Jan Di stood behind a pillar, unable to breathe. She had gone to the bathroom and came out to find Ji Hoo had disappeared, so she had gone looking for him. Someone told her Ji Hoo had gone outside with Woo Bin, so she decided to follow. She thought they would hear her approach, but the two boys were looking ahead as they talked, oblivious to her presence.

She heard everything.

Ji Hoo still had feelings for her...after all this time. She didn't know how she felt about this. Confusion clouded her thoughts. She walked slowly back inside and sat down. Song Mi came over again and started harassing her, but her mind was too preoccupied to care so she ignored her, which made the other girl angrier.

"Do you want to go now?"

Ji Hoo's voice cut through her thoughts. He had snuck in without her noticing, and he must have seen the look on her face because he was looking at her with concern now.

Jan Di nodded automatically. Ji Hoo took her hand and they left the party. They thanked the bride and groom and said goodbye to Woo Bin and his date before they left.

They rode home in silence, Ji Hoo occasionally glancing at her, a troubled look on his face. He asked her if she was okay several times, and she just nodded in response. He thought that maybe she wasn't feeling well, so he placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature. His hand was warm, and his touch made her heart skip a beat. She flushed.

Get your act together! She scolded herself.

He tried to make small talk but gave up when she would just nod in response to everything he said.

She watched him drive off after dropping her off. She could tell he was extremely worried about her, but he didn't press her for details.

Jan Di's heart was heavy as she climbed into bed. She was going to have one sleepless night, she was sure of it.

...

Turned out that Ga Eul WAS attached to the dress she borrowed. Ga Eul was furious at Song Mi and kept insisting to confront her. Jan Di had to calm her down and promised her friend she'd buy her a new dress. Somehow.

Jan Di was sitting in the Porridge restaurant, lost in thought. Master had made her a bowl of pumpkin porridge, which was getting colder by the minute.

"Ga Eul," she lamented, staring at the bowl of food.

Ga Eul turned to look at her.

"I think...I'm in trouble."

Ga Eul shot her a tensed look. "What's wrong?"

"Something feels...different," she continued, as Ga Eul put an arm around her. Jan Di curled up to her knees and sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Is this about sunbae?"

She nodded.

"Let me guess...he confessed again?"

Jan Di shook her head. "Not exactly."

It was Ga Eul's turn to sigh. "But he still likes you."

She gave a quick nod. "How did you know?" She was staring ahead, her chin resting on her knees.

Ga Eul rolled her eyes. "You'd have to be blind not to notice. No wait, I bet even blind people can tell..."

Jan Di glared at her friend.

"Has he ever asked you how you felt about him? I mean, did he ever pressure you for an answer?"

She shook her head. "No, he's never asked me for anything."

Ga Eul paused for a moment. "Do you have feelings for him?"

Jan Di was silent.

"Do you still love Jun Pyo?" Ga Eul continued her interrogation, carefully examining her friend's reaction.

"I...think so..." she answered, a little slower than expected. Of course, she did. She had gone through so much for him. And they'd made it, even though this distance was putting a real strain on their relationship. She felt guilty at the conflicted feelings she was having. She scolded herself inwardly. Jun Pyo trusted her. She didn't want to hurt him again.

Ga Eul held her tight. "It will be ok. You'll figure it out."

She stared blankly ahead. "I hope so."

....

Jan Di decided that the best way to sort out her feelings was to spend less time with her sunbae. It was hard enough as she saw him every day at school. Plus, when winter started Ji Hoo decided it was too dangerous for her to ride her bike on the slick roads so he stopped by to pick her up and drop her off every day. She didn't want to make him upset by completely avoiding him, plus he was bound to notice something, so she still got a ride with him to/from school. (And really, she didn't want to walk or ride her bike in the snow either). But she was going to try to not hang out with him as much after school and on weekends. At least that was her plan.

For some reason though, she found she couldn't really stay away from him.

Ji Hoo arrived in his chauffeur driven car bright and early as usual. In the summer he often rode his bike, but during winter he hardly drove or rode. Jan Di got into the car to find a smiling Ji Hoo handing her a cup of coffee. She looked at the cup and couldn't help but smile at the smiley face he always drew on the side.

"Thanks," she mumbled, taking a sip. How many times had he bought her coffee in the past?

"Did you sleep well last night?"

She nodded.

"Ready for mid-terms?"

Her eyes widened in horror. Mid-terms? Already? Time flew by. Another year almost gone. 1 more and Jun Pyo would be back.

Ji Hoo laughed. "I can see from your expression that you're not. Well, if you need help, just ring your emergency bell."

Jan Di's face fell. Well, she had the perfect timing on her avoid-her-only-tutor plan.

She swallowed hard. "I'll be ok, sunbae."

Ji Hoo looked as if he was about to say something else, but he did not speak. When they arrived at school, they both went their separate ways.

Ji Hoo was distracted in class. Jan Di had been acting weird lately. He noted the date. Just a year left until his friend came back. Ji Hoo thought about how much Jan Di must be missing his friend and realized that maybe the reason she was acting this way was she was preparing for Jun Pyo's arrival. Surely when he comes back, she wouldn't want to be dependent on him still? Besides, it's not like he could hang out with her like this forever? He understood. It was time to slowly take a step back. Once they get married....

He tried not to think about that yet.

...

Her mid-terms did not go as well as she hoped. Jan Di stared at the piece of paper in front of her. She had failed a couple of exams. She tried to study hard, but her mind was distracted, and she just couldn't focus. Suddenly, her dream of becoming a doctor was slowly crawling out of her grasp.

She groaned as she laid on her bed. "For Jan Di" played in the background. She listened to it often these days. It calmed her nerves. And it reminded her of him.

She saw him every day but she could tell he had noticed the difference in her. He had given her space and only approached her when she needed him to. Her heart had been laden with guilt and doubt.

She missed him terribly. No, she scolded herself. Think about Jun Pyo. You miss him. Him.

One night she was up late studying in the library, four to five books scattered around her. She kept yawning and was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Aside from a couple of students chatting in the corner, the library was almost empty.

Jan Di stretched. She cannot fail again. She willed herself to study some more, but her eyes seemed to have other ideas. She closed it for a brief moment and when she realized it she gave herself a few quick slaps to wake herself up.

"What did your cheeks ever do to you?" a voice cut through the silence.

She looked up and saw Ji Hoo standing there, two cups of coffee in his hands. He set one down in front of her. Her eyes automatically darted to the smiley face drawn on the side. She took a sip of her coffee. It was hot, and it felt good going down her throat.

He sat down beside her and looked at the books she had spread around.

"Anatomy, huh?"

She just gave him a quick nod. Ji Hoo grabbed a book and flipped through the pages. "Which one's giving you trouble?"

She pointed to a page she had folded and he glanced quickly at it. Then he began to draw on a piece of paper and started explaining things to her. She nodded, listening attentively. A part of her heart felt elated sitting so close to him, listening to his voice, and just looking fixedly at his face.

Gosh, how she missed this.

They sat on a bench in the library side by side, books open on their laps. Jan Di's brain was going in shut down mode, and her eyes refused to stay open any longer.

I'll just close it for a minute, she thought.

Ji Hoo was busy writing study notes for Jan Di when he felt Jan Di's head plop onto his shoulder. He froze, unsure of what to do, even though she had done this before numerous times. She sighed in relief and snuggled even further onto his shoulder, as if finding comfort there. He sat frozen, not wanting to move, for fear of waking her up. A part of him wanted the moment to last forever, but he knew if he didn't move Jan Di would have a sore neck in the morning. He carefully extracted himself and set her down on the bench. He rolled up his scarf, gently placed it under her head, and took off his coat and covered her with it. She exhaled loudly and smiled in her sleep.

Ji Hoo stared at her, happy that she was getting some much-needed rest. Some strands of her hair had fallen on her face, so he took the strands and tenderly tucked it behind her ear. He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. He thought of a quote he read from a book:

If you're not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.

He knew there was a huge chance he was going to wait forever. But he didn't care.