“So how is it going between you and Kyuhyun?” one of her pals asked Seungyeon.  Seungyeon crossed her arms across her chest and showed a displeased face. “Not bad but not so good at all too,” she replied.

“What do you mean?” a confused friend asked her.

“Not bad because I have him by my side most of the time. However, not good at all because even though I’m with him, it always seems like his mind is out of nowhere. It’s like I am just talking to myself the whole time and the worse, he is not even a good listener,” Seungyeon told them. Her frustration was clearly shown in her tone of voice.  “And that is because of that girl, Seo Joohyun.”

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“Seohyun,” Kyuhyun called when he saw her walking on the way to school. He pedaled his bike faster to go past Seohyun and block her way.  “Do you want to go to school together? I’ll offer you a ride,” Kyuhyun suggested, trying to sound cheerful like nothing happened. Like last night was nothing. Seohyun halted.

“It’s fine, oppa. I can manage. Besides, I think Seungyeon-unnie should be the one that you should pick up everyday. She’s your girlfriend, right?” Seohyun replied with a forced smile and a downcast look. “I gotta go now. I’ll be late for my subject.” She then walked past Kyuhyun.

“You don’t have to avoid me, Seohyun.” Kyuhyun said softly with a tinge of hurt in his voice.  Seohyun tried to swallow down her tears but she could not. She could not help but recall what they used to be.  

Just then, another bicycle emerged from an alley and it was ridden by Changmin.

“Oppa, you’re just in time. Let us go to school together.” Seohyun said as she jumped at the backseat. Changmin was floored, standing there and clueless of what has just transpired between the two. He was caught off-guard when Seohyun suddenly hopped on his bike.

“Kaja.” Seohyun said. Changmin stared at Kyuhyun with his mouth hanging open. “What the…” Changmin mouthed at his best friend. The other just motioned him to go. Changmin did not understand what was going on but he decided to play along. On their ride to school, he could catch the sound of Seohyun’s sobs. Seohyun did not want to see her cry so she was really thankful when Changmin arrived in that nick of time when she was about to break her front. Just in time when she needed someone to take her away.  

When they reached the gate of the school, Seohyun immediately got off the bike. “Thank you for the ride,” she told Changmin offhandedly and walked away without another word or another glance.

“Aish! Really this girl.” Changmin uttered in disbelief. “You hitched a ride without notice and then just leave like that! Am I just an escape vehicle? Am I your chauffeur? YAH!” he yelled but Seohyun did not heed and continued walking instead.  

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Few days passed by and it was not long before Hyejin and Naeri noticed the rift between their children. They eventually asked each of them about it but it’s either they evade the question or they both kept mum about it.

“Something is really wrong.” Hyejin said to Naeri during one of their tea time.

“Perhaps they have love quarrel,” Naeri replied jokingly. Hyejin laughed.

“I think they have some sort of misunderstanding. Well, they are already old enough to handle their problems. It’s not like they did not have cold wars before.”

“You got a point.” Naeri replied.

----------------------

“… so Joohyun will be the one getting the frogs for the experiment. You’re not afraid of frogs, are you? You once said that you love Keroro, right?” one of Joohyun’s classmate asked her. They were currently having a group discussion but Seohyun seemed to not hear anything at all. She was just staring blankly at the window in front of her as she saw Kyuhyun and Seungyeon walking arm in arm.

“Joohyun-ah,” one of her classmates called her.  Seohyun did not respond. “Seo Joohyun! Hello…” she called again in a louder voice while waving her hand in front of her.

“What? Any- Any- Anything I miss?” Seohyun jolted. Her groupmates stared incredulously at her. “So you weren’t listening?” they asked.

“Mianhae,” Seohyun looked at them apologetically before casting her eyes down. “Anyway, I’ll do anything you assigned me to do.”

Seohyun walked blindly through the campus, still thinking about Kyuhyun and Seungyeon, not knowing that she already gotten past the guard house where her groupmates left their specimen for the experiment. She only realized it when she reached the dead end of a corridor.

“What are you doing, Seo Joohyun?” She muttered as she slapped her cheeks. “Get yourself together. Get yourself together.” It had been her mantra for the past few days. The pangs of first love indeed hit her hard. She could not concentrate. She had her mind floating away every time. She is completely lovesick. She has to stop this. She has to put her mind to other things. She has to focus. Right, that’s what she really needs right now.

She traced her steps back to the guard house where she finally obtained the much-needed frog. “Thank you,” Seohyun said to the guard as she picked up the package. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. It was a phone call from her groupmates asking what took her so long. 

“I already got it. I’ll be there right away,” Seohyun replied. She broke into a run and she accidentally tripped on her loose shoelaces. She stopped for a while in a nearby bench to tie her shoelaces. She placed the package next to an open shoulder bag.

“Okay. Fixed,” Seohyun said as she tied the final knot. She stood up and grabbed the container when someone suddenly bumped into her. She dropped the container and it toppled toward the open bag.

“Oh no!” Seohyun exclaimed. She rushed to retrieve the frog and rescue herself from the guilt and blame that this incident would eventually bring. She lost the frog and she had it misplaced on someone else’s bag. What an embarrassing situation. Her hands fumbled inside and she began to panic when she was only able to get the lid. This only meant one thing. The lid came off. The frog was released inside.

“OMG!” Her hands dipped again to the bag. “Hey cutesy, little froggy, Keroro’s friend, please show yourself already.” A little later, Seohyun heard footsteps approaching. When she lifted her head, she saw the person that she least wanted to see right now, Seungyeon, together with her minions. She covered her face instinctively and ran behind a column. She decided she would just wait until she’s gone before proceeding where she left off. She took a peep and was shocked when she saw Seungyeon going near the bag.

“Is it her bag? Oh my, what else could be worse than this?” Seohyun muttered under her breath. Her heart was beating loudly with every step Seungyeon made.

“God, I don’t want to see this.” Seohyun said with her eyes closed.

“What is that sound?” Seungyeon asked when she caught some croaking sound. She looked around for its source and she soon discovered that it was coming from her bag. She examined it and felt something slimy. “What is this?”

“Aaaahhhh!!!” Seohyun peered and saw the frog jumping straight on Seungyeon’s face. She flung her arms on her face to shoo the frog away. “Get off me! Get off me! Help me get this off!” Seungyeon called to her minions who were standing on the sidelines, petrified and glued to their spot. Seungyeon kept walking backward until she stumbled down the floor.

“What’s the use of all of you?!” Seungyeon yelled as she managed to yank the creature off her. She hurled it to her worthless minions and that sent them scrambling away.

“I have to find out who did this!” Seungyeon snarled. She stomped to the washroom to fix her ruined hairstyle and makeup.

When the corridor was already clear from Seungyeon’s gang, Seohyun revealed herself from her hiding.

“I know what you did there…” someone whispered in her ear, which made her jumped in fright. She turned and saw Changmin laughing his head off.

“It’s an accident, okay.” Seohyun reasoned. “Why, what are you going to do? You’re gonna tell Kyuhyun-oppa? Did he order you to spy on me?”

“Is that what you think of me? If not a babysitter, I’m a spy. Do you only think of me as Kyuhyun’s lowly servant? I just happened to be here. Besides, can’t I be your friend too? I can be your oppa too.” Changmin said. “Let’s start again. Hello, I am Shim Changmin,” he said as he stretched a hand.

Seohyun just looked at his hand.

“Come on, I know Kyuhyun told you some unpleasant facts about me but see, I am trustworthy enough to be an oppa. A friend,” Changmin told her.

Seohyun considered for a moment then she finally decided to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, I am Seo Joohyun.”

“Hey, are we now friends?” Changmin asked. Seohyun nodded. Then they walked together and started chatting happily.

“Tell me honestly. You actually like what happened to Seungyeon earlier, don’t you?”  Changmin asked

Seohyun stifled a laugh.

“Ooh… I made you smile.” Changmin told her.

“Can you help me find that frog again? My groupmates would totally kill me if I told them I lost it.” Seohyun replied.