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Jisoo grabs the back of her head and tries to deepen the kiss but Sorn struggles quickly and pushes him away. Soon after, her palm hits his face quite hardly. He stumbles infront of her as she wipes her mouth with the back of her right hand and looks enraged.

"Why did you kiss me?!" Sorn shouts at him.

"I can't accept this Sorn. I'm sorry," Jisoo replies, lifting his head and wears a solemn face with teary eyes.

But Sorn is furious at him, "I can't believe you."

"I'm sorry, you should've just rejected me from the start."

"I hate you. I can't believe you're doing this!"

"Sorn please..."

He slowly approaches her but she takes a step back. He tries to reach her but she brushes it away. He pursues her, trying to get a hold of her, but she deliberately drives him away.

"Sorn, I'm in love with you!" he hollers at her.

They both stare at each other fiercely now. Both aggravated, hurt and distressed. Jisoo is so distraught to the point that he can't think straight anymore. All he wants is to hold her and never let her go. While Sorn is plain angry at the way he's reacting to this. She doesn't expect him to be like this. She realizes now that she really doesn't know anything about him.

"Who are you? I don't know even know you anymore," she utters.

That hits him, right on the spot. He acted too self-centered, that he forgot how he should be treating her. Shortly, she walks away from him but this time, he doesn't bother to go after her. He's beginning to regret the way he behaved infront of her. It was out of character. He was such a jerk. He silently repents on it as he bows to himself. He deserves to lose her after all. After what he's done, he deserves to be rejected.

Unable to witness what happened next, in the silence, Jun has already disappeared into the dark.

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Jun thinks to himself. Is there something wrong with him? Has he done anything wrong to be suffering like this? This is the second time. And it's the second time capturing the same hateful scene in front of his very own eyes. It makes him wanna go nuts. He wants to vent out his anger on someone, on anyone. But that would put him into compromise again, like that time with Jeonghan. He's learned his lesson then so this time, he shuts his door and locks himself in his room. Instead of getting it off on someone, he puts up his sound system on full volume as he screams aloud with the songs he plays.

Outside, his housekeepers and other house helpers are just shocked to hear the thundering sound of music in his room. It's the first time he does this. They all wonder why and they are all just worried.

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Jisoo doesn't like to drink but he calls Jeonghan to accompany him for tonight. They are seated infront of the counter, with the bartender mixing some drinks. But Jisoo isn't here for anything else tonight. He only wants to wash the pain away. Unlike the first time they were here together. That time when he has just started to like her. He called Jeonghan over, who came as early as he could, but he's all quiet now, drowning in his sorrows.

Jeonghan drinks his beer moderately, just purely accompanying him. He has barely had any idea why. However, there can only be one reason anyway. A girl. He glimpses at his friend occasionally, trying to decipher his mood.

"You can come over and hit the drums to relieve stress," Jeonghan offers.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll come by sometime," Jisoo replies.

Jeonghan taps his shoulder lightly and asks, "You okay man?"

It takes a moment before Jisoo responses. That distant, hollow look present in his eyes, "Yeah, I'm good. Don't worry about it."

"Alright. Let's just finish this and go home."

"Sure. Just one more glass and I'll be done."

Jeonghan can only nod. His friend is distressed and he can only accompany him to help soothe his suffering. Lovesickness is really a disease. It's something no one can really cure once infected. And it's a matter of time before it overcomes him too.

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Just like Jun, Sorn locks herself inside her dorm. She hugs a pillow sitting on her bed, resting on the cushion. She can't believe she let him kiss her. She wants to undo it. She wants to erase the feeling he gave her. She cries herself cuz of so much anger. She's mad that she wasn't able to contain his feelings. That she wasn't able to end it with him nicely. In the end, she doesn't want to lose a friend like Jisoo. But it was inevitable. She has to choose. Indulging in her inner conflicts, she cries herself to sleep. But what she doesn't know is the bigger problem she's about to face.

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The next day, Sorn wants to see Jun as soon as she gets to their class. Being with him might relieve her of the stress Jisoo gave her. She walks inside their room and sees him at his seat. She approaches him right away with a smile on her face. She really wants to forget about Jisoo for now. She sits beside him but he doesn't even lift his head to look at her.

"Good morning! Hey, you want to have lunch together?" she cheerfully says.

But he doesn't even budge. He's busy scribbling on his notes with some lyrics for his song with a grumpy face. She notices this and assumes there's something wrong.

"Hey... Jun..." she cuts her words upon the arrival of their professor.

"Alright, notes down. Get ready for a quiz in two minutes," their professor says.

Sorn moves to her seat accordingly but Jun still doesn't even glance at her. It kinda puzzles her. Why is he acting like this? That's the only question she has right now. With a frown, she leaves his side for now.

After that class ends, Sorn wants to talk to Jun but before she can get her things ready, he has already walked out of the room ahead of her. She stares at him as he goes, with the words stuck in her throat. She's getting upset. Why?? If only she can shout that out loud.

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The next days become more complicated. Jun is avoiding her. Sorn is now sure. He hasn't been calling her, he hasn't been talking to her, he hasn't been reaching out to her and he hasn't been looking her in the eyes. There's something wrong, she can feel it. Just when they're finally starting to get to know each other more, it's like their back to being strangers again. But what really happened? She's totally clueless.

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Once and for all, she wants to know why he steers clear from her. It's been five days and he's still ignoring her without even telling her why. After today's class, she will definitely ask him upfront about it. She doesn't want to prolong this. If she did something wrong, he has to tell him and not evade her and give her the cold shoulder all of a sudden. The past few days has been humiliating for her. She talks to him with no response at all. She walks after him only to get left behind. She eats with him but he leaves before her. It's like she's on her own but it's even better if she's really alone. He makes her act like a fool and her patience is on the verge of breaking.

By the end of the class, Jun is fast in walking out of the room. But to his surprise, Sorn is faster today, she's already waiting for him by the door.

"Why are you ignoring me?" she starts.

But he only stares at her, with his piercing eyes.

"I have somewhere to go. If you excuse me," he sneaks away from her.

She can't even stop him so she just walks hurriedly after him. Unfortunately, Jisoo is waiting for her by the lounge. Jun sees Jisoo and it adds to his annoyance. But he doesn't want to confront him just yet. He might not be able to contain his anger if he face him now. He only walks away fast leaving Sorn just a few meters behind him.

"Hey! Jun, hey!" Sorn shouts at him as he hurried away.

But Jun ignores her and because of the crowd, she fails to come after him. And just suddenly, Jisoo pops out infront of her. It takes Sorn aback. She doesn't want to see him now, she hasn't forgiven him for what he did a few days back. And she doesn't intend to just yet.

"Sorn, I need to talk to you," Jisoo tells her.

She gives him a death glare. She passes him and walks away fast but he follows her enthusiastically.

"Sorn, please, just let me explain."

He keeps following her, but she ignores him. She can't believe he'll be this stubborn. She can't believe he'll be this persistent after getting rejected. Where did the softhearted gentleman go? She's totally turned off.

"Sorn-"

"Will you please stop it?" Sorn gently asks.

"I just need to talk to you. Please Sorn," Jisoo pleads.

"Stop following me!" Sorn shouts at him now.

But Jisoo doesn't want to. This is his last attempt. This will be the final time he'll bother her regarding this.

"Sorn please! Let's talk. I promise I won't do anything. Just give me a chance to talk to you! This will be the last time so please!"

With her conscience kicking in, she finally stops. She's mad at him, yes, but maybe she has to hear him out. She stares at him and decides to face him again, head-on.

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Jisoo is sitting infront of Sorn now. She's still mad, it shows all over her face. She also has her arms crossed tightly and she looks at him as if, he's someone unwanted. But he has to win her back, at least the friend he used to be at home with. He starts by standing and bowing 90 degrees infront of her. It breaks her façade automatically. How can she not show him mercy? His whole existence is exuding all remorse.

Still bowing, in his gentle voice, he apologizes, "I'm sorry. I apologize for being rude and for-" he pauses and continues,"-disrespecting you."

Sorn doesn't reply but when Jisoo lifts his head up to face her, he can see that she's a little more relaxed now. And her expression is lighter too even though she's not looking at him. He sits back at his place and continues to apologize.

"I hope we can still be friends."

"It isn't supposed to be this way. If only you were more understanding and open-minded. Like how I thought you'd be," she finally says.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was just taken in by the moment."

She's looking back at him now, "I was only mad because you chose to be stubborn. You knew from that start right?"

He nods at her.

"I'm sorry too," she adds.

It kinda shocks him. What for?

She continues, "I got guilty somehow. Maybe I was leading you on that's why you acted that way. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not supposed to say sorry like this. What would that make me? I was really serious about you. That's the only truth."

Silence. They both know they both did something wrong that's why it ended up the way it did. But they are both willing to make amends and somehow rebuild their fragmented friendship. Although it will be very hard for Jisoo.

"I'm glad you let me talk to you," he says.

Sorn replies, "I just don't want us to be like we had never been friends. I don't want us to forget that we're friends. This and that are two different things."

"Yah, I'm really sorry for doing that."

"Let's just forget about it and treat it as if it never happened."

"Sure."

It'll be easy for Sorn, but Jisoo is thinking otherwise. He has to be the gentleman in front of her, even for the very last time, cuz he knows they won't have a moment like this anymore. He stares at her as she gapes over the glass wall. And suddenly, her eyes widen as if she's shocked. She actually sees Jun just outside the café staring at them and leaving right away. She stands and motions to run after him but she holds back for today. Jisoo gets a glimpse of Jun too and turns to her.

"He probably got the wrong idea," he utters. He gazes at her as if it's the last time he'll ever see her. As if he'll never see her again.

On the other hand, it now occurs to Sorn that Jisoo might somehow be part of the reason why. She really has to talk to him before it all goes out of proportion. Sorn finally decides to just visit his house. If he doesn't want to see her in the campus or at their hangout places, she will meet him at his place whether he likes it or not.

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To be continued...

(16.08.23)