Author's note: So i know i updated over a month ago promising you guys a new chapter. and I know i clearly lied. unwittingly, but yeah it happened again. life. got in the way. big time. but this is just to let you know that, despite how hectic my life has become, you all have NOT been forgotten. and without further ado, i present to you the long-awaited chapter 26 and the continuation of the story!

Taeyeon

The gate was about to close. My lungs burned as I sprinted onto the campus, just as I heard the metal clank behind me. I dropped to my knees panting, sweat beading on my face.

I’m normally not late for school, but that morning, I slept through my alarm clock because of a dream. An intense, frighteningly realistic dream that had me in until twenty minutes before the first bell.

I was in a classroom and Jungsu stood before me. I ran to him, but the classroom seemed to grow in length. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reach him. All the while, Jungsu said nothing and stared at me wistfully, yet I could still hear his voice echoing in the classroom: “Sorry, Taeyeon. I’m taking the job at my father’s company. I’ve gotta go…”

It might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it scared the crap out of me. It doesn’t matter how wrong it was because there was no denying it. I was in love with Jungsu- and when I woke up fifteen minutes before the first school bell, I realized that he might have already left me without saying goodbye. 

What if he’s already gone? I wondered as I dashed up the stairs. What if he just took the job at his father’s work and didn’t even bid farewell to his students…and me?

Dreaded anticipation twisted my stomach into a knot as I quickly approached the classroom. I flung open the door, the starting bell ringing in my ears.

Forty pairs of eyes turned towards me- not one of them belonging to Jungsu. My regular teacher stood at the front where Jungsu usually stood, about to make an announcement.

“Everyone, I have some unfortunate news…”

My heart sank as I stood still in the doorway. He’s really gone… The melody to my song disappeared, just like that.

“No…” I whispered to myself.

“Well! It’s not like you to be late, Ms. Kim,” a voice remarked behind me. My eyes widened. It was the same voice that whispered in my ear on certain late nights, while I lay curled up in its owner’s arms.

I glanced to my side and sure enough, Jungsu was standing right behind me- in fact, he was pressed up right against me. My body shielded his insistent pelvis that was so purposefully into the small of my back. 

That…sneaky bastard! I thought. It was all I could do not to blush, not to arch my back and grind into him. Everyone’s eyes were on us.

“Though I admit, I myself am no better,” he said to the rest of the class, but his eyes were looking down at me. He brushed past me and we were once again student and teacher- nothing more.

“Terribly sorry I’m late, seosang. What’s this I hear about unfortunate news?” he asked my teacher, setting his briefcase down on the desk. I slid into my seat while the attention was still focused away from me.

The teacher cleared his throat and said, “Ah, yes. It appears that over the break, several parts of the school building have been covered with graffiti and some classrooms severely vandalized. The perpetrators of these offenses wired the school’s video cameras so their identities would be concealed. The principal and the rest of the administration board has required that all the teachers…”

The classroom erupted in excited discussion, overly zealous conspiracy theories being spouted here and there. Irritated, the teacher slammed his ruler down on his desk, shutting everyone up immediately. “As I was saying, if any of you have any previously unknown information, I strongly advise you come forward, lest you potentially suffer severe consequences.” The teacher then picked up his binder and started class.

Towards the end of the day, I could barely sit still in my seat. All I wanted was for Jungsu to take me in his arms and take my breath away.

Finally, the bell rang and the other students filed out of the classroom. As soon as the last person slammed the door shut, Jungsu rose up from his desk and I from mine- we met halfway and came together as one. “This morning when I didn’t see you at first…I thought you left me, I was so scared…” I said as he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.

“I would never,” he assured me. “Not without telling you, at the very least.” His lips brushed against mine and we were right back to where we left off last. “Iwantyouiwantyou…comewithmeplease…” he whispered, his words colliding together from frustrated want and his breath tickling my ear.

I whispered back, breathless, “I can’t. Not today. Practice…ah!” His lips once again found the sensitive spot on my neck and led away at it.

Jungsu finally found the will to pull back, though not without reluctance. “Fine…okay. Tomorrow. We’ll continue this tomorrow…so be prepared.” The mischievous tone in his voice and the last wink he gave me before I left sent shivers of anticipation down my spine.

When I finally entered the locker room after all the other girls were gone, my nose wrinkled at the repulsive smell that seemed to overpower the general locker room odor of sweat. What the hell IS that? I wondered. It was like the smell of burning plastic mixed with what I could only imagine was rancid urine. I still can barely describe it. Did someone kill something in here?

A little disturbed by the thought, I wandered cautiously towards the bathrooms where the smell seemed to grow stronger. I pushed open one of the stalls…and the full force of the stench wafted right into my face.

I choked and gagged. As I stumbled out of the bathroom stall, gasping for less contaminated air, something on the floor caught my eye. I bent down and gently poked the floor- a fine white powder stuck to my finger.

My eyes widened. I rushed out of the bathrooms and was just about to burst out of the locker room when I heard hushed voices right outside. I gingerly opened the door a crack and the most unlikely pair came into view: Jea and Ham Eunjung, a member of the chorus group.

“Didn’t I tell you it would take you to the moon?” said Eunjung, smirking.

“ the moon…I went all the way to mothering Pluto,” said Jea, slapping wadded up bills in the other girl’s hand. I’ve seen Jea piss-faced drunk and smelled pungent pot smoke on her while she was mellowed out, but this was her being high beyond anything I’ve ever seen.

 I left school, shock still attempting to process through my head.

Yuri

Going back to school after break felt even worse than I thought it would. All those lazy summer days of sleeping late and waking late had seriously messed up my sleep schedule.

But it wasn’t the prospect of the long dreary hours or the horrendously boring teachers or even the sight of so many kids at Baeyoung that I hated that really made my day start off awful. It was the fact that, after a certain incident that almost occurred in the summer, I could barely look my best guy friend in the eye.

I found him by the school gates, waiting for me, as usual. Minutes passed before either one of us spoke- and even then, we couldn’t think of much to say.

“So…uh…how were the last weeks of summer for you?” he asked me.

“Not bad, I guess. You?”

“Uneventful.”

More silence passed. Anxiety started to build up in my throat.

“Well…I got to get to class…”

“Same…see you…” I said. Then we turned to each other, remembering we were in the same class and that we were going to see each other for the rest of the whole damn day.

Talk about awkward stupidity.

I stumbled through the rest of school in a daze. I barely paid attention to anything the teachers had to say and not even my friends could get me to snap out of it.

“Yuri…? Yul? HELLO. EARTH TO YURI???” Sooyoung yelled at me across the table. I ignored her.

Yoona sighed. “Forget it Soo, she’s completely immersed in her own thoughts. There’s no shaking her out of it for at least another few hours.” And she was right.

There wasn’t even much left to mull over anyway. God knows I spent enough time over the summer thinking about it, replaying that moment when Minho…came so close to practically kissing me on the lips. Those pink, full…kissable lips…

I shook my head almost violently. What the ?! I thought to myself. Am I seriously having daydreams about Minho and his lips???

I groaned and laid my head down on the table. “Oop- looks like she’s finally out,” Jessica joked.

That was pretty much how the rest of my day went. I tried to just ignore Minho’s notes, stares and whispers- but then that left me vulnerable to my own confused thoughts. Not even dance practice with Amber and Hyoyeon could serve as a distraction.  They must have yelled at me at least six times, but I shuffled through, mindlessly tutting to the music.

When it was over, I slung my bag over my shoulder and rushed out of the practice room, intent on burying myself in bed and forgetting about school, and people, and Choi Minho…

…and there he was waiting in the shadows, scaring the living crap out of me. Just like he did the first time we formally met.

“Jesus!” I cried out. “Minho, are you some kind of stealth monster?!”

“Yeah, I’m secretly a ninja,” he joked and I couldn’t help but giggle. His eyes met mine and the lightness went away. “Look, Yuri…we need to talk.”

Warmth spread through my cheeks and my heartbeat sped up. “Okay…so talk.”

“Why have you been, like, all awkward around me today?” He paused, swallowing nervously. “Is it…is it because of what happened last summer?”

The pounding in my ears grew louder. “Well…I mean…kind of…but it’s no big deal really. I’m just having an off day.” I tried to keep my voice light, but I didn’t do a very good job because Minho kept pressing me:

“Has your off day been going on since you came back from Sooyoung’s summer home? You haven’t…” His words started to rush together, like they always did when he was anxious. Minho noticed, stopped himself and took a deep breath. “…you’ve barely talked to me. Just five message exchanges since that day. And yes, I counted. And…and every time you always left me hanging by saying you had more homework to do, or you had chores, or something.”

I grimaced at the truth he threw back into my face. “Look. I’m sorry if I avoided you sometimes…but we’re okay now, right? Summer’s over, we see each other every day- we’re friends now…right?”

Minho bit his lip and sighed. Everything- his body language, his sweet, beautiful expression- seemed to scream “No” in response. I saw it coming before he said a word. “Yuri...I know some time ago I told you that I was only interested in being your friend. I’m sorry. I don’t…think I can keep that promise. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t see you as a friend. I…like you. A lot. And I want us to be together. As a…as a couple.”

Now his words were taking my breath away.

 Minho took a step closer to me and I stepped back out of instinct. He noticed and the soft disappointment in his eyes made my insides melt. “It’s okay. I…I know you don’t trust boys because of what happened with Nichkhun. But I swear, I’m different.  I would never, ever hurt you the way he did. I actually want you…as my girl. And I am not playing around or leading you on.”

As soon as he mentioned Nichkhun, tears formed in my eyes. I mean, really? Did he really have to bring Nichkhun up? Inside, the urge to push him away and the opposing urge that made me want him to hold me close tore me in two. “How…how do I know that?”

“There’s…just only one way to find out, isn’t there?” he said, his voice barely a whisper. I stood rooted where I was, transfixed by his smoldering gaze. Time slowed down as he took me into his arms, touched his forehead against mine and pressed our lips together.

It was nothing yet everything I expected my first kiss to be like. There was awkward fumbling, neither of us were really sure what to do with our mouths or the rest of our bodies and it felt kind of wet and strange. But the feeling of warmth inside took over and it was the first time I ever felt that way and I didn’t want to let the feeling go.

In my mind, the small part of me still stuck in the past tried to resist, reminding me of my hurts and my fears. But I paid it no mind as I was swept away by the realization of how much I really, really liked Minho back.

Tiffany

“HWAAAAANGGGG MIYOUNGGGGG!!” I groaned and pulled the sheets over my head. Why does Auntie Heeyoung have to yell so loudly?

“YOUNG LADY, GET UP THIS INSTANT YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL.” I sat up straight as an arrow in bed.

“!” I hissed under my breath. Just for the record, I don’t usually curse, except when I’m tired and I’ve messed up. Like stay up late the night before and then end up sleeping in on the first day back to high school after summer break.  

Granted, I did stay up all of last night talking to Siwon on the phone, and it was a wonderful talk and I was going to see him today in school, which was always awesome. But I still didn’t really want to deal with being scolded by my teacher.

Several frantic minutes later, after changing into my uniform, grabbing a piece of toast and Auntie Heeyoung yelling at me some more, I was on my way to school.

As I raced through the streets, Siwon was all I could think of. I hadn’t really seen him since that time we all went to Sooyoung’s summer home together. Amidst my giddiness, there was an uncertain nervousness.

What if all that time we spent apart will make him forget how close we’ve become? The thought made me shiver. The reasonable part of me tried to remind me that Siwon wasn’t like that. But the doubt still weighed me down, a tiny piece of lead in my heart.

As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who was late to school today. I saw Taeyeon sprinting towards the gate. I tried to call out to her, but I was breathing too heavily for me to even make so much as a squeak. She didn’t even see me as she barreled past me and straight towards the buildings.

I wonder what she’s in such a hurry for? I thought as I reached the school lawns and slowed down, grateful for the chance to catch my breath.

The morning passed by in a haze. Nothing the teacher said registered in my mind for even a moment and all I could think about was Siwon. The way he half-smiled when he was amused and the smooth complexion of his calm, composed face.

I kept thinking back to that day when he came to my aid. Muted anxiety rose in me when I thought about that man and I forced myself to calm down. It has been a long, long time since I felt such acute fear. It stirred dark, ugly memories, ones I thought I had forgotten.

Now that I thought about it, I wonder why I screamed. I didn’t know I had it in me. All I remember thinking of was…

The bell rang, signaling the beginning of break and disrupting my thoughts. I stood up. I normally didn’t leave the classroom, but this time my feet carried me down hallways, past classrooms, all the way to Siwon’s classroom.

Before I could tell myself “This is stupid” or “You’re being a stalker”, the boy of my thoughts himself stepped outside his classroom.

He saw me and said, “Hi Tiffany,” smiling that half-smile I loved so much.

“H-Hi…Siwon…uh…sunbaenim…” my voice came out as a half-squeak, half choke, suddenly self-aware of the fact that we were still in school and that people would find it weird if I was so familiar with him.

He chuckled, “No need to be so formal. We talked about it before, remember?” After a small awkward pause, Siwon looked me in the eyes and asked, “So uh…Tiffany…are you all right?”

The concern his short, to the point question held made me feel like crying. But I smiled up at him and replied, “Never been better!”

He smiled back at me and said, “That’s…great.” For a second, I swear his fingers brushed against mine.

Just then, a high-pitched girly voice called out, “Oppa??” Siwon turned around and his eyebrows raised with surprise.

“Stella?” A pretty, petite girl I had never seen before stood at the end of the hallway, wide open with surprise.

“Oh my god, Oppa! I didn’t expect to find you so quickly!” The girl rushed headlong down the hallway and attacked Siwon with a hug, nearly knocking him over.

Siwon struggled to stand upright, his eyes still wide with surprise. “Stella? What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in school, back in Incheon?”

“Silly Siwon!” she giggled. “I transferred here just today! Didn’t your father tell you? I…really wanted to see you.” Siwon made a forced grimace.

I was still there, thoroughly confused by what just happened. I cleared my throat and asked in a small voice, “Siwon…who’s your friend here?”

Before he could even answer, the girl interrupted him and said with a  smug smile, “I’m Stella. Stella Kim. Siwon’s…fiancé.”