With a loud exasperated sigh, Hyukjae threw his head back and sank lower on the bench. He had blown it as usual. Back to the land of the Friendless Antisocial Rebel starting tomorrow. How exciting!

 

“Hey!” The yell was accompanied by a kick to the shin. He recognized her voice and acting completely against his usual instincts, his lips curved up in a smile instead of yelling back at her.

 

Hyukjae straightened up, hoping his eyes didn’t betray how happy he was that she came back and hopeful.. for what he wasn’t sure yet.

 

“I still think you’re a douchebag.”

“I agree.”

“You do?” Hyoyeon’s eyes widened in surprise and slowly a smirk appeared on her glowing face, “must be my good influence! Anyhow, I do have to go but, here.” She dropped a paper bag on his lap. “It’s our school hoodie – everyone wears it for the first day back. You already have too many black clothes so I got you a purple one.”

Hyukjae simply stared back in amazement. It had been a long time – not since he was 8 – that he had received a present from anyone besides his family. It was the last year he had had a real friend.

“Th..thanks.” He could only stutter.

She nodded with a smile, “It’s a thank you for teaching me and…” It seemed like there was more she wanted to say but after a few beats of awkward silence she shook her head. “I should get going... See you around, I guess..”

“Uh yeah.. see you.”

She turned around in a pretty swirl of frills and pastel colors and that regretful feeling started to sink in again..

 

but this time, something inside him snapped into action. What the heck? He was Lee HyukJae! When did he start getting tongue-tied and weird about speaking his mind!

“Hyorraeng wait!”

She spun around immediately.

“I was thinking!” he spoke loudly, “we haven’t even gotten to Electric Boogaloo and tutting yet. As a teacher, I think it’s a pity you couldn’t try them. They’re the most fun!”

Hyoyeon chewed on her lip thoughtfully, “tsk tsk. If my teacher says so then it must really be a lot of fun. I think it’s a pity too.”

 

They both were aware of the game they were playing.

“So just as a teacher, I should make sure that we see all our lessons through, right?”

“I don’t know anything. It’s all up to the teacher.”

He laughed. The girl was smart and she was going to make him swallow his pride first… the funny thing was he didn’t mind!

“Fine, then I demand that we stay friends beyond the summer.. at least until I’m satisfied that I’ve taught you all I can as a teacher!”

 “Hmm.. if the teacher insists so strongly, I guess I have no option but to be stuck with you a little while longer.” Hyoyeon stuck her tongue out at him, enjoying her victory, “See you tomorrow. Let’s walk to school together.”

=====================================================================================

 

The next day marked the beginning in the life of the new Lee Hyuk Jae.

Hyoyeon walked with him to school as planned and once there, introduced him to all her friends – practically her entire homeroom. The treatment he got just from being her friend was different from any other school experience he had had.

All day long, girls squealed over him, climbing over each other to offer school tours, lunches, homework assistance while the boys were curious about where he had come from, whether he had an interest in sports and if he wanted to join their clubs. While all this happened, Hyoyeon stood back and watched quietly. Hyukjae’s words about never having had a friend had left a lingering effect on her conscience and she had made up her mind that night to help him have a better experience this time around. He wasn’t such an evil kid once you got to know him and he had made the world of dance that she had only dreamed about a reality for her. She owed him for that!

 

Overwhelmed but certainly not unhappy about the attention, Hyukjae responded to his new classmates enthusiastically but when he no longer felt her presence around him, his eyes wildly scanned the room for Hyoyeon.

Spotting her on her way out of the classroom, he quickly excused himself.

 “Hey!”

“Hi.”

“Going to lunch?”

She nodded.

“I’ll buy if you let me sit with you!”

“What about all your new fans?” Hyoyeon asked with a hint of amusement.

“They’re great but a little scary! Plus, it’s kind of hard to be polite all the time. At least around you, I can be my rude self, bestie!” He smacked her on the forehead lightly and started running away with Hyoyeon chasing right behind him.

But she stopped suddenly, “Ya! The cafeteria is this way, you idiot!”

=================================================================================

Naturally her 8 best girlfriends were really suspicious.

“Be honest! Are you two dating?”

“What? Me? Date him?” // “What? Me? Date her?”

“NO WAY!”

They both yelled at the same time, pushing each other away like the idea really disgusted them.

 

The girls eyed them both sceptically but as the days went on, it became obvious that Hyoyeon and Hyukjae were just friends frenemies; and they let it go.

 

The rest of the year and the following one flew by in a flash.

Hyukjae was also able to make his own friends. In fact, along with his three best friends – Donghae, Siwon and Sungmin – they were known as SeongRam High’s F4 or Flower Boys.

 

To say that Hyukjae went through a transformation within the next few years would be an understatement. He took his new found popularity in stride by becoming a charming lady-killer who at any given moment, was never without a girl drooling over him. His dance skills became legendary drawing much female attention from the neighbouring schools as well. But he didn’t lose his rebellious bad boy streak completely, and could be as dark as thunder when he wasn’t in the mood. Which, of course, made him even more appealing to the girls!

However, Hyukjae was deeply aware of how momentary and fake the adulation could be so he maintained close relationships only with a few that he truly trusted. Hyoyeon was one of them.

Their dance lessons continued but now it was more about the two of them teaching each other and trying out new dance styles together. Neither of them felt the need to keep using dance as an excuse for being friends. They enjoyed each other's company - for both, it was the time they let their guards down and behaved like they couldn't around their family(for her) and friends (for him) - sneaking into street dance competitions, fighting over food or the tv, saying insults to each other...

But no matter what, they always walked home together.

 

 

The year that they turned 18, the two entered a new partnership as co-renters of a studio in the basement of their apartment building. It had been a dream they’d started planning for the summer before since practising on the roof was hot and uncomfortable, the park was too crowded and their own apartments too small. Moreover, Hyoyeon always dreamed of dancing in front of full length mirrors so she found both her and Hyukjae part-time jobs at the local Mall.

======================================================================================

 

Hyoyeon stood back and surveyed the room; her beaming smile was reflected back in the floor to ceiling - wall to wall mirrors.

“Hyukjae! Push that couch a little to the right.. no that’s too far.. back to the left a little.. just a lit –“

“This is good enough! I’m not moving another muscle – if you’re still not happy, you move it yourself!” came the sullen reply from her lone worker ant. He collapsed on the squishy leather sofa – that they had managed to talk Hyukjae’s mom into donating – sweating profusely.

 

Hyoyeon giggled and took two bottles of water out of the mini bar fridge – a gift from her dad – and walked over to him.

She did feel a little sorry – but it was his own fault for boasting about his superhuman muscles.

A towel smacked Hyukjae in the face and he felt the couch dip beside him. Hyoyeon opened up his hand and placed the water bottle between his fingers, “I told you we should’ve asked Siwon for help!”

The boy beside her instantly removed the towel off his face and rolled his eyes, “Yea right! You just want to ogle at his body. ! But I told you already, this is OUR studio! No other humans or animals allowed.”

twisted into a smirk, “You’re the one who needs that reminder more! I’m warning you right now – Lee Hyuk Jae – you better not be contaminating our studio with your ual escapades.”

“ual escapades?” he laughed, “You really must think I’m a god, huh?”

“God? ha! More like an addict! Why else would you need a harem of girls?”

 

Hyukjae stayed silent; taking Hyoyeon by surprise. She expected a comeback from him, as usual, so feeling curious she turned to her side and found Hyukjae’s face right next to hers – noses almost touching.

She moved to turn back but he held her arms tightly, “Tell me Hyorreng..” his voice was dripping with amusement, “what exactly do you think I do with my girlfriends? Or could it be…” he flicked her chin up with his index finger, “you’re jealous?”

“What?”

Moving quick, he held her hand before it could slap his own away.

“Ya! What the hell do  – ”

“I can show you, you know” he ignored the daggers she was shooting through her eyes, “all you have to do is..” his lips were right next to her ear, “ask.”

======================================================================================================

A/N. sorry for the late update. this chapter is quite messy and i skipped through a lot but  it was taking too long writing down all i wanted about the years in between. i've decided to add them in chapters as flashbacks. the last scene was a failure but I'm so tired today, that's all i can write. comment/subscibe if you want an update :) thanks