"WHAT DO YOU think of this?" Jugyeong asked, as she held up a lip tint.

Seojun's head snapped up. "What? Oh? That colour?"

She teased. "Where is your mind today, Seojun? Are you really that bored shopping makeup for your little sister?"

He ruffled his hair in annoyance. The reason he had called Jugyeong to help him buy Gowoon a birthday present was because he was so conflicted. Was he starting to like Yeonwoo? That was the only plausible reason why he had been so pissed when Hyungjin, that stupid baseball player, started acting all chummy with her. But no, he could not like her. He was not allowed to—he had made that very clear to himself when he first started getting involved with her.

She was the sister of his late best friend. Who Seojun wasn't able to stop from dying. She was off-limits.

But that girl—she always had a knack for reeling him in, didn't she?

Maybe having a 'date' with Jugyeong would clear his mind. Prove that Yeonwoo wasn't special to him in the romantic sense, that every girl made his stomach churn and cheeks warm up like she did.

"Ooo, what about this colour?" Jugyeong uncapped another lip tint and tried it on her lips. She pouted. "I can't see the shade because I'm already wearing tint. How about you try it, Seojun?"

When she leaned in, he jumped away. "W-What do you think you're doing?"

She held him firmly by the elbow and proceeded to dab the tint onto his lips. "Hold still."

And so he did.

—

Right when Yeonwoo was about to lose hope, a pair of hands clasped onto her shoulder and she shrieked in surprise. Turning around, she glared at the perpetrator.

"You're late."

"Sorry sorry, I had to shower before meeting you, otherwise I'd smell." Ryu Hyungjin flashed her his signature smile, half-hidden by the black face mask obscuring most of his face. He suddenly shook his damp hair at her face. "See?"

Despite the annoyance she felt—as she was a very punctual person—she was never able to resist Hyungjin's puppy-dog nature. She rolled her eyes affectionately and walked on ahead, leaving Hyungjin scampering after her.

It was the weekend, and Hyungjin had invited her out for lunch. He brought her to a rather obscure restaurant that sold Chinese cuisine, her favourite. She was pleased that he remembered.

Once a comfortable atmosphere had been achieved, Hyungjin dropped the bomb. "How have you been doing? Ever since ... " He trailed off awkwardly.

A dim sum that had been halfway to her mouth dropped back onto the plate. She looked at Hyungjin with wide eyes. "You never beat around the bush, don't you, oppa?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that while you were away, your grandmother kept telling us how worried she was about you."

Yeonwoo shrugged, trying to look indifferent. "It's hard, I guess. But I've been distracted lately, what with my studies and all."

He nodded understandingly. But it was hard for him to erase his last memory of her, when he had arrived at Seyeon's funeral and she had looked so defeated. He clearly cared a lot for the twins whom he loved hanging out with whenever they came to the mountains to visit their grandmother.

"Let's not talk about that. Let's talk about other things. Like ... how you're interested in my best friend."

"Jugyeong?" He started laughing. "She's real pretty. Has she ever talked to you about me?"

"Not really." Hyungjin's wide, pleading eyes bore holes into her.

"Oh come on! Nothing? She's said nothing at all about me?"

"Jugyeong is extremely popular at school."

"But I'm special. I'm a baseball player!"

"Oppa!" Yeonwoo laughed. "She's got so many guys head over heels for her. She's even in a love triangle with the top two hotties of Saebom."

"Let me guess—is one of them the guy who argued with me on the day I came to your school?" There was a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Mm." Yeonwoo was unsure why she felt a dropping feeling in her gut whenever she thought about Seojun and Jugyeong. Disappointment splayed over her face, allowing Hyungjin to read her like an open book.

"You like him." He said sagely.

Her head snapped up."No I don't!"

He cackled. "Yes you do! Don't try to hide anything from me, Jeong Yeonwoo. You like him. You're jealous."

She sighed. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Anyway, It's his fault I'm feeling so confused. He's too nice to me."

After they finished their meal, he treated her to an ice cream cone. As she delightfully ate it, he smiled at her fondly, like an older brother would with his younger sister.

They emerged out of the shopping centre, exchanging goodbyes. Hyungjin opened his arms wide. "How about a hug?" She laughed and dove into his arms. He patted her head and said, "If that Seojun guy dares to break your heart, just ring me and oppa beat him up for you."

"JEONG YEONWOO!"

Yeonwoo and Hyungjin pulled away from each other, startled by the sudden break in the calm winter afternoon. Han Seojun was walking slowly towards them, eyes blazing.

"What—what—what is this?" Words were unable to properly form from his mouth, he was that pissed. He looked from Hyungjin to Yeonwoo, and back again.

"What are you doing here?" She blurted out.

"I'm here to buy a birthday present for Gowoon. But that's not important." He pointed at Hyungjin with a shaking finger. "Why do you go around hugging strange men?"

Hyungjin protested, "I'm not a stranger, I'm practically her older brother."

Seojun scoffed and held up a hand to block his face. "Talk to the hand. All men have only one thing on their minds. We're going home."

He made as if to pull on Yeonwoo's hand, but she avoided it deftly. He stared incredulously at her. "What are you doing?"

"You said that all men have only one thing on their minds, right?"

"Umm, yes?"

"So that means I shouldn't trust you either, Han Seojun." She turned away from a gobsmacked Seojun and smiled at Hyungjin. "Oppa, I'll get going now. I'll see you next time."

She whirled around and suddenly saw them: Lee Suho and Lim Jugyeong. A little stunned to have bumped into so many people in such a short span of time, she asked, "What are you two doing here?"

"I was helping Seojun find a birthday present for Gowoon," Jugyeong stuttered. "We bumped into Suho just now in the lift." Her cheeks suddenly turned crimson, remembering what had just happened.

A stabbing feeling pierced Yeonwoo's chest. Jugyeong? Helping Seojun pick a present for his sister? Call her possessive, but she thought it had been their thing, ever since she had inadvertently helped him choose an audition song. It was just another step to confirming Seojun had indeed fallen for the angel.

Hyungjin was only silent for a moment. He put a hand on Seojun's shoulder and whispered something in his ear. At the moment Hyungjin pulled away, Seojun's face tightened. 

Suho's eyes flickered towards Yeonwoo, whose emotions he could not read, for her face had once again, became as impassive as a block of stone, although a storm was occurring in her heart and brain.

While those five teenagers were going through such a flurry of emotions, the first snow began to drift from the sky.

—

a/n: sorry for such the long wait HAHAHHAHA