"Sooyeon!"

The said girl slightly moved back from her locker and blinked at the sight of Minji running towards her from the end of the hallway. The girl came to a halt as soon as she was in arms' reach, and Sooyeon had to hold her before Minji could come crashing into her.

"Minji, what's the rush? You know better than to run in the hallways," she softly chided her friend as she brushed Minji's hair away from her face. The other was still trying to catch her breath but she was giggling from excitement, and Sooyeon had to cover her ears when the girl let out a squeal.

"Park Chanyeol asked me out!" Minji exclaimed, bouncing excitedly as she grasped onto Sooyeon's shoulders. "He finally asked me out!"

Sooyeon blinked, taken back by the sudden dolphin-like squeal before her mind could process the other's words. "Wait, what?" she asked dumbfoundedly, trying to grasp onto Minji's elbows to stop her from jumping.

Minji's eyes were glimmering in delight as she repeated her words. "Park Chanyeol, the Park Chanyeol; my crush since middle school, the guy I've been flirting with in Chemistry - finally asked me out!"

And cue another ear-splitting squeal.

"Minji, stop!" Sooyeon groaned, placing a palm over her friend's mouth to silence her. She could feel the other's lips brushing against her skin as she pulled on a sheepish smile before pulling away from Sooyeon. "So... you're dating Park Chanyeol now?" Sooyeon asked, smiling when Minji nodded enthusiastically before she could even finish her sentence.

"I can't believe it myself! It's like a dream come true!"

Sooyeon chuckled and patted her friend lightly on the back. "Well, congratulations then. I'm so happy for you," she sincerely congratulated her best friend who looked like she had won a lottery. Sooyeon figured that being Park Chanyeol's girlfriend is way exclusive than winning a lottery to Minji, but right now that's all she could use to describe how happy her best friend was. "Does this mean I'm eating lunch alone now?" she asked, turning away from her friend to get her books from the locker.

"Huh?" came the confused reply and Sooyeon glanced at her friend briefly before chuckling.

"Are you that happy about becoming Park Chanyeol's girlfriend that you don't even understand what I'm saying right now?" she joked, shutting her locker and turning back to her friend.

Minji rolled her eyes at this. "I understood that perfectly, genius. You won't be eating lunch on your own. You're coming with me, of course," she told her friend who seemed perplexed at the idea.

"Uh, there's no need for that." Sooyeon quickly said with a shake of her head. "I'll be fine by myself."

"But-"

"I was fine alone when you were gone to America for two weeks, Min."

Minji sighed. "But I won't be dating Chanyeol for only two weeks, you know. At least, I hope not," she pouted but then quickly shook her head. "So yeah, I'm not going to dump you just to have lunch with my boyfriend."

Sooyeon caught the blush on Minji's cheeks at the word 'boyfriend' and she chuckled to herself, feeling amused to see her friend acting all shy. She then sighed when she thought back of their current discussion. "Min, you know how I am around other people aside from you and our families. I get really awkward and and and Park Chanyeol's friends are all guys!"

"I don't care, Soo. I am not going to let you eat lunch alone. Ever," Minji stated determiningly. "It's either we eat together at my boyfriend's table with his friends or we eat together like usual."

"But don't you want to eat lunch with your boyfriend?" Sooyeon asked uncomfortably, knowing that Minji was guilt tripping her.

"Of course I do," the other nodded. "But you're my best friend, and you come first. So..."

Sooyeon sighed and turned to walk to her first class. "I'll think about it."

She tried.

She really did try. The moment the bell rang, signalling it was lunchtime, Sooyeon zapped out of her Maths class faster than she had ever done before and made her way to the library, knowing that it was the last place Minji would step foot into. But luck was not on her side when she bumped into her best friend right at the end of the hallway, and the girl was smirking triumphly as soon as Sooyeon came to a halt right in front of her.

"Hello, best friend."

Sooyeon groaned and rolled her eyes. Still, she didn't argue when Minji began to drag her to the cafeteria with a light skip in her steps, and for a moment Sooyeon thought of how happy Minji seemed to be at the thought of eating with her boyfriend. She knew that if she insisted to be left alone, her friend would definitely sulk and not talk to her for the rest of the day. Sighing in defeat, she stopped trying to tug her wrist out of Minji's grip and willingly walked with her. Noticing her sign of defeat, Minji paused to smile widely at her before throwing her arms around Sooyeon's shoulders to hug the daylights out of her.

"Thanks, Soo. I promise if you're really uncomfortable sitting with them, we'll have lunch by ourselves okay? Just hang in there for today," Minji told her with a smile before grabbing her hand and leading her to the long table in the middle of the crowded cafeteria.

Sooyeon noticed a guy from her Maths class already seated there, but she didn't recall his name although she acknowledged him as one of Park Chanyeol's friends. There was another guy seated at the opposite sight and he had his face buried in his arms on the table, so Sooyeon couldn't tell who it was. Just as they were reaching the table, the guy from her Maths class lifted his head and spotted Minji before flashing her a smile.

"Hey, Minji. So you're joining us for lunch here from now on, huh?" he asked, his tone playful as he wiggled his eyebrows at his best friend's new girlfriend.

Minji blushed and shyly nodded her head. "Of course, Kyungsoo. Uhm, I hope you don't mind but I brought a friend," she told him and turned to Sooyeon, flashing her a comforting smile. "This is Kyungsoo. He's a friend of Chanyeol."

Sooyeon gave the boy an awkward smile before slightly lowering her head, feeling really awkward now that there was somebody else around her. She was used to being ignored by everyone so having Kyungsoo looking directly at her with his warming smile made her anxious.

"You're in my Maths class, aren't you?" Kyungsoo asked in a friendly manner. "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch your name though."

"S-Sooyeon," she replied timidly, still not daring to look at the boy in the eye although she kept her head up.

Kyungsoo noticed her discomfort and slightly backed away, since he had taken a step to approach her upon noticing her presence earlier, and gave her an understanding smile. "Take a sit, girls. Chanyeol and the others would be here soon," he said before his eyes shifted to the guy hunched by the table. "Kai, get up. Don't sleep here," he chided the boy and lightly ruffled the back of his head.

"Kyungsoo..." the boy groaned as he lifted his head. "Just let me--" Sooyeon blinked in confusion when the tanned boy's words faltered the moment their eyes met. She watched as a small frown made its way on his forehead before he turned to Kyungsoo. "Wha--"

"This is Minji," Kyungsoo cut him off as he pointed to Minji. "She's Chanyeol's girlfriend, and this is her friend, Sooyeon."

Before Kai could respond to the introduction, he was suddenly jumped from behind by a tall guy with fair skin and sharp prodding jawlines. Kai hissed and scowled at the newcomer before turning back to Sooyeon and Minji, and the other followed his gaze before grinning lightly. "Ah, Chanyeol's girlfriend is sitting with us today," he said before glancing between the two girls. "But, which one is she?"

Minji blushed but before she could respond, a hand s its way around her waist from behind, making her jump. The action made her let go of Sooyeon's hand and the other slightly pulled away when she realised that Chanyeol was right behind them. Her best friend blushed redder at the contact, much to everyone's amusement.

"Does that answer your question?" Kyungsoo asked, and Sooyeon noticed the other guy nodding with a smirk on his face. She then took notice of another guy approaching their table and plopping himself into the seat next to Kai without hesitation.

"Why is everyone standing around? Come sit. Our precious lunch time is almost over," he snapped with a roll of his eyes, and the boys immediately took their seats. Chanyeol pulled Minji to sit beside him, but the girl was quick to pull Sooyeon with her and sat her on her other side, making her sit right across the tanned guy.

"I hope you guys don't mind, but I brought my friend with me," Minji said to them, and suddenly everyone's gazes were on Sooyeon. Realising this, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and awkwardly bowed her head to them.

"Aww, don't be so formal," the guy who had snapped earlier told her with a wide grin. "No one's going to bite. I'm Baekhyun, by the way. Here we have Kai, Sehun and Kyungsoo," he said as he pointed to the respective owners of the names he mentioned. "What's your name?"

"Sooyeon," she replied, clearing when it came out hoarse. "Lee Sooyeon."

"And I'm Chanyeol," the tall guy with a blinding smile and deep voice said as he smiled at her. "I'm guessing you're the Sooyeon who sang a lullaby to my Minji over the phone when she got scared of a storm in America?" he asked, and Sooyeon turned to Minji who immediately blushed.

"Y-Yah..."

Chanyeol chuckled and planted a kiss on her temple, earning feigned noises of protests from around the table. "Don't worry, baby. That's nothing to be embarrassed about," he assured her, making Minji blush again.

Sooyeon lightly smiled at the sight before turning back to the table. The guys were all smiling warmly at her, and despite feeling slightly uncomfortable still, she managed them a small smile in return, one that made Baekhyun coo and made her blush. Her eyes suddenly met Kai's then, and a sudden feeling of warmth spread through her at his soft gaze.

Flustered, she looked away just in time to meet the president of the student body in person.