“Another note,” Hee-Jin mumbled as she crumpled a piece of paper in her hand. She had been on the look-out for weird notes in Dia’s locker for a week now. And surely, at least once a day would she find a message, saying the rudest things about her best friend. Today had to be the worst.

Just die.

“Why don’t you die, if you write horrible stuff like that,” the girl mumbled. She had been checking Dia’s locker every free moment she had, but she was still afraid she might have missed one and let another one of these notes hurt Dia. It wasn’t like the girl would tell her anyway.

Hee-Jin hoped that if she stayed close to Dia’s locker, she’d find whoever put these notes into it. After all, there was a message almost every day. Which meant that one of these days, she’d run into the stalker for sure. She hadn’t thought about what she’d do when she did, but at least, she would find him. Protect her friend. It was something only she could do. Because she didn’t have club activities anymore, she had enough free time to make sure her friend would be safe from any pain.

---

“So you didn’t get any other notes from the stalker?” Hoya asked Dia, for the third time that day. He had been checking daily, and by now Dia was really getting annoyed by him.

“I did not. Especially not since an hour ago, when you last asked. I haven’t even been anywhere near my locker,” she pointed out.

“I guess so.”

“You’ve been watching me like a hawk since the little incident with the note, so you don’t guess so, you know I wasn’t there. Could you just stop it?”

“Is our redhead getting tired of her boyfriend acting like a stalker?” Dia sighed as she heard the annoying voice of Sehun behind her. Like she hadn’t been annoyed enough today.

“I’m not acting like a stalker!” Hoya retorted.

“I believe she just said: watching me like a hawk. Does that not sound like a stalker to you?”

“Only if it was a stranger,” he mumbled in reply, and Sehun snorted.

“Right. Because only strangers can stalk.”

“Honestly, why are you even discussing this?” the girl sighed loudly, making both boys look at her. “You’re going to bully Hoya now, Sehun? Touch my friends and I will really get angry. Because that’s just low. And you Hoya. Sehun’s right. You are acting like a stalker. I know you’re not. I know you’re worried. But just stop. I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.” She had already gotten up, it was time for practice anyway.

“She definitely can’t, though,” the remaining two mumbled, then looked at each other, Hoya once more convinced the stalker was Sehun. Why else would he be so focussed on her? He was the only one bullying the girl, right?

---

“Noona~, your bruise is gone, right? I’m glad it healed so quickly! Don’t do any more dangerous martial arts, okay? Everyone will worry about you if you do!” Minwoo commented when he noticed Dia. Her bruise wasn’t actually gone, but she had gotten pretty good at hiding it with make-up.

“Why are you here so early?” the girl commented, ignoring his remarks completely. “Wait, you are early, right? I’m not late, am I?”

“I’m early, don’t worry. Can I help you with getting things ready?”

“Thank god. Donghyun oppa would definitely get angry if I were late. Sure, you can help getting the bows ready. You guys will be doing that yourselves pretty soon anyway. Want me to explain how to put it together?”

“You put it together? It’s not just one thing?” the boy asked in amazement.

“Of course it’s not. The string would get loose right? We take it off. It’s mostly me and Donghyun oppa pulling your bows apart, so the help is very welcome.”

“Then I’ll help again after practice,” the boy decided with a smile. “Please teach me, noona.”

“Sure thing,” the girl smiled as she explained her dongsaeng how to put the bow together. Finally someone who was treating her normally. Since he didn’t know about the stalker. Even she herself knew that that was the only reason. Anyone would get worried if they heard someone was being stalked. But there was nothing they could do anyway.

She wasn’t going to let the stalker ruin her life. She wouldn’t hide away and let Hoya or whoever protect her all the time. She never knew when the stalker would strike anyway. So instead of worrying about it, she’d enjoy her life to the fullest. Wouldn’t that show the stalker that he had no power at all?

And she did enjoy practice, like she always did. She spend the first half watching the first years, who were definitely improving, right on time for the upcoming match in two weeks. The second half, a third year came to switch places with her, and she could practise herself.

“No longer distracted?” Donghyun asked her, as she shot right through the center of the target time and time again.

“No longer letting things distract me. I’m mean, there’s only two weeks left. And this year I’m going to win,” the girl replied, without taking her eyes of the target.

“So the distraction still there?”

“Not going anywhere it seems. But don’t worry. Except if I lose the match. Because then you’ll never get me to watch the first years anymore.”

“So salty about coming second last year. And you had only been practising for a month, so it wasn’t even that strange you didn’t win.”

“I’m going to win this time though,” she said stubbornly.

“I can’t even imagine how annoying you’ll be if you don’t,” the elder sighed.

“Just let me practise a lot so you won’t find out?” she suggested.

“You’re not getting out of watching over the first years,” Donghyun replied with a laugh. And then added for all to hear: “Last round!”

Dia sighed at his words, but turned her focus to the target again for the last six arrows. When practice was finished Minwoo once again came to find her, and she helped him pull apart his own bow.

“This is so complicated Noona, I don’t get it at all,” he complained.

“It’s really not that difficult. Let’s try it again?” The girl sighed, and quickly put the bow back together. “Here, you do it now.”

“Ehh? All by myself??” He complained, but started working on it seriously nevertheless. More than once, Dia had to stop herself from taking the bow from him and just doing it herself, since he was Taking So. Long.

“Stop, stop! If you do it like that, you’ll break it! It’s like this!” Once more, she demonstrated it with her own bow, the boy watching her closely and then copying her movements.

“Yes, like that! See, you can do it,” she praised the boy. You can sort of do it, at least.

“Like this?” he asked again and when she nodded he smiled widely.

He really does look cute like this.

“You two seem to be enjoying yourself.”

Both of them looked up to find Myungsoo standing there.

“Of course we are! And isn’t the archery range off-limits to non-club members? Right, Noona?”

“It is. But I’ll make an exception today.” She had already gotten up by now. “I’m sorry I made you wait oppa. I was explaining how to pull a bow apart and it took longer than I expected.”

He shrugged once before saying: “I’ll wait here until you are done.”

The girl nodded, and quickly put her bow in it’s case, then took Minwoo’s bow as well.

“I’ll finish it, you can practice again next time. I need to lock up the storage shed.”

“Because you don’t want to make him wait, right? You’re so kind noona. Thanks for helping me.”

“You’re welcome. Good work today.”

“See you tomorrow Noona!”

Just seconds later, Dia rushed to the storage shed, putting away the two cases.

“All done!” she stated proudly when she appeared in front of her boyfriend again. It hadn’t even taken her a minute.

“He seems to really like you,” was all the boy commented.

“He? Who?”

“Your junior who can’t take apart a bow.”

“It’s not like you can just do it randomly, a bow isn’t that easy. But you don’t have to worry about to kid, he only likes me because I’m scary enough to keep his bullies away.”

“Scary?” a soft chuckle escaped Myungsoo’s lips, and Dia pouted.

“I’m not scary. Right?”

“You’re not,” he agreed with her.

---

Hee-Jin checked Dia’s locker once more, before she’d head home. No note. Only one today, that’s good. Just as she wanted to leave, she noticed a familiar figure coming her way.

“Oppa!” she yelled out and waved excitedly as Xiumin came into view. For a second he looked surprised, but then smiled and waved back at her.

“What are you doing here? Isn’t your locker near mine?”

“It is. But I was looking for you… So I hoped to see you here,” the boy explained.

“Why were you looking for me? And how did you know I’d be here??” The girl asked curiously.

“Of course I’d know where you’d be, I know everything about you,” he replied. She kept looking at him, waiting for the reply on her first question, but he seemed to have forgotten it altogether.  

“Why were you looking for me?” she asked again.

“To ask if you wanted to go on a date this weekend,” he replied with a smile. “So, are you free?”

“Depends, Saturday or Sunday? I’m going to go out for dinner with my sister on Saturday… But Sunday I’m free.”

“It’s a good thing I wanted to ask about Sunday then,” Xiumin replied.

---

Myungsoo and Dia had gone to the park for their date. As they walked through it, Dia turned to look at her boyfriend.

“When you invited me here the first time… Did you already like me? Or was it really just for pictures?”

The silence that followed seemed to last forever to her.

“I liked you. And I wanted the prettiest girl in school for my photo’s as well.”

They were both pretty red by now and for a while, Dia was at loss for words.

“...”

“You’re not going to say anything?” he sounded a bit offended, or maybe more hurt, Dia couldn’t quite figure out which one it was.

“I’m still thinking of a good reply… I’m not good with words.”

“Neither am I…” the boy muttered.

“That was definitely a line of someone who is good with words, though,” she retorted, causing him to laugh.

“I guess I got lucky then.”

Dia shook her head. “I think I got lucky.”

When he looked at her in surprise, she added: “I got to hear it right?”

Before he could react the girl spotted a swing, and proceeded to run towards it. When she reached them she turned back to Myungsoo, calling him over.

“Come on! Let’s swing? It’s fun!”

She was already following her own advice by the time Myungsoo had reached her.

“Are you a kid?” he teased, but she just nodded.

“I am when it comes to swinging!”

“Shall I push you then?”

“Will you!?”

She sounded way more excited than Myungsoo had expected and he chuckled.

“You really are just like a kid when it comes to swinging.”

---

Just as they were about to leave the park, the ran into Woohyun. Not literally of course, but he was there nevertheless.

“Don’t tell me you’re on a date in the park?” he commented with a smirk when he spotted the couple walking hand in hand.

“So what if we are?” Dia retorted.

“No. It’s nothing.”

Myungsoo frowned at this reply, and Dia folded her arms.

“If it’s nothing then just keep quiet,” she commented.

“If you want to know it that badly, I’ll tell you. Come, I’ll whisper it in your ear,” the boy teased.

Dia could feel Myungsoo grip on her hand tightening a little and she smiled. “No thank you. I don’t really care anyway. Shall we go, oppa?”

He nodded, and they both walked passed Woohyun, who could only mutter: “So cold.”

---

Having had a particularly good day today, Dia wasn’t even a little bit surprised when a text from her stalker appeared.

I’ll make you break up with him.

“Good luck with that,” she muttered at her phone. There was no way she was going to let that happen.