Instead of going home straight, Jaemin went to the peaceful river to clear his mind. But no matter how much he tried, his mind would still go back to you.

He could vividly remember the look on your face when he said that he regretted offering you friendship. He had no idea that he would actually live a life where he would make you cry, but he did, and he was so disappointed of himself.

"I shouldn't have said that," he whispered under his breath as he leaned on the steering wheel.

Everything was so heavy and messy and all he wanted to do was to run away from all of it. Run away from his reality and go to a place where nobody knew who he was. That was the plan, until you came.

It was fate that you met each other again after a long time and he finally realized that it was wrong to blame everything on you. You had no idea, and he had no intention of telling anything in the first place.

But the damage has been done no matter how much he regret it.

Feeling suffocated inside his car, he unstrapped the seatbelt and opened the door to get out. The cool breeze of night welcomed him when he stepped out and slammed the door close. He wrapped his jacket tighter around his body as he suddenly felt cold.

He wanted to forget this night, grab a drink until he pass out but he didn't like the taste of alcohol.

"Alcoholic drinks are not good for the body when you drink too much. Plus, it's so bitter," his mother would always say.

He smiled when he recalled that memory.

His mother was his treasure. She kept the family together and it pained him to witness how they fell apart when she died. He loved his mother so much that he followed everything she said until he grew up.

He followed everything but one.

"Even when I'm no longer here, I want you to find happiness and always be kind. I will watch over you."

Those were her dying words and a wish he didn't fulfill.

"Mom..." he breathed. "I'm so... so lonely."

Jaemin was dying inside. He wanted to cry so bad but no tears were forming. One of the most painful thing that a human had to endure is to silently fall apart. No means of outlet to express the pain. Just staring into the void and feel the pain. Like what Jaemin was doing.

"I'm so disappointed with myself," he said. "I made her cry, Mom. I hurt her with my words. I regret it..."

Seeing you cry was one of his weaknesses. He couldn't bear to see you shed a tear but tonight, he was the reason why your tear fell.

"What have I done?"

Hours later, he decided to drive back to his house where Jeno was anxiously waiting. Since Jaemin left with the car, Haechan had to drive him back home. He was sitting on the pavement in front of the gate when he noticed the familiar car. He stood up and opened the gate for Jaemin to park his car inside the garage. Nobody said a word until they're both inside the house.

"Tell me what the hell did just happen? Where did you run off? I've been waiting for you for hours. You're not answering my calls either," Jeno began the moment they stepped inside the house. Jaemin was tired but he knew Jeno wouldn't leave him alone unless he gives him answers.

"I fucked up."

"What happened?"

Jaemin told him everything, the call he received from his father, how he learned that his father hired someone to monitor him, even the part when he said he regret being friends with you again. Jeno kept quiet the whole time and listened to his best friend. When Jaemin finished, he looked so dejected. With his shoulders slumped, he looked small and vulnerable.

"The damage has been done. I'm sorry but I can't say anything comforting right now."

Jaemin sighed. "Don't worry, you don't have to. I'm fully aware of my actions and you'd be lying if you'll say that everything will be okay."

"We can't do anything aside from looking for the culprit who posted the pictures."

"What for? It's already been out in public. Everybody knows."

"But (Name) said she didn't do it. And I know she wouldn't do it to you. It's probably someone who was close to her or got an access to her stuff," Jeno explained. "I highly doubt that it's Giselle. We'll find the culprit no matter what."

Something clicked in Jaemin's mind about what Jeno said.

"What am I going to do now?" Jaemin finally asked. He leaned forward and held his head between his hands. He was crumbling before Jeno's eyes. "I fucked up."

Jeno sighed and sat on the couch beside his best friend and gave him a tight hug. That's the best he could do because it's been so long since he saw Jaemin so vulnerable.

The next day, you were woken up by the sound of the alarm clock. You weren't able to sleep last night and when you finally did, it's already dawn. To say that what happened last night was painful was an understatement. You had never known what it felt like to break up with someone, you only read it on books and watched it on movies. However, the pain was comparable to that.

You forced yourself to get up and you were surprised that Giselle was already dressed. You weren't able to tell her what happened and she didn't ask you to. She was waiting for you to open up yourself but based on how you looked, it wasn't hard to guess that something didn't go right.

"Even a full coverage concealer can't hide your dark circles, dear," Giselle said when you locked the door of your dorm. Funny enough, nothing can hide the gloom you were feeling right now and you couldn't bring yourself to laugh at her jokes but you didn't want her to feel bad.

"This is the new trend anyway," you answered.

"You know I'm always here if you needed someone to talk to, okay?"

You nodded at Giselle and forced a smile. "I know. I'll tell you soon enough."

And with that, you both made your way to your school.

It wasn't an exaggeration that everyone was talking about the recent post about you and Jaemin being alumni. People loved sticking their noses at somebody else's business as if it concerned them in any way. Everyone loved involving themselves in any drama.

Did Jaemin admit it to everyone? You asked yourself. Even though you're angry at him, you're still thinking about what he would feel. What am I supposed to do if somebody asks if it's true? Should I deny it or not?

Just when you were thinking about what to say, a group of freshmen girls from a different department approached you. They gave you a sickening sweet smile and you knew exactly what's about to go down. Beside you, Giselle squeezed your hand gently, letting you know that she's there if you needed her.

"Good morning, (Name)!" the girl at the center greeted you.

"Good morning," you replied. "What can I do for you?"

The girls giggled first and it took everything in you not to roll your eyes in irritation.

"You see, well, we saw the post, you know, at the official page."

"Here we go," Giselle whispered to you and the girl at the center eyed her. Giselle challenged her by raising her right eyebrow.

"What about it?" you asked even though you had an idea what they will ask.

"Is it true? You and Na Jaemin went to the same elementary school?"

You took a deep breath before looking at the girl dead straight to her eyes. "If you wanted to know, I think you better ask Jaemin yourself."

You ended it with a sweet smile before excusing yourself to them. That was a better answer than you expected. Leave their questions unanswered and give Jaemin the opportunity to come up with an answer that was best suited for him and you'd go along with that.

"She could have said yes or no," one of the girls complained and soon you were far away enough to hear their grumbling.

"Nice one," Giselle told you and high-fived each other.

Your smile instantly dropped when you spotted Jaemin and he saw you too. You stood there rooted on your spot as the two of you had a stare down. All of the events that happened last night came in rushing to you like a strong wave that knocked you down. It's as if it was drowning you, suffocating you until you couldn't breathe.

His words were daggers to your heart. Everything was still so vivid as if you were still living the moment

He regretted it, you reminded yourself. He regretted you.

Jaemin was just as tired and troubled as you were but he didn't expect to see you so cold. Giselle was quick enough to pick up what's going on so she released her hold from you.

"I... gotta go. See you later!" she said and didn't wait for your answer and ran. Now you were left there staring at Jaemin.

He regretted it.

He hates me now.

I don't regret it.

But I don't want to see him anymore.

A sharp intake of breath and an air of confidence was all you needed to held your chin up and walk towards him. He stay rooted on his spot, eyes glued on you but you looked ahead. Every step you took towards him made your heart drum and caused your courage to diminish but you didn't back down.

I know my worth enough. I know better than chase after people who don't want me in their lives.

You were in front of him, then past him. There was a lingering feeling of the slight physical contact of your arm and his but you shrugged it off. The nervousness was gone, replaced by something unexplainable.

Both of you didn't look back. You walked past him and he didn't dare look at you. Instead, his feet move forward, walking away, increasing the distance between the two of you.

Right there and then, you realized everything was already gone.

You arrived into your classroom and Haechan was there. He was waiting for you with his chin resting on his clasped hands as if he was in deep thoughts. The moment your bag hit the chair, he didn't waste any time to let you know what he was thinking.

"Everyone is acting weird lately. And I know for sure that something bad is happening right now," he said in a serious tone which surprised you since you have never seen him act that way before. "Jaemin isn't talking to us and Jeno is staying quiet as well. Everything started when we saw the post that night. He stormed out of Chenle's house and nobody knew where he went and what happened. Do you have any idea?"

You knew not only the idea, but the entire event that happened that night. However, you remained tight-lipped about it.

"Why are you keeping quiet as well? Is the post really a big deal?"

"If you have so much questions about that, I am not the right person to answer all of it. If you're desperate for answers, you should ask Jaemin."

"But he's not answering either!"

"Not my problem."

Lunch time arrived and you were dreading whether you should go to the cafeteria or you should just eat outside of the campus. The buzz didn't subside and you tried your best to ignore it but it's getting into your nerves.

"(Name)!" somebody called you. You turned around and was thankful when you saw Giselle. Behind her were Karina, Ningning, and Winter who gave you a big smile. They walked towards you and grabbed your arm and the five of you occupied the table away from the usual table you were sitting. This only caused the buzz to grow louder.

"Aren't you going to sit with them?" you asked, referring with the seven boys.

"We won't if she's there," Ningning replied and her usual sweet tone was a little angry.

"What happened?" you asked.

"It was Nayoung," Karina answered.

"What about her?"

Winter nudged Ningning and the latter was so red in anger. She pouted which looked adorable but you knew better than call her cute when she's fuming mad.

"Nayoung borrowed my favorite dress last time because she said she needed it for a formal occasion. I let her borrow it and she was so grateful. But when she returned the dress, there's a wine stain on it and the skirt was tattered. When I asked her about it, she said she had no idea."

"That's horrible..." you muttered ang gazed at Ningning with sympathy because she was on the verge of crying.

"That's not the only thing that happened though," Winter said. "Nayoung borrowed Karina's favorite eyeshadow and when she returned it, the palette was damaged and Karina had to buy a new one. She borrowed the limited edition shoes that I bought last week and it came back to me with a bad condition. It's like she's purposely sabotaging us or something."

You and Giselle looked at each other and both of you were thinking the same thing.

Your attention diverted from the girls to the two persons who just entered the cafeteria. Jaemin wasn't with the rest of the boys, not even with his best friend Jeno. Walking alongside him was Nayoung wearing the brightest smile you had ever seen.

Your blood boiled in anger as you remembered how she confronted you and said she liked Jaemin so she wanted you to back off. Of course, you wouldn't let that happen. But then this whole mess happened and now you and Jaemin weren't friends anymore.

"That two-faced, lying bitch," you cursed under your breath and the four girls snapped their eyes at you.

Jaemin was looking ahead and he was aware of all the attention he was getting, and very much aware of the girl beside him who was sticking like a glue. He hated it, but he had to do so. He had to follow the plan. His eyes landed on you who was currently busy talking with the girls. A part of him wanted you to look at him and snatch him away from Nayoung but that would be too impossible.

Meanwhile, you were eager to avoid seeing them together, even just catching a glimpse or be in your line of sight.

He repeatedly insulted me for having low standards and now he's hanging out with the worst girl, you thought to yourself.

On the other hand, Giselle who had been listening to all of you smirked while looking at the pair, before leaning closer and whispered something.

"I have a plan."