The clock ticked by as Jongin quietly sat there on his seat, completely uninterested in the conversation his parents were having with the Park family. They had once again agreed to eat dinner together at a fancy restaurant tonight, apparently it had been a while since they all last sat together to have a proper chat.

Like always, Jongin sat there with Sohee annoying him. “What are you doing tomorrow night?” She asked in a cute tone, obviously trying to get Jongin's attention which failed terribly. 

“I’m meeting up with my friends,” he lied. He knew what Sohee had in mind, he didn’t want to go on anymore forced dates.

Sohee pouted, but then her eyes widened as if she had thought of something brilliant. “Can I meet up with them as well? It’s been a while since I last saw them. I want to talk to them,” she annoyingly stated while tugging on his arm.

Jongin tried not to let her annoyance get to him, he firmly pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Boys night out,” he once again made up another lie. 

“I hope Sohee's not causing any trouble toward you,” Mrs. Park lightly stated with a smile, a forced smile.

Jongin could obviously see that. He hated how people tried to treat him nicely because of his reputation. They knew his status and where he stood. This was the reason why they were all so eager to talk to him when in reality they honestly didn’t want to know him personally. Jongin wanted to say yes, but he shut his mouth. He didn’t want to ruin his family’s ‘image’ by showing his bad manners. He lightly shook his head with a fake smile.

“I’m fine,” he realised that he had been making up lots of lies tonight.

This just made him realise how uncomfortable he felt being with them. The fact that he was with his parents didn’t help him reduce the uneasiness either. 

“Jongin, how old are you now? It’s been a while since I last had a chat with you,” Mr. Park joined the conversation.

This once again just proved how fake they were acting toward him. When they all first met, his parents had introduced Jongin to the Park family stating that he was the same age as Sohee, but it looked like they had paid no attention. Before Jongin could speak for himself, his dad answered making it seem as if he was still a young child from back then.

“Just a few more years and then he will take over the Law Firm,” he stated, not even answering the question that they had asked, but like always Jongin was the only one who had realised that. It also didn't matter to them as well because truth to be told, they actually weren't interested at all. 

Mr. Park’s eyes already brightened at the talk of business. Jongin then realised they were all money hungry beings. He was disgusted at the fact that his parents also fit in the category as well. “You must be very proud of your son,” he commented with a smile which didn’t reach his eyes.

This angered Jongin even further. Why were they all acting fake in front of him? Have I just realised now? How come he had never realised, or seen their unauthentic actions ages ago? He had always thought that his life was meaningless, but he never really paid attention to other’s views on things. Had his eyes been closed ever since back then and now were they finally opened fully?

His thoughts were forgotten when the waiter came back with their meals. Jongin sighed when he saw a seafood pasta in front of him. He just stared at his dish while others ate happily. Mr. Kim had noticed his son’s weird act so he quickly elbowed him, giving him a glare. “Behave,” he mouthed to which Jongin wanted to laugh at. His mum also decided to join the staring competition when she coldly stated for Jongin to eat his meal without making the other family feel uncomfortable.

Jongin wanted to scream in frustration. He wanted to leave this suffocating place, but he knew that if he did these actions his parents would be beyond angry and upset at him. He didn’t want to disappoint them, but how could he remain calm when his own parents didn’t even know that their own son was allergic to seafood; shrimp? Actually, it wasn't that they didn't know, they had forgotten about Jongin.

His hands curled into fists, but he started to eat the food in front of him. The allergic reaction wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t a death situation, but still it made him have symptoms which made him feel unwell. He couldn’t control it anymore as his skin was feeling itchy and he could feel his body warming up. All of a sudden, he stood up from his chair, surprising everyone. They all stopped eating and looked up at Jongin with confused faces. His parents on the other side was biting their lips in embarrassment and was angry at Jongin's behaviour. He could see the look that his mum was giving him which obviously told him that she was embarrassed. She only cared about her image and reputation while his dad mainly cared about money. 

“Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom,” Jongin politely bowed and left not wanting to look at them even once.

---

Coughs could be heard from outside the bathroom, Jongin was almost struggling to breath. His body felt so warm that he had to keep on washing his face with the cool water.

Why?

Why couldn’t they just see how much he was hurting in pain?

How much he needed comfort?

He hadn’t felt this hurt in a while and now the feelings were getting to him. Tears were clearly visible in his eyes. Jongin lightly shook his head and looked in the mirror in front of him. He then saw a boy looking right back at him with a fake smile.

This was how he had acted every day in front of his parents and other people. He had to put on a fake mask and act as if everything was going ok for him, pretending that he was the happiest boy on Earth, but the truth was he was suffering so much behind that fake smile. 

Nobody knew that, not even his parents. 

---

Mrs. Lee kept on glancing at Mira nonstop which made Mira feel absolutely curious and nervous at the same time.

Had she done something wrong?

Was she in trouble?

Why did she keep on looking at her for?

To Mira’s relief, she didn’t need to wait any longer as Mrs. Lee finally spoke, interrupting everyone from copying down notes.

“I now have the result of the student who received the highest mark for the project and I am proud to announce that the student is in my class,” Mrs. Lee beamed in delight. Light murmurs and squeals could be heard in the classroom as students tried to guess who the person was. “I’m sorry to crush your hopes boys, but the highest score belongs to a girl,” Mrs. Lee lightly chuckled as she heard the boys grunt and groan in dissatisfaction.

Now, the girls were more eager and keen to hear who got the highest result. They also knew that they had more chance because now they were only against girls and in their Social Studies class there were only 9 females while there were 17 males. Some girls nervously clasped their hands while closing their eyes, waiting for Mrs. Lee to finally announce who got the highest score from the girls. 

“I would like to proudly announce that Kang Mira and Kim Jongin has received the highest score for this year’s Social Studies project,” Mrs. Lee smiled over at Mira while clapping her hands. 

Mira was mentally cursing at her for announcing the news in front of all her classmates. She still kept a blank, bored look but politely bowed. She thought that the students in her class would soon curse and yell at how unfair this sounded, but to her surprise a long silence followed. Mrs. Lee even looked awkward and uncomfortable while she glanced at the rest of the students in her class. Then unexpectedly, Mira heard and saw some students clap their hands. There were only few students who were looking at her while clapping their hands, but she didn't hear anyone complaining. Was this happening for real? Was Mira seeing and hearing the right things?

“Good job Mira. Even though you are a junior you showed the seniors how to steal the spotlight,” Mrs. Lee once again chuckled at her own lame comment. “I’m surprised that you and Jongin got along so well, good job the both of you. The Head Master will call the two of you and discuss about publishing your work in the newspapers.” She quickly explained. 

Mira nodded and mouthed a thanks. Mrs. Lee then got on with her class and the students continued to copy down the notes written on the board without any complains.

Not even one girl turned to glare at her.

What just happened?

---

Girls squealed when the group of handsome males exited the school gates.

“Maybe I should get a girlfriend,” Baekhyun remarked while he showed his famous eye-smile to his admirers, melting their hearts in delight. Chanyeol snorted which made Baekhyun furrow his eyebrows. “What?” He glared at Chanyeol who still had a smile on his face.  

“As if someone would want to be a relationship with a ten year old,” Chanyeol teased while the others burst out laughing to Baekhyun’s annoyance.

“Says the five year old who is much more immature than me.” Baekhyun retorted and did a mehrong and then the war was on between the two of them.

The others laughed at their childishness while Sehun just rolled his eyes. “Am I really the maknae in this group?” He rhetorically asked which brought more laughers.

“I still can’t get over the fact that you got the highest score for the project.” Junmyeon stated which got everyone’s attention.

Jongin rolled his eyes. “Should I take it as a compliment or an insult?” He asked making Kyungsoo smile.

“Seems like you and Mira got along pretty well,” he commented.

“Isn’t she a junior?” Sehun asked with a raised eyebrow. Jongin simply nodded. “Since when were you interested in younger girls?” He cheekily smirked.

“Is there something we need to know?” Chanyeol questioned in his raspy voice.

Jongin ignored their questions and turned to Junmyeon. “Buy me dinner as a celebration for my achievement,” he didn’t ask, but ordered which Junmyeon agreed to right away as he was the one who always swiped his card whenever he was out with them.

“Buy us all dinner.” Sehun restated, making Junmyeon shake his head at their behaviour. Were they really the richest chaebols in Korea? They couldn’t even buy dinner using their own money, they always had to ask him, not that he was complaining.

Junmyeon easily agreed this time because he was also feeling hungry and they hadn’t had dinner together in a while so he thought it would be a good idea for all of them to just eat and have a chat together. They were about to walk pass the bus stop when someone caught Kyungsoo's eyes. “Isn’t that Mira?” He elbowed Jongin to get his attention. Jongin looked at where Kyungsoo was pointing and nodded. “Why don’t you invite her to have dinner with us?” He suggested, making Jongin nervous.

Jongin knew how Mira was like. It wouldn’t be that easy for him to ask her that, plus she would be hesitant to agree to his request. He also knew that she wasn’t used to being with loads of people since Mira had personally told him what had happened to her.

Kyungsoo could see that his friend was looking troubled so he encouraged him. “Come on, she deserves it since she was your partner." He added as he literally pushed Jongin toward Mira’s direction who hadn’t even noticed them.

Suddenly, Mira felt someone tap her shoulder from behind. In fright and surprise, she turned around to be greeted by Jongin and for some reason she wanted to smile. Had he heard the good news yet? She hadn’t been able to see him at school this whole day. Thankfully, she didn’t need to ask as Jongin told her the news. “Mrs. Lee told me during class,” Mira smiled, proud that they had gotten the highest score. She was also pleased at the fact that now their work would be published in the newspapers which meant she had a chance to maybe bring change in the upper class.

“It was all thanks to you,” Jongin kindly stated which made Mira quickly shake her head.

“No, we both worked hard for it,” she corrected Jongin who couldn’t help, but smile.

“YAH KIM JONGIN YOU COMING OR NOT?” His friends shouted. “I’m starving, let’s go!” They complained as Jongin was taking too long talking to Mira.

Jongin glared at his friends and told them to wait. He then turned his attention back on Mira. “Do you want to eat dinner with us?” He asked. He knew it was selfish of him to ask something like this to Mira. He knew how she felt, but he really wanted to spend some time with her. He hadn’t been able to get the chance this week because his parents kept him busy. 

Mira was hesitant and anxious at first, but she nodded to his request and replied sure. She didn’t want to show Jongin that she was a coward. She didn’t want to disappoint him and keep on pushing him away. She wanted to move on from her past and start to make some progress to show Jongin that she was ready to face anything. She didn’t want to look vulnerable and scared in front of him.

---

Mira took her seat next to Jongin as she was comfortable with him being by her side. They all soon ordered what they wanted to eat and patiently waited for their meals to arrive.

“I think this is the first time meeting you in person.” Junmyeon started a conversation, getting everyone’s attention as well.

Mira simply nodded. An awkward silence followed and Mira cursed at herself for ruining the lively atmosphere, but to her relief Jongin helped her out. “Guys this is Mira, Kang Mira and she’s a junior,” Jongin stated while Sehun smirked at his last word. “Mira, this is Junmyeon,” he pointed to the first male who had spoken to her.

He had the loveliest smile which Mira started to envy. He looked like he was the happiest boy in the world. She also found out that his family was the most successful investor and philanthropist in Korea. 

Before Jongin could continue introducing his friends, Baekhyun and Chanyeol interrupted him and introduced themselves to Mira. Apparently, Chanyeol’s family was famous in the entertainment industry and Chanyeol used to be a famous child-actor. Mira wasn’t fond of television so she had no idea. Baekhyun on the other hand, owned one of the largest factory who manufactured well-known products. 

Mira was then introduced to a male who had a cold expression. He seemed to be the most mature out of the group. “Oh Sehun." He blandly said without even glancing at her. His family owned a famous fashion clothing company, best known for its chain of Oh clothing and accessories retail shops. Mira wasn’t surprised at the fact that Sehun was a model himself.

Lastly Jongin introduced his closest friend who had seen Mira at Jongin’s place. She avoided eye contact as he introduced himself by the name Kyungsoo. She knew who he was very well as he was the top student in the Academy and Mira would often bump into him during educational events. Mira’s eyes widened a bit when she heard that his family owned one of the best hospitals in world.

Now it was time for Mira to say something, but luckily the food arrived. The waiter placed one of the dishes that they ordered in front of Jongin. Mira noticed that the dish was a creamy polenta served as a delicious base for the smoky Andouille sausage and buttery shrimp. It was ‘shrimp’. Jongin was allergic to it and she knew because she had paid attention when she paid for Jongin's dinner for a compensation. His friends knew that Jongin was allergic to shrimp, but they hadn’t noticed yet. Mira quickly moved the dish away and told Jongin to grab his own meal.

Jongin was touched and grateful. He was surprised at the fact that she hadn’t forgotten about how he had told her that he was allergic to shrimp when she bought him dinner a few months ago. This meant she was paying attention to him. Jongin couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. “Thanks,” he breathed out to which Mira smiled.

Kyungsoo was about to give Baekhyun his shrimp and sausage with Polenta meal, but Mira took action before him. She knew Jongin was allergic to shrimp which showed him that she knew Jongin pretty well. Kyungsoo also realised how strong and close their bond was because none of his friends, or him could have a chat with Mira alone. It seemed that she had her own reasons why, but she seemed ok with Jongin. She was smiling at him and he was returning a smile back to her as well. It was as if only the two of them were eating dinner together right now. 

“You eat like a child,” Jongin said out of the blue. Mira had a confused look plastered on her face, but that soon changed into surprised expression. She blinked a couple of times while Jongin wiped the sauce off the corner of her lips with his thumb.

It was now her turn to say thanks.

The rest could feel the closeness between Jongin and Mira. They were even surprised at how Jongin was taking care of someone. He was looking after Mira. Whenever they would ask Mira a little about herself, Jongin would be always there to back her up. His eyes never left Mira.

Soon, everyone finished their meals in delight. They all then thanked Junmyeon who had paid for dinner. It was already late and Mira knew that she had no choice, but to walk back to her apartment since she had missed the last bus for the day.

“Alright, see you guys tomorrow,” Jongin waved goodbye to his friends who raised their eyebrows in confusion.

“You're not coming over to my place?” Chanyeol asked.

They had all agreed earlier to have a drink at Chanyeol’s place, but now Jongin had just changed his mind.

Jongin mouthed an apology. “Sorry, I got to go,” he answered.

“Where are you going?” Kyungsoo asked.

Jongin looked over at Mira who stood there with his extra jacket on. “I need to drop her home.” He then flashed his friends a smile they had never seen before and walked toward Mira.