If you ask me, how I’m doing,
I would say I’m doing just fine,
I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind.

But I go out, and I sit down,
at a table set for two,
and finally I’m forced to say the truth.

No matter what I say I’m,
not over you.

  Tick tock. He flips his fringe to the left.

  Tick tock. He blinks repeatedly. A habit of his when he doesn’t understand something.

  Tick tock. He writes down some notes on his worksheet.

  Tick tock. A small smile plays on his lips as the professor makes a joke. He laughs as the professor explains the joke.

  The laugh I loved.

  No.

  The laugh I love.

  Tick tock. He turns around. He sees me staring at him from the corner of his eye.

  Tick tock. I continue staring at him, unable to avert my gaze.

  Tick tock. Without a hint of a smile, he turns back to the front.

  As if I didn’t exist.

  This boy.

  This boy I loved dearly.

  No.

  This boy I love dearly.

  This boy…

  Is Byun Baekhyun.

  The shrill bell rung, interrupting my trip down memory lane. Routinely, I packed up my stationery first. After placing my pencil case in the smaller compartment of my bag, I started packing up my books.

  Suddenly, a shadow came over me. I looked up to see the relatively new boy staring down at me with a grin on his face.

  “How about today, Taeyeon?” He asked like he did every day. Honestly, I was getting annoyed at this kid.

  He transferred into my class 2 weeks back. Being tall and undoubtedly handsome, he had girls swooning over him as soon as he stepped onto campus. However, the only person he bothered giving his attention too, was me.

  “No. Not today.”

  “Why not! You said tomorrow yesterday!” He complained.

  “And I’m saying tomorrow again today.” I replied monotonously, zipping up my bag and hoisting the sling over my shoulder.

  “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Hah! I don’t care you’re going out for lunch with me today. Whether you like it or not!” Before I could respond, he grabbed my wrist and half-dragged me out of class. I struggled to remove his grip, but despite his lanky stature, he was pretty strong.

  He didn’t remove my wrist until we were outside school.

  “I already said no!” I snapped at him, massaging my sore wrist.

  “I don’t take no for an answer.” He countered. “Come on. Am I really that horrible that you don’t even want to have lunch with me?”

  I stayed silent.

  “How about we make a deal? You have lunch with me today. And if you don’t enjoy it, I will never ever ever ask you out for lunch again. Unless you ask me. Deal?” He stuck his hand out.

  I stared at his hand for a moment before looking up. He had a slight smile playing on his lips as he waited for my response. If one lunch date was what it takes to get this kid off my back, I’d do it.

  “You promise?”

  “Promise.”

  “Fine. Deal.” Hesitantly I put my hand in his and shook it firmly.

  “I’ll have the ham sandwich and a glass of orange juice. Thank you.” I told the waitress politely and bowed as she picked up our menus and left us.

  “I’ll pay for lunch today. As a thank you for allowing me to have lunch with you.” Sehun said, smiling broadly. Instead of returning that smile, I looked down at the lines present on the wooden table and nodded slightly.

  We stayed silent for a few moments, before Sehun started tapping his fingers against the fine wood. When the drinks came, he stopped, and continued again after the waitress left.

  “Sehun-ah!” Someone called out for the male sitting opposite me. Ever so slightly, I lifted my head up to see who had called him. It was Suho, one of the seniors in the school.

  “Sehun!!!” A more familiar voice called out and I froze.

  Byun Baekhyun.

  “Sehun! What are you doing here?” A female voice continued.

  Jeon Jihyun. The voice came closer and I abruptly stood up.

  “I’m going to the bathroom.” I murmured before turning around and half-running towards the ladies. I was pretty sure they didn’t see me. I left before they could. I entered a cubicle and shut the door. Leaning against it, I sighed deeply.  

  He’s over you, why do you still care so much whether he sees you out with another guy? I gripped my skirt tightly. I took a few deep breaths, trying hard to calm myself down. A few more breaths later, my grip on my skirt slowly loosened. The place where my hand had gripped the skirt was creased and wrinkled.

  I exited the cubicle and w