Jangmi and Hyeri sat in the bus, already on their way home. The sky has turned dark. Hyeri was busy texting with Sunho, a senior colleague in their workplace. Occasionally she giggled as she read his messages. 

“Assa!” Hyeri cheered, earning attentions from other passengers. She blushed slightly, then apologizing for her sudden action. “Sunho sunbae finally asked me out.” She said, shyly blushing at the thought. 

“Good for you." She replied short, has yet to unable to forget about today's event. Today was Valentine's Day and Hyeri begged to accompany her to the mall. Although she has no one to spend the romantic ocassion with, she did not want to kill the mood so she agreed to tag along. 

Nam Woohyun. The guy hasn't changed much, still looking cool and attractive as ever.  After all these years, they met again and unexpectedly he gave her flowers. White roses on top of that. "Why?" Jangmi stared at the roses. They are beautiful. It was the first time she received flowers from a guy. Supposedly she should feel delighted, but from him it was otherwise. She hated it.

Did he not remember?

Woohyun arrived at his doorstep. "See you tomorrow!" He waved at Kibum before his friend's car zoomed off. They spent the whole day going to the arcade and played bowling, "to relive their youth energy", or so Kibum quoted. 

As he was busy unlocking, his vibrating phone forced him to fish it out from his pocket. Not an incoming call, but a message. 

Namstar! How's life? I'm back! - 01xxxxxxxx 

Woohyun chuckled. Only one person calls him that. It's been a long time since they were in touch. Successfully he unlocked the door. Counting the time since the message arrived, he expected the phone will be ringing in three, two, one-

Kringg! 

"Hey, buddy."

Jangmi got off her stop right in front of her office. Along with her came down a few students of Woollim High School. "Good morning, Miss Baek!" She replied with a gentle smile, earning shy giggles from the male students. She was well aware that some students developed a crush on her ever since she reported for duty as a substitute teacher. 

"Miss Baek," A deep voice greeted her from behind. "Good morning, Principal Lee." As usual, he greeted with his warm smile. One of his favorable traits was his fatherly character that made him approachable. He may look strict, but there were times she found his wisdom useful. 

Another interesting fact about him is he cycles to school. He has a car, but he prefers to cycle. For exercise, he answered the other day. "Come, walk with me. I have something to discuss with you,"

Jangmi followed. 

He walked into the lobby leisurely, whistling his favorite tune. His dark sunglasses framed his face perfectly, giving a cool aura off of him. "Hello," He cooed, earning shy giggles from two female staffs passing by him. With full confidence  he walked up to the receptionist and lowered his sunglasses. "I'm here to see Nam Woohyun," 

Upstairs, Woohyun stretched his arms upwards. He finally finished preparing materials for presentation tomorrow. Kibum sitting next to his cubicle frowns a little, still struggling to complete his. Woohyun smirked, feeling proud of himself. 

"Woohyun, there's someone here to see you," He turned his chair around to face one of his colleagues, Jinyoung. Instantly, he sighed. There's only five minutes left until lunch time. Seeing a client means he has to forget about his lunch. But serving a customer is a client, so... "Alright," 

He fixed his sunglasses. He was looking at the view outside with his back facing the lobby. He continued to whistle the same tune from earlier, waiting patiently for Woohyun. Until he spotted another reflection from the glass window. That's my cue. 

"Hoya?"

"Namstar!" His bright smile was inevitable. The two friends reunited, greeting each other with a big hug. "You got a lot taller!" Hoya exclaimed, unable to hide his joy. He ruffled Woohyun's hair, something he always do back in the days. "Hey, watch it!" Woohyun resisted, but more than happy to see him again. 

Their conversation continued throughout lunch. Woohyun and Hoya chose to have lunch at a cafe nearby his office, along with Kibum. Hoya told his story, now succesfully opened up a dance studio in Itaewon. Kibum laughed hard when he learned the quiet Woohyun used to be a troublemaker. "That was the old days." Woohyun sipped his iced coffee, frowning at Hoya. "Yah, who told you I was? You're no different than I am! One time he put a dead lizard in the teacher's bag and the next thing we were running down the hallway." 

"Really? That would be hilarious," Kibum agreed. "I didn't know you had it in you. I would like to see you pull a trick on our boss."

"I'll pass. As much as I love to, I'm not going to risk my job," 

"You're no fun, Namstar." Hoya pouted. "Nam Woohyun grew up to be a boring old man," He teased. 

"Enough about me. What brings you here? I thought you're staying in US for good." 

"This," Hoya took out a purple envelope and moved it towards Woohyun. "Dongwoo is getting married." He announced. "Dongwoo?" Hoya nodded. Woohyun remembered him, Jang Dongwoo. He was the eldest among them and well known as Hoya's partner in crime. In short, he's a troublemaker. "The rest are meeting up for a reunion. What do you say? Like the old days?" He remembered them all. Their leader Sunggyu, flower boy Sungyeol, Myungsoo the ice prince and Sungjong, the youngest of them all. 

"Count me in."

🌹 🌹 🌹

 What should I wear? 

For the past hour Jangmi has been rummaging through her closet looking for suitable gowns to wear. Yes, gowns. Her old friend, Eunjin rang and invited her to her brother's wedding. Although she wasn't close to her brother, she knew him because they all went to the same middle school. Jangmi scanned through the clothes piling on her bed. 

"You have to come." Eunjin gave her the invitation. "But I-" Jangmi hesitated. The only mutual friend they have was her cousins. "And he said you must bring Jaehwan and Taekwoon oppa too!" 

Jangmi paused for a thought. Taekwoon is working in Singapore at the moment, so there's no way she can bring him. But Jaehwan oppa is here. Her cousin is currently taking a break after recently graduated in London. If he agrees, then she doesn't have to come alone. Perfect. She quickly dialled his number.

Later that night, Woohyun were standing outside of the club. Blasting music and blinking lights were all he sees as soon as he enters. People are filling up bar and more on the dance floor. Woohyun struggles to move about the limited space, his eyes went wild searching for his friends. 

"Yo, Namstar! Over here!" He turned to his right. Relief washed over him when he saw Hoya and Sungjong waving at him. "Woohyun!" Hoya, Dongwoo and Sungjong were the first one to hug him like they haven't seen him forever. Sunggyu and Sungyeol greeted him with their friendly smile, also Myungsoo with his signature cool attitude. "Waiter! One more drink, please!" 

"No thanks, Hoya. I don't drink." 

"What? Even our maknae drinks! Come on,  dude. Don't be a spoiler." Hoya tempted, taking another gulp of his drink. "This is the last night before our beloved groom goes into eternal misery." He rambled in half drunk state, pointing to Dongwoo. The latter quickly shook his head. "Wrong, my fellow friends." He too drunk, put his arms around Sunggyu. "I am happy because in less than forty eight hours Jihyun will be forever mine. All mine!" He exclaimed. 

Myungsoo chuckled. "Whipped." As usual, he only speaks to remark. "I think it's cute. Dongwoo is in love." Sungyeol added, earning disagreements from the rest of the members. Woohyun silently chuckled.

In a few years, all of them has changed a lot. They have grown up and matured. But their demeanor remained the same. Their friendship stayed the same.

"Cheers!"

The elevator door splits open, revealing Jangmi and Jaehwan. The two dressed up accordingly, Jaehwan in a black suit and Jangmi in a peach ballerina dress. Jangmi looked around, searching for any signboards indicating the one they are going to. "Over there," Jaehwan tapped her shoulder, pointing to their left side. 

"You came!" Eunjin beamed at her appearance. "Oppa, remember them? Baek Jangmi and-"

"Lee Jaehwan! You rascal! Where have you been?" Dongwoo also delighted to see their former schoolmates. "Where's Taekwoon? We have a lot of catching up to do." Eunjin nudged her brother to remind him of Jangmi. "Oh, hi. Do you remember me? We were in the journalism club together." Jangmi nodded briefly. His facial features looked mature although his childish smile has yet to change. "You look prettier." He complimented.

"Thanks. By the way, congratulations on your wedding." The girl blushed, not used to such compliments. "Stop teasing her, oppa. Jangmi, why don't you and Jaehwan oppa go grab a seat first? I'll see you guys later," Eunjin managed to cut in. She and Dongwoo exchanged glances before escorting the pair into the wedding hall. 

Meanwhile, Dongwoo's friends are already seated in one table. All of them are present, except Sunggyu who was chosen to be the best man. Hoya gets himself busy, checking around the room. “I don’t see any girls yet. Cuties and hotties, where are you?” The guy sang. “I guess good genes don’t run in Dongwoo’s fam- why hello…” His gaze landed on her who sat two tables away from them. 

“Hot girl alert, hot girl alert,” Hoya repeated, whispering to s repeatedly. When they were unaware of what he said, he added, “Three o’clock, peach dress,”

They turned to the said direction, including Woohyun. He saw her. Jangmi looks different in the dress and make up, but he recognized her by her let down hair. When Jangmi turned towards his direction, he immediately looks away. Why am I getting flustered? He distracted himself by averting gaze towards the aisle. Dongwoo and Sungyeol are already standing there. The ceremony is about to start. 

"Oh, she's taken..." He turned his head after hearing disappointed Hoya. A guy took a seat next to her and they conversed. She was smiling at him, and evidence that he was not a stranger. Woohyun recalled her expression on the day he gave her roses. So that's why she ran away. A heavy feeling emerged in his chest. That day was unfortunate. I kept hitting on other people's girlfriends. He sighed.

 "You okay?" Jaehwan returned, offering her a glass of water. "Thanks," Jangmi nodded. "To be honest, not really. The only person I know here is Eunjin and Dongwoo oppa. It feels a little bit awkward."

"Don't worry. We're on the same boat. Who would've thought they still remember us. Especially after..." His voice trailed off. Jangmi waited for him to finish, but he didn't. She averted gaze without seeing how he looked. Jaehwan cleared his throat.

The bride just entered the hall. All eyes were on the newlyweds. 

Hope she has forgotten all about it. 

Dongwoo and Jihyun are officially man and wife. 

The celebration continues throughout the night. Everyone was enjoying themselves, the elders are catching up with each other while the youngsters are occupying the dance floor. Jangmi chose to watch from the sidelines. Her cousin has selected a dance partner. She told him to leave her and not miss all the fun. In the meantime, the bride and groom are dancing in the middle and looking at each other lovingly. What a beautiful couple. Who would've thought the mischievous Dongwoo ended up with nice looking Jihyun. If only I wasn't afraid...

"Would you like to dance?" A hand was extended towards her. Jangmi shifted her gaze to meet the eyes of the stranger. "You!" His eyes widened. "Baek Jangmi right? Jaehwan and Taekwoon's cousin?" She nodded, but failed to recognize him and stared at him awkwardly. He looks familiar... 

"It's me, Hoya! I mean, Lee Howon, remember?" The name he mentioned reminded her. He was the loud one in the group along with Jaehwan, Taekwoon and Dongwoo back in middle school. The hyperactive kid, she once nicknamed him. "Yeah, I remember."

"Are you alone? Where are those two?" He asked, referring to her cousins. "Jaehwan oppa is over there. Taekwoon oppa, he... He's in Singapore." 

"Darn. Anyway, nice to see you again. You're a lot prettier now." He grinned, showing his pearly white teeth. "Oh, you remember Woohyun? He's here too." Before she could open to stop him, he already said it first. "Namstar, over here!" 

Jangmi jerked from her seat. Her back straightened up immediately, nervously anticipating for Woohyun's arrival. Curse you, Lee Howon. She mentally told herself to look calm, but Woohyun approaching them made her even more nervous. Will he recognize me?  She bit her lip. 

"What's up?" Woohyun came next to Hoya. "Do you remember her?" Hoya pointed to Jangmi. Woohyun, puzzled turned to look at the girl. How did he know her? He got even more confused. 

"She's the girl you hugged back in middle school! The one we made a bet about, remember that?" Woohyun's face darkened. Jangmi's expression was no different, immediately looking away from the latter. Darn. Now he really did it. 

Woohyun frowned while Hoya and Dongwoo cheered happily. The poor guy lose in thumb wrestling against Dongwoo and as promised he has to do what he says. 

"I got it!" Dongwoo announced. The guys gathered around him, waiting for his verdict.He eyed at Woohyun closely until a mischievous grin appeared. "I dare you to... go hug the first girl you see." 

"You remember now, do you?" Hoya brought him back from the flashback. He has yet to grip the situation. Woohyun did not listen, his eyes were set on Jangmi. She looked upset, angry and hurt. She was hurt. 

Target locked. Woohyun pinned his eyes on one girl who just walked by her. Her hair was covering her face and she was hugging her books. From the drection, he had a hint she just came back from the library. His friends' laugh were getting more annoying. "I'll show them who's boss." 

Jangmi got startled when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist out of nowhere. She struggled to break free but the more she did, the tighter it became. She felt warm breathing by her right ear but that wasn't helping either. Panic conquered her and her vision blurred with tears. She wanted to scream but her voice failed to come out.

She exerted more force and finally succeeded to free herself. She turned around and saw Woohyun looking at him with a smirk. No, he was smiling triumphantly . Behind him, his friends were cheering as if he just won a race. 

Or a bet. She found out a few days later. Eunjin's brother, Dongwoo kept teasing her for that. She felt like slapping him out of anger, but courtesy stopped her from doing so. He wasn't at fault.

Woohyun did.

"Nam Woohyun." Her voice was full of hatred. Woohyun gulped. He remembered how she looked at him after he done it. She was crying and guilty struck him. The view of her running away from him was the main cause of his sleepless nights. He did try to find her after that to apologize but she already went to a different high school. And then moved on. Or so he thought.

Jangmi got up. Woohyun was faster, he caught her wrist. Memories of the incident reappeared, slowly making her difficult to breathe. "Let me go," 

"About that, I..." He swallowed hard. "I'm sorry." 

"Then don't come in front of me again." 

🌹 🌹 🌹

The boys decided to go for another round of drinks after Dongwoo's wedding. They went to a nearby club and partied hard until midnight. The number of partygoers kept increasing, partying like there's no tomorrow. And tomorrow's Sunday. 

"Too bad Dongwoo isn't here." Sungjong complained. "Trust me. He doesn't want be here now that he has Jihyun," Hoya grinned, hinting at them of what he was trying to convey. Myungsoo face palmed himself. "Leave him. He's happy now. I'm sure we'll be like that once we meet our other half too." Sungyeol cuts in. Hoya scowled at his optimism, for he had a hard time believing in the issue. "I don't do commitments. Women are so clingy." 

"Are you okay?" Sunggyu scooted closer to Woohyun, who were quiet since they got there. "Hmm," It was all the response he gave. His drink remained untouched. "Cheer up, Namstar. Let's dance!" Hoya got up the first, dragging Sungjong and Sungyeol with him to the dance floor. Deep down, Woohyun envied his friend. He could go on freely and not stuck in this dilemma. Ah, why me?

Monday comes.

Woohyun did not forget to share everything with Kibum. Boy, he was pretty shocked that Woohyun and Jangmi gone way back. In the end, he was laughing and Woohyun was frowning.

"What's so funny?"

"You," He wiped his tears. "You're totally in love with her," Woohyun raised his eyebrow. What kind of assumption was that? "I just told you she hates me." 

"Denial. Typical." He rolled his eyes, refusing to believe his words. "If you don't love her, you wouldn't remember the bet." 

"I don't!" 

"But you remember her, didn't you?" 

Silence.

Kibum smiled proudly. "Oh yeah, I'm good at this."

"Thus, the fraction of A also equals to fraction B." Jangmi's hands moved in sync with her explanation. "Find the unknown value first and use this formula..." She keeps on writing in the blackboard. "...to solve the equation. Got it?" The students nodded, indicating that they understand what she just said. Although Jangmi was known to be shy around people, it was a different case when it comes to presenting. Two years of public speaking in high school trained her to be communicate better. 

The school bell rings, signalling the whole school that it was already lunch time. "Class, don't forget to revise today's chapter. I'm in the mood for a quick quiz tomorrow." She joked, replied by her students' cheerful 'yes'.  Chanhee, the class president stood up and led the others in their  daily greeting.

I'm hungry. Jangmi hurried her pace towards the teacher's lounge. As usual, she had her lunch prepared to save time. Nearing towards the room, she almost bumped into the principal. "Oh, Principal Lee. Sorry, I wasn't looking." 

"Don't worry. I'm good. Have you eaten lunch yet?" 

"I'm about to. I brought my own food." She answered sheepishly, showing her lunch box that she carried earlier.  "That's good then. Join me for lunch. I want to discuss about the matter." Obeying him, she followed closely from behind. They chose to sit at the corner of the lounge to give room for their discussion. Jangmi unpacks her lunch. "You made these, Miss Baek?" Jangmi nodded. "Have some , sir." Remembering her manners, she picked up some of the dish and put it into Principal Lee's plate.

"Delicious! Looks like you have to make some more for me from now on." The old man joked. The atmosphere was comfortable. It was like a father having a meal with his daughter. "So, have you thought about it?"

Jangmi recalled, a few days ago Principal Lee asked her to host the school's double celebration, it's hundredth year anniversary and reunion for the former students. He acknowledged her speaking ability and decide