Tiffany

By the time the bell dismissing the last session of class rang, my brain had turned into a hapless mush…but at least it had been an informative day, unlike those times when the teacher sits at his desk and yells at our class for being complete and utter failures in life for hours on end. We actually learned something, so it hadn’t been too terrible of a class today.

I glanced at the clock and gasped. There won’t be much time if I don’t hurry…! Quickly, I gathered my things and headed straight out the door.

“Unnie!” a voice called out to me. I turned towards the doorway and saw my neighbor and dongsaeng, my younger friend, Yoona, waving to me. “Unnie, aren’t you going to walk home with me?”

I smiled and said, “Neh, do you mind waiting for me a little while, Yoona? I have…something that I need to pick up. So…just wait for me, I promise we’ll take a pit stop at our favorite snack stall!”

Yoona pouted and said, “You better go quickly, I still have studying to do.”

I chuckled to myself as I walked quickly down a hallway. Yoona has always been such a studious, good kid. I have total faith in her and I know she’ll get into an excellent university and do great things- things much better than what I’ve been doing with my life so far.

But gosh, that girl really needs a boyfriend! She’s always got this serious, concentrated expression on her face, except when she’s with…hm. I just might have an idea. I should probably tell Yuri about it.

Ah- there goes my short attention span again. Anyway, I was really in a rush to get to that hallway when a freshman boy bumped into me and spilled some water from his water bottle onto my skirt. “Ah! I'm sorry, sunbaenim!” he quickly apologized, bowing.

Rather than get all mad and fumy with him, I just smiled at him and said, “It’s no problem, hoobae. At least it missed my shirt, so it’s not that bad. Now you’ll learn to be careful next time.” The freshman boy stared at me, probably stunned since no senior girl had ever treated him like this before. He bowed again and went on his way.

As you can probably tell by now, I’m an optimist. I look at the bright side of life. I mean, I’m not ridiculous (at least, I don’t think I am) and think everything in the world is just peachy dandy. No, I’m not that naïve. It’s because the world is exactly the opposite that I feel that we don’t need to continue spreading these negative vibes around all the time. If more people smiled, if we were kinder, more accepting and saw things through a more positive scope, people wouldn’t have nearly as many problems as they do.

A smile can tell people a lot. It can also make them feel a lot better so they don’t have to use up any unnecessary energy on you. People have enough issues already- guilt and uncertainty shouldn’t be another burden that they should carry for someone else.

I stepped into ‘A’ corridor- and at not a moment too soon. The door of a classroom swung open and the one who always occupies my thoughts, the boy I’ve dreamed about, stepped out. He wore a serious, almost regal expression and the heels of his shoes clicked meticulously as a group of four other students followed him anxiously. Several other students, mainly girls, were gazing right in his direction and silently squealing, yet he never turned his head once.

It really is just my luck to have fallen head over heels in love with Choi Siwon, senior president of the student council and the most respected student in Baeyoung. He was about to pass by me, so I flattened myself behind a pillar and turned my head only slightly so that I could still see him.

Just when the student council members were about to enter their meeting room, a girl carrying a huge stack of papers slipped and fell, the various sheets of paper scattering all over the place. “Oh no!” she groaned.

He noticed her and immediately bent down to help gather her papers. “Are you all right, miss?” he asked in a pleasant voice. “There- is that everything?”

“Y-Y-Yes…ah, t-thank you so much, Choi sunbaenim!” The girl was flustered, embarrassed yet extremely pleased and bowed a full ninety degrees to Siwon. He smiled one of those rare smiles that always knock me for six and said, “No need- take care.” With that, he went back into the student council room and the door clicked shut.

Heart pounding and heaving shallow breaths, I checked my watch and realized that I had kept Yoona waiting for a really long time. I ran back down the hallways, reached the entrance where she was still waiting and apologized profusely.

No one knows about my secret crush, my harbored longing for him and I have always watched him from afar. These moments when I can catch a glimpse of him leaving his classroom to get to the student council room are some of the few instances I ever see him. With him being so much higher up on the social hierarchy than I will ever reach, it’s enough for me to just see him. His rare smiles completely make my day and to see him working so hard yet still be an admirable person gives me courage to walk forward with a smile on my face.

Taeyeon

Sometimes, in one of those rare moments of free time that I have when I’m not studying my off for college entrance exams or at cheerleading practice, I think about how lucky I really am. I have a great position on the varsity squad, people look up to me and respect me, my grades and memorization skills are solid enough to get me into a good school and I have a great boyfriend.

So why are there times when, despite everything I have, I feel unsatisfied, alone and terribly empty? Aside from the fact that, as of now, it looks impossible to attain my true dream- to sing, to spread the music of the vocals God gave me for the world to hear. Not a single person, not even my closest friends know about it. I have never found the courage to confide about this unattainable fantasy to anyone.

And sometimes, even when I’m sneaking some alone time with Wooyoung, even when he’s ling on my neck and murmuring how much he wants me…I just still feel so alone.

I feel like I need something more.

The fact that it was the start of another grueling week at Baeyoung did not make things any better for me. I’ve heard stories of how high school seniors in America are getting by their easiest year. If only I could trade places with them...

I was early when I arrived at school Monday morning. There was supposed to be a meeting with the varsity team, but when I checked my phone, I realized that Jea had sent a message canceling it last night when my phone had been off. Since none of my friends were to be found, I decided to just hang out in the classroom for a while, maybe catch up on sleep.

As I sprawled over on my desk in the dim classroom, a feeling of relief swept over me and my eyes grew heavy.

I can’t recall how long I drifted off- it could have been ten minutes or an hour. I probably would have slept right through the start of class if I hadn’t felt something touch my hair and lightly press my head. I was still really woozy and disoriented from my nap. With difficulty, I opened my eyes and…okay this is going to sound corny as hell, but I thought I saw an angel. I can’t think of any other way to describe him. His light-colored hair shone in the few rays of sunlight that streamed into the room. The lopsided but incredibly y smirk he gave me made me open my eyes wider. The black glasses perched on his nose accentuated his features and as my grogginess cleared up, I remember thinking to myself: Since when did angels dress in all black?

“A little less sleepy now?” he asked me, still smirking. I felt my cheek pressed against a wet surface...oh, gross! I had been drooling in my sleep…and such a breathtaking guy saw it! Quickly, I sat up and wiped saliva off from the corner of my mouth with my sleeve.

“Wha…what time is it…?” I mumbled incoherently. He glanced up at the clock and said, “It’s ten after seven. Class is starting in about twenty minutes. Should give me enough time to collect my things from the office. Why don’t you stay here and sleep a little while longer? You look exhausted and I don’t blame you- senior year is always a killer.” With that, he gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder. By the time I regained full consciousness, there was no one in the classroom- and I wasn’t sure if there had been anybody there in the first place or if it had been my imagination.

“Neh unnie, you look dead,” Sunye commented. Wooyoung, who had his arm draped around me, said, “This chick pushes herself way too hard.” He grinned and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek.

I managed a smile and said, “Guys, I’m fine, really.” It was the middle of the morning and now that I was awake, I was still debating whether or not what happened this morning had been a dream or not.

The teacher rapped the desk with his ruler, drawing my attention to the front of the room…and my jaw nearly dropped.

It hadn’t been a dream after all.

In my sleepy state, I had failed to notice certain details about him that made him even more handsome now- little things that the rest of the girls in the class picked up very quickly.  

He caught me staring at him and, I swear, I think he winked at me. “Who the hell is that guy?” I heard Wooyoung grunt next to me.

“This is the new student teacher I am fortunate enough to have take over for a bit,” the teacher introduced him. “Park Jungsu-seosang is an alum of Baeyoung- just like all of you will hopefully be next year. He is the revered model student who graduated at the top of both his high school and college class- and graduated early from Hanyang University with honors.” Now I wasn’t the only one- everyone was staring at him in awe now. He bowed to the teacher and told us how grateful he was for the opportunity to teach us this year, his gaze never wavering from me.

Yoona

A gentle wind blew through the school courtyard and lightly caressed my face while I waited for Tiffany-unnie. I had been stuck at home studying for the first upcoming tests and quizzes so it was nice to idle outside in this good weather.

Most people only know me as Im Yoona, the “genius nerd” girl who always gets the highest scores in class- and that's regarding those who know me at all. Otherwise, I’m just about as fair game as everyone else trying to fit in Baeyoung to the indiscriminate bullying of the tyrannical preps.

It’s not like I’m ashamed of being smart. I understand that it’s an excellent trait to have, especially in this day and age when getting into a good college has never been more competitive. I like doing challenging math problems that really get my brain working hard. I enjoy participating in academic competitions with Jinki-sunbaenim and the rest of the team.

It’s just that sometimes, I feel a good brain is all I have. Studying and tinkering with experiments are among the only things I do at home, besides eating, sleeping and fulfilling basic necessities. My own parents, proud as they are of my grades, sometimes try to urge me to go out and relax. I hardly go out enough to see my friends, never mind having a social life and conversing with other people.

Tiffany and Yuri-unnie do all they can to drag me away from my studies, but I usually resist the idea leaving my fortress of textbooks. They constantly pout at me and insist that it’s a shame, especially for someone with a face and body like mine. I have no idea what they’re inferring to by using this argument, but they constantly use it anyway.

But now that I think about it, I think my unnies are right to a certain extent. I have never been good at being open and it has never been more frustrating and inconvenient to be socially awkward than now. When I’m scared to even approach the one boy who I always used to feel so comfortable with, when my feelings for him have been realized just when he’s unreachable…there’s always this odd twisting in my gut when I think about him. My best friend since childhood.

Who I somehow did not notice sneak up behind me until he had effectively poked me right in my side and I squeaked in outrage, “Yah! Lee Donghae, what was that for?!”

He burst into hysterical laughter, making me smile at how cute he is. “Stop it, Donghae, it’s not funny!” I attempted to scold him but it was no use- I could already feel my own giggles bubbling at the surface.

Donghae simply grinned at me and flicked my forehead. “There you go- now you’re smiling! You’re much cuter when you smile, Yoong. You should do it more often, instead of looking so serious and grumpy all the time.”

I wrinkled my nose at him, but at the same time angled my head away so he couldn’t see the rosy blush that was forming on my face. I can’t even remember how long it had been since he had called me by my nickname and Donghae calling me cute made me secretly happier.

“We haven’t hung out for a while now, Yoona,” he remarked, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Well, you’ve got your soccer games and tournaments- it is your last year as the star striker of the team,” I said.

Donghae grimaced and said, “Yeah but you’re always at home or at school studying. Don’t you have the heart to come and watch your best friend beast it up on the field?”

Looking him in the eye, I said, “You know what…maybe I will.”

“Really?” Donghae looked overjoyed. I nodded slowly.

Then he did something totally unexpected. He clasped my shoulders, brought me even closer to him and made me face his warm chocolate eyes. “Promise?” Donghae asked softly.

Oh god, what if one of the cheerleaders saw us? Worse, what if Sunye saw us? Despite how scared I was of such a prospect…I just wanted to stay in his grasp for a moment longer.

“I promise, Donghae.”

Eventually, Donghae let go and said hurriedly, “I, uh, have to go to practice now. Remember Yoong! Game is on Saturday- you better be there! Gotta go now, catch up with you later, Yoong!” With that, he gave me one last smile before running off to join his friends- and Sunye, who just happened to meet up with them. As I stood there still staring after them, I felt the twisting in my stomach make a tight knot as I watched his arm slip around Sunye’s skinny waist.

I’ll try, Donghae. I’ll try and catch up to you. That’s what I’ll promise.

“Yoona? Earth to Yoona!” I snapped out of my daze and saw Tiffany waving her hand in front of my face.

“Oh, sorry unnie. Are you ready now?”

“I’ve been ready for the past minute you’ve been standing here staring off into space! That doesn’t happen often now does it?” she chuckled and gave me a knowing look. I pretended to not know what she was hinting at.

“Come on unnie, I’m starving- let’s eat!” I said and dragged her in the direction of our favorite food stalls, hoping that food would distract me from my thoughts. 

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A/N: Annyeong everyone~ Cee-Cee's finally updated. great news everyone: EXAMS ARE OVER AND SUMMER VACATION IS ABOUT TO BEGIN <3333 which is awesomesauce news for you dear readers as i shall be updating much more frequently :DDDDDD hm. hopefully i'll be able to establish a sort of weekly/two-day update. and combat my procrastination :x

hwaiting~

p.s. i've reached 50 subscribers. i love you guys <3 :'D