Jessica

I slammed my locker shut and pressed my forehead against the cool metal, in a futile effort to disperse the thoughts that had been running at full speed all of yesterday and today. It didn’t do much- I could still clearly remember those stares he gave me every so often in class today that both brought a heat to my cheeks yet sent a chill down my spine.

Jonghyun has always been contradictory like this. Back in middle school, his eccentric actions and nerdy code of dress caused me to look down on him…but his politeness and sheer genius always garnered awe and respect from me.

“Aish, Jessica! Why are you still thinking about him?” I scolded myself. “He’s still a creep and you might as well stay out of his way…”

“Unnie?” My sister Krystal stepped into the locker room, clad in the Baeyoung High cheerleader uniform complete with the tight blue “shirt” barely covering her midriff and short white skirt. I almost wanted to click my tongue and shake my head right there. The little baby sister I had always known was growing up way too fast. She's practically been pushed by my parents to take up my position when I graduated- and lately, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had the chance to have a good talk with her. “Practice is almost starting…are you ready yet?”

“Don’t worry, I’m coming Krystal,” I said, glancing at the mirror one last time, then following my sister out of the locker room.

When we arrived at the gym, the other girls of the varsity cheerleading team were already gathered in the middle gymnasium. Krystal walked over to join the group of younger girls- but not before Jea stopped her and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, “Krystal dear- do you still have the charm bracelet I got you?”

To my chagrin, my own sister held her wrist up, bringing the identical jewelries to sight. “Aww, Krys- it looks adorable on you. We should really hang out more often like last Saturday...” Jea cooed. Krystal smiled shyly and nodded.

I clenched my fist so hard that I could feel my manicured nails bite into my skin. To think that Jea was going so far as to use my little sister’s almost self-less trust in people and turn her into another mindless minion of hers...

Just when I was about to charge over, I felt someone squeeze my hand. I looked over and saw Taeyeon-unnie give me a warning look. Whenever I’m really upset or in deep , Unnie is always there to help guide me through. She truly is like my second mother and I always turn to her for advice, even though we’re in the same grade. Her patience is close to limitless and she’s so sensible that everyone looks to her when trouble arises. Sometimes, I really wish that Unnie would tell me whenever she’s burdened since she seems to have so much to deal with and I hope to someday pay her back the debt I owe her.

I cleared my throat and called loudly, “All right girls- get started on your warm ups! You too, Krystal!”

“Oh come on, Jessica- Krystal and I were just having a bonding moment. Warm ups can wait till later!” Jea practically announced in front of all the other girls, smirking. Krystal stared at me pleadingly, as though she were coming to Jea’s defense

Keeping my features aloof and indifferent, I replied, “On the contrary, Jea. We have warm ups as soon as possible so we can get more safely accomplished at practice.” We also use them to keep our little sisters away from cunning snakes in the grass. “We wouldn’t want slip-ups to happen- like yesterday, when you got a cramp from not stretching enough and tripped, letting us and the boy’s basketball team see your bunny-print !”

y as the girl may be, yes, she seriously wears bunny-print . Snickers spread through the group of girls at the memory and even Krystal giggled. Jea turned bright red and set her teeth in a forced grimace, all while shooting me a scathing glare with her eyes. “Well, what are you dumb girls standing around for? Get started now!” she growled.

I shrugged and glanced over at Taeyeon-unnie who was doing her best to cover up her snorts of laughter.

As the music blared and echoed off the walls of the gym, we gathered into formation to practice our routine for the upcoming soccer game. But despite the difficult flips and tricks that required intense concentration and energy, my mind kept wandering back to the agitating subject known as Kim Jonghyun.

What Jonghyun had said yesterday, about me breaking his heart and the way he had said it in that menacing tone…it still unsettled me, even now as I was doing cheerleading routines that would normally clear my mind.

An hour later, when practice was finally over and I walked out of the girl’s locker room, I caught sight of none other than the boy who had been occupying my mind all day lounging right outside the door. As he approached me, I felt my breath hitch slightly. Puberty really had blessed him- his features were striking, complemented by a cocky toss of his near perfect  hair. He looked nothing like the awkward, scrawny boy that had always been my image of him.

“Hey there, Jessica.” No “Jessica Jung-ssi” like he constantly used to call me, which also always got on my nerves. He also wore this knowing smirk, as if he were completely confident in his abilities to charm girls to fall at his feet- an expression that had been totally absent back in middle school.

I swallowed and greeted him as coolly as I could. “Hi, Jonghyun-ssi.” One second passed by, then two, then multiple seconds which became one awkward moment when I tried to pass by him and Jonghyun refused to budge, still smiling mischievously at me. Though he was quite short for a guy, he was just at my height so his amused stare was level with mine. Feeling my patience wear thin as well as my anxiety grow, I said, “Jonghyun…would you be so kind as to move out of the way so I can leave?”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he said, his smirk growing wider. I was about to retort back with a snarky remark when I blinked once, twice…and found myself pinned securely to the wall. Jonghyun’s grip was ridiculously strong- definitely nothing like the weak boy who was constantly bullied at recess. I shot him a glare and it took quite a lot of willpower to never let it waver away from his intense gaze as he brought his face closer to mine.

“What the hell is this, Jonghyun-ssi? As far as I can tell, you’ve been trying to seduce me all of yesterday and today and I would really like to know the reason behind it…”

He held my gaze for a nanosecond longer before suddenly leaning in press his full lips against my neck. I let out a gasp as I felt him hungrily trace down from my neck to my collarbone, while at the same time he crowded me further against the wall so much that my leg was forced up. I shuddered as I felt the palm of his hand lightly brush against my thigh but cried out in surprise when he suddenly began to around and shift his hand up. Taking advantage of my parted lips, Jonghyun momentarily left my neck to devour my lips. My eyes widened as I was on the receiving end of a very hot kiss, Jonghyun’s tongue ravaging in my mouth.

I’m not really much of a liar- as indignant and frustrated as I felt, I can’t deny that there was a part of me that enjoyed the encounter very much.

When Jonghyun moved up to nibble on my ear, he whispered, “I’ve changed quite a lot from middle school, haven’t I, Sica? This is just a taste of what is to come. The affections I hold for you burn stronger than ever…but I’m also interested in my own form of revenge on you. You could say that this year, I’m intent on making you suffer a bit- from want and uncertainty, just like I did back then. I’m going to drive you crazy, Sica- and there’s nothing you can do abut it.” I tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he simply held on even tighter and leaned in to feed once more.

Just when I felt my hormones grow out of control, he stopped, just like that. He stepped back, straightened out his clothes as if nothing significant had ever really happened and said casually, “So prepare yourself, Ice Queen Jessica Jung.” Jonghyun winked at me and then just simply left me there.

Sooyoung

Flattening myself against the wall, I took a deep breath and counted silently to myself: “1 dukbokki…2 dukbokki…” Finally, I peeked into the classroom for as long as I dared. There he was, sitting at his desk reading a book, looking absolutely perfect as usual. It was early on Wednesday morning so I wasn’t needed in my homeroom class just yet. .

After a few more minutes of (okay, okay I admit it) spying on the classroom, I peeked my head in for one last look and was about to withdraw back again when someone called my name.

“Sooyoung-unnie?” Crap! I’ve been discovered! Joohyun came over to where I was by the door frame.

“Ah, Joohyun it’s not what it looks like…!”

“Unnie, what are you doing out here? Why don’t you come inside and join us for a little while- the first bell hasn’t even rung yet.”

I was just about to refuse and make a quick exit out of the classroom when he finally noticed me and gave me a smile that was radiant as the morning sun. “There’s a face I haven’t seen in a while- why don’t you come in so we can catch up a bit, Sooyoung?”

I could feel warmth spreading through my cheeks and an embarrassed yet happy smile playing on my lips. I looked down at my shoes so he wouldn’t see my face. “O…Okay, teacher.”

By the time I left Joohyun’s classroom to go back to my own homeroom class, I was floating on the fluffiest cloud of happiness. There weren’t many kids in homeroom at that moment so nobody really paid me attention when I sat on his desk and talked to him while he graded Physics exams. It felt so nice, catching up with someone I’ve admired for the longest time. I’ll admit, I even used to have a crush on him and I still sort of do.

But Jung Yunho is engaged right now. And he’ll probably forever see me only as Choi Soon Jong’s little sister.

Joohyun had joined in our conversations as well but after a while, she just gave me a small smile and went back to her seat to read over her notes, occasionally looking up to give me secret, knowing looks. She is such a sweetheart and honestly, I feel like I owe it to both of us to hang out more. Though I won’t deny that at times when I see Joohyun and Yonghwa together, I really envy how cute and happy they look together. I wish I could find someone who I could love with such ease.

I was way, way lost in my thoughts- so much that it’s really not surprising that I collided with my worst enemy and caused both of us to trip and fall to the floor. When I finally noticed him, I yelled, “Watch where you’re going, you pabo!”

“The same goes for you!” Changmin retorted. “Who told you to daydream and wander around right in the middle of the hallway with a big, stupid grin on your face?!” I felt my face turn bright red and was just about to unleash my fury on him when the first bell resonated throughout the school.

My heart dropped to my stomach. I was quite a long way from my homeroom classroom and there was only six minutes until the second bell, which would deem all students not in homeroom by that time as late. I had already been late twice last week- if I was late once again today, it would mean detention in the second week of school!

“!” Changmin cursed, checking his watch. “All right- let’s go, Sooyoung.” He offered me his hand and I stared dumbly at it. “Well don’t just stand there, we’re going to be late to homeroom!” he said exasperatedly. I hesitated then took his hand, trying to touch it as little as possible. Changmin rolled his eyes, grasped my hand tighter and then, using his ridiculously long legs began to sprint at high speed down the hallways, pulling me with him.

When he finally deposited me to my homeroom classroom, the second bell rang just as I walked in through the door. I turned to give him a disgruntled word of thanks, but he had already run off to his classroom.

I couldn’t have been more excited as I went to my first economics class- elective classes started today. Ever since I was able to reach the kitchen counter, I have always helped my family’s cook with making meals as well as learned how to knit and sew from my mother. People tell me that I'm surprisingly domestic for such a tempermental girl.

I found a seat near to Yuri-unnie who I had met in class just last week, who gave me a smile. Turning around, I found myself face to face with none other than Changmin. My heart dropped as I remembered that different students, from first to third years, could be in the same elective class together.

I made a face at him and asked, “What are you doing in this class?”

He just smirked and said, “Home Economics with Sooyoung? This’ll be fun.” He then took the seat right next to me- just to piss me off. I frowned and scooted away from him.

The teacher came into the classroom and made her standard introductions. When she was finished with her presentation, she went on to discuss how we would be working with partners to eventually complete a huge project. “Let’s see…all right, everyone will be working in pairs with the person sitting to their left- and no changing partners!”

I couldn’t have been more shocked than if she had told us to go drown ourselves in the Han River. As I glanced at that ’s stupid grin, I thought to myself: Thanks a lot, Ms. Kang. My life in Home Economics is now completely ruined…

Taeyeon

Three days have passed by since the appearance of the “hot new calculus badass” and he seems to only gain more and more girls who adore him. Oftentimes, I have to fight my way to my seat, which isn’t even in the front row, due to the huge crowd of girls that always surround his desk.

During class time…let’s just say I have never in my life seen more people eager to learn about the subject most people absolutely despise.

It seems to me that Mr. Park, at the very least, is quite amused by all the attention he receives. Every time someone asks him a question or compliments him, he faintly smiles and answers in the same exact polite manner every single time. I have yet to see that y smirk like the one he gave me that one morning cross his face.

What I at first found to be immediate attraction to him has now died down to being a vague interest. Yeah, he’s gorgeously appealing but he’s still my calculus teacher. It would be utterly weird to engage in a relationship with your teacher and probably very much against school protocol…wait, when did being his girlfriend start crossing my mind?

In any case, he did throw me quite a few looks during the first few days of teaching, but I’m pretty sure it was just my imagination that they were supposed to mean something more. What’s more, he probably has a girlfriend, given the amount of attention he generates, even from the teachers, and I already have Wooyoung.

Who, speaking of which, was nowhere to be found Thursday morning during break. I had checked in Sica’s classroom yet couldn’t find her as well. She seems anxious and pissed off all the time lately. I should ask what’s bugging her after cheerleading practice today.

In any case, I didn’t care to go find anyone else to hang out with so I simply wandered the hallways by myself. I passed by an empty classroom on my second round in the hallway I was in…or I thought it was empty until I caught sight of someone leant back carelessly in a chair at the front of the room, feet propped neatly up on the teacher’s desk. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was my calculus teacher.

Normally, in class, Mr. Park paced around the room in a respectable, orderly manner and his glasses neatly perched on his nose. But now, as I silently walked into the classroom, I noticed that he was asleep and with his glasses off and his blonde-brown hair in a messy mop. He wore a relaxed, almost vulnerable expression as he napped and an inexplicable feeling of light-headed giddiness filled within me.

He looked absolutely stunning.

Mr. Park stirred and finally began to open his eyes. I couldn’t help but remark, “Do all calculus teachers always take their breaks like this?”

It must have been very rude of me to address a teacher in such a manner but he merely chuckled tiredly and said, “Oh no, that’s just me…” He yawned, showing off his white teeth. A strange tingling feeling spread in my chest. It always feels so weird to see teachers act so out of character and almost normal. “So…Kim Taeyeon…” he mused, giving me that lopsided smirk that I had been hoping to see. “What brings you here?”

“I was on break and, well, I’m bored since I can’t find my boyfriend…” Somehow, I didn't feel uncomfortable discussing relationships with this teacher. 

"Boyfriend? You mean that kid in your class...Wooyoung?”

“Yeah him…” I then noticed that it was unusually quiet where we were and finally realized it. “Where are your fangirls?” I observed. Mr. Park shrugged in a carefree manner.

“I don’t know and honestly, I don’t really care much. It’s a relief to be out of their presence for a little while. I’m in debt to my fellow teacher who lets me use his classroom while his students are in phys ed.” He said it in such a tired voice that I even started to feel bad for him. He really did have to deal with so much attention and had to go out of his way to find places to spend some time to himself at school.

“I suppose I kind of know how you feel. Being the center of attention is pretty hard, huh?”

“Hard? It , actually. But I don’t regret taking up this job to teach,” he said, smiling at me. From there, we progressed into a conversation where never before have I felt so relaxed and so comfortable to be my own self. And Mr. Park was such an interesting person to talk to, it wasn’t hard to be drawn to him at all.

I had just finished telling him a story about my family- in reality, it really wasn’t that funny, but Mr. Park had doubled over laughing. It was simply adorable the way his lips curled up into a huge grin and the dimple accentuated it.

“You…are a very intriguing woman, Kim Taeyeon.” Did I hear him right? He didn’t address me as a girl, but…as a woman. Taeyeon, you must have been hearing things…

“Mr. Park…I’m not eighteen yet and I have my own childish moments as well, that still makes me a girl…”

“No, I mean woman,” he said, making it very clear to me. “You’re quite different from your fellow peers. That’s what I like about you. And everyone has their childish moments. We’re humans, it’s natural.”

He said it in such a straightforward manner and with his eyes always on mine, I could feel my heart turning somersaults. I tried to say something, but found that my breaths had become shallow and unable to find a way to thank him properly for the compliment.

Thankfully, the moment of awkward silence only lasted a moment when it was broken by an excited feminine voice calling out, “Oppa! Is that you?”

He turned and smiled widely at a girl with long wavy black hair who stood by the doorway. “Yoona! I haven’t seen you in forever!” The girl rushed over and gave him a big bear hug which he returned. I sat there somewhat awkwardly, watching the sibling-like bond between the two.

“How are you, kiddo?” he asked her.

“Good- I can’t believe Jungsu-oppa is teaching here, this is just awesome!”

Mr. Park noticed me and introduced us. “This choding here is Im Yoona- I believe she’s in the grade below you. She’s a family friend and we’ve known each other for forever. Yoona, this is Kim Taeyeon, one of my students.” The girl nodded and bowed politely to me while I gave her a nod of acknowledgement. A thought sparked in my head: I’ve heard of Yoona from somewhere…one of the soccer jocks who always talks about her…yeah…

“Yoona, you should get back to your classroom- break is about to end. You should too, Taeyeon.” Yoona nodded and headed promptly out of the room. I was about to turn and take my leave as well when Park-seosang called out to me,

“Taeyeon…when we’re together and not in class…you can call me Jungsu. I don’t mind at all.” I smiled shyly back at him and said,

“Alright…Jungsu…”

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A/N: It's Cee-cee~! I'm sure lots of you are getting fed up with me and my empty promises. And all I can do is apologize- so mianhe T_T i had almost no time at all to properly think of ideas for the next chapters while at camp and when i came back, i had so much work to do. i know- excuses, excuses. but it's what really happend ;A; but at last, heres an update for all of you lovely readers/subscribers. who i love dearly for still sticking with this story even though it's going at a snail's pace :x

teehee, fail jongsica was fun to write <3 except that was the part where i encountered a very brief but annoying writer's block Dx 

also, i at naming chapters. just saying :P so once again, soooo sorry for the late update TT___TT hwaiting~!