“Hae Jung-ah!”

“What?” Hae Jung groaned, turning around in her seat. She came face-to-face with her friends, So Ra and Chan Mi. She hadn’t seen them since the beginning of the school year when Hae Jung and her old friends had reunited. They were always in their own classrooms with their new friends and classmates, but so was Hae Jung. When she saw them, Hae Jung realized how much she missed them. “Oh, hey, guys! I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Both So Ra and Chan Mi chuckled. “We know. It has been a while.”

“So, uh, what’s up?” Hae Jung asked, placing her pencil down and putting her glasses back on. It was a habit of Hae Jung’s to take off her glasses while she was reading or writing.

So Ra put her hand on the back of Hae Jung’s chair and leaned on it. Hae Jung shifted around in her seat to find a more comfortable position to talk to the two. “Ha Young wanted us to tell you that she’s having a birthday party this weekend,” So Ra announced.

Ha Young was a close friend of Hae Jung’s, also from her elementary and middle school. She was the only one of their graduating class attending another school and Hae Jung hadn’t seen her since. So Ra was especially close with Ha Young, the two being family friends. “Oh, really? What does she want to do?”

Chan Mi had found a vacant chair and pulled it up next to Hae Jung. There weren’t really much people around since it was past eight o’clock and Hae Jung was surprised to see Chan Mi and So Ra still there. Chan Mi spoke, “Uh, she said we’ll watch a movie then go to her place or something.”

Hae Jung nodded her head. “Okay, I’ll ask my parents when I get home. Where and what time?”

“Uh, we’ll just text you or something,” So Ra suggested. Both So Ra and Chan Mi knew that it wasn’t exactly a great idea to text Hae Jung. Even though Hae Jung had a cellphone, she rarely brought it with her and would barely check it and keep it on.

Hae Jung smiled, “Okay, then.” She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, getting in the way of So Ra’s face. So Ra laughed and swatted her hands away. Hae Jung brought her arms back down and her hands laid limp in her lap. “What should I get Ha Young then?”

So Ra, being Ha Young’s best friend, replied, “Just get her money or something. Or get a book for her. Or bake something for her.” Chan Mi and Hae Jung chuckled at So Ra’s rambling.

With a smile on her face, Hae Jung sighed, “Yeah. I’ll get her stuff like that.” Hae Jung looked down at her watch that read 8:49. “Ah, okay, I’m going to go now.”

“Okay,” Chan Mi and So Ra said in unison. “We’ll see you later.”

“Okay, see you guys!”

“Oh, don’t forget to tell Ki Young, too!” They knew Ki Young was in her class and they weren’t going to be able to catch Ki Young to tell her.

Hae Jung nodded her head. “Alright. Bye, guys!” As Hae Jung began to pack up, Chan Mi and So Ra left the room. Hae Jung looked around the room to see about six people still there. I guess people don’t like staying at school on Tuesday nights. She heaved a long sigh, her shoulders dropping. Hae Jung went home with thoughts of seeing her lovely friend, Ha Young, once again. I miss Ha Young, she thought, letting out another sigh.

*****

Ki Young entered the classroom and took her normal seat next to Hae Jung. “Ew, it’s too early,” Ki Young moaned.

Hae Jung let out her own groan. “Ugh, I know.” It became quiet for a bit as Ki Young emptied her bag. “Oh, Ki Young!”

“What?”

“I talked to Chan Mi and So Ra yesterday and they told me about Ha Young’s birth-”

“Birthday party?” Ki Young asked. “I know, I already got a text from Mae Ri.”

“Oh.” Hae Jung sat back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. There were still a couple minutes before class would start, so Hae Jung continued their conversation. “What are you getting her?”

Ki Young shrugged. “I don’t know yet. I’m just going to go out tomorrow or Friday night. What are you going to get her?”

“I don’t know,” Hae Jung giggled. Thinking about getting a present for Ha Young deemed “fun” to Hae Jung. She was always excited for getting presents for someone. Hae Jung loved celebrating other peoples’ birthdays just as much as she loved celebrating her own. “I’m going out after school! Come with me!”

Ki Young groaned again, showing signs of morning tiredness. “No! I can’t. I have to stay at school because I didn’t stay yesterday.”

“Fine,” Hae Jung chirped. Deep inside, she was upset because she hated going to the mall alone. Whatever. I’ll just find a gift for Ha Young then go. She became happy thinking of Ha Young’s present again, but all of those thoughts disappeared once their teacher stepped into the class.

*****

Hae Jung had bumped into her other friends invited to Ha Young’s party. She asked them if they were all free after school, but it looked like none of them could accompany Hae Jung. She even bumped into Jae Won, but he had work at his parents’ restaurant. Ugh, guess I’ll have to go alone.

It was almost six o’clock when Hae Jung left school. She was wide awake, unlike the way she usually felt after school, and excited to go shopping, but the fact that she had to go alone still bothered her.

The bus she was taking was the one that Kai always took. The mall was in the opposite direction from her house. As she walked to the bus stop, she prayed that she would bump into someone to come with her, especially Kai, along the way. And her prayers were answered.

“Kai!”

The dark-haired male, metres away from Hae Jung, stopped walking and turned around at the sound of her voice. Once he saw Hae Jung, that familiar, welcoming smile appeared on his face. “Hae Jung!”

Hae Jung quickened her pace and caught up to Kai who was standing there waiting for her. “Do you want to come with me?”

“Come with you where?” Kai smirked. His hair was dishevelled and his eyes looked a bit tired. The reason behind that was skipping class to make out with some girl in a vacant classroom. He did things like that often back home in Seoul, and for some reason, he would always feel so tired after. The feeling of tiredness, however, fled from Kai once he saw Hae Jung and the bright smile she wore.

Hae Jung scratched the back of her head. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself by asking Kai to come with me…oh, well, it’s too late to take it back. “Um…the mall.”

Kai let out a deep chuckle. “Why? Are you going alone or something?”

Hae Jung pouted slightly and nodded her head. “Yeah. I have to find a present for my friend today and I can’t do it any other day this week because I have to stay at school and stuff.”

Kai thought about it for a moment. He knew that Hae Jung could take care of herself, but at the same time, he knew already that she didn’t like travelling alone. Even though he was a bit tired, he didn’t want to leave Hae Jung alone and it was another chance just to talk to her. “Uh…” he hesitated, “Y-yeah, I’ll come with you.”

“Really?” Hae Jung exclaimed. “Really?”

Kai bobbed his head up and down, the smirk on his face forming into a sweet smile. “Yeah, let’s go.” He nodded his head toward the bus stop. The foolish smile on Hae Jung’s face didn’t vanish.

Kai and Hae Jung sauntered together to the bus stop. “Thanks,” Hae Jung muttered.

“For what?” Kai said, turning to Hae Jung. “For going to the mall with you?”

Hae Jung nodded her head with her lips pressed together.

“No problem.”

Right when they got to the bus stop, the bus arrived. Perfect timing, they both thought. It was a moderately empty bus and the two took seats in the back like they did before. The quiet atmosphere lingered around them before Kai asked, “Who’re you buying the present for?”

“My friend, Ha Young. She goes to that international school near the mall. I went to elementary and middle school with her.”

“Oh, really? That’s nice. You still talk to the friends you had from middle school?”

“Yeah,” Hae Jung sighed. “A lot of people claimed that once we’d get into high school, we’d lose contact with our elementary and middle school friends, but I’m still really close with them.”

Kai sighed. He stared out the window, studying the dark sky with an orange tint near the horizon. “I barely talk to my old classmates. Plus, I moved out of Seoul so it makes it even harder to contact them…” Hae Jung scrunched her nose up as she gazed at Kai. There was a sad smile on his face and she felt sorry for him. He suddenly turned to her and she quickly turned away, but Kai had caught her looking at him. “Are any of your old classmates at our school?”

“Of course,” Hae Jung said. “I'm not sure if you really know the first years, but a couple of them came from my middle school. The ones I still talk to went to elementary AND middle school with me.”

“Oh! So you’ve know them for, I don’t know, nine or ten years?”

“Hmm…yeah, I have known them for that long.” Hae Jung rested her chin in her hand. “Come to think of it, that’s a pretty long time for us to be friends that long.”

Kai flinched at her sentence. That is a really long time. “Who are they?”

“Who?”

“Your friends? What are their names? I might know them.”

“Ki Young’s in my class, but there’s also, uh, Chan Mi, So Ra, Mae Ri, um, Chan Hyo, Min Ji, and Min Chan…and yeah.”

“Wow, you’re quite the popular one,” Kai teased.

Hae Jung wore a look between disgust and confusion. “What?” she snorted, “Are you kidding me? I’m so unpopular.” Hae Jung was never exactly popular. In elementary school, she was friendly toward her classmates, but in middle school, she became quieter. High school had brought a different feeling over her, and she had no intention of talking to anyone. She wasn’t interested in making new friends, but she couldn’t help meeting new people, including Kai. “How about you? You seem to be quite the popular guy, Kai.”

Kai laughed out loud. “How do you know that?”

Hae Jung began to shift and squirm in her seat. “U-uh, no, I don’t. Mae Ri mentioned something about y-you. And J-Jae W-never mind.”

 Kai laughed again. “Hae Jung, it’s fine. I’m not as popular as you think I am,” he lied. “I don't really talk to that many people.”

Hae Jung was a gullible girl. “Really?” she said with a puzzled expression. “No, you’re a liar! You must have girls throwing themselves at you and g-guys must be - never m-mind.” What is wrong with me? I think I send too much! I’m such a loser! Ugh, this is so embarrassing!

“Haha, Hae Jung-ah, you’re so funny! Don’t worry about it,” Kai said, still trying to calm his laughter. “You’re right though. I am pretty popular with the ladies.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Hae Jung who playfully whacked him on the shoulder. “Ah,” he moaned, rubbing the spot Hae Jung hit.

“You’re so modest, Kai. No wonder the girls like you,” Hae Jung said with sarcasm. Kai forgot about his make-out session with a girl he didn’t know while he was with Hae Jung, but now, he remembered and suddenly, a rush of guiltiness filled him. He looked at Hae Jung who was smiling and staring at her fiddling fingers in her lap.

“Do you?”

“…what?”

“Do you like me?”

“Um, I guess so. Well, as a friend.” She had hoped that Kai would say something about their relationship as friends, but all he did was nod. Once again, Hae Jung felt as if she made him feel uncomfortable.

Kai didn’t feel that way. He was just a bit confused. He had given the thought of giving into the idea of being friends with a girl, but it had slipped his mind once again. Give it more time, he told himself.

They eventually made it to the mall with high spirits. Hae Jung went straight to the stores she had in mind rather than grabbing something to eat like she usually did.

“Ugh, I really don’t know what to get her!” Hae Jung cried as the two sat down on a bench after walking around the mall for an hour.

Kai chuckled under his breath. “Hae Jung-ah, don’t beat yourself up over these things. I’m sure Ha Young will like whatever you get her!”

“Ugh, I know she will! It’s just...I never really get anyone anything special so I wanted to start now. I would always give people money or something like that. I feel so bad for not getting them something I actually put work into!” Hae Jung continued to groan, cry, and utter words of despair under her breath. Kai put an arm around Hae Jung to reassure her. Kai was getting nervous just by that small gesture, but it was almost as if Hae Jung didn’t notice.

“Hae Jung, don’t give up now! What were you planning to get her?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well…” Kai started to say, “I’ll help you find a gift.” He laughed a bit. “You didn’t seem like the type who would freak out over these things.” Kai brought Hae Jung’s spirits high once again. The two ventured off to find a present for Ha Young and in the end, they were successful.

“Thanks, Kai.”

“For what?”

“Why do you always do that?” Hae Jung asked with a smile. “I think you should know what I’m thanking you for.”

“Yeah,” Kai sighed, “But you don’t have to thank me for it. I just like to do it because I can. Plus…” Hae Jung was looking down at her shoes while Kai was staring at her with a smile on his face. “Plus, it's fun when I’m with you.”

“Hmm, it’s, uh, fun with you, too, Kai,” Hae Jung said, clutching tightly onto the bag with the present she bought. “But I have to thank you for it, so, um, yeah.”

Kai laughed and bit his lip in embarrassment. It was quiet for a bit until Kai asked, “So, uh, Hae Jung, a-are you going to go inside?”

“Huh?” Hae Jung said, looking up. She was holding onto the front door of her apartment building. “O-oh, right. Good night then, Kai.”

“Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Uh…yeah. See you.”

Kai smiled shyly before turning on his heel and heading back to the bus stop. Every now and then, he would turn around to steal a glance at Hae Jung, but she was already inside. He exhaled and ran a hand through his messy hair. He began to comb his fingers through it, remembering how the girl he was with before played with his hair. She was another second year from a different class, but he didn’t even catch her name. She was the third girl he “hooked up” with after moving into a new school. He still wanted many girls, but still, there was something keeping him from giving up on Hae Jung.

Before he went to sleep that night, there was one thing on his mind. Hae Jung. I want Hae Jung.

A/N: So, here is chapter four. Hope it's not too shabby. It seemed longer when I was typing it, but I guess it's not that long. Um, yeah. Kai is becoming a little more and more interested in Hae Jung ;) lol, yeah. Hae Jung's a little oblivious though. How is she? lol, Hae Jung is all me though...if you read the foreword, you would know what I'm talking about so hopefully, you did. Anyway, it's a Friday and my favourite day of the week. I really did not do anything today, besides work on this and eat. I think I'll make myself a banana milkshake though. Um, yeah. Anyway, thanks for reading! Comment if you want. Subscribe if you haven't! :) Have a wonderful day ^^