"So I take it you like the song, don't you Yoseob-ssi?"

"Ah, n-ne."

She noticed shades of pink on his cheek and found herself feeling bubbly. "Cute" started to underestimate how Yang Yoseob's expression, and he didn't even have to do aegyo. It was simply Yang Yoseob's self being that made him so huggable.

She bit her lip, trying to supress the sudden wide smile. Jung Eunji, compose yourself, she told herself.

She glanced at him and did a small clap. "Yay! I'm glad to hear that!"

He smiled back.

And Eunji felt her inner self screamed at her, he just smiled at you, pabo!

But then again, so what? It was not like she could jump around to express her happiness in front of him, right? That'd be too obvious and Jung Eunji could hear the whispers along the school hallway if they knew how dork she could be.

So she decided to stay quiet and calm.

Silence. The atmosphere turned awkward. Even though they'd been sharing the same vocal class for three years and some other classes, they didn't talk much.

True, she had been developing some kind of an interest in the guy. Was it a "crush"? It was a "crush", wasn't it, when smile automatically crept to her face everytime he came into her sight? Or perhaps it was "like" that caused her insides to be filled with flutter? Or could it be... "love" because although he did not know, just knowing he was there, she felt the world was brighter?

She didn't know, for the next second his voice broke her reverie.

"Eu- eunji, I was thinking," he said, "I- I may have some i- ideas for th-the song project."

Smile soon crept up her face as her heart started to race in anticipation. My heart, please calm down, she told herself.

Straightening her expression, she said, "Of course! What is it, Yoseob-ssi?"

"I can ar- arrange the song. I can't let y- you do all the work by yourself... r-right?"

Eunji could feel her cheek went warm out of sudden. If she was in her room all by herself at the moment, she had probably shrieked her inside out or buried her face to the pillow, but then again... Composure.

"Great! That's a good idea," she chose to say, "Wow, I've never known you arrange songs."

"Well... I have never... But I- I can try," he replied sheepishly.

"Goodie! Soon as I get home, I'll record my piano playing into a CD then I'll let you have it tomorrow!"

Yang Yoseob, really. No one could make her day any better than him. In fact, no one could make her all bubbly without doing anything. Her six best friends usually gossiped away or threw harmless insults at each other and made her laugh, especially at Namjoo's foolishness, the boys would slightly flirt at her to gain her attention, while the other girls would compliment her looks to earn her acknowledgement, but not for Yang Yoseob. He just had to be there, in his quiet and timid self.

Was this how it was like to like someone? It certainly felt like she was floating on the sky...then bounced up and down on the fluffy cloud.

And Eunji loved that kind of feeling. Excited. Warm. Light.

That kind of feeling made her heart beat beyond uncontrolable. It was like a shock wave that made one became alive again. It empowered her.

She thought to herself. Should I...?

She had been debating about this for quite some time now; a confession.

She knew clearly the after effects. A girl who made the top list of most-wanted in school did not make the first move and certainly did not fall for an ordinary guy. But she had been wanting to break out of those rules. She wanted to freely love and have a crush. She wanted to be Yang Yoseob's girlfriend.

Even though she wasn't sure he felt the same way.

Should I...? She once again asked herself.

"Eunji... You're o- okay?"

She blinked. Yoseob was standing a few steps ahead of her.

She looked at him.

Only one way to find out.

"Yoseob," she said smoothly, "Regarding the song, may I ask a favour from you?"

The boy seemed astounded, but he stayed silent. Eunji continued, "The song is actually a rather... Valuable thing to me. It's never been easy for me to compose songs. My piano teacher always gives me C for the subject, but one day, I was thinking of this boy and..."

Eunji paused for a while. Her chest was suffocating and she wasn't even properly confessing. She wanted to give hints to see whether he might have the same feelings.

Mentally calmed herself down, she continued, "He had been in my mind for a while. From admiration to fondness, I think... I secretly develop a special feelings towards him. I think it's called 'like'. And it is so impassioned that it once came to my mind to confess my feelings to him, but I wasn't sure. I was afraid he'd reject me because I know his personality. Though he may feel the same as me, he might say the opposite thing or perhaps say nothing at all-"

"He sounds extremely shy," blurted Yoseob, "So- sorry I didn't mean to- um. Please continue."

Eunji blinked in confusion, but soon smile cept up to her face. Shy? Could it be that he knew it was him? Suddenly her chest felt lighter.

"Yes he is! But maybe that's what makes me got drawn to him in the first place? He only say little words, but his acts show a lot of things, like how hardworking he is, how kind his heart is and how cute he can be."

Her smile became wider as she continued, flashes of Yoseob's side face which she caught while secretly stealing glances flooded her mind.

"The more I watch him, the more I can't hold the feeling, so out of the blue, I sat on my piano, put my hands on the keys and the melodies just came rushing to me. Like a tidal wave. I kept playing and playing while writing down the notes. It was so overwhelming, as if I was possesed, but of course, no no no, I wasn't. I'm sure of it."

"So... When you arrange this song, Yoseob-ssi, can you unload the feelings inside of the melody? I don't know... Maybe I wanna try again, show him how I feel. I'm sorry if I ask too much. I just think that... This may finally be a good chance to tell him. I mean, we'd get to sing the song in front of the whole school, right?"

Putting her right hand behind her back, she crossed her finger, tightly.

"Y- yes," he said.

Eunji smiled while sighing in relief. She had a good feeling about this.

She quickly rushed back to his side. And not so long after, they were back walking together again. Everything felt just right.

"Eu- eunji," she heard Yoseob suddenly called her name, "He... You know, that guy..."

"The one I told you about just now?"

"Yeah. He- he is very young, isn't he? How long is his age apart from yo- yours?"

"Eh?" she responsed, raising her eyebrow. She was extremely confused at the sudden question. "What do you mean, Yoseob- He is not that young, you know. I didn't mention "young", did I? His age-"

"Jung Eunji!"

She turned to the source of the voice. She gasped, which quickly melted into a wide smile. She couldn't believe whom she saw.

"Come on, that's my Appa. He just got back from an oversea business trip!"

"He?"

Yoseob seemd to still in surprise of the sudden interuption, but Eunji was too excited of the fact that her Dad was home.

"Come on, Yoseob. Let's meet him," she said, reaching for the boy's hand. For a short seconds, she swore she felt warmth creeping up from their entangled hands, but she brushed it away.

Her father came home and it mattered to her, a lot.

"Appa!" she squealed as she ran to hug him, letitng go off Yoseob's hands. "When did you come back?"

Her dad laughed. "My daughter sounded so sad on the last phone call, so I decided to go home because I don't want you to feel alone, but..." his eyes traveled to Yoseob, "It seems that you're not..."

Eunji tried to supress her wider smile upon hearing the words. Her Dad had always been a little bit protective of her when it came to boys and she knew he wanted to make Yoseob felt awkward. But not now... Not when she just got closer to Yoseob and her father just came back. This very moment was too precious to be spoiled by an overprotective father's act.

"I'm not alone anymore now that you're home for good!" she chose to said.

Racking her brain to find another topic that would keep her father away from creating assumptions over Yoseob, she continued, "Appa, today, the vocal teacher decided to add another one. It's a composing task in pair and we'd get to perform it in front of the whole school! Yang Yoseob here is my partner! He arranges songs and he has agreed to arrange mine. Isn't that great?"

"Well, that sounds fun. You've always had interest in composing," replied her Dad. He then shifted his eyes to Yoseob, "So, are you two going to work on the project now?"

Eunji eyed the poor boy. He looked uncomfortable. "N- no," Yoseob said, "I sh- should go home now. I- I didn't tell my mom I'd go home late, she must b-be looking for me."

"Oh." Eunji responded in reflex. She scold herself for not inviting Yoseob to work on the project together when she knew they were near her home. To have Yoseob and Dad at the same time, Eunji couldn't even imagine how great this afternoon would be. 

"I'll b- be going now. Good eve- evening, Mr.Jung! S- see you tomorrow, Eu- eunji!" said Yosob after a few seconds of silence. Eunji could only watch as he bowed deeply and soon left, leaving an empty feeling in her heart.

The next night, Eunji couldn't stop smiling. She came to see Yoseob earlier today to hand in the melody that she had recorded and her mind couldn't seem to let go Yong Junhyung's words. He only stutters when he's nervous.

Yang Yoseob was nervous around her?

Her smile grew wider at such thought. And it was easily noticed by her father.

"So, Eunji-ah, who is this Yoseob guy?"

Jung Eunji found herself pausing to eat. She held the empty spoon close to and fidgeting on how to answer. Should she talk to her father about her crush?

She knew she had always told her father about everything, including boys, but the last time she talked to her father about liking someone was years ago, when she was in primary school and love was what people labeled as puppy love. Now, being a teenager, she wanted that boy to smile, she was happy enough just at the glance of him, and above of all she wished to be with him. How would her father react to that, she wondered.

"Um... He's a partner for a school project."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she replied, avoiding her dad's stare.

"You sure he's just a project partner?"

"Yes, Appa~" nagged Eunji, "Why are you being like this?"

Her father laughed. "You're shy, that means the boy is special. Isn't he?"

Eunji only pouted while her dad wiggled his eyebrows. Her dad could be a kid sometime. But inside, she was relieved. It had been long since she got to sit like this on the dinner table with her dad and talked to him face to face. It was good not to be alone.

Ever since her mom passed away, her dad was the only family Eunji had left. She was not close with her other relatives, partially because her father's job took the family to different places.

At first, Eunji didn't bother. She was actually happy to travel around and meet new friends. But alongside new meetings, came goodbyes. And as she grew up, she started to hate that. Therefor, she was glad when her father decided to settle in Seoul. Yet, that sense of comfort vanished when a group of men came to the house with handguns.

"Those men... They have never come back, right, Eunji?"

Anxiety suddenly filled her chest. She disliked it everytime her dad brought the topic up.

"No," replied her shortly.

"Good. That's good."

Hearing her father's response, she felt agitated. Putting down her spoon, she said, "What's good about that?"

Her father looked surprised at her reaction.

"What do you mean, Eunji-ah?"

"Are you still doing business with those men?"

"Eunji-ah, I-"

"Are you going to leave again after this dinner?"

"Yes, I-"

"Then, why do you even come home?!"

There. There she went. Where did the composed Jung Eunji go? She didn't want to bother. All she felt was anger. Anger. And more anger. She felt hot, like sweats were going to come out all over her body anytime soon, but at the same time, she wanted to cry. It was a weird feeling and she didn't like it.

"Eunji..." said her father in a soft voice, reaching out his hand to her shoulder.

"Appa, I'm..." she paused. It was as if there was a clump in , forbidding her to say the word to express how she had been feeling about her dad's daily absence.

"I hope you understand, Eunji-ah. You're a big girl now. You know better that life is hard. It's never close enough to those fairytales I read to you when you were a child. I'm doing this for your own good. I want you to have a better future than me."

No, this can't be real, she said to herself. How could her dad do not recognize her worries? He had never been like this before. Eunji wanted the caring fatherly figure she knew.

"I'm going to bed. Maybe by the time you wake up tomorrow, I won't be here. I have to leave early," he said, picking up his plate and headed to the kitchen.

"By the way," her father spoke up from the kitchen, "That kid from your vocal class project seems nice. I will give my permission if you two eventually get close..."

Eunji did not hear the rest of the sentence. Tears were gathered in her eyes, threatening to fell. She was disappointed, but above of all she was afraid. Jung Eunji was afraid of being alone.

Ever since her mom left, she was lonely. A busy father and the everchanging friends could not fill in the emptiness in her life. No one was there when she craved for company. People would expect it made her strong. It probably did because she was at least good at portraying a strong young girl, but inside, she was as fragile as the leaves in winter.