I'm so drained that I can barely understand a word that Mrs. Jang is uttering. She has a bright pink cooking apron on, along with a wide smile. Her hair is curled in at the bottom, giving her look a happy sort of 'bounce'. "Okay, class," she says in an overly spastic tone. "Since it's Valentines Day, we will be making chocolate today!"

A chorus of giggles and happy cheers runs through our class. The thought of mushy love probably excites these teenage girls, though over the years I've given up hope. I tie my hair back into a bun at the top of my head, tie my apron back and head to a bench, where there is instructions along with ingredients. "Hey, partner," a low voice says, slinking down next to me. I take a peek through my lashes up at the person speaking, and my mouth drops open. "J-Jo Hana!" I mumble, stepping backwards instinctively.

"What? Did you want to do Home Ec on your own? We're stuck together for the whole year," she says, looking far off. After observing my sour expression, she scoffs. "You think I want to be partnered with you either? This is just an act." Her face twists into an unfamiliar expression, as if she's said something she wasn't supposed to, a boundary crossed.

"Why?" I say softly. "Who are you using me to get to?" I say it with simplicity, but I already know the answer. Kim Myungsoo. "Anyway," I say, clearing my throat. "You get started on those cocoa beans. I'll go ask Mrs. Jang for a pepper grinder."

I hold the piece of paper up in front of her, and she unwillingly grabs it.


Hours later, I stand in the same bench, looking at our creations with a bewildered face. On the left, Hana has made two dozen small chocolates, all in the same shap--a blob. They have no icing or decoration, aren't put in a box, but are piled together to create a giant chocolate pyramid. She stares at her work, with an obviously pleased face. 

On the right is my little boxes filled with chocolate. 8 all together, one for Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Hoya, Sungjong, Woohyun, Sungyeol, Myungsoo and Youngmin. I sigh. They'll all probably be getting heaps of chocolates already, probably even before Valentines Day and after. I'll have to give Sunggyu his box after school at the cafe, since he doesn't even go to this school anymore. 

"Aren't you popular?" Hana says, teasing. At least I hope she's teasing. My cheeks turn bright red, and I shake my head furiously. "N-no...this isn't for my boyfriend," I blush further at the word, "They're my co-workers. And boss." It feels strange referring to Sungyeol as my boss. The thought almost makes me laugh.

She raises her eyebrows, as if saying 'Whatever you say'. As we pack up, I can see from the corner of my eye, Hana is stuffing all the little chocolates into . I pile the chocolates onto my textbook, and head out for lunch.

In the cafeteria, I can see Sungyeol, Hoya, Woohyun and Dongwoo. "Hi," I say, shyly, plopping down beside Woohyun. His face lights up as soon as he sees me. "Is that for me?" he says, pointing to the bundle of boxes in my arms. I nod, and hand him his own.

"This is for you," I say, giving them their chocolates. I hope they can't see the blazing fire of heat rising up my cheeks. "Thank you!" they chorus, already digging in like the wild beasts they are. I watch their eyes light up as they eat them one by one, munching happily. It fills me up.

"I'm going to go find Sungjong, Youngmin and L," I tell them, picking my things up. As I turn around to leave, someone grabs onto my wrist. I spin around, but just by the action I can tell who it is. Before I can react, Sungyeol's lips come crashing down onto my skin, onto my blushing red cheeks. I can hear a loud gasp coming from our table, along with the rest of the student body. I blush further, inching away. 

He smiles, so much that it reaches his eyes. "Thank you," he says in English. He places a cute love-heart shaped box in my hands. "Yours. In America, guys give girls Valentines Day presents too. So eat it happily and think of me!"

I bow gratefully, and practically run out of the cafeteria. My head spins. In one week I was kissed twice. One on the lips, one on the cheek. The love-heart box in my hands feels heavy. I open it, and immediately I give out a large gasp.

My face, a girl with a floppy front fringe, curly side burns and a little bun at the top of her head. She wears circular glasses and is blushing. Sungyeol, with his signature haircut, his cheesy smile and a wink. Americano the dog. YeolPuppy. And 'I ♥ U', all in blocks of chocolate. It almost seems too beautiful to eat. All of a sudden, my plain little chocolates look close to nothing. What did I expect? Sungyeol is a cafe owner's son. He is a baker. He is a barista. In my eyes, he can do anything.

As I close the lid, I bump into a tall figure. Almost like...a tree. Youngmin falls onto his with a loud 'Oof!'. Immediately, I help him get up, bowing at the same time. "I'm so sorry!" I squirm. I barely realised Sungjong next to him, until he grabs onto Youngmin's other side. "You okay?" he says.

Youngmin nods, blushing. "I'm fine! Hi Nana." He holds his hands out expectantly. I blink. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?" I ask innocently.

"My chocolates! You did make me some, didn't you? Don't tell me you forgot," he says with a pout. I feign a forgetful face, but it ends in a few seconds. I'm not a good liar, and I don't even know how to explain a 'forgetful face'. I hand him one box, and give one to Sungjong. "Happy Valentines Day!" I say.

"So you who's your Valentine?" Sungjong asks randomly. 

"Sorry?"

"I said, 'Who's your Valentine?' Well, you did give it to," he counts his fingers. "Eight of us. Who is it?"

I bite my lip, names circuling my mind. Sungjong. Woohyun. Youngmin. Hoya. Dongwoo. Sunggyu. Sungyeol. Myungsoo. Who is my Valentine? "I-I'm not actually sure..." I stutter, looking down at my feet.

Youngmin puts his hand on his heart. "You bad girl. I thought I was your one and only," he says, jokingly. I bow, anyway, already speeding down the hallway. "Sorry, Youngmin! I'm going to find Myungsoo now. Bye, Sungjong!" I give a half-hearted wave, as the two boys wave back. 

As I walk away, I can barely hear Youngmin mutter. "She's in a rush..."

Once I'm outside the school grounds, it's completely empty. The snow is still covering the ground, falling in little flakes that cling to the windows and teachers cars. No one in their right mind would be outside for lunch in winter. But I look around anyway. I search the parking lot, the playground area, everywhere.

When I'm about to give up, I see a small figure. He's blurry and tiny, but still, there. I speed up, taking more steps as I go along, until it's clear. Kim Myungsoo is sitting under a tree, branches flowing in the wind, it's petals surrounding him in a carpet. In Winter. 

I hurry over to him, but he looks like he's in a daze. As I'm close enough to whisper to him, I can see that he has earphones plugged into his ears. I creep down on all fours, realising that the petals protect my skin from the harsh snow. 

It reminds me of the year before. When all I did was stare at his face as he dreamed, as he was off in some place of his weird innocence. I poke him gently, and immediately, his eyes open, scaring the living daylights out of me.

"What are you doing out here?" he says, sitting up. "It's cold."

"I could ask you the same thing," I say defensively. I sit up, and wiggle next to him. "Here," I say, handing him the box of his chocolates. "This is yours."

"What's the other one?" he says, taking his box. He's pointing to Sungyeol's.

"Ah this..." I say, blushing again. "It's from Sungyeol."

For a minute he doesn't speak. No one does. The realisation that we're alone in the outside of school is chilling. The silence creeps in. "Oh," he says finally. "I didn't get you anything."

"You didn't have to," I say, shrugging.

His perfect hands crawl down to the carpet of petals we're sitting on, playing with each of them. He holds a pile up in his palm, then places one in my hand. For a minute, I stare at it, unsure what he's giving me. Then I see it. Rather than the lifeless, colourless leaves I'm used to seeing around winter, this petal is alive. It's bursting with life, pink blooming around the corners.

He has given me the first sign of Spring.

boring, I know! AND WHAT HAPPENED TO BRINGING HANEUL IN? feel free to yell at me, hahah! its not valentines yet, but, ehh. :p