Soojung didn't mean to find herself in the middle of controversy, it just happened to be that she possessed a very short temper. She continued to ignore the gossip circulating in the halls, finding solitude in the rooftop of the school. It was the only place where she found herself to be completely alone. She liked the solitude and the peace it gave her, because when she returned downstairs to her world, she found nothing but turmoil that persisted in whatever she did. She had been at this school for a month now, and she has already got used to the frivolous activities of the students. She even tried at her schoolwork, because she wanted to do well for herself. Her parents were probably satisfied, but she hasn't contacted them. Any phone calls she got from her parents she immediately rejected. Her father would sound toneless, while her mother sounded like-

 She squeezed her eyes. Her fists tightened and she found her heart squeezing. She wasn't going to think about her at a time like this.

 It was currently noon and every student was in the cafeteria, or outside campus in some fancy cafe. She was the lone student wandering the halls, exploring the place and looking for somewhere to sleep in. She glanced inside a room and then halted, turning back towards the room and peeking inside. There was no one in here. She looked up at the sign, reading Second Music Room. She looked twice over her shoulders, then quickly went inside and slammed the door behind her. 

 A solitary piano loomed in the centre of the room. It was void of all furniture save for the piano seat, which she sat upon and raised the cover of the piano. The afternoon sun flooded into the room, casting a charming light in the spacious music room. For the standards of this school, she felt that it was a little bare and not very extravagant like the rest of the school. She smiled and ran a finger over the keys. This room was like a representation of her; the outside beautifully decorated, but the inside hollow and desolate. She breathed in the piano's wooden texture, then pressed one key and then another. Soon she was playing a soft melody that she was taught as a child, finding the right place and started to hum the lyrics. She frowned and tried to hold it in, but the song was just so painfully familiar, and an unwanted memory resurfaced once again;

 "You play so well unnie," she moaned, looking at the older girl's expert fingers. 
She laughed at Soojung, lifting her to her knee and hovering her fingers over hers.
"I'll teach you, so you can play well too," she said gently. 
They started playing simple notes at first, but the melody was quick to learn. 
Pretty soon, Soojung was playing on her own, loudly singing the song's lyrics.
She stopped when she heard laughter, and she looked up at her warm brown eyes.
"You must promise me that you'll sing," she said, smoothing Soojung's hair.
"Your voice is beautiful, little one."

 Soojung gasped, tears streaming down her face as she fought with herself. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she heard the last of her voice echo in the room. She let out a loud sob, and clamped a hand over to stop herself from crying out anymore. Tears spilled from her eyes and onto the keys, growing in numbers and soon creating a small puddle. She doubled over the keys, trying unsuccessfully to stop her sobs. But they kept coming, and she felt weak for letting go of her emotions. Memories were so hard to suppress, and these particular memories were oh so painful. She promised herself that she wouldn't do this, that she wouldn't cry for something so fickle as-

 "You play wonderfully."

 She immediately straightened, her eyes shooting towards the door. It was him again, the boy from a few weeks ago. She wiped angrily at her tears and bit down on her bottom lip, gathering herself and preparing to storm out. She was only a few metres from him, when he spoke again. "It's okay to cry."

 She screeched into a halt, glaring at him as though he was the most hateful creature on Earth. He turned to face her and there it was again, the clarity in his eyes like it was all going to be okay. Like there was such a simple answer, but he looked at her like she took the most complicated way. And she was suddenly angry at this man, angry that he should be so careless in his nature and delusional in his thinking. There was nothing simple about what had happened to her. And she cursed this boy for thinking otherwise. She was about to throw herself on him, lash out and beat the out of him, when he suddenly did the unthinkable. He dodged her blows and wrapped his arms around her, tightening around her waist and puling her close. Soojung gasped but she didn't feel angry. In fact, she actually felt sad. And it overwhelmed her to tears, letting out one choked sob after another, until her knees collapsed and she was under the care of this boy. 

 She clung to him for support, bawling into his shoulder as she let out the tears she should've shed years ago. He didn't say a word to her, but his had hand her hair and held her tight. Soojung didn't know what to feel about this event.

 "So do you always pick up chicks by making them cry?" she asked him dryly, walking alongside him as they went home for the day. He glanced at her and let out a loud laugh, tugging at his backpack's straps. 

 "No, and I've never picked up chicks before. I'm not that good."

 "Gay?"

 "Definitely not. Although my parents seem to think otherwise."

 "Taken an oath to chastity?"

 "I'm not that pure."

 "Then what are you?" Soojung asked impatiently, rolling her eyes at him as she waited for his answer. He thoughtfully looked up for a moment, then smiled at her.

 "Reserved."

 She snorted at that, then saw her car approach at the corner of her eye. She walked to the edge of the pavement, then opened the car door as it halted in front of her. As she climbed inside, she looked at him for a moment. Then she pushed the door wider. "Come on, I'll take you home."

 But he merely smiled and waved off the offer. "I prefer to walk."

 "You might get kidnapped and demanded for millions of wons."

 He laughed again. Soojung decided that she needed people to laugh more around her. "That's highly unlikely. But I appreciate the offer." Soojung shrugged and was about to slam the door, when his hand intercepted it and caused her to look up. She smirked at him.

 "Changed your mind?"

 "This is my number," he handed her a piece of paper. It was crumpled slightly, and the paper was tinged slightly with yellow. It looked like it had been in his pocket for days.

 "Another pick up ploy?"

 "Call me when you want to talk."

 Her smirk was gone. "What do we have to talk about?" 

 He started to walk away and smiled again, walking backwards so he can talk to her. "In case you need to talk. That's what friends are for right?" He gave her a jovial wave and jogged off, rounding a corner and disappearing. Soojung looked at the number, then got out her phone and added a new entry. She sighed and her cheeks warmed a little.

 "Who's not good at picking up chicks?" she mumbled.