Soo Joo woke up that morning feeling tired. Last night she stayed at Sung Hee’s house until it was almost midnight. Sung Hee and her brother had to take her home because her parents were afraid to let her off home alone, although it was only a few blocks away. Myung Soo Oppa didn’t look happy being woken up from his sleep and had to walk two girls who were talking all their way back while he himself tried not to close his eyes and fall asleep in the middle of the road. Sung Hee did him some help, although slapping her older brother’s head from the back couldn’t really considered as ‘help’.

After she reached her room (a little scolded by her Mother) she realized she hadn’t done her Math homework yet. Half asleep, she worked on the homework and it was finally 4 in the morning when she finally finished it. She walked to her bed, crashed head first only to get woken up 3 hours later by her alarm.

She reached for her towel with half lidded eyes and dragged herself to her bathroom. Cold shower woke her up although it didn’t wash away her fatigue.

At breakfast, her Mother was rushing her with some toasts, a glass of milk and some scrambled eggs before she kissed the top of her head and also went to work. She wouldn’t get to see her parents up until 9 or 10 pm that night, or any other night. It was lonely, but she got used to it. That was why she loves spending time in Sung Hee’s noisy but warm house, or waiting for Joong Ki in front of his house, so she would get to meet the boy. Just a glimpse of him would make her happy.

She finished her breakfast, took her backpack and left the house, only to find Sung Hee was waiting in front of her house. Their house was close from the school about twelve blocks away, so it was often that Sung Hee will came to pick Soo Joo up or the other way around. But it wasn’t Sung Hee’s appearance that confused Soo Joo, it was that the girl showed up with a boy on her heels, and it wasn’t the lazy brother.

The boy behind Sung Hee was tall, it was her first impression. Her second impression was that the boy was nice, whether it was the smile he displayed to her, or how his eyes squinted when he smiled or how the sunlight went through his hair and made him kid of glowing. He looked nice.

She looked at Sung Hee confusedly and looked back to the boy, then back to Sung Hee.

“Morning, Soo Joooo!!!” Sung Hee went to hug Soo Joo and almost toppling the latter with her hug.

“Morning,” she answered, tapping Sung Hee’s back so the girl would release her tight hug.

“Good morning,” the boy also greeted her.

Soo Joo bent her head a little. “Good morning,” she answered back.

“Oh, you two don’t know each other, right?” Sung Hee seemed excited. “Soo Joo, this is my giant new neighbor Kim Woo Bin. Woo Bin, this is my petite friend, Park Soo Joo,” she introduced them.

“Petite?” Soo Joo squinted her eyes at the other petite girl.

“Look who’s talking,” Woo Bin mumbled as he shook his head.

“Heey, I’m tall, alright? You two don’t go up ganging on me saying I’m petite,” Sung Hee put her hands on her hips and glared at the two people.

“You two are about the same height,” Woo Bin said flatly.

“Whatever, Kim Sung Hee,” Soo Joo sighed and walked ahead of her, followed by Woo Bin, leaving Sung Hee clicking her tongue then running after them.

It was a short journey to school, the twelve blocks away. Twelve blocks away and Woo Bin had told them that he was born in Seoul but moved to Daegu with his parents when he was 12 years old, which he explained later, was why his accent was not Daegu’s satoori but Seoul’s instead. He was an only child, like Soo Joo. He kept smiling to Soo Joo brightly but Soo Joo found the handsome boy weird. It was weird how a boy you just met kept smiling like he liked you, a lot. So, Soo Joo decided to ignore the thought and the boy.

They reached the school in no time, there was still plenty of time before the class started. They were going to the class when Woo Bin stopped walking.

“I have to go to the office,” he told them.

“Why?” Sung He asked while tilting her head.

“I’m a transfer student, remember?” Woo Bin told her. “I’ll meet you girls later?”

“No, wait! We’ll show you where the office is,” Sung Hee reached Soo Joo’s arm.

Soo Jo held her ground. “Why?” She asked her best friend, she didn’t even know the guy that much. Why was Sung Hee being that nice to stranger all of a sudden?

“It’s okay Sung Hee, I know where the office is,” Woo Bin answered.

Sung Hee sighed. “He’s new here, Soo Joo-yah, let’s just be the nice girls that we are and show him where the office is.”

“But he already knows where the office is. He said so himself,” Soo Joo just didn’t want to walk all the way to south wing because their class was closer than the office, and her head was pounding because the lack of sleep. She just wanted to sit on her desk and probably got 15 more minutes of sleep.

But Sung Hee was the stubborn girl she always has been. Not hearing  Soo Joo, she took her to the office while the other girl mumbling about how far the office was and how was she being unfair. Woo Bin just followed the two girls behind with a chuckle.

After taking Woo Bin to the office, Soo Joo went back to her class followed by Sung Hee. Sung Hee asked her why she was on such a bad mood because it was her who usually being the nice girl. She told her about the homework and the lack of sleep. Sung Hee laughed at her but quite when she shot her the glare.

They reached the class and she quickly put her back on the desk and slouched on her seat for a few moments before crossing her hand on the table and tried to get a rest. But as if heavens declined to hear her wish, Lee Jong Suk came into the class and high fived all the boys in ruckus, like the popular boy he always was.

Rolling her eyes, Soo Joo laid her head on her arms and ignored her surroundings. She could hear Lee Jong Suk approached Sung Hee like he always did every morning.

“Morning, Lee Sung!” He greeted her, and Soo Joo just knew he would flicked the girl’s forehead as a greeting, she just sighed.

“Ouch! Lee Jong Suk! That’s hurt!” Sung Hee screamed at the boy while chuckled and went to his seat two seats away from her. Soo Joo knew, if only he could get a closer seat to Sung Hee, he would.

“Morning Park Soo!” He also greeted her, less enthusiastically, and Soo Joo just raised up a hand in answer. “Hey Park Soo, I saw you last night and you looked pretty! Like a ghost. That white dress makes you look like one. A pretty ghost.”

Soo Joo lift up her head and looked at Jong Suk with her tired eyes.

The boy’s brows rose. “I took back what I said. You look like a ghost now, not last night. Gee, what’s with the bloodshot eyes? Have you been drinking?” Soo Joo put her head back on her desk, trying to mute Lee Jong Suk’s voice down while Sung Hee told him what happened.

 There was a sudden ruckus, and everyone went back to their seat which means the teacher’s coming in. Soo Joo lifted up her head just as the teacher coming, followed by Kim Woo Bin. The girls started to whisper to each other about the new student. A few hit on the board and the whispers tuned down.

“So, Class, as you can see we have a new student. Please introduce yourself,” Mr. Bae, their homeroom teacher called up on Woo Bin.

Woo Bin went on a light bow. “Nice to meet you, I’m Kim Woo Bin. I just moved from Daegu.”

The class clapped and cheering on him. Mr. Bae nodded. “That was good. You can seat on the empty seat behind… uhm,” Mr. Bae scanned the class, Soo Joo doesn’t have to look around to see where the empty seat was. She just sighed. “… behind Park Soo Joo.”

She lifted up her gaze and met the new student’s eyes. There, that weirdly bright smile again.

He walked up to Soo Joo and sat right behind her. “I’m in your care, Soo Joo-ssi.” Soo Joo just wished her day to quickly over so she could meet Joong Ki and probably that throbbing in her head could be at ease.