"Did you ever dream of becoming the president of the student council, Minjeong?" Yizhuo asked.

"I did, before."

"Why didn't you go for it?"

"When we were filing for applications, I heard Minju was gonna run for president as well. I know she's really good at what she does, and I know she'll be a really good president, so I decided to support her instead of fight her, and signed up as vice president instead."

"Did you regret it?"

"Nope, not at all. Thankfully I wasn't wrong. Minju really is an amazing leader."

"How about you, Jimin? What's your dream?" Aeri asked this time.

Jimin paused to think, but the creamy carbonara in was keeping her to think properly. "I can't think of anything at the moment."

"Ah, I just suddenly thought of something!" Yizhuo exclaimed, momentarily resting her spoon on her plate.

"What is it?" Aeri asked.

"You know, it's actually Jimin unnie's dream to attend prom." Yizhuo confessed.

Jimin's eyes widened at what her best friend just said.  "Oh my gosh, Yizhuo, shut up!"

"To be asked to prom, to be exact." 

"Ning Yizhuo, I swear to God!" She hid her face behind her hands, the blood rushing up to her face. Jimin didn't understand why her best friend had to expose her like this.

"But you really did say that!"

"It was in freaking middle school!"

"But it's still your dream!"

"Well, you could still make it come true, Jimin." Aeri cut in, breaking the tension between her two friends flushed with all the yelling they just did.

"I agree! After the dance club's dance showcase, you gained a lot of admirers, Jimin unnie."

"The senior's prom is next month! I'm sure you're gonna be asked by a lot of people soon." Aeri supported the cheerful girl in front of her. Jimin sighed at how this all turned out.

"Someone actually went up to her when we were on the way to our third class."

"Oh! And what did Jimin say?"

"Unnie ran away."

"Whaaat? Why? I thought it was your dream to be asked to prom?

"Correction, he didn't ask me. He was just approaching us. He could have been planning to ask Yizhuo, for all we know."

"But then you ran!"

"He was being creepy!"

"Oh. If he's creepy then I wouldn't blame you, to be honest." Aeri replied. "So, do you have someone in mind you wanna go to the prom with?"

Yizhuo gasped. "Yeah! Tell us who it is, we might be able to get them to ask you."

"Yeah, we'll all help you out. Right, Minjeong?"

All eyes landed on the blonde girl who was quiet for some time now, but the smirk on her face told everyone that she was listening from the very start.

"Of course! Anything to make Jimin's dream come true. So spill."

Jimin groaned. "Not you too."

"We're serious though. If you tell us who you want to be asked by, we'll do our best to make sure it happens. Also, it's highly probable that whoever that is will ask you to prom when they hear that you like them."

"Yeah, and at this point it's almost impossible for that someone to not know you yet. Imagine not knowing the Yoo Jimin?" Yizhuo and Aeri cracked up.

"Alright alright, enough making fun of my childhood dream. Come on, we're heading to class." Jimin stood up and grabbed Yizhuo's arm.

Yizhuo placed her hand on the taller girl's, prohibiting her from pulling her up. "Not before you tell us who it is!" 

"I have no one in my mind, Yizhuo. Now, come on or I won't buy you pork bone soup before we go home."

"Like I said, hurry up, Minjeong and Aeri unnie! Why are you still sitting there? We're gonna be late for class!" Yizhuo slapped Aeri's shoulder before speed walking towards the cafeteria's door. "Come on, Jimin unnie!" 

The three other girls couldn't help but chuckle as they were stunned with the sudden change of Yizhuo's behavior.

-

Aeri and Jimin were chilling in the student lounge. It was their vacant period, as the teacher already told them last time that they won't be meeting today. Minjeong excused herself when their previous class ended, saying she needed to get some papers signed for the upcoming senior's prom. Yizhuo, on the other hand, quickly told Jimin she was gonna head over to the library as she hasn't finished her homework for their next class.

The two girls were seated across from each other, waiting for the time to pass for their next class. 

"Any update with your dream, Jimin?"

It took Jimin a second to think about what the other girl was talking about, but when it clicked, she released a scoff and rolled her eyes at her. 

"You're seriously not gonna let that go, huh?"

"I saw a couple of students approach you earlier. How did they go?"

"I turned them down."

"Why?"

"I didn't really know them. It felt weird accepting someone's offer when you've seen them for the first time in your life."

She tapped her fingers on the couch as a moment of silence passed by. The other girl was staring at her, and Jimin didn't know what to think of it, as it was hard to read what was in Aeri's mind.

"Jimin, it's only the two of us here. Can you be honest with me for a minute?" Aeri straightened up in her seat, placing a cushion on her lap.

"About what?"

"Are you turning them down because you don't know them? or is it because you're waiting for a specific someone to ask you?"

Jimin didn't think the time would come when someone would get so close to getting information about her love life other than Yizhuo. She nodded, slowly. Jimin didn't specify if it was her answer to the former, or the latter, but Aeri understood.

"Is it someone I know?"

Jimin looked at the shiny marble floor. The air suddenly felt too thick to breathe in. Jimin's throat was as dry as her tongue, making it incredibly hard to force her saliva down. The fully air-conditioned room also suddenly felt too stuffy, her forehead and palms were breaking with sweat. She has never felt so cornered by a question as she is right now. Jimin knows she has never really truly acknowledged her feelings out loud, but deep inside, she has always known. 

Blonde.

Prettiest smile.

Student council vice president.

"Aeri..." The student council secretary waited patiently, giving Jimin all the time she needed to finally force the three words out, "I like Minjeong."  

Silence. It was suffocating her even more, and Jimin wishes Aeri would just say something, anything at this point.

"You can breathe now, Jimin." Aeri smiled, finally leaning back on the couch once more. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"If palpitating and sweating counts as not so hard, then maybe, yeah."

"To be honest, I won't say I'm surprised. I was just wondering when you were gonna admit it."

Jimin's eyes shot up. "What? Y-you knew?"

"Well, let's just say I've been observing it for a long time now so I had a hunch. I'm so proud of you for finally admitting it though."

"I... dunno what to say or what to feel with that."

"You are aware though that people tend to assume you two are dating, right?"

"Yeah, we've been mistakenly labeled as dating a couple of times before, even by Yizhuo."

"Does Yizhuo know?" 

She shook her head. "No. She has teased me about it before but... I haven't told her or admitted it to her yet."

"Oooh wait 'til Yizhuo hears about this." Aeri teased.

"It's not that I don't wanna tell her. It's just that... well, she's gonna tease the hell out of me and say things like 'I told you so!' or stuff about falling in love in this university. Ugh." Jimin buried her face in her hands.

"Well to be fair, it does make it hard to admit to your best friend about that if she constantly teases you about it. Sometimes I'd rather suffer internally than tell Minjeong that she was right about something she has always teased me about."

"See?? Finally, someone who gets it."

Aeri threw her head back and laughed. "I can't believe we're not the childhood best friends from the start. It should've been you instead of Minjeong."

Jimin laughed. "Wait 'til Minjeong hears about this.", copying the way Aeri earlier. 

"So what are you gonna do about your feelings?"

"Nothing, I guess. I mean, she probably only sees me as a friend."

"For the record, I like you for her." Aeri fiddled with the cushion on her lap. "I can see bits of the old Minjeong now."

"What do you mean?"

Aeri smiled, but it didn't seem to reach her eyes. "Minjeong has become quite different since you've arrived."

"Hopefully for the better." Jimin nervously chuckled.

"Oh don't worry, it is. As a matter of fact, since you and Yizhuo came, it's been a lot noisier and livelier." 

"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not."

"You should."

"Thanks, I guess. But hey, at least now we are all best friends. I also don't know how Yizhuo and I would've survived the change of environment if we haven't met you guys."

"I mean, Minjeong is smart, cute, cool, and all..."

"You're calling her cute, cool, and all now as if you didn't just ditch her for me a while ago." Aeri grinned.

"Well, she's been ditching me for you a lot lately, so let's just say I'm calling it even with her." Jimin paused.

"What, really? I'm sorry, Aeri. It wasn't my intention to--"

"Hey, calm down, Jimin." Aeri waved her hands in front of her while laughing. "It's fine, believe me. It's totally fine." Jimin sees the soft smile and look Aeri was giving her, as if she knows something she doesn't. "Besides, Minjeong and I have been friends for a long loong time already, we need a break from each other."

Jimin throws her head back, releasing a silent laugh. "Again, wait 'til Minjeong hears about this."

"But seriously though, you know what I said was true. The both of you have been inseparable lately, she'll pick you over me on an impulse."

Jimin scoffed. "That's a lie, Aeri."

"Do you remember the SMU fest? When you got dragged into the crowd?"

"Mhm. Why?"

"Minjeong went after you. There was no 'Aeri, let me just go check if Jimin is okay.'  or  'I'll be right back, Aeri.' Girlie didn't even think twice, she literally just launched herself in that stampede to get to you."

Jimin looked down, seemingly tr