"I think Bambam dislike Chaeyoung."
Jihyo had come to hang out with me; the principal had given us a holiday after the Annual's Day. We were cooking ramyeon in the kitchen.
"I noticed that" Jihyo said.
"Why particularly her? Am I too obvious that I like her?" I gaped at her.
She paused, thinking. "You are obvious to me because I know you like her. But to someone who doesn't know that fact you two just seem like really close friends especially since both of you are girls."
"Bambam's behaviour changes when Chaeyoung is around. Why could that be if I'm not obvious?"
"Maybe he can sense something? After all he loves you. Admit it Mina, you're not innocent. You like two persons at the same time 'in that way'. I wish you could stick to only one. You're making things complicated for yourself."
"Yes, it's already complicated. I can't stop what I feel for them."
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School went back to its normal boring routines after the eventful week. Teachers were grinding us to complete the syllabi. Finals were getting closer and closer.
Before the semester ended our dance club had a meeting. Seulgi unnie would graduate and next semester the club wouldn't have a president so we were gonna elect one now. We were waiting for the meeting to commence.
"They were so cute!" Sana unnie giggled.
"Like little puppies" Momo unnie said. "I will love to hang out with them again."
Who are they talking about?
"Don't you dare plan to see them again alone! Take me with you" Sana unnie warned.
"Who are you two talking about?" I asked them.
"Your little friends from first year. Momo snatched and drank Dahyun's drink on the day of the dance competition. So today she treated them and I went with her. They are sooooo cute!" Sana unnie chirped.
"Who are you telling the story to? Did I tell you from whose hand I snatched the drink? It was Mina's"
Sana unnie looked at me, surprised. "Really? You were there?" I nodded in response and she giggled.
They kept talking about the Triplet and how cute and adorable they were. I kind of felt jealous. But I inwardly smiled when I heard Sana unnie say "Tzuyu is mine" and Momo unnie say, "You say that with everyone you meet. You said I was yours and Mina too. You can have Tzuyu and even Chaeyoung but Dahyun is mine!" Then they both broke into titters. Well, my Chaeyoung seems safe from them!
Soon enough the meeting started. Momo unnie was selected as the next club president unanimously and Sana unnie would lead the Dream High Dance team.
Study leaves had started. The three of us - Bambam, Jihyo and I gathered to study at Jihyo's house everyday. Bambam always came with a lot of snacks. Everyday, we spent 5 hours of intense studying and snack-munching together.
Bambam was walking me home after our study meeting from Jihyo's house a day before exam. I was expecting Bambam to give me something. Last year when he was just S.A. for me, he gave me a pen to wish me luck for finals. But now he was so oblivious. I had to ask him when we reached my gate.
"Aren't you gonna do something like last year to wish me luck?"
"Like last year...?" he mumbled very low but I heard it. I raised my eyebrows. He coughed.
"Ah yes yes.... close your eyes" he said.
I close my eyes and anticipated what he was gonna give. I felt his breathe on my face, that's when I realised our proximity, then I felt his lips on mine. He broke the 4 seconds long peck and said, "Best of luck for the exam, Mina see you tomorrow."
I couldn't respond anything because I was caught off guard. He smiled at me, turned about and left without expecting an answer from me, leaving me blushing there.
The next day I texted Bambam and Jihyo early in the morning wishing them luck for exam. The Triplet were waiting for me at the school gate. They wanted to wish me luck. How sweet! Chaeyoung and I didn't forget to tell each other 'alaba moo'. Ever since I learned that it means 'see you later' in her childhood's made up language we had been using it. It was kind of fun in fact. And every time I said it her giddy smile was so adorable.
I did well in my exams. I went to Japan with my parents during the holidays. Besides ocassionally exchanges of texts, I was pretty much distant from everyone. I missed my friends.
I returned Korea a day before school starts again. The first thing I did when I reached home was get in bed and sleep the whole day.
I was so happy to see Jihyo at school, I crushed her in a tight hug.
"What about me?" Bambam said from behind and I gave him a hug too. They asked me about my trip to Japan and I told them what I did and how much I missed them.
I looked out of the classroom, by habit, as the bell which indicated 3rd period rang. Realisation hit me: I wouldn't see Chaeyoung at that time anymore because I was in 3rd year now and Chaeyoung was sophomore; she would have new class schedules.
Few days into school, classes were getting regular. I was in the library with Jihyo, sitting beside her doing nothing. She had to do an assignment that had to be presented in their Reading club. I signed in it last year with her but I was no longer a part of it ever since I joined the dance club.
"I'm really bored, Jihyo" I whispered to her.
"This is a library. Choose a book and read it!" she hissed back in whisper.
"I'm not in the mood of reading. Can I help with anything in what you're doing?"
"No. What do you know about this? You didn't even attend any reading session. Just play with the computer." She pointed to the library's computed next to me.
I booted the computer on. It was password protected. "What's the password?"
"LIBRARY1234. All the letters in uppercase."
I typed in the password and I was logged in the system. "Hmm what should I do?" I kept staring at the screen for 2 solid minutes.
Finally Jihyo noticed me, "Find your soulmate" she said.
"Soulmate?" I asked.
"It's just for fun. Check the information of the books lent. They record which student borrowed which books. You can see all the books you borrowed. Then find who else borrowed the same books you did. The person with the most number of same books borrowed as you is your soulmate."
I laughed silently, "Then I know who my soulmate is. I don't even need to look here to tell that."
"Who?"
"Obviously you! Because we recommend books to each other."
"Right hehe."
"I'm gonna count the number of books we read together. So how I do this?"
Jihyo then took control over the mouse. "Click this folder.... you can sort out the books by their names in alphabetical order or date of publication or by author.... see? If you click on a book you can see who borrowed them and when. Once a student borrows a book, the student's information is automatically saved so if you click on a student it also display the list of books he or she borrowed."
"Ooo you sound very smart explaining those."
"Of course, I'm smart. What do you think I've been doing in the reading club?" she struck a pose and we giggled in minimum volume as humanly possible so as not to disturb the others reading in the library.
Jihyo resumed doing her assignment and I quietly browsed the folders in the records. I was glued to the computer for 15 minutes.
"Jihyo?"
"Hmm?"
"You're not my soulmate. Since our freshman year I have borrowed 42 books and you 74 books. Gosh how much do you read? We read only 26 books in common."
"Who's it then?" She opened her mouth, surprised it wasn't her and then smiled. "Bambam? I know he reads a lot. We often come together to borrow when you go for dance practise. I even recommend him books that you recommended to me."
"It's not Bambam."
"Then?"
"Son Chaeyoung."