▌requested by - Hayley.

▌exquisite writer - fourevermuzik.

▌genre - romance, drama.

▌disclaimer - exquisite, cannot be plagiarized nor copied.

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It was 7 a.m. on a cold, breezy Tuesday. While many students scurry inside the safe school buildings for warmth, two silhouettes could be made out from the thick morning fog. The more dominant figure was Matsuhita Hani, a well-adored idol around the school. Her slim body and long, jet-black hair was unmistakable, and her irritated face confirmed that she was there for another confession.

“No.”

Though this one little word meant nothing to the speaker, it sent waves of shock to the frail boy in front of her. He started trembling – and it wasn’t because of the cold weather, either.

“Leave, now.”

Hani’s blunt, simple words sent chills up the boy’s spine. He refused to move himself from his set position, however, and would not let this opportunity go. He had mustered up so much courage over the years; he anonymously sent her flowers and chocolates on Valentine’s Day, brought her offerings of jewelry on her birthday, and even attempted to kiss her under the mistletoe last Christmas. Yet, after all his efforts, she still refused him.

Hani mumbled something under her breath in exasperation; she tried again to get rid of this annoying little pest so she could go back to studying. “I said –“

“Why?!” He protested in anguish, hot tears stinging his eyes. However, saying this was his worst decision he made so far – Hani’s eyes flared in anger when she realized that she had been interrupted. was ready for a verbal lashing until a boy came between them.

The smaller boy seemed to rejoice at his presence. Hani blinked up to the stranger in curiosity; he was barely taller than her, with platinum blonde hair and eyes that seemed to make her feel transparent. His lips were set in a grim position, so she assumed that he was the silent type, just like her. Without realizing it, her eyes traveled to… erm, other places, but she quickly brushed it off. This stranger didn't seem so strange for some reason. Has she seen him somewhere? Her eyes searched his in curiosity, but she found no definite answer.

Mr. Blonde took the skinny boy by the shoulder and led him back to school. However, Hani caught him mumbling something in English. She narrowed her eyes, and walked faster to catch up with him.

“What was that?” She panted in English. The blonde-haired boy froze in his tracks, and Hani smiled. “I couldn’t catch what you said,” she enunciated, stressing the absence of her accent, “Mind telling me again?”

The blonde was speechless, yet regained his composure and began to walk again. The scrawny one remained quiet, not able to understand this alien language but recognized the dialect. “Yah, hyung,” he nudged, talking in his native Korean tongue, “you said that no one else here speaks English, or at least as well as you –“

“Be quiet,” the blonde threatened, his voice as cold as ice. The smaller boy already surrendered a while ago and merely sighed. What else could he do? If he wasn’t at the hands of one menacing beauty, he was at another.

As the trio reached the school gates, Hani noticed that they were gathering a lot of attention. What began as a couple of whispers quickly turned into the school-wide rumor exchange. However, there was one word repeated amongst the girls in particular: L.Joe. Judging from the large amount of stares aimed at the blonde, Hani assumed that it was his name.

“Oh my God, L.Joe is talking to a girl.”

That phrase made Hani smile herself. Was L.Joe the type of guy who likes to refuse girls? It was a definite possibility, since the girls around him either wore a poker face or an expression of pure heartbreak. Nonetheless, she liked the fact that she was the only female remotely close to him.

“So,” Hani began, a subconscious smile tugging her lips, “L.Joe, was it?  That’s not a very common name – don’t worry, mine’s not, either.” Though it was a horrible excuse of small talk, Hani quickly found herself entranced by the mysterious blonde. Being the romantic, she has always heard of the infamous "love at first sight" and anxiously waited for it when her friend actually had the experience. She never thought that it actually happen to her, though. 

However, Hani’s efforts were in vain; as soon as the bell rang, L.Joe quickly left her. She didn't see him again until the end of the day, when the two shared a single biology class. Since it was the last class before school ended, she would reserve this gap of time to daydreaming. Sometimes she would doodle on her sketchpad, though she had no talent in art; other times, she was playing around with her name, occasionally scribbling in new nicknames that she liked. 

However, her eyes now often wandered in L.Joe's direction, where she would see him talk animatedly to his friends. Through the days she would observe all his little habits, such as when he would secretly compose music when he was bored or when he used the table as a piano and got lost in his own melodic world. He was obviously the most creative person in the class; all of his everyday sketches would earn him praises and admiration from fellow classmates. There was also the fact that he was both 1st chair violin and the concertmaster of the school orchestra; however, he would scarcely acknowledge his gift and only reserved himself to talk with the people closest to him. Hani herself was envious with his natural talent for art, and shamelessly looked down to her own previous works. 

He'll never notice her.

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  "Ahh," Hani repeated, running over her scales while she held a recorder in her hand. She put on her headphones and listened to what she just sang, but it was no use -- she was absolutely tone-deaf without the guidance of her backup singers. Hani sighed, and put her head down in bitter defeat; her own dream was to be enrolled at a fine arts school, but she definitely couldn't pass the preliminary auditions when she was at such a disadvantage. 

However, she gained a sudden boost of confidence when she reminded herself all the effort she put in to chase her dream. Besides, she had L.Joe as her new rival. 

Wait, no. Hani gave herself a mental smack on the head just for thinking about a boy, especially one that can be a potential distraction for her future career. When they first met, he didn't even look at her before leaving; she was almost certain that all he'd do was mess around with her feelings. L.Joe can't be trusted.

 Now fully determined, she attempted the scale again. Just as she lifted her voice, she heard the subtle melody of a piano; the player carefully arranged the chords of the corresponding scale she was singing to. Hani willingly followed the melody for a while, but became suspicious when the routine continued for more than fifteen minutes. She approached the door of the next music room carefully, not wanting to attract the attention of the musician on the other side of the wall. With a smirk, she suddenly slammed the door open -- and was greeted face to face with a wide-eyed L.Joe. 

Her face also expressed his similar feelings; she froze, her hand stuck to the door's handle. He turned around to face her, his hands still lingering on the piano's ivory keys. For a few minutes they just stared in silence, but after a while Hani couldn't handle the excruciating atmosphere. She turned around to head back to her practice room, but L.Joe swiftly reached forward and grabbed her arm to stop her. His hands slyly searched for hers, finally intertwining their fingers and pulling her in his direction. Hani was left breathless, but she followed him anyways.

"What are you doing?" She meekly asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," L.Joe laughed, but his eyes were dead serious. "Don't you have those moments when you just do things by impulse?"

Hani furiously shook her head. How can anyone do that? It was childish and stupid -- she was the type who always thinks twice before doing anything. In order to set herself straight, she reminded herself again how much of a threat L.Joe was and how much he could mess up her life with that smooth smile of his. Her hands now tried to slip under his, but it was pointless; L.Joe would not give in. Hani then started to speak with her eyes; she glared at him, silently commanding to let her go.

"I saw you looking at me," he smiled, looking up to her. By that time, she was already under his little spell, entranced again by his gorgeous eyes. However, Hani easily snapped out of her trance-like state and snatched her hand from his grip; his eyes questioned hers in shock but she merely turned her head. Her brain screamed in frustration; though the room was silent, Hani's internal war raged between her heart and her conscience. Somehow, L.Joe was able to sense this; he reached over and held her face in his hand.

"What do you think of me, Hani?" He asked, his smile slowly getting wider. Hani was still new to the situation, and was definitely nervous with his touch. On the other hand, once she made up her mind, it was no doubt her final decision.

"You're a talented artist," Hani stated, her voice level and steady. "It doesn't matter what it is... painting, music, you name it -- no matter how hard I try, you'll always be better." His hand still leaned gently on her face, so she grabbed him by the wrist. 

 "Because of that, I now consider you a threat. I can't trust you," she stepped back, yet L.Joe pulled her back in.

He flashed an innocent smile, acting cutely as he did so. Hani could feel herself giving in to his charms; she allowed L.Joe to sweet-talk her, however, so she could at least see the hidden motive behind his mysterious actions. "Can't I change your mind?" He whispered sweetly in Hani's ear and moved towards her lips. She froze yet did not resist, convincing herself that it was all to understand him.

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"Yah, are you going to kiss me or not?!" Hani impatiently wailed, still stuck at the awkward position that she was in a few seconds ago. L.Joe was still holding her, but it was uncertain and didn't seem manly at all. She wondered how the school hottie could be so inexperienced with girls; however, it was rather cute to see this other side of him.

"S-shut up! I can be manly," L.Joe mumbled, and leaned in an inch closer. Hani, always the stubborn one, backed away and frustration and headed back to her own practice room; L.Joe merely stood there in shock, still trying to figure out the complicated girl that just left him. He quickly shook it off and tried to catch up to her -- she turned around in sympathy, though, when she spotted that he had to stop in his tracks to catch his breath. L.Joe was panting heavily and was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but she turned around to playfully meet him, shifting her weight and swaying from side to side. When he finally looked up to meet her, Hani's eyes flickered with a playful glow... almost as if she were challenging him in a way. Hani locked eyes with him and merely stretched out her hand, waiting for the familiar feel of his fingers slip under hers.

"Prove yourself," she teased, still staring at him, "Come and lead me."

 

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