10…

The lecturer was scribbling some words on the white board and explaining them later in a shrieking tone. Her red outfit of the day was too striking for some of the students and none mentioned anything other than showing a look of distaste from time to time.

8…

Some students acted like they were listening, a few had the fine expression of boredom displayed on their face, a whole lot of them were doodling on any paper surface. No one could fall asleep under that shrieking voice. They definitely didn’t want to have nightmares.

6…

And there was Oh Sehun, comfortably seated way back nearing the end of the room. His eyes, however, were not fixated on the lecturer or the white board. His eyes were trained on the digital watch on his table.

5…

4…

He quickly and quietly tucked in his notebook and pen to his backpack.

3…

He moved his chair slightly away from the table.

2…

He put his watch into his pocket and turned his body so he was looking at the back door now.

1…

The obnoxious sound of the bell knocked the students out of their trance of thoughts and the students instinctively stood up and bow to the lecturer a bit too eagerly. Each of them wanted to end this torture and out of the campus to enjoy their weekends.

Sehun lowered his body as the students stood up and dashed towards the back door. He ran as if his life depended on it. He clutched his bag and ran down a few flights of stairs, out of the building, careful not to bump into anyone and to another building within the campus. He could feel his lungs burning, his leg muscles aching as a consequence of oxygen debt, but he was still running. Once he reached the next building, he ran again along the hall way to the back on the second floor.

When he was nearing the end of the hallway, he slowed down, taking in large amount of oxygen before exhaling. He supported his upper torso with his hands on his knee and tried to slow down his vigorously beating heart. The bell rang shortly afterwards and after a couple of seconds, lecturers walked out of their respective rooms and students were soon seen crowding the hallway. He straightened his back and wiped his sweat forming on his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt before casually walking forward.

Sehun poked his head into a room and found that the person he wanted to find was talking to a student. He let his eyes wander in the room and fixed on a familiar figure.

“Noona.” Sehun walked to the girl’s side and smiled.

“Hey Sehun.” Qian ying stopped a while from packing her stuff into her bag and smiled at him.

Sehun looked at one corner of the room and noticed that the person was still engage in the conversation with the other student. Qian ying mirrored his action and smiled.

“I have to attend the club now. Walk her there later?” Qian ying gave him a teasing smile and Sehun’s face reddened a little.

 “Sure,” Sehun assured and waved goodbye at her.

After deciding that the person was talking for too long and plus, Sehun was not a very patient person to begin with, he walked closer to the duo.

Close enough to hear the conversation taking place between the two but far enough to give a distance of privacy.

“Why am I always pairing with you? Look at the marks I get from this?”

Sehun stopped his pace when he heard this. It was not said loudly but it was certainly audible to his ears. He looked up at the two. The student who commented that had her back facing him.

“I’m sorry. So sorry.” The other girl bowed her head low.

“Sorry can’t help me get a grade A!” The student continued.

“I will do better next time.” The girl still had her head hung low.

“You always say that but I see no improvement! And I was paired with you for four times now!” The other fuming student had both her hands on her hip.

 

“I will really work harder!”

“You better! Or just go back to where you come from!”

And at that last statement, Sehun finally snapped but still restricting himself from interrupting their conversation.

The girl then walked away, too irritated to notice Sehun glaring at the back of her head. He then walked quickly to the student who remained rooted at the ground, with her head hanging low.

She then saw the appearance of a rather familiar pair of shoes interrupting her view of the ground. She raised her head to meet with a concern smile.

“Are you okay?” Sehun asked cautiously.

“Oh! Hello Sehun.” Xu fei smiled.

Sehun knitted his eyebrows together, easily saw through her façade.

“I heard everything.”

Her smile slipped out of her face and she lowered her head again.

Xu Fei had moved to Korea from China 3 years ago. Eventhough she attended classes to learn Korean language, she was still weak at it. Instead of just studying the context, she spent more time understanding the Korean characters on the book and hence her results were not that satisfying. She had a problem conversing in Korean as well and that led her to have only a few friends who were all Chinese.

“Just ignore what she said.”

“How can I?” She said slowly, trying to pronounce the phrase as precise as possible.

“You are learning a whole new language and it’s not a simple task! How could she be so insensitive and accuse you of things that is not within your say for change…” He stopped when he noticed he said every word too fast and turned to look at her.

She was showing a confused face.

Sehun repeated the exact same words but slower and he replaced some of the words with more simple ones, hoping to make the latter understand.

“That’s very nice of you.” She smiled.

Sehun smiled as well.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t actually get what she said. I could catch some words though, but yea, that’s about it.” She played with the ends of her hair.

Sehun’s eyes widened before letting out a laugh.

“Then why did you apologize?”

Xu Fei glared at him. “ I can understand basic facial expression and she was certainly not smiling.”

“Right right.” Sehun nodded, feeling a bit stupid for asking.

 “That’s the only thing I can do.” She shrugged. She knew too little terms to rebuke anyways.

“So what did she say?” Xu Fei met his gaze.

Sehun looked at her. “There’s no need to know.”

“But I want to know. I know she mentioned grades and something 4 times…” She really wanted to know what that student thought of her so that she could improve and be at least more likeable.

“I am not telling.” Sehun made himself comfortable on a chair.

“Sehun….” She whined.

“Nope.” He glanced at his watch.

“What time is it?” Xu Fei finally remembered she had to attend the curriculum that she enrolled herself in.

“5 minutes to 5.”

“What?! I am so late.” The cooking club would end at 6 and she knew Qian Ying would be worried when she couldn’t see her.

“I have to go.” She quickly shoved all her stuff on the table to her bag.

She then held the strap of her bag and ready to dash out.

Sehun extended his hand and got a hold of the strap of her bag.

“No need to. It’s okay to skip once.”

“No, Qian ying will be worry about my absence…”

Sehun rolled his eyes. “No worries, just text her.”

“But…but we would be going for my grocery shopping later as well…” She felt guilty of always asking Qian Ying to accompany her to shop for the necessities and all. She was still not confident with her Korean language and she would feel better if there was someone who she was familiar with to accompany her.

She tried to tug her bag strap away from Sehun’s iron grip.

“Sehun, let go! I have to catch up with Qian Ying!”

“Stop sticking to Qian ying noona.”

“What?” She loosened her grip on the bag strap.

“Er…I mean…” He felt her hurtful gaze on him.

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” She knew too many people who were irked by her for clinging to Qian Ying for too much.

To begin with, she wasn’t very welcome in the academy. She wasn’t exceptionally pretty like Qian Ying and not very smart like Song Ning. Being very left behind in Korean language had earned her cold shoulders from most students here. Some were very suspicious of why she could be accepted into the academy in the first place. There were a few students who particularly like to target her. They always made her feel the worst of the worst. She never meant to let any of her close friends knew about this matter but in God’s will, Sehun and Qian Ying stumbled upon the scene.

“What? No!” Sehun denied almost immediately before standing up.

“Then why?” She raised her head to meet his eyes.

“Well….be….be…because of…” He was desperately praying for an excuse to hit him in the head.

“Because of?”

“……Well…errr……Kris hyung!” Sehun mentally apologized of using Kris as an excuse.

“What about him?”

“He was a bit annoyed of not spending enough time with Qian Ying noona.”

“What? He’s annoyed by me as well…” Xu Fei had very limited friends and so she took every friend she has very seriously and with care. She really would not want anyone in her small social circle to dislike her.

Sehun mentally smacked his head. Way to go for making her feel guiltier, moron!

“He’s not…I mean....errr…..he’s not annoyed…most definitely not…” He was fumbling with his words right now.

“Oh…I’m sorry that I am taking too much Qian Ying’s time...” Qian Ying had been her translator since her arrival in this school and the person that understood her the most.

 

“No…I mean.” He had no intention of making her feeling guiltier than she was now.

“I mean, you can ask me for help sometime. Yea, I can help.”

She looked at him confusedly.

“But that will trouble you…”
“No, no trouble at all. I am happy to help.” He waved his hand in front of him.

He was more than delighted to be her usher or .

“Really?” Next to Qian Ying, she was the closest to Sehun.

“Yea.” Sehun nodded.

“Aww, thank you!” Xu fei never thought of asking Sehun for fear she would bother too much of his time since he was at the last year of his high school.

“That is nothing.” Sehun blushed and scratched the back of his head in utmost shyness.

 “Well….I am supposed to go to administration office tomorrow. Can you accompany me then?” Qian ying cut of her lunch date with Kris just because of this. If he agreed, then Qian ying could have her time with Kris.

“Of course.” He replied a little too happily.

“I should apologize to Kris for all the trouble I have caused.” She sighed, feeling extremely apologetic for Kris.

“No…no…there’s…no need for that.” Sehun waved his hands in front of her.

“But…” Her words were cut off by Sehun.

“It’s okay!” He exclaimed and that causes Xu Fei to jump a little.

“Sorry.” He then muttered and lowered his head in embarrassment.

“It’s alright.” She made a mental note to apologize to Kris later.

She didn’t mean to take up too much of his girlfriend’s time. It was just that she really needed company.

Sehun wiped his cold sweat and sighed in relief when Xu Fei had dropped the conversation. He hoped she would forget about apologizing for something that wasn’t even true in the first place. Or else, he would have to suffer Kris’s wrath.