"Two weeks left, huh? It looks like I have to step up if I really want to win this game against them. Then again, I don't really see them as my opponents or anything. No, that's not the right way to think about this challenge at all. It's more like I'm up against myself, especially even now I'm still trying to figure out how all of this will end in the best way possible. Come on, Cho Y/N. You got yourself into this predicament, and you're the only one who can get yourself out."
Every single day, these thoughts continue to linger in your mind.
With only a couple of weeks left before the fateful day, you know that you have to correctly deduce which one among the five of them is the one who has genuine feelings towards you.
So far, doing that still seems impossible, as none of them has given you a clear hint about how they truly feel about you. Instead, all they did was to say to you how much they value you as a person, and as their friend. Each of them served as a reminder that the kindness you showed them can indeed go a long way, for you had gained not only their trust, but also their support should you ever need their help in the future.
For this reason alone, you are happy that you did the right thing.
However, with trust comes commitment, and the time when you will dedicate yourself to one of them more than you do for the others draws near.
You can only hope that whichever your choice will be in the end, it will be the right one.
With such uncertainties bothering you to no end, you wished that your school days would continue to be as normal as possible. But the problem is that whenever you find yourself in the middle of a dilemma, unexpected moments happen as well.
For some reason, these two things always happen at the same time, almost as if fate itself enjoys teasing you in the most uncomfortable method possible.
But for once, you were glad that this unexpected event had happened, for you will have one less thing to worry about. It's all thanks to two people who are always there to serve as your pillar of support whenever you are worried about something. And this time, their timing couldn't be any more perfect.
After going on about the usual morning filled with lectures and typical subject discussions, you found yourself joined by your two friends, Jungwon and Sunghoon, who wanted to speak to you during lunchtime.
Judging from how serious they looked when they approached you in the classroom this morning, it seems as if they want to tell you something important.
It turns out your gut instincts were right to assume that, though you felt relieved the moment Jungwon told you about it, and Sunghoon gave you an understanding look afterwards.
"I see. So that's what you guys wanted to talk to me about. To be honest, it's okay. I'm not even mad about you telling him that, Jungwon-ah. If anything, I actually agree with your decision, so there's no reason for me to be upset to either of you."
"Really? Well I'm so glad to hear you say that, Y/N. I was really tense about telling you the truth that I did something without your approval, but now I can rest easy knowing that I did the right thing."
"That you did. I myself don't even know what I should do whether we should share this secret game I have with Yujin and the others besides ourselves, but now that Sunghoon's a part of our little group, then it's only right for him to know about it too."
"Yeah I agree. Still, I guess you could think of this as a little payback for you secretly helping Ryujin without my knowledge, haha."
"Right. Either way, it all worked out for both of us, so it's not exactly a payback."
"I guess not. You see, Sunghoon-ah? All's well that ends well, right?"
However, neither you nor Jungwon heard a reply from him, all because he was busy looking at the wonderful lunch set that you have.
"Your food looks so appetizing, Y/N. Not only that, the container looks so.....feminine as well. Tell me, where did you purchase that? I have to know." He begged, with you thinking that you might as well admit who you got it from.
"Oh. Well this lunch isn't something you can find and buy anywhere, Sunghoon. To tell you the truth, this was actually made for me by Rei this morning."
Sure enough, Sunghoon was baffled by what you told him, as he couldn't believe that you are receiving free lunches from one of your school's most talented cooks.
"No way! Are you telling me that you always eat something that's prepared by Naoi Rei, the Cooking Club's ace, all the time? That's not fair!" He asked in a somewhat aggressive tone, scaring you a little.
"Not all the time, pabo! Besides, I never obliged her to do so, and Rei herself is the one taking the initiative to make something for me when she feels like it. Jungwon-ah, back me up on this one, please?"
"What he told you was true, Sunghoon-ah. That said, he's got a reason to feel a little jealous, Y/N. I'm sure you're well aware of Rei-ssi's popularity here, correct? Well that coupled with her natural talent for making good food makes her the ideal girlfriend for many here. A good number of them would do anything for a chance to taste something that she made, and that's the truth. So if I were you, I'd count my blessings that you have this chance almost every day. Now that we're on the subject, I hope you won't mind me taking a bit of that okonomiyaki."
"Sure, go ahead. Here, have some as well, Sunghoon." You offered, causing him to stare at you in awe.
"F-for real? Y-you're letting me share that with you, Y/N?"
"Why, of course. I mean, why wouldn't I? It's better for me to share this with the two of you since-"
But you weren't able to finish your words when you saw him grabbing a modest portion of your meal, making you chuckle a bit. As expected, his reaction was hilarious to watch.
"Ahh, never did I think that this chance would come to me. This is really good. Having tasted this, I can die without any regrets. I finally grasped the reason why so many of us admire her so much, and I'll admit I'm starting to feel the same. Now I'm even more jealous of you because of this, Y/N. But despite that, I'm really glad that I became friends with the two of you." He said, making Jungwon laugh.
"Haha, well you should be! Seriously though, I never thought that the three of us would be able to laugh like this together while enjoying a meal. I guess we could say that a lot had changed for the better."
"I agree with you on that. Having you two keeps the pressure off my back from all the constant thinking that I do about the game, even by just a little." You told them.
"Glad to hear it. Then I suppose now would be the perfect time for us to help you out now that we have some time in our hands. Wouldn't you agree, Jungwon-ah?" Sunghoon asked him.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. But admittedly, we don't really know what else we can do to assist you Y/N, apart from what Sunghoon and I came up with just a few days ago."
"Oh, did you now? At this point, I don't mind that at all, for I can use all the help I can get. Would you mind telling me about that idea of yours then?"
"Sure, but I'll let Sunghoon here do the honors, since he's the one who came up with most of it."
"Fine by me. Well Y/N, there's nothing really special about this, but what we need to do is to make a "special assessment" about each of them, then see if we can find any clues about their feelings. What do you say?"
"A special assessment? What exactly do you mean by that?"
"What we meant is for you to share with us what you know about them as your friends, along with how you interacted with them these past few months and vice versa, ever since the game started. Who knows, maybe we can find something that can surely help you figure out the mystery girl who still remains elusive towards you." Jungwon explained, making you think that their suggestion might be a good plan after all.
"All right, then let's do it. Mind you, we only have a little over thirty minutes left before afternoon classes start, so we have to be quick and make the most out of the time that we have. But where do I begin? Well, since we're talking about Rei earlier, then I might as well start with her then."
The next twenty minutes were then spent with you sharing to them all that had happened to you since the game began. In return, they both listened attentively to your words, including the little "twist" that occurred to you during the school trip with Hyunseo. Even so, neither of them were able to provide you with any meaningful insight, as they too, had realized the difficulty that you are facing when it comes to making your final decision.
"Crap, I can't think of anything at all. They're really good at masking their feelings, I'll give them that. But I can at least tell you what I think. Based on everything you told me, I bet that your mystery girl is none other than Jiwon-ssi. Something about her crying beside you while you were all alone together on that date suggests something, more so since we all know how it's completely different from how all of us here at school see her." Jungwon suggested.
"You have a point there Jungwon-ah, but I respectfully disagree. I still think it's Wonyoung-ssi. This may sound a bit creepy at first, but all those chances that I have observing her proves that she might be the one. I can confidently say that her feelings towards you are sincere at best, Y/N. That and I hope that you didn't forget everything I told you about her during that talk we had back in Okinawa. I meant every word I said, and believe me, the only time I see her look so genuinely happy was whenever she's with you." Sunghoon said, and you feel convinced enough about what he had just said.
"Looks like you're really confident about it, Sunghoon-ah. Want to make a bet? Whoever loses has to do what the winner tells them to do as a favor. What do you say?" Jungwon challenged him from out of nowhere, surprising you.
"Hmm, that sounds interesting. I had already thought about the kind of penalty that I will do to you once I win, and it's going to be downright embarrassing. Knowing that, do you still want to risk it?"
"Oho, I never back down from a challenge, which I'm sure you know. Fine then, I hope you're ready to lose." Jungwon threatened, and the two of them suddenly began smirking at each other, an obvious sign that they are feeling confident about their bet.
"Seriously? I thought you guys were here to help me, and then a few minutes later, you're having a game of your own?" You asked, feeling somewhat annoyed by the outcome of your conversation with them.
"It's just for fun, Y/N. If we both lose, then you're free to exact penalties for each of us too. That would be fair, right?"
"Yup. You can go ahead and punish us if we're both wrong, Y/N."
"Aish, fine. I just don't know what to do with you two anymore. Let's just head back inside. Our afternoon classes are about to start."
With that, your lunch period with your two friends ended in a very strange but optimistic way, and you expect that it's going to be the only interesting moment that will happen for today.
But once again, you're wrong to assume so. Still, perhaps you've already gotten used to things happening one after the other, to the point when it can be considered as nothing out of the ordinary, at least when it comes to you.
Just outside your classroom, you noticed a very familiar girl waiting for you, and she looked as if she's irritated about something.
Curious as to why she's feeling that way, you opted to try and talk to her. But before you can do so, she immediately grabs your hand before she starts walking with you at a quick pace.
"W-where are we going, Yujin-ah? Is something wrong?"
"I'll answer that question once we're there, Y/N. For now, just follow me."