The next day, you came to school as if nothing had happened yesterday. Hyo Won did her best at convincing you to stay at home for today but you refused to. When you reached your class, everyone gaped at your appearance.

Red and purplish bruises were still visible. Pink cuts remained still on your hand and lips. Hyo Won worriedly glanced at you and reached out to you for a whisper, “See? You should’ve listened to me. It’s better for you to stay at home.”

Hyo Won was right but as much as you wanted to stay at home and hide yourself from everyone, you still wanted to come to school. Your stubbornness was forcing you to come and see Zico since you were waiting to see him again.

You strode over to your seat and settled down your bag. Hyo Won quickly followed you while trying her best to avert eye-contacts with anyone. You buried your face into your hands. She rubbed your arm in a comforting manner, “~~~~~.”

You were too weak to say anything. Every time you opened your mouth, no words seemed to come out. On the other side, Jane and her friends were smirking in satisfaction. “Serve her right.” Every one of them laughed wickedly except for Minhee who just stayed silent.

Jane stopped and looked at her, “Now what? Aren’t you satisfied to see her in this state? What’s wrong with you?” Minhee restlessly fidgeted. “Yah, tell me. Why are you like this?” Jane shook her furiously.

“I’m just worried, okay?!” Minhee finally blurted. Jane paused and eyed her suspiciously, “Worried about what? That ? God, Minhee. You were the one that wanted to teach her some lessons for stealing your L!” “Hey, I didn’t mean to hurt her mentally or emotionally. I just wanted her to be hurt physically, that’s all!” Minhee defended herself.

Jane scoffed, “Yeah right. Well, suit yourself then. I don’t care anyways. As long as she’s not bothering my Zico, I’m fine with it.” Minhee secretly stole a glimpse of you. Seeing your depressed face made her feel guilty. *Now I feel sorry for her.*

Unpremeditatedly, the door slid open, revealing a guy with his popular hairstyle. His sharp eyes wandered off to different sights as he went over to his seat which was beside yours. Your heart palpitated. Butterflies flew their way up to your heart.

He glanced at you before sitting down. After you realized that you were in a bad condition, you swiftly covered your face, mortified. He shifted his eyes away from you. *What happened to her?*

However, Jane snapped him out from his thoughts by bothering him. “Hi oppa! Where did you go yesterday? I missed you, you know.” She pouted her shiny neon pink lips from her lip-gloss. Zico ignored her as if she didn’t exist.

Jane frowned but kept on annoying him when all of a sudden, Zico stood up and exited the class with his hands in his blazer’s pockets, without saying anything. Jane sourly crossed her arms, “Why is he ignoring me?! Hmph.”

You gazed at his disappearing figure exiting the class. Your heart fell. Why did he leave? You only got to see him for just a few moments. Hyo Won watched you and sighed, “You should go see him.” You turned to her with a baffled face, “Huh?” The corner of her lips twitched a bit in annoyance, “Gosh. I said, you should go see him.”

“But…” You bit your lip, “I can’t possibly see him in this kind of state.” Hyo Won raised a brow, “Why can’t you? Just listen to me. You should muster up all of your courage and confront him. Don’t you want to see him?” You gingerly nodded, “Yes.” “Then go. Nobody can stop you.” She said in a serious tone. You nodded.

During lunch, you chose to stay in the class. Besides, Hyo Won had an afternoon practice. Block B had a program too excluding Kyung, U-Kwon and Zico. However, even when Zico was free, he was nowhere to be found. Only L could be seen.

You came over to L. He looked up and a genuine smile started playing on his lips. “What is it, ~~~~~?” He asked while writing down a note. You shook your head and sat back in your seat, still facing him.

Instantly, his smile fell when he scrutinized you a little closer. “Is there something wrong? You can tell me.” He consoled you. He was right. All this time, you were restlessly thinking about Zico. Was it just you or was he giving you a cold shoulder?

He didn’t even talk to you or look your way today right after his declaration. Your mind was debating whether you should go and talk to him or just let it be. A part of you wouldn’t dare to go and confront him but…the other part of you was urging you to see him.

Truthfully, you still hadn’t given him an answer right after that incident. The memories came back.

“I love you, damn it.” He breathed, without even looking at you, probably embarrassed.

You froze on your spot. Was this reality? Was the guy you had fallen in love with had just declared his love towards you? Was this just a mere dream?

Zico took the chance to catch a glimpse of you then eventually looked away again. He backed away and turned around. His back was now facing you. You were on the verge of blushing. A flash of pink could be seen upon your cheeks now.

Butterflies were fluttering inside your stomach, making their way towards your heart. Your heart was drumming loudly and rapidly, sending a melodious sound that went ba-dump.

Zico on the other side was waiting for your answer. But he didn’t get one at all. His heart started to fall deeply down into the dark. He was hoping for you to give at least an answer to his confession. Now, his head was clouded with a lot of thoughts buzzing in his head.

Did he do it right?

Did he do it at the wrong time?

*Damn this girl! She’s driving me crazy now!* Zico mentally cursed in his head. You covered your red face that was burning up. *I’ll just wait for a while…* Zico glanced at you.

Just seeing your face was more than enough to make his heart skip a beat. He turned back as his legs automatically walked away. “J-just forget it.” He murmured and disappeared from your sight.

You immediately ran after him until someone grabbed you from behind. “AH!” You yelped. A hand quickly clamped over your mouth. You peered at the person behind you. “Shh! You’re making a scene, ~~~~~!” The culprit said.

Your eyes rounded in surprise. “Hyo Won!” You cried in frustration, “Don’t scare me like that!” She raised both of her hands in the air, “Okay, okay! Sorry!” “Why’d you do that?” You asked, clutching onto your chest. She smiled, “I didn’t mean to do that. I decided to grab you from behind when you suddenly ran after a person—oh, speaking of ‘person’, who was that?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Which one?” You asked her with a questioning look. “That one you were chasing after.” She folded her arms. You froze. She shot you a look, “Ain’t gonna tell me, huh? Okay then, follow me.” She grabbed you and dragged you to the opposing way where Zico had gone to.

You glanced back at the path Zico had taken. *I still haven’t given him the answer.*

“~~~~~?”

“H-huh? Oh, sorry about that.” You forced out a smile.

“No, it’s okay. But…I was curious. What were you thinking just now?” L gave you a queer look. “It was nothing.” You hesitantly lied. “Okay then.” L nodded in an understanding way. “Let’s talk a bit to lighten up the mood.” L suggested. “Sure.” You beamed at him.

L’s efforts somehow turned into a waste since you weren’t listening to him all along. You were too preoccupied with your own thoughts in your head. *Should I go talk to him?* After a while, you sighed and recalled what Hyo Won had just said this morning.

“You should muster up all of your courage and confront him.”

“Then go. Nobody can stop you.”

Abruptly, you stood up, startling L. He gawked at you and stared at you in bewilderment, “Are you okay, ~~~—” “I’m sorry, Myungsoo but I need to go.” You ran without having second thoughts. L’s eyes turned into a pair of melancholic eyes as he watched you leaving his sight. Honestly, he didn’t want you to leave him.

Helplessly, all he could do was to be your bystander.

You looked to your right and left, searching for Zico. *Where are you, Jiho?*

Finally, destiny accepted your hope. Zico was just standing a few meters away from you. You smiled in relief and darted over to him. He slowly turned around and found you already standing there beside him, breathing heavily.

Instinctively, his legs suddenly moved to the opposite direction. Your eyes widened and ran after him. He quickened his pace, almost running. “Jiho! W-wait!” You tried to catch your breathe.

He didn’t stop but instead his steps got wider than before. But that didn’t stop you from chasing after him. “Jiho—” Your foot accidentally slipped by your clumsiness. You fell down with a shriek, “AH!” As if it was a reflex, Zico turned around.

Surprised, he strode over to you that were already sitting on the ground. “What the hell? What did you do?” You sheepishly rubbed the back of your neck, “Sorry. I was being clumsy.” “God dammit.” He sighed before noticing a few bruises that were placed upon your pale and delicate face.

He immediately reached out and cupped your head with his warm and secure hands. “Who did this to you?” He asked. There was an annoyed tone in his voice. “No one. I just did something stupid yesterday.” You tried to lie.

He softened, “Don’t lie to me. Who did this to you?” You looked away from his gaze. You didn’t want to burden anyone else especially him so you tried to change the subject. “Why are you exaggerating right after seeing these bruises on my face?” You shot back.

He gawked and gulped, “Because I…” You stared at him, waiting for his answer. “Because—GAH!”  He ruffled his hair in frustration, “Just forget it, will you?! And why did you come here in the first place?!” He somehow got the dreaded subject back.

You paused and lowered your head down. *I guess I should tell him now, huh?* He shook you gently, “Hey, do you hear me? Why’d—”

“Because I love you.” You declared.

He stopped for a while and stared at you, “W-what did you just say?”

*Here goes nothing.* You closed your eyes shut.

“Because I love you, Jiho.”

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