Soon, February had inched closer. And this meant Valentine’s Day was approaching. You stepped into the school campus on that day and immediately noticed the different atmosphere. Love was in the air. The school entrance was decorated with heart-shaped balloons and a huge banner with the words, “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!” imprinted in bold. You giggled at the lovely decoration and walked towards your locker. Gathering the books that will be needed, you placed them into your bag and turned away. You stopped for a moment and looked around.

A junior girl was holding up a heart-shaped box of chocolates. “I love you Minsoo sunbae! Please accept my Valentine gift,” she coyly rubbed the back of her neck and managed a small smile that showed her two cute dimples.

The senior boy smiled affably at her and took the box of chocolates. “Really? You like me? The truth is... I have been falling for you since you first came to this school!” His eyes lit up and a wide smile was etched on his sharp features. Minsoo took a step closely to the girl and embraced her affectionately. The girl blushed in his arms and hugged him back too. The newly-formed couple released each other and shyly smiled before Minsoo lead her away.

*They looked so cute together! That girl must be lucky to have him as a boyfriend!* You broke out into a broad smile. As usual, you walked towards the car park to meet Destiny and EXO-K. Humming a love song under your breath, you kicked a small stone on the ground, while waiting for the others.

“Hey Inhee! Happy Valentine’s Day!” Chanyeol’s deep voice reached your ears. You looked up and grinned.

“Happy Valentine’s to you too,” you put a peace sign over your eye. D.O. ruffled your hair while you pouted.

“Excuse me. Sehun oppa, this is for you. Happy Valentine’s Day!” A senior girl walked up to your group. She held out a jar of candies and sweetly batted her long lashes. *Is Sehun going to accept her gift?* You bit your lip and gazed at the two.

“Thanks for the gift, Jaekyung,” Sehun smiled amiably at the girl. The girl scurried back to her friends, blushing madly.

“I thought you only set your eyes on Saerom?” Kai mused.

“It’s not like I’m going to date her. My heart only belongs to Saerom noona. I accepted her gift out of courtesy,” Sehun explained. Your smiled slipped off your face. *It seems like Sehun really loves Saerom. I just hope that he will accept my gift just like how he accepted Jaekyung’s.* You secretly hoped.

You had figured out that most girls would give their crushes chocolates or candies on Valentine’s Day. You wanted to be different; you wanted to stand out from the rest. Hence, you decided to bake cookies for the boy that had captured your heart.

Rrrring! The final bell ran shrilly. The twelve of you separated off to different classrooms.

“Sehun-sshi, wait!” You called out suddenly. He turned around and looked at you in surprise.

“We’re going to be late for class,” Sehun pointed out as he turned to walk away.

“Wait! I have something for you,” you grabbed his arm and tugged on his sleeve, eyes pleading. He stared at you and frowned. Slowly, you pulled out a nicely decorated spherical box and pressed it into Sehun’s hands. Sehun blinked and tilted his head in confusion.

“I really love you, Sehun-sshi,” you met his eyes and bravely spoke. *Aha! Just as I have guessed, it’s another confession. If it was from others, I would have gladly accepted their gifts. But it is from Inhee, the girl who had hurt my noona many times. Yet she had the guts to confess to me.* Sehun’s eyes hardened.

He looked down at the box and smirked. You had mistaken it for a smile and gasped softly. *Did he just accepted my gift?* However, the next action made your eyes sting. Sehun had carelessly thrown the box into the ground. Clang! The heart-shaped cookies that you had painstakingly taken hours to make were scattered on the ground. You gasped involuntarily and clasped your hand over your mouth. Sehun scoffed at your reaction.

Heads turned to your direction and soon a small crowd had gathered, just like the time where Sehun had shoved you up against a locker. Destiny and EXO-K had their mouths wide open. Eunmi’s eyes bulged out. Jimin had dropped her Chemistry textbook that she was holding onto. Sehun frowned disapprovingly and Kai shook his head sadly.

“Thanks! But I hate you!” Sehun spat out the three words that caused your heart to shatter. He sneered at you and randomly kicked the box. You winced as you eyes began to water. Some of the cookies had already been broken. You bent down and started to pick up the cookies and place them back into the box. A lone tear had escaped from your eyes.

“What is going on here?” A sultry voice could be heard down the hallway. Soon, it was followed by the sounds of stilettos clicking. Han Saerom had strutted down the hallway with her head held up high.

“Someone had obviously been rejected on Valentine’s Day. How pitiful?” She cackled evilly as she deliberately crushed the cookies under her 7 inch killer heels. You looked down in horror, with tears trailing down your cheeks. You balled up your fists and gritted your teeth.

“That’s enough! The both of you!” Sohee narrowed her eyes dangerously as she pulled you up and dusted your skirt. Subin came to your other side and glared spitefully at Saerom and Sehun.

“Jagiya, do something,” Saerom purred as she leaned her head on Sehun’s torso. Suddenly, you felt sick to your stomach. You blinked rapidly and soon your tears blurred your vision. Saerom twirled her hair between her fingers before steering Sehun away from the scene. You slumped down in defeat. The students sympathetically glanced at you while whispering to each other.

“Hold it! I thought you said that accepting other girls’ gift was out of courtesy? It’s not like you were going to date Inhee because her heart belongs to me. Why must you give Inhee such a hard time? She was just being nice to you. It’s so unlike of you, Oh Sehun,” a gruff voice repeated the exact same words that Sehun had uttered. Sehun spun around and glared at his challenger. Hyunwoo’s eyes darkened as he stared piercingly at Sehun.

You squinted at Hyunwoo in shock. *Did Hyunwoo sunbae just claimed to be my boyfriend?* Hyunwoo pulled you behind him protectively, eyes not leaving Sehun. Sehun gawked at him and clenched his fist unknowingly.

“In that case, why don’t you take your girlfriend away and tell her not to bother us again?” Saerom huffed, her lips set in a straight line. With that said, she tugged Sehun by the arm and sauntered off. Your heart tightened as more tears rolled down your cheek. Hyunwoo gazed at you softly before guiding you away in the opposite direction. Destiny and EXO-K stared at the both of you in bewilderment as they too, left for their classes.