i took a cup of tea that was served in front of me before sip it.

"please have some tea." i said to mr. chou.

he just kept silent, doing nothing but looking down to his feet.

i put the cup on the table back.

"i know what you've come to say. but my wife is pregnant. i feel terrible, but i won't be able to let things slide this time. i want to make sure she only sees and hears good things. she's someone i want to protect and keep safe. i hope you can understand." i told him.

his face changed.

"would it not be enough to send tzuyu overseas? she's only twenty-three. she still got her whole life ahead of her..." he said.

"what about my wife and child? if i was the only one impacted, i wouldn't go this far out of respect for you. just as your daughter is important to you, so is my wife and child."

"b-but she hasn't actually done anything. she's just a little overly obsessive, but to make her a convict because of it..."

he froze when i cut him off, "at first, it was stalking. this time, it's breaking and entering. there's no telling what she'll do next."

i left him speechless.

everything i said was true and he knew it. and yet, he's here to defend his daughter.

he's not wrong though, but wrong is still wrong. what tzuyu did is completely wrong.

"jungkook..." he suddenly got up from his seat.

wait...

"please don't kneel-" i stopped when he suddenly kneel in front of me. this is so dirty to make me feel this way.

"please, jungkook! this is the last time i'll ever ask you for anything. she was a miracle baby for me at age fifty. please just help her avoid becoming a convict. i beg of you...i'll make sure she gets help. i can take her to a mental health hospital...until you give permission, i'll make sure she keeps getting treatment there. so please...please forgive her just one last time...please...i'm begging you...this is all my fault. i didn't raise her right..." he sobbed. his tears dripped onto the floor.

i sighed.

as his former student, this isn't how i wanted to see him again.

"i'll pick the hospital where she can get help...and she cannot be released from their care without consulting me." i slowly said, looking away from him.

"jungkook, thank you! thank you so much!" he continuously bowed.

"i hope we don't have to meet under these circumstances next time...i, too, am sorry that this happened, mr. chou."

"no, i'm the one that's sorry. i'm just so terribly sorry..."

what a gloomy day today is.

-

i looked at the couple in front of me, chae soo-bin and kang daniel.

walking home in the same direction like this...this is my fault. i'm so stupid.

i saw soo-bin glance at me for a moment. are they talking about me?

"hey, ji-hyo!" i turned around to see my classmate, lee seok-min.

"oh, hi. is your home this way too?" what is he doing here?

"no, i came this way to see if i could catch up to you to talk." he said.

"what?"

"i asked you if we could talk, but you just left without saying anything."

my memory in the class a little while ago suddenly rushed into my mind.

"ji-hyo...i want to talk to you about team programs for the school trip. let's chat after class."

"ah, okay."

"oh, that's right. sorry, i forgot." i scratched my head awkwardly.

"it's all good since i was able to catch up on you." he laughed.

"is there a lot to discuss?" i asked.

"huh? what do you mean?"

"i thought you said you wanted to go over the team programs."

"oh, right...well...can we go somewhere to talk? do you want to go get shaved ice-cream?" he asked.

"what? sorry, but if it's not that important, can we just talk tomorrow? i'm a little tired..." i lied. i really do not have the mood to discuss about school stuff right now.

he suddenly tugged my sleeve and started to walk, "i won't take a lot of your time. let's talk over some shaved ice-"

"hey, wait! where are you taking me?! i don't even like shaved ice!" i told him.

i became shock when someone suddenly snatched my other hand. i turned to see who it might be.

daniel?

"let go of her." daniel said.

"why?" seok-min asked.

huh? wait.

"she said she's not interested."

this feels weird. seok-min was tugging my uniform sleeve and daniel was squeezing my other hand in his.

"you're holding onto her too, sunbae."

"let go and then we'll talk"

"i was here first. anyway, sunbae...don't you think it's funny that you're butting into ji-hyo's business when you're dating soo-bin sunbae?" seok-min said.

"she and i aren't dating. and even if we were, what would that have to do with this?"

i froze.

wait, they aren't dating?

"what? really? the two of you spend so much time together though. do you really expect me to believe that you're not dating?" seok-min added.

that's what i'm saying!

thank you, seok-min for asking him on my behalf.

"i don't care whether you believe it or not. let go of her." daniel said.

"i don't care either. i grabbed her first, so you let go, sunbae."

"i told you to let go."

and both of them continued to tug each of my hand.

aish, people are watching? what are these two even thinking?

"both of you, let go!" i shouted and harshly pulled my hands away.

i pointed at both of them, "you, lee seok-min! we'll talk about the school trip tomorrow. and you kang daniel! can you please butt out of my business?!"

"ji-hyo, wait! the school trip stuff was just so i could have an excuse to talk to you!" seok-min said.

"then what do you want?" i asked.

"i like you! i want to ask you out officially! so can we please go somewhere to talk?!" seok-min suddenly confessed, making me a little bit surprise.

what...? what the...?

i did not see this coming.

i heard the students around murmuring.

"did he just ask her out?"

"this is so exciting! what's going to happen next?!"

i think he watched one too many dramas. how could he say something like that in front of all these people?!

that was a confession, right? that was kind of cringe, i didn't swoon at all!

"let's go, ji-hyo." daniel grabbed my hand and pulled me to walk with him.

h-huh?

"uh, hey! wait! ji-hyo, wait! you didn't give me an answer!" seok-min frantically called out.

"seok-min, let's just talk tomorrow..." i said to him but made daniel abruptly stopped in his track.

"i want you to wait right here." daniel told me.

he walked towards seok-min and pushed him, "ji-hyo won't be dating you. i won't let her."

"who are you to decide that...?" seok-min asked.

daniel leaned closely towards seok-min and whispered something. i couldn't hear it but seok-min's face was completely flushed after that.

daniel turned around and tugged my hand back, leaving seok-min alone.

"wh-what did you guys talk about?" i asked.

"nothing, let's just go."

and he grabbed my hand and walked back like a couple would do.

what am i doing right now?

why am i just doing what he wants me to do?

have i gotten used to him bossing me around and treating me like a minion?

it hasn't even been that long since i tried to get away...i thought i'd be free of him, so why am i still in this position.

why...is he doing this now...after ignoring me recently...?

i pulled my hand away from his grabbed, "let go. who are you to decide whether i go out with seok-min or not?"

"ji-hyo."

"it's my life. i get to decide what i want to."

"so are you going to date him?"

"it's not about me dating him or not. this is about you constantly butting in my life and bossing me around."

"you can't date him. no, you can't date anyone else either." he casually said, not looking at me.

"why do you keep on trying to boss me around? can't you just butt out-" is he trying to pick a fight with me?

"if you hate it that much, then why don't you just butt into mine too?!"

huh?

what is he saying? why is he covering his face now? is he too upset?

he started to walk away.

"wh-what does that mean? what did you mean by that? stop for a second! tell me what you meant! explain it to me, so that i understand!" i shouted at him.

"this is so frustrating..." he sighed.

he turned around and suddenly hugged me.

"that means i'll let you tell me what to do too." he said in a low voice.

huh?

my heart...is racing...is beating...crazily.

"so...can you please just look at me?" he loosen the hug and made an eye-contact with me.

"soo-bin and i weren't dating. we're just friends. i told her from the beginning that i had liked you for a long time. i mean it. i told her i wanted to be friends, so we were just hanging out." he added.

"i believe you." i blushed.

so, daniel like me?

daniel tenderly squeezed my hand in his, "ji-hyo..."

gosh, what is he going to say?

my heart is beating so fast.

the way he's staring at me...have his eyes always sparkled like that?