"Good morning, Jiyeon." Sunghoon greeted Linna upon waiting for her outside the school's gates.

He flashed her a sweet smile, but she faked a similar one in return.

"Morning."

Linna's greeting was flat as she walked passed him and Sunghoon's smile dropped upon the curt interaction despite the so-called smile shegave him. Usually by the now the two would've been walking hand-in-hand to Linna's first class, conversing freely with no anomosity between them. Yet ever since that day, Sunghoon tried to engage with Linna, but she continued to ignore him. However, he never gave up and persisted as he matched Linna's stride while they quielty walk side by side with a distance between them.

"So..."

"No." She cut him off, pausing in mid-walk and pointed in a random direction without looking at him.

"You don't need to keep walking me to my classes anymore, Park Sunghoon."

Today was the day that Linna wanted to make it clear to him since he's been continuing this like nothing happened between them despite her constantly ignoring him.

"You can just head on over to yours."

However, Sunghoon assumed with time and space that he could explain himself and that Linna would hear him out.

"Bu-"

"Don't care."

"Lis-"

"No."

"Ji-"

"Park Sunghoon, please."

Sunghoon instantly closed his mouth upon her using just his first name and hearing the pleading tone in her voice. Linna slowly faced him with a neutral expression as she mustered the courage to not fold under Sunghoon's gaze.

"We've broken up, remember?"

She continued speaking as to not falter.

"You can go back to your normal routine before all this and we can just treat each other like classmates again."

She shot him a tired look.

"Now, please leave me alone."

Linna her heels and hurried away. However, Sunghoon stood frozen where he was, watching Linna's figure get further and further away. He was still dazed when Rika came up to him and placed a packed lunch into his hands, talking about having lunch together. Sunghoon just walked on to his own class absentmindedly, not even aware of Rika being around.

Melanie entered her Monday late afternoon class a little later than usual due to not hearing her alarm going off and having to be awaken by Kierra before she left for her own class. Serena and Linna still had their early classes to attend while Kierra and Melanie only had their one class today as their other classes were cancelled for students to focus on studying for the finals.

"You got this."

Melanie unknowingly made eye-contact with Jake, scanning the room for a seat when he shot her an awkward smile and waved. He sat in the same spot where the two would normally sit, but she turned her attention away from him and walked to a different part of the room to sit instead. Despite wanting to keep things civil and only interact if school related, but Melanie ignored that and skipped tutoring session with him by going to Yonghee. Surprisingly, Jake took it well and told her that he would still be there if she needed him.

"So, Jake, Nara wanted to see if you'll join her for lu..."

Hyewon took this moment to sit by him so she could put in a good word for Nara. However, Jake tuned Hyewon out, not interested in what she had to say about her friend as his eyes went to look for Melanie again, hoping that he would be able to explain himself and make things right. She noticed his eyes on her, but Melanie paid him no mind and went through her own materials to ready herself for today's lesson.

"Hey, Youngseo, did you understand the materials from last Wednesday?" Another classmate, Hamin, sitting one seat over to her, asked.

Melanie glanced over while bringing out her own papers, even leaning and scooting closer towards the classmate to better see and hear.

"Oh, Hamin, yeah I did. What is it you need help with exactly?"

"Well..."

Jake dejectedly faced forward again after witnessing the pair's interaction all the while ignoring Hyewon in the process. After explaining the material to her classmate, Melanie briefly glanced at Jake and averted her eyes once Jake turned in her direction at the same time. She ignored him for the remainder of class, but something within her told her to give him a chance to explain himself. Yet, Melanie didn't want that right now and she didn't know if she ever want it later on either. She groaned, realizing that the budding feelings she had for him blossomed and she had to deal with the aftermath of it.

"This is a lot harder than I expected." Linna said as she and the other three settled at the cafeteria table after classes ended for the day.

"Is he bothering you?" Kierra questioned as Serena joined in.

"Do you want me to take care of him?."

Melanie scoffed.

"We don't need any of that."

"Why not?" Serena joked.

"It'll make for a great story."

"Yeah, a story, but not for real life."

"It's fine." Linna dismissed with another sigh.

"I'm sure Choi Rika will try to swoop in with full force though."

Kierra scoffed.

"Yeah, right."

"What do you mean?"

Kierra looked over at Serena for an explanation as Serena chuckled before speaking.

"Well, what Hayoun's trying to say is like in any story or movie or drama, when the mean girl slash mean friend or whatever title the horrible side character is that tries to get the attention of the male lead after having a fall out with his main female lead, he won't paid them any real attention whatsoever, unless it's trying to make his female lead jealous. Anyway, the male lead will just brush it off as he'll be too busy being hung up on the female lead, which is you, Jiyeon, in this scenario."

This time Linna scoffed.

"I don't have time for that. This isn't a story or movie. This is real life. Besides..."

She trailed off before resuming.

"Honestly, it's hard only because I liked him, well, maybe I still do. Then we became friends of sorts, got into a fake relationship, and now we're here in this aftermath."

Kierra figured out what plagued her sister's mind the most.

"But despite all that, it's not 'maybe' that you like him, Jiyeon. It's the fact that you still like him and maybe more than that."

"Yeah and I don't know why."

Linna slumped onto the table's surface with a soft groan.

"The heart never really gives a reason despite the brain wanting an answer." Serena commented as Linna groaned again.

The older pair left Linna alone to mull over her own thoughts and focused on Melanie instead.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

Melanie remained cool and collect, but Serena knew her sister had mixed feelings, too.

"You and Jake."

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing. It's always something that comes from nothing." Kierra said as Melanie sighed.

"I didn't like him like that as he was just a classmate and a tutor, but then we got into a weird rumored relationship which in turn became a fake one later on. Then for some odd reason, I somehow developed feelings for Jake and just like with Jiyeon and Sunghoon, now Jake and I are here in this situation."

"But do you actually like him, Youngseo?" Serena asked a second later as Melanei sighed.

"I dunno."

She ran her hands through her hair, upset.

"I've been avoiding him as best as I can, but like it's difficult as we have a class together. I don't wanna see his face or even speak to him right now. Or ever."

Melanie slumped onto the table and the older two left her alone as well. Kierra re-directed the topic to something else.

"Alright, forget them. What do y'all wanna eat?"

"I wa-"

Serena was interrupted when a sudden meal tray filled with generous portions was placed before her, unexpectedly. Serena swiftly looked over her shoulder to see Heeseung, standing right beside her, but he flashed her a smile when they made eye-contact.

"For sharing your snacks with me this morning. Enjoy the meal, Minseo."

Before Serena could respond Heeseung already walked off after briefly greeting the other three, and returned to another table with his friends on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Jay, Jake, and Sunghoon glanced over at their table, but Kierra, Melanie, and Linna ignored them, focusing on Serena instead. Linna didn't missed how Sunghoon still had Rika's packed lunch with him although untouched. Melanie noticed Jake looking at her as if he wanted to talk, but she averted her eyes away from him as well. The same happened with Kierra, but she had no time for Jay right now either. The trio momentarily forgot their own troubles to deal with Serena's current situation, their moods shifting immediately.

"So, Park Minseo," Kierra began with a teasing look.

"What did you share with the Lee Heeseung this morning?"

"Yeah, dear sister." Melanie cooed, joining in.

"And when did y'all even get this close that he even bought you lunch, hmm?"

"I think the fate answered our call and it's Minseo's time to get a taste of her own medicine." Linna mused.

Serena rolled her eyes with a ghost of a smile, knowing that her cousins and sister were now in a better mood. Serena glanced around, giving Heeseung a head bow in 'thanks' and glanced at the trio with a neutral expression.

"Just some dessert and drinks from 20 CUBE because Hyunkyung wanted to make up with Riae this morning." She answered nonchalantly.

"Also, we're not like that either."

Serena had a feelng that was a lie, but since nothing fluttering-feeling actually happened, so she left it alone for now.

"Maybe he just felt obligated to get me something since I shared something with him."

"Yeah, right. It's not like it's the first time he's shared something of his with you." Melanie remarked as Linna recalled that moment.

"Oh, right, he did. The suit jacket which you still haven't returned."

"It's not and that's totally different. However, I will return him his clothes when an opportunity arises."

Serena glanced at the trio while pushing her tray in the middle of them to share.

"Y'all can have some, too."

"Oh, no, no, no."  Kierra declined in a teasing tone.

"That's clearly meant for you since Heeseung bought it specifically for you, Minseo."

She righted the tray back in front of Serena while looking at the younger two.

"The rest of us are gonna get our own."

Serena rolled her eyes in good-nature as the three got up to get their own meal with a laugh while she picked up the chopstick to dig into her own. Surprisingly, the tray were filled with items she liked and she wondered how Heeseung knew that.

"Good morning, Jiyeon." Sunghoon greeted Linna once again in a cheery tone upon her arriving at the school's gate on this Thursday morning.

Linna felt like now Sunghoon was purposefully making sure to seek her out despite telling him otherwise for this whole week, too. Then again, before she would have been over the moon for this type of interaction with him, but nowadays after all that's happened she wasn't so sure how to feel about it. Still, feelings were hard to recover from, but yet in a few weeks she wouldn't have to see his face once summer holidays started. She and the others decided to go back home instead of staying.

"Yeah, morning."

Linna's greeting wasn't as cheerful or pleasant compared to Sunghoon's, but her tone wasn't mean or hostile either. As much as it would be better to ignore him, but somewhere within her wouldn't let her do that. Linna knew her feelings couldn't go away that fast, but she hoped that it would just stop aching. However, Linna allowed Sunghoon to greet and walk her to her classes, but other than that, nothing else. She didn't have to come to her classes either, but the professors were doing a review and she figured it would be better to come for that than miss out, especially her math course.

"So I he-"

"Not now, Sunghoon." Linna told him in a soft tone.

Sunghoon's brows furrowed, catching how different Linna appeared to be before him.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I really need the space right now."

She flashed him a tired smile.

"Just, at least for a whi-"

"Hey, Sunghoon!" Rika interrupting Linna and interjected herself into the conversation to mainly speak with the male.

Sunghoon ignored Rika while observing Linna further as they neared her class.

"Ji-"

"Sunghoon, I have