Soo Yeon entered the classroom the next morning and saw Eli waiting by the door.

            “Good morning, Soo Yeon,” he greeted in flawless English. His face brightened.

            She smiled. “Good morning. Have you practiced your Korean?”

            Eli looked up at the ceiling. “No, not really. I’m sorry.”

            Soo Yeon chuckled. “I’m not going to drill you—not yet. Don’t worry.”

            He smiled, then frowned. He looked away awkwardly. “If you’re free later, would you—um—like to grab a snack with me? I really want to practice the language a little bit more.” He looked back at her with a shy smile.

            Her face dropped and she stared at him. Did Kim Eli just ask me out? No. Noooo, it can’t be. Didn’t you hear him? He wants to practice his Korean. Don’t hallucinate, Soo Yeon. She gulped and managed a smile. “That’s great, Eli. I’ll see you at the campus gate after last period.”

            Eli nodded and shuffled to his seat.

            Soo Yeon approached her seat and noticed Yo Seob staring at her. Luna and AJ turned their attention to her.

            “What were you and Eli talking about?” Luna asked.

            “About his Korean lessons. He wants to—”

            “This is Korea,” Yo Seob interrupted through gritted teeth. “You speak Korean, not English.”

            Soo Yeon glared at him. “Well, excuse me for wanting to make a guy feel welcome. Why do you think he’s taking lessons? And why were you eavesdropping on our conversation?”

            “Hey, hey,” AJ tried to say, “Stop arguing.”

            “With a voice as loud as yours, it wasn’t hard to hear from across the room!” Yo Seob snapped.

            “Then if you heard that much, you should know that I’m going out with Eli after school today!” she yelled.

            His jaw dropped and he fell silent. Soo Yeon looked around and found everyone staring at her. She caught Eli’s gaze, and her heart pounded as he looked at her with worry.

            She sighed as she held her head in her hands.

            At the ring of the bell, everyone stood up and started filing out of the room. As Soo Yeon stood up, someone put a hand on her shoulder and spoke, “Soo Yeon, I’m sorry. I didn’t—”

            “Yang Yo Seob,” she said softly and dangerously and shrugged the hand off. “Don’t talk to me ever again.” Without turning to look at him, she picked up her bag and walked away.

            Eli stood in the hallway, waiting for her. Once she stepped out of the classroom, he came up to her.

            “Soo Yeon,” he said sadly.

            She raised the corners of her lips into a fake smile. “Yes, Eli?”

            “I’m sorry.” He looked down at her feet.

            Her heart sank and she kept silent.

            “That was my fault, wasn’t it?”

            “You mean what happened a while ago?” She gave a flat chuckle. “No, it wasn’t your fault. Yo Seob was being a jerk.”

            He looked up at her with the same worried expression he had earlier. “Are you,” he paused to clear his throat, “Are you still okay to come this afternoon? I still want to spend some time together.”

            Soo Yeon brightened a little. “Yes, yes. Of course.”

            He smiled. “Thank you. I’ll see you later.”

            She smiled back and watched him turn away and leave.

            “What was that about?” Luna interrogated her when she arrived at her locker.

            She sighed. “Which part? There have been a lot this morning?”

            “Yo Seob. Eli. Everything.”

            Soo Yeon explained to her. About Eli asking her to have a snack with him after school. About Yo Seob never minding his own business and always butting into hers. About telling Yo Seob to back off. About Eli thinking that it was his fault but was still willing to follow through with the after-school snack.

            “Was I that loud?” Soo Yeon asked.

            Luna nodded, an apologetic expression on her face.

            She hung her head low in misery.

            “But Yo Seob must have been pretty hurt.”

            “Who cares about him?”

            “I mean, you said something that finally shut him up. That must have been painful for him—enough to keep him quiet.”

            They closed their lockers and walked to their next class.

            “Yeah,” she whispered. “It must have…” Her heart felt heavier, her head was spinning, and her eyes were welling up with tears.

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a/n: Fail chapter, in my opinion :| Lol, I hope the next ones are better :)