You abruptly get up your bed and throw your covers on the ground. You were sweating from head to toe, and when you tried to speak, your voice was cracked and sore. Maybe I was screaming again.

This always seemed to happen. You would have repetitive nightmares of the same scene. The scene of your mother promising you ice-cream before she left. You hated her for leaving you like that. Over time, you grew to despise her. Not the best relationship between a deceased mother and an abandoned daughter, huh?

You quickly get changed and lock the door behind you. You climb onto your bicycle and ride to school. The warm breeze blows softly against your face, and you silky hair flies behind you, like a trail. As you arrive in school, you hear your name being yelled by a familiar voice. You turn around to see his face, and you see a guy with straight, soft brown hair and with a smooth complexion. With his tall and skinny shadow, you could identify who he was. No Minwoo.

“Annyeonghaseyo,” you greet him in a raspy voice as he pulls you into his arms. Trying to act sweet, huh?
“Annyeong!” he exclaims as he pecks a kiss on your cheek, not noticing your lack of voice. 
Warmth immediately floods your cheeks, for the fact that you were definitely not used to skinship. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Niel and Maria walking towards you both. Maria appears to have pink cheeks; blushing. Oh yeah, I almost forgot that Maria had a huge crush on Niel.

“Aw, look at the lovey-dovey couple over hear~” hollers Maria as she pinches your cheeks. 
Everyone cheers and woots as they walk past, occasionally patting No Minwoo’s shoulder, telling him he did a good job melting the heart of the ice princess. Tch. At the end of the long day, No Minwoo takes your hand and leads you into the school gym. He sits in the middle of the court and silence immediately fills the huge, empty room. Yet, he sits there smiling.

“Stop it, you must be tired from smiling.” you tell him.
“It’s tiring,” he begins. “You understand how I feel, right?”

“What?” you ask.
“I mean, you wear a mask like I do. I smile and always act gentle and kind, and you always act cold and distant.”
You don’t say anything in reply.
“You’re just putting up a fake wall, just like me.” he says.

You dart for the door, quick enough that you could hear No Minwoo yelling your name behind you. How can they see through me so easily? Ahn Daniel and No Minwoo... Both of them... They can tell.

A voice echoes in your head. Why are you so scared? Why are you scared of them seeing your facade? Upon hearing that voice in your head, tears flood your eyes. Worried that anyone would see you in such a state, you wipe your tears with your sleeve and you rush to the front gate of the school. Niel stands there with his earphones on, whistling while nodding his head to the beat. You take a huge breath and tap him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go.” you tell him in a quiet voice.
At first he looks at you worridly, but he shrugs, not suspecting you. Good. Little did you know, a pair of eyes was closely watching your every move.

Maria POV:

“YU—” you yell out enthusiastically, stopping just in time.
You stand there, frozen like a statue with an ice-cream cone in your hands.
You see her approach Niel, and your heart stops for one second. Questions flood your mind. Why are they meeting after school? What are they doing together? Where are they going?
“Let’s go.” you hear her say to him. He nods and they both hop onto the bicycle, their bodies close to each other.

“Yuri?” you ask, after they leave. “W-what?”
You didn’t even get the chance to tell her. You needed to tell her. But now you didn’t want to tell her; you felt something stirring in your heart. Jealousy, anger, betrayal, pain, what is it? You shrug, forgetting everything. Yuri, I will miss you so much, you even fell in love with someone. It hurts, here. You think, pointing to your chest. But it’s okay, Yuri. I forgive you. Goodbye.