The guys received some free movie tickets from the Scorching Blades. They could use it either Saturday or Sunday, but they need to follow the specific time in the ticket.

"This is so cool!" Min Hyuk said.

"Let's invite Bommie," Jong Hyun said.

"We only have four tickets," Yong Hwa said. "One of us must back out."

Jung Shin checked the time and saw that it would be at one in the afternoon.

"If you're going on Saturday, and you're inviting Bom-noona, I think I'll pass," he told them.

"Wae?" Jong Hyun asked.

"I have an important thing to do on Saturday afternoon... Mianhae..." he told the guys.

"Haha! So you're backing out on Bommie!" Jong Hyun rejoiced.

"Aniya! I just have an important thing to do!" Jung Shin snapped.

"I'll not go if Jung Shin's not going," Yong Hwa said. "Just bring Jiyeon along so she'll be happy."

"But her seobang...." Min Hyuk protested.

"But her seobang will be okay with it," Yong Hwa said.

*****

That night, the other guys retired because they were so tired. Many girls and a few gays (who would not admit it) harassed them until they felt that their limbs would say goodbye to their bodies. Yong Hwa went to the front porch to wind down before going to bed.

As usual, the leaves of the persimmon tree blocked some view of the moon, but it was still beautiful to look at. Even the stars glittered nicely that they looked like distant Christmas lights. He closed his eyes as the wind began blowing on his face.

"Yong Hwa..." a female voice called him from behind.

"You're breaking your rulebook again," he told her.

He knew exactly to whom the voice belonged to, so there was no need for him to open his eyes or even turn around. He did not notice Shin Hye sitting a few inches beside him, and he had no idea that she was staring at him.

"Yong Hwa, I..."

As she stammered in her soft voice, he opened his eyes and looked at her. Her eyes glimmered, as if tears were about to fall, but he looked at her in his coldness.

"M...Mianhaeyo...." she started. "Sorry for being mean to you."

"You're more than just mean," he told her. "You are being cruel. You have an ugly heart and I really hate you."

Tears fell from her eyes.

"I know...."

He looked at her fidgeting and fumbling her fingers.

"I know that we had this agreement, and I broke it time and again. And I suddenly got mad at you one day," she said. "Mianhaeyo...."

He still looked at her in his cruel way. He found it hard to forgive her.

"Mianhae...." she whispered in tears as she bowed her head.

Yong Hwa felt something hitting his heart, and he did not know what it was. She was a geek, a nerd, a paranoid, a freak--but she was still a girl. A girl who needed comforting, a girl who needed friends, a girl who needed love.

"Are you being sincere?" he asked her coldly to mask the pain he was feeling.

"Ne..."

She looked at him and asked. "Can we be friends? If you'll be my friend, you'll be my first."

He looked at her in shock, then nodded. He did not know what made him nod. Was it because of what she said? Or was it because he realized that she needed one?

"Gomawo...." she whispered.

He saw how tears flooded her eyes, so he removed her glasses from her face.

"I....I can't see a thing," she wimpered.

"All the more your vision will blur," he said. "Because you are crying."

And like a real friend, he wiped the tears from her eyes. All the while, he looked at her as she closed her eyes to feel the warmth of his hand. Still, tears were falling anew by batches.

"If only you love me, not Tiffany," she thought bitterly.

"Gwaenchanha?" he asked her softly as he placed back the glasses.

The tone of his voice sent shivers to her spine, as if it really sounded romantic.

"Yong... Yong...Hwa...?" she asked as she opened her eyes.

"Shhh...it's all right now," he said with a smile.

The smile on his face made her smile as well. He looked so beautiful.

"You OK now?" he asked her.

"Uh....can I....hug you?" she asked.

To his surprise, she hugged him tight as she let more tears fall down her face. Contrary to her Miss Minchin looks, she really smelled good, as if her perfume was made from cherry blossoms. The scent made his head swirl and sent him to heaven.

"Wow, Geek Girl," he said. "You smell so nice."

Shin Hye removed herself from his body and chided him cutely.

"I've got a name," she said. "It's Park Shin Hye."

"Glad to meet you, Park Shin Hye," he said. "I'm Jung Yong Hwa."

Both of them smiled at their renewed friendship, and she hugged him again.

"I'll be your friend," he said. "I promised."

No need for words, but the rulebook had been torn to pieces already.

******

Both of them were still sitting by the porch while looking at the stars.

"I have something to confess," Yong Hwa said.

She looked at him hopefully, wishing that he'd confess to her.

"I..I'm in love...with this girl," he said.

As she listened on, she realized that the girl he was describing was her alter ego. She just wished to tell him that she was actually Tiffany. However, there were some things which he had forgotten, so he did not share it to her.

"Did she also ask you if you could try loving someone who is ugly?" she asked him in her thought.

She did not dare say it.

"Coincidentally, both of you are the same," he said. "She also never had any friends."

"Some people are just like that," she countered.

Since he was loving Tiffany only for her looks, she tried to make a plan. She's gonna visit him on Sunday--as Tiffany. Her thoughts were cut short when he pulled her close and hugged her.

"Good night," he whispered huskily.

His voice made her want to stay awake and be with him. Too bad, he had to get up and get inside.

"Good night, Yong Hwa..." she whispered back.

~~~~