The plan that Giselle had plotted was going smoothly. At least for the three. Meanwhile, you made no progress at all. It's been a week and Karina, Ningning, and Winter made sure that they were following everything that was discussed. You felt bad because you still hadn't made your move.

"Just flirt with anyone, okay? You don't have to like them," Giselle said one day while putting a blush-on. Both of you were on your way to school.

"But the problem is I don't know how! I have never been in a relationship before," you replied and heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Are you worried that they might catch feelings for you?" Giselle asked.

"I highly doubt that," you answered. "I am not as attractive as you or the other three."

Giselle closed the lid of her blush and faced you. "You're beautiful, (Name). You just lack confidence."

"Thanks, but that still won't help me with our plan," you answered.

Giselle walked towards you and pat your shoulders. "You don't have to confess to them or fake your feelings. Just stick close to them and talk to them all the time. And if you can, you can sit with them during lunch. The sooner you start, the quicker this will finish."

You couldn't help but chastise Nayoung even more. She was the root of all this mess and you refused to believe otherwise. If proving her as the culprit meant having to sacrifice for a little while, then it wouldn't be a problem. You took a deep breath to motivate yourself.

You can do this, you told yourself.

"Let's go, Giselle. I have a long list of names to flirt with," you lied but it somehow made you feel good.

"That's the spirit."

You arrived at NeoU early as usual. You saw students with disheveled hair, holding a steaming cup of black coffee and brandishing the deep and dark circles under their eyes. They were on their fourth year of college and most of them had sleepless nights due to the fact that they were graduating. You suddenly dreaded the time when you would be the same just like them.

As you think about the future, your eyes caught sight of a pair walking together.

You felt as if someone punched you in the gut and knocked the breath out of you. You heard them laughing together and Nayoung playfully hit Jaemin's arm who was holding his usual favorite, the darkest Iced Americano you have ever seen. You never thought that it was possible for the day to come when you would just stare at him from afar, but it's happening to you right now.

Time passed by so quickly but the same pain was still there, throbbing, making you miserable every single day. And seeing them together looking so happy was like rubbing salt to an open wound.

He didn't even look affected. He didn't even seem bothered by your disappearance. Instead, he replaced you by someone you had developed a hatred to.

Your heart sank but something inside you was burning. It made you more motivated to prove Nayoung's true intention and reveal her true colors.

I might not have Jaemin back as my friend but at least, I would be able to save him from that witch.

If he's happy without you, you decided to do the same. You had been happy for nine years without him. You only hang out for a few months anyway. You were so sure that you would be okay without him.

But it sounded like you were only convincing yourself.

Meanwhile, Jaemin was silently suffering while walking with Nayoung who was laughing so loud that she attracted other students' attention. Jaemin was not sure if she was doing it on purpose so students would look at them and create unnecessary rumors and stir drama.

I have to do this, I have to succeed, he kept reminding himself every time he wanted to sprint off and leave Nayoung.

She was still laughing even though Jaemin's joke wasn't even funny. He wasn't even trying to be funny at a. He couldn't believe that he had to force himself to make a joke just to keep the conversation going.

"So..." Nayoung said after she stopped laughing for five minutes straight. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You're already asking," Jaemin replied but he noticed how sarcastic he sounded so he immediately changed his tone. "But sure," he added.

"Are you going out with (Name)?"

The question was too straightforward that it rendered him speechless, but he shook his head. Nayoung smiled triumphantly at his answer.

"Really? I thought you two are going out. Is she just a friend to you then?"

Are we even still friends after what I said to her? He asked himself.

He shook his head and Nayoung's smile grew even wider. It was painful enough to admit that you and him were no longer friends but he still felt somehow that every unfortunate event that happened to him were all a part of some long dream.

"If she's not your friend either, then can you tell me if you have any girlfriend right now? Or any girlfriends in the past?"

Jaemin smirked. He knew where this was going. "I had girlfriends before but none of them were serious."

Nayoung gasped before playfully hitting his arm. "You're a playboy!"

"Am I?" Jaemin asked as he flashed his notoriously attractive smirk at Nayoung. The latter's smile faltered. She couldn't believe what she was seeing right now. "I'm still waiting for the right girl. Who knows? She might be lurking around the corner." He said the last sentence while looking at Nayoung, as if implying that he was referring to her.

"Really?" Nayoung asked breathless. "May I know what's your ideal type then?"

Jaemin looked away from her then his eyes caught sight of you walking with Giselle. He only saw your back and watched you walk away until you're out of sight. He missed you, he might not say it loudly but he could feel the void that you once occupied.

"I'll know it's her when I see her."

That same evening, you screamed in frustration when you saw the latest post on the official page of NeoU. It was a picture of Jaemin and Nayoung sitting across each other, probably taken by a curious passerby. When you opened the comment section, a lot of students commented about how they frequently saw the two together and there were speculations that they were dating.

"Fuck that!" you screeched. "You're telling me that I have such low standards and then you're going to date that bitch?"

Giselle entered the room and saw you aggressively punching your pillow. "Yow girl, chill. What's wrong?"

You didn't answer and passed your phone to her hands. She looked at the screen, scrolled down a bit, then looked back at you.

"Are Jaemin and Nayoung dating?"

"I don't know. That's what everybody thinks."

"And you believe it?"

You didn't answer right away. Some part of you refused to believe that Jaemin would fall for that kind of woman and he clarified it last time that he was only helping her. But what about now?

"I don't care about what he does in his life!" you exclaimed before burying your face on the pillow you were punching earlier.

"Did something happen between you two?" Giselle asked and sat on your bed. "I have never seen the two of you together since the night you came home crying. You didn't talk to him when you saw each other one morning. Did he do something to you?"

You pushed yourself up and slumped your shoulders. You looked at Giselle and she instantly read your sullen expression.

I should tell her what's going on. I'm sure Jaemin told Jeno about everything, you thought to yourself.

You hated the fact that you were still thinking about what he would feel even though he cut you off of his life.

With a deep breath, you told Giselle everything and she listened to every word and never interrupted you.

"You'll get him back," Giselle said.

"What?"

"Look at him." Giselle zoomed at Jaemin's face. "Does he look happy to you?"

You frowned as you analyzed the picture. He didn't seem amuse at all even though he was smiling. You knew when he was genuinely happy, you might hate the fact that you knew him so well but a part of you was relieved.

"He doesn't look like that when he's with you," Giselle said.

"And what does he look like when he's with me?"

"He looks at you as if you hold the entire galaxy. He may not be smiling but you could see it in his eyes."

You lightly pushed Giselle away. "You're overanalyzing things. That's impossible."

You were denying it, but your heart wouldn't lie.

"You don't see yourself the way he sees you. But both of you don't see the way you look at each other from an outsider's point of view."

You looked at Giselle and she playfully wiggled her eyebrows, taunting you. It made you laugh, but the erratic beating was still there. You tried to calm yourself down but all you could see was Jaemin's face smiling down at you.

"You're making it seem like we have some sort of intimate connection."

"Don't you though?"

"Seriously Giselle, you have a hyperactive imagination."

"I observe, darling. And I know full well, I realized it before you do. You like Na Jaemin but you're too afraid to cross the line."

'"Now you're spewing nonsense."

"Am I? Who was screaming earlier because of this damn picture?"

"I wasn't screaming because I like him!"

"Then why?"

"Because he kept telling me that I have such low standards in men but he'd go off and date this girl!"

"And what does that have anything to do with you?"

This time, you couldn't answer. You liked to talk back and you didn't know what's stopping you. Giselle flashed a triumphant smile. Before leaving the room, she said something that made you rethink all of your decisions.

"The more you try to suppress your feelings, the stronger they grow."

You hoped she was wrong.

Days had passed and you were stuck in the library, still hadn't decided who to approach. Giselle was growing impatient at your indecisiveness so every time you had a free time, you escape to the library to look for your potential "instrument". You felt kinda bad for agreeing into this, but thinking about Nayoung with Jaemin gave you a motivation.

Because you thought that even if you won't reconcile with Jaemin, at least you got to take away the bad influence.

"Who should I choose?" you murmured to yourself as you scanned the groups of students. Only a few of the students were really studying. Some of them were napping, talking to each other in hushed voices, there were probably couples making out behind bookshelves. So far, only two guys and a girl caught your attention. 

The first guy had a chocolate skin with a buzz cut and was built like a model. He was leaning casually on a bookshelf while reading a classic book you gave up reading a month ago because the words were too hard to understand. He was wearing a canary yellow shirt tucked in a khaki pants. He must have felt that you were staring at him because he looked at your direction. You smiled at him and he smiled back then mouthed, "I have a boyfriend."

The second guy had a pale skin with a more feminine style but he looked quite unfriendly. He was furiously scribbling on his notebook and he never spared you a glance so you immediately gave up.

Lastly, the girl you laid your eyes on had a sharp jawline and a tattoo on her chest peeking from her slightly opened polo shirt. A tiny girl sat beside her and she gave her a smile. The girl looked around first before pecking the tiny girl's lips. You couldn't help but smile at yourself and be jealous at the same time. It's nice to see someone happy but you couldn't help but wonder when will yours come.

You gave up searching for now so you stood up to return the books you borrowed on their respective shelves.

"Another fruitless day..." you sighed.

The last book you returned belonged at the top layer of the shelf so you had to use a ladder. As you climbed up the stairs, you heard a faint hum you assumed from a man based on the deep, masculine voice. The hum grew louder so you looked down to see who it was and you were surprised to see Jaemin standing between the shelves where you were. He was just as surprised to see you.

"Hey, Jaemin!" 

Nayoung appeared from behind him and she saw both of you staring at each other.

The sight of them together suffocated you so you immediately stepped down the stairs but in your hurry, you missed a step and you slipped. You were still pretty high up and the fall would surely leave minor injuries so you braced yourself for the impact. But instead of the hardwood floor, you were met by a warm and firm body.

You opened your eyes and looked up and saw Jaemin, his arms wrapped securely around your waist. Worry and panic were visible on his face. There were barely any distance between your faces and your bodies were pressed firmly together. His breath was fanning your face and it made you dizzy.

You weren't sure if it was the panic or the close proximity, but you remembered what Giselle told you.

No, you denied. It's impossible. There was no way I like this guy.

"Are you okay?" Jaemin whispered and you nodded. You hated that he had such a great effect on you.

"What's going on here?" you heard a voice from behind Jaemin. You tilted your head a bit and saw Doyoung.

An idea sparked into your mind. But first, you had to get away from Jaemin. You pushed him away and you purposely fell down the floor and clutched your foot. This caused Jaemin and Doyoung to run to you.

"Does it hurt?" Jaemin asked you worriedly but you didn't answer.

"What happened?" Doyoung asked as he tried to come closer to you but Jaemin acted as a barrier between you two.

"I fell down the stairs. I think I hurt my foot," you answered while looking at Doyoung.

"Come on, I'll carry you," Jaemin said and was about to pick you up but you reached for Doyoung's shoulder.

Jaemin realized that his presence was unwanted, so even if it was against his will, he backed off and let Doyoung pick you up.

"We'll go to the clinic. If you couldn't walk for now, I'll let you go home. I will let your professors know what happened," Doyoung said in his authoritative voice, acting like a responsible senior once again.

It didn't bother you like it used to. You didn't feel nervous like before. There were no happy little dances in your head anymore. You wondered why, but you rejected the first thought that came into your mind.

The possibility that you liked someone else now this time.

As Doyoung walked away while carrying you, you stole a glance at Nayoung and she was staring at you and Doyoung.

God, I hope this time it works.

You were busy looking at her that you didn't notice the pain and jealousy that flashed across Jaemin's face as he had no choice but to watch you disappear in somebody's arms.