~Hyukjae~

As soon as I walked into my homeroom, all eyes were focused on me. I could feel their icy gaze take in my second-hand shirt, the tattered tie, the shoes that needed polishing. "Ah," said the man at the front, supposedly my homeroom teacher, "Lee HyukJae, correct?" "Yeah," I tried to answer nonchantly, scanning the room for a friendly face. Hmm... a difficult task to accomplish. I could feel sweat billowing down the sides of my face as I stood uncomfortably at the entrance, awkwardly avoiding the teacher's probing questions. He FINALLY sent me to a seat, next to some guy called Jongwoon, and they continued the introductions.

After what felt like more than the allocated twenty minutes, I ran out of the door as fast as I could - papers were literally flying off my stack of books. Chemistry first, then English. Being very careful as I stepped into the busy hall, I managed to dodge someone with a stack of books like me (yay for homework) but knocked over a couple of other people, one of whose friends weren't very happy.

"Watch it!" she yelled at me. Helping her friend up, she glared at me with heavily mascaraed eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked to the shocked girl I'd bumped into, ignoring the other completely. "It's okay," she said, trying to smile but wincing halfway through, her face slightly pained. I smiled back, helping her pack up again. She has the most beautiful eyes, I thought dreamily, momentarily forgetting what I was supposed to be doing. "Um... thanks," she said awkwardly, standing up. I rose as well. "Im Yoona," she introduced herself, extending her hand.

"Lee Hyukjae," I replied, making contact with her thin, delicate fingers. Her clique watched our exchange, swearing silently. Her friend butted in again. "Don't touch him again, Yoona-ah. You'll get infected by some weird disease. Just like him - dirty and unwanted." The group laughed vindictively, and I stared at Mascara-Girl; definitely not good material. Suddenly came another voice.

~Donghae~

I stared - I couldn't help it. He had a pure, heavenly face. I longed to trace the outline of his full lips, his sharp jawline, with my fingers. He stared back, totally oblivious to my pounding heart. "Oh, Hae," said Yoona, smiling cutely. Her hair was tied back messily, loose strands framing her cute face. "Annyeong," I said back, momentarily distracted by her. Then I remembered the angel. "You're new here, right?" I asked him, trying to sound casual over my banging pulse. He looked at me with something like annoyance. "Yeah," he replied in a slightly menacing tone. Surprised, but trying to keep my smile up, "I'm Lee Donghae. You're...?"

~Hyukjae~

Why was he still here? To popular guys like him, I was a loner - he was supposed to say hi and leave. But he was staring at me with expecting eyes, so I said "Lee Hyukjae." Donghae nodded, seemingly satisfied. So would he leave already? "Hae-ah," piped a high voice - Mascara Girl - "are you in 11C this year? Omo, me too! That's so exciting! You know, I wrote letters to the principal over the holidyas and everything, you know, trying to get us two - I mean, all of us - into the same class, and it worked! Oh, also, about the homeroom teachers..."

This girl could go on forever, I thought, grimacing inwardly. The poor guy was nodding away, trying to look interested in Mascara Girl, and Yoona seemed a little upset. Oh - so this Donghae was hers, and her friends - mainly Mascara Girl - were totally using her for him. Why? Sure, he had pretty eyes and cute lips and a great body, but he was - did you just think he was hot?

No! I didn't think that. Stupid conscience.

You like him more than you think.

Shut up!

Only when everyone stared at me did I realise I'd said that out loud. "Sorry," I mumbled, embarrassed. Leaving Donghae with a slightly confused look, and the even more confusing situation behind, I tried to find my science classroom. Ten minutes later, the corridor was empty and my footsteps echoed loudly. I had no idea where I was supposed to be - it was like a nightmare. At that exact moment, an old woman came up to me. "Lee Hyukjae, correct?" she said through tight lips, unlike Donghae, who - "Uh, yeah," I answered, trying not to think of him. "You're new, so I'll make an exception, but class starts promptly at 8:40, so you're late."

"Sorry, but I don't know what classroom I'm in, miss."

"You're in mine. Now hurry - you're holding up a lesson."

I hurried, like she told me to - and saw Donghae near the back of the classroom.

Great.