It is twelve midnight when Jessica is done.

 

Krystal stares blankly into space. She her lips, before turning to the older one. “So… Let me get this straight. Kangin is Donghae’s cousin, who left for America years ago, but is now back with two friends, Yoona and Heechul, who are Americans, like us, and now they’re putting up at Donghae’s place, and they pretty much came uninvited so Donghae fainted when Kangin dropped the bombshell, and then you had to pull him upstairs singlehandedly.”

 

“And—“

 

“And you heard Yoona complimenting his ‘behind’.”

 

“And—“

 

“And you thought you heard Heechul agreeing.”

 

“And—“

 

“And then Heechul made a cat-call.”

 

“And…”

 

Pause. “…and what?”

 

Jessica buries her face into Krystal’s tummy. “And now I’m worried!”

 

Krystal shoves her away. “About what? Your boyfriend fainting again?”

 

Jessica shoots a death glare at her. “There are two people who are potentially interested in Donghae living with him right now. One of them is a guy, and if I’m not wrong, he’s totally dating Donghae’s cousin. The other one is a very, very pretty girl who now has the ability to walk into Donghae’s room and strip to seduce him and—“

 

Krystal gives her a scathing look. Jessica stops herself from losing her .

 

“Thank you,” Krystal says.

 

=

 

Jessica never really gets any sleep that night.

 

=

 

Neither does Stephanie.

 

=

 

Taeyeon gets a call from Stephanie at night, before she goes to sleep.

 

“Hey, you.”

 

“Hey.”

 

“You don’t sound too good… Did something happen?”

 

Stephanie frowns. How does Taeyeon tell that easily?

 

“Well, you sound good. You sorted it out?”

 

Taeyeon does a short chuckle, recalling the afternoon’s events. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

 

“Good for you.”

 

“But not good for you,” Taeyeon deflects the topic. “What happened?”

 

“If you hear it from me,” Stephanie stammers, “it’s going to sound crazy. I’m going to sound crazy.”

 

“You already do,” Taeyeon jokes. “Come on, just tell me.”

 

“It’s Kyuhyun. He, he, um… He sort of confessed during lunch, in the middle of everyone, and he wanted me to give an answer. And I gave one, without giving much thought to it…”

 

“You said yes?” Stephanie could hear the O forming on Taeyeon’s face.

 

Stephanie’s helpless grunt affirms Taeyeon’s doubts. “So now I’m going out with Kyuhyun, and…”

 

“And you’re still hung up over Siwon?”

 

“Why do you know me so well?”

 

“It’s a talent. So what are you going to do now? Do you even like Kyuhyun? At all?”

 

“Well, no. That’s the problem. I messed up. And I don’t know how to let him know that I stupidly blurted out a ‘yes’ to his important question.”

 

“You could just… Tell him.”

 

“But I can’t, Tae. I can’t! If you saw his face just now… How his eyes kept twinkling every time I saw him. It just… It .”

 

Taeyeon frowns. “I think it’s kind of cool, you know.”

 

“What’s cool?”

 

“The fact that our destinies have reversed. I’m all better now, and you’re… Well, you’re in a rut.”

 

“Thank you, that made me feel so much better,” Stephanie responds sarcastically.

 

“Well, let’s just brainstorm about what we can do. Alright? I’ll get through this with you.”

 

“Whatever happened today, it really changed you. What happened on your side, anyway?”

 

“Let’s just say I’m in a better place than you are now.”

 

=

 

The next morning Donghae wakes up to find the three standing by his bed. He gets the scare of his life and leaps away, also rolling down to the ground with a hard thud.

 

“Don’t scare me like that!”

 

“Never knew you were such a scaredy cat,” Kangin answers. “Anyway, we’re going to head off for school, so we thought we would get some breakfast first.”

 

The three stare at him expectantly and he gets their drift. “You want me to make breakfast?”

 

“No,” Heechul spits. “We’ll make breakfast for you,” he adds, sarcasm laced like venom in his words.

 

“Would that be okay?” Yoona asks, puppy eyes all activated.

 

Donghae clears his throat and stands up, ignoring the odd ache in his back. “Guys, I don’t make breakfast. The only things I have are cereal and milk.”

 

“Good lord, how do you even survive like that?” Heechul does a diva gasp and a diva hand flick and a diva arm fold. “That kind of treatment is only for the down and out.”

 

Donghae frowns. “In case you haven’t realized, this house isn’t mine. It’s my parents, and I’m still living on the money they send over from time to time—“

 

Kangin steps in between them. “Alright, alright, guys, come on. Let’s not start the day like this. What time is school starting anyway? We can go together—“

 

Donghae is almost afraid to look at the clock. When he does, he feels his insides shattering.

 

He is late.

 

=

 

Krystal is enjoying a bowl of cereal when the doorbell rings. First it rings once, and less than a second later it rings too many times for her to keep count. She keeps her annoyance at bay and goes to answer the door, but Jessica beats her to it.

 

“Donghae?”

 

True enough, the door opens to reveal a disheveled Donghae, wearing his Mickey Mouse shirt again. Krystal sneers. “You must’ve pulled it out from somewhere again—“

 

Donghae cuts her off and drags Jessica out, slamming the door shut behind her. Krystal stares, a little offended, and goes to the windows to eavesdrop.

 

Outside, Jessica watches as Donghae pulls her out, his expression a mix of pain and helplessness. “Hey, Hae, what happened? Slow down, calm down, you can tell me—“

 

“Jessica, oh, god, Jessica, you’re my last resort. I’m going to be late now,” he looks at the clock and feels a time bomb being lit up inside of him, “andnowIreallyhavetorushoffbutthosethreewantbreakfastsobadlyandIfiguredthatsincethey’regoingtoschoolwithyouyoucouldprobablyhelpmeoutandbringthemtohavebreakfastinschoolbecauseI’mreallylateandIcan’tstayanymorepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.”

 

Jessica stares at him blankly for a second or two, then smiles and pats him on the head. “You got that. Just leave it to me.”

 

Donghae thanks her with a hug and a quick kiss on the lips, and she is left watching him run off like the wind.

 

Her smile doesn’t disappear until after Donghae turns the corner and is gone. She turns around and stares at his house, and then at hers. Krystal is peering out the gap between the wall and the curtains, and Jessica sighs. Krystal gets it.

 

=

 

“…I mean, I’m not peeved over the fact that he asked me to help. I totally feel alright with doing that because I love him!” She takes a moment to relish in the way that sounds against her ears. Krystal stifles her laughter.

 

“You’re just not fine with—“

 

Jessica explodes again. “I’m just not fine with them intruding on my boyfriend’s life like that! I mean, did you see him just now? He was all helpless and pitiful and oh, I really wished I could’ve done more.”

 

“But you are doing a lot. This is the fastest I’ve seen you move since I was born.”

 

Jessica is rapidly strapping on her Mary Janes for school and stuffing books and papers into her pink backpack. She is multitasking and also checking her phone for today’s schedules, at the same time trying to struggle her way to the door so she can bring Donghae’s guests to school. Jessica freezes for a quick moment before continuing in her movement. “You’re right, and that’s an achievement. The next time I feel bad for myself, do remind me that this is the fastest you’ve seen me move since you were born.”

 

=

 

Kangin is the one who takes the door when Jessica finally reaches her destination, Donghae’s house. “Hi, Jessica! Good morning.”

 

Jessica smiles. “Hi… Kangin, right? Are you ready to go?”

 

Kangin’s smile falters a bit. “Well, I am, but…”

 

A shrill shriek comes from inside the house and Jessica flinches. That has to be the sharpest shriek she has heard anyone give, and the previous champion is none other than her.

 

“Youngwoon, honey! Where did my moisturizer go?!”

 

Kangin stifles a frown and bows apologetically to Jessica, before making a turn to head upstairs. “It’s in your handbag! You wanted to bring it up the plane, remember?”

 

His voice drifts off as Yoona descends the staircase, coming into Jessica’s line of sight. Jessica swears she could see a glare coming from Yoona’s eyes before they crinkled into smiley eyes. “Oh, Jessica! It’s you!”

 

Jessica gives a smile back to her courteously and tries not to let her mind think back to when she was worried over Yoona seducing Donghae in the middle of the night—

 

Too late, she’s already thinking about that.

 

She watches Yoona carefully as the latter puts on her shoes, adjusts her hair, adjusts her outfit, adjusts her hair again, adjusts her bag and adjusts her hair again.

 

She really is pretty, Jessica has to admit. Really attractive, even to a girl like Jessica.

 

But the entrance of two other males disrupts the momentary scene of tranquil beauty, and Heechul and Kangin – practically glued by the waist, come descending down the staircase. Heechul is fanning his face, which is now much redder than the last time she saw him.

 

“Heechul, honey, come on, let’s not let this ruin your first day here, okay? We’ll have a good time in school—“

 

Kangin sees Jessica looking at them and pulls away. “Ah, look! Jessica is here to send us to school.”

 

Yoona joins the two other males and they head out, passing Jessica. Jessica shuts the door behind her as she exits. “Actually, I’m going to school with you guys.”

 

“Oh, you study at the international school too?” Yoona asks, a smile too sweet for human eyes appearing on her face. Jessica feels the need to return one, and she can feel her jaw hurting at the mere attempt to smile.

 

“Yes, I do.”

 

Heechul speaks up suddenly. “There better be food there, or I’m not going to be as nice as this for the rest of the day!”

 

Jessica turns away and grimaces. How in the world does he define ‘nice’, exactly?

 

=

 

At lunch, Stephanie is with Taeyeon, Hyoyeon and Yuri again.

 

Except this time, they have a fifth guest in the form of Kyuhyun. Stephanie is the only one who is remotely shocked at the sight of Kyuhyun joining them, settling into the seat next to hers.

 

Taeyeon nudges her for a reaction when Kyuhyun is stuck midway, in an awkward position because he doesn’t know if he should sit. Stephanie snaps out of her trance and pats the seat, gesturing for him to go for it.

 

Then she turns and gives Taeyeon a crazy look, and Taeyeon knows that, once again, Stephanie said the wrong thing.

 

“You really have to stop answering impulsively,” Taeyeon murmurs under her breath.

 

With that, Stephanie has to endure a lunch session with an unwanted guest.

 

=

 

“Why in the world, Fany?”

 

After lunch, while walking back to class, Taeyeon and Stephanie are now on the topic of why Stephanie cannot seem to answer honestly when it comes to Kyuhyun.

 

“I don’t know! I just… Every time I see him I just shut off inside. There’s this part of me that doesn’t want to hurt him. But I have no feelings for him whatsoever, and I know I should really make it clear to him, but… I can’t bear to watch him fall.”

 

“Touching, really, but, Fany? If one day he finds out that you’re not being honest… Don’t you think he’s going to fall harder?”

 

“Of course I know that!”

 

“Then why are you—“

 

“I don’t know, Taeyeon! I’m all messed up on the inside now. I just… I don’t know. There’s some part of me that’s not right…”

 

“Every part, you mean.”

 

“Shush! There’s just some part of me that isn’t right and I don’t know what it is. I mean, I don’t feel like myself lately.”

 

“What changed, then?”

 

“Nothing, as far as I know. I just… I don’t know.”

 

“The sooner you know, the better. Let me know when you find out.”

 

=

 

Jessica watches as Yoona and Heechul gobble down three servings of food. She turns to Kangin, careful not to attract any attention from the siblings.

 

“Do they usually eat this much?”

 

Kangin raises a brow. “Oh, you noticed. Um… Yeah.”

 

Heechul stops first, and shoves the plate of food to Kangin when he is done. “Youngwoon, honey!”

 

“Yes? You’re done?”

 

“No, of course not, are you crazy? Get me another serving!”

 

Yoona sees this exchange and looks up from her food. She makes eye contact with Jessica and the latter gets it. Jessica gives a helpless smile and picks up her empty plate. “Okay,” she responds, to Yoona’s unspoken request.

 

=

 

After school Jessica is held back from leaving by the .

 

“Hey, Jessica! You can’t go!”

 

Jessica keeps her annoyance at bay and turns around, plastering a smile on. “Why not?”

 

“We don’t know how to go home…”

 

Jessica resists palming herself on the face. “But… It’s just along the street. You just have to follow the pavement.”

 

“We’re afraid we’d get lost. It’s our first official day back in Seoul, after all…”

 

=

 

Stephanie is trying to get out of being asked on a date by Kyuhyun. She tries to sneak out, but flinches when there is a tap on the shoulder.

 

“Holy—“

 

She turns to find Kyuhyun looking at her. “Oh, Kyuhyun…” Busted.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“I’m… I’m going home.”

 

“I can send you home!”

 

“Oh, I’m, uh, meeting a friend before I head home.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Um… Um,” she tries to sound sure of her answer but, she doesn’t even have an answer. When a figure comes into her line of sight, she blurts out a name, but regrets it immediately after. “Siwon!”

 

The figure turns, attention now on her since he heard his name. Kyuhyun turns as well, and the two men are left staring at each other.

 

Then both men look at her, and she wants to find a hole to throw herself into.

 

=

 

At night Donghae drops by Jessica’s.

 

Krystal helps him gain entrance into Jessica’s room, and Jessica almost leaps up when she sees Donghae in her doorway.

 

“Hae?”

 

Donghae smiles at her and she sits up, reaching out to hug him. He moves closer and lets her melt into his arms. “Hey there.”

 

“Finally free now?”

 

“Yeah, it’s been a long day. Thank you.”

 

“For what?”

 

“For helping me with them just now. It really meant a lot to me.”

 

Donghae feels her laugh into his shirt. “You’re silly, Hae. It makes me happy to know that I can help you.”

 

“One of the reasons why I’m so in love with you,” Donghae whispers. “You’re so selfless.”

 

Then he feels her lips turning downwards to form a pout. “What’s wrong?”

 

“What if I told you that I’m not that selfless?”

 

“You’re not helping me for your own cause, are you?” He laughs. “That makes you selfless.”

 

“No, Hae, you don’t get it.” She tilts her head up to look at him. “I’m trying to get closer to them.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I’m worried about you being snatched away.”

 

He laughs again. “By who? Yoona?”

 

The disbelief in his voice pushes her to frown, and so she does, and this shuts him up. “Wait, really?”

 

“Yes, really. You’re living with a very pretty girl just a stone’s throw away from you. That makes your girlfriend worry. Because your girlfriend lives next door, but Yoona lives next door, literally.”

 

“She doesn’t sleep in the room next to mine,” Donghae jokes. It brings a brief, amused grin onto Jessica’s face, but that disappears quickly too. “Aw, come on, Jessica… It’s nice to see you smile. Though you’re breathtakingly beautiful either way, it’s always nice to see you smile. It makes me smile.”

 

“That’s so sweet.”

 

“It’s every man’s job to make his girl feel loved.”

 

“Do you want to stay the night, then? So you can hug me to sleep, and I’ll go to dreamland feeling loved.”

 

He chuckles. “I don’t think I’m allowed to do that. Though I would love to.” He waggles his eyebrows, and she smacks him.

 

“No ual innuendos!”

 

He laughs. “I get it, I get it. I don’t even think about anything ual when it comes to you. It’s already a dream come true, that I get to be with you.”

 

=

 

Donghae returns after a few hours with Jessica. Heechul and Kangin are upstairs, and Yoona is in the living room watching television.

 

“Hey, Yoona,” he greets.

 

Yoona turns to see Donghae walking in. “Hey, finally back?”

 

He gives a sheepish smile. “Yeah. Had to find some time for the lady.”

 

“So, you’re dating Jessica, huh.”

 

Donghae scratches his nape. “Yeah,” he responds, getting uncomfortable. Yoona’s tone reminds him of Jessica’s worries from earlier on. “Why?”

 

Yoona gives a cheery smile. “Nothing, just curious.” After a pause, she stands up. “Donghae, come join me and watch some telly, why don’t you?”

 

Donghae has no choice but to say yes, figuring that he doesn’ want to go upstairs, since Heechul and Kangin are probably having a fight from what he hears.

 

So a minute later, Donghae and Yoona are seated together on the couch. He tries to maintain an inch away from her, but she creeps close anyway. “It’s nice to have someone to watch the television with.”

 

Before Donghae gets to ask why, she goes on. “I mean, back in the States, my brother’s never home. He’s always out with Kangin. Neither are my parents. I think I’ve watched more television than anyone has in a lifetime.”

 

“Alone?”

 

“Alone.”

 

“Well, I used to do that too.”

 

“Didn’t you say you were dating?”

 

“Yeah, but… Before the relationship began, I used to spend quality time with myself at home. Then she came into my life and, well, it’s lesser time with myself, and a lot more with her. And this is something I really, really appreciate.”

 

“You don’t think that not having enough time with yourself is bad?”

 

“Of course not. It’s always good to not be alone. Loneliness can kill.”

 

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

 

The sudden drop in Yoona’s cheeriness alerts Donghae. He turns to find Yoona pulling her knees up to her chest. “Are you okay?” he asks, as gently as possible.

 

“I am. It’s just that… I’ve never been in love. Or, well… I’ve never felt what it’s like to be the opposite of loneliness. It’s like I’ve been lonely all my life. It explains why I don’t share a good sibling relationship with Heechul. I’m not close with Kangin either. In fact, I’m not close with anyone, and that’s why it was so easy for me to let go of life over there, and just come here with them. I mean, my parents didn’t even show any sign of missing me when we were leaving. And, well, our parents favor Heechul over me, actually. I’m just… I’m lonely, to say the least.”

 

Donghae puts a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t put it that way. I’m sure you’ll get over it soon.”

 

She turns to him. “This is the first time I’m watching television with someone else. This is the first time I feel like I’m getting close to someone else, too.” She sidles closer to him. “Thank you, Donghae. This is a first I won’t forget.”

 

She puts her head on his shoulder, and he tries to fidget under the discomfort. The only head he wants to have on his shoulder is Jessica’s, but this isn’t her.

 

He can’t bring himself to go, either, so here he stays – Yoona’s head on his shoulder – for the night.

 

Even when Yoona drifts off to sleep, Donghae doesn’t manage to stand up and go, for fear of waking her up again.

 

=

 

Siwon sneaks glances at Stephanie. It has been an hour or so, and they have been walking aimlessly down a long street that supposedly heads to the mall. He thinks they took a wrong turn, but he doesn’t point it out, figuring that Stephanie probably wanted to walk her troubles off.

 

“Are you okay?” he finally tries to talk.

 

Stephanie snaps out of her trance again and looks up at him. For a moment she freezes, then she looks around and realize that they are in an environment she does not recognize. “Oh my god, where are we?”

 

“We’re… Somewhere, I guess.”

 

“Weren’t we going to a mall?”

 

“You took a wrong turn just now. I didn’t try to change that, because… You looked a little too troubled for that.”

 

Stephanie takes a deep breath. “That’s because I am.”

 

Siwon looks at her, carefully. Earlier on, when she pulled him away without a second word, apparently in an effort to get away from Kyuhyun, he didn’t choose to question her. The whole way here, he knew she was troubled to an extent, and so he didn’t question her. Right now, looking at her with her worn out face, he doesn’t know if he can.

 

But he knows he has to. “Are you okay?” he asks, again.

 

Stephanie looks at him, a little hesitantly. She shakes her head. “No, I’m not.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m making stupid decisions,” she answers.

 

It has been a long time since they talked like that. Siwon thinks that this is nice, since, for the first time in a long time, they are having an unguarded conversation. He remembers when they had their first lab session, and it culminated in them becoming quick friends. They started chatting openly and unguardedly as the year went on, and when the year ended Siwon could safely say that this was a friend he gained through the workings of Fate. But, this year, things started to change…

 

“What kind of stupid decisions?” he asks.

 

“I’m saying things without thinking beforehand. Like, they just slip out. And then I end up regretting them.”

 

“Is this about Kyuhyun?”

 

He doesn’t know where he got his ideas from, but he knows that he is right when he sees Stephanie look up in a flash, wide-eyed, deer caught in headlights look all activated.

 

“How did you know?”

 

“Lucky guess.” He sticks his hands into his pockets and turns away, finding eye contact too much of a challenge for him. “What happened, really? Is he… Is he bad?”

 

“No, no, he isn’t! Of course he isn’t. He’s such a nice guy.”

 

“So what is it?”

 

“It’s just that…” Stephanie is about to come clean when she remembers who she is talking to. She doesn’t have the right to talk to Siwon anymore, as far as she knows, and she definitely doesn’t have the right to come clean about such stuff to him.

 

Remember who he is? The one whom you liked, and rejected. The best friend of the guy whom you’re dating right now, but regret saying yes to. “Nothing, I guess. Maybe the relationship status is bothering me. I’ll probably get over it soon.”

 

The way her voice becomes guarded again ignites Siwon’s flame of attention. He looks at her, and though he doesn’t want to ask, he does. “You can tell me anything, Fany.”

 

He is caught off-guard with what comes out of his mouth, and he doesn’t know how to salvage the situation suddenly. “I—I mean, I…”

 

The look in her eyes is unreadable to him, as though she is trying to figure him out with one scan of his face. She snaps out that, though, and looks away. “I get it.”

They continue walking quietly, and after a while they are at Stephanie’s house. “How did we get here?”

 

“I don’t know, we just… We just walked.”

 

“Then… Thanks for sending me home.”

 

“If Kyuhyun asks, we talked about Chemistry.” Siwon gives a wink to her, and she giggles a bit, before nodding profusely.

 

“You got that.”

 

Then silence enshrouds them again, and she frowns. Siwon sees it, and is about to ask her why again, but then the frown melts into an apologetic smile.

 

“Siwon, I’m sorry.”

 

“What for?”

 

“I’m… I’m just sorry. I feel like things haven’t been the same since the party. I feel like… I’m pushing you away a lot. I’m being so mean to you, and I don’t even know why.”

 

“Well, if it makes you feel better… I guess I deserve it. I definitely do, I mean—“

 

“No, no. You don’t. You don’t deserve any of this. You’re right. Maybe liking you was a mistake. I mean, that didn’t end too well, did it?”

 

Siwon doesn’t know what to say.

 

Stephanie forces a grin out. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s good if we can still be friends. I don’t want to lose our friendship because of that stupid party night.”

 

“Of course,” he agrees, a little too quickly. Then he puts a smile on. “Now that you’re dating Kyuhyun… We can all be friends. This would make for a good friendship, right?” Right?

 

“Yeah… I guess.”

 

“I’ll see you around, then.”

 

Siwon turns to go, and Stephanie watches on. As Siwon’s figure gets further and further away, she feels a part of her commandeering her to stop him.

 

“Siwon!”

There is absolutely no way back for her now.

 

Siwon turns and sees her looking at him, still stuck in that position from earlier on. He takes a few steps closer but she backs off. Seeing this he stops. “Yes? Is… Is something the matter?”

 

There is no way back, but she tries to back off anyway. She backs off slowly, slowly heading onto the stone walkway that leads into her house. She backs off, but stops when she decides that she cannot run away this time.

 

“I still like you.”

 

Then she runs away, leaving a bewildered Siwon in her wake, jaw hanging and mind short-circuiting.