Epilogue 1 – Like Family

The holidays went by back before they knew it and Dahyun and Chaeyoung found themselves in their second year at Jinyoung High School.
Honestly, their first year of school went by very quickly too in their opinion. Only upon recalling all that had happened did the two realize a year had passed.

“I still cannot believe Sungjoon-sunbae gave Jihyo half a button and called it a day…” Dahyun quipped, the scene from the graduation in mid-February still fresh in her mind.

Chaeyoung shrugged, “I think it was very in-line with Sungjoon oppa’s character. He is opting to think things through, unlike that time with Sana.”

Chaeyoung seemed to have gone quiet before adding, “Plus Jihyo realized this too and went with Sungjoon oppa’s train of thought…I guess they match in the end…”

“Wait…” Dahyun said, noting Chaeyoung’s change in tone, “Does that mean you are accepting the Jihyo-Sungjoon sunbae pairing now and moving on?!?”

“Shhhh…I am not…completely…over oppa yet. I did have a crush on him since elementary school! I’m not a loose woman, you crazy tofu!” Chaeyoung gave Dahyun a judgmental look, “But I mean if I can’t have Sungjoon oppa, at least he got a shojo anime moment with a pretty nice girl and I got to see it happen…”

Dahyun giggled as she turned away from Chaeyoung.
That girl was totally getting over Sungjoon since she was making excuses instead of making a Jihyo dartboard to attack.
Suddenly, Ok seonseng came in, coughing for everyone’s attention.

He looked…different.

“Wait, why does he look so dapper now?” Dahyun awed at the much better looking English teacher.

“Have you not heard from Bambam? Ok seonseng is dating Yubin seonseng now! He must have gotten fashion advice or is finally starting to care!” Chaeyoung muttered. With Jimin abroad and the likes of Jackson having graduated, Bambam was now the official gossip channel of Jinyoung High School.

“Um…attention! We have an exchange student this year…for the first time – from New York! Say hello to Vernon Chwe from Pledis Academy!”

Dahyun found her jaw dropping to her desk.
A boy who looked like a young Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in front of the class with messy blonde hair and the Jinyoung High School uniform on.
His tie hung loose around his shirt collar, almost stylishly, and it framed his perfectly sharp jawline and brooding gaze.

Dahyun was not the only one in a trance.
Even somewhat-still-into-Sungjoon Chaeyoung looked awestruck.

“Annyeongaseyo! I am Chwe Vernon! My dad is Korean and my mum is American. I’m from New York but I can speak Korean. I look forward to learning from you all!”

The fact he could speak fluent Korean seemed to have made him ten times more attractive than he already was.
The girls in the class collectively giggled while the boys all rolled their eyes.

“You will be sitting – here!” Ok seonseng gestured to the desk besides Dahyun.
Dahyun’s heart almost leaped out of her chest.
The attractive American boy took the seat beside her and threw her a laid-back smirk.

“Hey,” he said.

“Ayy…Hey?!” she replied, almost completely embarrassing herself.

Vernon chuckled at her gesture and Dahyun was already excited for this school year to begin.

“Mum, I’m home!”

Dahyun skipped into her family apartment in high spirits, dropping her school bag on the couch as she shimmied her way into the bathroom.
Vernon was a wonderful desk neighbor, not just because he was easy on the eyes but he was so friendly.
Why could someone so impossibly perfect exist…

“AHHHH!”

“WAHHHHH!”

Dahyun was met by a boy with nothing but a towel around his waist when she opened the bathroom door.
What made it worst was she knew this boy.
And she rather not know him at all.

“What is this mum?”

“I told you last week that a family friend’s son is staying with us! The parents had to go back to Canada for an emergency so…”

“NO, NO, NO! Not about that! You never told me the friend’s son is…” she gestured to the boy rolling his eyes beside her, “Mark. FREAKING. Lee.”

The part-time worker from SMTown Café coughed to interrupt, “Um…I was also not told I would be living with FREAKING. WEIRD. DANCING. GIRL. I see at work!?!”

“Good! You two know each other!” Dahyun’s mother laughed, completely ignoring the context of how the two knew each other, “That means living together these few months would be a lot easier!”

“NO IT WON’T,” both Dahyun and Mark seem to say in their minds.