Eunyoung could still feel the tingle of Jonghyun’s lips against her own, long after she pulled away. She felt… ashamed? Embarrassed? She didn’t know. All she knew was that she kissed him back, but pulled away when she remembered Onew was waiting for her. She looked at Jonghyun, surprised that he had just kissed her. She didn’t know how to react, but she could tell he liked it, he was smiling from ear to ear. Clocking him on the head lightly, she started laughing as he rubbed his head in pain.

“What in the world did you kiss me for? It’s not like that dream meant anything, it was just a coincidence that we had the same dream at the same time.” Eunyoung sighed. What was Onew oppa going to think about all this? She figured she probably shouldn’t tell him, or he’d get upset. She still remembered when she refused him, and now she was starting to regret it.

“So I’m guessing from the look on your face that you haven’t kissed Onew hyung yet, have you?” Jonghyun smirked. Part of him was glad he was her first kiss, the other part of him felt kind of bad for stealing that privilege away from Onew. But then again, she wasn’t dating Onew officially yet, so what should he feel bad for? Shaking his head, he turned back to look at her. She still looked flustered, and her hair looked a bit mussed, and he loved it. He never noticed before, but her eyes were a beautiful dark chocolate brown, and her long black hair flowed down her shoulders. Jonghyun was immediately smitten. But he felt so bad, for doing this to Onew. Sighing, he got out of the car and walked back towards his own, where Onew was waiting for Eunyoung.

“Hey hyung, I’m done talking to her, you can go ahead and talk to her now. See you in class tomorrow.” Jonghyun slid into his car and took off. He couldn’t help but think of her his whole ride home.

Onew walked over to Eunyoung’s car, nervously wiping his perspiring hands onto his jeans. Eunyoung saw him come over and motioned for him to sit inside with her.

“Oppa, what did you have to talk to me about?” Eunyoung was trying her best to hide what happened between her and Jonghyun, to look as if what Jonghyun had to say was nothing important. She looked into Onew’s mud brown eyes, taking in his whole face, from his cute smile to his messy hair. Jonghyun looked so different from Onew, more manly; whereas Onew was cuter. Eunyoung was so frustrated, she didn’t know why this had to happen to her.

“Oh, nothing much really. Just wondered what you thought of Jonghyun. I thought you guys weren’t getting along, and then he asks you to be his history project partner out of the blue. Just wanted to know what was going on.”

“Nothing really. I think he wants to get to know me better and be a friend, and I want to get to know him better and be his friend too. Oppa, I’m not saying I don’t want to get to know you, but I want to take things slow, you know?” Saying that made her heart ache, she was feeling so bad for lying to Onew, but there was nothing she could do. If she told him that Jonghyun had just shared his first kiss with her, she was sure Onew would be furious. She didn’t want that to happen. She didn’t know who to choose.

“I understand. Are you free Friday evening? I’d like to take you to see a movie.”

“Sure. What time is it?”

“It’s at 8, so I was thinking we should go to dinner before the movie. What do you think?”

“That sounds great. See you at around 6?”

“Of course, I’ll come by to pick you up, okay?” Onew was ecstatic, he was going on another date with Eunyoung. Giving her a hug and a tiny peck on the cheek, he clambered out of her car and skipped back to his own, oblivious to what happened between Eunyoung and Jonghyun. Starting his car, he drove back to his apartment, unlocked his door, and flopped on his bed, instantly falling asleep to thoughts of her.

“Unnie, what the heck took so long?” Eunyoung shut the apartment door behind her and was startled by Hyunae standing right in front of her in pajamas, brushing her teeth. “It’s almost one in the morning now.  I was worried they might have kidnapped you or something.” Hyunae quickly ran into the bathroom to spit.

“I’m fine, obviously not kidnapped. They just wanted to talk about things. Jonghyun wanted to talk to me about the project, but I don’t know why he couldn’t wait until tomorrow before class. And Onew wanted to talk about us dating, and I told him I wanted to take things slow, so we’re going on a second date Friday.” Eunyoung fell onto her couch, exhausted.

“Was that really all unnie? I don’t think it was. Jonghyun oppa looked like he needed to tell you something super important.” Hyunae looked at her sister questioningly; she knew he didn’t come all the way here in the middle of the night for homework questions.

“Hyunae, it’s just really complicated, okay? You should be getting to bed, we still have school tomorrow. If you miss, Mom and Dad will kill me. Come on, time for bed.” Eunyoung shooed her sister back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth, and forced her to go to bed before hopping into the shower herself, still thinking. She touched her lips, still feeling the slight tingle from Jonghyun’s lips. Eunyoung hated to admit it, but she liked the feeling of his lips pressing against her own. Eunyoung wondered if she was his first kiss as well, but quickly shook the thought from her head. She was supposed to be dating Onew, not Jonghyun. Climbing out of the shower and into her pajamas, she lie in bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘I shouldn’t be thinking of him,’ she thought as she fell asleep.

“Morning hyung, sleep well last night?” Taemin greeted Jonghyun in front of the cafeteria. He had just grabbed breakfast before heading to music theory class, since he couldn’t sleep at all the night before. He stayed up all night, tossing and turning in bed, thinking about nothing except Eunyoung. He knew he shouldn’t be like this, that he should like someone else because Onew liked her, but he really couldn’t help himself. Every time he thought of her his heart would skip a beat. Biting into his bagel, he looked at the red-haired kid.

“What’s up Taemin, you’re here early. And no, not really. I was too hyped up to sleep.”

“Why were you hyped up last night Jonghyun hyung?” Minho came walking up to the two of them, drinking a bottle of water. “Hey Taemin, how’s class going?”

“Oh it was nothing. I just couldn’t fall asleep last night, okay?” Jonghyun was getting annoyed; he didn’t want people bugging him so early in the morning.

“And why couldn’t you sleep last night Jonghyunnie?” Key pranced up, poking Jonghyun in the side.

“Because I just couldn’t okay? Can you guys just leave me alone now so I can finish my breakfast?” Jonghyun winced; Key’s pokes were known to be painful.

“No, we can’t. We want to know what’s been the matter with you. You haven’t been yourself lately, you know that?” Key yapped in Jonghyun’s ear.

“I’m fine. Let’s go to class, or else we’ll all be late.” Jonghyun chewed the last bit of his bagel and swallowed it, grabbed Minho’s water and took a swig, and started walking towards the arts building. Minho and Key trailed after him, still pestering him with questions, while Taemin headed into the cafeteria to grab some breakfast. When the three of them reached their class, they already saw Eunyoung and Onew sitting inside, talking to each other. Trying hard not to make a face, Jonghyun walked inside and sat down next to Eunyoung as well. Minho and Key exchanged looks before sitting behind them.

“Hey hyung. Hi Eunyoung, how are you doing today?”

“Hi Jonghyun, I’m doing fine. How about you?” Eunyoung had to admit, she was definitely feeling nervous, being sandwiched between the two of them. She was used to it in history class because they rarely got a chance to speak, but now that they were both sitting on either side of her in music theory too, she had no idea what to do. So she just sat there quietly.

“I’m doing fine as well.” Jonghyun was glad the animosity between the two of them was gone, but he was worried about what Onew hyung would think. And sure enough, Onew was watching Jonghyun and Eunyoung talk.

“Jonghyun, did you sleep last night? Your eyes look puffy.” Onew eyed Jonghyun suspiciously.

“Of course I slept last night, or else I wouldn’t be in class today. It’s this face mask I tried out, I turned out to be allergic, and it made my eyes puffy.” It was a lame excuse, he knew, but at least it got Onew off his about it. ‘Hyung is so gullible sometimes,’ Jonghyun thought. A few minutes later their professor came in and they started class.

“Progression chords are so difficult. Why did he have to fly through them like they were nothing? I have a feeling I’m going to be failing the midterm,” Eunyoung pouted as she walked out of class. It wasn’t so bad, having both of them sitting beside her, except for the constant gawking. They were right behind her when she exited, both of them agreeing about today’s lesson. All of a sudden, Onew grabbed Eunyoung’s hand.

“Let’s go grab something to drink before class, okay?” Onew asked.

“Umm, sure?”

“Hyung, I’m sorry, but I have something to discuss with Eunyoung about the project. Do you mind?” Jonghyun butted in.

“It can’t wait until after class, Jonghyun?” Onew was getting a bit annoyed. It seemed like every time he tried to talk to her, Jonghyun was there to interrupt. He was starting to get irritated.

“No, hyung, it can’t wait.” Jonghyun grabbed Eunyoung’s hand and pulled her away, the force of him dragging her making her let go of Onew’s hand. He walked off in the direction of the parking lot far away from the rest before stopping. Eunyoung was totally out of breath, she wasn’t expecting to get dragged away from the group this fast.

“Jonghyun, where are we going? Why did you drag me away from everyone else? We’re so far from the classroom we’re going to be late.” Eunyoung was still trying to catch her breath, when she suddenly felt Jonghyun’s arms around her. He was hugging her, and the feeling in her knees just gave way. But he held her up, and pulled her even closer.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it. I can’t stand seeing Onew hyung hold your hand, when all I want to do is hold yours. I know I shouldn’t be like this, but I can’t help it anymore. I couldn’t go to sleep last night because of you. But I understand, Onew hyung liked you first. But every time I think about it, I can’t give you up. I can’t see you with him.” Jonghyun let Eunyoung go for a bit, before kissing her on the cheek. He knew it was a difficult decision to make, and he didn’t want to rush her.

“Jonghyun, I’m glad you understand. Come on, let’s go to class. And don’t tell Onew until I’m ready to tell him, okay? I want to choose.” Eunyoung walked away from Jonghyun, heading towards their class. She knew he was following her, but she jogged to get further ahead of him, before turning around.

“Jonghyun, I’m going to beat you to history class!”

“No you’re not, I’m going to catch up to you, just you wait!” And they raced to class.