Huang ZiTao was sitting down on the ground with his legs folded underneath him, his eyes closed shut as he listened his surroundings.

He heard the usual wave of noise coming from the gates where students walked past into the campus, not seemingly able to keep their mouths shut so early in the morning. He also heard the bird that always sang to him situated at the Jacaranda tree above him. Also the two girls whispering a hundred feet away. The thuds of a ball being dribbled. The faint sound of the purple petals from his tree landing on the ground.

Tao abnormally heard and felt it all, no matter how far or near it was, as long as he concentrated hard. He didn’t know how he did it, but every time he was in a state of meditation, his senses become very sensitive. He didn’t mind it though; it was a great advantage for him.

The sound of faint footsteps approaching alerted his senses, the hand on his lap twitching.

The person was only a foot away now, and it wasn’t planning to stop from there. Slightly annoyed, Tao heaved a deep breath before rolling on the grass towards this person. He ended up in a kneeling position, his left arm positioned above his head while the other supported his ground.

His eyes fluttered open, met with a girl with plain black hair and an intense gaze.

She was quite taken aback he could tell, by the way her eyes squinted and how she backed away slightly. He eyed her up and down.

Hyerin frowned when a long wooden stick materialized in his hand out of nowhere as he stood up. He probably already set it on the ground before she even arrived. It didn’t give her any sense of comfort though—what with the boy’s scary glare and the weapon.

Tao stood up and backed away slightly, both his hands grasping the stick. He twirled it skillfully left and right, spinning around and doing complicated tricks as she watched. It was impressive, what he was doing, but she didn’t quite understand the point to it.

He ended his little show with a fighting pose, but it didn’t stop there. For some reason, the situation ended with Tao attacking Hyerin, much to her unpleasant surprise. He came running towards her, the wooden stick situated in front of him.

It was a good thing she had fast reflexes, as when he was about to hit her with the stick she spun around, catching it in time.

“Huh.” Tao raised his eyebrows. “That was unexpected.”

“Damn right it was!” she yelled, staring at him in disbelief. She let go of the stick, facing the boy completely. “Why the hell did you attack me?” she demanded.

Tao shrugged. “Thought you were one of those idiots who keep bugging me whenever I’m here outside,” he said, lowering the stick. “Are you one of them?” He gave her a pointed look.

Hyerin sighed and looked away. What was with these boys and their odd suspicion that everyone was out to get them? “No, I’m not. And even if I was, I don’t think hitting people who try to approach you with sticks is right,” she said. “I’m Kim Hyerin. Sophomore. That’s it.”

Tao chuckled, turning away from her and walking back to his spot. “Funny. You both said the same thing,” he muttered under his breath, remembering what Luhan told him the other day.

“So what’s your deal, Kim Hyerin?” he questioned, looking back at her. “What do you want from me?”

She walked up to him, placing her hands behind her back. “Do you need extra cash?”

Tao folded his small towel and put it inside his gym bag. “Maybe. Why?” 

“My father is a coach for wushu,” she started, attempting a casual tone. “We own a wushu training center located around the Chungmuro area and well, we're looking for guest teachers for our students.” She shrugged, looking up at him. “I was hoping you would be interested to be a teacher for a couple of days. We pay really well, and I was thinking to get a few pointers from you, too.”

Tao hummed, lifting his bag. “There are a lot of good trainers out there. Why pick me?” he asked, approaching her smaller figure.

“You’re one of the best, aren’t you? Isn’t it obviously why I talked to you in the first place?”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Your loss. I’m not the one who’s going to miss an opportunity to earn money.”

There was a long pause as she waited for his reply. It was grating on her nerves. the way he just stared at her as if he wasn’t even considering it. 

“Take the offer,” she pressed. “It doesn’t hurt being a teacher for a couple of days.”

“Hn.”

“It’s easy money.”

“I know.”

“Then why hesitate?” Her patience was running out. “Are you allergic to children, Huang?”

Tao chuckled, bending down to meet her eyes. “For a small person, you have a lot of snark in you.”

“Oh, you don’t know how snarky I can be.”

Tao kept the eye contact, only to be the first to break it. “I’ll think about it,” he sighed, standing up straight. “I have to see if I have time for that.”

“Excellent.” She grinned. “Whatever your decision is, meet me at this address.” She dug her hand inside her pocket and took out a small piece of paper, handing it to him. “Friday. Eight-thirty in the evening.”

- - - - -

Hyerin pretended to trip on her own feet and collided with President Suho’s back.

“Ah, I apologize!” she exclaimed, bowing when Suho turned around to look at her in the middle of the crowded hallway.

“It’s alright, dear,” he reassured. “Are you okay? Are you lost-”

His words died out as he looked at the girl. She was not bad in terms of attractiveness, Suho thought. There were definitely prettier girls in Yeongnam High. But it wasn’t really that; there was just something about her that was oddly different from others, something that drew him to her, and he didn’t know what it was.

Am I finally experiencing love at first sight? he wondered for a moment, but shook it away. No. It’s not love—it’s a weird kind of familiarity.

Suho stood straighter than he usually did, his full attention on the young lady. “Do you need help?”

Hyerin nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do,” she said. “I’m Kim Hyerin, a sophomore student, and I wanted to talk to you about some stuff regarding the student council.”

Suho smiled, and she swore he could be a model for a toothpaste brand if he wanted to. “Of course!” he said cheerily. “Shall we head on to the student council office to discuss this?”

“Oh, there’s no need.” She hastily shook her head. “That would be too troublesome.”

“Oh, hush. Anything for a student concerned about the endeavors of the council!” He grinned and placed a hand behind her back, leading her towards the end of the hall.

Once they finally reached the office, he pushed the door, stepping aside to let her come in first.

Hyerin walked inside the busy room filled with students attending to their designated jobs. No one paid attention to her, clearly buried in mountains of paperwork in their assigned desks. 

Suho guided her to his table at the end of the room. A metal plate with his name embossed on its surface was placed neatly on top of the table, along with a stack of folders beside it. He sat behind his desk, clasping his hands together. “So what is this matter you wanted to discuss, Hyerin?”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I heard that the student council is having a hard time with fundraising lately,” she started. “And I know that you were taking suggestions from students in campus, so I was wondering if I can propose some well-thought projects for you.”

Suho smiled again, nodding. “Yes, we are having a difficult time with that,” he said. “Then may I hear your proposals?”

Hyerin fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and looked down. “I didn’t expect to run into you today, so I didn’t really bring my notes with me. I was thinking to talk about it after school, maybe?” She shrugged. “I have a lot of ideas. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

His smile stretched wider if that was even possible. “That’s amazing to hear, Hyerin!” he chuckled. “After school today, you mean?”

“No, actually, I was thinking Friday," she said. “Around eight thirty if that’s alright with you?”

“Absolutely,” he said, a little too excited.

“Great!” she chuckled. Like the usual, she handed the address to the café where they were going to meet, and he took it willingly. She laughed more, to appear extra friendly, when a certain someone caught her eye.

Chen was at the other side of the room, silently looking at her with what seemed to be a mix of anger and worry.

- - - - -

Hyerin was on the edge of her seat a few feet away from the swimming pool, her eyes locked on a particular senior who went by the name Kris.

It was the last one of her targets for the day, and she just couldn’t wait to get out of school to meet with Jonghyun to catch up with her training. What she didn’t know though—since she barely read the data of each profile—is that this boy was part of the swimming team and apparently, he had two hours of practice after school.

Hyerin sighed, rolling her eyes and rubbing her temples. Why do they all have to have so much extra-curricular activities for school? At least five more minutes passed with her, just sitting there watching as Kris went back and forth in the swimming pool doing different .

Finally, the swimmers hauled themselves up from the pool, taking off their swim caps and goggles as they made their way to the shower rooms. Hyerin’s eyes were glued to Kris, waiting for him to come up. He did one more lap than the others to her dismay, but soon she found his arms reaching toward the surface.

She had to admit, they were very toned arms.

He was about to push himself up, and for some reason, Hyerin leaned in closer, unconsciously wanting to see the rest of him that was possibly ‘toned.’ She found herself frowning in disappointment when he dropped down to the pool again, grabbing the nearest white shirt from the surface. He put it on quickly before finally pushing himself up to the ground for real this time.

She wanted to slap herself for thinking so inappropriately. Who knew she would have such thoughts in her head?

Kris stood and wearily took off his goggles and cap. Hyerin stood up from her seat as well, taking an unused towel beside her on the bench. Slowly, she approached the tall boy and handed him the towel in what she hoped was casual.

He looked up at her behind his wet golden fringe. Although it was barely noticeable, he raised a brow.

Hyerin smiled faintly, pushing the cloth further into his hands. “Take it. We can all see you need it.”

Kris looked down on the towel, deep in thought, before taking it and rubbing it on his head. “Thanks,” he murmured in his deep voice.

“You’re probably wondering who I am,” she said. “A girl you don’t even know waiting for you during practice and giving you a towel.” She chuckled, trying to lighten the atmosphere, but even to her, it sounded pretty creepy.

Kris scoffed. “You were there in the sidelines before we even started practicing,” he said, wrapping the towel around his neck.

Hyerin’s shoes scuffed under her, genuinely embarrassed. “Yeah, sorry about that,” she muttered, offering an apologetic smile. “I’m Hyerin, and I actually wanted to ask for your help.”

He started to walk away, past her and towards the shower rooms. “Kris," he introduced himself. “What do you need help with?”

“I was wondering if you could help me with a history exam coming up next week,” she started, walking beside him. “I’m taking Mr. Yang for history and his class is giving me hell,” she groaned. It wasn’t exactly a lie. “I heard you’re the only one in your year that managed to get an A in his class.”

“As a good honor roll student should,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Yes, you are. I just hope you would help a mere sophomore out, yeah?” she said, frustrated, as she couldn’t get anything from his indifferent expression.

“No.” He didn’t spare her a glance.

“What? No, wait. It’s just for a day,” she said, bewildered. “Please?”

“No.” He walked faster towards the door leading to the men’s locker rooms.

“Wait!” she called, jogging. “Why not?”

“I’m busy.”

“Really? It’s gonna be a Friday night!”

“Just because it’s Friday doesn’t mean everybody is free.”

“But it’s just for a-“

Hyerin didn’t get to finish what she was saying when he entered and disappeared inside the locker rooms.

She threw her hands in the air out of defeat, feeling embarrassed and pathetic for begging. She understood why he refused, but he didn’t have to be a about it.

Her hurt pride blazed within her, not expecting failure to come so soon. She would just have to try again some other time, but with Kris’ rude and standoffish demeanor, she couldn’t help but feel resentment bubble up inside her for the tall, golden-haired boy.

- - - - -

Kim Myungjae sat on the living room couch and studied his daughter’s actions.

From the moment Hyerin entered the house, her movements were slow and languid, her feet dragging behind her with every step she took. She threw her backpack lazily on the ground and made her way to the kitchen, fetching herself a glass of water. After that, she set the cup on the counter, her half-lidded eyes making its way to his seated figure.

“Oh. Hi, dad. Didn’t see you there,” she said, yawning. Myungjae smiled slightly, patting the seat beside him.

With no hesitation, she made her way to the couch, dropping onto the cushions and cuddling under her father’s arm.

“So what’s up?” he asked, ruffling her hair gently.

Hyerin sighed. She rubbed her face but winced from the throbbing pain of the bruise she got a couple of night before. “Just a little tired is all,” she mumbled.

"You still haven't told me what happened to your face.”

"Tripped." 

Myungjae rolled his eyes at the lie. "Why are you so tired? What did you do in school?”

It was an innocent question, but Hyerin felt bad answering it anyway. She didn’t like lying to her father. “Stuff. There’s just more work than usual today.”

She looked up at her father’s gentle, handsome face. He was such an energetic playful man that it was hard to imagine him as one of the most successful businessmen in the city.

The first time she saw him in person was when she was fourteen, motherless, and extremely vulnerable. He came unexpectedly one day, just when she was coming to terms with the fact that no one was going to take her in. He entered the room and towered over everyone, dressed in an expensive immaculate suit. He exuded wealth and grace, things that Hyerin didn’t have nor understand. She hated everything at that time; she didn’t talk, eat, and sleep, but somehow, Kim Myungjae managed to bring her back into reality. She grew to love him, and she couldn’t thank him enough for what he had done for her. He was so perfect that sometimes she wondered why her parents divorced in the first place.

“What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” he asked, looking down at her.

She smiled. “Just thinking about what could’ve been.”

“Could’ve been what?”

“What could’ve been if you and mom were still together,” she said, scooting closer to him, feeling like a small child.

Myungjae’s eyes were downcast, his grip on Hyerin’s shoulder tightening. “I don’t know, Hyerin. There are a lot of what-if’s and could-have-been’s, but I really don’t know.”

She nodded, biting her lip. “I just wish she was still here.” That way, I wouldn’t have to lie to you so much. It’s killing me.

He kissed her forehead. “I do too, sweetheart.”