The hustle and bustle inside the bus is one of the things that she never missed during the summer vacation. Jieun could use some space for herself but she couldn’t even find a free seat to sit on. It’s the first day of school and she’s not even surprised to be in a sea of crowd. It’s the typical morning that she sees during school days.

She’s officially a high school senior and that only means more studying. With the pressure of trying to beat the national average score of Daewon High School for the SAT, she’s sure that her last year in high school will not be that easy. Being in the top 5 during her previous years gives her more pressure to not drop from that position. Her teachers have so much expectation. Her parents? They don’t care much about that. They just want her to enjoy going to school.

What’s the use of filling your head with stuff that you just memorize for the sake of answering a test question when you can’t even comprehend what it means? People are supposed to go to school to learn and not just to cram. Sadly, because of the competitive system in schools, students are just pushed to their limits to memorize and not learn while enjoying it.

Jieun looked around. Employees in suits are looking at their phones. Students were animatedly talking to their friends. They’re the usual things that she sees in a morning like that. But she’s aware of a slight change – Jongin’s not with her. For the past years, including middle school years, the two of them would ride the bus to school.

Jongin got himself a girlfriend and Jieun’s sure that everything will not be as they were before.

Getting out of the bus, she saw a familiar scene. Students in their uniforms were running and speed walking towards the entrance of the school. The middle aged security guard was on his post and some students were being scolded for wearing their skirts too short and for wearing earrings (for boys). Her eyes darted at one student to another when she passed through the gate. Why can’t they follow simple school rules?

“Choi Jieun!”

Even without seeing who that was, she already has an idea. There’s only one guy with that kind of voice – Byun Baekhyun.

She turned around, expecting to see Baekhyun smiling at her but to her surprise, the whole gang (except Jongin) was there. Junmyeon and Minseok were talking to each other while walking. Jongdae was being Jongdae. She does not even know what meant but yeah. Kyungsoo was walking behind the guys and he looked like he’s in a deep thought – like always. Yixing looked like he literally got off his bed. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were waving at her with bright smiles on their faces.

“Good morning!” Baekhyun chimed when he got near her. He was standing inches taller than her. She noticed that he got his hair cut and he looked good – when did he look bad anyway? That goes to the rest of them. They’re all good-looking (as said before).

“Good morning,” she greeted in return.

If she were to rank them in the category of who she’s closest to, Baekhyun and Chanyeol would share the 2nd rank. Jongin’s on top of the list (as if that’s not obvious). Jongdae would be in the 3rd place because despite being as energetic as ChanBaek, he tries not to be annoying like the two (which is actually appreciated by Jieun). Junmyeon would be fourth (maybe because he’s the brains in the group). Yixing and Minseok would be in the 5th place. They’re not much of a talker. And Kyungsoo’s in the last place. You can’t blame her though. He looks scary when he’s just staring (glaring) at you.

“Where’s Jongin?” Chanyeol asked, looking around. Jieun shrugged as they continued walking.

“Maybe he’s with his girlfriend,” she replied, sounding as casual as possible. The two have a theory that Jieun actually likes Jongin more than as a friend and acting like she’s affected by the fact that Jongin’s dating is not a good thing – not for her and for him (and their friendship in general).

“Lover boy’s here!” Baekhyun suddenly exclaimed, making them look back. Jongin was walking beside Sarang and they were holding hands. Jieun looked away. As much as she wanted to not be affected, she just couldn’t help but feel that small pinch in her heart.

Walking with the flower boys always draws attention and she knows that they’re not really interested on knowing who she is. They’re more interested on knowing the girl added to the group and that’s an easy task to do since Sarang’s also a popular student in that school. She’s a model for an internet shopping mall and she’s also a part of the dance club – together with Yixing and Jongin. And Jieun will not be surprised if Sarang suddenly gets casted by an agency.

Who would want to know the fat girl anyway?

Sarang’s the new muse while she, on the other hand, is the mascot. She’s not complaining though; at least the mascot is cute.

The hallway’s full of life. Students were pushing each other to take a glimpse of the room arrangements posted on the bulletin board. Why can’t they just post it on the school page to make life easier? Jieun huffed as she pushed her way to the front. She could feel Chanyeol’s hands on her shoulders, pushing her and assisting her in order not to fall. Since he’s taller (way taller) than her, he has a better view of what’s happening in front. He’s a gentleman – that’s a fact.

Jieun quickly scanned the list and found her name in a matter of seconds. “Class 3-2,” she muttered before looking at the full list.

“We’re classmates!” Chanyeol said, tapping her shoulder.

“Yeah. I see that.”

Kim Jongin, Kim Junmyeon and Do Kyungsoo are also in Class 3-2. No Baekhyun only means less noise. Although she likes Baekhyun, she’s happy that she’s not going to deal with him and Chanyeol at the same time.

“We’re not in the same class,” Sarang remarked and when Jieun turned to her, she saw her pouting. Jongin ruffled her hair, chuckling. They looked like a couple match in heaven. Sarang turned to Jongin, still with that cute pouting expression. He pinched her cheeks.

“It’s okay. I’m just going to visit you every now and then.”

Jieun felt how Chanyeol exaggerated a shiver. “Get a room. You’re so dramatic. As if you’re going to be miles from each other. Sarang’s room is right next door,” he commented, looking at Jongin and the latter just made a face. Jieun couldn’t agree more. Seeing Jongin and Sarang acting lovey-dovey is making her cringe. But honestly, she’s just bitter. Who doesn’t like to have boyfriend like Jongin? There are girls lining up to be in Sarang’s place.

“Why is Sarang with them? And why is she holding Jongin’s hand? Are they a couple?” Those are just some of the few things that the students started whispering to each other when they saw Jongin and Sarang together. Some were surprised but som