Jiyeon's POV

Oh gawd...why do I have to sit next to him?

Well I suppose it's better than when I had to sit next to Kikwang while he made "love" with his girlfriend Nam Jihyun...

Or I guess it was better than sitting alone, brooding sadly about Lee Taemin being taken even after he [okay, temporarily] split me and Sohee up...

But still!

Around me though, people kept murmuring about us as if they knew everything, or as if I couldn't hear them at all...both of which started to piss me off.

Especially when trust is always out of the question for me now.

Once everyone finally sat down on the cushioney velvet chairs [which, by the way, are a whole lot more comfortable than the normal blue chairs], the blonde American teacher began her introductions, what she expected from the class, et al. I was only half-listening, as the other half of me was still too self-conscious and agitated to keep up.

It was only when the teacher mentioned a certain "partner project" that my attention really started to perk up.

"Project!? On the first day of school?" a blonde guy several rows up-front whined. I was wondering just the same thing.

"Yes, on the first day of school, Choi Jun Hong, so I suggest you pay attention," she patiently explained, ignoring the current sea of clamor and whines. I just sighed and started playing with my fingers, when Seung-Ho suddenly held my hand [again...] and asked with a smile, "Do you mind working with me, Yeon-ah?"

"Do I have a choice?" I asked quietly, avoiding his eyes.

"O-Of course you do," he replied, slightly startled, "Why - "

"The project," the teacher began loudly, "Is basically a trip down memory lane. Art isn't all about discovering how to portray the outside things well, but also the inner feelings and soul. So, until the end of the school year, each day you'll be required to write or draw a memory down. And this is what your partners are for - to combine the memories and best come up with a way to portray it as beautiful an art piece as possible. You can write it, paint it, sketch it, it's all your choice."

"Can we write about anything?" a girl named Luna shyly asked.

"Sure, why not? But if you choose romance, make sure to not be too cheesy," the teacher winked, making Luna giggle.

"Partners?" someone else piped up, hopefully.

"Anyone you wish," she said, grinning. "The rest of the period, talk with your partner and decide how you're going to do this project; it's 50% of your overall grade."

All at once, the whole class seemed to jump up as they ran off to their fave clique friends, squealing and hugging and ranting all about "the project." I sighed and looked over at Seung-Ho, who looked shy but hopeful. A smile unknowingly forming on my face, I turned to him and started the discussion, as if nothing happened at all, just like everyone else. I was good at pretending and hiding, I was.

The only problem?

I expected too much once I stopped hiding in front of someone and opened up.

~*

Before I knew it, the charming bell rung once more and chairs loudly skidded as people quickly escaped to 2nd period, leaving me and Seung-Ho to hastily catch up with them. We actually did form a plan, but the two of us were so absorbed in it - just like how we were in the old days - that neither one of us noticed the time fly away...

"Hey, do you wanna come over to work on it?" he asked hopefully the second we got out of class.

I quietly shook my head and said, "Not yet...Let's just individually work on it for now..."

"Okay, well," he said, slightly deflated. "Do you need help going to your second period class?"

"No, I think I'll try going there on my own," I responded, pretending to be interested in the small, glittery schedule paper like never before. I knew how terrible it was to have someone keep rejecting you, but -

"A-Alright then, Yeon-ah...I'll see you later?" he asked softly, stepping closer. Before I could reply, he squeezed the gap between us by grabbing my free left hand and swiftly kissing me, gently but surely, as if he was that confident that he had a reserved place in my heart.

But you know what? I was pretty sure he still did. Because even after he long-left, and second, third, and fourth period started to clutter itself within my mind...I still couldn't forget how warm those two seconds felt...Maybe it's because I didn't feel that kind of close love-touch for such a long time, or maybe I did miss him that much.

Is it right to hold grudges this long?

Maybe he really is sorry.

Maybe I really should just forget and move on...

But...will that lead me off to safety and happiness, or just another trail of newfound danger?

Somehow, I couldn't find the answer to that question at all.

~*

"Oppa..." I secretly texted Seung-Ho, ten minutes prior to the lunch charm. Hyomin and Soyeon's inivitation to lunch was still kept well inside my mind, but I wasn't sure which side to turn to.

"What, Yeon-ah? :)" he replied instantly. Figures...

"Uk Hyomin & Soyeon Park? Well...They asked me if I'd eat w/them...What do I do?"

His reply came after a long two minutes, and it read:

"Just eat w/them if u want :) ur choice~" Aish, you know I hate it when I have to choose on my own...

"JIYEON PARK RU SURE UR NOT EATING W/US?" my phone suddenly shone. What the heck?

"Sorry, that was HyunA...But ya, she's a bit disappointed :/"

I let out a sigh, making sure to hide my phone deeper inside my jean bag as I sent:

"Oppa, tell her that...I'll hang out w/u guys 10 mins. B4 lunch is over...I'll just walk over 2 where u guys r."

"U sure? :O"

"Ya, I'm sure. Uk I'm used 2 floating among cliques, but never axually being in 1..."

"Alright then Yeon-ah...Cya soon ^^"

Yeah, see you soon...

~*

"Pretty girl, you came!" Soyeon cheered, making Hyomin's head shot up from her rusty flip phone and reveal a snazzy smile. They contrasted so much with the glamorous cafeteria that somehow resembled an ice-rink, except the walls were filled with portraits of nature or ceiling-to-floor windows that revealed a garden better than Alice in Wonderland's.

Seeing their grins, though, I smiled and sat down in front of Soyeon with ease, getting started on my alfredo pasta and Hawaiian bread...and savoring every single moment I ate the heaven-tasting food.

"Is it that good, Jiyeon?" Hyomin teased, grinning.

"Who's Jiyeon?" someone curiously asked from above. Biting off my noodle, I looked up to see a messy-haired girl with pure milky skin and big round eyes, which shot from Soyeon, Hyomin, and back to Soyeon, demanding an answer. Carelessly heaped on her shoulders was a metallic leather jacket, along with ripped up black leggings and [surprsingly] clean white shorts. Her arms were ordained with crystal bracelets and watches, which all jingled as she rounded towards me and exclaimed, wearing the cheeriest smile I ever saw in my life, "Oh wait, you're Jiyeon, huh? Seung-Ho's new baby!"

"No, not really," I sighed as Soyeon and Hyomin doubled up in laughter.

"Eun-Eunjung-ah, be quiet," Soyeon gasped out, still laughing as Eunjung gazed at me wonderingly. "B-But...You are, aren't you? What about that necklace?" she asked, pointing at my ruby key. Doe-Eyes and Tomboy's eyes briefly flickered towards it in interest, but they quickly ushered Eunjung to "sit down and just eat your damn ramen noodles."

Which Eunjung did, plopping down on the cashmere-coated seat right next to mine. Although these people were completely new to me, they must've not felt the same awkwardness as me since they kept talking to me like we've been best friends for the longest time...I wondered how they did that...

The rest of the time, Soyeon, Hyomin, Eunjung, and I all chatted and ate and even shared food, as if we really knew each other for forever. This was the first time in a while I felt close to everyone in a clique and not only one or two people, and there was nobody to lure any of the members away from me, leaving me only with Yuri unnie or worse - to be just by myself. We laughed just like everyone else in the noisy, scenic cafeteria, fought over sweet desserts, and sometimes even bobbed to the beat of the music stereos in the back of the banquet hall, which by now was playing 'Lovey Dovey' by T-Ara.

Halfway through my meal, though, two more girls came, who sadly were less social and more cold towards me than the others. I thought the happiness was lasting too long...

"Jiyeon, this is Ryu Hwayoung and Jeon Boram," Soyeon said, after a full ten seconds of pure, uncomfortable silence between me and them. Hyomin looked between me and the two uneasily but kept quiet, while Eunjung looked at the whole scene curiously, a bit of ramen hanging from . Nevertheless, I followed Soyeon's elegant hands pointed towards one tall, bored-looking short-haired girl, with big, eye-lined eyes, with a soft black jock-jacket and grey sweats inside, along with some star earrings studded in her ears.

Next to her was a very petite girl, dressed cutely with a peach-pink shirt, white scarf and short-sleeved pink sweater, and dangling snowflake earrings. Her brown hair was tied shortly in two pigtails, too. Just how different were all these girls?

Hearing Soyeon speak - and feeling her intense stare - they looked towards me and briefly nodded, before leaning against each other to listen to their iPhones once more. Something I was all too used to facing in the past, even within my own "clique." If it was proper that is.

"Sorry, pretty girl," Soyeon quietly mumbled to me, pouting. "Hwayoung dongsaeng and Boram unnie are...well, they're hard to get across to, for a number of reasons. but once you know them, you won't regret all the effort." I just quietly nodded, the enlightened mood of the lunchtime quickly evaporating. I knew Soyeon noticed the dark shadow over my face, which made me feel worse as I ducked my head and finished the remains of her chow mein noodles that she got too self-conscious to eat.

"Drama-hater, aren't you?" she asked gently. Without looking up I nodded, my ruby key.

"We all are, Jiyeon-ah; that's why we're all like this."

"I know..."

"Do you?" she asked, even more quietly. The softness in her voice made me look up, and I was surprised to see that she was smiling at me in a way that an unnie smiles caringly for her dongseng. My heart slightly ached for my own sister Sooyoung, but I ignored it the best I could.

"Honestly, I have no idea," I sighed. "I just don't know how to make happiness last." Surprisingly Soyeon nodded understandingly, as if she herself knew that all too well. Normally I would be weary if someone took something so important to me that easily, but for some reason I was okay with Doe-Eyes accepting me so well. Suddenly feeling elated and free again, I was going to say something to brighten up our depressing mood, when -

"Seung-Ho's girl? What is she doing here?" a rather snobby-sounding voice resounded from above. This time, I really couldn't take that label anymore; sure people didn't know my name, but still!

So I closed my eyes, noticeably sighed, and said, slightly glaring as I turned to the source of the voice, "I'm eating lunch with Soyeon unnie and the others, if you can't see, and I'm not his girl!"

I didn't realize, however, that I just confronted and dissed Lee Qri, out of all the other people I could've done this to my entire life.