Hannah and I spent the rest of last summer learning how to swim. Since we had been inside for most of the time because of pottery class, we had already decided then that we were going to spend the next summer at the beach, volunteering as lifeguards.

Since Lu Han already knew how to swim, he coached us every afternoon after the morning swimming lessons. When we bugged him about it, he said it was entertainment like no other watching us behave like fishes out of the water.

"It's less boring than spending time with my friends who only talk about sports," he had said then.

True to my initial suspicions, Lu Han didn't like giving serious answers to serious questions. Especially when you question him about his good deeds, he would get flustered and spout ridiculous excuses that would make it about himself.

Because he was so consistent every time, I ended up wondering if he was doing all those good things for himself.

Like when he took care of me when I was sick, I was sure he said it was because he would have no one to annoy anymore if something happened to me.

When he brought me to the treehouse, his reason was that he wanted me to recover faster because I was already becoming a burden to him.

When he got back at Chris for me and made me feel confident about myself, he had said it was because I couldn't be called his nemesis if I was looking weak.

And recently, with the swimming lessons.

If you only think about his history of being a jerk, his reasons were kind of legit. But that was the thing. Even after all the countless (albeit harmless) pranks Lu Han had pulled on me, I couldn't help remembering the few times that he hadn't been a jerk.

When his brows furrowed with worry when he found me sick. When his eyes lit up with excitement when brought me to the treehouse. When his muscles coiled in indignation because I was feeling insecure. All these things were hard to ignore. It only made me think that Lu Han was-

"Boo!"

I flinched at the sound of his voice, startling me out of my thoughts.

Lu Han smiled at me from his window, a towel on one hand, his uniform on the other.

"Aw, daydreaming about me? You're going to be late for the first day of school because of that."

Every time I am almost convinced that there was more to Lu Han and his pranks, these moments would come. Moments that would help solidify his jerk side.

"You wish." I stuck my tongue out at him like a child and got out of his sight. If only he knew that if there was anyone I was going to me daydreaming about, it would be Kai.

Lu Han's laughter reverberated through my room. "See you later, Yeon. And good morning!"

When Chris and I got out of the front door later, Lu Han was standing beside our gate. I eyed him suspiciously. He never waited for me before.

"What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "What do you think am I doing here?"

"Uh, waiting for me?" I answered, going for the obvious.

He smirked. "It's still early in the morning yet you're already flattering yourself, Yeon." Then he strutted off, leaving me with my mouth slightly open and Chris shaking with laughter beside me.

Moments like this just made me believe more that his rare streaks of kindness were exactly like that: rare. Most of the time, Lu Han just had an affinity for annoying people, particularly me.

"What's with the face?" Hannah asked when I took a seat next to her in the gym for the opening ceremony. I was very much aware of the scowl on my face.

"You had to ask? Of course, it's you-know-who's doing," I muttered grumpily.

"You're making it sound like he just burned down your house," she replied, looking at me with an amused expression.

"He might as well have." I scoffed. "I don't know. I'm already expecting his behavior because he's just being Lu Han, still, I wish for the day when he'd stop bothering me altogether and you know, be more like the Lu Han who seemed like he actually cared about people. Remember all those afternoon swimming lessons with him? Imagine the amount of patience he had. If only that Lu Han would surface more."

"Jiyeon, he does care," Hannah said bluntly.

I raised my eyebrow at her, challenging her to take back her words but she didn't.

"He sure cares enough to give you his time, don't you think? Whatever he's doing, teasing you, annoying you, pulling a prank, it requires his effort, you know. Didn't you realize that?"

"Why couldn't he channel his energy to good things instead, huh? I would personally much prefer it." I sighed.

She shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't know how to express himself?"

I eyed her suspiciously. "You know Hannah, you keep taking his side whenever I complain about him. Are you his lawyer or what?"

"I'm his friend," she said, laughing and shaking her head at me at the same. "And so are you, right? We're his friends. Lu Han is playful and all but he's already proven that he'll be there when it counts. We know that."

The opening ceremony went on and so did Hannah about her defense about Lu Han. "Or maybe..." she said. The way her voice lit up made me imagine a cartoon bulb turning on above her head.

"Maybe what?"

"You've been seeing him in the wrong light. Try seeing his actions with a different intention in mind."

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