Faster, faster! I grimaced as I saw the time on my watch. I couldn’t sleep at night, so I woke up too late to make for my bus. Dammit, if I am late, the keeper won’t let me pass the gate which is closed approximately at 8. The subway arrived at its destination and I started dashing towards my school. 6 minutes left. I will get in, won’t I? 5... 4... Yes! I see the roof of the school! 3... 2... Just a little bit more! 1...

                I am so dead.

- Good... morning – I managed to stammer out.- Will... May you open the gate, sir?

- Too late, miss. You need to learn to be more punctual – he smirked at me.

- I beg you, sir. I won’t ever be late again.

- I’ve heard it a thousand times from you already. It won’t work on me this time.

                  I cursed under my breath. Damn you. If school were to start later, I would always be on time! Well, I need to use my last resort in the end. I pulled out my phone and wrote a short message: “The keeper won’t let me in. The gate is closed. Help?”. I sighed and sent it directly to Yoochun. Then, I shifted my eyes to the window of my classroom just to see Yoochun standing there, shaking his head. However, after a minute or so it seemed that he had left the room.

- TaeJun-sii, open the gate, please.

                   I grinned as I saw Yoochun standing in front of me. He squinted his eyes so I quickly put an apologetic face. The keeper seemed annoyed, but he couldn’t defy the teacher’s request. Take that, you old ! I bowed a little, mumbling a fake “sorry” and started following Yoochun, who was going back to school.

- SangHwa-ah, you’ve been late 4 days in a row this week – Yoochun looked at me disapprovingly. – Is there a reason for it?

- I’m suffering from insomnia, sir – I shrugged my shoulders, looking away.

- Really? Do you want to go and see a doctor? I can take you there...

- It’s okay – I cut him short. – You don’t have to worry about me.

                     Yoochun opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came from it in the end. To be honest, I’ve been trying to keep him at distance since the day I got to know he had a girlfriend. Unfortunately, being around him was too painful for me. When he asked me why I was talking with him less and less these days, I answered that people had started to notice something.  It worked like a spell. Yoochun said that it would be better to walk separately and talk with each other only during a lesson. And I agreed. And so our contact was at a minimum level. Suddenly, Yoochun cleared his throat, which shook me out of my thoughts.

- Actually, we had been talking about our class trip, before you wrote to me. Do you know with whom you’re going to be in pair during our free time?

- Well, that’s quite obvious. I’ll be with JiHwa. And you, sir?

- Since there are 25 people in our class, I’ll just be with the one who is left.

- I see.

                         The awkward silence had fallen upon us and hadn’t left until we reached the classroom. My classmates weren’t particularly surprised so see me late again. I made my way to my desk and when I sat down, I said to JiHwa, who was sitting next to me.

- We’re in a pair during our trip, aren’t we?

- No, we’re not.

                          I froze for a second and looked at JiHwa in disbelief. What was she talking about? If it was a joke, it wasn’t a funny one. In that moment my friend raised her hand.

- Yes? – Yoochun raised his eyebrows.

- We have the list of pairs for the trip, sir. You’re with SangHwa-ah.

                      WHAT. I didin’t want it to end up that way! I gave JiHwa a murderous look but it seemed that she didn’t care. Yoochun was no less surprised, but somehow managed to put a smile on his face.

- Oh, really? That’s great to hear. I guess we’ll spend some more time with each other, SangHwa-ah. Please do take care of me – Yoochun gave me a reassuring nod that nothing bad had just happened.

- I will, sonsaengnim – I bowed a little.

                          Yoochun proceeded with a lecture and I turned my head to JiHwa who was staring persistently at the blackboard.

- Prepare to die Song JiHwa – I managed to hiss through my clenched teeth.

- You’re going to thank me later – she winked at me.

- For what?

- For his breaking up with his girlfriend, of course. I still believe that you have more chances with him than you think.

                          I rolled my eyes and said nothing back. Then I shifted my eyes to Yoochun, who was now talking about Edgar Poe. So I was going to spend with him a whole freaking day. Just the two of us. It will be really hard since we have been avoiding each other for so long. And as we all know: absence makes the heart grow fonder.