"jihae, what do yo-"

"oh, that guy with the blue long sleeve! come on up."

the sophomore smiled widely in success, but what she didn't see coming was seonghwa pulling her up with him, with force.

"seonghwa, you go up there." she insisted, trying to get him off.

"you dug this hole for us. we're going down together." the boy claimed almost as if he was so sure. "and don't use the you can't sing excuse. you're a jeon. you guys are good at everything."

she tried to make him let go but was of no use.

they made it up the stage with four boys smiling. "looks like we have a couple performing, folks!"

one of the members noticed a familiar face. "seonghwa?"

"hey." he acknowledged minsoo with a nod.

"so what are you two love birds gonna sing?" wyld, another member, asked on the mic.

the sophomore and junior looked at each other, jihae telling him with her eyes to say a song title for she was too star strucked to speak.

"dream by baekhyun and suzy." was the first song that came to his head, and the girl sighed in relief as she knew the song.

"what a lovely song! the stage is yours." the members announced and that made the two gulp.

they positioned themselves behind the mic stand, as the group stepped aside. they saw expectant faces and held the mic as the music played.

seonghwa started singing passionately and jihae immediately felt like her ears were blessed.
"you are beautiful just as you were yesterday
no, you're more beautiful than you were yesterday
when i say something like this, you always
change subjects pretending you didn't hear anything."
he temporarily finished.

she sang the female part which earned claps here and there.
"i had really sweet dreams yesterday
i don't wanna tell you now
because I'm too shy, and also it's known
not very good to tell someone this kind of thing."

she looked at the boy fondly with brightened eyes before moving onto the chorus.
"dream that i can never have again
that was really sweet
i think you are just like the dream."

seonghwa smiled ever so softly as he continued the second part.
"dream that i get to keep thinking
about all day, that was really sweet
that's you..."

once they were done, cheers and yells were heard from every direction. "what a splendid way to end the day!" the emcee said. they thanked everyone and went down the stage.

"i can't believe i just sang in front of MAYHEM." jihae stated, her mouth agape and eyes wide.

"i can't believe i sang in front of a crowd." seonghwa claimed with almost the same reaction.

the girl scoffed. "what do you mean? you did great! plus, you're studying cinematography. you need an audience." she said with an all-knowing face.

the junior let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "i prefer working behind cameras, thank you very much."

she shook her head. "you were amazing! you don't get to keep that to yourself, mister."

seonghwa just laughed in response, hiding how flustered he was by all her compliments. "so, where are you going after this?"

jihae shrugged. "home, probably."

it was still three thirty which means they still have a lot of spare time. both of them really enjoyed one another's company and didn't wanna leave just yet, so the black haired boy plucked up some courage to say,

"you know, i just realized we haven't had lunch yet." he glanced at the girl. "would you like to grab a bite to eat with me?"

she grinned. "sure." she thought he'd never ask.

they went to a local diner called seven seasons. no one knows the meaning of the name, but they had really good food so no one minded.

they placed their orders and soon got it. "wow, i did not realize how hungry i was." the girl claimed as they dug in.

seonghwa hummed in satisfaction. "their chicken here is the best." and jihae couldn't agree more.

after a couple more bites, the sophomore stared at the boy for a bit, which made him conscious. he swallowed the chicken, "um, what is it?"

"you're really handsome." she blurted out bluntly, making the other choke. she suddenly started laughing. "oh, my god. i was teasing you. please, don't die." she giggled while seonghwa struggled to drink the water.

"but really, you have some sauce on your face."she said, pointing at his nose to his left cheek.

he wiped his face with his hand hoping to get rid of it, only making it worse. jihae snickered as she took a tissue. "now look who missed their mouth." she wiped his face thoroughly.

the boy huffed. "using my words against me, huh? i could've wiped it on my own, you know."

the girl chuckled. "yeah, sure. i just wanted to get it off you asap." she crumbled the tissue and threw it in a trash bin."i figured you didn't like dirt since you were quick to wipe the ice cream off my face earlier. you didn't even let me do it myself."

seonghwa was in awe. "so, people were right about you being a
mind reader."

this made the sophomore snort. "i major in psychology."

"doesn't mean you should be that good."

they were having a good talk when jihae suddenly said, "i'm surprised we actually hung out for the whole day without awkwardness. we barely even know each other."

and seonghwa couldn't agree more. "no psychological explanations
for this?"

the girl smiled. "maybe we're both just really bored and desperate."

the statement made the other snort. that couldn't be more accurate.

before seeing jihae at the bar, he thought nothing of her except for a popular schoolmate. he didn't even think he would ever talk to her, but here he is now, eating with her and enjoying her company. he was glad he made a new friend. a really beautiful, down to earth, kind and smart friend.

jihae was happy, too.

in the middle of random chatting, seonghwa's phone beeped, indicating a message. he excused himself to check what it was, only to be caught off guard.

it was a picture of him and jihae on stage with MAYHEM, sent by choi jongho.

4:40PM

seonghwa:
where did u get that?

muscleho:
ha! so it was u and
jihae!

seonghwa:
where the hell did u
get that jongho?

muscleho:
i was at the event

muscleho:
why would i miss
a MAYHEM thing🙃

muscleho:
why were u and jeon
jihae there, huh??

seonghwa:
..because minsoo's my
friend?

muscleho:
then why with her?

seonghwa:
..because she's a fan?

muscleho:
then why together?😏
read at 4:43

the boy couldn't find any reply anymore. there's nothing wrong with telling his friends. it's just that he knows they'll bug him about it, especially mingi, and he hates attention he doesn't want. luckily, he can still trust yeosang to stop them. sometimes. he let out a deep sigh.

"you look stressed. is everything okay? do you need to go home?" jihae asks with concern.

he contemplated whether he should tell her or not, but figured she had the right to know since she was in the picture.

"ah, my friend just sent me a picture of us singing and asking me why i was with you." he explained.

the girl studied his face for a bit. "hm. is it your girlfriend?"

the junior, obviously shocked, just let out a small "what?"

"judging from your hesitation, it's clear you're hiding something, so i think it's either you don't want me to know about her or vice versa? the uncomfortable look on your face could be because you don't wanna bother me with something, so i'm assuming she got jealous?" she stated unsurely.

it took a while for him to process everything and when he did, he simply chuckled in amusement."is this your way of asking if i'm single?"

the girl instantly heated up. it wasn't her intention but that doesn't mean she wasn't curious. he could major in psychology, too. she thought.

"you were right about forty percent of it." seonghwa explained.

jihae cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed as she raised her eyebrow. "what did i get wrong?"

"first of all, i don't have a girlfriend. second, it's true i didn't wanna bother you that's why i tried hiding it from you." he says with a smile while the sophomore gave out a sheepish grin.

his phone buzzed again, which made him groan.

3:49PM

muscleho:
hyung! don't ignore me
or else i'll tell mingi hyung

seonghwa:
pls dont

muscleho:
thenn answer meee

jihae could see how frustrated the boy was getting so she wanted to help. she reached her hand out for his phone, and when seonghwa look at her in confusion, she simply said, "i know how to keep him quiet for a while. what's his name?"

"jongho." he handed her his phone.

she opened the camera and took a selfie of seonghwa and herself, then sent it to the person.

3:51PM

seonghwa:
hi jongho! this is jihae! we were
reeaally bored so we hung
out HAHAHAHA

seonghwa:
you can join us next time
if you want!:))
read at 3:53pm

they waited for a couple of minutes and the phone didn't seem to buzz anymore.

"thank god." the boy sighed.

"you're welcome." jihae rolled her eyes playfully. "it's getting kinda late. i should get going. i told my sister i was gonna be home by five."

"okay, then. let me drive you home." he offered.

"are you sure? am i not bothering you too much?" she asked, worried. "and your parents might be looking for you already."

"no, i insist. really. and i live alone so no worries." he assures her.

they paid for their food, got in the junior's car, and drove to her house.

along the way, there were a lot of jamming to music and hyped up hand movements, mostly by jihae which seonghwa found endearing.

they soon arrived at their destination and seonghwa was polite enough to open the car door for her.

"thanks. i had a lot of fun today." she said gratefully.

"same here." he smiled.

"see you around school or anywhere, then." she waved goodbye to him.

"yeah. you, too. see you, jihae." the male smiled warmly, reciprocating her wave.

he got in his car and drove off, while jihae watched until the car disappeared.

she smiled to herself going inside the house, carefully taking her shoes off and lying down on the couch where soyeon was.

"looks like you had fun." her older sister smirked.

a/n: this book is finally going somewhere!