I was doing a question on Algebra since I slept on it last night after watching an episode of Secret Garden. I got so tired I just slept on my homework. Now, I was rushing on getting my work done because it was due today.

  I was biting my lower lip and tapping the of my pencil, fervently hoping that I’d be able to answer this last question but my answer was far from the correct answer. I raked my fingers through my hair and was about to give in when someone said, “Hey,” and made me jump out of my skin.

  I snapped my head around to see who it was only to find my brother Dong Hae with his hands in his pockets. I looked around frantically at the staring eyes and asked him through clenched teeth in a whisper, “What are you doing here?”

  He bent his body so he could see my book and made a ‘tsk’ sound twice before saying with his eyes in my direction, “Didn’t finish your homework now, didn’t you?”

  I flushed pink and he held out his hand for my pencil. I placed it in his palm and in about ten seconds he already got the answer and gave my head a pat before leaving. I quickly checked for the answer and it was correct. I cursed under my breath for his intelligence and watched as he leisurely walk out of the library to class. He was probably using the HALL PASS to walk around the school corridors from his lesson again.

  I just watched the doors even if he was no more in sight and received yet another shocking experience when Eun Hye slid in beside me. She gripped my arm tightly and had her eyes wide open. Min Young, Han Byeol and SoRi slid in the seat opposite of me and had the same look Eun Hye had on her face.

  “What . . . was that?” SoRi asked.

  “What was what?” I asked back as I packed my stuff but Eun Hye grabbed my Exercise book and flipped open the page where my pencil was.

  She grabbed the pencil and looked at it with tears in her eyes, “This pencil was held by Dong Hae.”

  “It’s mine!” Han Byeol said and made a grab for it but Eun Hye clutched it to her chest and shook her head. Han Byeol then looked to the open book in front of her with wild-looking eyes as if she had detected prey. She took the page where my last question was neatly written with my brother’s calculation in its space provided.

  “Hey! Hey!” I said and grabbed it from her grip. I looked to their wet eyes and just thought, ‘They’re crazy!’ But not to raise suspicion, I said, “Let me just copy it in the next page before tearing it out.” They were all smiles and I added, “But I’ll be the one tearing the page, copy?” They nodded fervently and waited impatiently with dilated eyes.

  After the page was torn from my book, I placed it in front of them and they attacked it like piranhas.

  During History was a pop quiz so I was lucky I had an extra pencil. If it weren’t for Eun Hye I’d be scouring the school for one. She used the pencil I had unwillingly given her and were just all smiles using it. The other three just glared at her.

  After school today, it was my turn today to wait. Dong Hae was running unusually late but when he did come, he was on his bike. I looked at it and he said, “Well? Hop on sis!”

  I sat in the extra seat behind him and held onto his shoulders as he cycled. I loved the feel of the wind in my face and the smell of nature filling my nostrils. “Ah . . . this is nice.”

  “Hey, you don’t mind us stopping by the Supermarket for a moment, do you?” he asked as he turned to a corner. “Mom sent me a text saying that she needs a few things. She’s coming home late again tonight.”

  “Does this mean I have to cook again tonight?” I asked with a pout and he laughed.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.” Dong Hae said.

  “You better because last time I was in the kitchen all by myself!” I reprimanded and he continued to chuckle.

  We were queuing to pay for our stuff – that stood from a whole chicken that Dong Hae promised he’d cut for me, some vegetables and snacks for tomorrow when we walk – when my eyes suddenly landed on a familiar figure. I looked harder at the person and gasped.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Dong Hae asked.

  I faced the other way and handed Dong Hae his snacks. “On your nine,” I whispered in his ear and his eyes widened.

  He cleared his throat and cursed when she was coming our way. “Hey gorgeous,” she greeted my brother as she placed a hand on her hip and shifted her eight on her right foot.

  “Hey Su Yeon,” Dong Hae said and she came closer so her arm was now linked with my brother’s.

  “Shopping for snacks I see.” Su Yeon said and leaned her head on his shoulder as she picked up the Mister Potato canister. She was definitely trying to catch attention and increasing my anger.

  She continued to talk sweet to my brother and made me feel like throwing up my lunch. I couldn’t take it anymore so I walked forward and bumped my basket into her causing her jerk aside. “Sorry,” I said with a smile and my brother eyed me with a ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ look.

  She turned around, unlinking her arms with his – Thank God! – And crossed her arms as she studied me. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked. Clearly, she’s angry.

  “Look, I’m really sorry.” I said half-heartedly and she sensed it.

  “You listen here; this guy here is my boyfriend! If you dare do anything like that again, you’re going to get it from him.” Su Yeon said.

  Just at the mention of the word ‘boyfriend’ I coughed and didn’t pay attention to her next sentence. If only she knew the person she was talking to was his sister.

  “Look, she said sorry already okay? Forget her. She’s not worth it.” Dong Hae said, trying to break us apart.

  Su Yeon just smugly held her head up high and then blew Dong Hae a kiss before going back to her line. He let out a sigh of relief and then just shoved the stuff in his hands back into my basket.

  “Aren’t you going to run after her and give her a ‘Goodbye Kiss’?” I said.

  He eyed me and then pushed me in front. “Just go and pay for the stuff will you.”

  The next day at school, I had been blacklisted by Su Yeon’s group because my locker had suddenly been spray-painted in black the words, ‘LOSER!’ Eun Hye’s locker was a few lockers from mine so she saw my locker. She was in shock.

  “God . . . what happened, Hye Ryung?” she asked.

  I answered, “One word for you . . . Su Yeon.”

  “Su Yeon? Why Su Yeon?” she asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

  “I pissed her off yesterday when I went shopping at the Supermarket. I pushed her with my basket and she was pushed away from-” I stopped myself just in time I was about to say ‘my brother’, “Dong Hae.” I finished off my sentence and slammed my locker shut.

  “I swear he’s just everywhere around you, isn’t he?” Eun Hye said and added, “That’s it. I am following you home after school.”

  “No!” I said a little too loudly and cleared my throat to say it again in a more calmed and toned down voice, “I mean, no. I’m visiting my grandmother after school.”

  “Alright, just say so. You didn’t have to shout.” Eun Hye said and the both of us walked to class.

  It felt weird with Eun Hye today. She was awfully quiet and would occasionally steal glances at me. She was partially giving me the creeps. Eun Hye could easily read me like the back of her hand but when it came to Dong Hae, she was oblivious and now it seemed she was getting warmer to the truth.

  After school, I constantly looked over my shoulder to see if she wasn’t following me. When I was confident enough she wasn’t, I continued to walk without looking back every ten steps. Dong Hae was waiting patiently, sitting cross-legged on the grass, leaning his back against the palm tree.

  He opened one eye when he heard me coming and said, “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah,” I answered and he was standing up when Eun Hye came out of nowhere and yelled, ‘I got you!’

  Both Dong Hae and I were frozen and in horror. Eun Hye hadn’t really digested the situation and probably thought she had caught me on a date but didn’t expect to see Dong Hae there. Her smile soon melted off and she was awestruck. “That-that’s not Sung Min.” Eun Hye said with her forefinger pointed in Dong Hae’s direction.

  I turned to Dong Hae and he looked to me for an explanation. I made a ‘Wait a sec’ look and pulled Eun Hye to the side. She was hyperventilating all of a sudden as I pushed her against the bark of a tree. “Why are you panting? You didn’t run, did you?” I asked.

  She grabbed me by the collar and pulled me close to ask me, “You didn’t tell me you were dating Lee Dong Hae!”

  I pushed her hands aside and said, “I’m not! We’re just . . . just . . .” I was just about to tell her the truth when Dong Hae just had to come to the rescue.

  “We’re old buddies. Our parents are close.” Dong Hae explained – or lied – for me as he eavesdropped on our conversation at the side.

  “So-so what, you guys go home with each other or-or something?” Eun Hye asked while looking from me to Dong Hae.

  “I was entrusted with the duty by my mom.” Dong Hae said with a smile.

  Eun Hye then smiled and asked, “Mind if I join you guys?”

  I wanted to say we were headed somewhere else – yet another lie – but Dong Hae interrupted me by saying, “Sure.”

  Along the way instead of walking beside me like the good shy friend she should be, Eun Hye walked beside Dong Hae. She kept asking him questions about his life, his hobbies, what were the songs he liked or which band he liked. They were mostly trivial questions about himself more than about us – Dong Hae and me.

  When we got to her street, she pouted and said, “Aw . . . this is me.” She then turned to Dong Hae and said happily, “Well, I hope we’ll see each other soon. It was nice meeting you and talking to you.” She waved at him and then disappeared.

  I just stared at her as she disappeared behind the door to her house. “Nice friend you got there, I might just ask her out soon enough.” Dong Hae exclaimed and I punched him in the arm, hard.

  “Let’s go home.” I said flatly and marched home.