“What did you just say, teacher?” IU asked.

Junho wanted to hit his head on any hard surface at that point. He was slightly frustrated with himself because he almost revealed his true identity again. He blamed his headache for the mistake though he knew even without the influence of alcohol, he could still have easily given himself away. He continued speaking when he saw she was still staring at him, perplexed. “Now, I got your attention.  My real name’s Yoon-hee. And I am a real teacher here. As you can see, I wear their uniform. And I’m seriously trying to make you laugh...” He looked at her intently then continued, “... but seeing you stop crying is enough. What’s your name and why are you crying again?”

“I’m IU Kim, a student from 3A. And I’m fine. I don’t want to bother you with my crying. I’m sorry again teacher.” She was about to leave but Junho stopped her.

“IU Kim? Please sit down again. Please. So, you are the kid that ranked first among all third year students, huh? Actually, you have the highest GWA in this whole school right now. Amazing feat, you know? You shouldn’t be crying. You should be celebrating. Unless those are tears of joy?” Junho said to her.

“I do not want to disrespect you teacher but it would really be nice if you respect my privacy.” IU said.

‘Wow. This kid has an issue. She dresses like a boy and now she’s disrespecting authority. And she is acting somewhat like Hyoyeon. No! Why did I think of her again? This is crazy!! I’m going crazy... ’ Junho thought before being distracted by IU’s waving hand in his face.

“Hey, Teacher Yoon hee! I’ll be leaving. Bye for now.” IU said and she stood up.

Junho wanted to know why she was crying. And she wouldn’t tell him. She’s like a young Hyoyeon. And he won’t stop until he figures her out. And it’s something he SHOULD do. He doesn’t need another girl to figure out other than the monster in disguise herself. She blocked IU and slightly pushed her so that she’ll sit back down.

“I’m sorry to be doing this but I feel that you’re slightly disrespecting me. I mean, I’m a teacher and I am a counsellor. I can help you if you have a problem. Believe me, I don’t want to know but I seriously want to help. If you don’t want to share it with me, let me tell you my own story. You know, I’m having some sort of trouble as well. There is another teacher in this school that is making my life a living hell. I’m not the type to be bullied and I’m a nice person but I do not have much friends and I just hang out by myself. So, nobody would stick out there for me when that teacher tries to do something that would put me in trouble.” He explained to IU.

IU felt the same way. She thought that the two of them have the same situation. The only difference was she was here for already three years and the bullying hasn’t stopped. She started to cry again.

‘I’m almost cracking this girl. I can already smell my success. But why am I doing this again? Aaaish. It’s all that Hyoyeon’s fault again. I’m supposed to rest a bit and this headache is seriously driving me mad. I wonder where I get this energy to still sit here and talk to this girl.’ Junho thought to himself again before he spoke to IU. “So, will you tell me now what’s troubling you?”

‘’Ok. Just promise me that you’ll not tell anyone and you’ll still treat me the same.” IU said and looked at him. He nodded and that seemed like a cue for the young girl to start her story. “So, just like what is happening to you now, I experienced that some of the students here don’t like me. I am a very nice girl as well. But the first day I came here, some girls judged me immediately. Maybe because of how I dress, this cap, and the boyish clothes I wear when we have gatherings at school. They thought I was different so nobody really made friends with me. I do not even like girls that way. I just like dressing in these clothes to be able to pursue my dream...” Junho stopped her.

“Pursue your dream? With boy’s clothes? What exactly is your dream?” He asked curiously.

“I dream of becoming a heart surgeon some day. There’s something delicate with the human heart and I want to be able to cure people who have heart problems. But that’s not the point. I was made to believe that being in a relationship may cause you to have an immature future, kids and a husband at a young age. So I dress like a boy to push guys away. So, these kids hated me for that. I walk alone always and eat alone. I wondered how I even survived my first months here. Then after the first term examinations, I fortunately got the highest scores for the whole freshman batch. And the girls that already hate me, hated me more and those that just ignore me, started showing how they hate me as well. My stuff are sometimes missing only to find them in the trash bin, sometimes it was covered with food, chalk and other things. So at one point, this girl, Hara, tried stopping them. She really fought them for me. She stopped them from taking my things; she stopped them from saying annoying words to me. So we became the best of friends in no time. But earlier today, I saw her and she said that she will be leaving school due to family problems and I know I won’t be able to stop her and I knew that I will be left alone again. I don’t have a friend with me anymore.” She managed to explain all of this to Junho in between sobs.

Junho just nodded but he thought to himself, ‘This girl is nice. Why do bad things happen to nice people like us? It’s not fair.’ He spoke to her again. “Don’t worry, I can be your new friend. We’ll fight those bullies together. That sounds great, right?”

“I’d love that. By the way, I’m sorry for being disrespectful earlier. I didn’t mean to act that way. I’m really sorry.” IU wasn’t even able to look at him as she apologized.

‘How could I even compare her to that monster-in-disguise?’ He thought. “That’s fine. I was really invading your privacy. We should talk more often. I like talking to you.” Junho said to her.

“Yes. That’d be nice. I’ll introduce you to my sister. She’s also a teacher here. You probably know her. She is....” IU’s sentence was not finished because Junho’s phone started ringing.

“I’ll just get this. You know, you should go to class. It’s going to start soon. Let’s continue talking some other time.” He waved goodbye and left IU. The girl fixed herself and went off to class without even being able to tell Junho that her sister is Hyoyeon.

Junho answered the phone. “Suzy? Aren’t you supposed to be dancing right now?” He asked.

“Yes. But we had a short break. And stop asking about me. I’m calling to ask how you are feeling right now. Your head is probably killing you, right? Try eating the soup I made. It will make you feel a lot better.” Suzy said.

“Yah! You should stop caring too much. I’m feeling guilty already. Woo wasn’t able to look for work today because he didn’t get enough sleep last night. And you, instead of focusing on your training, you’re wasting your time on me.” Junho said to her.

“What are friends for right? I bet if that happened to us, you will also do those things. So stop worrying. You’ll repay us at some point. I have to go now. Just eat the soup and eat a lot as well. You’ll feel better soon. Bye!” Suzy had already hung up before Junho was able t o thank her for everything. Even with his head still hurting like crazy, he had to go to class so he endured it and tried planning the rest of his day. Thinking of how to find her sister, not knowing he just spent half an hour talking to the person he was searching for.

Meanwhile, outside the building of the entertainment agency where Suzy trains, Yoseob has arrived and spotted her talking sweetly to someone on the phone. There were many trainees who were having their breaks as well and they are all pretty girls but even without looking for her, his eyes immediately went to Suzy. He was captivated by her natural beauty. He approached her after she placed the phone on her pocket.

“Talking to your boyfriend, huh? Sweet.” He teased.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think I know you.”  Suzy said.

“My name’s Kang Yoseob. I can’t believe you do not know me. Everyone else here knows me, right?” He turned to the other trainees, and all the girls nodded as they all start blushing. He turned to Suzy again, “See? They all know me. Maybe you’re too focused on your boyfriend that’s why you don’t see more handsome guys around you.” He bragged.

“I don’t want to be rude but I really do not talk to people I don’t know. And for your information, I was talking to a friend and I don’t have a boyfriend as well.” She explained and then the last part of her speech made Yoseob smile, so she thought about what she said again and she almost ran away upon recalling what she revealed. ‘Suzy, how stupid can you get? This guy is seriously trying to hit on you and you reveal such things. Aaaish!’ She thought while mentally slapping herself.

“So, no boyfriend huh? Can I apply for the position now? You can interview me when we go to lunch together.” He was obviously inviting her for lunch but she was already annoyed. So with one last glare at the boy, she left and entered the building she can even hear him when he screamed, “Yah! Don’t leave! You haven’t told me your name yet. Miss!”

Yoseob liked her even more because he thinks she was playing hard to get. It’s been a long time since he worked hard to get a girl’s attention. He’s already excited just by thinking about it. He hadn’t had much fun lately and he was anticipating this task by his father was going to be a lot of fun. He should be in no hurry. Of course he knew her name. But he had decided to keep this act. He’ll be a guy who’s fallen in love at first sight. He’ll woo her slowly and capture her heart. Let her lead him to her bed as well as to his cousin, Junho.

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i decided to cut the chapter cause it's way too long... but i still hope you like it.. :D