A week into the first semester of high school and Hae Jung was doing better than she thought. They already had a test in Science about safety in the lab that she aced. They already had to label places on a map for Geography that she also aced. And of course, the first vocabulary test for English class was nothing, but easy for her. But work was coming non-stop, and Hae Jung had to stay back after school ended.

It was 6:45, according to Hae Jung’s watch. School ended at five o’clock. It was a bit hot in her classroom despite the cold weather outside. Some of her classmates were still around, but none she could really talk to. She clipped back her choppy bangs, slid her glasses off and continued to work when suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. The pencil in her hand dropped as she was spinning it. She looked up to see her friends, Ki Young and Mae Ri.

“Yah, Hae Jung-ah, why are you still working? Go home!” Mae Ri laughed, casually slipping into the empty seat next to Hae Jung. Hae Jung sat back, stretched her arms, and groaned. Ki Young put her hand on the back of Hae Jung’s chair and leaned against it.

Hae Jung explained as she yawned, “I don’t want to fall behind or something.”

Ki Young muttered, “I’m in your class and I don’t need to stay back.”

“Well, I kind of need to catch up on a couple of things and I don’t want to fall behind,” Hae Jung retorted.

“Eh, whatever,” Mae Ri sighed. “Anyway, how’s class? Ki Young doesn’t tell me much.” Hae Jung looked up at Ki Young who just shrugged.

“It’s alright. Um, why?” Hae Jung scratched her forehead.

“Nothing,” Mae Ri chirped. “I’ve been meaning to ask you guys. We haven’t talked about this in a while.” There was a smile on Mae Ri’s face that Hae Jung and Ki Young couldn’t decipher.

Hae Jung and Ki Young looked at each other, then focused their gaze on Mae Ri suspiciously. “What is it?” Ki Young asked, her eyes narrowing at Mae Ri.

“Have you seen any cute guys?”

Hae Jung snorted. Ki Young chuckled. “No,” Hae Jung answered with a laugh, “Have you?”

“Well, there’s a couple,” Mae Ri began. “They’re all older than us though.”

Hae Jung’s thoughts went to the second year she bumped into on the first day. She didn’t know his name and she couldn’t remember such details about him, but she couldn’t deny that he was cute. She just didn’t want to give Mae Ri something to talk about. “Do you know their names?” Ki Young interrogated Mae Ri, ready to call Mae Ri a stalker for knowing the names of males she didn’t even talk to.

“One of them is named Ji Hyuk. Another is, um, I think his name is Chanshik. Oh, but there’s this other guy…”

“And?”

“I’ve never seen him before, but there were these girls talking about him in my class,” Mae Ri replied. Hae Jung went back to working, having no interest in Mae Ri’s words anymore. “His name is Kai, I think. They said he’s a second year, but I’m not familiar with him.” Hae Jung shook her head and tried to focus on her work, but the thoughts of that second year she bumped into still floated in her mind.

“Yah, Hae Jungie! Are you listening?” the other pair scolded. Hae Jung, without looking up, shook her head bluntly. “Ah, yah. We’re going to go then. How long are you staying?”

“I don’t know,” Hae Jung shrugged. “When I finish…?” Mae Ri and Ki young left her without another word, slightly annoyed by her inattentiveness. She continued to work anyway, looking up every now and then. Two hours and a half passed and she finally finished all her overdue work and other things she wanted to get started on. She sat back and ran her hands through her hair. She put her glasses back on. “Done,” she smiled. After packing up, she got up and left the school, noticing how many people were still around.

It was dark and cold outside and Hae Jung was not feeling very well. As she walked to the bus stop, there was another student walking in front of her. He had a tall build and his back seemed familiar. His backpack hung off one shoulder as he took long strides. Hae Jung gawked at her own moving feet and the male turned around.

“Ah!” Hae Jung heard him exclaim. Her head shot up and she recognized his face. It was the same male she bumped into on the first day. “It’s the first year!” He stopped in his tracks and began to walk toward her with a lopsided grin on his face. Ah, it’s her again. Kai skipped along beside her. Hae Jung looked up at him and sniffled.

“Oh, hey,” she greeted tiredly.

“Did you just come from school?”

“No, I was just walking around aimlessly,” Hae Jung answered with sarcasm. Kai could sense it and rolled his eyes as he snickered. “I’m kidding. I was working on some other things.”

“Oh, yeah. Me, too,” Kai replied. His arms swung back and forth as Hae Jung walked with her hands gripped onto her backpack straps. She watched him from her peripheral vision, wondering why a handsome, older boy like him was talking to her. Suddenly, he turned his head towards her with a soft smile on his face. “Come to think of it…I don’t know your name.”

Hae Jung’s eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. “I don’t know yours either,” she said, her sentence sounding more like a question than a statement.

“Oh,” the male smiled. “Right. Well, my name is Kim Jong In…but call me Kai.”

“Kai?” Hae Jung repeated. Kai nodded his head. She was thinking out loud again, trying to remember why that name sounded so familiar. Oh, Mae Ri mentioned him before! She shook her head once before adding, “Oh, well, I’m Hae Jung. Do Hae Jung.”

“Hae Jung?” Kai repeated, imitating her action. He nodded his head. Hae Jung…never met a Hae Jung before. Maybe she can be a first. Kai was a curious male, but maybe it was just his hormones. There was a smirk that appeared on his face, but it went away after a while.

The two continued to walk in silence to the bus stop. Hae Jung was used to not saying anything, but Kai was slightly surprised by how quiet she was. He would hear her sniffle every now and then and tug at her scarf. Her glasses would fog as she would exhale. She disliked winter. She hated the cold temperatures, but it was something both her and Kai were used to. Eventually, they made it to Hae Jung’s bus stop and she stood there, not taking another look at Kai.

“Oh, this is your bus stop?” Kai asked.

Hae Jung nodded as she blew out another breath of air. She was shivering, gnawing on her lip to ignore the chilly wind.

“Ah, well, it was nice seeing you again, Hae Jung,” Kai smiled warmly. “My bus stop is over there.” He pointed to the bus stop across the street. That bus went in the opposite direction of Hae Jung’s.

Hae Jung was a quiet girl around people she didn’t know well, not giving any other response besides nodding or shaking her head. There was no other thing she needed to say, she thought. It was pointless to her to waste her breath.

“Okay,” Kai chuckled, noticing how uncomfortable she seemed, “Uh, see you around.” Hae Jung returned his smile and she watched him walk to his bus stop. It was a bit awkward, seeing him right across the street. For the couple minutes they waited, Hae Jung would catch Kai’s eyes on her and she would smile. What a weird guy. Her bus pulled up before his did and she got on without looking back. Her heart sunk a bit as she thought what if Kai was on this bus with me? They would take the bus every day together, Hae Jung imagined. How awkward, but he isn’t. It’s a bit relieving. She sat back in her seat, and turned around to look out the window. Hae Jung could see that Kai’s bus came, but she wasn’t able to see him get on. She turned back around and sighed, sinking into her seat.

Hae Jung didn’t know. She didn’t know that all of what happened was the start to their friendship. It was awkward, but only because Hae Jung was made it that way. Kai had different intentions. He thought that a fresh start in a new high school would give him more “opportunities” with more girls. That’s what he wanted. However, Hae Jung had no intention of giving him that opportunity with her.

A/N: Hello ^^ This wasn't the longest chapter, but yeah. I'm finally done school and I have a lot more time noooow to work on my stories! So, pleeease look forward to the next updates and yeah. I will actually be very committed to this fanfic because...my Kai feels. I still can't figure out who my bias from EXO is. Uuuuugh, but I'm getting the album on Friday :D Oh my gosh, I convinced my father to buy (I have to choose between EXO-M and EXO-K...sad life) one for me as a present for finishing all my exams. lol, I'm so happy. Anyway, I'll be back soon! Thanks for reading! If you want to, comment and susbcribe...also if you haven't already :3