They were in elementary school. He was an annoying and loud classmate. He was Kwon Daechan. She was a cheerful but quiet classmate. She was Im Jooyi. Both were smart and full of potential. Did they get along? Well, they didn’t even talk. They were both teacher’s pets. For that fact, no one liked them. No one’s had a crush on one of them either. He looked like a total geek. She appeared as a major nerd. This status stayed up until high school, when both of them went through big changes.
In high school, Daechan and Jooyi were still classmates. Now, he was more of a calm and collected gentleman—most of the time. She became playful and witty. They didn’t dress so much like geeks or nerds anymore. Instead, they fitted in so well no one could recognize them. Don’t be fooled though, they were still as intelligent as before. A few years passed, and soon it was their last year in high school.

Foreword

Two hours before his exam taking time, Daechan went out with his friend, Kyungsae.
“So, who else is taking their test today?” Kyungsae asked.
“Jooyi.”
Kyungsae nudged Daechan. “You should just tell her already. It’s been awhile.”
“But she’s my rival.”
“So what? You're obviously caught disobeying the number one rule in a competition.”
Daechan nodded. "I guess it is time."

The story begins…

It was college entrance exams day. The clock was ticking. Pencils were tapping on the table. Students were flipping pages. Fearful and nervous vibes were in the air. Daechan was on the far left end of the room. He didn’t worry about his answers. Instead he obsessively cared more about how they were marked. “Perfect!” Daechan looked down at his answer sheet. “Shhhh!” Test takers around him hissed.  “Sorry.” He mouthed.  These were one of those moments where he wasn’t so calm or collected. On the opposite end of the room sat Jooyi. After finishing her test she took a deep breath and pondered over everything. “Is four times four really sixteen? I don’t think the square root of thirty-six is six. Wait, ‘she’ and ‘he’ are pronouns, right?” Jooyi thought worriedly, tapping her fingers against the desk.

“One minute!” The test administrator rang a bell that echoed throughout the room. All the other students frantically answered whatever they could. Meanwhile, the only two that were done—Daechan and Jooyi—looked up. Of course, they caught each other’s eye and awkwardly stared at each other. Though they didn’t really talk, (other than the “excuse me’s” and such in the halls) they both knew there was a well-known competition between them. “Time’s up!” the administrator asked for the students to pass their sheets forward.

After sitting down at desks for so long, the students were dismissed. They were all tired. All the students dryly went out of the room. Jooyi and Daechan were both the last to leave the room. “Hey.” Daechan caught up to Jooyi. She looked back. “Oh hey.” Jooyi smiled.

“How are you?” She asked.

“Doing well. You?”

“Tired from that test.”

“I know, right.”

“Yup.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Me too.”

“Wanna drop by that café down the street, Jooyi?”

“Huh?”

“Do you wanna go grab something to eat?”

“Oh sure.” Jooyi reluctantly agreed. Why was he being so forward?

They exited the building and walked down the street quietly. “So…” Daechan tried to start a conversation but Jooyi just looked at him and smiled. They arrived at the café. It was empty and silent. Everything was still inside. “We can sit here.” He pulled her seat out for her. They ordered their foods and waited for it to arrive. Things were different. Jooyi felt that things escalated quickly. When really, it was about time. The two stayed quiet until Jooyi sneezed. Her allergies were still there.

“Bless you.”

“Thank you.”

“You still have your allergies?”

“Yeah, I still do.” She laughed.

He looked around and took a deep breath. “I can’t believe that we’re already entering college.”

“That is if we do get in.”

“I’m pretty sure we will.”

“Don’t be so conceited.”

“Why? Don’t you agree? I bet we’re shoe-ins!”

“I mean, yeah but still. There might be some glitch with the computer and there’s this big mess and we don’t get in.”

“Don’t be so paranoid. If that happens, I’m pretty sure you’ll still have a higher score than the others.”

“ I guess.”

“So…”

“This thing about ‘our rivalry’?”

“What about it?”

“What is this big thing about it?”

“Valedictorian, duh?”

“Psh, I knew that. Why is it such a big deal though?”

“Don’t you want it?”

“I’m fine with salutatorian, thank you.”

“C’mon. I don’t mind having a girl as a rival.”

“What if I beat you?”

“ I doubt that. You’re a girl.”

“Oh I see how it is.” She laughed.

The two of them talked and talked until they finished their food. Daechan looked at his watch. “I think we should get home.” Jooyi stood up and opened the door for Daechan. “You didn’t need to do that. I’m the man, yo.” He laughed. She smirked a little.

“You aren’t as annoying as before.”

“What? When was I ever annoying?”

“You’re annoying 24/7. Just at different levels.”

“What?!”

“It’s just the truth homie.”

“Ouch.” He placed his hand on his chest and laughed.

“There’s this something I have to tell you about Joo.”

“What? That I eat too much. I knew that a long time ago.” She giggled.

“No. I…”

“You what?”

“I like you.”

“Well, I like you too.”

“You mean—like like?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you mean it that way?”

“Yeah.”

He slowly searched for her hand and held onto it. She obliged.

“What happen to being rivals?”

“That can wait. Number one rule in a competition is to never fall in love with your rival. I'd rather have you than valedictorian." He placed his arm around her and pulled her closer.

The end.

A/N: Got bored and thought I'd write this. Feel free to comment ^~^