The cafeteria was noisy and you sat by your corner table, waiting for your best friend. You hated the first day of school because nobody knew anyone’s schedule and lunch was always a mad dash to look for familiar faces. Luckily, you knew that Youngjae had the same period lunch because he had secretly texted you the period before.

            You sat by your usual table and waited. The doors opened and he walked in, holding his textbooks. Youngjae’s looks were handsome enough for him to be considered popular, but he liked being around you despite your tendency to avoid people. He had on his varsity jacket and you had to admit, he was really attractive. The way he walked also evolved into a sort of swagger, a habit that must have developed over the summer.

            He plopped down next to you and the magic vanished. He was once more the dork you befriended two years ago. “Ay, how was your summer?” He slung an arm around the back of your chair.

            You took out his tuna sandwich and he nodded in thanks. You unwrapped your own. “I guess summer was alright. How about yours? You only sent like three e-mails when you were away studying your technology and two were to ask about school starting.”

            Youngjae grinned bashfully. “Er, yeah. It was a load of fun. I learned a lot. It wasn’t just about technology. I’ll be honest, I think I want to go overseas to study in college. They’re so much more liberal there.”

            You raised an eyebrow. “What exactly did you learn?”

            He winked and leaned in. “Well, it was a dorm of boys and we discussed, strategy, you know?”

            Suddenly he straightened. His gaze slipped to the door and you gave him a weird look. You craned your neck to see where he was looking at and saw a group of girls walk in. They were dressed to the nines and you felt your sandwich sour in your stomach. Since when did Youngjae turn like this?

            His eyes followed the path of one of them carefully and he nodded appreciatively. You looked around and saw he was not alone. The rest of the male population also had been reduced to a pack of drooling idiots as well. You rolled your eyes.

            Youngjae turned and grinned widely at you. “Damn, did you take a look at that?”

            “If that’s what you learned over there,” you replied sullenly. “Then I’d say you wasted your time.”

            He snorted. “What did you think of her?”

            You looked back at the tiny girl. Her waves were bouncing as she laughed. You grudgingly took in her fantastic figure, not hidden by the unflattering uniform she wore. You shrugged. “Eh, nothing much.”

            “She’s drop dead gorgeous, I don’t know what you’re saying. I’d tap that any day.” He pushed back against the two back legs of his chair. You heard a low whistle. “I think I saw her come out of your class. Do you like her?”

            “No. She’s nasty. Don’t you see the people she hang out with? Not pleasant girls.”

            “But she’s so pretty.”

            You tapped his temple. “I don’t know where these additional hormones came from, but I can assure you that prettiness has nothing to do with how a person acts.” You sipped your water. “I swear, Youngjae, you got dumber over summer.”

            He gave a one shoulder shrug. “Eh, she’s still pretty hot.”

            That did it. You stood up. “Alright, I’ll leave you to your shallowness. See ya.” You threw the wrapper only having it miss. You burned and picked it up quickly.

            “Smooth, real smooth,” Youngjae snorted. He was right behind you. “What happened to you?” he still sounded bemused.

            You pushed open the doors to the cafeteria, well aware that you didn’t want anyone to hear. You walked into an empty classroom and threw your book bag on the floor. “You changed, Youngjae.”  

            He gave you a look. “What? Because I finally manned up and decided some girls were actually worth checking out? Are you serious? I’m fine when you spazz over those idols.”

            “Because I know I will never be with them okay?”

            “So? I know I can never be with her anyway. She’s too good looking for me.”

            “You’re so dumb. She was actually asking me about you today. And you’re still so shallow. She’s not nice. She only noticed you for physical reasons!”

            This made him smile and he cocked his head. “Oh? So she thinks I’m attractive?”

            You grabbed the board eraser and threw it at his head. He ducked to avoid the chalk dust. “You’re so thick-headed! I give up.” You picked up your book bag and prepared to leave.

            Youngjae grabbed your wrist. “Wait. What?”

            You stared at him. “I like you okay, you idiot. I’m questioning my taste now but I like you. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all summer. You get back and I get this. You can go date her. She’s interested in you anyway.”

            Youngjae’s mouth fell open. “Date her? Just because I think she’s hot does not mean I’m going to date her. I’d rather date someone I can talk to. I can’t talk to her. I’d be bored to death. She’s just someone to admire, shallow as that sounds.”

            You could feel your jaw jut out. You were going to be stubborn. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

            His face turned into one of exasperation. “Now who’s the one being thick-skulled?” He placed your book bag down on the floor and leaned down to kiss you. You were too surprised to react and stood there.

            “I like you, you idiot. And if you’ll be my girlfriend, I won’t ever look at her again.”