╰┈➤ ❝ [I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you] ❞

A SMIRK MADE ITS WAY into Ji-an's face as she stared at the black and yellow helmet she held on her hands. At school, a very stressed Jug-yeong had informed her about how Seo-jun had been constantly nagging her into giving him back his precious helmet.

So after school the two girls agreed on meeting up at the comic book store, where Jug-yeong could give Ji-an the helmet. Jug-yeong's intention was for the girl to return the helmet and that way, avoid having to confront the angered boy, herself.

But unknown to the girl, Ji-an had other plans.

Hearing a knock on her bedroom door, Ji-an stood up from her bed, "Who is it?!" She placed the helmet on top of her vanity as the person behind the door spoke, revealing it was Chin-Sun.

"Come in!" Sitting back on her bed, Ji-an watched Chin-Sun stroll in with a tray full of food in her hands. The older woman placed the tray beside Ji-an as the girl just stared at her in surprise. "How did you know I was hungry?"

"I figured the reason you didn't want dinner was because of your parents' presence." Chin-Sun explained with her usual soft smile that always made Ji-an feel comfortable. "And you're also always hungry."

At the last sentence a chuckle left Ji-an's mouth. She had forgotten what it felt having someone that knew her. As much as Ji-an liked her time living in Miami, she hated the feeling of coming back to a house where she had no one to talk to. Yes, she didn't live alone, but it wasn't the same.

Ji-an grabbed the tray, placing it on her lap. "You know me so well." She took a bite of food, a groan soon left her lips as she chewed the delicious food. "Thank you so much. I thought I would have to starve until tomorrow."

"No problem, sweetie." Smiling, Chin-Sun gestured down to the tray. "I left my phone number so if you ever need anything you can always text me." Looking down at the tray, Ji-an's eyes fell on the folded piece of paper that laid beside the bowl of rice. As she opened it she saw that there was in fact, a phone number written on it.

"Believe me when I say, I'll be constantly texting you. Especially with my parents being back." Chin-Sun sighed, knowing how rocky the girl's relationship with her parents was, especially her mother.

Turning to the door Chin-Sun said, "I'll leave you alone so you can eat."

Quickly looking up from her plate of food Ji-an shook her head, "Wait, don't leave yet! I don't want to be alone." She made eye contact with Chin-Sun. "Do you know how depressing it feels having to be here having nothing to do? If it wasn't for my parents being home, I would've left already."

"But your parents said-" Chin-Sun started saying before Ji-an interrupted. "Fuck what my parents said."

"Language." The older woman scolded, giving Ji-an a pointed look.

"Right, sorry." Ji-an apologized, before patting the space beside her. "Come on, sit here. We have to talk."

Hesitantly, Chin-Sun sat beside the girl watching as she quietly devoured her food. "So what is it you want to talk about? Having boy problems already?"

"Something like that." Sighing, Ji-an placed her chopsticks down before turning to face the woman. "My parents want me to get back with Su-ho."

Chin-Sun's eyes widened, "Really?"

Ji-an nodded, "Yes, and I have a plan to get him back but I have told no one. And I don't think my friends are gonna like this idea. Hell, I don't even think it's gonna work."

"Hey, stop stressing out." She placed a hand on Ji-an's shoulder. "Tell me what your plan is, and I'll let you know what I think of it." The woman suggested receiving a nod in return.

"Okay, so I know Su-ho still has feelings for me even though he said he doesn't know. So my plan to make him admit his feelings is to make him jealous." Ji-an explained, leaving out the most important part of her plan.

Chin-Sun nodded, not understanding why the girl seemed so conflicted. "And?"

Grabbing the glass of water, Ji-an took a sip. "And the person I'm planning to make him jealous of is Seo-jun." She quickly said, waiting for the woman's reaction.

"Seo-jun? As in Han Seo-jun? Your former friend and Su-ho's best friend?" Chin-Sun asked, trying to make sure the girl was talking about the same person.

Ji-an nodded with a heavy sigh. "The thing is, Seo-jun is not Su-ho's friend anymore. After Se-yeon's death the two despised each other. Now they're basically enemies." She explained trying her best to make the woman understand.

Chin-Sun frowned. "Didn't you say how much you and Han Seo-jun don't like each other? How are you going to make him agree?" She asked, watching as Ji-an's eyes drifted over to her vanity. Following the girl's gaze, her eyes landed on the helmet.

"Fortunately, I have Seo-jun's precious helmet." The girl smirked. "I know how much he wants it back, and I know how much he loves making Su-ho's life miserable. There's no reason for him to say no."

Chin-Sun turned to the girl, "The plan sounds like it could work. Just make sure you let Han Seo-jun know about everything you're planning." Ji-an nodded, listening intently to what the woman was saying. "And always, always follow your heart. If things don't end how you wanted them to, it means they weren't meant to be."

Ji-an smiled, wrapping the older woman into a hug, careful about not spilling anything from the tray on her lap. "Thank you so much for listening to my rants. You're a lifesaver."

"You're welcome, sweetie." Chin-Sun said, gently stroking her back. Pulling away, she stood from the bed. "I have to leave before your parents wonder where I am."

Nodding in understanding Ji-an took the paper containing Chin-Sun's number before handing the tray to the woman. "Here."

After watching Chin-Sun leave, Ji-an walked over to her vanity, placing the paper down she grabbed the helmet. Analyzing it she mischievously grinned, "Let's get this plan started."

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

"Hey." Ji-an said, as she confidently walked over to Seo-jun and his group of friends.

The addressed boy tilted his head, wondering what the girl wanted. "What do you want? Are you here to return my clothes? Because if you aren't then there's no reason for you to be here."

Cho-rong, who stood beside Seo-jun, hit the boy on his arm. "Don't be so rude." He turned to Ji-an, sending her a big smile. "Don't listen to him. You can come talk to us any time you want."

Seo-jun glared at the boy hitting him on the arm just as Cho-rong had previously done, but this time with much more force making the boy wince in pain.

Ji-an chuckled, returning Cho-rong's smile making the boy almost faint at the sight. "Thank you, Cho-rong." Ji-an turned to
Seo-jun, ignoring Cho-rong's words of excitement about how she knew his name. "You should learn from him, I'm sure
Mi-hyang wouldn't be happy if she saw you being so rude." The girl said watching Seo-jun tense at her words.

Narrowing his eyes, Seo-jun said, "Don't bring my mother into this and just tell me what you want."

Reaching for something inside her pocket, Ji-an took out a piece of paper before walking closer to Seo-jun, holding eye contact the girl grabbed his hand, the cold of his rings gracing her warm hand as she placed the piece of paper on top of it. "Just read this."

Smiling, the girl stepped back. "Have a great day, boys!" She started walking away before turning back around. "I better see you there, Seo-jun!"

As the girl disappeared out of sight, Cho-rong exclaimed. "She wrote you a love letter!" He turned to the rest of their friends. "Seo-jun still got it! He still got it!"

Seo-jun glared at his group of friends. "Stop talking nonsense!" Confused, he looked down at the piece of paper wondering why the girl was acting so strangely before deciding to open it.

"What does it say?" One of his friends said before Cho-rong pushed him back, telling him not to look.

As Seo-jun read the letter, his hands started shaking in anger, not believing the girl's audacity.

If you're thinking about asking Jug-yeong for
your helmet, don't waste your time.
Right now, I'm the one who's in possession of your precious and beloved helmet.
There's something I want to propose to you so if you want your helmet back, meet me at the coffee shop at 3:00pm, right after school.

Sincerely, Ji-an

P.S: If you don't meet me there, I won't hesitate to sell your helmet on eBay!

All he did was help her and this is the way she repaid him? Glaring at the paper, Seo-jun folded it, placing it in the inside pocket of his blazer. Immediately, Cho-rong grabbed his arm trying to reach for the letter. "What did she write? Let me see the love letter."

Not in the mood for the boy's antics, Seo-jun pushed away Cho-rong's arm. "There's nothing to be curious about. This is just her trying to annoy me."

Cho-rong insisted, shaking Seojun's shoulder. "Why can't I read it? I've never received a love letter in my life." He tried to reach for it again. "Let me read it just once."

"Gosh, stop it!"

Seo-jun started waking away, with his friends following close behind. "Read it out loud! Read it out loud!"

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

Ji-an currently sat on the lunch table with Soo-ah, Soo-jin, Tae-hoon, and Jug-yeong. The five of them were enjoying their time as they chatted and laughed.

"So what did you do yesterday after school?" Jug-yeong asked Soo-ah and Tae-hoon, referring to the couple's 100th day anniversary.

Soo-ah blushed, "Well, we had dinner in this really cool restaurant, they had a lot of colorful decorations all around the walls, it was so pretty." She smiled, resting her head on Tae-hoon's shoulder. "And then we watch a romantic movie."

"Ugh, I'm so jealous. I've never had a boyfriend before." Jug-yeong whined, a pout forming on her pink lips. Her words caused her to receive many stares of surprise, not believing the pretty girl never had a boyfriend before.

"No way! You're lying right?" Soo-jin asked in disbelief.

Ji-an watched Jug-yeong shake her head, when suddenly a loud crash came from the other side of the lunchroom, silencing the room in an instant. Following the direction of the loud noise, Ji-an's gaze fell on Seo-jun's figure making his way to their table. Behind Seo-jun, a tense Su-ho stood, eyes fixated on the tray of food scattered on the floor, leaving Ji-an to assume Seo-jun had purposely pushed the boy's tray into the floor.

With a clenched jaw Su-ho watched Seo-jun pull the empty chair beside Ji-an and sit down on it, not paying any mind to the way the whole cafeteria stared at him in bewilderment and curiosity.

Seo-jun slightly raised his eyebrows at a very irritated and confused Ji-an. Leaning back against the chair, a smirk formed on his lips as he gently tapped his hand against the table, the rings adorning his hands making a clicking sound. "Hey, sweetheart."

His words were loud enough for everyone to hear as they all collectively gasped, whispering different things most likely making up some scandalous theory to later spread around the school.

Ji-an's eyes widened in astonishment, almost choking with her food at the unexpected, yet familiar nickname. From her peripheral vision she could see her friends having the same reaction as her, jaws dropped in shock. Ji-an's mind wandered back to when she was friends with Seo-jun. The first time he called her by that specific nickname.

FLASHBACK

A eight-year-old Ji-an licked her lollipop as she watched the other kids play. It was recess time, and the girl had taken a break from all the running and to take a seat in the nearest bench. The small girl closed her eyes enjoying the feeling of the warm sun hitting her skin and the way the breeze softly blew against her face.

A small pout formed on her lips as the feeling of the sun warming her skin disappeared, opening her eyes she looked up to find Han Seo-jun standing in front of her, his figure creating a shadow over her, shielding her face from the bright sun.

"Hey, sweetheart." The boy exclaimed, an enormous smile forming on his lips.

Ji-an frowned, not used to the nickname. "Sweetheart?"

Seo-jun nodded before a matching frown slowly made its way into his face. "Don't you like it?"

The girl shrugged, "I do, but why sweetheart of all the nicknames you can choose from?" She asked, as she looked at the boy in curiosity.

Pointing down to the lollipop on Jian's hand Seo-jun explained, "You're always eating candy, and candy is sweet, so that must mean your heart is also sweet thanks to all the candy you eat. Which is why sweetheart fits you the most." He finished with a smile, proud of his small conclusion, that the girl wasn't so sure it was accurate.

Ji-an looked down at her lollipop before looking back up at the grinning boy, a warm smile on her face. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

END OF FLASHBACK

Pushing away the memories, Ji-an turned her attention towards Seo-jun, a glare on her pretty face as she quietly asked, "Is it because of the letter?" She was highly aware of everyone's eyes on them, which made her highly uncomfortable and also even more annoyed at the boy sitting beside her.

Seo-jun's smirk slightly dropped at the mention of the letter. "No, that's something we'll discuss later." His smooth tone got raspier and louder, clearly wanting everyone to hear what he was saying. He averted his gaze to the side before turning once again to the girl with the annoying smirk back on his lips. "I came to eat with you."

The whole cafeteria gasped, watching as the boy gestured down to her food with a tilt of his head.

Right after his statement, Su-ho stormed towards them, with his fists clenched and a look that could send anyone shivering in fear. "Han Seo-jun!" He grabbed the material of the boy's blazer giving Seo-jun no other choice but to stand up from the chair, his face void of any emotion.

Su-ho shook the boy by the collar of his blazer, displaying his boiling anger and frustration for everyone to see. But the action didn't phase Seo-jun who just stared at Su-ho calmly. It was clear he was enjoying the situation, to watch Su-ho fume with anger and jealousy because of him.

Ji-an looked between the two, internally debating her options. She knew that stepping in wouldn't do her any good and would just make the situation look even worse, but she also couldn't just watch everything unfold doing nothing, after all she was the reason everything was happening in the first place.

"Are you serious?" Seo-jun asked smugly as he stared down at Su-ho's hands gripping his collar.

You could hear a pin drop as the two boys glared at each other, while everyone watched nervously from the edge of their seats, waiting for the scene to unfold. The moment Ji-an saw Seo-jun look to his right, she knew things were about to go down, and she was right, because right after Seo-jun looked back at Su-ho he removed the boy's hands from his collar, quickly throwing a punch that sent Su-ho crashing into the floor causing everyone to gasp yet again, including Ji-an.

Su-ho wiped some of the blood from his lip, as he stared at Seo-jun who calmly straightened his blazer as if nothing had happened. Many other gasps left people's mouths, as they watched Su-ho get back up almost instantly, grabbing Seo-jun's collar once again before raising his fist, about to return the punch before stopping, leaving his arm hanging in mid-air.

This was exactly what Seo-jun wanted. "Hit me." He taunted, watching Su-ho hesitate. "Go ahead and hit me!" Seo-jun repeated, much louder than the first time.

Having watched enough, Ji-an stood up from her seat, about to step in and separate the two boys before Su-ho did something he'll regret but the girl was saved from the task as the principal entered the cafeteria shouting for the boys to stop. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Seeing the two weren't showing any sign of backing away, the principal shouted again, this time succeeding at making the boys let go of each other. "Back away from each other!"

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

The fight in the cafeteria, caused many rumors to spread around involving Su-ho, Seo-jun, and Ji-an. Now thanks to that, the girl was getting ambushed by all of her classmates, as they all formed a circle around her desk. There were even people outside the classroom listening in to what they were saying which Ji-an found very ridiculous.

A girl stepped forward, placing her hands on Ji-an's desktop. "I heard you got asked out by Seo-jun, but Su-ho also wants you back now." The girl grinned. "Which one are you going to choose? Come on, tell us!"

Ji-an rolled her eyes watching everyone giggle like little kids, as they waited for her response. She knew that if she still wanted to follow her plan about dating Seo-jun to make Su-ho jealous, she couldn't just openly deny the rumors, so she acted clueless, leaving any possibilities open. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Tae-hoon ignored her question. "Let's hear the drum roll!" He imitated the sound of the object making everyone follow his actions. Then he abruptly stopped, spreading his arms out to silence the rest of the students. "Is it going to be Su-ho or Seo-jun? Which person are you going to choose?" Everyone leaned forward waiting expectantly for Ji-an's reply.

"Just go vote for eighteen on 'M countdown'." Soo-ah said, slapping Tae-hoon's arm making everyone laugh.

"Haven't you thought maybe they fought because they hate each other?" Ji-an suggested, hoping to convince the group of students that were settled on hearing which boy she would choose into thinking that the fight had nothing to do with her.

"No way! No" They complained, not satisfied with the girl's answer.

Tae-hoon clapped, shutting everyone up, once again. "But here's the question. Why did Mr. Han," he paused, then pointing towards Ji-an, "sat beside Ms. Kim?" When Ji-an thought things couldn't get worse Tae-hoon added, "But most importantly, why did he call you, sweetheart?"

The rest of the teenagers nodded in agreement, eyes full of intrigue. Ji-an sighed, brushing a hand through her hair, "Honestly, I don't know." It had been years since the last time Seojun had called her by the nickname. Why do it now?

Soo-ah seeing how exhausted the girl looked, decided to step in, rescuing the helpless girl from the rest of the questions being thrown her way. "That's enough! Let's just believe what she says. Go back to your classes."

Groans full of disappointment and annoyance filled the room as the crowd of students started dispersing, many leaving the classroom as they had only barged in to find answers of the reason behind the scandalous fight they witnessed.

Soo-ah turned to Ji-an, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Ji-an nodded, sending the girl a grateful smile. "I think so, thank you for saving me there. One more minute and I would've lost it."

↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷

Ji-an took a bite of her cookie, enjoying the way the chocolate chips melted against her tongue and the sweet after taste it left in her mouth. She's always been a sweets kind of person, if you ever intend to convince the girl of something, just offer her some candy and chocolates and she'll immediately say yes. Which was something that could sometimes lead to a problem.

The girl sat on one of the many tables in the coffee shop, as she mindlessly scrolled through her phone, wondering what was taking Seo-jun so long to arrive. In the letter she had specifically instructed for the boy to arrive at 3:00pm sharp. Was that so difficult to follow?

Gazing at the time she realized, he was already twenty minutes late, making her roll her eyes as she grew more impatient minute by minute.

Patience

Something Ji-an completely lacked of, if there was something she hated more than math, she would confidently say it was waiting. Bouncing her leg up and down, the girl clicked on the contacts icon trying to search for Seo-jun's name. As she read through the list of names, a groan left her lips as she concluded she did not have the boy's number saved on her phone anymore.

A voice suddenly spoke, completely startling the girl. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" There standing in all his glory was Seo-jun. His arrival had caught the attention of a group of girls sitting just a few booths behind them, as they started talking between each other.

"Oh my god, look at him, he's so handsome."

"Should I ask him for his number?"

"Is that his girlfriend?"

"I hope not."

"The two of them are so attractive, it's not fair."

The Han boy, hearing the comments, tried to hide the smirk that so badly wanted to form on his lips. Seo-jun stared down at Ji-an with an unreadable look, his eyebrows slightly arched as he watched the girl roll her eyes at his question.

"What took you so long?"

Seo-jun sat down on the booth, leaning back and resting his arm across the back of it. "A little bossy don't you think?" He asked, with a slight shake of his head while looking around the shop. "As a punishment for the fight in the cafeteria, the principal made the asshole of your ex-boyfriend and me clean some of the school grounds." He explained, leaving out the part where he left Su-ho to do most of the work.

Serves them right, Ji-an thought.

"Good." She took a sip of her caramel iced coffee, enjoying the feeling of the cold beverage sliding down her throat.

Fixating his gaze on Ji-an, Seo-jun turned serious, any humor leaving his face as his hard features turned even sharper. "Where's my helmet?"

The girl tauntingly smiled. "Home." Ji-an's smile widened even more as she watched Seo-jun's jaw clenched. Watching the boy get all riled up amused her and Seo-jun was highly aware of it which pissed him off even more.

"Look," Seo-jun leaned forward, tilting his head as he narrowed his eyes at the amused girl, "I don't have the time or the patience to play along with your games so please, enlighten me and just tell me exactly what you want." He asked, patiently waiting for the girl's response.

He just wanted his helmet back. Was that so much to ask for?

A few moments passed before Ji-an finally answered, her words making Seo-jun momentarily freeze. "I want you to be my fake boyfriend."

Seo-jun stared at the girl in complete and utter disbelief. He knows Ji-an has done and said many ridiculous things over the past years. Like almost burning his kitchen down after attempting to bake a brownie, or the time she ate an entire bag of candy and then ended up calling him at 2:00am in the morning because she couldn't fall asleep. Then there's also the time Ji-an lied about Go-woon's age at an amusement park just so his sister could go on the roller coaster she wanted to. And the list could go on and on.

But this? This was the cherry on top.

Seo-jun stayed silent, not showing any sign of what he was thinking. Then he did the thing Ji-an least expected him to do.

He laughed.

The boy reclined back against the booth, his laugh booming through the shop, making many heads turn their way, watching the boy laugh like he just heard the funniest joke of all time. Ji-an offered a small awkward smile at the curious people, hoping to take the attention off them. Shifting her eyes back on Seo-jun, she stared at him, taking a bite of her cookie as she waited for the boy to regain his composure.

"You're joking, right?" He asked, still laughing until he looked at the girl's blank expression. He paused, "Right?" At the girl's lack of response he finally realized that Ji-an was in fact, not joking. "You aren't."

"I'm not."

"Why?" Seo-jun asked as he played with the rings on his fingers. He could already guess the reason behind her sentence, but still he wanted to hear it from her.

A sigh left the girl's lips, as she fiddled with the straw attached to the plastic cup containing her iced coffee. "Believe me when I say, I'm not thrilled about this plan. But desperate times call for desperate measures." Ji-an said, watching as Seo-jun raised his eyebrows at the last sentence.

"You're not answering my question, sweetheart."

The Kim girl paused, attempting to figure out a way to explain her situation before deciding to just bluntly say the truth. "Fine, I want to make Su-ho jealous, okay?"

Seo-jun chuckled with a smug look, "What? Scared Jug-yeong might take him away from you?"

"Don't tell me you noticed too." She asked with annoyance clear on her voice as she finished eating her chocolate cookie.

"It doesn't take a genius to notice the way they look at each other." He mumbled, remembering the longing looks Su-ho and Jug-yeong shared across the classroom and also omitting the fact he saw the two having lunch at the school's rooftop, the day before.

Ji-an took a sip of her coffee, ignoring the stinging feeling in her heart. "Therefore, I need your help. Su-ho is moving on, and if I don't do something soon, I'm going to lose him." She explained, "And my parents also pressuring me doesn't help in the slightest."

The Han boy wondered what the girl was referring to with her last sentence, but decided not to push it and just ask later as he knew how her relationship with her parents is.

Seo-jun licked his lips, "I'm sorry sweetheart, really," he said with a look of sadness Ji-an knew was fake. "But I will not help you. Find someone else to do it." He finished, moving halfway out of his seat before Ji-an's voice stopped him.

"What about your helmet?" She asked, watching as the boy hesitantly, but surely sat back on the seat, a scowl taking over his features, making a triumphant smirk to slowly form on the girl's rosy lips. "If you agree to be my fake boyfriend, I'll return your helmet."

The Han boy paused, he had completely forgotten about the reason he was there in the first place. "Okay, let's say I agree with your stupid plan, what else apart from my helmet would I gain out of this deal?" He questioned, only receiving a shrug in return.

"You'll constantly get on Su-ho's nerves." Ji-an offered. "I know you love doing that and I also know it's easy for you because you literally just did it today."

Seo-jun nodded, knowing the girl's words were true, "You're right." He admitted, making the girl smile. "But that's not enough."

Ji-an's smile dropped, "What else do you want, then?"

A thoughtful look crossed the boy's face before a mischievous smile took over his lips. "Through the time of our fake relationship, you'll have to do my homework every single day."

Easy enough, the girl thought.

"Fine." Ji-an said.

A second later Seo-jun stood from his seat about to leave before the girl took his arm, stopping him from leaving, yet again. "What now?" Annoyance was clear on his voice as he looked down at the girl, watching in confusion as she stuck out her pinky. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Pinky promise?"

Seo-jun frowned, recalling the many times the girl made him do pinky promises in the past. "You still do that?"

"Uh, yeah" She deadpanned. "We have to close the deal." Ji-an wiggled her pinky, watching as Seo-jun looked at her with a look she couldn't figure out with a swift roll of his eyes, the boy hooked his finger with Ji-an's, the two sharing a smirk.

"Deal."

——————— ↶*ೃ✧˚. ❃ ↷ ˊ——————

— Joy speaks

This was about 4,978 words!

So much stuff happened on this chapter and idk how to feel. But we're finally starting the main plot!!! So that's a good thing.

I also want to take this time to thank all of you for being so supportive and leaving all those kind comments. Specially the ones that compliment my writing, they mean so much to me, given English isn't my first language so I always feel like my writing it's not good enough.

And the book is about to reach 1k views which is amazing!

Seriously, you guys are the best your comments make my day and again thank you guys so much, love u all ❤️