“Jongin-ah!” I hear Krystal's bright voice and the soft click of her sneakers against the paved walkway. I turn around to see her trotting towards my way, pulling a usually expressionless Se Hun along with her.

“What took you so long?” I ask the two of them as soon as they reach me. I’m sitting on one of the benches overlooking the Han River. I got a text from Krystal earlier this Sunday morning to meet her here at 3 in the afternoon. It’s now 3:30.

“Sorry,” she says breathlessly. “No one bothered to tell me how difficult it is to wake Se Hun-oppa up from his afternoon naps.”

Se Hun, who stands a few inches taller than her, looks unperturbed. “Well, you are the reason why I haven’t been getting enough sleep at night. So.”

“Oh hush,” Krystal rolls her eyes comically. “You have to be here today, anyway, so you can’t go back home to sleep.”

“I highly doubt I’m going to be able escape from your tight grip anyway, sweetie,” Se Hun mentions, a small yawn escaping from his lips. He looks down at Krystal and how her arms are tightly embracing his, probably stopping all the blood flow to his side.

I feel a tinge of jealousy seeing this young couple in front of me. In spite of my efforts to try and forget about you, I still kind of wished that I was in Se Hun’s position, with you holding tightly onto me as if I were to disappear into the wind.

“Anyway, you asked me to be here,” I say, standing up from my seat. “So, what is it?”

“You’re going to double date with us,” Krystal tells me. She has on a huge smile and I honestly feel slightly uncomfortable seeing that. She’s up to something.

“You’re up to something, aren’t you?” I ask her, narrowing my eyes.

Se Hun looks at me and then back at Krystal. “Yeah, I know that look. What are you doing to do to poor Jongin?”

“How am I able to ‘double date’ with you two if I don’t even have – ”

Before I could continue, Krystal is holding her hand up to stop me. “I knew you were going to say something like that. Let’s just not waste time here and let’s go to the movies.”

I look over at Se Hun, trying to give him a look that asks what the hell is wrong with his newfound girlfriend. He quickly catches onto what I’m silently asking him.

“Soojung, what are you doing?” He asks her. His deep voice is calm, but his tone is firm.

Krystal looks a bit taken aback, and I can see how Se Hun’s authoritative and brooding persona grounds out her otherwise mischievous, lilting character. I guess they were truly made for each other: Krystal was just as maddening and halcyon as any young girl could be, while Se Hun, with his complex undertones, kept her head from floating too high above the clouds. They complemented each other.

“I-it’s a d-double date, oppa,” she stutters innocently to him. Se Hun softens a little at her quavering voice and then looks back at me. “A movie date probably isn’t a bad idea, Jongin.”

“You’re trying to hook me up with someone else, aren’t you?” I ask Krystal, to which she nods her head in response.

“She’s really pretty, don’t worry,” she adds. “I met her the other day, and we ended up talking for a long time and I found out she didn’t have a boyfriend so I thought it was a good idea to, you know, introduce her to you. I mean, she’s totally like Hye Rin, if you think about it. They go to the same high school, she’s really smart, and her family’s really wealthy also.”

Krystal was speaking too quickly, but I could only pick up on one thing: she’s totally like Hye Rin.

Is that even possible? Is it even possible to meet another girl who’s just like you? I don’t think so. You’re amazing and you’re one in a trillion girls to ever set foot on this world. Maybe Krystal’s over exaggerating things again. Maybe she’s only saying that to make me want to meet this new girl.

And you know what? I think I’ll do it. I think I’ll go ahead and meet her. Not because she’s “totally like Hye Rin”, but because I need this. I need to get over you.

“Okay, fine, whatever,” I say with a desultory shrug of my shoulders. “I’ve got nothing to lose anyway, since I don’t even know her.”

Krystal squeals in joy, jumping up and down. “Great! Come on! She’ll meet us at the cinemas soon!”

Se Hun sends me an apologetic smile as soon as he is yanked away again by a gleeful Krystal. I merely chuckle in response at his and my situation.

***

What’s wrong with your school? Is your principal caught up with the students’ school performance that she locks them up in classrooms, not allowing them to see the light of the world for days on end? Every time I meet someone from your school (which happens rarely), they turn out to be extremely good looking. Take you as an example. When I first met you, you were the prettiest face I’ve ever seen and I had always wondered why someone like you isn’t a famous model.

And then today, I meet Gong So Kyo. Krystal was definitely not exaggerating when she said she was really pretty. Her eyes aren’t as round and big as yours, but they’re perfect almond shapes that compliment her narrow face. She’s skinny and no taller than you. Her medium-length honey-brown hair is curled cutely at the ends, and she has her bangs pinned to her crown. In a way, she sort of reminds me of Yoona-noona.

Your school isn’t just a hub for the intellectually-gifted; you guys breed gods and goddesses behind those closed doors, don’t you?

“Stop staring at her,” Se Hun whispers to me, nudging my elbow. “You might freak her out.”

I break my gaze from So Kyo and Krystal, who are in line at the concession stand of the movie theaters. Se Hun and I stand aside, waiting for our dates as they buy themselves snacks. I glare at Se Hun, who is trying to suppress his laughter.

“There’s nothing funny about this,” I tell him.

“You’re right, there isn’t,” he replies. “But I can’t help but to be slightly amused at how well you’re taking this. On the way here, you were grumbling at how this was probably a really ty idea. But the minute Soojung introduced you to So Kyo, you can’t get your sneaky little eyes off of her.” Se Hun slaps me on the back. “You’re legendary.”

“She’s just really pretty, okay?” I say irritably, prying Se Hun’s hand off my back.

We wait for a few minutes as So Kyo and Krystal buy their drinks and then headed inside the theater to claim our seats. Krystal and Se Hun choose a pair of seats far back, and So Kyo and I decide to sit in the middle. It was quiet at first, obviously. You know how I was; I was too shy and maybe a little nervous to say anything to her. But she, being of great personality and so open, spoke up first and conducted a conversation formed from her curiosity of my life. And it turned out that Krystal was right. So Kyo was just like you, and that felt so weird because I’d never thought that would have met someone that was like you.

“So, what school do you go to?” She asks me, shifting around in her seat to come face to face with me. I do the same and notice the soft brown highlights in her hair.

“Uhm, I’m enrolled in Seoul School of Performing Arts. With Se Hun,” I say, jabbing my thumb towards the back where Se Hun and Krystal were sitting.

“Oh! Is it fun? Is it the same as going to any other high school?”

“Well, I guess so, if you think about it.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “But there are a lot more classes focusing on the arts and Se Hun and I sometimes get out of class early because we have specialized dance classes and language classes right in the SM building.”

Somehow, under the dim light of the theater, I see a big grin grow on So Kyo’s face.

We talk for a few minutes and I get to know more about her. She was, indeed, smart. She was second to you in your high school. So Kyo said she grew up with you, though you two hardly ever talked to each other.

“It’s strange,” she says. “How we cross paths with each other every day, but I know little about her. I know more about you, personally, than I know about her – and we’re in the same year together.” So Kyo shrugs. “I mean, of course, there are the rumors that flow through the school all the time about her – “

“Rumors?” I interrupt suddenly, sitting up.

“Yeah, like that new rumor that’s been surfacing about her and her new boyfriend. I heard that he’s a Kpop Idol.” So Kyo rolls her eyes. “Some of my girl friends say that she’s only doing that for attention.”

I clench my jaw. I believe I’ve met your first hater. You were such a nice girl, that I’m so immensely confused as to how another person would say such a thing about you.

“What makes you say that?” I ask So Kyo.

“It’s not the first time she’s said something like that. She says things like going to Paris for vacation, but some people say they saw her hanging around in Daegu during vacation.” So Kyo snorts and I know she’s trying to suppress her laughter.

Suddenly, I’m interested. Slightly bemused, but no less interested. This is a totally different side to you that I’ve never seen before.

“What else do they say about her?” I ask So Kyo. I’m so intrigued and she’s so caught up with divulging the petty gossip from her school that we both forget that we’re talking about you. You, my best friend. A smart girl would never talk bad about another girl to her own best friend. But right now I don’t care that So Kyo is doing that to you. I’m so mad. I want to know each and every horrible thing about you and believe it. No matter how ridiculous it is.

I’m so mad. You took my heart and broke it.

So Kyo leans in a little closer. “It’s no secret that she’s number one in our school, right?” Her voice is so low that I had to lean in closer to be able to hear her. When I nod, she resumes. “Well, that’s mainly because of her family’s money. They call her father ‘The Purchaser’. They only get by because they pay their way.”

I stare at So Kyo, entirely speechless. I’m flummoxed, but I want to learn more. Lies or not, these revelations actually make me feel better.

Oh . I’m turning into a jackass.

So Kyo is biting her bottom lip, and I can tell that there’s one more thing she wants to say. I look at her, silently urging her to go on.

“Hye Rin’s not that ‘innocent’ as you think she is.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she, uhm.” So Kyo’s eyes dart away from mine and the nervousness or apprehension is appearing evidently on her features. I calmly smile at her when she glances at me. “I don’t know if it’s true or what, but I only heard she’s been with so many guys. Someone says she’s a. Um. Well.”

“So Kyo, it’s alright, go on,” I say. My voice is straining and my heart is racing because I’m such a jackass and I’m practically dying to hear the awful things they say about you in order to make myself feel better.

“She’s, uh, um.” So Kyo is so adorable as she tries to find a more different way to explain what they call you. It’s cute, but I wish she would just get to the point.

“?” I finish for her. I almost regurgitate a little bit inside my mouth. I feel sick to my stomach and I think someone should grab a metal baseball bat and whack me on the head for saying things like that about you.

So Kyo slowly nods her head.

Now that, that is the biggest revelation (or rumor or lie) So Kyo has made about you. And I know that can’t be true. You can’t be a , a , or any of these derogatory terms that So Kyo or the whole school is throwing out about you. The Hye Rin I know, the one with exceptional marks in her report card, with an elegant and bounce to her step, with a grace and circumstance that puts any crown princess to shame can not possibly be a ‘’. You just can’t.

“Wow,” I say, the shock outrageously apparent in my voice. “Wow.”

“Sorry for being blunt and I know that she’s your friend or best friend or whatever, but it’s true,” So Kyo explains quickly.  “It’s true because she’s always talking about boys and saying things like how she goes down to Hongdae during school nights, hanging out at the nightclubs, picking up guys, having them buy her drinks. She’s different that what you and everyone sees.”

So Kyo’s eyes flutter away from mine, as if she regrets disclosing all that information to me. She looks so timid and there’s slight diffidence in her words, as if speaking of the local harem would curse her. It’s so cute how innocent she is.

But you. You were my world, my everything. And now I see this other light of you that you have hidden from me. I’m frozen in my seat, my thoughts running with such a speed around my head that I can’t seem to make up my mind from what So Kyo just told me. I don’t know what to think or believe.

And then it hits me. I suddenly realize all the times that we’ve had conversations, you hardly ever talk about your school and your friends. I know very little about your circle of friends or about the people you hang out with. All I know is that you’re rich, you attend Ga Hwa High, and that you’re an impeccable genius. But what else?

I slump in my seat as soon as the movie starts. The preview trailers to other movies begin to show, but my attention is obviously elsewhere. I suddenly feel a warm touch to my fingertips and look up to see So Kyo smiling at me.

The dim light emulating from the movie screen doesn’t allow me to see much, but I can tell that So Kyo’s beautiful as well. 

Author's Note: Well, so much for promising "drama". T^T Anyway, hope this chapter helps you guys get a little more "excited" for what's to come! As you can see, we are finally introduced to a character from Hye Rin's side! I realized that I've been throwing a lot of characters in, but they are all on Kai's side. I was totally suffering from writer's block so I practically had to wring my own neck to churn out this update. I'm just glad it's finally out. Now expect the next update to come in a month or so, lol. Just kidding.

Thanks for all the subscribers! I hope that I get more feedback, though! It helps in more ways than one. Other than the fact that it helps me better my writing, it also helps me know who's actually reading this and who's not xD Yeah, but no pressure though. Comment when you can~!