“You! Jessica Jung! You’re totally a !” Hyoyeon badmouthed her and snatched up the first book that her hands could ever reach before she hit it a few times on Jessica’s shoulder.

“Ouch! Ouch! Wait! What have I done till I deserve that ‘’ huh?!” Jessica growled back to her and she caught Hyoyeon’s arms to stop smacking her body. Hyoyeon stopped too, sighing loudly and she threw Jessica a despair glare before walking away from her.

Jessica watched her with wide, piercing eyes before she put her hands on her waist and scanned around on all those 7 pairs of eyes that were in the middle of staring murderously on her.

“Well, girls! Just spit it out already! What did I do to make all of you are so mad at me huh?” Jessica narrowed her eyes while asking.

I peered up to the rest of my unnies from where I was sitting in the lecture hall. Our class had long dismissed by Taeyeon and the rest decided to confront Jessica for whatever she had done last night that was hurting me.

I sighed and looked down to my palms. I didn’t want all of this. I knew that my unnies were just being protective over me but I don’t like it when our group had to be forced into this kind of quarrel. It was useless actually, seeing everything that already became a memory now. The prom night had long over yesterday and of course, as expected from a perfect couple like Kris and Jessica, they easily conquered the title of the King and Queen. Though it wasn’t that thing bothering me.

“Sica ah...we don’t want any fight between us...we promise to talk over everything that might bothering us, right? So let me ask you...why did you agree to become Kris’ partner last night?” Taeyeon who was the oldest and the most respected leader in our group started speaking.

Jessica stared with unbelievable expression on her face but she shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. I noticed that her eyes averted sideway to me and quickly, I turned away.

“It must got to do with Seo, right?” she said that instead of asking Taeyeon’s question and it snapped Yuri out angrily.

“Yeah! Glad that you know! You already know a little too well, Jessica ah! Our maknae has long having crush on him...her only and one Kris but why did you still choose him to be your date? I mean, it’s nonsense okay? After so much that you know on how Seohyun is feeling about him! Besides, out of hundreds of boys in our college, why Kris is the only one that you agreed to?”

“Because he asked me to! He asked me to become his date! Is that even a problem to all of you? Well, look positively okay? It’s just for one night and moreover, you guys know that there’s nothing between us...Kris and I are just being friends...we both know English together...we speak better to each other and he is the basketball captain while I’m his cheerleader! That’s it!” Jessica pointed out her opinion about the whole matter.

My unnies were all went silent, measuring the rationality in her words but I just couldn’t bring myself to face this argument so I started moving forward to my desk. My hands grabbed up my bag and I sneaked inside to look for my Cinderella story book again. It was better for me to read something that I loved rather than listening to the pointless fight of them.

I searched and searched but my forehead started forming creases when I noticed that my book was nowhere to be seen. I threw away my bag and stood up to look among my collection of reference books on the table. Upon hearing the tantrum I made, my unnies were all turned looking at me.

“What is it, Seo ah?” Tiffany asked me from where she stood but I shook my head and still busily searching around for that book.

“No...my book...my Cinderella book is missing...I thought I brought it back with me from the party last night...” I mumbled upon my belongings that were scattering all over the table. My unnies furrowed their eyebrows to me but then I gasped and looked up to them.

“I think maybe I left it in the library...because I went there this morning...” I reported to them and Jessica snorted.

“I’ll go and find it...” I ignored the annoyance shown on her face as I quickly picked my pace towards the door and out from the lecture hall.

“See...she’s still so immature and she expected Kris to see her? That’s funny!” Jessica commented when their maknae was easily worried even for her useless Cinderella book.

Yoona shot her a glare from the corner of her eyes. “It’s better to act immature than to betray your own best friend!”

“Please...please be there...” I rushed towards the entrance of the library and pushed my body alongside with the door to walk inside.

Once I hastily made my way to the area where all the tables arranged for the students to study, I quickened my pace to find the book exactly at the table that I used this morning.

I stopped next to it and landed my eyes upon two foreign girls that were now using this table to do their own discussion. They tilted their heads around, looking up at me before I flashed them an awkward smile.

“So...sorry...carry on...” I bowed and signaled for them to ignore my presence there. Well, of course they just can’t close their eyes and abandon me there because I was doing something that totally weird and embarrassing now.

I leaned closer to the table and used my hands to busily flip their books and files up and down in hope that I can see my Cinderella book among it. The girls kept on watching me silent and strangeness as now I moved to check below their begs, between their chairs and finally, I dropped down to my knees and started searching below the table.

“Em, miss? Are you okay?” one of them touched my shoulder from behind and I gave up. I turned my body to her back before ended up sitting down on the floor and sighed loudly to her.

“I am not okay! My Cinderella book is missing and I’m fregging need it now!” I spoke to them in Korean while they exchanged blur look among them. I peered upon the girls and understood that they didn’t know a word from my explanation. I let out a sigh again. This was why I need to be master in English!

As I slumped my shoulders in despair, something thumped down to the floor nearby where I sat. It sounded like a book and I quickly scanned around to catch the sight of an average thick book with its cover colored in light blue.

That was it! That might be my Cinderella book! I thought happily and acted straight according to my impulse. I was too excited to stand up and walk so I simply crawled on the floor, passing two or three tables where all the people sat there were looking at me weirdly. Of course, I ignored them and finally reached the book that fell there.

“Gotcha!” I grinned as I picked it up and brought it closer to my eyes but then I frowned.

“Oh, hey there...” I hissed out of irritation when I read the title of this book. This wasn’t my Cinderella story book but about slam dunk and freaking basketball! I slightly raised my hand, ready to throw away that book but somebody stretched out a hand and snatched the book away from me. I looked up to him.

“Thanks for picking up my book...” my eyes widened in disbelief when I noticed that it was Kris who sat on the chair next to where I was crawling on the floor now.

I turned my head away from him and gulped down my throat. Oh dear. This was totally embarrassing!!! I bit my lips and crumpled my shirt for looking so stupid in front of him but I heard Kris chuckled under his breath and tapped me from behind. I hesitated whether to turn looking at him or not.

“Get up and sit...on a chair, I mean...I’m sure that the floor has got its own cleaner to wipe it clean by now...” I knew that he was mocking me. As one of the best students in this college, sure the hell that I can’t lose against this basketball captain, right?

So I gathered up my courage, arranging my face to look innocent and fine again before I scrambled to my feet. I cleared my throat, smoothing down my shirt before I squared my shoulders around and tried arrogantly to sit across from him around the table.

Kris chuckled to me again when he observed me through his playful but mysterious eyes. I leaned backward to the chair but decided to keep my gaze low only on my lap. I didn’t want him to read my sheepish expression.

“What are you doing huh? Crawling like that on the floor...” I knew that he was curious about nothing but upon my weird attitude just now. I let go of a weak sigh and tried my best to give him an answer that won’t go and embarrass me back!

“I’m...em...looking for something...”

“Oh, what? An ant?” I furrowed grudgingly to him but he burst out laughing loudly in return, amused by his own joke and my sulking face.

“Mr. Wu!” we both flinched on our seats and Kris stopped laughing at once when suddenly a lady called out his name. We looked around and spotted her with her thick glass in the middle of staring angrily towards Kris. He threw her a dashing grin, trying to cool down this annoyed librarian but he gave her a knowing nod.

“Alright, ma’am...I’ll behave...” Kris said as he made a gesture to zip close his mouth. The lady smirked to him, throwing me a dirty look and disappeared back. I sighed in disbelief to her. Did she think we were actually dating right now instead of study? Damn it!

“Oh my...do see you her spectacle just now? That’s very ancient, you know...I thought only old folks will use it...she doesn’t look that old, don’t you think?” Kris continued giving his opinion about that lady just now. I was glad that he changed the topic but I shrugged to him.

“No idea...maybe she’s in her late thirty or something...but I think her spectacle suits her...” I commented sincerely – having no thought on insulting her or so but again, Kris totally forgot the fact that we were in the library and he broke out laughing madly.

“Hahahaha! You’re kidding me, right?” he managed questioning me between his laughter but someone cleared loudly and we no longer need to look, we knew who were about to warn us now.

“Mr. Wu, I thought you know the reason you came here is to study...so do the others so don’t disturb anybody and keep quiet!” she scolded him with her hands already on her waist. Kris covered his mouth with the back of his palm and nodded obediently to her.

“Okay...alright...I’m study now...” he smiled to her, dropping his hand away from his mouth and picked up a book instead – showing her that he was actually in the middle of reading.

“Hish!” she hissed and left us alone one more time but I stared with confusion towards Kris. He darted his eyes upon me, smiling a bit before continued reading that book.

My eyes traveled with its nervous stare from my slightly trembling palms, then up to the table where all his books, pencil case, pen, eraser, ruler, test pads and papers were scattering on it. Finally, I stopped exactly on a book that he was in the middle of holding and reading it now.

I started blinking my eyes. Once, twice before I slowly raised up my hand and poked upon the cover of the book.

He peered up to me from over the book that was standing a few inches away from his eyes and that automatically made us to meet each other’s eyes directly. I blinked to him and he did the same to me, we were actually staring on each other now! Oh my! I lost track of my words already – but even before I manage to speak, he already spoken aloud.

“What are you looking at huh?” Kris asked and I sat straight on my chair. I flashed him a hesitated grin before clearing my throat and looked down again to my palms.

“Em...your...your book...you’re actually...reading it inversely...” I plugged up my courage and at last successfully informing him that he was actually holding the book upside down.

Kris raised an eyebrow to me but he peeked down on his own book, checking the condition of it before nodded and smiling away.

“I did...but why? Is it wrong?” his question earned a weird frown from me and his laughter broke into booming volume, echoing throughout the ocean of books until those people around us had to throw their irritated glance to warn Kris about the pitch of his voice. The lady with her thick spectacle just now appeared again from behind the book shelter.

“Shooh! Mr. Wu! I remind you third time already! Silent please!” she growled with her whispering intonation towards our table and Kris held up both of his palms to the lady.

“Okay, okay...I got it! My apology, ma’am...” he chuckled in surrender but I knew that he wasn’t as sincere as that attractive smile shown on his face because once the lady walked away, he covered his mouth from laughing out loud again.

I rolled my eyes. “Stop laughing...there’s nothing funny about it...”

He finally back with his serious expression when I commented like that. Kris slowly cleared his throat and leaned forward to me from across the table. His hands were holding up the book earlier but still with its inverted position. I shook my head, running out of idea on why he needed to do that.

“You really don’t know why I’m reading the book like this?” he shot me that question and I quickly shook my head.

“No...all that I know is what you’re doing right now is ridiculous and that explained why you were laughing madly just now...” I didn’t sound like I’m teasing him but he grinned mischievously back to me.

Gulping down my throat, I looked away – only to try catching for my breath. I swear I’m not strong enough to resist the adoration from that smile.

“Actually, Seohyun ah...” I liked the way my name uttered out from his mouth. “When you’re reading a book inversely like this...”

I brought my eyes back to him when he gestured the way he was holding the book just now. Then he continued,

“...you can actually increase the level of your attention and understanding upon anything that you’re reading...” it was the first time I had ever heard such a tip. I didn’t even have any idea whether it was a valid fact or not.

Maybe my face was clearly showing the ridiculous feeling whispered from my mind right now so it caused Kris to jerk another eyebrow to me.

“Why? You don’t believe it? You should try it out then...cause I’m serious here...no joke at all...” he encouraged me to test his new innovation of reading style but I politely refused.

“No, thank you...it will just give me headache if I read like your way...” he chuckled on my reply but we both agreed to drop the matter. When I finally thought of leaving, my book was nowhere here after all, our table created another noisy and irritating sound.

I sat frozen on my chair as I felt the table vibrated with something shaking on it and I watched Kris hastily put down his book. He pushed away all other books in front of him before he finally found his phone and picked it up at once.

“Hello?”