“This is more difficult than it looks,” Seoyeon said as she struggled to pull her skirt on.

“What am I supposed to say to them?” Sam sighed.

“Say I wasn't feeling well first thing, but now I'm feeling better,” Seoyeon shrugged.

“And that's supposed to work?” Sam looked incredulous.

“Usually does.”

“Oh.”

“She wasn't feeling well earlier, but she's feeling a lot better now,” Sam smiled at the school receptionist. Seoyeon nodded along solemnly.

“Well, I'm glad you made it in, Seoyeon,” the receptionist said as she typed something into the computer. “Most students would take a day off at the smallest opportunity.”

Seoyeon smiled sweetly at the receptionist as she looked up. “I'd better get going,” she said, turning to Sam.

“I'll pick you up later, yeah?” Sam ruffled Seoyeon's hair before grinning and leaving.

“Thank you,” Seoyeon said quickly as she left the office.

The lesson Seoyeon was meant to be in had almost ended, so she waited in the girls' toilets until the bell rang. Finally she could go to her next lesson without being late and she almost ran to talk to Yun.

“Yun!” she squealed as she catapulted herself to his desk.

“Slow down!” he laughed, hugging Seoyeon as she sat down. “You're late.”

“We overslept,” Seoyeon admitted.

“'We'? Who's 'we'?” Yun asked. Seoyeon held out her hand with the pretty engagement ring shining on it.

“Oh, I see,” Yun nodded. “That doesn't explain the 'we' though. Surely you-”

“I live with Sam now,” Seoyeon told him.

“So you sleep together? And you both overslept?” Yun probed.

“No!” Seoyeon denied quickly. “No, I forgot to set my alarm, and Sam didn't need to go to work early. We don't sleep together.”

“Ah, okay,” Yun nodded slowly. “And how are things with Teo?”

“He didn't talk to me all last week,” Seoyeon sighed. “What did you tell him?”

“It doesn't matter,” Yun assured her. “He'll talk to you soon.”

Teo kept sneaking glances at Seoyeon throughout the day, as if he was checking she hadn't disappeared. There was something different about her, but he couldn't figure it out. When she and Yun left the classroom for lunch, he followed a few paces behind. Seoyeon pointed at her face, then Yun peered at it and shook his head. They entered the canteen together and sat at the end of a table, still talking. Teo took a deep breath and marched up to Seoyeon.

“Looks like someone's here to see you,” Yun nudged Seoyeon when he saw Teo approaching.

“Hey, Seoyeon, can we talk?” Teo asked quietly.

“Sure,” Seoyeon said, not moving.

“I mean, in private,” Teo amended himself.

“Oh! Okay,” Seoyeon nodded and stood up, then followed Teo outside.

“I just... I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not talking to you last week,” Teo said nervously.

“Yeah, uh, why was that?” Seoyeon tilted her head.

“Yun said something, and I felt kind of awkward,” Teo explained. “Are we still friends?”

“Of course!”

“You want to do something tonight? You could come over to my house,” Teo suggested.

“I... I can't, I'm sorry,” Seoyeon immediately felt bad, but Sam said he'd pick her up after school. “Maybe at the weekend, or something?”

“Sure,” Teo nodded. “Oh, um... Could I have your number? If that's okay with you, of course, I mean-”

Seoyeon pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled a series of numbers on Teo's arm. “See you later,” Seoyeon smiled before turning and walking back to Yun.

“Han Seungyun,” Seoyeon placed her hands on the table in front of Yun. “Tell me exactly what you told Teo that made him feel so awkward he couldn't talk to me for a week.”

Yun sighed and glanced around. “I told him you'd been waiting for him.”

“You what?!” Seoyeon screeched. The canteen fell silent as hundreds of eyes fell on Yun and Seoyeon.

“I literally only said that, and then I walked away,” Yun told her when everyone began talking again.

“Why?”

“It was when Sam was about to propose, and I didn't want Teo to get in the way, okay? Something about him seems... weird.”

“You're so annoying,” Seoyeon said, a smile creeping onto her face. She could never be angry at Yun for long.

Seoyeon sighed as she stood outside the school gates, waiting for Sam. Nearly everyone had left already. Suddenly Seoyeon's phone began to ring, and she fished it out of her back quickly to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Yeon, it's Sam.”

“I don't mean to be rude, but where are you?”

“That's the thing- I'm stuck at work. Don't worry, though, I've asked someone to come and pick you up.”

“You shouldn't have! I can walk, you know.”

“She's already on her way- she's called Jessica. She can be kind of snippy at first, but she's really sweet.”

“What does she look like?”

“She's almost as pretty as you.”

“That narrows it down a lot, Sam.”

“She knows what you look like; she'll come and get you. Listen, I have to go- I'll be back at about six.”

“But Sam-”

“Love you!” Sam ended the call and Seoyeon sighed again. Great- a car journey, by herself, with a “snippy” stranger.

i'm so tired rn because of dance summer school but here!! chapter!!! yay!!

i'm gonna update again in a minute i've got to stop writing 2 or 3 chapters and updating all at once wow