The following Monday had come, and Kim Jinsol would be lying if she said she felt find and dandy for class. She had been dreading it all weekend, and now that the due date for the project had come, it ate at her heart even more. It only added onto the gloomy feeling when Jinsol had approached her professor before class started to talk about her dilemma.

And as she had expected, the chat wasn't lighthearted.

"You're not going for the internship?!"

Jinsol was kind of lucky this was before class. Barely anyone was in the room to hear the conversation, but there were still a few. She could hear the murmurs and feel the stares of her classmates at their professor's outburst. She hung her head low in shame.

She already had to relive the initial shock and gloom when she told this to Haneul. Jinsol would much prefer to not go through another round of nagging.

"I-I'm sorry, Jinsol. I'm just shocked, but why on earth would you skip on this opportunity?" Professor Lin asked her in a lower tone, trying to keep her composure. It was more than obvious by how taken aback the teacher was by the news. Her wide and pity-filled eyes was evidence enough.

The younger gulped. "It's just... I can't. It has to do with the actor in my film."

"Are you sure?" Professor Lin sighed, her arms crossed over her chest, a disappointed aura emitting from her. In a near whisper, she continued, "You're one of the most talented students in my class, Jinsol. I would hate for you to miss this internship, because I know you'd be great and would learn so much from it."

"I-I know. But, I've already decided against it," Jinsol replied, her voice weak. "Thank you for your trust in me. I'll just hope for another opportunity in the future. I'll just be turning in my film." From her bag, she took out the USB where her project had been saved into and handed it to Professor Lin.

"If you really say so. I'll remove your name of the list of applicants for the internship," the older woman uttered, taking the USB. She couldn't contain the deep frown as she held onto the USB, before placing it down on the table top. The professor put her hand on Jinsol's shoulder and gave it a pat. "Of course, if you ever change your mind, Jinsol, you could let me know."

With one last strained smile, Jinsol went over to her usual seat in the class. She went ahead and laid her head down on the table, not really wanting to deal with today's class. She was far too conflicted inside, but she knew the deed was done. She just wished she could wash away all the negative emotions mixed within her.

Unexpectedly, a presence occupied the empty seat besides her. Turning her head, she was surprised to see that Nari and Taewoon were there. Jinsol quickly straightened up and gave a small greeting to her two seniors. "O-Oh hello, Nari-sunbae, Taewoon-sunbae."

Taewoon worriedly looked at her. "Sorry to have overheard but you're not going for the internship?"

Jinsol pursed her lips and she merely shook her head. She trained her eyes on the wooden table in front of her, she suddenly felt uncomfortable from their judging gazes.

"And why the hell not?" Nari huffed. "You think getting this internship such an easy win for you?"

"N-Nari," Taewoon cut in, surprised by her response.

"What? It means less competition for us." Nari nudged at Jinsol's side. Jinsol finally looked over at her. "Hey, you might not get the internship this time, but it won't be the only thing that'll lead you to the career you want. There's plenty of things. You're already better than most people in our department. People at their companies will be wanting you once you graduate, I guarantee it!"

Oddly enough, Nari's words made Jinsol feel better.

Maybe because they once considered each other rivals?

"Thanks, sunbae. I appreciate it," Jinsol replied, a small, genuine grin to her lips.

"Hey, how about after this, we swing by Azalea's? I'm positive a sweet drink would make you feel better!" Taewoon suggested, leaning more into the conversation, his eyes twinkling with anticipation. Jinsol suddenly remembered how this sunbae had a crush on Mira. She glanced over at Nari for whatever reaction.

Nari only rolled her eyes at the offer. "As long as you're paying, I guess."

She warmly smiled. Their usual small banters were always amusing to Jinsol, even before her and Nari were on better terms. Taewoon always so sweet and appreciative to his juniors, and then Nari, there to make a snarky remark. Even now, their dynamic were just every bit comforting to Jinsol. She didn't want to be completely shoved in the face with pity, and the two gave her a good balance of sympathy.

Soon enough, everyone scrambled to their seats and took out their supplies just as class started. Jinsol turned her attention to the professor at the front. With the short chat with her seniors, she had an ounce of energy to be able to get through the day's lesson.

Jinsol was prepared to tell Mira to make a strawberry milk tea drink so sweet that her teeth would rot off when they arrive to Azalea's. After a good couple hours, the class wrapped up. Taewoon was already gesturing over to the two girls that they should go ahead to go to their favorite tea shop. Jinsol packed up all her things and followed after Taewoon and Nari to the exit of the classroom.

She wasn't prepared to see Kunhang standing a couple feet away from the door.

The moment their eyes met, an enthusiastic, bright smile tugged at Kunhang's lips. Jinsol could feel her heart instantly tremble.

"Surprise!~" Kunhang greeted, as he stepped towards her. "I'm hoping you were free so I can take you out on a spontaneous date to celebrate you finishing your important project!" Before Jinsol could ask how he would know, she remembered she did tell him once before that she had no other classes after this one.

Internally, she was torn. She was so excited and happy to see Kunhang, but seeing his face now was also a reminder. It really upset her because she knew Kunhang meant no harm in all this, he didn't even know what was happening. She tried her best to control her expressions. Her smile felt forced.

"Ah, I guess we can get tea another time, then?" Nari interjected, as she nudged Taewoon's side. "We'll see you next class, Jinsol. Go have fun with your boyfriend!" The older girl grabbed to Taewoon's arm and basically dragged him away from them, all while he waved his goodbyes; leaving the two 99-liners on their own.

Jinsol sighed, as she glanced back at Kunhang. "This definitely was a surprise. What were you thinking of doing?"

"Well." Kunhang slipped his hand into hers, intertwining their fingers together. It never failed to make the heart flutter at the simple touch. "You must've been stressed and frustrated with the project so I thought maybe we can go to the arcade?"

Jinsol blinked, "The arcade?" Well, the high-paced atmosphere will definitely keep her mind occupied. With a grin, she nodded her head at him.

"Let's go then!"

The two teens went off to their spontaneous adventure. Kunhang lead the way with a bounce to his step, the excitement and joy oozing from his body. His smile was so bright, Jinsol couldn't bare to make the frown that her lips want to do. She reciprocated the smile, just happy to be by his side.

When they arrived to the arcade, Kunhang dragged her to the first free game he spotted, which happened to be a zombie shooting game. Jinsol couldn't help but beam, this was one of the many games she enjoys playing at the arcade. With a couple coins put into the machine, the two prepared themselves with the fake guns.

Kunhang and Jinsol played as much games as they could, to their hearts' desire. After killing a hundred zombies, they had moved on to the basketball game. And afterwards, to Dance Dance Revolution, in which Jinsol wasn't surprised Kunhang won.

And while she could, Jinsol made sure to record small videos of their time in the arcade. It was a natural instinct to, as someone who basically has her camera glued to her fingers. She got a lot of lowly-lit shots of Kunhang immensely focused on the screens, his hands zipping about and tapping on the colorful buttons. Seeing his serious expression was so damn entertaining, and Jinsol had to record it all on her phone.

By that time, she was satisfied watching Kunhang play the story-driven games, rooting for him to defeat all the bad guys and progress in the game.

Before either of them knew, a couple hours have already passed since they came. It was a good time as any to get some food for their now rumbling bellies. Luckily for them, there was a noodle shop across the street of the arcade. Jinsol and Kunhang quickly rushed over and got their much desired ramen. The couple were in a fit of giggles, as they talked about small stories of each other. They were both smiling so brightly, so happy to have each other's company. Jinsol did feel happy, she truly did.

She appreciates and admires Kunhang so much that her heart aches... more ways than one.

When the couple left the noodle shop, the sun was beginning to set. To finish off the day, the two went ahead and walked about the city, enjoying the upcoming night life of opening food vendors and booths of trinkets. The store lights were bright, lighting the pathways enough. Fried food wavered in the air, and plenty of popular music played around them.

Jinsol and Kunhang walked about, hand in hand, just enjoying their date.

Just as the exhaustion from their active day finally reached them, they decided to sit down at a bench to rest.

"You know, Kunhang, I think today was just what I needed to unwind from the project," Jinsol told him leaning onto his shoulder. "I was so stressed like you said, but seeing you always makes me feel better."

"Me too." Kunhang beamed as he rested his head on top of hers. "You know... Jinsol... I wish I met you sooner." This lead Jinsol to pull away to look at him, curiosity prickling at her for his comment. There was an unreadable expression on his face. "There's so many things I want to do with you. Try different foods, visit more cafes, take trips outside of Seoul, and stuff like that. I want more time to do everything we want."

"What's this?" Jinsol questioned him with a raised brow. "This suddenly sounds ominous."

"Well, I just got word yesterday that... I'm going to debut. Legit debut with a set date, Jinsol," The Chinese lad said, his doe eyes wide, the shock evident on his face. "Along with Yangyang and Dejun too! We're actually scheduled to have a photo shoot soon and be revealed by our company!"

Ah.

This.

However, Jinsol noticed that Kunhang wasn't smiling when he told her this. "You don't look entirely happy, though?"

"Because, I know from now on, I'm going to be extra busy for the debut... I won't be able to see you as much any more." His thumb caressed her hand. "And, that really makes me sad to think about."

"This is your dream, Kunhang. No one should stop you from it, not me or anyone else!" Jinsol told him, giving his hand a squeeze. "Don't you worry about me, okay? You should focus on your debut, alright? You should do everything you can to show your best self under SM..."

Kunhang met her eyes, his brows furrowed together in confusion. "... I never told you what company I was under, Jinsol."

When she realized what had happened, her eyes widened in horror. The company name had slipped off her tongue so easily that she didn't notice when it did. The company had been hammering into her head ever since she found out about it. She nearly forgot that Kunhang never told her about it. Jinsol bit down on her lip as she thought about what to say.

Lie?

No, that wouldn't be right.

"I... ran into Jiwoo-sshi the other day, Kunhang," she confessed to him. Jinsol hesitated as she thought through that very day when the bomb had dropped. Kunhang's expression shifted to one of shock. "It kind of slipped out how you trained under SM with Dejun and Yangyang."

"A-Ah, I see." Her reply definitely caught him by absolute surprise. "I should've told you about it sooner. I was told to be cautious to who I tell, so I kind of closed myself off to telling anyone. I'm sorry."

"Don't be!" Jinsol told him. "You had every right to not people about it. But, this means you'll be debuting under one of the biggest companies in Korea! You're so much more impressive than I could have ever imagined. Just remember, I'm going to be your very first fan."

Finally, a smile pulled at his lips. "Thank you, Jinsol. I don't know if I tell you this enough, but I'm so happy to have met you."

Jinsol returned the grin. "Me too, Kunhang."

And just a few weeks after that day, Kunhang, Dejun, and Yangyang have been revealed as the new SM Rookies. Everything suddenly felt unreal. This boy that she is dating, is now known to so much more people, who are now anticipating the three Chinese boys' debut. Her heart raced whenever she would overhear classmates talk about the three she personally knew. It felt like this major secret that she needs to keep to her grave.

Kim Jinsol wasn't sure what to feel.

Of course she was delighted for him, Dejun, and Yangyang.

Now that she couldn't see Kunhang as much as she wanted to, her current source of happiness during these days, she felt lost. She can't seem to contact him as much as she could before, either. Her days with Kunhang might as well be all a dream, made up by her erratic and stressed mind.

It just means she has to work harder at her end. If Kunhang could achieve his passion, then so can she.

A/n: FINALLY, I updated.

The writer's block has been so bad this past month, so I apologize for the long wait! But after seeing SuperM live, I think I finally have some kind of push to keep writing. I really do want to try to finish this story before the year ends, so I guess we'll see! I think a couple more chapters for this one, tbh. You'll have to wait and see if it'll be the happy ending you're all expecting ^^

I've been so out of it, but I really do miss writing.

Please do give the chapter a vote and a comment! It really does help me to keep writing. I love to know your thoughts and all!

Until the next update~

—Bianca

PS: lemme leave this with the best thot bop

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