"Oh! Jangjun! Chaejung!" Jaeseok noticed to two and walked to them with his girlfriend.
"Hi Jaeseok hyung, hi Ryu noona." Jangjun greeted cheerfully but Jaeseok's girlfriend, Ryu, hits Jangjun on the head.
"I'm just one year older." She said.
"Ryu, this is Chaejung. Chaejung, this is Song Ryu, my girlfriend." Jaeseok introduced with a warm smile on his face.
"Nice to meet you." Chaejung bowed, still a bit surprised.
"You must be questioning why when some of us have girlfriends they don't help us like how you guys did." Jangjun said to Chaejung.
"Yeah," Chaejung nodded, "I was about to question that."
"Actually, before Jaeseok and I started dating, I was still helping the boys like what you guys did. But after the two of us started dating, we became the production team." Ryu answered.
"We don't spend as much time with all the boys like we do before, but we're still kind of helping. You guys don't need to know for now." She continued.
"Wow, its the first time Ryu actually admitted that she's my girlfriend in front of the public." Jaeseok said.
"Shut up, will you." Ryu rolled her eyes, Jaeseok grinned and placed his arm around her shoulder.
"By the way, how are the trainings?" Jangjun and Chaejung exchanged looks as Jaeseok asked.
"They're... going well I guess." Jangjun hesitantly replied.
"No doubt, they did nothing." Ryu said right away. She seem to know that they have trainings.
"Wow, how did you know?" Chaejung asked.
"I had trainings too, for 2 weeks and my partner was Jaeseok. On our first training we went to a restaurant." Ryu answered.
"Okay then we'll be honest, I went to Chaejung's home and played video games." Jangjun said.
"Really? Her house?" Ryu widened her eyes while Jaeseok smirked.
"Don't think wrong. My house is right here." Chaejung said, pointing at the floor since she's standing right in front of the store.
"Wow, this store is huge... will we find what we want in there?" Ryu asked curiously.
"What are you guys looking for? We actually have quite a lot of stuff in there." Chaejung answered.
"Ryu and I are planning to have matching phones and phone cases." Jaeseok said, looking at Ryu sweetly but ended up getting hit in the face.
"Wah~" Jangjun and Chaejung said.
"Oh, Chaejung! These are your friends right? Come in! We can give you guys a discount!" Chaejung's parents walked by and heard them.
"Mom! Dad!" Chaejung felt a bit embarrassed.
Instead of rejecting, Jaeseok bowed at them. "That's really generous of you, thank you."
"Chaejung, show them around. Tell us when they need something." After saying that, her parents went back inside.
"Ugh..." Chaejung sighed.
"Your parents are really nice and friendly." Ryu said.
"Really? I guess so..." Chaejung said, and they started walking around the store.
Within a while, Jaeseok and Ryu found the type of phone they wanted to get.
"Are there any special phone cases?" Ryu asked.
"The ones for couples." Jaeseok added playfully and got hit by Ryu again.
"Ahh!! Couple phone cases? We have some really special limited ones here on discount, only 2 types left." Suddenly, Chaejung's mom appeared, starting to take something out from a box behind her.
"Here." The shop owner showed 2 different boxes to the 4 teenagers.
"Woah!!!!" The couple's eyes sparkled as they say the pretty phone cases through the transparent box.
"It's so nice..." Jangjun said.
"I heard that it would bring good fortune to the couple's who bought it-"
"Mom! Stop with the gossip!" Chaejung frowned.
"Even if it's not true we'll still buy it, along with the phones we chose just now." Jaeseok said with a smile, picking up one if the boxes after exchanging looks with Ryu.
"Okay! Come with me." Chaejung's mother smiled widely, Jaeseok, Ryu and Chaejung's mother left to the counter.
Jangjun and Chaejung were left alone.
"Yah, you have been staring at this for ages, do you really want it?" Jangjun looked up after Chaejung spoke.
"Uh, I... yeah. But it's a couple phone case so..." Jangjun replied with a smile.
"I really like this phone case too." Chaejung cuts him off. Jangjun looked at her in shock.
"So..."
"Ignore the gossip my mom just told, should we use it...together?"
-----------------
"It's all your fault." Jaein mumbled, sitting outside the door. Jibeom stood a distance away, crossing his arms while leaning on the wall.
"If you didn't complain we wouldn't end up like this." He said.
"If you weren't so loud I wouldn't have complained." She replied, glaring at him.
"If you weren't laughing so loudly I wouldn't have changed the volume." Jibeom groaned.
Then both of them sighed.
"That's it, I'm going home." Jibeom was about to leave, but he wasn't going home. He didn't even have the keys.
"Good for you. Now I got no home." Jaein replied sarcastically.
"Suits you." He rolled his eyes and walked away.
Jaein sighed, and walked the opposite direction, wanting to go to the playground.
But they forgot, their neighborhood is weirdly, a circle.
When Jaein arrived, she saw an ice cream truck stopping by, but there weren't any kids because it was late and there was still school the next day.
She glanced at her pocket which still had some money left, and she walked there to get some ice cream.
On the other hand, Jibeom sat on one of the swings, quietly eating ice cream on his own.
"Am I really supposed to leave that stupid girl outside the house... like I can go home and she couldn't... am I being too cruel-" Jibeom is talking to himself, but he got startled when someone sat down on the swing next to him.
"Fought with someone?" It's a girl.
"Who are you?" Jibeom asked, looking at her.
"My name is Rico. Noh Rico. What's your name?" The girl answered.
"Kim Jibeom." He replied.
"What happened?" She asked, referring to what he was talking about.
The boy didn't say anything for a moment, thinking that why would a stranger suddenly ask him about this. But then he decided it wouldn't matter to tell her if she was just being curious.
It's not like she's going to do anything, he thought.
"Nothing," he shrugged, "just fought with someone, got locked outside the house, can't go back unless we stop fighting... that's it."
"That's it?" Rico laughed, "but you can't go home now."
Jibeom laughed a bit as well, but he didn't say anything.
Suddenly, Rico leaned closer to take a look at his face. "You? Fighting with a girl? You don't look like the type to do so."
The boy leaned backwards, a bit shocked. "You barely even know me." He replied.
She grinned, "hopefully I will get to know you. You're quite interesting."
"D-don't come close to me... you're scaring me," Jibeom stuttered.
Rico finally turned her gaze away from him to the sky.
"You barely even know me," she replied softly, an unreadable smile on her face.
Jibeom stared at her for a while after she fell silent.
"I... didn't mean what I just said..." he spoke, "sorry if I hurt you by accident."
Rico looked back at him and they made eye contact. She let out a quiet chuckle, which somehow made Jibeom flustered.
"Seems like you really aren't the type to fight with girls, or I guess anyone in general." She smiled. The boy didn't respond.
"Tell me your story." She said.
Jibeom briefly told her how he and Jaein started fighting, but not as detailed as what he told Joochan.
After he finished, Rico nodded silently, thinking about it.
"You weren't acting like yourself." Her response was simple but unexpected.
Jibeom felt confused. "What?"
"You didn't intend to hurt her, but you did." She explained, "now you're just refusing to be sorry that you hurt her because you wanted to let her know she's not doing the right thing. You don't want to be the only person who's wrong in this fight."
He slowly nodded, agreeing to what she said.
"It's about your pride and the courage, and hoping that she can understand why you're acting this way..." Rico pouted her lips as she started thinking again.
"I think I should try to help you!" She exclaimed.
"Helping me?! I don't need your help." Jibeom answered, shocked by her sudden idea.
"Look, Jibeom. This fight can be resolved if only we make a change. You can do this." Rico looked determined.
"You haven't even met her yet." He sighed in frustration.
At this moment, someone walked to them. It was Jaein.
She looked puzzled when she saw Jibeom with another girl she never saw before. And she cleared her throat to say what she had to say.
"Our parents called. They told us to go back now and if we fight again they'll take away our phones." She said quietly, looking at Jibeom, before slightly nodded her head at Rico and walking away.
"Oh, so that's her." Rico nodded.
"You won't be able to help us." Jibeom said as he finally stood up from the swing. "It's not like we'll meet each other again after today ."
The girl smiled in response as she stood up as well. "You'll never know."
"I believe this won't be the last time we meet each other."
---------------
"Donghyun oppa... you called again." Arim picked up the call and said quietly.
"Yeah... I wanted to check if you're okay or not." The atmosphere had been awkward ever since Donghyun told her he has a girlfriend.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Arim sighed.
"But you seem sad."
"I'm not!"
Donghyun didn't reply. Arim realized her attitude towards him has changed.
"Maybe I am, at the fact that you told me nothing about it until now..."
"Let's meet up." Donghyun said.
"But it's late." Arim didn't want to meet him.
"We need to talk. Now." Even Donghyun's attitude has changed. Before, he would ask for her opinion first and let her decide everything.
"Okay..."
Arim felt like she's about to cry after she ended the call. She unwillingly put on her jacket, puts on her shoes and went out.
She walked slowly, even slower than a snail. According to what Arim knew about Donghyun and his personality, he would let her meet his girlfriend. Arim wasn't ready.
"Arim." Arim was startled when she found Bomin standing in front of her.
"Bomin?" She asked.
"Yeah, it's me..." He replied, "where are you going?"
"To meet Donghyun... and his girlfriend." Arim answered quietly.
"Ah, you know already..." Bomin said and she nodded.
"Don't worry, Minah is really nice." Bomin explained. Arim didn't speak.
"Do you want me to come with you? I have lots of free time." Bomin smiled, and Arim slowly nodded. They started walking to where they're supposed to meet up.
They arrived, and Donghyun already stood there with his girlfriend.
"She's here. Oh Bomin! Why are you here too?" Donghyun said to his girlfriend Minah, who looked excited at their arrival.
"Hello Donghyun hyung, hello Minah. I just saw Arim and came along." Bomin smiled widely.
"So this is your best friend you're talking about? She's pretty!" Minah exclaimed, making Arim look down in embarrassment.
"Arim, this is Lim Minah, my girlfriend. Minah, this is Arim, my best friend since childhood." Donghyun explained.
"Nice to meet you." Arim said carefully.
"Nice to meet you too." Minah smiled.
"Minah studied abroad for quite a while, but now that she came back, she can come and help us all the time." Donghyun smiled and said.
"Help... as in like what we're doing now?" Arim asked.
"No, a different type. Production team." Minah answered.
"Maybe you'll become one of them soon, Arim." Bomin grinned.
"How?" Arim questioned.
"You'd become part of the production team as soon as you started dating one of us." Arim's face turned red at Bomin's words.
"O-oh."
"Are you training with Bomin?" Minah suddenly questioned.
"Yeah, why?" Arim replied, the other girl slightly widened her eyes at Bomin.
"I'd say Bomin is a little inexperienced at things so it's unexpected that he'd be training you." Minah replied.
"Did you have any trainings?" Arim asked.
"Yes. For the first week I came here, my partner was Seungmin. But then I pissed him off and got Donghyun as my partner instead." Minah said, and everyone laughed.
"She's better than I thought. She deserved Donghyun more than I do." Arim was smiling the whole time when talking with them, but her thoughts and feelings were complicated.