Woohyun POV

Oh crap. Why was Hana looking at me like that? Was I that obvious in leaving her a red rose in her locker to say sorry for what happened on Friday night? Did she know? She must be just looking over here because I was staring at her. I watched her expression change as our eyes met, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. It changed from confusion to embarrassment and hurt and anger. I sighed. She still must be angry at me for what happened on Friday night.

I racked my brains all weekend for a way to tell her that I was sorry, and I couldn’t think of anything beside flowers. I couldn’t go speak to her, because I was too scared, and I couldn’t write her a note because that was just way too cheesy so I settled on flowers. I didn’t buy flowers for girls, for God’s sake – I was Nam Woohyun. Girls would always buy me flowers, not the other way around. Infact, come to think of it, this was the first time I had ever bought flowers, period.

I spent ages at the flower shop staring blankly at the bouquets trying to pick the right flower for the right situation. Our conversations ran through my head as I tried to remember if she had ever told me if she liked any specific flower. I remember her saying something about roses, but if she liked them or hated them I couldn’t place.

I needed to correct this situation between Hana and I. It was like I was digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole, with the exit looking further and further away. I could feel Hana slipping away from me with each of my little, stupid actions like not thinking before I acted and being worried about my image. I asked myself why she mattered to me that much, but it was a feeling I couldn’t explain in words. Sunggyu had asked me before the same question, but I didn’t even know myself why she was so important to me so I couldn’t answer him. All I knew was that I really wanted her forgiveness, and I would show that I was sorry by little gestures that I knew girls like – flowers, gentleman-y things like paying for her lunch and pulling out the chair for her and giving their jacket and opening the door. Once she would soften up to me, I would tell her I was sorry. I could devise a whole massive apology speech and sweet-talk her into forgiving me. It was a good plan, right? I was the king of sweet talking. Words rolled out of my mouth as smooth and eloquent as honey.

But a small nagging thought drilled in my brain. It was the fact that I had never been able to speak to Hana once we had met up. Every time I saw her, my mouth ran dry and the words I had prepared to say to her flew out of my head. She left me speechless, but not in a way that perhaps I would have wanted. Around other girls, I was always ready to spill out a cheesy, greasy comment about how they looked or what they were doing, but come Hana all I could do was stare. And hope she would look at me. Aish, what was I turning into? Some ert freak?

“Do you think she knows?” I asked Sungyeol, my eyes still not leaving Hana as she walked in the opposite direction, holding the rose. I winced. “I hope she doesn’t cut herself on the thorns.”
I saw Sungyeol gape at me.
“What?” I said defensively. “I need to apologise.”
“Let’s go, man,” he said, pushing me away from the spot under the stairs which we were hiding. “We look like erts right now.”
I laughed. Hana had seen me hiding under the stairs watching her. I guess we did. But did she know?

Hana POV

My heart was beating uncomfortably in my chest. Woohyun was mocking me by giving me flowers. I knew it. What an idiot. I felt like crying, but no tears would come out. Why was he doing this to me? It wasn’t enough for him to completely abandon our friendship, humiliate in front of the whole school, and laugh at me in public, but now to give me flowers too? This boy was crazy - he just didn’t know where to stop.

I walked into physics and went to sit down, but a person pulled my chair for me before I got a chance to. I looked up to see who is was and almost choked. It was Nam Woohyun, standing in front of me with a slightly cheesy and uncomfortable smile on his face.

“Sit, princess!” He said.
I looked at him tiredly. I could hear Sungyeol next to him dying of laughter and I had to take a deep breath and bite the inside of my mouth to stop the tears coming. Now he had to do it in front of the whole class?
I sat down forcefully on the seat, throwing my books down. Even though I was dying inside, I would not show that jerk any signs of weakness.

Woohyun walked away, looking at Sungyeol with satisfaction. I felt like dying on the spot. Everyone in the class was either gaping, shooting evils or laughing at me. I felt so uncomfortable and exposed, I felt like screaming out. My heart didn’t feel like it could handle this.

Woohyun POV

Too greasy?  I scribbled on a piece of paper and handed to Sungyeol.
I could’ve fried chips in all that grease, he replied.
I looked at him, eyes widened as if to say no way? He looked right back at me and nodded. I sighed. I was always this greasy, but somehow it felt different.

Lunch time came slowly. I was excited to see where Hana sit because truthfully, I had never seen her eat in the cafeteria. But I knew today the canteen was serving nachos, her favorite food. So she had to come, right? I watched the door anxiously whilst trying to protect the extra serve I had bought her just incase she came too late from the guys who were trying to pick off the extra pickles she likes.

“Stop it!” I slapped Sungjong’s hand away from her nachos.
“Aww, hyung!” He whined. “Don’t be a pig! You’re already eating some! I didn’t eat breakfast!”
“I can’t, I’m saving this for someone,” I snapped.
“Like who?! Chaeyeon only eats lettuce for lunch! And she’s absent today!”
“They’re for Hana! So shut up now!”
The guys rendered silent.
Then Dongwoo spoke up. “Seriously? Why are you saving her nachos?”

Before I had time to reply, she walked in with her friend Hanbyul. I saw Sunggyu sit up straight out of the corner of my eye and smile at her as she walked past. Hana had her head lowered as she walked over to find a table first. I got up from my seat immediately and went over to her, presenting her the nachos I had bought her.
“Hana! Here,” I smiled genuinely.
She looked up at me curiously. “What?”
“Here,” I pushed them toward her on the table. “Extra pickles, just how you like it!” I smiled widely.
She just stared at the plate of corn chips and salsa. Why wasn’t she saying anything….? Right about now, she should be thanking me and throwing her arms around me and giving me a hug, right? But instead, why did she look so angry? Like she was trying to hold in something to say?
“Thanks,” she said quietly, looking back down to the table, tracing the patterns with her thumb.

I just stood there and stared. I wanted to say something.

Hana POV

“Can I sit?” He asked me.
I didn’t have the courage to look up at him. My eyes were starting to tear up. Why now, Hana? Be strong and hold it in! But I couldn’t. Nam Woohyun was a cruel, cruel man. He knew my favorite food was nachos with extra pickles from our late night conversations and he had bought it for me. But he was doing it for his friends. I knew this because I snuck a glance up at them and they were dying of laughter also, pointing and clapping in glee because of me.

“Is everything okay?” Woohyun said, trying to look at me.

I sniffed and looked up. “No, it’s not.”
He looked taken aback. Oh, how a good actor he was. He actually even looked worried and hurt, but I knew it was to get the attention of the whole school, which he now had. Every single pair of eyes in the cafeteria was looking over at us. It was dead silent, too; you could hear someone drop a needle.
“Why?” He asked. “What’s wrong?”
I took a deep breath to steady my shaking voice. My hands felt sweaty. Everything I had bottled up these few months was going to come pouring out of me. There was nothing I could do about it.

Nam Woohyun, you’re dead.