Time flew by quickly when you were rotting in hell.

You didn't feel it anymore. The pain in being the girlfriend of a guy you will never love. Why did Junhyung continue to delude himself with this ridiculous play? He knew you didn't like him, yet he still tortured you over it, still hugged you and occasionally kissed you, almost as if he was hoping you would like him back one day.

Miyoung was very worried about you. She tried to cheer you up, but nothing she said worked. You couldn't even look at Doojoon when you passed him in the halls. You couldn't face the shame, when you were under the arm of another guy. You couldn't do it.

Strangely, out of everyone, Kikwang was the most worried about your sudden lifeless attitude.

One day, after training tae kwon do to the sophomores for a section of the games, he pulled you aside to talk to you. 

"~~~~~~-ah, you can't go on like this."

You tried to pull away from his grip on your arm. "Leave me alone! You have no idea what I'm going through---"

"Oh, hell yes I do!" He gripped your shoulders and forced you to face him. He actually looked......serious, for once.

"Miyoung-ah told me everything. You can't beat yourself up about this. You only have to pretend to be Junhyung's girlfriend for one and a half more months. That's only about six or seven weeks. Then you can be with Doojoon again, happy as ever."

"But......what if he doesn't want me back?" You whispered, tears forming in your eyes as all of your panicked thoughts surfaced. "F-for the past month he's been seeing me with another man. What if he thinks I actually enjoy it? There's no way I can contact him in any way, tell him the truth. What if he thinks I---I like him? A-and we're such competitive people, what if during the Cube-ASC we let it get the better of us and we end up turning against each other? A-also, I said some mean things to him when I was forced to do what Junhyung told me to do. What if he hates me now?"

Kikwang gave you a slight shake of the shoulders. "Stop it, ~~~~~~-ah! This isn't you! You have to be strong!"

"But I'm not strong!" You yelled, your voice cracking slightly. "I'm not strong."

"Yes you are. Or, you were." Kikwang said, looking straight into your eyes. "You are different. The ~~~~~-ah I used to know was happy and cheerful, stubborn and fierce, competitive and outgoing. You were strong and powerful, and you let nothing stand in your way. That was Im ~~~~~~. That was the girl I fell in love with."

You were completely bewildered. This was the first time Kikwang had ever spoken such meaningful words to you.

"Don't give up, ~~~~~-ah. Don't get second thoughts, don't have "what-if" doubts. Fight and keep on fighting. Never lose hope. I know you can never return my love for you, but you can at least do just that for me."

Kikwang walked away. You stared after him in amazement. What he just said made a big impact on you.

"Fight....and keep on fighting." You whispered.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

Doojoon put his head in his arms. He, Yoseob, and Hyunseung was "studying" in the library for an upcoming exam. Actually, only Yoseob seemed to be studying at the moment.

"Yah, hyung!" Yoseob complained. "Aren't you worried? We might not be able to participate in the Cube-ASC if we don't pass this test!"

"Don't be so anxious, Yoseob." Hyunseung sighed. "The teachers are just threatening you. We're too good of players for them to kick out."

Doojoon didn't answer.

Hyunseung slammed his book down in frustration. "Yah, Doojoon, get a hold of yourself! You've been like a zombie for the past month! What's wrong with you?"

Doojoon swallowed. He never told his friends what happened between you and him. "Can I.....tell you guys something?"

"Sure." Yoseob leaned forward to listen, and Hyunseung peered intently at him.

"I...I....I was in a relationship with ~~~~~~-ah."

"What? Oh, we already know that." Yoseob snorted. "That's old news, bro."

"WHAT?"

"Well, it was kinda obvious." Hyunseung snickered. "You were all upset about not being on the same team as ~~~~~-ah, then suddenly you were happy again. Did you really think we didn't notice those secret smiles you gave her, or the fact you never took your eyes off of her when you saw her in the halls? How stupid do you think we are, Doojoon?"

"Well.....thanks, guys." Doojoon said, grateful towards his friends. "And you never said a word of this to Eunha?"

"Obviously not. We're not putting our own friends in trouble. But what happened between you guys now?"

"Well...." Doojoon mumbled. "We.....we got caught. By Junhyung. And he promised not to tell Eunha if we never speak to each other and act like enemies. and if......" He swallowed. "If ~~~~~-ah became his girlfriend."

His friends gasped. "That bastard!" Hyunseung growled, his eyes flashing with his rarely-seen anger.

"And......~~~~~-ah agreed. She doesn't look at me in the halls. She doesn't talk to me. She....she......" He blinked back tears. "Does she hate me? Hate falling in love with me? Does she wish our relationship never happen? I don't know anymore........"

"No way, man." Yoseob shook his head fervently. "Didn't you see her in the halls? She looks just as much of a mess as you do. You can obviously tell she really hates Junhyung. There's no way she's enjoying whatever's happening right now."

Doojoon sighed heavily. He wanted to talk to you, to send you a message somehow...........

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

It was lunch break. You decided to eat outside with Miyoung this time for lunch. The two of you sat on a bench and ate quietly.

"Miyoung......." You whispered. "I think.....I think I will fight. I will be strong. I don't want this to drag me down. And when it comes to the Cube-ASC.......I will give it my all."

"I'm happy for you, ~~~~~-ah." Miyoung said, munching on a sandwich. "But why the sudden descision?"

"I just want to see......" You swallowed. "I want to see if my feelings for Doojoon are true. If we both really truly love each other, then we wouldn't let our competitiveness get the best of us at the competition, right?"

Miyoung smiled. "I'm just glad you've decided to fight."

You smirked -- the first time you've smiled in a while. "Of course. Who do you think I am? I'm Im ~~~~~.....the Sports Queenka of Cube High."

Your smile faded when you saw Doojoon, Yoseob, and Hyunseung walk across the fields, far off in the distance. You ducked your head down, your heart sending sharp jabs into your ribcage.

"What is he doing?" Miyoung mumbled.

You peeked up. He was standing in front of a tree in the fields, Yoseob and Hyunseung on either side of him......almost looking as though they were keeping watch.

Doojoon bent down, still facing the tree. He stayed in that postition for a long time, before standing up again.

Then he turned around and looked right at you, like he knew you were there all along. Even though he was so far you couldn't see his face clearly, you shivered and felt his eyes staring right at you, burning into you, with his penetrating, intense gaze.

He walked away, closely followed by Yoseob and Hyunseung, and went back into the school.

"What was that?" Miyoung asked, confused, frowning.

"You......you go ahead, Miyoung. I just need to see something." You said breathlessly.

"Sure." Miyoung said, confused.

You ran up to the tree they were at. There was a meaning to all that, you knew it.

The tree looked perfectly normal. You circled it, searching for a clue, but found none.

You crouched down in the exact spot Doojoon was in moments before and ran your hand along the rough bark on the trunk. As you reached a spot near the roots, you felt something different. It didn't feel like the grooves in the bark -- it felt rougher, sharper. Like it was cut.

You pushed back the bush covering part of the tree, and you gasped.

On there was a small message, roughly cut into the bark of the tree.

Keep your promise

Keep dreaming

They will come true

Forever in my heart

Y.D.

You passed your hand along the words faintly, your fingers trembling. He cut this. The "Y.D." at the end couldn't mistake it.

The words echoed in your mind.

Keep your promise...........

You promised to always be with him.........

Keep dreaming..............

You dreamed of the end of Cube-ASC when you could finally be together with him......

They will come true..............

Cube-ASC will end soon, and you could be with him then............

Forever in my heart................

That meant he still loved you............

You smiled. "Yoon Doojoon." You whispered.

One and a half months to go before Cube-ASC............