April 27, Tuesday, Morning: SCHOOL HALLWAY

It's the last day of Kyuhyun's suspension, and the morning of the last day of midterms. You are on your way to your study group with Donghae and the others when you see Kim Kibum walking down the hall towards you. You smile and lift your hand to wave but he just glances at you and keeps walking past you.

=_=

"Ya, Kim Kibum!"

"... Yes?"

"You're such a snob. Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to study for midterms."

"Oh, do you want to join our study group? It's better to study with others because other people can answer questions you might have and vice versa."

"... It's okay, I already have my own."

This is my chance!

"Ah really? o: Can I join you guys instead?"

"I thought you already had one."

"I can always catch up to them. Besides, it's good to anchor yourself in more than one group of people."

"... Fine then."

You both walk to the empty cafeteria.

After 30 minutes...

Kibum is quietly studying across from you. You are wracking your brains out.

"Ya, Kim Kibum, why did this war start again?"

"Because there was a fight over the territory and a previous misunderstanding caused it to..." --> (through your ears: "Because blablablablablablablabla misunderstanding blablablablablabla")

...

"Ya, Kim Kibum, who was the one who was called 'Conqueror of Kings'?"

"Gilgamesh. And it's 'King of Conquerors'."

...

"Ya, Kim Kibum, which Alexander was Alexander the Great?"

He looks at you in disbelief. "... You don't know who he is?"

"Well... I know there were a lot of Alexanders, so I get confused..."

He sighs and shakes his head in disapproval.

Sigh. It's as if I was studying by myself. =_= I have only 3 hours to go until the test.

*head desk*

April 28, Wednesday, Early Morning: ROOM 101

 Today is the day Kyuhyun's suspension ends but apparently, there is a short post-midterm break due to the postponement. You have time to get to know Kim Kibum before Cho Kyuhyun takes his room back after the break. You wake up to a half- Heechul changing his clothes. You are too sleepy to bother making a mental fuss out of it.

Rubbing your eyes, you ask, "Hyung, where are you going?"

"KIM HANEUL, GET YOUR OUT OF BED AND INTO YOUR CLOTHES BECAUSE WE ARE GOING OUT!!!!!"

At the sound of Heechul's thundering madman voice, you almost fall out of your bed.

"Okay, okay, I'm up," you say scratching your head. "You didn't have to shout, your Highness." =_=

Heechul smiles brightly at you. "Nothing else would have worked, now would it?" He kisses his reflection in his princess mirror. "GAJA~" (Trans: "Let's go~")

You suddenly have an idea.

"Hyung, can I bring a friend?"

"Hm? Who?" he asks, twirling the tips of his hair strands into place.

"Kim Kibum."

He stops and looks at you with an expression that said 'What have you eaten that you would want to invite that guy out with us??'

"What have you eaten that you would want to invite that guy out with us??"

This guy really speaks his mind no matter what...

"He's lonely, just like I was on the first days of school, but he's been here longer than I have and he still doesn't really have any friends. I want to get him out of his shell. Do you think you can help me, hyung?"

He rolls his eyes and resumes fixing himself up in his mirror. "Fine, since it's you who's asking this favor, I will help you out and get the others to do so too, however I don't think this is a good idea. Just saying."

Outside Kibum's door...

Knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock.

A drowsy Kibum in boxers opens the door, "Yes? OH SHI-- WAIT!" He slams it in your face.

...

The door opens again and Kibum appears in pants and a hoodie. "What do you want?"

"The guys are going out today. Want to come?"

"... Sorry, I'm busy..." he starts to close the door. "Maybe some other time."

You hold the door open. "Come on! Midterms are over. You need a break from all the work. Spend it with friends for a change!"

"I have other things to do..." he says as he tries to close the door again.

You stick your head into the gap before he's able to shut the door. "AAH!!" he yells in surprise. "That's freaky. ._."

"Come on. Pleeease? Come with us just this once. I won't bother you ever again."

He looks down at his feet and shakes his head. "Fine, just this once."

YES!!!! Step #1: DONE!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --  - -- - --- -  - - - -- - - - - -   -

"Hey guys!" you wave.

Heechul, Jungsu, Donghae, Hangeng, Youngwoon, and Sungmin are waiting outside the school gate. "Hey, Haneul!" they wave back.

"Who's this?" Jungsu asks.

"This is Kim Kibum, the guy who stepped up as my witness in the trial," you say.

Kibum just bows. "Annyeonghaseyo."

"No need to be formal with us, Kibum," Donghae says. "We're all comrades here."

"It's a good thing he knows how to respect his sunbaes," Youngwoon says as he playfully punches Kibum's shoulder.

"Ah..." Kibum winces and rubs his shoulder.

"Anyway, let's go out to the cafe~" Heechul says. "Let's not waste any time."

"GAJA!!!" Youngwoon shouts.

MOCHI NEKO CAFE

"Um... this is a maid cafe."

"Annyeonghaseyo~~~"

You awkwardly step into the cafe together with the other guys. You turn to look at Kibum who looks as awkard as you.

"Annyeonghaseyo~~" Heechul says as he waves his flowery presence all over the place. "Omo"s can be heard throughout the place.

"What's up, babes?" Youngwoon winks, making all the girls swoon.

"Annyeong!" Donghae smiles cheerfully.

"Waaah, he's so cute!!" several girls say.

Jungsu, Sungmin and Hangeng just smile, though for a second you catch Hangeng biting his lip in joy. Kibum keeps his head down and doesn't say anything at all.

"Oppa-deul, table for eight?" one girl with orange-dyed hair asks.

"Neh," Jungsu replies, flashing her a killer smile. She almost faints.

Why oh why? =_=

After all of you are seated, while you wait for your snacks to arrive, you whisper to your hyungs, "Why this place?? I thought we were going someplace 'refreshing'."

"That's exactly why we're here, Haneul," Heechul replies. "This is pretty much the definition of the word 'refreshing'!"

"Yeah, all the girls are so cute," Sungmin remarks grinning.

"The view is perfect sightseeing for," Hangeng adds.

"Ugh... whatever," you mutter. "Ya, Kim Kibum, what do you thi--"

=_= He's reading a book and he's got headphones on.

You remove his headphones. "Ya, Kim Kibum, socialize a little bit! If you were like that, it would be the same as if you didn't leave your dorm room at all. Do something different for a change."

"... Fine," he says as he puts away his stuff. He looks a bit pissed but you let it slide.

It's just a guy tantrum. Meh.

"So Kim Kibum," Donghae says. "What class are you in?"

"3-B."

"MWO?? We're classmates then??? How come I don't see you??"

"I usually sit where no one will notice me and I don't talk to people very much. I don't like talking to people much..."

"If that's the case, then why are you here with us now?" Youngwoon asks accusingly.

Kibum looks at you with a face like  (-_-) .

"Ah, Kim Haneul invited him to come along so that he can make new friends," Heechul answers. "And we're going to make him see how much fun life is on the other side of school grounds, right guys?

...RIGHT GUYS??"

Everyone nods except for Jungsu who keeps his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed at Kim Kibum. "Aren't you Cho Kyuhyun's room mate?" Jungsu asks.

"Yes."

"Do you usually talk to him?"

"No, we never talk."

"Doesn't he ever bother or bully you? Guys like you are most likely to be bullied," Jungsu smirks.

Why did you say that, Jungsu hyung??? @_@

For a second, you see a glint of anger in Kibum's eyes which dissipates into indiferrence as quickly as it had appeared. "He doesn't bother people who stay out of his way," he says glancing at you.

Babo. =_= This guy is starting to get on my nerves.

"YA, are you talking about Kim Haneul, you jerk??" Youngwoon bursts out pointing at Kibum.

"I didn't say that I was talking about him."

"AISH, THIS PUNK. No wonder he's got no friends. He doesn't know when to talk and when to stop talking!"

"That's enough, Youngwoon," Jungsu says. He turns to you. "Haneul, did you force him to come with us?"

"... Yes..." you say guiltily as you lower your head.

"Would you like it if someone else forced you to go somewhere you didn't want to?"

"... No..."

"Then we've made it clear. Kim Kibum, we apologize for what happened today."

"Oh, you're apologizing? Guys like you are most likely to not apologize," Kibum quietly says to get back at Jungsu.

Jungsu narrows his eyes a bit more and smirks. (If they could get any narrower than they already are) "You're quite right."

"Guuuuys, come on," Donghae says trying to lessen the tension from the conflict. "We came here to relax, remember?"

"I agree. Let's just put our differences aside and relax in whatever way we want to," Sungmin says.

. . . . .

The others end up chatting with each other and flirting with the girls in maid costumes. Kibum ends up reading his book and blocking the world out with the blasting music coming from his headphones. You end up sitting quietly sipping your milk tea, embarrassed at what you did and trying to evade the stares of the girls at the maid cafe. You try to be as manly as possible and you rest your face on your palm.

I hope they don't notice that I'm a girl. Dx They keep throwing glances at me and whispering to each other...

"I feel sorry for that guy," one girl says to another.

"He was only trying to help him make friends," the other one nodded. "He's quite cute though."

"Which one? The one with headphones?"

"Well, that one's cute too but I was talking about the one resting his face on his hand."

You almost choke on your milk tea and you hear the girls giggle. One of them comes up to you.

"Oppa~ here, let me wipe your face for you~"

You freeze as she pats your chin and lips dry. When you make eye contact, she blushes and you try to look away nervously. In the direction you're facing now, you see the rest of the guys watching you-- Youngwoon's mouth is gaping open-- jealously and seemingly in awe. "U-uhh... I'm okay now, thanks, agasshi." 

Kibum stands up and slings his small backpack over his shoulder. "I'll be going now." He proceeds to walk out of the cafe.

"K-Kim Kibum!" you call after him.

Go after Kibum.

Stay in the cafe.