It was almost 6:00 PM when you and the group decided to go home. You were quiet the whole time and you were thankful that nobody noticed it because Haechan did a good job filling in the conversation.

Or so you thought.

Jaemin had been stealing glances at you the whole time, he was an expert at it and you didn't catch him, not even once. He knew that something was bothering you. It was obvious that your mind was wandering somewhere, you had been staring at his empty cup the whole time while heaving a deep sigh.

He wanted to know what's on your mind but it would forever remain a mystery to him because he didn't have the guts to ask you. And why would he? After all, you're a stranger to him.

You left the cafe and everyone bid each other goodbye. Jisung was right, Chenle did own a Tesla and you're sure that cost a lot of fortune, probably more than enough to cover your tuition and other fees for four semesters.

"(Name), don't forget our meeting on Saturday. Don't be late, okay?" Chenle reminded you.

"That's right! The president hates latecomers, so I'll be sleeping in his house," Jisung said.

"Who said you're allowed to have a sleepover? I'm gonna beat your ass if you're late," he told Jisung before turning to all of you. "Bye guys! Doyoung hyung, I'll transfer my payment to your account later."

Doyoung didn't have a time to reply when the expensive car sped away, leaving the seven of you.

Mark, Haechan, and Renjun happened to live in the same neighborhood so they all walked together to the train station. All that's left now was you, Doyoung, Jaemin and Jeno. A cold gust of wind blew past and you shivered under the thin fabric of your clothes. You didn't expect to be outside at this hour so you didn't bring your jacket.

Doyoung noticed it, but he wasn't the only one who did. Jaemin had been staring at you like a hawk, and Jeno was stiffling a laughter.

His best friend was willing to move to the furthest part of the globe just to stay away from you and yet he was quick to notice everything about you.

"Are you cold?" Doyoung asked.

"It's okay," you said. "I live nearby so—"

Someone gently put a jacket over you. It was a rather rash gesture but his hands were light. Jaemin stood between you and Doyoung, his eyes glued on you as he fixed the jacket to cover your neck and arms.

That was the first time Jaemin approached you.

Jaemin wasn't sure if it was because of the caffeine that made him act out of character. Or maybe it was his instincts to protect you kicking in.

"I'll drive you home. It's warm in my car, being out in the cold for too long will make you sick," he said in his deep voice.

"What about me?" Doyoung asked.

Jaemin clicked his tongue, the effects of coffee wearing out. He no longer had the upbeat attitude earlier which he mostly spent annoying Jisung. "I'll give you a ride, for the treat earlier." It was against his will, but you were looking.

The four of you walked together to his car. Your jaw dropped when you saw a shiny black car parked near the sidewalk. Your knowledge about cars was limited, but you knew it's expensive when you see one. His car definitely belonged to a million dollar brand you see on magazines. You had no idea that Jaemin was filthy rich. You used to feel bad when you ask him to buy you marshmallows before, but now, he could buy the whole factory.

"What are you looking at? The door will not automatically open for you," Jaemin said and that's when you gathered your wits. Beside you, Doyoung was shocked himself. Jaemin sat on the driver's seat, Jeno filling the seat beside him. You and Doyoung sat together on the backseat, admiring the car's interior.

Instinctively, you huddled closer to the warmest thing which was Doyoung when you felt the coldness inside. Jaemin quickly turned on the heater for you and you scooted away from Doyoung as you felt the comfortable heat warm your body.

"Sorry about that," you apologized to Doyoung.

"It's okay, don't sweat it," Doyoung replied and gave you a comforting smile.

Jaemin rolled his eyes as he started the engine, Jeno obviously amused at the range of emotions his best friend was displaying. It was a rare sight to see Jaemin so agitated, and to think it was because of you, his childhood friend whom he vowed to stay away from.

She said sorry to him but didn't thank me? Jaemin sulked silently. Her brain must be malfunctioning.

"(Name), where do you live?" Jeno asked, voluntarily starting a small conversation.

"I currently live in SMRG dorm," you replied. "It's a walking distance from NeoU."

In front of you, someone was highly unimpressed as to why you keep your guard down so easily.

"Do you usually reveal your personal information to strangers?" Jaemin asked you menacingly.

"You and Jeno are literally my classmates, Doyoung is my senior. We're not strangers here. It's not as if I revealed my room number or anything," you replied.

"We're still men. Don't trust people that easily, anyone can use your information against you so don't go around revealing them to whoever asked."

You were puzzled by his behaviour. He was so confusing and you hated the fact that he's unpredictable. He was suddenly being talkative and protective, and next he was sitting there in silence. It's like riding a rollercoaster but you never knew which turn would it take, or if it would plummet down or travel up.

"Relax, Jaemin. I know that you're only concerned about (Name)'s well-being but it's up to you how you're going to use that piece of information. As for me, I will continue to make her feel safe and secure, as her senior."

"You sure do cover a lot of tasks as our senior," Jaemin said and you hinted a sarcasm in his voice. "Why don't you apply as my bodyguard?"

Doyoung thought hard, missing the hint of sarcasm in Jaemin's statement. "Does that job pay good? I kind of needed the money after that spawn of the devil Lee Haechan wiped out my bank account."

"I'll pay you back, later," you said. "I told you that I will treat but you ended up paying instead."

You and Doyoung bickered while Jaemin irritatingly glanced at you from the rearview mirror, wondering if you really had a junior-senior relationship with Doyoung, or something more. If he could have a say on it, he wouldn't approve of Doyoung for you.

That man loves to act like some superhero. He will most probably prioritize somebody over you, he thought.

The car arrived in front of SMRG dorm. Doyoung insisted to be dropped off there as well, much to Jaemin's dismay. He wanted to know where he lived so he could storm there and kill him if he ever hurt you. Doyoung opened the car door for you, earning a pleasant smile which Jaemin had never seen before.

Don't tell me she likes him?! he screamed in his head. He ripped his seatbelt off and opened the door, catching you giving Doyoung a wave of goodbye.

"Hey, Jaemin! Where are—" Jaemin didn't let Jeno finish when Jaemin slammed the door close, startling you.

"What the! You surprised me!" you said, clutching your chest.

That's the whole point, he said to himself. He flicked his head to the side as his tongue glide visibly inside the corners of his mouth in annoyance.

"Aren't you at least going to thank me for driving you here?" Jaemin asked coldly. He was annoyed when Doyoung stepped in front of you.

"You're the one who offered her a ride. The only person who should thank you is me. Thank you, Na Jaemin. I hope we'll get closer in a few weeks," Doyoung said sincerely but it only passed by Jaemin's ears as he was still looking at you.

This girl has such low standards, he dissed you.

"Thank you, Jaemin," you told him, moving away from Doyoung who's blocking you. "Here's your jacket by the way, thank you again." You were about to unwrap his jacket on your shoulders when he spoke.

"Keep it. I don't need that anymore," he said. "You better get inside, it's getting cold."

"Yes, of course," you turned to face Doyoung. "Thanks for helping me today, Doyoung. Goodbye! See you!" you said and smiled widely before waving goodbye. You ran towards Jaemin's car to bid Jeno goodbye before running back inside the dorm.

Jaemin was waiting for you to say goodbye to him, but you passed by him like he was invisible. He followed your retreating form, a look of confusion in his face.

Little did he know that you did that on purpose.

Outside, Doyoung and Jaemin were having a staring contest. Doyoung was trying to decipher what's going on inside Jaemin's head and Jaemin was shamelessly glaring at his senior.

"So, um, I gotta go," Doyoung finally said but Jaemin was far from letting him go right away.

"Do you like, (Name)?" Jaemin asked.

"Yes, I do like her. She's a very nice student, not to mention responsible. I must say she's one of my favorite juniors," Doyoung answered truthfully but it wasn't enough to appease Jaemin.

"You know what I'm talking about," he said through gritted teeth. Doyoung furrowed his brows, confused. "Do you like (Name) as a woman?"

Doyoung's face cleared in realization. "No, I don't like her that way. I only see her as my junior, besides, we only met three days ago, we don't know each other that well!"

See, I told you. This man just loves acting like a superhero taking care of his juniors, Jaemin thought, satisfied by the fact that he was right. He smirked and turned around, entered his car leaving Doyoung puzzled and speechless by Jaemin's question.

"Does he like her?" Doyoung asked himself as he stared at the building where you were sharing every bits of what happened to Giselle.

In the car, Jaemin was forced to face Jeno's endless torture.

"I thought you're going to stay away from her? You're the one who approached her today. You even confronted Doyoung sunbae," Jeno taunted and Jaemin clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I'm just looking out for that dumbass! Doyoung is not good for her, I can feel it," Jaemin answered. Though he refused to say it, he still feel protective over you after nine years.

"Why go that far though? And who are you in her life to decide which person is good for her?" Jeno asked. "Why don't you just try to stop your facade and admit to (Name) that you remember her? It will make things easier for you."

"And risk being asked why I left without a word? No thanks."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to lie to her."

"You're lying to her right now."

Jaemin let out an exasperated sigh as he watched the road ahead of him. "It's different, Jeno. I'm not yet ready to tell her."

Jeno gave up and looked outside the window. "She'll probably get hurt if she finds out that her childhood friend is underestimating her ability to understand her friend's situation."

Jaemin didn't answer. He must protect himself no matter what, even if it meant lying to you about his memory. That's the only way left for him because he knew too well that you could crack him like a mystery once you set your heart to it.

Saturday came, and you spent the rest of the day yesterday thinking about what you should do for the group task in Art History.

You got dressed in a pastel yellow blouse and black trousers, fixing your hair so it wouldn't look like an absolute mess before sliding your feet into your sneakers.

"Men have been asking you out on a lot of dates, huh? And we're still in the first week," Giselle teased.

"I told you it's a group project!"

"With Chenle and Jisung? Dang girl you're so good."

"That's not what it's like!"

"Good at art I mean. I saw your sketches last night," Giselle said while feigning innocence. You simply rolled your eyes.

"Make sure you don't skip meals, okay? I'll throw away your stash of junk food if I find out you didn't anything."

"Fine! Just don't throw away my snacks," she said and smiled sheepishly at you. You bid each other goodbye and you ventured outside where you hailed a cab and stated Chenle's address.

When Jisung said that Chenle's house belonged in a rich neighborhood, he wasn't kidding.

You dialed Chenle's number because the guard wouldn't let you in unless you were an authorized visitor. Taking shelter under the shade of the nearest tree, you waited for him to answer. It's no surprise that the security was tight since rich people live there.

After a few tries, Chenle finally answered. The first thing you heard was the noisy background. You heard inhuman cries and screams followed by boisterous laughters.

"What's happening there?" you asked.

"Where are you? You're late."

"The guard will not let me in unless you tell him so. Hurry up, it's hot in here."

"Okay, stay where you are. I'll pick you up."

He hung up the call and you stared at the black screen incredulously. He didn't even answer why there were people screaming in the background. You silently wished that he didn't throw a party today because that would me that you'd do the task alone.

After a few minutes of waiting, a familiar shiny black car stopped in front of you. You suspiciously kept your eyes on it while maintaining a safe distance, preparing yourself to sprint just in case there were kidnappers inside. However, the driver was far from what you expected.

Jaemin rolled down the window of his car and looked at you. "Get inside."

You were surprised to see him. You walked towards him and leaned on the window.

"Where's Chenle?" you asked.

"Obviously not here," he answered sarcastically.

"He was supposed to pick me up, that's why I'm asking."

"If you don't want to get inside then I'll go back and tell him to personally pick you up," Jaemin said nonchalantly. You had no choice but to get inside his expensive car. You occupied the passenger's seat and the smell of his expensive perfume loomed in the air, intoxicating you. This was the second time you've been in his car.

"Why did you go instead of him?" you asked and glanced at Jaemin whose eyes were focused on the road.

"I lost in a game and this is the punishment."

"Wait, don't tell me you were the one I heard screaming earlier?"

"That was Haechan. Jeno and Renjun were beating him up because he was cheating. Well-deserved," Jaemin answered. A mischievous smirk played across his lips but he immediately erased it when he saw you looking.

Inside your head, you were panicking. It was hard enough to have Chenle and Jisung as groupmates because they're always distracted, what more if he invited chaotic people over. Especially, Haechan. He alone could drive someone to the brink of insanity.

As you were having a mental breakdown, Jaemin noticed your silent dilema.

"What is it?" he asked before he could even stop himself.

He's breaking his own rules. He's playing with fire by talking to you.

"Nothing," you answered but your hand automatically went to your mouth to nibble on your nails, a habit when you're feeling an overwhelming negative emotion.

Jaemin removed one of his hand gripping the steering wheel to hold your hand and stop you. You were surprised by the sudden skin contact, and so was he. You only knew one person who would do that to you.

"Nana..." you whispered under your breath.

"What are you looking at? We're already outside Chenle's house," Jaemin said as he took off his seatbelt and got out of the car. You were left there wondering what just happened, if he really did stop you from your habit and held your hand. Everything happened so fast that you weren't able to digest every detail.

With a defeated sigh, you took off your seatbelt before following Jaemin inside Chenle's grand house.

The exterior was an architecture of a chinese traditional house mixed with modern architecture. You thought at first that it was impossible to do so but the architect did a great job. As you entered the tall gate, you could hear the screams and laughters emanating from the house.

"These kids have so much energy," Jaemin muttered under his breath as he untied the laces of his shoes.

"Your old age can't keep up," you teased him even though you're not sure if you should.

I'm testing the waters, I suppose, you thought to yourself.

Jaemin scoffed at you, unimpressed. "You look older than all of us here."

"How dare you!"

You were flaring with anger but you couldn't say something mean to him because he already entered the house, leaving you fumbling on your shoes. There was a playful smirk across his lips as he watched you struggle to take off your shoes to run after him.

"(Name)!" Haechan called your name when you stepped inside. He ran towards you and gave you a hug which surprised you. You pushed him right away, still feeling awkward about the contact.

Perhaps after a few weeks, you would warm up.

"I should've expected to see you here. Wherever you are, there's always chaos."

You rolled your eyes at him as you watch the riot before you. Mark was laughing hysterically, Chenle was screaming and laughing like a dolphin, while Jisung was about to cry.

"Don't cry! Don't cry!" Renjun chanted and everybody joined in, making Jisung feel even worse. You had no idea what was going on but it was surely driving you insane like them.

You dragged Chenle and Jisung away from the mess so the three of you could begin the task. Chenle brought you to the second floor veranda overlooking the houses. It wasn't the ideal view you would like to see but it was preferrable than the chaos outside.

You discussed the ideas you came up with and they just went along with whatever you wanted. You didn't argue, it was the best you could think of. Thankfully, they were helpful enough to help you do the painting. Though Chenle got stressed over Jisung's clumsiness, knocking the paint over from time to time.

"Let's just ask Renjun to help us," Jisung sighed.

"You lazy ass!" Chenle screamed at him. "You slept in my house last night for this and you wanted to ditch the work? Don't move your ass one inch I'm telling you."

Listening to their argument made you want to smile. You remembered a certain person you used to bicker with a lot. You argue over the most trivial things yet find a way to make up in the weirdest way.

"(Name) is smiling, she probably remembered her boyfriend," Chenle teased and you were suddenly well-aware of the smile dancing in your lips.

"I don't have one. Stop taunting me." You glared at them which made them laugh.

"Are you sure about that? A girlfriend perhaps?" Jisung asked.

"I have neither. Stop divulging into my personal life."

"Okay, if you insist. But since you don't have a boyfriend, let me ask you a question," Chenle said.

You furrowed your eyebrows, "What is it?"

"Among the seven of us, who do you think is the most handsome?" he asked.

You stopped in your tracks, unable to answer. Was that even a sane question? Of course all of them are gorgeous! They wouldn't become famous in NeoU instantly if they weren't. You contemplated for a while if you should answer the question or not. Mentioning one name would make this two go ballistic and create unrealistic rumors.

You went for the most obvious choice.

"Doyoung," you answered.

Outside, a black-haired boy was leaning on the wall, listening to the conversation. More like looking after you.

"I said among the seven of us!"

"But Doyoung is the most handsome."

"That's not valid!"

"It is, for me!"

He remembered the time when you had a crush on somebody when you were eight, and he was displeased about it.

"(Name), I heard you like my classmate?" an eight-year-old Jaemin confronted you.

You giggled when you heard your crush's name. "Oh, him? Yeah, I do like him. But who told you?"

"Everyone in our grade level knows who your crush is! They're teasing you and him nonstop, it's so irritating! What did you even like about him? He sleeps in class, can't answer a basic question, flirts with a lot of girls in our class, drools when he sleeps, and I could go on and on just to prove to you why he's not good for you."

"But he's cute!"

Jaemin disappointedly facepalmed as he let out a defeated sigh. Once you liked something, you were beyond reason.

"I will let you have a crush on someone, but if you decided to have a boyfriend, I will snitch you to your father. He said you're not allowed to date until you're forty."

You always have a bad taste in men, Jaemin thought to himself.

"I have a question for you guys. How did the seven of you become close right away? As far as I know, you don't personally know each other."

"We thought that it's a good idea to be friends with one another since everybody was fussing how the campus would explode if the seven of us are friends. So yeah, I'm waiting for that," Jisung explained.

You almost forgot that they also had access to the school page so they probably saw half of the student population thirsting over them. The other half trying to shit on them because they're obviously jealous.

"There should be a group of pretty girls as our counterpart," Haechan emerged out of nowhere. "And I will be the leader of this group because I am the most handsome."

And just like that, the tranquility was broken again.

Peace was never an option if you put the seven of them together.