Nothing escapes Jihyo and her big inquiring eyes. She manages to get a confession out of Nayeon in a heartbeat the day after. She is real smug about it of course, but Nayeon scoffs and pretends not to care. Nayeon says she just wants to call Jeongyeon to say thanks but decides against it.  

“Somebody got a crush.” Jihyo wiggles her eyebrows.

“Crush my . I was just moved by her actions.” Nayeon immediately shot down whatever weird thought it is in Jihyo's mind. To have Nayeon paying attention to somebody is already an extremely rare sight, but  to actually have her club vice president thinking hard about one someone she's just known for a few weeks, now that's where the money at. Twice's club president cannot pass up on such an opportunity. That Jeongyeon is indeed bold, Jihyo is dying to see how this all will play out. She eggs Nayeon on. “Really? Call her line then.” 

Nayeon has a vague idea of what Jihyo is planning to do and she does not want to fall into her trap. She supposes a personal phone call will do the job, but she is a senior, she needs to show some manners to the new girl. “Jeongyeon worked very hard to take me to the theater. I cannot just say thank you through the phone, I have to give her something in person, like banana milk.” Nayeon says decisively.

“So it's Jeongyeon now, not "the new girl"." Jihyo mused.

"Yeah. And?"

"Oh, it's nothing. When you give her the drink, your hands will touch. Just fleeting skinship, purely professional,” Jihyo rolls her eyes. Nayeon almost throws her Motorola in her face.

###
 

“Unnie, I’m gonna fail Math. For real,” Chaeyoung drops her head on the table. She looks like a dejected puppy.

They are at the library, working on their schoolwork. Since it’s a Tuesday, the only people there are the four of them. While Jeongyeon finds the workload relatively manageable compared to that of her old school, 10th-grade math has not been kind to the freshmen, especially Chaeyoung. Dahyun peers in and tuts her tongue “We offer help, you know. But she insists on figuring out the mystery of the number alone.”

Jeongyeon laughs. She is aware of her cousin’s incredible stubbornness, but that was when they were 7 and fighting over a wooden toy. Something just never changes, she guesses. 

“I’m not going to have my closest friends to teach me Maths. We have enough topics to fight over,” Chaeyoung says with her book over her head, face still on the table.

“Tzuyu is nice. She won’t shout at you,” Dahyun says. Tzuyu nods eagerly. 

“No. I need a stranger. Someone I won’t meet a lot outside of class. I have too much self-induced anxiety to handle the guilt.”

“How about me?” Jeongyeon volunteers.

“We share a wall at home,” Chaeyoung groans.

“You can ask somebody in our club, Twice. We know them but only need to see them once a week.” Tzuyu speaks up. She really wants to get Chaeyoung over her frustration.

“Hey, maybe I can ask the juniors for you,” Jeongyeon adds helpfully.

Chaeyoung lifts her head up from the table and contemplates the idea. It’s not the worst thing to get some help from someone she barely knows, plus the arrangement is nice. She will give it a go before this Maths stuff can engulf her in a sweet embrace of death.

###

Once Jeongyeon gets familiar with her environment, you can always expect her to appear strong. She doesn’t exude confidence in her every move, that’s more of a Nayeon’s thing if you ask me, but Jeongyeon displays a certain level of self-assurance that hardly anybody can match. But then why the hell is she feeling so self-conscious walking up to Mina right now? What is she going to say to the Japanese girl? They have always spoken to each other while with a group of friends, so this whole asking-for-a-favor-alone thing may spook Jeongyeon a little bit.

They are in the middle of a crowded corridor, students passing by them, chatting or running to classes. It is not easy to spot Mina though. The girl is like Catwoman in a high school uniform with her incredible ability to hide among the crowd. Momo or Sana is not with her so Jeongyeon is nervous. She takes slow steps while rehearsing the speech in her head. It’s easy, simple