“Have you studied for the history exam?” Tae-Yeon asked Suzy.

                “No,” Answered Suzy.

                It was nearing the mid-term exams, and the students were all starting to study hard. Failing the exams wasn’t something any of the students wanted.

                Suzy didn’t have time to study; she had 2 jobs. And that just managed to pay for her school expenses and home bills. She rarely had any money left over, and even if she did, she saved it up to pay Jonghyun back.

                Suzy sat alone today at lunch; Tae-Yeon was studying in the library with a bunch of classmates. She was waiting for Jonghyun to arrive so that she could pay him what money she did have.

                “Jonghyun oppa! Won’t you help us pass this test? If you help us study, we’ll agree to anything you want!” The girl who was speaking looked as if she was a Barbie doll. Her face was covered with make-up, and her skirt…any shorter and it would reveal her . She seemed to be pushing her cleavage against Jonghyun’s arm. What was he? Some bra décor?

                Jonghyun drew his arm out from her grip, as well as her menacing cleavage. He shoved her away and walked towards his friends.

                “Jonghyun oppa!” The girl complained. That alone was enough to send a shiver down Suzy’s spine.

                “Jonghyun!” Shouted Suzy.

                Everyone averted their attention to Suzy who was making her way towards Jonghyun. In contrast to the way the other girl called Jonghyun’s name, Suzy sounded very manly.

                “What are you doing here?” Spat Taemin.

                “I wasn’t talking to you; so shut up.” Rebuked Suzy.

                “How can you speak to Taemin oppa like that?!” Shouted the girl who had shoved her cleavage against Jonghyun.

                Suzy ignored her and stood in front of Jonghyun. She reached into her pocket and took out the money.

                “It’s not all of the money I borrowed, but it’s a bit more than half. I’ll pay you the rest when I have the money.” Suzy held out the money to Jonghyun.

                “When did she borrow your money? Since when were you guys friends?” Asked Onew.

                “How could you take Jonghyun oppa’s money like that?” Complained the Barbie doll.

                “Shut up, will you? Your voice sounds like a broken record.” Said Suzy, sighing.

                With a high-pitched scream, the girl came up to Suzy and grabbed her arm violently.

                “How dare you say that!” Screamed the girl. She raised her hand, about to slap Suzy when Jonghyun stopped her.

                “You can do whatever you want to anyone you want, just don’t do it in front of me, or do it to this girl.” Jonghyun stated calmly.

                Everyone’s mouths dropped open. Were Suzy and Jonghyun really on such good terms?

                The Barbie doll then screamed once, a loud and menacing scream, before running away from the scene, her friends running after her. Suzy rolled her eyes at the over-exaggerated way the girl had left.

                “A-are you guys…DATING?!” Minho asked, his voice 8 octaves higher than usual.

                “What?! NO!” Suzy was quick to deny the accusations.

                All of the boys sighed with relief. It was a good thing Jonghyun wasn’t dating her. She was so mean that they were afraid their friend might not be able to handle her.

                Suzy flagged the money in front of Jonghyun’s face, before shoving it into his hand.

                “I don’t want it.” Said Jonghyun.

                “What do you mean? I’m paying you back so that I don’t owe you anything,” Stated Suzy.

                Without another word, Jonghyun walked off, ignoring the shouts that Suzy was giving him. She turned around and walked towards Onew.

                “Give this money to him, will you?” She handed Onew the money and left.

                “What was that all about?” Wondered Key, staring in the direction that they had both left.

---

                “This is the money Suzy gave me to give to you,” Onew placed the money on the table and sat down beside Jonghyun.

                “That idiot…” Jonghyun sighed.

                Onew was spending the day at Jonghyun’s new house, helping him unpack.

                “You live so far away from us now,” complained Onew, placing books into the shelf.

                “There’s a house right next to the one next door to me that’s on sale. If you buy that one, then we’d be practically neighbours,” Jonghyun joked, a very rare occurrence.

                “As a matter of fact, I think that’s what I’ll do. My parents keep bringing business meetings home. I don’t know why they can’t do it in the office,” Onew shook his head at the sad memory of it all.

                “It’s getting late, Onew. You should get back and study. I don’t think your parents will be very proud of you if you fail.”

                “Whatever; I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

                Jonghyun went and closed the door for Onew as he left. With a resigned sigh, Jonghyun went back to unpacking.

                Onew walked down the streets, trying to familiarize himself with it, since he was going to live there soon. He noticed that the house that was separating him and Jonghyun from being next door neighbours, was actually quite small. There were vines growing on the walls, and there was a pond on the right hand side. A big tree grew in the middle of the yard, blocking the view of the front door, as well as small bushes of flowers surrounding it. But what took him by surprise was a big statue of what looked like an ice-cream sandwich just before the big tree. It was weird actually; it stood out from everything else. Who in their right mind would buy such a thing, let alone put it somewhere that everyone could see.

                He shook away those thoughts and made his way back to his red Mercedes and drove home.

---

                Suzy was walking home, shoes in one hand, and her bag in the other. She was never good with heels, and since she had to wear them at her new job, it only did her harm. She looked on the road, noticing the puddles of water the rain must have left behind. She was happy she didn’t have to walk home in that weather – she didn’t like getting wet.

                She sang to herself, a familiar song that she had been hearing a lot lately on the radio. She saw a flash of headlights from a car, and suddenly, she was wet. The stupid car was speeding, and had driven into a puddle on the side of the road, splashing it all over Suzy.

                “You stupid red Mercedes driver!” She shouted, shaking her fist at it in pure anger. Now her dress was saturated with water!

                She walked faster towards her home, just wanting to jump into the shower. She spotted her house from a mile away. It was hard to miss, what with the weird statue in front of the house and the gigantic tree and all. She didn’t really know what the statue was; her mum had said that it was to bring good luck to the family, but Suzy didn’t notice any difference it made. It looked like an ice-cream sandwich for God’s sake! What good was it supposed to do?

                She quickly erased all of those thoughts and ran into her house. She really needed to take a shower now.

==========

---Saranghaeyo---