Ha Neul’s POV

Finally! FINALLY! I thought that guy was never going to leave! Seriously, how can he be such a royal pain in the ?! Thank God, he has an important lecture that he can’t miss right now! Or else I surely wouldn’t have survived this day!

I glanced at Hyo Rin who was pretending to be very interested in the jumble of numbers on the blackboard.

And that traitor! How dare she side with him?! Didn’t she see how desperately I was trying to get rid of him?!

Well, I guess that’s how far friendship goes, huh? All it takes is just some guy with a handsome face and a little fame and, whoosh, loyalty flies out the window…! Hmpf!

When the bell rang, I swiftly packed my things and stalked towards the exit.

“Ha Neul, wait for me!” Hyo Rin called after me but I ignored her. Hmpf, why don’t you just go over to the music department and continue to amuse yourself with that Alien Terrorist at my expense?!

“Yah, Ha Neul!”

I guess not…

“Come one! Don’t tell me you’re still miffed about me telling him of your first cooking experience during cooking class?” She had run in front of me and was trying to look into my eyes while I tried to avoid her.

“Hmpf!”

“Haha, so cuuute~!” She pinched my cheeks and I scowled. “Our Ha Neul’s miffed expression is so cuuute~! That’s we love tease you, you know?”

“WE?!!” We?!! WE?!!! Since when did she and that Alien Terrorist become WE?!!!

Hyo Rin grinned at me smugly. “Or are you jealous because we got along this fast?”

“WHAT?! Jealous?!!! Me?!! Are you out of your mind?!!”

Jealous?! Because of that kid? Ha! No WAY!!

But apparently, Hyo Rin didn’t believe me. “You sure?” She asked with raised eyebrows.

“Y-yes!” Why the hell am I stuttering?

“So… you wouldn’t mind if I made a move on him?”

“N-no… why would I…?” Damn, what is wrong with my voice all of a sudden? Why does it sound so dejected? And what’s with this tight feeling in my chest?!

This is as if Hyo Rin was actually right! As if I’ve really fallen in love with that Alien Terrorist!

But that’s impossible! I can’t!

I promised to myself! I never wanted to feel that way ever again! After Hae had…

…

Oh my God…

Hae…

I completely forgot…

Hyo Rin’s POV

In the matter of seconds, Ha Neul’s face paled.

I inquired what was wrong, but she wouldn’t answer. Instead, her expression turned stony; like a mask.

Okay, this was serious. That was the expression she had started to wear in junior high. After the incident with that boy.

“Oy! Ha Neul!” I grabbed her shoulders and slightly shook her. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me! I’m sorry! Okay? I admit I went too far with my chokes! Please don’t be angry!” Did that really bother her this much?

But then, she slowly raised her eyes and looked at me. I gulped; feeling a wave of guilt hit me. God, she looks so hurt and lost! But just what was it that I said that made her look like this??

I quickly pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you! I didn’t think—“

“That’s not it…” She suddenly mumbled and I felt her shake her head.

“Huh?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong… I…”

Not because of me? But then why…?

…

“Okay, we’re skipping.” I then quickly decided and pulled her with me.

---------

I looked at my best friend not knowing what to think or say. So he’s back… The boy that made her like this in junior high… And he was no other than Lee Donghae… Ohmygosh, LEE DONGHAE!!! Kyaaaa~! First Bling Bling Jonghyun and now Lee Donghae?! This girl sure knows how to get the good men…!

“Congratulations… Your first love turns out to be a super hottie,” I said to lighten up the mood.

“Rinnn~!”

“Arasso, arasso! But I really don’t get it. Shouldn’t you be happy? Haven’t you always wished to see him again?” Although I’ve sworn to rip out all the limbs of that boy who caused her so much pain…! But if she’s happy with him, what can I do…? Relationships just have their ups and downs…

“I am happy…” Ha Neul admitted in a tiny voice and cast her eyes down. “But at the same time I’m scared… scared that the same thing will happen again…” She suddenly raised her head and looked at me pleadingly as if she wanted me to tell her that she’d made the right decision. “I promised to myself not to fall in love ever again!”

What?

“You swore to never fall in love again? Never EVER?!”

She nodded meekly.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me about this?”

“…”

“I’m listening?”

“…because you’d probably get angry…”

“Damn right, I’m angry!” I almost yelled at her. “Never to fall in love again…?! When did you come up with such a ridiculous thing?! Do you want to spend the rest of your life in solitude just because some guy once hurt you?! No man is worth that much! You idiot!”

Aish! I can’t believe this! But actually I have no right to say anything either… Never noticing a thing till now! Some best friend I am! Seriously!

Well, either way! Operation Saving-Ha-Neul’s-Love-Live starts now!

I took both her hands and stared into her eyes intently. “Okay. Hwang Ha Neul, listen closely. Tomorrow, you will go to Lee Donghae and ask him out on a date and—no objections!” I interrupted myself when she tried to protest. “I don’t mean that you’ll have to walk to Namsan Tower hand in hand and put a lock there! What I’m saying is that you should just spend some time together! So that you can figure out your feelings!”

“But I’m scared…! What if I find out that I still love him but he doesn’t? I don’t want to go through that again! Do you know that I only got over him not too long ago? Do you know how much it hurt?”

“I DO know! Do you think I didn’t see back then in junior high? I wished him all the pests on earth!!” I huffed. “But if he’s the one for you, then what can I do?!”

She looked at me with big eyes and a tiny smile appeared on her lips. “You wished him all the pests on earth?”

Of course! No one messes with my best friend! He was just lucky that I didn’t know where he went! “Uh-huh…”

“Thanks…”

I just smiled back at her. “But back to the topic. Ha Neul, feelings are not something you can command at will. Every kid knows that. Saying that you’ll never fall in love again is like predicting the weather of the next year; it’s not something you can control… It’s just running away… Do you want to run away for the rest of your life?”

She hesitantly shook her head.

“Exactly. So, go and find out your true feelings. If it turns out that you still have feelings for him then you’ll have to face them. If he likes you back… well then, congratulation on catching one of Korea’s hottest boyfriend material!” I winked at her but it only earned me a weak smile in return. “And if he doesn’t like you back…” I sighed. “Well, then you’ll just have to get over him once and for all… He’s not the only desirable man on earth, you know?” I added upon seeing Ha Neul’s insecure expression. “Besides there is also the possibility that YOU don’t like him anymore…”

“But—”

“I know you’re scared. But that’s exactly why you should go and get it done and over with!” I smiled at her encouragingly. “And if dares to hurt you again, just tell me! I’ll go and make sure his fans won’t recognise his face anymore!”

“You’d beat up an idol?”

“Ahaha, I guess I’d have to get myself a residence in the mountains where no fan could ever find me first, but yeah, I would,” I scratched my head feeling a little embarrassed.

“Riiiiin~!” Ha Neul wailed and flung her arms around me. “I love you!!”

I smiled and hugged her back. “I know!”

“Hmmm, but there’s this one thing you could do for me…” I said after we’d stayed quiet for a while.

“What is it?”

“If you get on good terms with Lee Donghae again… would you mind introducing us?” I grinned.

“Hyo Rin!”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

---------

After that girl talk we were too lazy to go back to the lecture so we just decided to hang around a little longer. Actually, I would have preferred to go home or shopping or something but Ha Neul said that she didn’t feel like it. So, she’d rather stay in this boring university building? Seriously, I don’t get how her brain works sometimes!

Suddenly, her phone rang and she’d picked up after already the first ring. Almost like she’d been waiting for it…?

“Anyeonghaseyo.”

…

Ha Neul looked at her wristwatch and her eyes widened. “Omo, I’m sorry! I didn’t notice it was already this late!”

…

“We skipped…” She mumbled guiltily and twirled her hair. Since when did she feel guilty about skipping lectures towards someone??

…

Then, her expression lit up and I actually saw a genuine smile on her lips. “Ah, yes! Where are you right now?”

…

“Okay, I’ll be right there! Bye!” She lowered her cell phone but then the caller seemed to add something and she lifted it to her ear again. I don’t know what the caller said but suddenly her head became as red as a tomato! “I dare you!” She hissed into the phone and hung up. But this was unmistakably her embarrassed-to-the-bones expression…!

I eyed her curiously. “Who was that?” To get her smiling just after that Donhae discussion?

Immediately, her head snapped into my direction; like I’d caught her doing something she didn’t want me to see…  “Um, just s-someone I’d agreed to meet…! So, I’ll be going now! Bye!”

And off she was.

But did she seriously think I would believe that? ‘Someone she’d agreed to meet’? I chuckled. Really, Ha Neul, what is it that you’re still hiding from me?

---------------------------------

Double updateeeee! XD
(Because I'm SO not satisfied with this chappie...!  -_____-)