Lunch had finally rolled around and the classrooms were all cleared by the time the bell ended.

Students flooded out of their classes the hall filled up like a navy sea. Classmates caught up with each other in order to hang out during the practically free period. Guys and girls alike were chatting feverishly, either complaining about the homework they just received from the evil History teacher or just chatting about the most exciting moment of their day. Sadly for the B1A4 boys, they would be spending their whole period listening to a moping Cha Aeri.

“I’m sure he barely noticed.” Jinyoung tried to convince her as the three seniors walked out of their class and into the hall. “You had just a bit of blood on your face. That’s all.”

“That’s not the point.” Aeri put a hand on her bandage covered nose, her frown deepening as the incident flashed in her mind. “That was the first time he ever looked my way. Ever. He noticed me, but not as a girl- but as a bloody-booger-monster!” Both her hands flew up to cover her red face in despair as the thoughts taunted her.

CNU wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders, lightly squeezing one of them with his hand. “You’ll feel much better after you eat.” Was all he ensured and continued to lead her out of the school building and down the path to B1A4’s tree.

The spot had been found when Baro had started as a freshman and on the way to the bathroom, he took the wrong path and wound up in the Agriculture Club’s old garden site. Being abandoned years previously, anything that had been planted before had withered away into brown, dried out shrubs scattered along the clearing. The boy would have left the lifeless land right then and there if it weren’t for the tall tree that stood in his way. Like the center of the universe, the tree was the largest thing of all that surrounded it and drew the boy in like a magnetic pull. His hand had brushed against the trunk, the texture on its surface like goosebumps along skin, his eyes following up its body and had to squint his eyes in attempt to see the top. Sparse patches of sunlight filtered through the gaps in between leaves, leaving its roots a comfortable temperature of neither cool, nor warm. The natural beauty inspired the boy to hurry his friends from their lunch table by the trash can to rest upon the the grass under the tree. Since that first lunch there, the group had self proclaimed the spot as theirs and that no one but B1A4 knew about it.

By the time the seniors had gotten to the tree, the three dongsaengs were already reclining back on trunk and casually chatting as they ate.

Jinyoung stopped in front of them and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “You guys started to eat already?”

“Blame it all on this guy,” the blond jerked a thumb toward Sandeul. “He was so impatient that he threw out all his respect for a few bites of chicken.”

“Yah!” The accused yelled, pointing his chopsticks at the opened lunchbox resting on Baro’s lap. “Chansik’s eomma packed enough for all of us, but you liked it so much you started to eat their shares without regret!”
“No, I was just eating yours to make sure you didn’t overeat again and gain weight again." Baro fired back, earning the legendary Sandeul-crazy-eyes.

Sandeul quickly retaliated with a barrage of hits with his fists on Baro’s forearm, daring him to say it again. Who knows what else would have happened if it weren’t for the ever-so-responsible Jinyoung shushing them. When they looked at him as to question why he stopped their usual bickering, he cocked his head to the girl slumping against the tree trunk, eyes still shut in despair.

Anger suddenly relinquished at the desperate sight and Sandeul lowered his chopsticks, scooping up a piece of untouched chicken, offered it out to her. “Aeri, want some? They may be leftovers, but I assure you it will make you feel good.”

When silence was her response, Sandeul shrugged and popped the piece into his own mouth. He nudged Gongchan with his shoe, ordering him with a full mouth, “Your turn.”

He nodded and scooted close to her. Once by her side, he playfully nudged his shoulder against hers and cooed, “Noona~,” and repeated until her eyes glanced at him, witnessing a cute smile that only he could pull off with a face made for his deadly aegyo.

“Don’t be embarrassed, we all have those moments. It’s inevitable. Sooooo~,” Gongchan popped up a yellow lunch box, the color rivaling the brightness of his smile. “Why not just forget the whole thing and enjoy the present moment by eating my mom’s secret-recipe-kimchi? I think she made it especially well because she sensed something weird was going to happen.”

"How can I forget when I'm forever implanted in Hoya's memory as that scary-girl-with-the-bloody-nose-and-smile?"

"Don't be so negative!" Gongchan exclaimed, grabbing her hand as he confidently said. "I'm sure he has already forgotten about it too!"

“The kid’s right,” Baro chimed in. “Infinite sees over a hundred girl’s a day, you’d be lucky if even one of them bothered to remember your bloody face- oomph!” The boy coughed in fits and looked wildly at the brunette next to him who was retracting his elbow from its place lodged in Baro’s stomach. “What the hell was that for?!"

“You are too blunt!” Sandeul scolded. “It’s no wonder why you haven’t had a girlfriend in three years with the amount of bad things that fly out of your mouth.” He opened his mouth to go on, but was cut off by Aeri’s sigh, the first audible noise coming from her since she sat down before she began to speak.

“He’s right,” Aeri’s eyes looked off into the sky, only mildly caring about her friend’s reactions. “I’d be a fool to think Hoya would think of me as much as I think of him. He probably threw me out of his thoughts the moment he looked away.”

“Yah... don’t sound so depressed.” Baro said awkwardly, a small twinge of the guilt residing in his stomach making it into his voice as he spoke to her. “I’m sure if you weren’t a complete mess then he would have at least sorta remember you- ow! That one hurt, idiot! I'm only trying to help!"

"You should be punished for thinking that was even remotely comforting!”

The ridiculous sight of the two aiming insults at the other and Jinyoung stepped in to mediate was enough to make Aeri’s mind less focused on what happened hours ago to the present moment of being with her friends. She felt a pair of eyes watching her and when she turned, she met CNU’s gaze, the member who had been oddly quiet the whole time since she got back from class.

She could see the worry plastered all over his face, his eyes planted on her as he asked. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, it’s over now right? Since I know he already forgot about it, I’m the only one who keeps the memory alive, so the sooner I forget, the sooner that moment in history is gone forever.” She finished by cracking a genuine smile to him, her eyes twinkling once again in their usual amusement as she mock-seriously ordered him. “So you stop worrying about it too, okay?”

His previous worry-filled thoughts were washed away with the appearance of her smile, responding back with a smile he couldn’t hold back and a minor nod, “Mm.”

The smile on his face didn’t fade the whole lunch period after that, silently watching from the sidelines as she smiled and laughed, like the embarrassing morning had never happened. Seeing the antics of her friends distracting her, sending her into fits of laughter or trying to shove food down .
Blissfully, the eldest leaned back on his palms and looked up at the clear sky and thought to himself.
‘Maybe even Hoya will be forgotten with it all.’

 

- - - - -

Baro's blunt words had been right.

Hoya had shook off the morning's events easily from the moment he turned away from the bloody girl. But not because he was disturbed by the memory and yearned to get it out. More so, much more urgent thoughts concerning an interesting phone call he had received made all incidents before it insignificant.

His detached presence caught more attention from his "fans" than his friends. Eyes were always on them and after years of living this life, each member dealt with it differently- Hoya opting just to ignore them as he quietly stared off in his own thoughts. His friends weren't too concerned of him (as he told them earlier to forget about it.) All of them much too absorbed in Woohyun's latest tale.

"No way. That did not happen." Sunggyu eyed the man across from him skeptically. "There is no way any girl would fall for a cheap line like that."

"Ah, you doubt me all too much, hyung." Woohyun leaned back, arms thrown back behind his head, smug. "But you should know that in just five seconds after I said it she was already wrapped around my finger, helplessly in love."

"Unbelievable..." Sungyeol scoffed, turning to the distracted member to get his input. "What do you think?"
He shoved his thoughts to the back of his mind, saving them for a time when he wouldn't be interrupted, and turned fully into the conversation. "What?"

"Do you think that stupid line would work on any girl?"

Hoya's eyebrows scrunched together, lost. Woohyun could only shake his head and complain, "Seriously, you should be paying attention when I'm giving you free tips on how to pick up cute girls." The man straightened himself in his chair so that he was looking directly at Hoya. "Now tell me this isn't gold;"
Woohyun cleared his throat and recited the line in a rehearsed smooth voice. "Love changes people- for better or for worse. So let's hope for the best shall we?"

"..."

"..."

"That's it? That's your fool-proof plan to get a girl?" Hoya scoffed, sending a highly amused grin across the table. "No offense Hyung, but don't make such a fuss over a weak line."
"What?" He gawked, offended. "Weak? That line I just gave you for free is worth gold to men and you're still ungrateful."

"Don't worry Hyung; Hoya-hyung forgets what it's like to have to work to get a girl since he already has a girlfriend~." Sungjong teased, his emphasis on the last word causing many of the boys to snicker and grin.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to escape the conversation, but Woohyun was having too much fun yanking his chain.

"Oh really?" Woohyun inquired totally unconvinced. "Then what's with the quick denial? Is it because it's true? Is Lee Howon really going out with Jung Eunji?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Not yet anyway." Sungjong added, winking playfully at Hoya's unamused expression.

Hoya opened his mouth to argue, but Woohyun's deep voice cut him off with a smug tone. "Well what do you know? There's your girl now."

Seven heads turned as Apink strutted through the doors of the cafeteria. The room felt suddenly brighter as they made their way to their table, each girl's iridescent smile lighting up the room better than the fluorescents hanging above them. Although each girl was beautiful, Hoya couldn't help but let his eyes wander over his supposed "girlfriend."

Eunji glided beside her leader in light steps, her heels not making an inelegant clack on the tile floors like the rest. Thin fingers brushed back misplaced bangs, the longer of dark chestnut strands swishing against her round, porcelain cheeks. Painted strawberry lips made a heart-stopping smile when she noticed his eyes on her, blushing to the slightest and gave a small wave of acknowledgement before turning back to her group's heated discussion.

"Yah, you seriously are too lucky..." Dongwoo sighed, his eyes catching the small gesture. "To have someone as beautiful as that like you? Man." He shook his head in sorrow.

"She never said she liked me."

"When a girl smiles at you like that everytime she sees you? For nearly three years? Words aren't needed my friend," Sunggyu squeezed his shoulder and seriously said, "She's fallen for you."

"Yeah, you should just accept her feelings already." Sungyeol suggested as he took a sip casually from his milk and peeked at his expression. "After all, you're pretty smitten by Shinhwa Academy's Happy Virus."

Hoya pushed out of his chair, looking over 's faces and coolly informed them, "I'll be leaving first. I have some work to do in the library." Slinging his bag over his shoulder and turned, but before he walked off he said over his shoulder at Dongwoo, "And I never said anything about that before." He sent them a mischievous smile before leaving the members behind.

Woohyun waited until the cafeteria door clicked shut behind him before seething.

"That cheeky bastard," He angrily stabbed at his lunch. "He doesn't deserve such a perfect life- the girl, the money, the smarts-" he counted off, scowling after. "It's unfair I tell you."

"Yah, you're making a mess." Sunggyu scolded and hurried a napkin over the table's surface where remnants of rice flew too.

Sungyeol only glanced at the flapping door with a sad grin no one saw, 'But even the most perfect lives have their burdens.'

- - - - -