be happy because Yena already confessed?

Bear with me, the next chapter is gonna be so 'fun'. Sports Day coming up!

And..

Happy Birthday to our sweetheart Chaewon!