Yoona

It was really refreshing to meet up with Jungsu-oppa again- especially since there weren’t any girl students swarming around him this time. I haven’t seen him in so long since he’s been away at college. I was shocked to hear that he had graduated from Hanyang in advance, even though I’ve known how talented he is since forever.

Now that I think about it, I’ve seen that senior girl a few times before…I think her name is Kim Taeyeon? I believe she’s one of the captains of the cheerleading team.

Who, speaking of which, I almost ran right into when heading back to class, had I not caught sight of Jea’s perfect, shimmery brown hair and immediately hid myself. The last thing I needed was to attract attention to myself and become the target of bullying.

“Crap…” I muttered to myself. I needed to pass by the media center to get back to my classroom, yet they were all hanging around right there in the middle of the hallway, along with a couple of dumb, brute jocks. It’s not uncommon for these people to fill up an entire corridor and completely block the way, as if to flaunt the fact that their amusement is much more important than you getting to class on time.

“What are you guys loitering around here for?” said a voice. My mistake- turns out not all of them were dumb, brute jocks.

My heart jolted painfully as I saw Donghae walking over to the crowd with Sunye and his best friend Kibum. I couldn’t help but simply stare at Donghae’s features- to this day, I am still unable to understand how I’ve known him for so long, yet I have only just begun to recognize these strange, illogical feelings as not just a sign that I’ve become delusional but as affection. Unreasonably strong, yearning affection.

And I manage to fall hard for him just when he is most unreachable.

As I observed the scene, I felt a jabbing pain in my chest- Donghae’s eyes seemed to be completely focused on Sunye and he was trying to hold her hand. Yet she didn’t acknowledge it and was even facing away from him, talking in an animated, almost promiscuous manner to a jock with black spiky hair. Just watching them caused silent, frustrated feelings bubble to the surface- thoughts that I couldn’t brush away no matter how hard I tried.

Why can’t it be me whose attentions Donghae so longs for? Why can’t he see that she doesn’t really care and that I’m the one who really understands him…? 

My eyes wandered away from the group and to my wristwatch- which stated that if I didn’t hurry up and find a safe route back to class, I was going to be late. And as class representative, I couldn’t afford to set such an irresponsible example for my fellow peers. Unfortunately for me, there was no way back to my homeroom other than passing by the opening of the hallway and praying none of them would see me.

I took one last cautious glance to make sure their attention was elsewhere, then in as much air as I could and held it in. I bolted across.

“Yoona?”

Damn it.

I was just two steps away from safely crossing by the open hallway when Donghae spotted me.

“Yoona- hey hold up a second!” With much difficulty, I stopped in my tracks and gave him a forced smile, trying to communicate to him that I was busy and had to get back to class. Instead of reciprocating my subtle message, he signaled for me to come over and join the group. My legs refused to cooperate with my brain, which commonly happens whenever I’m with Donghae, and I found myself following him anyway.

I was torn on whether I should feel irrationally flustered like I normally am when I’m around him or chagrined that he summoned everyone’s attention on me. I could see the scrutinizing looks directed at me and their confused glances at each other wonder: How does Donghae know THAT girl?

“Hey there, Yoona- I haven’t seen you in quite some time,” Kibum-sunbaenim greeted me and gave me a smile, one which I returned. Besides Donghae, Kibum-sunbaenim is the only other member I consider to have most of his head comprised of fairly intelligent brain matter and not just of dense, unthinking muscle like most of the members of the varsity soccer team.

Donghae then turned to me and said, “Listen…about the game…you’re going right?” I winced as soon as he mentioned it- as soon as I got home on Monday, I realized how irresponsible it had been of me to make such a promise to him. It wasn’t even just because of the pile of homework and projects for the various clubs and teams I am part of.

“Well…about that…thinking it through now, I probably can’t…”

“Oh come on, Yoona. You promised!” Suddenly, he grabbed my hands and stared me right in the eyes, causing me to shudder slightly at his gentle touch and warm gaze. “You’ll be there, right? For me- please?”

My heart sunk as Jea’s lips turned up into a smirk while Sunye’s eyes narrowed into a suspicious stare. Donghae didn’t seem to notice at all.

“I…I’ll think about it…” I said hesitantly, wresting my hands from his grip as smoothly as I could.

“Donghae-oppa- we should go now,” Sunye said suddenly, her tone making it sound more like a command than a suggestion. She gave me a disdainful smile and a curt nod, then clung onto Donghae’s arms and practically dragged him down the hallway. Kibum-sunbaenim patted me amiably on the back before he left as well, followed by the remaining jocks.

The only people of the original group left were Jea and two other girls who I assumed were cheerleaders- one with wavy auburn hair and the other with long, honey-blonde hair that fell past her shoulders in golden tresses. I tried to pass by them, but Jea stepped into my path. I felt a ridiculous fear creep up my spine as I saw an amused smile spread across her face.

“Hmm…seems like you two know each other well- Donghae might even have thing for you, don’t you think?” she said, smirking devilishly.

“N-No it’s nothing like that, Jea…!” I stammered.

“All right, whatever. It's okay, you're secret's safe with me- it'd be fun to watch Sunye freak out over something anyway. Now listen here…” She stepped uncomfortably close to me, to the point where the strong musk of her perfume mixed with smoke wafted right into my nostrils. “Donghae might act like a sweetheart, but really- he’s just like any other guy. Always thinking with what’s between his legs than his brain.” I wanted to tell her that that wasn’t in true in the slightest bit, but she simply went on.

“Here- let me phrase it this way. You’re intelligent enough to pick up on this. In real life, it’s not books that get you success with guys, it’s s. Which Sunye has and you…well, you could use a little work in that area. Remember sweetie- it’s not books, it’s s.”

“Which you lacked quite a bit of just last year,” the blonde-haired girl suddenly quipped. “What are you on Jea, hormone-enhancing drugs? Oh wait no- you had that operation, didn’t you?”

As the hackneyed cliche goes, if looks could kill, the blonde-haired girl would have dropped dead right then and there. Jea bared her white, bared teeth hissed, “It’s none of your business, Ice .” She turned her attention back to me, her face contorting back to a perfect smiling expression in less than a second. “Anyway…if you do go to the game, I suggest you don’t bring those precious textbooks of yours. You wouldn’t want them…ruined by someone.” I felt cold malice radiate from that simple, innocent sentence.

She flashed me one last smile before turning to the other cheerleader and barked, “Hyuna! Let’s go- and you better have my hair done perfectly by lunchtime.” They both left, leaving me alone with the blonde-haired cheerleader.

“Well- you’re actually quite lucky that the queen isn’t feeling too evil today- though she was probably pretty stoned to make such a stupid lecture,” she remarked. But I wasn’t really listening. The more I thought about what Jea had said, the more sure I was of the choice I was making. The girl noticed and asked, “What’s up with you?”

“I’ve decided that…I’m going to the game.”

Yuri

I was so anxious to get out of class that as soon as the bell rang, I think I might have accidentally knocked Jo Kwon over and caused him to get trampled by other antsy second year high school students. Hope that makes us even after that time when he was having a shoving contest with Ryeowook-sunbaenim and knocked into me, causing me to spill some of the soup I was carrying. Took forever to get the stains out.

Why was I in such a rush, you might ask? Oh just trying to escape the usual as quickly as possible- droning teachers, ridiculously confusing lectures, mentally handicapped peers and the latest- creepy, incessant staring of the hot new student Choi Minho.

No, I am not appreciative of this newfound attention which was totally uncalled for. This isn’t some sappy drama, this is the screwed up life of Kwon Yuri, damn it. And in my screwed up life, I don’t glorify the notion of being ogled, hit on or, even worse, fondled by boys.

The past few days, Minho has been constantly swarmed by the other students- girls trying to constantly hit on him, guys trying to get tips from him on how to pick up said girls. Yet, even then, he still has that far off, dreamy stare that always finds its way back to me. The way I feel like his gaze never leaves me, even when I’m miles away from him back at home is really starting to freak me out.

So you might be able to understand why I was so eager to get out of the classroom, away from that creepily alluring stare. I stopped by the locker room to change into comfortable clothing and then headed off for the dance room, hoping that a good dance session would clear my mind.

Amber was already in there stretching by the time I arrived. She may have cropped hair and dress in a boyish manner, but underneath it all, Amber Liu’s just a sweet-hearted girl. Which, of course, most of the ignorant s in school refuse to realize.

“Yuri, my home girl! What’s up?” she asked, casually looking me over. “Bad day? You looked stressed.”

“Nah- just, you know, the daily grind of things…any requests in the drop box?”

“Nope. It’s empty. As it usually is.” Amber sighed through her nose. Even though we only need four people to form a legitimate club that can compete in competitions, it’s been much harder than we would have thought to find a fourth member. Despite the countless flyers we’ve put up around the school, few girls are interested and the ones that do show up to try out are pitifully bad- and we don’t even have very high standards either.

Hyoyeon-unnie walked in five minutes later, looking very distracted and disoriented. She’s one of the few people I can truly confide in, but she also worries me constantly. Hyoyeon rarely ever tells us about her problems which surmount to an unbelievable burden on her: her mom left her in the care of her dad- an irresponsible alcoholic and gambler. According to her, he’s “cleaned up mostly” but suffice it to say, Hyoyeon does not lead a happy life. 

She's also had some run-ins with drug problems, mainly back in middle school. Every time I see her in this state, I always wonder if she’s been smoking pot again and if I have to go knock some common sense into her.

“Hyo? Are you alright?” Amber asked her, both of us sharing a suspicious glance. “Have you been…?”

“No! No, no- I haven’t touched that stuff in a year…I’m fine, I’m just a little tired from a fairly ty day, that’s all…”

“Are you sure, Unnie?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah! Come on, let’s get everything set up and have a nice practice session to forget about whatever s we encountered today and regain our focus.”

“That’s the spirit, girlie!” Amber cheered, turning up the sound on the iPod speakers. I felt waves of relief wash through my body as it began to glide in sync with the beat of the music.

 After an awesome session, Amber and Hyoyeon left early, leaving me alone in the dance room to practice some moves by myself and do a little yoga. Fifteen minutes later, I gathered up my stuff and left the room, my mind already wandering off to my schedule for the night…when I ran into Choi Minho, whose totally unexpected presence nearly gave me a heart attack.

I let out a tiny scream and staggered against the wall. Startled, he immediately came to my side and asked, “Whoa! I’m sorry- are you okay? Did I scare you? Do you need anything?” Despite how freaked out I was from seeing him at a place where I hoped he would never find me, I was slightly intrigued by how his words were coming out in such a rush- he rarely ever spoke before in class.

“N-No, I’m fine, thank you…” I said shakily. I stood up straighter in an attempt to retain some dignity, despite that he was a good half head taller than me. “Anyway…may I ask what you are doing here and what you could possibly need me for?”

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and let out a deep breath, almost as if he was nervous. “I don’t believe we ever properly met…you’re Kwon Yuri right? I was just wondering…do you wanna go grab some kimchi with me later?”

The way he kind of half-smiled, the way he stared at me with those dreamy eyes as though I was the only thing that mattered in the world…all of it was pushing me closer and closer into taking that risky chance again, where I would plunge into a sea of uncertainty, accusations and, most of all, pain.

No. I had to put my foot down. I was sick and tired of getting hurt. I thought I had learned my lesson.

“You want to get some food with me, huh?” I said, smiling sweetly at him so he lowered his guard. Then I slammed the wall and glared right at him. “Well then listen up here. I’m not the type of girl that’s so easily bought by your innocent little act here. The way you boys act disgusts me- just pick up a girl you think is “easy” and then leave her in the dust when things get hard. It really seems impossible to pound into your head that not all girls automatically want to be in relationships with you. So save me the trouble and cut this bull out.”

Minho opened his mouth to say something but by this time I had had enough. I sighed, pushed him and walked away.

Tiffany

"Auntie, why?” I whined to my Aunt Heeyoung.

“Miyoung-ah, your grades have been slipping far too much lately,” she said as she arranged the laundry. “I promised your mother that you would be able go to college and live a good life here in Korea. And the calls I’ve been getting from your math teacher isn’t exactly helping me live up to that promise.”

“Auntie, you know I hate math. And what does Mom care about me so much for? She hasn’t visited me once in the past two years!”

Aunt Heeyoung threw me a pointed glare, but behind her sharp look I could see some sad recognition of the truth. “…Don’t say that, Hwang Miyoung. Your mother…cares very much about you. She just was never the best at setting her priorities straight.”

I grimaced. “I know that…but you’re a better guardian. And I appreciate that you care- and for you, Auntie, I would do anything.”

My aunt smiled, leaned over and kissed me lightly on the forehead. “You’re a good child, Miyoung. But I’m doing this for your own sake and I want to see you pass your college exams with a proud smile on your face. Now hurry up and change out of those pajamas- your tutor will be here in any minute and I want you to look like a scholarly and respectable young woman!”

“Couldn’t you have at least told me you requested for a tutor?” I complained.

“And then have you wheedle yourself out of it like you have in the past?” Aunt Heeyoung scoffed. “Not a chance, Miyoung! You better take this seriously- I managed to find a very fine young man who took up my offer. I think he’s also in his last year of high school, but he’s at the top of his class and has just as much work to do studying for exams as you do! Now hurry up and go get dressed!”

Five years of living with Aunt Heeyoung has taught me that when she makes up her mind about something, there is absolutely no changing it. So, I simply grumbled to myself and stomped into my room.

While I was changing, my eyes rested on the small photo portrait that was on my nightstand. I walked over and picked it up, taking in the smiling faces of the happy family. It was the time we had went to Disney World, back when Dad was still alive and Mom wasn’t a workaholic. I was four years old and the magic of the place enchanted me.

To this day, I still miss when life was simplistic and happy.

I moved to South Korea when I was twelve since Mom wanted me to get a better view of my ethnicity and culture. Leaving the only home I had ever known as well as my friends in the time of my budding adolescence and being deposited in a place where everyone treated you as a foreigner- that was hard. But hey, I’ve turned out okay now and I’m perfectly fluent in Korean.

Heck, I’ve even made some pretty awesome friends in Korea. Yoona and Yuri are two the best friends I could ask for. I’m also rather well acquainted with some of the people in my grade- there’s Ryeowook and Kyuhyun-oppa as well as Donghae since he’s best friends with Yoona and all (although honestly I’m quite sure they like each other and just won’t admit it). You don’t need to be popular to be happy- having a few wonderful friends is better than having a hundred acquaintances.

Tough as she may be, Aunt Heeyoung always wants nothing more than the best for me. While I love her to death, I was still peeved about the whole idea of getting tutored by some upstart, snooty nerd. Inside I knew that she was only trying to help, but my heart sank at the thought of having to use up two to three hours of my free time devoted to more studying added on to the studying I already did.

And personally, I didn’t think that I would need that much help…except maybe with calculus. Scratch that, most definitely with calculus. Darn those derivatives, tangents and whatnot.

I groaned when I heard the doorbell ring. Auntie Heeyoung answered the door and gushed, “Ah! You must be the tutor! Thank you ever so much for agreeing to help Miyoung with studying for entrance exams.”

“It’s no problem, Ahjumma, the pleasure is mine,” said a masculine voice.

Wait a second.

“Aren’t you a charming, handsome young man- Miyoung! Come here so you can meet your tutor! So what’s your name, dear?” Cautiously, I came out of my room to check if I had just been hearing things…and my breath was caught in my throat.  

“Choi Siwon, Auntie.”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard of you! Student body president of the very school my daughter goes to! Ah yes- this is my daughter, Hwang Miyoung. Miyoung, Siwon is going to be your tutor to help you with entrance exams for most of this year.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miyoung-ssi,” Siwon-sunbaenim said very formally, offering his hand.

“Yeah…nice to meet you too...Siwon-sunbaenim,” I squeaked, shaking his cold, firm hand.

“Yes, yes- you two can set up right in the living room. Siwon, would you like to stay for dinner?” Aunt Heeyoung asked him.

“No, it’s all right, but thank you very much, Auntie.” When my aunt finally left, we stood there for one awkward moment before Siwon-sunbaenim gestured for me to join him. I lowered my head, hoping he didn’t notice how red my face had turned and followed him into the living room. 

----

a/n: CEE-CEE FINALLY GOT PAST WRITER'S BLOCK AND UPDATED! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :D 

lol. seriously, it was a pretty bad writer's block since i was stuck on how to elaborate on yoona's part for a good two weeks! so mianhe if it's kind of crappy >.> i'm hoping to get the plot rolling after the next chapter. 

this time, i'm making no guarantees except that i would LIKE to update as fast as possible. but school's starting soon. oh dear :x

also, THANKS SO MUCH ALL OF YOU FAITHFUL/LOVELY SUBSCRIBERS AND READERS. really. i can't thank you guys enough. 93 subscribers?! say whaaaaaa :O