That afternoon, Junhyung and I were confined to the library while the rest of the student body gathered in the gym for a pep rally. As punishment for the wastebasket fiasco, we each had to write a five-hundred-word essay on proper classroom behavior. According to my calculations, that was about four pages.

   “Whatever happened to writing nice, short sentences like ‘I will not talk in class’?” I whispered to Junhyung.

   “Maybe if we had been talking in class, we could have gotten to write some,” he answered. “By the way, you never did tell me what you were doing with your foot in the garbage.”

“I threw away a piece of paper, and it wouldn’t stay in the wastebasket. I didn’t want mess up the classroom, so I packed it down with my foot. That’s the last time I’ll ever do a good deed around here!”

“I know what you mean,” Junhyung said sympathetically. “It backfired on me, too.”

“Oh, Junhyung, I’m sorry,” I said. Impulsively, I laid my hand on his arm. “This really isn’t fair. You’re being punished, and it’s all my fault.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, covering my hand with his own and giving it a light squeeze. “We’re in this together, okay?”

Alone with Junhyung in the library, I found it hard to believe that he was the same person who had come thundering out of a dented Mustang looking as if he had eaten explosives for breakfast.

“And to think that the first time I saw you, I was scared to death of you,” I said, speaking my thoughts out loud.

He stared at me. “Scared of me? Why?”

“If you could have seen yourself that day, you wouldn’t ask. You came storming out of your car looking absolutely murderous.”

“Was I that bad?” he asked. For the first time since I’d met him, he looked embarrassed.

“Worse. You looked as if you could have torn me apart with your bare hands.” I shuddered.

“Yoseob! I’d never do a thing like that.”

“Oh, no?” I asked doubtfully.

“Of course not. Just think of the mess. Do you think I’d want your blood all over my nice, clean car?”

I couldn’t help laughing. “All right, then. You looked as if you could have strangled me. That would be a nice, clean way to finish me off.”

Junhyung considered this a moment. “Yes, I probably could have strangled you,” he admitted. “That car means a lot to me. When I saw what you’d done to my bumper, I was furious.”

“So you still think it was my fault,” I said stiffly, turning back to my essay.

“Not anymore,” he said, resting his arm on the back of my chair. “I did at first, because I was mad and I wanted somebody to blame. You happened to be there, that’s all. Later, after I’d calmed down enough to think about it, I realized it was nobody’s fault, really. It was just bad timing. So I guess now is as good a time as any to admit that I acted like a jerk, and I’m sorry.”

I looked quickly up to Junhyung, startled by the unexpected apology, and our eyes met and held. Without warning, I found myself wondering what it would be like to be in his arms and be kissed by him, and not just for Joon’s benefit…

Then I gave myself a mental shake. This ‘going together’ arrangement was filled with dangers that had nothing to do with Lee Joon. Fortunately, I had a good head on my shoulders, and I had no intention of losing it over Yong Junhyung or anyone else. I’d been burned badly enough by Jinwoon to last me a very long time.

Nothing more was said about the accident, but something between us changed after that day in the library. Junhyung and I still teased each other, but we didn’t fight the way we did before. At first I thought the change would make it easier to keep up our act for another three and a half weeks, but it was becoming hard to tell exactly where acting ended and reality began. Even Dongwoon noticed the difference and demanded to know what was going on.

“I told you, Woonie,” I said. “After that business with the wastebasket, we had to stay in the library instead of going to the pep rally.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” he wanted to know.

“Well, when you’re thrown together for an hour with anybody else to talk to, you have only two options: you either learn to get along or kill each other. And since Junhyung has an advantage when it comes to murder, I decided I’d better learn to get along with him.”

“But you act so affectionate,” he persisted.

“Exactly. We act affectionate. This whole thing is an act, remember?”

Dongwoon raised one eyebrow. “I didn’t know you were such a good actor.”

“Well, I am,” I blustered. “And I’m throwing myself into my role the way a good actor should.”

“Lee Min Ho never threw his self into a role with that much enthusiasm.”

“Lee Min Ho never had to worry about Lee Joon,” I replied, but Dongwoon didn’t look convinced.