"HAVE YOU heard about him?" Lee Sunny asked Seo Juhyun in an excited voice while they are picking up their things out from their lockers in their school hallway.

 

 

 

"Him? Who's him?" Seohyun asked back, uninterested.

 

 

 

"Duh! The new student, who else? He is a transferee. And he still is yet to show himself." Sunny replied, rolling her eyes at her friend's obliviousness.

 

 

 

"Psh. You know our Juhyun, she never cared about anything boys." Said Cho Kyuhyun as he put his arm around Juhyun's shoulder. Juhyun playfully nudged him in his ribs.

 

 

 

"There's an exemption, you know? Of course I care about my dad." Juhyun defended herself.

 

 

 

"Ahem!"

 

 

 

"Fine. I care about you, too, Kyuhyuniee." She added, ruffling the taller boy's hair while he grinned smugly at her.

 

 

 

"They say the newbie is handsome!" Kwon Yuri butted in their little circle.

 

 

 

"Yes! A hottie!" Im Yoona added while clapping dreamily.

 

 

 

"You can move over now, Kyuhyun. There's a new hearthrob in SM High." Kim Hyoyeon .

 

 

 

"C'mon, guys. I'm totally doubting that. Right, Juhyuniee?" He said, looking for assurance at his best friend, who just shrugged.

 

 

 

The bell rang, and the friends dispersed to their respected classes. Only Juhyun and Kyuhyun shares the same class because in SMH, there's a special class for honor students. Only twenty students with top grade averages can be part of the class they preferred to call Star Class, or just SC. Juhyun is the topmost student not just in SC but also all over their school, while Kyuhyun seconded her. Ironically though, the top two are not rivals like what the other students think, but they are actually best friends ever since kindergarten. On the other hand, some thinks they have a relationship because they are always together, but that's not what it really is. They have other friends too, like those girls who have been with them at the lockers. They are Sunny, Yuri, Yoona, Hyoyeon, and the missing Choi Sooyoung, who is always late in first period. Kyuhyun also have another set of friends, Ryeowook, Yesung, Heechul, Sungmin, and Donghae. But Kyuhyun and Seohyun are just inseparable.

 

 

 

The two took their seats next to each other as their classmates walked in their room.

 

 

 

"Good morning, Juhyun and Kyuhyun!" Tiffany, Jessica, and Taeyeon, greeted the two.

 

 

 

"Good morning, too!"

 

 

 

"Hi girls!" Said Kyuhyun who chatted with Taeyeon, the top 5 of SC, about last night's rerun episode of Dragon Ball Z immediately.

 

 

 

"So, Juhyun, I just want to say that I proclaimed the dibs on the transferee student, okay?" Jessica winked playfully at her while Tiffany laughed.

 

 

 

The two girls are the top 3 and 4 of SC, and they are also considered as the Boy Magnets of SM High. They are the dream girls of the boys. Pretty much every hot SMH boys already dated them, but they never had a real and long-lasting relationship with any of them. And the boys seemed not to mind it because they keep on asking them out.

 

 

 

"As if Juhyun is interested in him." Tiffany said, rolling her eyes playfully.

 

 

 

"Right. All yours, Jessica." Juhyun smiled.

 

 

 

"Oh, dear Seo Ju Hyun, when will you ever be interested in the opposite species?" Jessica asked while shaking her head.

 

 

 

"Hmm. Maybe when I finally ate hamburger."

 

 

 

The two laughed at Juhyun's answer. Knowing Juhyun, it wouldn't be sooner. She hates hamburger. She also once said that when you eat a burger, you'll die. Weird, but that's Juhyun.

 

 

 

Their English teacher, Ms. BoA, came in and class finally started. By the time it ended, and they are waiting for their Math teacher, Juhyun felt the need to go to the comfort room. 'Ugh. So much for morning milk teas.' She thought.

 

 

 

"Where are you going?" Kyuhyun asked her when she stood up.

 

 

 

"Girls' room."

 

 

 

"But Sir Kangta is coming."

 

 

 

"Just tell him where I went." And she went out of their room, leaving Kyuhyun shrugging to himself and went back to reviewing their math lesson in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

AS JUHYUN walked her way to the Girls' room, a boy looking down on what seemed like a school map almost bumped to her. She rolled her eyes.

 

 

 

"Watch where you're going." She said almost irritably.

 

 

 

"Oh. I'm sorry. I was just--" The boy looked up at her and immediately stopped when he saw her blank stare. Juhyun then ignored him and continued walking pass him.

 

 

 

"Uhm. Excuse me? Miss!" He called.

 

 

 

"Yes?" Oh come on, she needs to go to the girls' room already!

 

 

 

"Uhm.." The boy scratched his head while smiling shyly at her. Juhyun just raised her eyebrow at him. "Uhh. Can you show me the way to this room? Please? I'm.. Uhh.. New here."

 

 

 

She sighed. Obviously, he is the transferee they've been talking about. Well, he is good-looking, handsome even, like Kyuhyun. But still, he is just another guy.

 

 

 

"Follow me." She said without emotion and turned to her heels. She heard the boy following her.

 

 

 

"Thank you!" He tried smiling at her but she immediately turned her back on him. 'Isn't she a snob?' He thought.

 

 

 

 

"Uhm. I'm Jung Yong Hwa, by the way. From Gangnam High. Uhm. What's your name--" He stopped talking when Juhyun halted abruptly.

 

 

 

"G-girls' room?" He asked incredulously.

 

 

 

She looked at him. "Wait here." And then she went in.

 

 

 

And wait he did. He waited for a couple of minutes outside the girls' room, looking at the school map the registrar officer gave to him, but all the while he's been thinking about the girl's face. She's pretty, cute even. She also looked innocent and kind. But there's something off about the way she acts toward him. As if she doesn't want what she's doing. Oh well, might as well be thankful.

 

 

 

After a few more minutes, she went out of the room and looked at him.

 

 

 

"So.. Let's go?" He asked.

 

 

 

"What's your schedule?" He handed her his schedule. She looked at it, and her eyes slightly widened. She looked at him, and back to his schedule, and then back to him.

 

 

 

"Your schedule says you have the same schedule and room as mine. We have the same class." Juhyun murmured.

 

 

 

This made Yonghwa smile. "Is that so? That's great! At least I already have a friend so I won't be a loner anymore."

 

 

 

"Who says we're friends?" Juhyun asked, and then she handed his schedule back and started walking back to the class. She's already late for Math.

 

 

 

"But.." Yonghwa started to say, but then she walked away and he doesn't have much choices so he followed her like a lost puppy. 'Is she a guy hater or something?' He thought to himself again.

 

 

 

"Hey, wait up!" He shouted but Juhyun pretended not to hear it.

 

 

 

'Wow. Same class?' She thought. That makes them 21 inside SC, and he is a transferee. Is he that smart to immediately belong in her class? Whatever. He annoys her anyway so might as well treat him the way she treats other boys aside from her friends. Treat him in a cold way.

 

 

 

"Miss Seo, where have you been?" Asked Mr. Kangta who already started the class about quadratic formula.

 

 

 

She bowed politely. "I'm sorry. I went--" She was stopped by the gasps from her girl classmates and when she looked behind her, the transferee is standing by the door.

 

 

 

"Are you Jung Yong Hwa?" The teacher asked, completely forgetting about Juhyun. She just went back to her seat and opened her book. Kyuhyun looked at her.

 

 

 

"What took you so long?" He asked.

 

 

 

"Interruption." And then she looked at the boy who is now standing awkwardly in front of the class before glancing down at her book.

 

 

 

"Please introduce yourself." Mr. Kangta urged him.

 

 

 

The boy bowed down. "Hello everybody. I'm Jung Yong Hwa, from Gangnam High School. I hope you'll be nice to me. Thank you." He looked at Juhyun who's sitting in front but she looked uninterested and she just keeps reading her Math textbook.

 

 

 

"You can sit at the back for now and try to keep up with the class for a while." Said the teacher. Yonghwa nodded and walked at the back. But not before stopping in front of Juhyun's seat and saying 'Thank you for your help.' and smiling at her, which was ignored by her again.

 

 

 

"Oh my gosh! Did you went looking for him outside?" Jessica asked from behind. Kyuhyun is also looking curiously at her.

 

 

 

"No." She answered shortly.

 

 

 

Oh, please. She did not want this.

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

THE LESSONS continued and after fourth period, lunch break came. Juhyun and Kyuhyun sat at their usual seats at a long table with their all friends.

 

 

 

"Hey Kyuhyun, I heard the transfer student is from your class." Said Donghae.

 

 

 

"Yeah. He is." Kyuhyun answered.

 

 

 

"Is that true, Juhyun?" Yoona asked to which Juhyun nodded.

 

 

 

 

"Wow! Cool! So is he really handsome?" Juhyun just stared blankly at Sooyoung.

 

 

 

"C'mon. As if Juhyun pays attention to boys." Said Yuri.

 

 

 

"He's here!" Hyoyeon exclaimed all of a sudden.

 

 

 

"Oh! It's him, huh? He's cute!!" Sunny said in her aegyo voice which made the boys in their table threw annoyed looks at her and Sungmin throwing a crumpled tissue at her.

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

JUNG YONGHWA walked inside the cafeteria, expecting the stares from his new schoolmates. What can he do? He is new here. He just kept on looking down until he got his tray of food and searched for a table. He spotted her in the middle of the room, sitting in a long table. So she is not exactly allergic to boys like he thought since she is sitting with six boys aside from the girls. She is even talking with the boy sitting beside her. The boy is from his new class, he is sure, and also the one sitting beside her in their room. Yonghwa immediately looked away when he saw that all of them in her table is looking at him, besides her, of course, so he started to search for a table again. There seemed to be no vacancies. He reached the far corner of the lunch room, and in a round table, he saw three guys eating together. He decided to take the chance since the table has extra seats.

 

 

 

"Excuse me, can I sit here? There's no other table anywhere." He asked. The three looked at each other before they looked at him.

 

 

 

Then one guy answered. "Sure, man."

 

 

 

"Thank you." He put his tray and started eating.

 

 

 

"You're the transfer student, correct?" The boy in a pony tail asked.

 

 

 

"Yes. I'm Jung Yong Hwa." He intriduced himself.

 

 

 

"Lee Jong Hyun, man."

 

 

 

"I'm Kang Min Hyuk. Annyeong hasaeyo."

 

 

 

"Lee Jung Shin." The guy with the ponytail said.

 

 

 

"Are you guys in a band?" Yonghwa suddenly asked them, noticing the guitars from Jonghyun and Jungshin and a pair of drumsticks at Mihyuk's side.

 

 

 

"Sort of." Minhyuk said.

 

 

 

"Sort of?" Yonghwa asked again.

 

 

 

"Yeah. We need another member. We don't have a lead guitarist and vocalist. I can actually do both, but then no one will play Rhythm, so.." Jonghyun trailed off by shrugging.

 

 

 

"Do you play?" Jungshin asked.

 

 

 

"Yes, a little."

 

 

 

"What instrument?" Minhyuk inquired.

 

 

 

"Uhh. Guitar, Clarinet, Beatbox, Piano, Drums, Synthesizer. A bit of vocals, too." Yonghwa smiled, but in a humble way.

 

 

 

The three widened their eyes. They looked at each other, and then to Yonghwa, and back again at each other before nodding.

 

 

 

"Man, you're perfect!" Minhyuk exclaimed.

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

"I mean, dude, you totally should join us!" Minhyuk said excitedly.

 

 

 

"But.. I.."

 

 

 

"Yes, Yonghwa, join our band!" Jungshin added.

 

 

 

"You can be the lead guitarist AND the vocalist!" Jonghyun said.

 

 

 

"Wait--"

 

 

 

"Yeah.. With your popularity, we can immediately gain attention!" Jonghyun cannot contain his excitement.

 

 

 

"Popularity?" Yonghwa's jaw almost dropped at the word.

 

 

 

"Don't you know? You are quite popular with the girls even before you arrived here." Jungshin explained.

 

 

 

"Me? Popular? Seriously?" He still can't believed what he is hearing right now. Does that explain the gasps he received from the girls in his class? All the girls exclaimed when he arrived. Well, excluding HER, of course.

 

 

 

"So what do you say? Join us, man." Jonghyun urged.

 

 

 

"Uhm." He looked at the table where she sits, and he saw her playing around with that boy again. "Okay. Yeah, why not give it a try?"

 

 

 

"Yosh!" The three high-fived with each other.

 

 

 

"Your popularity will heightened even more, and we will finally be able to join the Battle of the Bands this year." Minhyuk said.

 

 

 

"And girls will notice you even more!" Jungshin agreed with a broad grin.

 

 

 

'I doubt she'll notice, though.' Yonghwa thought sadly.

 

 

 

"Hey guys.."

 

 

 

"Yeah?"

 

 

 

He hesitated. "Uhm. What's her name?" He gestured to her.

 

 

 

"Oh. Seo Ju Hyun? The girl beside Kyuhyun?" Asked Minhyuk.

 

 

 

"Yeah, I guess that's her."

 

 

 

Jonghyun smirked. "Don't even bother, man. There's no point in trying."

 

 

 

"No.. I don't mean that--" Yonghwa started to defend himself when he got interrupted.

 

 

 

"Come on, dude. It's obvious. You fell for the top student's charms. You're blushing!" And then Jungshin laughed.

 

 

 

"But seriously, Yonghwa. Don't waste your time. Juhyun doesn't care about boys. She's sort of averse to us. Well, aside from those who are sitting with her right now." Jonghyun said.

 

 

 

"Averse?"

 

 

 

"Yeah. Like allergic or something. A lot of boys tried courting her, but she's just so cold no one can break into the walls she built to blocked the guys. She only talks to her guy friends and unless when it's necessary. I don't know what's wrong with her. Waste. She's pretty." Minhyuk added.

 

 

 

"So the guy beside her, he isn't her boyfriend?" Yonghwa asked.

 

 

 

"Nah. Best friend since like forever."

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

"You like her, don't you?" Asked Jungshin.

 

 

 

"Uhm. Not really.."

 

 

 

And they all laughed at him.

 

 

 

"Are you always like that when you lie? You blush?" Jonghyun pointed to Yonghwa's red face.

 

 

 

"NO!"

 

 

 

"Yeah right.."

 

 

 

"Really.. No."

 

 

 

"Whatever you say, man, whatever you say." And they continued chatting as if they are close friends already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

SCHOOL'S FINALLY over and students started filing out of the campus.

 

 

 

"Hey Juhyunnie, I won't be able to walk home with you. Something came up in the club so I have to fix it. Go home with the girls." Kyuhyun said in a shy manner as he approached Juhyun in their lockers. She playfully glared at Kyuhyun and pushed him gently away.

 

 

 

"Yah, you could have said earlier, you know? They already left, so now I have to walk home alone."

 

 

 

"What? No! Why don't you just wait for me so we could go home together? I promise I'll be quick!"

 

 

 

"Nah. I'll be fine, Kyuhyunnie."

 

 

 

"Are you sure?" Asked Kyuhyun, worry written all over his face.

 

 

 

"Yes. I'm not a child anymore."

 

 

 

"Fine. Just take care, okay? And I'm sorry. I promise we'll go home tomorrow together." Kyuhyun said, raising his right hand to prove his sincerity.

 

 

 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go now."

 

 

 

"Okay. Bye."

 

 

 

"Bye." She waved at him and left the hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

YONGHWA SAW Seo Ju Hyun walking all alone in the now deserted school grounds, and he is fast to approach her.

 

 

 

"Hey." He huffed when he finally get to her side. As expected, she just glanced at him and continued walking.

 

 

 

He put his hand on his nape. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me earlier."

 

 

 

"You already said that. Earlier." She said without emotions and while staring ahead of her.

 

 

 

"Yeah. I just want to say it again. Thank you for helping me, Seohyun."

 

 

 

She looked at him again, her eyes ice-cold. Yonghwa was taken aback when she looked directly into his eyes. "My name is Juhyun. Not Seohyun."

 

 

 

But he just smiled, keeping himself unfazed by her coldness. "Oh. I know. I just want to call you that."

 

 

 

"Don't."

 

 

 

"Seohyun." He said again, his smile mischievous.

 

 

 

Juhyun exhaled deeply through her nose, a bad sign that she is mad. "Seo is my surname. Ju Hyun is my first name. Is that hard to understand?" She said through gritted teeth.

 

 

 

"Not really. I just like Seohyun better."

 

 

 

Juhyun rolled her eyes and walked faster. After a block of walking, she looked behind her, only to found out that the annoying boy is still walking behind her. She stopped.

 

 

 

"Why are you following me?" She asked.

 

 

 

"Oh. I'm not." He smiled.

 

 

 

"Ugh. Seriously?"

 

 

 

"Yeah. Seriously. This is also the way to my house."

 

 

 

She heaved out a sigh and continued walking. Two blocks. Two more blocks and she's finally home. Ugh. Screw Kyuhyun and his music club!

 

 

 

At last, she turned to their streets, but Yonghwa is still following her.

 

 

 

"You are so annoying, you know that?" She said, her voice sounded frustrated.

 

 

 

"What did I do?" Yonghwa asked innocently.

 

 

 

"Tss."

 

 

 

When she reached her house's gate, she was stunned to see him opening the gate of the house beside theirs.

 

 

 

"You live there?!" She exclaimed.

 

 

 

"Uhh. Yeah?" He shrugged.

 

 

 

"Oh crap." She mumbled to herself.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER FINISHING up all her  

assignments, Juhyun decided to sit in her favorite place in her room, the balcony. Her balcony has a lot of plants, but for some unknown reasons, no flowers. She reckons that she doesn't have a green thumb to make flowers bloom. There's also a swing for two people.

 

 

 

She grabbed her book and her cup of milk tea, and also her iPod and headed in her happy place. The only bad side this place is that it doesn't have a nice view or anything, because it's facing the side of the house next to hers. She's okay with it though. Since it's been a while since a family lived there.

 

 

 

But then she remembered that her new classmate and surely his family moved in there. She just hoped and prayed that he doesn't occupy the room adjacent to hers. She stucked her earplugs and played some random ballad song and opened her book to start reading. From time to time, she would sip in her milk tea and nod her head to the music.

 

 

 

She was so engrossed in her book that she didn't noticed the sliding door of the veranda of the room in front of her opened, until the person who walked out of the room called her. The person called her exactly when the music ended so she heard it clearly.

 

 

 

"Hello, neighbor!"

 

 

 

She looked up, and she shrieked at what she saw.

 

 

 

"Woah! What?" Yonghwa asked.

 

 

 

"!" Juhyun shouted right before she threw her book at him which hit him in the face, since her veranda is only two and a half meters away from his.

 

 

 

"Aww! What was that for?" He complained.

 

 

 

Juhyun glared at him and just stormed inside her room, loudly closing the glass door of her veranda and drawing her curtains down. She looked at her mirror, and her reflection showed how red her face is.

 

 

 

How could he? Ugh! It's embarrassing, seeing him half-, clad only in a towel like that, droplets of water dripping down from his hair to his well-toned chest, to his six-pack abs, he looked so hot-- AISSHH SEO JU HYUN! QUIT IT! She chided herself.

 

 

 

She flopped down on her bed, breathing deeply to calm herself. She was just thinking about him not being in that room, and poof! There he goes!

 

 

 

Couldn't that guy be more annoying? First, he called her Seohyun, which she hated so much. Second, he is her new neighbor. Third, her room is adjacent to his room. And Fourth, and the worst of all, he came out flaunting his hot and gorgeous body in front of her. Wait, did she just say hot and gorgeous?

 

 

 

"Oh my God, Juhyun! Get a grip! So gross! Ugh! Eww! Yuck! Kyaaaaaaa~ Keroro, help me out!" She shouted while hugging her favorite big Keroro stuffed toy that Kyuhyun gave to her in freshman year. It's been four years since then. It's been four years since somebody called her Seohyun. And four long and agonizing years since he left--

 

 

 

'Don't even think about it, Juhyun.' Her subconcious warned her.

 

 

 

"UGH! I hate him!!" She shouted, not sure if she's pertaining to her new classmate slash neighbor or the man who left her four years ago, and then she sighed. A few moments later her breathing became even, a sign that she fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

YONGHWA has no possible idea on why Seohyun reacted like that. He did not mean to startle her by calling her on their veranda. He was even surprised when after he took a bath and went out of his own balcony that he saw Seohyun sitting across and just chilling out. She looked so beautiful and relaxed that time so he called her even before thinking about it. And then she shrieked like he did something horrible to her. But then again, he called her attention while he was wrapped in his bath towel and was still dripping water. To think that the girl is allergic to him and is considered the biggest man-hater in their campus. So stupid of him.

 

 

 

He feels weird whenever he sees her, though. As if the more she becomes evasive of him, the more he wants to push himself to her. She sure does avoid boys, as what he had observed during his first day at his school. Yes, he didn't do anything but watch every move of Seo Ju Hyun. She really is sweet and nice to everybody, well at least everybody who doesn't belong to her opposite , with a great exemption of her teachers and guy pals, especially her best friend. Having said that, there is something fishy with that Cho Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun watches her like a hawk, like there is some sort of claim he has for her. It's odd, but Yonghwa thinks Kyuhyun is into his bestfriend. It's not impossible, though, since they have been best friends for a long time. If Yonghwa already fell for her charms just within eight hours, what more for Kyuhyun who spent half of his life with her.

 

 

 

'Wait a minute. Stop right there.' Yonghwa said to himself.

 

 

 

Did he just thought that he fell for Seo Ju Hyun's charms?

 

 

 

"Oh no. No. No no no. Ha! Hahahahaha! No way in hell. Psh." He said to himself as he turned his laptop on to play Starcraft and to go online as well.

 

 

 

He managed to forget his Juhyun issues while playing for an hour. Once he is done, he checked his Facebook account, and that's when Seo Juhyun comes crashing in his mind again. He wondered if she has an account. She isn't some sort of a hillbilly, is she? Surely no, since she has an iPod and a very expensive Beats earplugs.

 

 

He searched her name and found some several accounts with the same name. He tried to look for her picture but there are no accounts that could possibly be her. But there is one account that he guessed could be her. Although it would be kind of funny if it turns out to be her, since the display picture shows a Sergeant Keroro, but the information says she's from SM High. He decided to check the profile.

 

 

 

Ha! It is her! It's not in private so he was able to see all her pictures, mostly from tags. All her profile pictures are either Keroro or Johnny Depp. He also saw an album with only Seohyun and Kyuhyun's photos in it. Yonghwa hadn't realized that he was saving her pictures in his laptop until a chatbox popped on his screen. Oh crap! He even created a separate folder for her! Woah, is he turning into a stalker now? But he is good-looking, and they say stalkers are the ugly ones and the good-looking ones are called admirers. So yeah, he is an admirer.

 

 

 

Anyway, the message was from Lee Jong Hyun.

 

 

 

(Hey man, are you Jung Yong Hwa of SMH's SC?)

 

 

 

He replied:

 

 

 

(Yeah it's me.)

 

 

 

(Cool. Just making sure.)

 

 

 

 

And then a friend request from Jonghyun was sent to him, to which he immediately responded. A few minutes later Minhyuk and Jungshin also sent to him. And then the four of them were chatting about a possible studio practice tomorrow. Yonghwa suggested that they have their practice at his house since they have a music room and the three agreed.

 

 

 

Yonghwa is comtemplating on whether he will add Seohyun on Facebook or not. Besides, she might not accept. But he decided to sent a request.

 

 

 

He waited for fifteen minutes, and then a notification says the request has been ignored.

 

 

 

"I knew it." He sighed to himself before logging out and turning off his laptop. He peeked on his glass door on his veranda to see if Seohyun is there, but she's not and her curtains were down, though her room is brightly lit. He sighed again.

 

 

 

"Oh well. I'll see her tomorrow." He murmured to himself before flopping down on his bed.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

"ARE YOU sure we can practice in your house?" Jonghyun asked Yonghwa while waiting in their lockers for the first bell to ring the next morning.

 

 

 

He nodded. "I'm all alone in my house anyway. They all go home at late night."

 

 

 

"Cool. We can practice longer." Jungshin said.

 

 

 

"There'll be snacks right?" Minhyuk asked all innocently.

 

 

 

The three laughed. "Sure, Minhyuk. Free snacks." Yonghwa assured.

 

 

 

Just then an all alone Seo Juhyun walked past them and when he saw her, he greeted her.

 

 

 

"Good morning, neighbor!" He said cheerfully, giving her a toothed smile.

 

 

 

Juhyun stopped in the middle of her track at the sound of his annoying voice. And when she looked at him, she remembered the veranda incident yesterday and she felt herself blushed, so she just glared at him and rolled her eyes before stomping to her locker again.

 

 

 

Minhyuk let out a whistle. "You're charisma has been ignored. Please try again later." He teased in a robotic voice to Yonghwa, who kept his eyes on the girl.

 

 

 

"Told 'ya she's allergic." Jonghyun smirked.

 

 

 

"And you don't stand a chance, even if how popular you are." Jungshin added.

 

 

 

Fine. Yonghwa decided. Forget what he said to himself. He likes her. He has to admit it to himself. Yonghwa stared at Juhyun for a while before saying in a determined voice, "She'll notice me. Soon."

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCHOOL WENT in a blur, and Juhyun and Kyuhyun walked to the Student Council's room for a meeting to the upcoming School Festival. She is the council's secretary, while Kyuhyun is the president and Taeyeon is the vice president. All the officers belong to SC so they are all close to each other.

 

 

 

"So guys, you are all aware of the agenda for today's meeting, right?" Kyuhyun started.

 

 

 

They all nodded while Tiffany, the council's Public Relations Officer exclaimed, "Of course! School Festival! Yeeey!"

 

 

 

"Okay, okay, I know you are all excited, especially you Tiffany, since for most of us here, it will be our last school festival. So I want everyone to cooperate and do our best to have another successful and memorable event." Kyuhyun said.

 

 

 

"Now, we'll talk first about our theme. Last year's theme was Japanese Cosplay, which was suggested, of course, by yours truly." Taeyeon winked which made everyone in the room laugh. "So now, the table is now open for suggestion for the festival's concert. Anyone?"

 

 

 

Juhyun raised her hand fast. "SERGEANT KERORO!" And they all groaned.

 

 

 

 

"Aww, Juhyuniee, not again. You suggested that one for three years already. We told you, no one will appreciate it as much as you do." Kyuhyun patted his best friend's head.

 

 

 

Juhyun pouted. "There's no harm in trying."

 

 

 

"How about.. KPOP!" Jessica suggested.

 

 

 

"Okay, and why should we have Kpop this year?" Taeyeon asked.

 

 

 

 

"Well, obviously, Kpop is very hot right now. And I know lots of students are into it. Besides, it's easy to think about possible booths for it--"

 

 

 

"But--" Kyuhyun tried to interrupt but Jessica's fast.

 

 

 

"AND I have another reason as to why I am suggesting this." Jessica continued.

 

 

 

 

"What?"

 

 

 

Jessica smiled proudly. "My dad's brother, well, my uncle is.. The manager of EXO!"

 

 

 

They went silent while Tiffany stood up and let out a loud gasp.

 

 

 

"Is that true, Jessy?!" She asked.

 

 

 

"Yes, Tiff."

 

 

 

"OMG! How come you didn't tell me?!"

 

 

 

"Because it never came up?"

 

 

 

"Oh my God! Let's do this Kpop thingy, Prez!" Tiffany yelled at Kyuhyun.

 

 

 

"Wait wait wait. Will you enlighten me more on why we should do this?" Kyuhyun said.

 

 

 

"Duh!" Tiffany rolled her eyes.

 

 

 

"Well, I can ask my uncle to invite EXO to perform here by the end of the festival. Come to think of it, if a Kpop group as famous as them comes to our school to perform, a lot of students from other schools will come to our festival to watch. That means more income. And a lot of middle schoolers will be interested to enroll here next school year."

 

 

 

"We should totally do this, prez!" Tiffany pleaded. "Like hello! I can finally see my Luhan up close! Dibs on the interview! I'm the P.R.O. anyway! OMG! OMG!" Tiffany started fangirling on the spot.

 

 

 

Kyuhyun sighed. "Fine. Let's do this." He looked at Juhyun. "And Juhyuniee, stop pouting already. Keroro will never be approved."

 

 

 

"Aissh~ jjinja!" Juhyun complained.

 

 

 

"So I want you to work on teams to divide the works. We need to assign a booth per section and we need to create a program. Of course, at the last day, we will have the annual Battle of the Bands--"

 

 

 

"And EXO!" Tiffany reminded.

 

 

 

"Okay Tiffany, and EXO, who will be performing for the finale. Hey, Jessica. Are you sure about them, though?" Kyuhyun asked.

 

 

 

"Affirmative."

 

 

 

Kyuhyun nodded. "So I want you to work on that. Juhyuniee, please divide the tasks for us."

 

 

 

"Okay."

 

 

 

For three hours, they busied themselves planning and preparing for the festival which will happen in three weeks time.

 

 

 

After that, Juhyun and Kyuhyun walked home together.

 

 

 

"Do you want to eat dinner at home?" Kyuhyun asked halfway along their walk.

 

 

 

"I'll pass today, Kyuhyunnie. I have to do something else."

 

 

 

Kyuhyun cannot hide his disappointment. "Oh. Okay then. Maybe next time?"

 

 

 

"Sure."

 

 

 

They're now in front of Juhyun's house, and the two were surprised (Kyuhyun was more surprised) when they saw Yonghwa and three of his friends went out of the next house's gate. Yonghwa waved at them, or more like waved at Juhyun. Kyuhyun looked at her.

 

 

 

"He lives next door?" She just shrugged.

 

 

 

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her again.

 

 

 

She scowled. "I forgot? And why would I, anyway?"

 

 

 

"Just because.."

 

 

 

"I'm going in now." Juhyun announced.

 

 

 

"Okay.."

 

 

 

"Bye Kyuhyuniee, see you tomorrow." She smiled at him.

 

 

 

 

He cannot help but smile in spite of himself. Juhyun's smile is infectious. "Sure. Bye Juhyuniee."

 

 

 

 

Kyuhyun walked home feeling annoyed and frustrated towards Yonghwa. He isn't sure why, though.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I WANT everyone to listen to what I'm going to announce." Ms. BoA started after she finished checking SC's attendance. "You'll have two book review for this quarter."

 

 

 

 

The class groaned at the announcement. One book review is bad. Two book reviews.. Now that's a different thing. A total burden.

 

 

 

 

"Now, now.. Before you complain.. Listen first. You'll do it by partner." And then everyone cheered. Well, everyone except Juhyun, who kept herself poised.

 

 

 

 

"Yosh! Juhyuniee~ let's be partners, okay?" Kyuhyun said while leaning on her table.

 

 

 

 

She just shrugged. "Sure."

 

 

 

 

"Hep! Before you celebrate.. I got to say that you won't have a freewill in choosing your partners." Ms. BoA continued.

 

 

 

"What??" Tiffany, Jessica, Kyuhyun and others exclaimed.

 

 

 

 

"Yes, yes. We will have a draw lot! This is so exciting! Okay.. We'll start now."

 

 

 

 

Everyone took turns on picking a piece of paper where each of their names are written.

 

 

 

 

"Ugh! Hwang Tiffany!" Kyuhyun announced after he picked his paper.

 

 

 

 

"Yah! Don't complain! I'm good at English, you know?" Tiffany said as she flipped her hair.

 

 

 

 

"Psh. Guess I got to put up with her." He whispered to Juhyun which made the girl giggle.

 

 

 

 

"Jessica-yah! We're partners! Jjang!" Taeyeon said happily.

 

 

 

 

"Yeeeeey!! Let's eat at your house later Taengoo-yah!" Jessica said while clapping her hands.

 

 

 

 

And then it's Yonghwa's turn. After peeking on his picked paper, he broadly smiled and showed it to their teacher.

 

 

 

"Seo Ju Hyun." He smilingly said while looking at Juhyun, who dropped her jaw in shock.

 

 

 

"Woah! What?? Can't we just switch partners, seonsaengnim?" Kyuhyun said at the teacher.

 

 

 

 

"Oh! One last rule. No switching of partners." Ms. BoA said.

 

 

 

 

And then Juhyun slumped her head down on her desk with a quiet groan.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

"THIS IS the most horrible thing I've ever encountered in my entire productive stay at this school!" Juhyun complained at her friends during lunch.

 

 

 

 

"Aww. C'mon, Juhyun, it wasn't so bad!" Yoona said.

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. Plus, I think he's smart enough for your standards, so why complain?" Yuri mumbled over her bubble tea.

 

 

 

 

"Besides, he's handsome. I'm totally drooling over him right now!" Said Sunkyu dreamily (rather aegyoly? If that's even a word) while looking over at Yonghwa's lunch table.

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. He looks yummy!" Sooyoung squealed before taking a large bite of hamburger, making Juhyun look at her in disgust.

 

 

 

 

"Other than that.. He looks like a good boy, Juhyun. I think he's harmless." Hyoyeon added.

 

 

 

 

"But.. I.. He's just.. Ugh. I really don't like him." Juhyun murmured.

 

 

 

 

"Stop it, girls. Let's not push Juhyuniee to him. Why not let Juhyun do what she wanted to do?" Kyuhyun argued, and Juhyun threw a grateful glance at him.

 

 

 

 

"So what will you do now, Juhyun?" asked Donghae.

 

 

 

 

Juhyun smiled. "Well.."

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

 

 

"SEOHYUN! Hey, Seohyun, wait up!" Yonghwa shouted after her as he ran out of the hallway to catch up. The girl just kept on walking as if she doesn't hear a thing. "Seohyun!" Yonghwa huffed when he finally ran by her side. "Are you on earphones or something? I've been calling your name the whole time."

 

 

 

 

She barely glanced at the boy. "Really?"

 

 

 

 

"Yes."

 

 

 

 

"What did you call me?"

 

 

 

 

"Seohyun."

 

 

 

 

Juhyun turned to face him, her expression cold, as always when she's with him. "I see. Maybe that's why I did not look back." She said sarcastically before she started walking again.

 

 

 

 

"What's wrong with Seohyun? I think it's a nice name." Yonghwa murmured almost to himself as he walks with her.

 

 

 

 

"I think it ."

 

 

 

 

'Sue Kyuhyun and his music club!' Juhyun thought bitterly.

 

 

 

"C'mon. It's not so bad."

 

 

 

 

"What do you need?" Juhyun asked in gritted teeth.

 

 

 

"Oh. Well.." Yonghwa scratched the back of his head, completely forgetting his purpose of calling her. He tends to get easily distracted whenever he is talking to her. "It's about the book review. You know, we need to work on it as early as possible so we can have higher grade and while we still have many choices. Ms. BoA said we can't work on something that our classmates read already."

 

 

 

 

"Oh that." Juhyun said uninterestingly. They are almost near their houses. "We don't have to work together. We just have to divide it."

 

 

 

 

Yonghwa's face fell at this. He wanted to spend some time with Seohyun just so the girl will get comfortable with him and he will be able to get to know her. "But Ms. BoA said partners should work together for this."

 

 

 

 

"Ms. BoA won't know. She's not gonna put up a surveillance act for this."

 

 

 

 

"Aww. Seohyun, we have to work in this together." He insisted.

 

 

 

 

"No. We don't have to." She said, her voice stern. "Look, this is what we will do: Since we have two books to review, we'll do separate review. One for me and one for you. I'll pick my own book to review and you'll pick your own. Easy as that."

 

 

 

 

"But don't we need to review the two books together?"

 

 

 

 

"No problem. After I finished my review, I'll give my book to you and then you'll read it and make a review for it. You'll have to do the same, so read a book ASAP."

 

 

 

 

"Aren't we supposed to present it together in the class?" Yonghwa tried again. He wanted so badly to be with her--he means he wanted so badly to work with her.

 

 

 

 

Juhyun stopped in front of her house's gate. "That's easier. We can have an impromptu presentation."

 

 

 

 

"How can that be easier?" Wow. This girl is far from being sane.

 

 

 

 

"Just.. Ugh!" She swung the gate door open and was about to step in when Yonghwa stopped her.

 

 

 

"I still have another problem."

 

 

 

 

"What now?" She asked, not hiding her annoyance at the boy in front of her.

 

 

 

He put his palm on his nape while looking down. "I'm not really a reader, so I don't know what book is good for reviews."

 

 

 

 

She sighed. "Fine. I'll check my shelf and I'll just lend you whatever book I have."

 

 

 

 

He smiled widely. "Thank you."

 

 

 

 

"Yeah, yeah."

 

 

 

 

"Bye, Seohyun." He is still smiling as he walked to his house next door and waved at her.

 

 

 

 

She let out another sigh as she get in. 'Guess I have to put up with him afterall.' She pondered.

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

 

-End of Part One-