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Jiseol had an opened book and her whirring laptop laid out in front of her, yet they were left untouched in the past half hour she'd been in the library. All she'd done was stare straight at her laptop screen, completely lost in the same train of thoughts that hadn't escaped her mind since the day before.
It just didn't make sense.
Everything was there. The resources, the methods, the opportunity for Mark to pull off something that huge. But Jiseol couldn't quite put her finger on Mark's motive. What did he have to do with the sex tape? What would he gain from publishing The Grand Reveal and potentially jeopardize everything he ever worked for?
Jiseol didn't want to admit that one of the reasons why she found it hard to believe that it was Mark was because he wasn't an enemy. Far from it; he was her Astral mentor and one of her sweetest, most loving friends. She couldn't imagine that he'd do such a thing to her.
Yet then again, from what she had experienced during the downfall of her life only a month ago, she learnt that not all that leaves the mouth reflects that of the heart.
"Jiseol?"
A voice she didn't recognize greeted her. Jiseol calmly looked to see who it was, but upon seeing that it was Yangyang, heat rose to her cheeks as she quickly fixed her posture. She gave him a sheepish smile, mentally cursing herself for being so awkward.
"Oh, hi," Jiseol attempted to play cool, though her heart was racing. It didn't help that Yangyang looked better today than on the day of the interview—his gummy grin stirred up a nervous feeling in Jiseol's stomach that she hadn't felt in a long time.
She, undeniably, was beginning to have a crush.
"How can I help you, Yangyang?"
"Well, this is indeed a problem only you can solve and it's just my luck that I bumped into you here," he said with a teasing tone. "My problem is that I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since we had that interview. I think we really clicked, you know?"
Jiseol hoped that her blush wasn't obvious. She wiped her clammy hands on her jeans, waiting for Yangyang to finish talking though she could expect where the conversation was heading.
"So I was wondering if you'd might want to go on a date with me? I heard you're not seeing anyone right now, but no pressure! It's fine if you're not interested."
"It's not that I'm not interested..." Jiseol trailed off. "It's just that every guy that has talked to me in this past month either wants to make fun of me or promise that they can one up my ex-boyfriend. I don't think I'm ready yet."
Plus the fact that said ex-boyfriend hadn't stopped traumatizing her, Jiseol wasn't sure if she would ever be ready to be dating again.
"That sucks," Yangyang winced. "I mean, I respect your decision. I understand and I won't force you to trust me, but the offer will always be there for a girl as cool as you."
