“What are you doing?”

   “I just want to speak with you.” Soojung answered.

   Earlier when Jinri and Taemin finally settled and started to talk, Soojung immediately pulled Jongin away to have time alone with him; he was able to pull away but since they kept bickering with each other, they lost Jinri and Taemin.

   “Tch,” Jongin rolled his eyes. “Speak to me? Really? We’ve never even talked in school,”

   “Exactly why I want to take this opportunity,” the girl answered, her words sounding like a plea.

   “Whatever,” Jongin turned his back and started walking away to look for Jinri when what Soojung said next kept him on the spot.

   “You really got over me fast, didn’t you?”

   Jongin didn’t look at her. “What do you mean by that?”

   “Jongin—” Soojung hesitated a bit but forced herself to talk. “I liked you.”

   Jongin fisted his hands inside his pockets.

   Soojung sighed. “But I was scared to tell you what I feel because I’ve seen you turn down all the girls who confess to you..”

   The boy waited for her to continue.

   “That time as well, I knew Jinri likes you, been liking you longer than I do, but she doesn’t know about my feelings. I can tell that she really likes you more than I like you,” Soojung sniffed, the confessions making her tears blur her sight of Jongin’s back. “Then she told me, ‘You know, Soojung-ah. Jongin-ssi really likes you though,’”

“I can tell by the way he looks at you,” Jinri giggled as the two of them walk around the campus track. “I’m so envious because you’re the one he likes,” she fake-sobbed.

  “Are you his stalker or something?” Soojung raised an eyebrow at her. “How do you know he looks at me in some ‘ways’?”

  “Because I look at him the same way he looks at you,” Jinri grinned at Soojung. “And whenever I look at him, I catch him looking at you. It’s pretty obvious,”

   Soojung looked at Jinri, almost not believing her.

  “If I know, Jongin-ah rejects all the girls who confess to him because of you.”

   Soojung stopped on her tracks and Jinri stopped as well, looking back at her. “Eottokhae?”

  “Boys should always be the one to confess,” Jinri raised a finger. “So you have to wait. I’m sure he’ll confess to you sooner or later!” She cheered.

“I waited but you took so long to confess and unfortunately, I lost faith and gave up. See, you really never did confess.” Soojung looked down causing her tears to fall as well. “Then I met Taemin-oppa; he was a close friend of Jinri’s who’s already in college.” She sobbed. “All he said earlier, it shot me hard although it was directed for Jinri because he was right. I went for him because he reminded me so much of you. It made me really guilty because later on, I fell in love with him. When he said that the appearance doesn’t matter and it’s the inside that counts, I knew he was right. I don’t love him just because he looks like you anymore but because of who he really is.”

   Jongin slowly faced Soojung and saw her crying.

   “Months after Taemin-oppa and I became together, I told Jinri that she should confess to you. Screw that boys-should-confess-first rule because I don’t want her to wait just like I did. I thought: what if there was someone who likes Jinri but isn’t planning to confess to her? I don’t want her to wait for nothing so.. I told her to confess. It took her time but she did, didn’t she? Then she said,”

“I asked him for a favor, Soojung-ah,” Jinri lightly chuckled. “I told him that he doesn’t need to like me; just let me date him.”

   “Are you crazy?!” Soojung facepalmed in horror.

   “It’s fine,” Jinri laughed whole-heartedly. “That’s all I wanted anyway, just to express my feelings for him.”

   “You idiot,” Soojung ruffled Jinri’s hair, shaking her head.

“Jinri really loves you, Jongin-ah.” Soojung sobbed. “So please please please take care of her while you still can. If it’s a favor she’s asking, she’s not going to stay beside you longer than you could have wished for.”

   Jongin bit his lower lip.

   “Why didn’t you confess to me, Jongin-ah..?” Soojung whispered.

   “I—” Jongin stopped and thought about it. He remembered Kyungsoo’s words: “It’s obvious that you like her so why don’t you just go and confess?” “I was afraid of rejection.” He answered, his voice coming out as a whisper as well but the girl was able to hear it.

   “You could have tried..” Soojung tried to smile.

   Jongin let out a shaky breath. “I’m sorry..”

   Soojung stayed quiet for awhile, trying to compose herself. She wiped her tears away and heaved a deep breath. After releasing it, she looked up at Jongin and said, “There is something about Jinri that she isn’t telling you yet; I’m already giving you a heads up. I don’t even know if she plans to tell you but I’m in no position to get ahead of her and be the one to bring the news. Maybe in time, she will.. or I don’t know. But eventually, you’ll know, or at least find out for yourself. For now, you just have to trust her and be there for her. Until that favor wears out, never leave her side. There’s a reason why she made you promise not to fall in love with her, Jongin-ah. She doesn’t want you to get hurt but she really needs you. Just.. Just trust her and let her do what she does best: love you.”

   Jongin looked down at his shoes, not knowing what to say. He knows it’s not time to feel awkward but like what Sehun had said, he’s awkward with feelings.

   A ringtone broke their silence and Soojung pulled out her phone. She looked at the screen and cleared before answering, “Taemin-oppa!”

   “Yah, eoddiseo? We’re dead worried here, looking everywhere for you!”

   “Mianhae, Jongin and I got lost.” Soojung frowned, “Let’s meet at the entrance of the Namsan Tower, alright? We’re on our way,”

   “Aish, arasseo, arasseo.”

   After Soojung hung up, she looked at Jongin and bowed ninety degrees. “Sorry for troubling you and thank you for listening to me, Jongin-ah. I’ve been bottling this up for who knows how long and I feel better now.” She straightened herself and smiled, “Let’s go. They’re already looking for us.”

   And without a word, she passed by Jongin and followed the path leading to the Namsan Tower.

   There and then, Jongin figured that he couldn’t have handled Soojung the way Taemin does; she was too mature and responsible for him.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hey, guys! Sorry for updating just now. I’ve been really tired and busy lately so I hope I made it up to everyone by making double updates, the first chapter for the day being a very long one. I don’t know when I’ll be able to update again because tomorrow’s our father mocking job fair—in which I haven’t prepared for yet—and the next two weeks are our final exams. I’m gonna be very busy so I hope you’ll be patient enough for my next update. ^ ^ I also have to focus on my studies now because I’ve gotten very low grades on our last midterms and my life’s going to be at stake if I don’t pull them up. I have to graduate this March and if I don’t, I will harakiri myself. ; ; /smacked. Anyway, feel free to let out your thoughts on the comment box below, alright? What do you think about Krystal in the first update? How about her interaction with Jongin on the second? Taemin and Sulli’s conversation? Curiosities? Things that struck you the most, favorite scenarios, how you’re doing nowadays; all the good old stuff I’ve been telling you guys to do. As for the silent readers, hi. I don’t bite, okay? ^ ^ Ahe.

REPLIES:
   sambeigle ; HAHAHA! Well, I’m awesome that way. ;) /bricked. You’re welcome, bb! Hope you enjoyed.
   xyzjunn ; Aw, lovely. You don’t have to apologize, alright? ♡ I’m not really forcing anyone to comment anyway though it’s really loved and appreciated, hihi. I’m so glad I give off the effect of making you wonder all night as to what is going to happen next. ♡ You’re welcome and thank you! Hope I made your day with my (yet again) double updates. IDEK—What’s with me and double updates, really? e_e; /catches them kisses and love.
   foreverjonginjinri ; Ugh, honestly, when I wrote that, I felt butterflies in my stomach, I can’t. -_- /flips Kim Jongin.
   altheajungmontez ; OMG Yes, I’m Filipino! HAHAHA! ((= Are you Filipino? Tatagalugin kita. XD Salamat poez! ♡ /slapped.
   seiranti ; OTL I’m sorry I made you scared, bb! It wasn’t intentional. I find Hwang-ssaem adorable, okay. Don’t you? x) /smacked.
   inspiritdawn ; SO! Did you have fun reading? LMFAO. XD
   lalalululovesyou ; YES. OMG. I’m a solid Kailli shipper, I don’t even know how I even got to board that father mocking ship. Ugh. They are so cute together, okay. They are meant to be together! /strangles SME.
   minsulfanfic ; Keep calm, lovely. HAHA! ♡
   viaxoxo ; HAHAHA Wow, thank you for finally commenting then. I appreciate it! /kicks your feeling of Sulli dying and whistles innocently; bricked. I haven’t even finished the first Harry Potter movie, to be honest. OTL Why, does her line remind you of that? XD And I was actually waiting for someone to notice that and yay, someone noticed. ((= Ehe – Hi, kababayan! ♡
   sullitaemin ; There’s your answer! It’s Sulli. ♡ Weee~
   nyykpoplover ; Heaven is such an overstatement, bb. OTL But thank you so much! Keep your feels intact, hun! x))
   iheartsulliandkai ; And you is just wow. ♡ Love your username!
   olympicmayhem ; YEHET OHORAT. Ay nako, salamat sa kanya, naging expression ko na rin yan, jusmiyo marimar. e_e; O eto, meeeedyo cheesy pero more on intense naman. OHO - /stabbed.
   iamalea ; Welcome aboard! Hope you enjoy the ride. ♡
   puspitaken ; Here’s the 3/6 and 4/6, bb! Yehet! ((= It’s fine, as long as I can understand your English then we will be able to communicate well. Love, love!