I was extremely perplexed when Mirae didn't show up in first period the following day. And as the day went on, it was obvious that she wasn't going to show up at all. I couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the weird situation that had transpired between her and the three random guys the day before.

Regardless, I relished in the quiet day. I finally had a reprieve! A day to myself, with no annoying interruptions! Damn, it felt good.

~~~~~~~~~~

I was daydreaming, something I don't often do, while waiting for first period to start the next day. I was staring out the window, oblivious to everything around me.

"Miss me?"

I jumped, then groaned. I turned my head to find Mirae grinning at me from the desk next to mine.

"You're back," I stated dully.

"Yep! Calm down, no need to get so excited; I was only gone for one day!"

I rolled my eyes and dropped my head onto my crossed arms on my desk. "You okay?" she asked.

"Just already missing the peace and quiet."

"Oh, ha ha," she replied sarcastically.

"Where were you anyway?" I asked in a bored tone, trying to sound nonchalant.

Her head snapped toward me. She looked surprised. "I had a doctor's appointment," she said.

"Oh." I turned to look out the window again.

I could feel her watching me. "Why do you care?" she asked suspiciously.

I shrugged. "I don't."

"Then why did – "

Saved by the teacher. Mrs. Lee calling for our attention so she could begin class cut Mirae off.

She kept glancing at me throughout the entire period, though. I should've just kept my damn mouth shut. I knew she'd question me further as soon as she could. Thank god she wasn't in my next class.

I began packing up my things before class ended, so once it did, I was ready to head out the door. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, I moved swiftly past her without another glance and disappeared into the crowded hallway. I knew I'd have to see her in third period, but at least I could avoid her for an hour.

Surprisingly, though, she didn't end up saying anything to me in third period. I was relieved that she had decided to drop it.

Naiveté has never been a trait of mine, so I'm not sure why I let my guard down. Especially when it came to her.

"I think you should give me your phone number."

I whipped my head around so fast, my neck audibly cracked. "What?!"

She smirked as she sat down at the lunch table. "You heard me."

I stared at her, an incredulous look on my face. "That is not happening."

"You were so interested in where I was yesterday," she cooed. I internally screamed. "Next time, I'll just let you know if I'm going to be gone beforehand, so you won't worry."

"I was trying to be polite. Have you never heard of polite small talk?"

She burst into laughter. "Since when have you ever engaged or had any interest in small talk? And more to the point, when have you ever been polite to me?!" Her eyes danced with amusement. I felt my cheeks flush slightly because she was right, and I couldn't come up with any other excuse on the spot. I quickly turned my head away from her, but not quickly enough.

"Min Yoongi!" she squealed. "Are you blushing?!"

"No," I scoffed. "What the hell would I have to blush about?!"

"Oh my god, you are! That is so cute!" Before I could stop her, she reached over and pinched my left cheek.

"Yah! Don't touch me!" I shouted as I pushed her hand away.

She giggled as she persisted, continuing to try to pinch and poke my cheeks. People were starting to notice and look at us. My cheeks were beet red now, due to both her constant attacks and my embarrassment about it.

"If I give you my number, will you leave me the fuck alone?!" I hissed.

Her assault immediately ceased. She grinned at me triumphantly. I growled out a highly annoyed sigh as I hastily wrote my number down on a piece of paper and thrust it across the table. I had a terrible feeling about this.

~~~~~~~~~~

YOONGI😾

Mirae Hi!

Yoongi😾 Do you know what
time it is?

Mirae 7:30

Yoongi😾 Yeah, bye.

Mirae But it's a school day.
When do you wake up
for school?

Yoongi😾 What time does school
start?

Mirae 8:30

Yoongi😾 8:10

Mirae Seriously?

Yoongi😾 Talk to you in 40.

Mirae Wait... You're gonna talk
to me? Of your own accord?

Yoongi😾 WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?

Mirae Mirae

Yoongi😾 Oh, then no.

~~~~~~~~~~

*Mirae POV*

I waited a few days to text Yoongi, just to keep him on his toes. I think I lulled him into a false sense of security, beginning to believe that I'd only text him when I wasn't going to be at school (like I'd told him I would). When I walked into our first class and saw the look on his face, I could tell he was disheartened to have learned that that was not the case.

I smiled brightly at him. "Good morning, sleepy head!"

"You can't do that." He glowered at me. "You can't take advantage of having my number. If you won't leave me alone at school, at least leave me in peace in my personal life."

"Okay," I chirped.

He stared at me for a moment, then sighed heavily. "You're not going to, are you?"

"Nope!"

"I can block your number."

I flashed him a sly grin. "But you won't."

He scowled and looked the other way but said nothing more.

~~~~~~~~~~

I was both excited for and dreading the end of the day. It was Friday, and the guys and I were going to have a sleepover, something we hadn't done in about a year. However, I had decided to practice piano after school, and I was nervous that I'd do poorly.

I pulled the sheet music out of my folder and stared at it. One of dad's favorite songs. I sighed as I set it on the music desk, then began playing.

It was a disaster. I couldn't seem to recover after the first mistake I made. I psyched myself out and ended up making more mistakes than playing correctly. I was so flustered and discouraged after the first run through that I just decided to give up. I put everything away as tears filled my eyes. I couldn't do this; I had failed.

I hurried out of the music room, embarrassed because I knew Mr. Kang was in his office and could hear my horrific failure. I didn't slow my pace until I was outside of the school. I began to drag myself toward home before deciding to just go straight to Tae's house. I didn't really feel like being alone.

He was surprised to see me, as I'd told them I'd be late due to practicing. He studied my face and concern flashed in his eyes. "What happened?"

I sighed, and he stepped aside for me to enter the house. I headed straight toward the basement, where I knew everyone else was. They all looked up as I entered.

"You're already here?" Jungkook asked. "Practice go so well that you didn't need to stay long?" He smiled.

I looked down. "Exactly the opposite, actually. I think..." I took a deep breath. "I think I'm going to quit."

"Are you absolutely sure that's what you want to do?" Jin asked kindly.

"No," I admitted. "But... You guys weren't there. You didn't hear it. Once I made one mistake, I was making all mistakes!" I paused in an attempt to calm myself down, then continued quietly. "All I want to do is make my dad proud. But with the way things are going, that's never going to happen in this case."

"You had a setback today," Joon said carefully. "But you can get back on track."

"How, though?" I asked fiercely. "I rarely get opportunities to practice on a real piano. The school is my best bet, but more often than not, Mr. Kang says no. And after hearing how awful I was today, I wouldn't blame him if he never let me near his pianos again!"

No one knew what to say. The awkwardness in the room became so thick, it could be cut with a knife.

"Regardless of your decision or what happens from here, your dad is proud of you," Jimin said reassuringly. "That's a fact, so don't you ever think differently."

I looked down and didn't say anything else. I was beginning to feel like an animal on display at a zoo, so I sat on the floor and changed the subject. "What have you guys been doing so far?" I asked.

A couple of them exchanged hesitant looks. "What? Did I interrupt guy time?" I teased, finally cracking a smile. My eyes happened to land on Jungkook, whose cheeks flushed as he looked away from me quickly. The guy had absolutely no poker face.

"Ohh, I did." I let out a small, flustered laugh. "Well, I didn't go by my house before I came here. I'll run there for a bit and let you guys finish."

"No, it's okay," Tae said quickly. "We were just talking about random stuff."

"It's really not a problem," I insisted. "I'm not offended or anything. And I need to get my stuff anyway."

"You know you can borrow whatever you need. And I mean, you already have your own toothbrush here."

I looked around. No one looked upset, but Jungkook's body language in particular was very awkward. I decided it was no longer a good idea to look at him, seeing as how he was obviously embarrassed.

"Look," I said, as tactfully as possible. "Being 'one of the guys' only goes so far. You wanna talk about something like a crush you have, I'm all ears if you want my opinion. Now, you wanna talk about your dick sizes or something, I'm out. And right now - or anytime, actually - I'm not gonna make you tell me whether or not you want me to stay, cause then I'll know. So, I'm just gonna head out and I'll text you when I'm on my way back."

I stood up and grabbed my backpack, turning my back on them before I could see any of their reactions to my words. I was halfway up the stairs before I heard, very quietly, "I like Naree."

I paused. "And I should...?"

"Stay, please," Jungkook said softly.

I turned around slowly. "Lim Naree?"

He blushed. "Yeah."

I descended the few steps I'd just climbed. I sat back down and looked at him. "Ask her out," I said as I shrugged. He just stared at me. I could see in his eyes that he was leery.

"You know Choi Jiyoo?" He nodded. "She's Naree's best friend. And you also know that I am not friends with either of them, I assume?" He nodded again.

"You're not friends with anybody but us," Jimin stated innocently. But I shot him a sharp look just the same, and his mouth snapped shut.

"That doesn't mean I don't overhear things. And honestly..." I paused, knowing I was about to admit something very personal that I'd never told any of them before. "...it doesn't mean I don't sometimes wish I could be a part of some of the conversations I overhear." No one said anything, but I knew they were all feeling guilty, even though nothing was any of their faults.

"Anyway, I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret. I've gotten lots of 'guy info' from you all, and it seems only fair that I divulge some 'girl info' to you."

They all leaned forward toward me, suddenly very interested.