Monday, 6:50

It was the first day of school after summer break. I was in a good mood. It was a wonderful morning and I had my shot at a new start. I walked through the school gates, hand-in-hand with Youngmin. We were now an official couple. I smiled. I didn't mind getting used to this at all.

Flashback - Friday, 16:28

"Ria, will you be my girlfriend?"

His question repeated itself over and over in my head. I wanted to make sure that I had heard the right thing. I looked at Youngmin and he still had that warm smile on his face. I had to give him an answer.

I thought back to my past relationship with Kwangmin and how it all fell apart. It ended with a lot of pain and I had lost a lot of will. He had taken a huge part of me away. Was I ready to give another part of myself to Youngmin?

"Ria?" He was waiting.

Well, Youngmin did help me move on. And to be honest, I did like him. In the more-than-friends kind of way. It just took me his confession to admit it to myself. 

I felt myself smile and nod, and I was immediately taken into Youngmin's embrace.

"I'm so happy," he whispered in my ear.

"Me too," I whispered back.

After a moment, we both slowly pulled away from the embrace. Then, the unexpected happened. His lips suddenly came crashing into mine. 

My eyes widened in surprise and I was startled for a bit. But eventually, I let my eyes close and I smiled as I kissed him back. Funny, it was like that children's rhyme. Two people sitting on a tree, kissing.

When we finally pulled apart again, we just stayed there for a while, enjoying each other's presence in comfortable silence. He had his arm around me while my head rested on his shoulder.

17:25

"Ria."

I heard a soft singsong voice. It sounded so familiar.

"Hm?"

"Ria, wake up."

Wake up? My eyes immediately shot open. Shoot. 

"How long was I asleep for?" I asked Youngmin as I lifted my head away from his shoulder. I was embarrassed. "You should have woken me up earlier!"

Youngmin chuckled. "It's okay, you only slept for an hour."

"An hour?!" I stared at him in disbelief. "I'm so sorry! Your shoulder must be sore by now."

"Don't worry about it," Youngmin said. "You look cute when you sleep," he mumbled under his breath. I heard it though, and I swear I flushed beet red then and there. It was a good thing he decided to shift his attention towards something else. 

"Hey Ria, look at the sky," he said.

It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. The vast sky was a mix of orange and blue hues, and I also spotted a few portions of pink.

"Youngmin," I began. I waited until he turned to face me. "Thank you for today." I smiled. "You know, I'm kinda glad things ended up the way they did today. I mean, if you had caught that die outside the arcade, maybe we wouldn't even be here right now."

Yougmin returned the smile. "I'm glad too. Today's been the best day of my summer break. Thank you, Ria."

Monday, 7:10

I sat down at my desk and waited for class to start. Though I wasn't really doing anything, I felt happy. Even if Youngmin and I weren't classmates and we could only meet during breaks, I was on cloud nine.

But that state of mind didn't last long.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Kwangmin and Rebekah enter the classroom together. It was hard to ignore them, especially since they were being so sweet to each other in front of everyone. It made me want to vomit. I felt a pang of resentment inside me, though I refused to acknowledge it.

I decided to turn away, so I wouldn't have to see them both. I shifted my gaze towards the board in front.

No. Something was still weird.

Then I saw it. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Kwangmin. Staring. His hands were around Rebekah, but I was dead sure his eyes were on me. I refused to meet his gaze. 

Those eyes. Somehow, they scared me. Kwangmin was looking at me as if he had something to say. 

Luckily, the school bell rang at that moment, and everyone had to settle down for class.

Monday, 9:20

I couldn't concentrate. A part of my mind was trying to figure out the math problem presented in front, but the other part couldn't help but notice that Kwangmin was still staring. He was all the way on the other side of the classroom, but he was still staring. He would look away once in a while, but he would always go back to looking at me.

It made me feel uneasy. I was disturbed, for the most part. The good mood I had for the morning was completely ruined. What did it all mean? I felt something tug at my heartstrings. I couldn't identify the feeling that came with it. Sadness? Fear? Irritation? Confusion?

I shook my head. I should stop it. I should stop thinking about Kwangmin. I had Youngmin now.

Monday, 12:00

Lunch break. Finally. I rushed out of the classroom to meet Youngmin at our tree. I smiled at the thought of us eating lunch together up there. Somehow, it lifted my spirits.

"Ria!" Youngmin called out to me in the middle of the hallway.

I immediately walked over and linked arms with him. "Missed me?" I asked playfully. I was glad Youngmin was here. He was such a breath of fresh air after all the weirdness I've been feeling all morning.

"Yeah, I've been worried about you," he replied.

"Worried?" I repeated, not sure what he meant.

"Yeah." Youngmin paused for a while before continuing. "You're classmates with my brother, aren't you?"

I nodded. Did he know something I didn't? I felt a bit nervous, but it wasn't the good kind of nervous I usually felt whenever I was with Youngmin.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his tone, concerned.

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to be okay. But I guess I wasn't, really.

Youngmin must have sensed the awkward atmosphere so he tried to explain himself. "It's just that.. I know he meant a great deal to you before, and that you had to go through a lot of pain because of him." He sighed. "I just want you to be okay. So.. tell me if anything is bothering you, alright? I'd hate to see you sad."

His words touched me, and my nervousness went away. I smiled and pulled him into an embrace. It made me happy that he was so good to me. But it was also for the same reason that I had to make the first lie in our relationship. I didn't want him to worry excessively for my sake. 

"Nothing's bothering me, Youngmin," I giggled. "You're the best."

As we continued walking towards our tree, I silently hoped that tomorrow would be better. That I wouldn't feel that thing in my heart whenever I would think about Kwangmin. That I was only bothered today because Kwangmin was acting really creepy.

It's his stare. I tried hard to convince myself in my mind. Just his stare. That's it. Nothing more.