"What's up Hara?"
"OMG! Are you using that new makeup brand?"
"Your hair looks fantastic today. Love it!"

The girls crowd around me as I walk through the hallways toward the cafeteria. It's been like this every day since middle school. This popularity of mine, that is.

As I turn the corner, I spot him.

He's standing alone, leaning against the wall with his phone in his hand.

I want to smile and say hi, for today I have the confidence knowing that he is alone. 

He could be...

Mine.

I'm grinning now as I approach him. 10 meters away... 9, 8...

And that's when I see.

I see the girls standing next to his side, their arms intertwined with his, glancing at what he is typing into his phone.

I'm so stupid, thinking that'd he be standing there all alone. Girls are always attracted to him.

Always.

I squint and look closer. The two girls today are Hyorin and Yuri.

Ugh.

I quickly turn away, hoping they didn't see me. The crowd of girls following me are unaware, and they keep blabbering on and on about makeup and bad grades and cute guys.

I arrive at the cafeteria, and immediately run off when I see Nicole. She's sitting next to some guy that I don't know the name of, but it doesn't matter.

I plop down in the seat next to her, and she doesn't notice until I tap her on the shoulder.

"Oh Hara, what's up? I heard math is really boring today."

"Yup, it is. It's not as boring as science though. And by the way..." The guy sitting next to her is watching us.

"Hm?"

"Can we walk home together? I have something to tell you..."

"Sure. I'll be happy to listen," and she smiles with twinkles in her eyes before turning to the impatient boy next to her.

I sigh, and stand up to leave the cafeteria.

"Not feeling hungry?"

"Nope."

Thank goodness it's Hoya, for he always makes me feel better at these moments.

"Hey... have you heard about it?" He asks as we walk out the entrance.

"Heard about what?"

"C'mon Hara, you know what I'm talking about."

"Well, yeah of course I've heard about it..."

I'm blushing now, and I try to hide it but Hoya knows. 

"It's great, right? All you have to do now is confess."

"Ha, you make it sound so easy."

"But it is."

"You wouldn't know."

"True."

We laugh, and I wave goodbye to him as he heads outside to play soccer.

I stroll towards the library, feeling more cheerful when I bump into someone.

All of their books, which seems to be a large stack, fall onto the ground and make a loud sound. People walking by don't bother to help, so I bend down and start picking up the books.

When I look up, I recognize her face.

What was her name again?

Ah, Lim Ji Min.

A rather plain girl who's in my class and is one of the few who doesn't wear make up.

She smiles and thanks me as I hand the books to her. I see that the sunlight coming from the window is reflecting on her glasses and hurting her eyes, so I nonchalantly stand to the side, and she smiles once again before walking away, carrying that large pile of books.

I head into the library now, and the librarian smiles at me and I nod back before heading towards the section of the library where all the mystery books are.

Skimming over the many covers with my hands, I look for a book by my favorite author.

And I find one.

It's just that it's on the highest shelf, and there aren't any stools around. 

I quickly inhale, and with all my might, jump up to try and grab it. I do this a couple more times before giving up.

And that's when I feel movement behind me, and someone's arm reaching over my head for the book.

The arm comes back down with the book I wanted, and hands it to me, and I'm about to say thanks, but I hesitate when I notice.

Junhyung is standing behind me. Yong. Jun. Hyung. The Junhyung, the ultimate playboy of our school and my neighbor since ten years ago.

Heat rushes into my cheeks and I lower my head as I say "Thanks", but he's already walking away with his hands in his pockets.

My heart...

It hurts.