Infinite - Sungyeol

“Minhye-yah, there’s a present for you on your table.” Minhye looked at her classmate and asked, “From who? Why?” She shrugged, “I don’t know who he was but he probably likes you.” Minhye sat down and opened the small bag which had all sorts of chocolate bars. One of Minhye’s friends, Yumi, sat down in her seat in front of Minhye and asked, “Is it chocolate?” Minhye nodded. “Wow, you’re so lucky. You get chocolates from boys. I wish I was pretty and smart like you.” Minhye just smiled and said, “You’re pretty and smart too. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yumi rolled her eyes at her friend’s modest behavior. “I don’t see chocolates on my table.”

Suddenly the room turned quiet so everyone looked up to see if the teacher came in. Minhye rolled her eyes as she saw Sungyeol walking in. Yumi quickly turned to Minhye and asked, “Sungyeol’s in our class this semester?!” Minhye shrugged, “Who cares?!” Yumi pouted, “I care... he’s so hot.” The two girls looked at Sungyeol as he looked around to see where he could sit. Minhye prayed he wouldn’t sit next to her.

Minhye and Sungyeol had gone to the same schools since elementary school and in every school, Sungyeol was labeled as kingka each year. This label had gotten to Sungyeol as he grew cockier and cockier by the day. To top it off, he came from a very wealthy family so he had money too. All the girls drooled over him...except Minhye. She didn’t like his cocky behavior. She had seen him reject all the girls, breaking their hearts in the harshest manner she had ever witnessed.

Minhye, on the other hand, was a normal girl who got straight A’s. However, she came from a poor family so she was very frugal with money and constantly working jobs. Because of this background, she despised the fact that Sungyeol always went around spending money carelessly.

As Minhye sat there, looking at all the girls shooing their friends away so that Sungyeol could sit next to them, she just scoffed and started to take out her textbooks. As she reached for her textbook on the floor, she heard someone ask, “Is anyone sitting here?” She looked up and saw Sungyeol standing there, staring at her. She immediately replied, “Yeah.” Sungyeol threw his bag on the table and said, “That for them.” Minhye rolled her eyes and reached down for her textbook.

When the classroom started to get loud again, Sungyeol started to talk to Minhye. “So what’s your name?” Minhye silently sighed to herself. “Minhye.” Sungyeol leaned back in his chair and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “My name’s Sungyeol...if you didn’t know by now.” Minhye looked down at her textbook. “Oh.”

Yumi turned around and asked, “Can I have some chocolate?” Minhye smiled and said, “Sure” as she handed her the bag.  “Why do you bring chocolate to school?” Sungyeol asked her. Minhye’s smile faded as she replied, “Someone gave it to me.” Sungyeol furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Do you not look at people when you talk to them?” Minhye looked at him and said, “Does it matter?” Sungyeol sighed, “You should be happy that I sat here.” Minhye turned back to her textbook and muttered, “I’m probably the only girl at this school who doesn’t want to sit next to you.” Before Sungyeol could say anything, the bell rang and the teacher walked in.

During break, classmates came over to Minhye’s table to ask her questions about certain subjects. “I don’t understand how she went from this step to this step.” As Minhye was explaining, Sungyeol stared at her. He never knew she was that smart. When the classmates went back to their seats, Sungyeol asked, “You’re smart?” Minhye threw him a dirty look. “What’s that supposed to mean? Do I look stupid to you?!” Sungyeol smiled and said, “No, I just never knew you were smart. What are your grades?” Minhye rolled her eyes, ignoring his question. Suddenly, Yumi turned around and said, “She has straight A’s!” Sungyeol nodded his head in approval. “Impressive.”

Minhye and her friends huddled together around their table in the cafeteria during lunch. “I heard you sit next to Lee Sungyeol! Oh my gosh, you’re so lucky!!” Minhye sighed. She didn’t understand why her friends had to be obsessed with him too. “Can we not talk about it? You guys know I don’t like him.” One of her friends nudged her and said, “You never know. After sitting together, your animosity towards him might decrease.” Minhye rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure if I didn’t like him for about 10 years, I’m going to continue disliking him.” Yumi leaned forward and said, “Then switch seats with me!” Minhye looked at her and said, “Are you serious? I would love to.” Yumi started clapping her hands, shouting, “Ahssa!”

When they walked back into class, they switched seats accordingly. Yumi’s tablemate walked in before Sungyeol. Although he was a bit confused as to the seat change, he sat down next to Minhye. When Sungyeol walked in, Yumi started to get excited as she kicked Minhye’s chair. Minhye ignored it and continued working on her homework.

Sungyeol walked up to the tables and looked at Yumi and then at Minhye. He tapped the guy next to Minhye and said, “Ay... move.” He looked up at Sungyeol and said, “This... is my—“ Sungyeol gave him a look and said, “I said... move.” Minhye looked at them and sighed as the boy got up and sat down next to Yumi.

“Did you like this seat better?” Sungyeol asked her. She didn’t look up and answered, “I liked it a lot better before you sat here.” Sungyeol scoffed, “Is there a reason why you hate me so much?” She looked at him and said, “Are you bothered that I’m not like all the other girls?” Sungyeol crossed his arms and said, “Yeah, it does.” Minhye smirked and went back to her textbook.

-----

“Hello! Would you like to try our new appetizer?” Minhye put on a big smile as she helped the new family that just sat down. They politely shook their head and looked at their menu as Minhye walked back into the kitchen to grab their drinks. “Minhye-yah! After you get their drinks, can you seat the group of teenagers? I think they’re from your school.” Minhye sighed. She hated helping her own school kids.

She placed the drinks down and walked over to the entrance. “Hello, I’ll seat you right over here.” The group of boys looked at her and Minhye’s eyes widened when she saw Sungyeol. He looked at her and smirked. “Well look who we have here.” Minhye ignored him and started to walk over to their table to seat them. As they sat down, she handed them their menus and said, “Can I start you guys off with a drink?”

They all ordered soda and as she wrote this down, Sungyeol spoke up. “Didn’t know you worked here. How convenient.” All his friends started to laugh. “How about a discount? Oh wait... I don’t need one.” Sungyeol and his friends started laughing even louder. Minhye held onto her pen tight, almost breaking it in half. She controlled her anger and muttered, “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

When she came back with the drinks, Sungyeol said, “I hope you didn’t spit in our drinks.” Minhye clenched her fist behind her back and replied, “Would you like me to? Didn’t think so.” Then she went back to help other tables. She didn’t want to blow up on that table so she kindly asked her coworker to take over that table. Because of this, Minhye was able to calm down during their stay.

When the boys paid and were about to leave, Sungyeol grabbed Minhye and said, “I left you a tip. You’re welcome.” Minhye exhaled and threw his arm off. “You have a big problem, you know that? Is it funny to you that I work here? Just because I was born into a family that wasn’t as wealthy as yours? I don’t need your ing money if it comes from a cocky and disrespectful bastard like you. And just to let you know, your parents work their off for the money that you carelessly spend around everywhere. You asked me why I hate you so much at school today. I hate you because you don’t appreciate what you have, you take everything as a joke, you don’t have respect for others, and you don’t know what value is. Maybe, just maybe, if you could just learn, I would actually have some sort of respect for you. But I don’t. Because the sad truth is that you will never learn.”

Despite the fact that most of the people around them were staring, Minhye walked off into the kitchen. “What was that about?” Her coworker asked. Minhye sighed and said, “Just a jerk I know from school who’s been making me angry.” Minhye looked outside and saw Sungyeol still in shock as he slowly stepped outside. He must’ve been extremely embarrassed.

No doubt the next day was awkward at school. However, Minhye didn’t try to avoid him. She just sat down in her regular seat and went through her work. When Sungyeol sat down next to her, he said, “Hey.” Minhye didn’t even reply to him. She didn’t want to bother. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to—“ Minhye closed her book and got up. She went to a different table and sat down. Sungyeol stared at her and sighed. What was he supposed to do... he sincerely felt horrible about it.

Throughout the whole day, Sungyeol approached Minhye many times to apologize but she continuously ignored him. After school, Sungyeol finally walked up to her and grabbed her arm tight. “I really mean it when I say sorry. Why do you keep ignoring me?!” Minhye looked at him and said, “If you’re really sorry then do something about it.” She pulled her arm off and continued to walk out with Yumi.

That’s when Sungyeol had an idea. She wanted him to learn right? That’s exactly what he was going to do.

-----

“Minhye-yah! Come over here.” Her manager called her over. “I need you to stay for another hour. I’ll pay you overtime.” Minhye nodded. As she was about to leave the kitchen, a tall figure walked in so she stepped back. “Hey.” Minhye just stared at Sungyeol wearing the same uniform as she was. “What... are you doing?” Sungyeol smiled and pulled out his notepad, waving it back and forth. “I’m learning.” Then he walked over to their manager.

Minhye clenched her fists tight. She had to deal with him at school and at work. Right outside the kitchen, her coworker chuckled and said, “That jerk decided to bother you here too.” Minhye frowned. “I noticed.” Throughout the entire hour, Sungyeol constantly followed her around, asking her questions about work. Although Minhye wanted to punch him in the face, she knew she had to help him as a trainee.

When she was finally getting ready to leave, she asked Sungyeol. “Why are you working?” Sungyeol shrugged, “You told me to learn. So I started to work to learn the meaning behind value and how important money is.” Minhye continued to glare at him as she asked, “Well why did you have to choose here?” Sungyeol smirked, “So I can prove to you.”

-----

The next day at school, Minhye actually paid attention to Sungyeol walking in. He was flinching as he walked to his seat. Minhye knew he had sore legs and feet. “You’re sore, huh?” Sungyeol looked at her and smiled without replying. She raised an eyebrow and asked, “What?” He chuckled and said, “You’re finally talking to me. Like actually talking to me.” Minhye rolled her eyes and went back to her textbook but Sungyeol grabbed her arm and turned his body towards her. “And to answer your question, yes I’m so freaking sore.”

Minhye put on a faint smile and said, “I would know. You should get a massage. It feels so much better.” Sungyeol then leaned back and slightly lifted his leg up onto Minhye’s lap. She looked up at him. “Since I started working because of you, why don’t you give me a massage?” Minhye saw a couple girls staring at them so she pushed his leg off. “You wish.” Then she returned to her work while Sungyeol just pouted.

After school, Minhye was walking with Yumi when Sungyeol came up from behind. “Are you working today?” She looked up at him and said, “Yeah... are you?” He nodded. “I guess you’re training me today.” Minhye rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

-----

“Minhye-yah! You’re training the new boy today.” Minhye silently cursed to herself. He followed her around like a little puppy and constantly complained about moving around too much. “Why are you so lazy? This is work. You can’t be lazy.” Sungyeol sighed and helped her carry plates and drinks. Despite the fact that he was tired, he managed to put on a smile for the customers and gave them excellent service. Minhye was impressed.

Because Minhye was training Sungyeol all the cleaning methods after closing, they ended later than usual. They were the only two left when they locked the doors and left. “I’m so tired... how do you do this so often?!” Minhye shrugged. “You just get used to it. And it’s all worth it when you get your paycheck.”

Sungyeol nodded and walked over to the bench outside the restaurant and laid down. “Holy Jesus, this feels so good.” Minhye couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. She walked over to the bench and placed her bag on the ground. She thought back about how Sungyeol struggled with his sore legs at school that day and how she pushed his legs off. She sighed and squatted down. She began to give him a massage on his calves which made Sungyeol look at her. “You’re really giving me a massage?” Minhye nodded. “I guess I feel bad.” Sungyeol chuckled and leaned back down, feeling the relief from her massage. “Eh, you’re not really that big of a .” Minhye and Sungyeol both started laughing.

Sungyeol got in his car and drove out of the parking lot when he saw Minhye walking in the dark. He pulled over and rolled down his window. “I’ll give you a ride home.” Minhye looked at him and then his car. “You have a car?!” Sungyeol rolled his eyes. “I’m kind of illegally parked right now. Hurry up and get in.” Minhye quickly got in and asked, “You have a car? Wait... you’re not even old enough to drive!” Sungyeol put on a sad smile and said, “My parents don’t care.” Minhye furrowed her eyebrows and asked, “They don’t care that their underage son is driving a very nice and expensive car around... illegally?!” Sungyeol nodded. “They’re the ones who got me the car. They didn’t want to give me rides.”

That’s when it hit Minhye. Even though Sungyeol was a cocky jerk who had everything... he actually didn’t. He didn’t have the same care that other teenagers received from their parents. Although some overprotective parents were annoying, it was better to have parents who cared about you than didn’t at all.

Minhye looked at him and asked, “How often do you see your parents?”  Sungyeol had on a serious face as he drove. “If I’m lucky, once a week.”  Minhye sighed which made Sungyeol look over at her with a playful smile. “What?” She pouted and said, “Sorry... I should’ve known better.” Sungyeol chuckled and said, “I understand. Everyone thinks I’m the jerk who has everything.” Minhye smiled and said, “At least all the girls drool over you.” Sungyeol smiled and said, “Except for one.”

-----

With school and work, Minhye and Sungyeol had no choice but to become close friends. Sungyeol always gave her a ride home after work even if he didn’t work with her that day.

“Hey... do you want to come over for dinner today?” Sungyeol looked at Minhye, slightly surprised. Minhye smiled and said, “It’d be nice if you ate some homemade food with a family once in a while.” Sungyeol slowly smiled and said, “Sure... thanks...” Minhye chuckled and said, “Let’s just say it’s a thank you for all the rides you’ve given me.”

As soon as they went inside, Sungyeol was greeted with, “Oh! You’re Sungyeolie!” Minhye’s mom walked up to him and patted his back. “Thank you for always taking Minhye home! Wow... you’re so tall and good-looking!” Sungyeol let out a polite laugh as he bowed. Minhye whispered, “Sorry... my house is tiny.” Sungyeol just smiled and said, “It’s nice and cozy. I like it a lot better than my house.”

Throughout dinner, Minhye noticed how uncomfortable Sungyeol looked. He must’ve not been used to a family dinner like that. But he was very grateful for the food that Minhye’s family had prepared for him. Whenever Minhye and her parents bickered over small things, Sungyeol had on a small smile but his eyes showed envy. Minhye saw all of this.

Minhye walked out with Sungyeol after dinner. “You know, my family really doesn’t mind if you come over a lot for dinner.” Sungyeol looked at her and smiled. “Really? I’m serious, if you give me that invite, I’m seriously going to come over a lot. The food was so good.” Minhye smiled and nodded. “I’m serious.” Sungyeol nodded and sighed. He walked up to Minhye and hugged her. “Thank you... really.” Minhye hugged him back and said, “You’re ... welcome.” Although it started off as a friendly hug, it turned different. They both didn’t want to let go but Minhye eventually did. “Bye Sungyeol...” Then she turned around and ran inside and into her bed.

“No... I’m not going to like him. I’ve seen him reject and laugh at girls. He’s going to do the same to me. He’s still that same jerk when it came to that stuff. I’m not going to be like the other girls. Just friends. Nothing more, just friends.”

But day after day and dinner after dinner, Minhye and Sungyeol grew closer and it was final: Minhye had fallen for Sungyeol like all the other girls at school. The question was, did Sungyeol like her as well?

It was Valentine’s day and Minhye had given it a lot of thinking, whether or not to give him chocolate. She decided she would but say that she was giving chocolates to all her guy friends. Then she would prove this excuse by giving chocolates to her coworkers as well. But all her hopes crashed when she saw the piles and piles of chocolate on Sungyeol’s desk. Most of them were much bigger and prettier than hers. There were so many that some of the candy got pushed onto Minhye’s desk. She silently said to herself, “Of course... what was I thinking.”

Sungyeol sat down and groaned. “I hate Valentine’s day.” He started to look through the candy and made two piles. “What are you doing...” Minhye asked him. “Separating the ones I want to eat and the ones I’m going to throw away.” Eventually, there was a small pile and a large pile. Sungyeol brought the trash can over and to Minhye’s surprise, he threw the large pile away.

He slowly looked at Minhye and asked, “Did you... get me anything?” Minhye looked at him with big eyes. Should she give it to him or would he just throw it away? But surprisingly, Sungyeol looked hopeful. So Minhye pulled it out of her bag and gave it to him. “Happy Valentine’s day... but I got it for all my guy friends so don’t get the wrong idea.” Sungyeol smiled and took the chocolate. “Thanks.” Minhye smiled when she saw him open the chocolates and eat them. At least he didn’t throw it away.

And then came White Day. Minhye didn’t know why but she was hopeful that Sungyeol had gotten her something. She hoped he would at least get her something as a sign of friendship like how she did for him. So when Sungyeol walked in with bare hands and sat down like any other day, all her hope faded. Boys came in and out to Minhye’s desk, handing her candy, teddy bears, and other stuff. Minhye would smile and say thank you to each and every one of them even though they’d just run away out of embarrassment.

“Little miss popular.” Minhye looked at Sungyeol and laughed. “Says the person who had to throw away candy on Valentine’s day.” Sungyeol shrugged. “Happens every year.” Minhye rolled her eyes.

Suddenly a boy came in and walked up to Minhye. “Hi Minhye...” Minhye put on a small smile and said, “Hi?” He quickly said, “I’ve liked you for a long time and I would completely understand if you didn’t like me back either and I don’t need an answer or anything but I just wanted to do this.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He stood up straight and turned bright red as Minhye’s eyes widened. Sungyeol slammed his fist on the table and got up. The whole room turned quiet and everyone stared. When Sungyeol saw this, he slowly sat down. The boy ran off and the classroom started to get loud again.

“I didn’t get that on Valentine’s Day...” Minhye just smiled. “That was cute and unique.” Sungyeol shot her a glare. “That was gross.” Minhye rolled her eyes and joked, “Aw, are you jealous?”

Sungyeol got up and walked over to the front of her table. “What are you doing?” Sungyeol leaned forward which made Minhye lean back a little. He cupped her face and brought it to his, kissing her on the lips. Minhye’s eyes grew wide but she stayed still. The whole classroom was dead silent as they stared in shock.

As Sungyeol let go, he muttered, “I’m not jealous cause starting today, you’re mine.”