Somehow I was beginning to believe that Sojin’s brain was functioning a full hundred percent. She never missed anything. From deciphering people’s expressions to interpreting ulterior motives, let's not even get started with her academic proficiency - she was just.. mad. Good mad. And she was almost always precise. That, or perhaps my naivety was just beyond mending.

She sighed, raising our intertwined hands to study them. “And now you think I’m a brainiac for being able to read your face.”

I pushed a shaky chortle. “Are you perhaps the female counterpart of Edward Cullen?”

Sojin burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you’d bring that vampire up." She was still closely scrutinizing our hands; I wondered what kept her immensely interested. "I should have gotten you a vampire plushie for your present.”

I frowned. “You and your endless teasing,” I told her.

She was giggling over her prolonged observation. “And you are stalling your answer, Luhan, by deflecting my question.”

From light bantering to heavy scrutinizing, the discussion shifted. How was I supposed to answer that? It was embarrassing enough that she had seen through my inner musings. How long had she noticed? Oh heck.

"Your hand is so warm," she said suddenly. "And you have manly hands." She grinned at me.

My intestines curled and coiled before melting and - hang on. Did she just..? "Are you..?" Was she flirting?

Her grin morphed into a soft smile. She dropped our hands onto the mattress. "No, I'm not flirting. I'm telling plain truth. And - you know what? Don't answer my question."

"Why not?"

"Because we have other important matters to discuss."

The joy swelling up in my heart deflated accordingly. The stress was creeping back. The only comfort I had was that in three days, it would all be over. The formidable IAC, the bothersome CHSC hearing.

I sensed Sojin squeeze my hand, beckoning me to look at her. She seemed worried. It must have shown on my face.

I managed a smile. "Yes, Sojin. You're right."

"Lichen messaged me. She said something about the IAC but she left it to you to do the explaining. And also," she rose from her bed, sitting upright and half-facing me while still holding on to my hand. "You look so tired; I know there must be something else." She peered at me with those , feeling eyes and I knew, she must have looked at me a thousand times that way before, though underneath her mask of indifference. "Tell me," she said. Her bandaged leg lay like a giant cocoon before her while her able one was bent close to her chest, with her chin resting atop her knee. With so much fluidity from someone whose right arm was supposedly disabled, she docked the nook of her right elbow around her bent leg; you would think she wasn't at all harmed.

She was making herself strong for me when it should have been the other way around. I knew - I just knew - she was going through worse than what she was putting up. She was that mindful of people.

"Luhan?"

"Hm?"

Her lips turned down. "You look so worried; you're making me worried myself."

I shook my head. "You shouldn't. It's nothing, really."

While here you are, effectively disabled and yet still worrying about me, I added in my thoughts.

"Okay." She smiled. "But I still.. would like it.. if you told me." The girl was not used to insisting, I realized. I reminded myself to not make the effort more burdensome for her. "Who knows," she gestured upon her bandaged limbs, "only someone in my situation can help you."

This girl, seriously. My amusement must have surfaced in my demeanor, because I had her lightly chuckling.

"It's a Prefect thing. It's nothing." Just a few Prefects who wouldn't be available on a very important hearing.

But Sojin wasn't going to let it go, and she was suddenly austere. "What about it, Luhan?"

"Are we really going to talk about me and my Prefect duties? If," I added quickly when she was attempting to interrupt, "you are not going to rest, I would rather we talk about you."

"Me?" She seemed disgusted with the very thought.

"Yes," I alleged. "You."

"What exactly would you want to know about someone like me?" There was a hint of acrimony in her voice. It had me frowning.

"What do you mean someone like you?" I echoed. "Do you have any idea how -?"

"I was kidding, Luhan," she cut me, rolling her eyes. "I won't pretend I'll be enjoying to be the subject of your scrutiny, but go ahead." She untwirled and retwirled our fingers together at different points. She seemed genuinely fond of playing with my hand. Was it really manly? What did it take for a hand to be considered manly anyway? She paused in her motions. "Let me tell you though that my life is pretty much uneventful."

How cleverly elusive. "Should I seriously narrate everything that's happened to you 'til now? And then let's judge whether your life is even near uneventful."

She grunted. "That's relative."

"Regardless," I insisted. "Say..." I rested my chin atop my free arm that was canted over the edge of her bed so that I was gazing up and sideways at her. "With all your marriage proposals and dinners, did you never find anyone you might have liked?"

"Luhan, can I offer you a bargain?"

Bargain? Not this again.

"Like can you tell me whatever it is that's bothering you first before you interrogate me?"

"Why are you so -"

"Please?" She was downright serious.

"Why?"

"Because I want to know if there's anything I can help you with." And so it started. This sly lady. My lady.

Surely, I could not contest that because if I did, it would mean that I didn't trust her enough to let her help me. It would mean that I doubted her ability. Heck, it would mean that I belittled her. How did she manage to corner me? Every time.

I figured there was no point arguing so finally, I gave in. "A hearing is to be convened the day after the IAC. It's not just your typical hearing, though. It's a hearing to be held by the CHSC - I mean the Confederation of High School Student Councils." Sojin didn't seem ignorant of the interschool judicial body, but there was no harm in elaborating. "The thing is, for a more objective and collective decision to be arrived, eight student council members, including the head, should be present from each member school. That's me and seven other Prefects. The problem is, there are only thirteen of us and majority are from the first and second classes and they can't miss out on school stuff especially that classes are coming to a close. I'm one Prefect short as of the moment. Other than that," I shrugged, "it's all good."

"No, it's not," Sojin negated. "You're not planning to ditch the hearing, are you?"

I had no response. Truth be told, what with the IAC looming so close I could feel it hovering over my shoulder like a crazed person, I did consider ditching. Or coming incomplete at most. There was no avoiding it. Who knew who else might bail in the days to come?

"Luhan."

My eyes focused back on Sojin. She was looking unpleasant. No, she was looking stern.

"You'll find a way," she said, inching closer; I forgot how to breathe. "You'll see to it that you're coming a complete team. You'll make sure of it." And then she smiled; I was essentially disarmed. "I know you will. I have faith in you." She unhooked her fingers free from mine only to rest her palm against my cheek.

It was bad enough for my mental condition that she was fond of clasping our hands together, and now she was fondling my cheek. What on earth, dude? Didn't she have the slightest idea that even a lady's mere accidental touch could already unleash beasts unheard of inside a man? And here she was, deliberately touching me.

"Sojin." I averted. I couldn't stand gazing at her a second longer, lest my inner desires overrule. As gently as I could, I placed a hand over hers and withdrew it from my face. I kissed her knuckles before twining our f