"Class dismissed." The professor tapped the paper works that the students submitted on the desk and headed straight for the door. Meanwhile, Park Chorong breathed in and out just outside the classroom, gasping for air. She cursed – which is something she rarely does, except when she's extremely pissed off... like right now.

She hid with the essay paper she didn't manage to pass when the professor walked past her. Good thing he wasn't wearing his glasses anymore.

Meanwhile, a girl with long blonde hair stepped out of the room and she immediately saw Chorong. A frown came upon on her face as she ran towards her. "Chorongie! What happened to you? You're never late!"

"I... overslept." She said with an embarrassed smile. "I just lost 10% of my grade just now, Joohyun!" Chorong cursed again, trying to regain her composure... but in the end, it only stressed her out more.

Her best friend gave her a puzzled look, "Why didn't you just give that to him earlier?"

"He doesn't accept late students, remember?" Chorong said in the most monotonous tone she could ever use.

"Ah, yeah... right." She shrugs, and then she immediately slaps Chorong's arm playfully. "Yah! Why are you worried anyways? You already have a hundred percent on class participation and your quizzes and examinations are top-notch. I don't get you at all."

Chorong stated with her chin up, "I have my standards."

"I'm worried for you, Chorongie. I don't want you to pass out on me just like last time." Joohyun held her best friend's hands while uttering those concerned words. She remembered Chorong on her desk, suddenly hitting her head while sleeping with a nosebleed.

The latter only gave her a reassuring look. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Chorong smiles and she walks away. Joohyun follows soon after.

They both check up on how they're doing while walking towards their lockers, be it academically or socially. As usual, Chorong answers with an 'I don't have time for that' whenever Joohyun asks her if she wants to go to a party or even why she doesn't want to make more friends. Chorong thinks they're just a distraction, something that'll take away her focus on her studies – which she obviously doesn't want to happen.

Although Bae Joohyun is quite pretty – wait, scratch that, – is the goddess of beauty, she's still being overshadowed by some popular girls on campus like Krystal, also known as the Ice Queen. She's someone that Joohyun looks up to, even though they're the complete opposite as Krystal gives off a cold, unemotional aura while Joohyun is always the happy-go-lucky type of gal. For Chorong though, she thinks Joohyun is the prettiest of them all. Maybe it's because of her kind and honest personality that makes her a hidden gem, someone that'll shine later on as her value becomes higher.

Chorong? Well... she's always staying in the shadows, trying her best to blend in with the crowd and their surroundings. She believes that by being quiet, no one will notice her mistakes and even her accomplishments. And she's perfectly okay with that, as long as it's within her comfort zone.

And because she is with the admirable Bae Joohyun, guys are all over them. Chorong is actually quite annoyed because they hand over their love confession letters to her instead of the actual person. Sometimes she thinks that she's only being used, but she just shrugs it off later on, not really minding it anymore.

Both Joohyun and Chorong opened their locker doors at the same time after their small casual talk. The latter shoved the paper works she didn't manage to pass to her professor inside irritatingly and grabbed her huge literature book. Meanwhile, Joohyun got her portfolio encased in a clear book, and then she was surprised when a face showed up beside her as she closed the locker door.

"Hey."

A smirk came upon his lips as he looked into Joohyun's eyes.

"Oh," She felt her voice wobble, probably because of his enticing stare. "Junmyeon... hello."

His playful smirk was never gone on his face while he leaned on the lockers. Junmyeon gave off a cool vibe with his brushed-up hair, ripped jeans and a simple white shirt. "Are you free tonight? There's a party going on at my friend's house."

"Oh! Uhm, yes, definitely!" She answered quickly. Joohyun's voice sounded higher than usual, obvious that she's excited about the current situation. Meanwhile, Chorong only eyed the suspicious man from head to toe, and gave out a loud tsk after. She slammed the locker door shut, surprising Joohyun. Junmyeon gave her a questioning look, comprehending why a little girl is pissed off right in front of him.

After a while though, the smile on his face grew wider... ready to annoy the hell out of someone.

He put his hands inside the pocket of his jeans and stepped forward to get a closer look of Chorong. "Of course," Joohyun thought he would also invite her best friend, but she was even more surprised with what he said, "your cute little kid-friend can't come. Under-aged." He said with a smug look on his face.

Chorong's mouth formed an o-shape in shock. Quickly, the gears inside her brain are turning in light speed and she swore that she'll never talk to him ever again after this.

Without a bit of hesitation clouded in her eyes, she could only think of this one sentence to ruin his almost-perfect life:

"I hope you drown in embarrassment 'cause I can see your cute pink flowery boxers." Chorong held her head high and gave him that playful smirk he was wearing earlier, which by now is gone on his good-looking face. It was replaced with a bright red blush on his cheeks, quite evident because of his milky white skin. He was trying his best to quickly zip his pants before anybody else could notice it. "You're welcome." She bowed lightly before walking away, hearing him curse at her.

Yes, of course Chorong knows the well-liked Casanova in their campus, Kim Junmyeon.

She never really paid attention though, especially when it comes to people who think they're part of the Hollywood. Chorong doesn't personally know him, but by the looks of it, he's definitely an arrogant brat. Students and professors are always talking and gossiping about his flawless living, as if he's a great student with high grades - which she doubts. His family has a successful business which makes him wealthy, he has good, handsome features (which some people say are god-like because of the perfect proportions on his face), and his charisma will never fade, even if it's the end of the world... that's what they all say though. Chorong clearly doesn't give a about him. However, after this morning's encounter with him, she's worried that he might take Joohyun away from her. She's terrified, even.

Chorong's aware that Junmyeon has dated at least every pretty girl in the campus, except her best friend. But she won't let them happen. He will only crush Joohyun's precious heart and she's going to protect her at all costs.

#

"Hey, literature girl!" someone calls out.

Chorong sighs, even without looking back, she knows the owner of that voice. She stops just when she reached the bottom of the stairs in front of the Liberal Arts Department's building. "Will you stop calling me that?" She asked with a tired expression as soon as she heard his footsteps near her.

"Well, why not? You're majoring in Literature, and you always have your nose stuck on a book." He stated with a teasing look. "It's the perfect nickname for you."

"Please, just stop, Kim Minseok. I had a rough day." She arranges the strap of her backpack in a comfortable position and held her books tighter in her hands. Even though they're close friends, she gets nervous every time he's near. She doesn't really know why, though.

Chorong walks quickly towards the front gates of the campus. She just wants to go home after this exhausting day. The sky turning into a hue of orange is making her kind of drowsy. Minseok runs after her and asks her gently once he's beside her, trying his best not to annoy her more. "Hm, care to tell me what happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it or else you'll just see me kick someone out of the way and then I'll go to jail." She rambled.

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