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With this, she was always at bad mood everytime she saw Jeonghan. She was being unfair. Just because she couldn't handle being weak infront of him, she started pushing him away.

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At lunch, Jeonghan caught up with her at the cafeteria. He joined her at her table.

“Are you busy? I haven't been able to see you lately. If you need help I can help,” he told her.

“What made you think I’m busy? I'm not,” she snobbishly answered.

“But you haven't been keeping in touch...”

“I just don't want to Jeonghan. I need space. So could you give it to me?”

“What? What space are you talking about?”

“Jeonghan... Haven't you noticed these past few days? I'm avoiding you! I need time away from you…”

“What are you talking about Seunghee? We're not even spending that much time together...”

“It is much for me! So please don't make a big deal out of this. Let's stay away from each for a while. I'm sorry.”

“Seunghee...”

Seunghee walked away from him again, not even finishing her meal. Jeonghan couldn't understand what was happening. It was so sudden. Why? There was nothing he could dig up that made her this way. Just what is going on?

As she was walking away, it felt bad for Seunghee. Without a proper explanation to him, she just shut him down like that. She was unjust. She was hurting him. But she was just protecting herself. She was just making sure of everything. She never felt this way before, so she had to make sure. Because once it's done, there was never going back.

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They spent days to weeks not meeting each other. It was hard for Seunghee, but it was harder for Jeonghan. He didn't even know why it was happening. Everytime he would see her across the rooms, she would not even look at him. It was getting painful each day. Where did the Seunghee who said she liked him go? What did the moon trinket mean to her? He was lost. He needed to ask her. It was the one time, he would not keep quiet about it.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

On Saturdays, Seunghee would usually go to church and the plaza right after. Jeonghan waited for her to go there. And she did. She was pretty in her black dress. Her hair straight and long, with her full bangs. She was his goddess. He approached her as she was checking the new arrivals.

“Seunghee.”

She almost leaped upon hearing his voice. Her heart skipped a beat when she turned and saw his face. Oh how she missed him. But she couldn't tell him that. It wasn't time yet. She had to go.

“I'm sorry I have to go.”

But Jeonghan didn't let her. It was the very first time he touched her. He grabbed her wrist. She felt like melting by his touch. She needed to break free.

“Please, I have something to ask you.”

“Jeonghan let go. Let me go.”

“Are you rejecting me?”

He was straight to the point as always. It struck Seunghee. So that was the impact on him. He was thinking she already made her choice. And that is dumping him. He was looking straight into her eyes and she stared back at him. She could see his pain. Her conscience was eating her. How could she do this to him? Just for the purpose of making sure of everything.

“No... No, it's not like that. It's far from being like that.”

“But then why? I need to know Seunghee.”

It was like deja vu. Those were the exact same words of Kevin just a few months ago. But this time, it was a different answer.

“I was just making sure of myself. I'm just making sure if I really... love you Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan was surprised. He slowly let go of her wrist. With a face unwilling to believe, he stared at her.

“You... love me?”

“I'm not sure yet! So I want you to give this time to me. I'm still at it. I trust you Jeonghan. But I don't quite trust myself yet. So please bear with me. It'll be over soon. So just stay there and wait for me okay?”

“Alright. I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes Seunghee.”

“Thank you.”

And so Seunghee left him again. But this time, it was alright. He was waiting for something and waiting is something he's good at. Most especially if he's waiting for something so precious.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

Jeonghan didn't bother Seunghee after that. He didn't care how long it takes for her to make sure of herself. At least he was guaranteed. It made him feel more inspired. She was nearly his. He was very happy.

Seunghee on the other hand was having a hard time proving to herself that she really loves him. Despite the fact of growing self-consciousness whenever he's around and always thinking about him whenever he's not within her sight and more importantly considering him in everything she does, she was still unsure of herself. There was something lacking and she needed to find that out soon.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

A new girl emerged in class for the second semester. Everyone was gossiping about how good she was. She was a year younger than them but was an early bird in college. Her name was Choi Yujin.

“Anyounghasseyo! I'm Choi Yujin. Nice to meet all of you!”

She was a cute girl. Charming and slim. But when she showcased her talent, everyone was in awe. She danced sexily and every move she made was perfect. After her performance, she won almost every boy's heart in that room and some girls too.

“Thank you!”

She went to her seat then and coincidentally, he was seated beside Jeonghan.

“Did I do well oppa?” Yujin asked.

“Ah yeah. You did well,” Jeonghan replied.

Seunghee who was seated just a few chairs behind heard them. What? They know each other? How come? She thought. That's a first, and it was alarming for her.

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Yujin would always talk to Jeonghan during breaks and after class. Seunghee would always hear her say 'Oppa' to him. They seemed to really know each other. And Jeonghan would answer her casually too. She had never seen him like that towards other girls other than herself. What is this? She was hoping he'd come over her and explain everything. But why would he when she told him to give her space? Seunghee was in chaos inside. She didn't know what to do.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

“Agghhhh!!!!!”

She tossed her pen aside. Seunghee couldn't concentrate on her piece. She was composing something for the upcoming annual duo project. She was in her room, sitting at her side table.

She contemplated on things. It had been a month since she last talked to Jeonghan. She missed him but not to the point that she wanted to be with him. But then, there was this girl. She remembered how she kept staying close to him every chance she got. She felt really bothered. She wasn't irritated and she wasn't really jealous. She just wanted to know why they were close, how they knew each other. That way she would understand and just ignore how they were interacting. It was getting on her way of thinking. And she didn't know till when she will be able to keep it in.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

The annual duo project was up. It was the time when two students, a boy and a girl pair up by means of drawing lots, compete for the best collaboration of the year with a grand price of flat 1 grade for both members. It was something the student body looked forward to.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

That day was scheduled for drawing of lots. It went smoothly and unexpectedly. Seunghee was paired with Sungjae and Jeonghan was with Yujin.

“Oppa! We're a pair!” Yujin exclaimed.

“Yah,” Jeonghan smiled at her.

Yujin kept touching Jeonghan's arm. She was so giggly and jolly around him. Jeonghan was just smiling at her.

On the other hand, Seunghee just looked at them from afar. She was a little down cause of the drawing of lots results. Deep inside, she wanted to be paired with Jeonghan. That way, she wouldn't have a reason to invalidate her request to him on her own. But Sungjae was already with her. Sungjae was their year's best student. He's also the year's representative at the year-end festival.

“So... I think we should start by shaking hands?” Sungjae asked.

“What? Oh, yah,” Seunghee absent-mindedly replied.

“I look forward to working well with you.”

Seunghee smiled at him and they shook hands. Seunghee was still hung up on what's going on between Jeonghan and Yujin. She sneaked a peek at them again and she found Yujin really close to Jeonghan. They were watching something on her smartphone. And she was so touchy-feely with him. She creased her eyebrows and incidentally, gripped Sungjae's hand tighter.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

“Oh! I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention,” she apologized.

“We have to focus on our own stage performance Seunghee. Don't let others bother you.”

“Yah, I know that.”

They were still at it when she last looked. But she had to prepare too. She had no time for feeling jealous and disturbed. Her trust on him was all she got and she was counting on it.

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^

The teams only had a month to practice. It was starting to get busy. Each team had a place to rehearse. The 10 duos had the practice room all to themselves all afternoon. It was divided into 10 booths.

In one practice booth, Jeonghan and Yujin had started their preparations. They were doing a performance with the song 'Now'. Yujin was really focused. She had been waiting for this project and being paired with Jeonghan made it all more exciting for her.

“I'm really glad I get to do this with you oppa. I'm really looking forward to this event. We have to win this!” Yujin exclaimed.

“Haha. I don't think it's that easy. There are lots of other teams Yujin,” Jeonghan replied.

“Work with me Oppa! I have to do this. I have to make sure that Jun sees me win that award. He better regret replacing me with that witch!”

“If this is just about that, you have to give it more than what you've got. And like I said, this competition's not as easy as you think.”

“I'm not taking this easy. I'm serious with this. And you have to be serious with me! Come on oppa!”

“Alright, start the music. We have lots of practice to do.”

“Yes oppa!”

The choreography was their focus. In order to bring the best performance, they had to perfect the moves, timing and projection. It was the start of hard work.

Meanwhile, Seunghee was practicing the piano. Sungjae was sitting beside her. He was also a pianist. They were playing the song 'Curious'. It was their piece for the project.

“I think we better rearrange this song. It'll take us on a whole new level,” Sungjae said.

“That's a great idea. I think we can make that work,” Seunghee uttered.

“How about we change the pacing and tempo? We should make our rendition of the harmony too,” Sungjae continued.

Sungjae was a better musician than Seunghee. She knew that. And everything he suggested just made the song even better. It would surely complement their talents. But amidst their planning, Seunghee could slightly hear the music playing at the next booth. Now? She thought. She wondered who were doing that song. It would be difficult to pull off.

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To be continued...