“No Soojin?” I asked as Baekhyun leaned against my desk.

Around us, everyone was filing out of class for lunch. The bell had just rung, shrill and loud, and usually, Baekhyun would have been up and halfway to the door right now. I raised my eyebrows at him as I closed my books and slipped my things into my pencil case.

“She’s absent today,” he said with a pout, reaching out to close some of my books for me and pile them in a stack.

I stood up, grabbing my wallet from my bag and weaving my way around the desks and chairs and out of the classroom doors. “Of course. You wouldn’t even bother to wait for me is she’s here,” I said playfully.

“Hey, don’t take it to heart,” Baekhyun said as he draped an arm over my shoulders. “You’re still my best girl friend.”

I just scoffed and pushed his arm off my shoulder, shaking my head. “The things you say to make people let you off the hook.”

“Yoora, you know I’m not going to abandon you. Even if I’m with Soojin, you know I’ll always be here for you.”

He looked up and suddenly paused in his tracks. Confused, I glanced back at him, and saw the devious smirk that was beginning to spread across his face.

“Unfortunately, you’re going to have to go alone from here,” he said.

“Baekhyun, what are you –”

He lunged forward and slapped a hand over my mouth. He tugged me into a corner, behind a pillar while I struggled under his grip, my angry words muffled by his hands.

“Shh,” he whispered quietly, turning my face to look at the stairs at the end of the hall.

A familiar blond head was leaning against the wall. He looked occupied, his eyes flickering to the ceiling absently, before glancing at the hallway again, towards the exact spot where Baekhyun and I stood moments before.

“What’s he doing here?” I muttered the minute Baekhyun pulled away his hand.

He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Do you even have to ask that? He’s looking for you of course. Now go!”

“What? Baekhyun I –”

“Go!” he insisted, pushing me out from behind the pillar. “And walk slowly,” he added in a whisper.

I was torn between doing what he said and darting back behind the sanctuary of the pillar. Baekhyun was glaring at me, ready to grab me if I decided to bolt. I gritted my teeth in annoyance, hissing a curse at him. Baekhyun just gestured at me to start walking.

Biting back a response and deciding that he was going to get the worst from me the next time I saw him, I began to slowly down the hall, towards the stairs. Luhan turned his head again and straightened up when he saw me.

“I was waiting for you,” he said as I approached him. “I thought you’ve already gone to the cafeteria.”

“Really?” I laughed nervously, pausing in front of the stairs. Luhan descended the last few steps and stood in front of me. “Is there something you need?” I asked, trying very hard not to look directly into his eyes.

“Would you like to have lunch with me?” he asked with a smile.

My thoughts wandered towards Baekhyun for a while, who was probably in hiding behind the same pillar. I was supposed to have lunch with him since Soojin wasn’t here, and admittedly, I felt bad for abandoning him. But then again, Baekhyun did have other friends besides me that he could sit with –not to mention that he was probably going to have my head if I declined Luhan’s offer.

“Alright.” I made a start towards the first step going down, but Luhan’s hand on my wrist stopped me. I felt a jolt up my arm with his touch.

“Not there. Let’s have lunch at the rooftop.”

“I don’t have any food,” I said, turning to him.

“Got us covered,” he said with a grin, holding up two Tupperwares stacked above one another that I didn’t notice he was holding before. “Come on.”

He tugged my wrist, up the stairs and towards the seniors’ floor. He dragged me to the other end of the hallway, pulled open a door on the right, and tugged me up the fire escape. We emerged out in the rooftop, a flat and almost barren expanse save for the lone bench that had been pushed against the wall to our right. The wind hit me as soon as I stepped onto the concrete. The rolling clouds above me were a bright white, dotted across the sky like white paint splashed across a blue canvas.

Luhan tugged me towards the bench. The wind was teasing the bits of his hair, ruffling them, making them whip across his eyes. “Sit,” he ordered.

Obediently, I did as I was told, a little overwhelmed by everything that was happening. I was having lunch with one of the most popular boys in school, the boy who I practically fell for at first sight. I was half convinced that this was a dream and I would open my eyes and find myself in the classroom, shaken awake by Baekhyun.

His thin deft fingers were working the sides of the Tupperware and separating them. I tore my eyes from admiring his face and looked around.

“Do you always have lunch here?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. I heard a ‘pop’ indicating that he had pried the lid open. “Whenever I want to be alone. It’s my secret hiding place.”

“If it’s a secret, why bring me?”

There was a glint in Luhan’s eyes. “You’re the lucky person who gets to know the secret.” He handed me the green Tupperware. Tucked inside it was a sandwich with a handful of cookies. “Here.”

“Thanks,” I said, carefully taking it from him. “How much did you buy this for? I’ll pay you back.”

Luhan laughed. “I made it! But okay, I admit, this is the first time I’ve made something for anyone else besides myself, so forgive me if you find it not so appetizing.”

I took a bite. “It’s good. Did you make the cookies too?”

“Oh, I bought those. I’m terrible at baking. It always ends up with the oven this close to catching fire.”

A picture of Luhan wearing a pink apron with flour streaked across his face appeared in my head and I laughed.

“Are you laughing at the fact that I can’t bake, or is there some joke I’m missing?” Luhan asked.

“No. No, I’m not laughing because of that. Just something stupid that I thought of.” I waved my hand dismissively, hoping he’d dismiss the topic. He didn’t.

“Care to share?”

I hesitated for a moment. If I told him, I’d probably be making a fool of myself. He was staring at me expectantly, and the minute I met his eyes, I caved.

“I was picturing you in a pink apron.”

“I do not wear a pink apron,” he said indignantly. “It’s yellow with a picture of a baby chick in front of it.”

I laughed, and the corner of Luhan’s lip twitched.

“Really though, I don’t wear an apron. Just needed to say that to salvage what’s left of my dignity.”

I chuckled. No wonder people liked him; he was talkative and funny, an easy person to be around with.

“Really Sunbae, thanks a lot. I appreciate it,” I said, smiling.

“Luhan,” he corrected me. “Just call me Luhan.”

“Alright,” I said softly. “Thanks, Luhan.”

I could have sworn that the smile he had on his face right now was bright enough to light the whole city.

“The rooftop is the perfect place for a lunch date, don’t you think?” Baekhyun said with a wink as I trudged into the music room.

I glared at him from the door.

To compensate for leaving him during lunch, I had agreed to watch him and Chanyeol practice in the music room. A junior had agreed to take my shift, and the head librarian was compliant enough to approve of my request for a break.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol practically had this music room booked ever since the start of freshman year, during which my best friend had the wild notion of forming a high school band. Baekhyun had always been good with instruments. He had an artist’s fingers: long and slender, nimble, capable of plucking guitar strings and darting between piano keys.

Chanyeol was another freshman we met during orientation day. He and Baekhyun hit it off the first day they met, and by the time the lunch period ended, Baekhyun had obtained a new band mate. Chanyeol, like Baekhyun, was good with the guitar, though his manner of playing was rougher and more careless compared to Baekhyun’s melodious, soft tunes. He was skilled with the drums too, but rarely played at school due to complaints they received about the loud noise.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol extended their invitation to others, but they were either too concentrated with school or completely inept when it came to music. Seeing that their efforts to recruit new members were going to amount to nothing, they decided to form a duo instead. This music room became their practice room and refuge. I was the only outsider they allowed inside its tightly shut doors.

Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol were playful, so it was often a riot in here. They would play songs and fool around, sometimes striking chords randomly as they decided what to play. Other times though, when they decided to get serious, the songs they played were beautiful. Baekhyun was a marvellous singer with a powerful voice; Chanyeol had an uncharacteristically deep voice that gave him an edge when he rapped.

They were a good pair. Baek and Yeol, as I like to call them, a name they later officially adopted as the name for their ‘band’.

I grabbed the chair and pulled it closer  next to my best friend. I gave him a sweet smile before promptly punching him on the arm, hard.

“Ow! What was that for?” Baekhyun screeched, rubbing his forearm and leaning away from me. The guitar teetered dangerously on his lap.

“For leaving me,” I hissed at him.

“What? It’s for a good cause. I was right, wasn’t I? He was waiting for you.” Baekhyun inched his chair away from me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. “This is what you get when your guy friend plays the role girl friends usually take,” I muttered angrily to myself.

“As if they wouldn’t have done the same thing,” he said with a roll of his eyes.

I had to admit that I had no response to that.

“So, where’s Chanyeol?” I asked, pulling my seat so that I was closer to him again.

“He’s on his way. Said something about handing in a late assignment. So when are you going to see him again?”

“You’re such a girl, to be asking things like that,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Aw,” he cooed, inching his face closer to mine, “our little Yoora’s blushing.”

I glared at him. He laughed and withdrew. “Relax Yoo. I just wanted to know so that I could schedule some more lessons for you.”

I grew uncomfortable at the word. “Isn’t the mall enough?”

“I still have a few things that I need you to do. You do have the guy hooked, but now, you have to learn how to reel him in,” he said with a wink.

I was about to respond when my phone suddenly beeped. I peered at the screen and opened the new message I just received. I stared at my phone, momentarily speechless.

Baekhyun was smirking. “He just asked you out on a date, didn’t he?”

“Hang out,” I muttered, slipping my phone back into my pocket. “He specifically used the term ‘hang out.’”