Yoona

Despite my constant worries, doubts and pleas confided in Yuri and Tiffany-unnie, Saturday evening I found myself sitting in the bleachers with my eardrums being slowly destroyed by the incessant screaming of other students and watching sweaty high school boys chase after a ball on a field.

Instinctively, I pressed my legs as together as I possibly could- Yuri-unnie nearly had a fit when she caught me in a t-shirt and jeans ready to go to the game and thus forced me into this excuse of an outfit. I picked distastefully at the questionably short plaid skirt Yuri had personally dug out of her own closet. Oh well, I thought. At least the blouse has aesthetically pleasing colors. 

Suddenly, a huge cheer arose in the stands. I shifted my attention back to the game…and felt a tense but not in the least unpleasant feeling in my chest.

“AAAANDD OUR VERY OWN CAPTAIN AND STRIKER LEE DONGHAE HAS MADE A PERFECT STEAL FOR THE BALL!”Lee Hyukjae shouted into the microphone from the stands above. “All right- Donghae’s making his way through the offensive, but Chukhae’s best defender Sanghyun is coming up from the back…uh-oh, Sanghyun’s right up behind him, Donghae hasn’t veered from his path, yah Donghae watch out…!”

I held my breath as I watched him from my seat, which was in the third row so I could see everything clearly, like how Sanghyun was catching up to him or how Donghae's face was set with a look of intense concentration. Although I’ve seen him play soccer numerous times in my life, I am always fascinated by the way he exerts his raw strength- from sprinting across the field, to using pure power and muscle (I could name which ones in the legs) to launch soccer balls into perfect trajectory straight past frantic goalkeepers and into the net.

Although I’ve claimed to have absolutely no interest in sports, here I was at the edge of my seat, entranced by the suspense and not daring to miss even a single moment of what was happening.

“…AND ATTACKING MIDFIELDER KIM KIBUM COMES LITERALLY OUT OF NOWHERE AND KICKS THE BALL RIGHT BETWEEN SANGHYUN’S LEGS JUST AS HE GETS THE BALL, THE BALL ROLLING RIGHT BACK TO DONGHAE WHO SEEMS TO HAVE ANTICIPATED THIS STRATEGIC MOVE! THAT’S teamwork for you, Chukhae! So IT…what was that? Oh, oops- sorry sir, but anyway…AND WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!! LEE DONGHAE KICKS THE SOCCER BALL RIGHT PAST THE GOALIE AND INTO THE GOAL- RIGHT BEFORE THE SOUND OF THAT ENDING BELL!! It’s official you guys- BAEYOUNG HAS DEFEATED CHUKHAE WITH A SCORE OF 4-3!!!!”

The Baeyoung soccer players hollered and yelled while the cheerleaders waved their blue and white pom-poms in excitement. The students in the stands erupted into cheers and even I couldn’t restrain myself from leaping out of my seat and shouting with happiness. Inside, I swelled with pride as I watched Donghae make a victory punch in the air while his teammates tackled and jostled him.

When he finally emerged out of the pile of teammates, everyone around me immediately went into a chaotic, frenzied state, shouting and screaming joyously for him…yet his eyes were trained on mine and his face split into an even wider grin. He waved his arms impatiently at me. Hesitant, I stayed where I was, not sure what exactly he was doing and whether or not he was signaling for me. I stared at him questioningly. Donghae made an exasperated pout and made his hand motions even more exaggerated that were clearly telling me to come down to the field.

I sighed and hurried down the steps of the bleachers in order to avoid him from resorting to calling out to me and drawing even more attention on me. My embarrassment washed away as I smiled at his infectious glee.

“YOONA! YOOOONAAA- did you see that?! WE WON, WE WON, YOONG!!!” He was like an overexcited child.

“Yeah I saw that! That was some impressive trajectory in the way you kicked the ball right past the goalie…” I caught Donghae staring at me- I stopped immediately, feeling my cheeks turn hot. “…but…yeah…great job and congratulations, Donghae.”

He burst out laughing and said, “Ahh you’re still the same Im Yoona I know, even at my soccer game, cheering me on.” Suddenly, I felt myself enveloped in his arms and pressed right up against his chest. The smell of his sweat, dirt, grass...and a scent that was just his own filled my brain. 

“Still…thanks for coming, Yoong. It really means a lot.” His whisper echoed louder in my ear than any of the deafening roars of hundreds of people in the field and the stands. Completely taken aback, I could only stay rooted there…until I saw the cheerleaders approaching us on the field and Jea’s smug smile on her face.

“It’s…it’s nothing…anything for my good friend Donghae,” I mumbled quickly, slipping out of his grasp and disappearing back into the crowd.

All around me, teenagers were screaming and cheering but I couldn’t hear anything over my thunderous pulse, speeding up with every passing second. For a few seconds, I was unable to concentrate on anything except for the scent of his sweat drenched self and the feeling of his arms around me.

Then, I caught sight of Sunye slipping her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss, right in the middle of the field so everyone was watching them. Quickly, I turned around and strode straight away from the field and towards home, occupying my mind with the physics homework that was sitting on my table completely undone.

I really should have expected the treatment I received the next day. Considering the events from the previous day and the natural vicious jealousy of girls, it was bound to happen. There was almost a warped perfection to the way they passed by me, clustering in a formation not unlike migratory birds and knocking every book right out of my hands.

Papers scattered everywhere, and as I bent down to pick everything up, I could hear their simple yet stinging comments. “, she can’t even watch where she’s going...wonder why she was all over Oppa yesterday…”

“She’s supposed to be the smartest girl in her grade, but I guess that idea is unfounded…”

“Wow, Jea-ssi was right about her…”

“What a bunch of low-life es,” came a voice. I glanced over and saw the blonde-haired cheerleader who had defended me the other day against Jea knelt on the ground beside me, gathering my papers for me. “They’re like piranhas- only much more cowardly…”

I couldn’t help standing there and staring as she organized everything together for me. “Uh…thank you,” I said awkwardly once she handed everything to me.

“It’s no problem- ah, I forgot to introduce myself the other day. I’m Jessica Jung, senior captain of the cheerleading team.”

“I’m Im Yoona, it’s very nice to meet you, sunbaenim,” I responded and bowed at a ninety-degree angle to her.

Jessica chuckled and said, “It’s all right- you can just address me as unnie. I know who you are already anyway- I’m in Donghae’s class.”

I tried not to show much interest as I asked, “Really?” Jessica noticed and gave me a wry smile.

“Really. In fact I’ve known Donghae for a while now. I’m surprised that pabo has never mentioned me before. Or maybe you two are much more wrapped up in each other when you guys are together…”

“N-No it’s nothing like that, we’re just childhood friends…!” I insisted. 

“Yeah, sure," she said, her amused smile spreading ever so slightly. "Come on- let’s walk to class together.”

Hyoyeon

“Mommy…? Mommy…! Dad, where’s Mommy?”

“Hyoyeon-ah...Mom left…for a very long trip. She won’t be back for a while.”

“…Are you sure it’s not because Dad drinks everyday? Daddy, please tell me where Uhmma is…”

“I don’t know WHERE she’s gone, so leave me the hell alone, damn it!”

I didn’t know what to feel. I was only eight years old.

I was too young to fully understand that Mom, despite that happy façade she put up whenever she was around me, hated living with us. I was not mature enough to recognize the shock, the betrayal and the ensuing grief that was consuming my heart.

I was only eight years old.

But being eight years old was old enough to realize that Mommy had left us and was never coming back, to know that my family was never to be the same again.

This was when Dad’s drinking got worse and when he started going out to gamble every night. This was when I became isolated and withdrawn at school. This was when I started my still ongoing habit of sprinting back home everyday just to be assured that I could live safely and normally just for another day.

I remember seeing the other kids in my grade happily run to their parents’ open arms and skip away, eager to live out the rest of their day in childish bliss. Intense envy and sorrow bubbled within me as I trotted solemnly home, head kept down to avoid eye contact with others. Even back then I had realized- why bother to make relationships with other people when all they did was leave you and let you down?

“Ugly Duckling” was my nickname back then- not just for the way I looked, but because I was the one that no one wanted. Kids back then picked up very quickly that I wasn’t like them- my parents didn’t pick me up like theirs did; and so, they discriminated against me. I didn’t eat lunch with any of the other girls. I sat at the desk in the corner of the room where nobody noticed me and I spoke to no one.

One day, we were let out for recess- the boys gathered together to play kickball and the girls clustered in their normal cliques, but I stayed by the edge of the giant field, drawing pictures in the sand with a stick.

“Hiya.”

I turned around, stick gripped tightly in hand, to face whoever approached me. A boy my height stood four meters away, flashing a strange, gummy smile.

“Whatcha doin’ there?” I stood still staring at him with wide eyes, stunned. Ignoring my lack of response, he walked over, paying no attention to how I quickly shuffled away, and peered at my primitive drawings. “Whoa- these are pretty awesome. You could be a real artist.”

“Hyukkie, what are you doing? The game is back here!” his friends called out to him, but he still stood there by me, giving me that weird smile and asked, “So…what’s your name?”

I still stood there, completely frozen. I may have stayed that way had the bell not rung, signaling the end of recess. I ran right past him, glad to be able to escape.

Everything then flashed by in a blur. After school dismissed, as I left for my usual route home, a crowd of boys blocked my way, their chants of “Ugly Duckling” echoing in my ears. Humiliation and anger boiled together and forced my fist into a well-aimed punch that swung and struck the first boy I saw right across the face. I fought back. I relished the shock on their faces. But it wasn’t enough to prevent all of them from ganging up on me and stealing my backpack.

Tears fell as my loud, frustrated cries rang out and I could not chase after them. I huddled next to a building wall and sobbed for the first time since Uhmma left. Fifteen minutes later, “Hyukkie” appeared next to me with cuts and bruises on his face and my backpack slung over his right shoulder. Wordlessly, he helped me up and dried my tears, still smiling that strange gummy smile.

Another five minutes later, he accompanied me to the nearest store where he bought me a plastic pink pencil case since my other pencils had spilled out of my backpack and were lost. Then, he took me to his house where he introduced himself as “Lee Hyukjae” and told me about how he thought I needed a friend. And through my tears, I smiled.

A hissing noise finally jolted me awake from my sleep. “!” Eunkyung cursed as she rushed into the kitchen to shut the heat off from the boiling electric teapot. I blinked my eyes open and attempted to sit up, feeling extremely disoriented. I managed to remember how I had gotten to Hyukjae’s house…and I also remembered how my dream had taken a drastic turn down memory lane. I groaned aloud as a wave of dizziness hit me hard and an ache pounded against my head.

“Awake now, Hyo?” came his voice. I turned toward him and managed as scathing a grimace as I could. “Oh that’s so attractive,” he said sarcastically, grinning with that gummy smile from ear to ear. “I don’t blame you- you were out for about ten hours. How about I fill you in on the details?”

“Just get to the point, Hyukjae,” I grumbled without much enthusiasm.

“All right, fine. While you were out snoozing like a baby, Noona and I put our heads together to figure out how to help you out. It took a while but we’ve found the whereabouts of your father and we’ve contacted your aunt. Now before you say anything” here he put out his finger at me and I scowled up at him but stayed quiet so he could finish.

“Just hear me out. It appears that the two thugs who threatened your dad and chased you gave up on it so your dad’s alive and well- but I don’t think you would want to see him just yet plus I don’t know yet what’s the status on his current debt. We’ve contacted your aunt and explained everything to her. She was pretty against it at first, but we managed to convince her that your well-being is more important than her work. Your aunt has agreed to take you in on one condition- she’s currently working on a project that she claimed ‘wouldn’t make the right atmosphere for you to live in.’ Whatever the hell that means...in any case, she’s requested that you stay at another place for some few months or so before she can adjust for you to move in.”

I had sat still through his entire explanation, but when he paused for a moment and everything finally registered in my head, I said, “Wait a second…don’t tell me…”

“You’ll be having an extended stay over at my house for a while,” Hyukjae finished. I blinked once- then was up off the couch and ambling toward the door despite the wooziness.

“Oh hell no,” I muttered, fighting the headache. “I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t want to impose on you guys like that and furthermore…”

“Well then where the hell would you go?” Hyukjae challenged, standing right where he was and looking me dead on in the eye with a rare, serious expression. “On the street? You’re not going to do it and you know it. I know you’ve got your stubborn pride, but sometimes you’ve got to put it aside to fulfill what you strive for- like finishing high school.” I stared at him and he said, “Yeah- I still remember that promise you made to your uncle and I know you’ll do anything not to let him down.”

My face burned with embarrassment as I glared him down. “Hyo- it’s no problem for you to stay with us,” Eunkyung-unnie piqued. “We’re here for you no matter what. Please consider that.”

I could feel my willpower crumbling. I sighed and my shoulders sagged in defeat.

Hyukjae smiled again. “Awesome! So now…”

“ you,” I spat. Eunkyung motioned us to the kitchen where she had prepared some tea, an amused smile playing on her lips. This…I thought. …is going to .

Yuri                         

Sunday afternoon seemed to reflect my mood as gray clouds covered the sky and a light rain fell upon the city. In other words, perfect for sleeping in, procrastinating on homework or just possibly moping around and overanalyzing things like a girl. I may seem outwardly harsh towards some people, especially boys, but I’ve still got a conscience- and reflecting on what happened on Friday was driving me insane.

I couldn’t even get myself off my bed to do homework that was due the next day. Every other moment, my mind wandered back to that creepy stalker new boy and it took all my willpower to push it out, only to have it come right back in a matter of minutes.

“Aggggghhhhhh…what the …” I groaned to myself. “Why do I care? He’s just another douchebag anyway.” So then why are you still thinking about him? my brain countered and I said out loud, “Okay, so what if he’s attractive?! Lots of guys are y yet still have terrible personalities!” Realizing how weird I sounded having an argument with myself, I fell back into my pillow with a frustrated sigh.

My phone vibrated by my side. Face still buried in the pillow, I reached my hand out, and began blindly searching for it. Finally, I pressed the call button and mumbled, “Yubasaeyo?”

“Unnie?”

“Yoona? Hey! What’s up?”

“Do you mind if I come by later to drop off your clothes?”

“Not at all…oh, speaking of which, how was the game? Did you get to talk to Donghae-oppa?” I questioned her, smiling as I imagined her face turning bright red.

“Um the game was exciting…Baeyoung won, as usual and…yeah…I did…”

“Was it a legit conversation or was it just your normal ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ passing thing again?”

“Unnie, I can’t do much about it, there were so many people on the field and the cheerleaders and soccer players are always around him…”

“You went down onto the field to congratulate him? Awww that’s so cute, Yoona! And psh, what do you care about them? They’re just a bunch of morons who think they’re better than everyone else. I swear, you would think that these people had a dictatorship over our school…”

“Well they do and there isn’t much anyone really does about it. Yuri-unnie, I was lucky I wasn’t killed by the cheerleaders or other female students right on the spot since he hugged me…”

I shot straight up out of my bed. “Wait…he what?! He hugged you? Okay…okay you know what…start from the beginning- I want to hear every bit of this.” My heart jittered with excitement and happiness for my dear friend as she  described what happened the day before at the game.

“THAT’S SO CUTE YOONA!!” I gushed into the phone. “Oh my god, we’re actually getting somewhere with your crush!”

Yoona sighed. “Not really- he looked pretty happy when Sunye kissed him.”

“Okay, number one, Sunye is a y hoe. Every time I see her when she’s not with Donghae, she’s flirting with jocks- from the very same team as Donghae’s no less. Two, he seems to really care about you and probably the only reason he’s with her right now is because he was pressured into a relationship due to his popularity status. I think the only problem we have here is that Donghae’s a little too dense to really see past Sunye’s looks and realize his feelings for you.”

“We’ll see, unnie…so what are you doing right now? Did you finish the physics homework?”

“Yoona, all I have been doing all day is moping around. I haven’t even come close to touching my physics homework…Yoona…is being abrasive towards certain people a bad thing?”

“Could you possibly be moping about that new boy in your class who you complain about daily yet probably find him very attractive?”

“Well…I…fine, yes, it’s about him,” I grumbled. “And yes, I admit he is attractive, but that’s it. He’s probably…I don’t know Yoona. Normally I don’t feel guilty for yelling at guys but this time…it’s been driving me crazy. I mean…why else would a guy a girl to go out for food other than just to get it in?”

There was a pause. “…Maybe he was offering to go out for food just to be friendly? Maybe he just wanted to get to know you because you’re so abrasive towards guys? Yuri-unnie, shouldn’t you be moving on by now? Not all guys in the world are the same…”

I felt my heart stop for just a second from dread, from fear of the past. “Yoona,” I said firmly, cutting her off.  “That’s enough. I…I’m not strong enough to accept the past. Not just yet.”

“…All right then. I’ll come by in an hour to give you your clothes okay? And start your physics homework, Kwon Yuri. Bye.”

“Mmm- bye then.” After hanging up, I sunk my head back into my pillow, groaning again.

I ended up falling asleep at my desk doing physics problems that night, so the next morning I was in a hurried rush to get to school. When I finally sprinted past the gates of Baeyoung, I sighed with relief as I saw crowds of students still gathered on the lawn.

“Um…hi,” said a quiet, male voice. I turned around and nearly jumped. Choi Minho was standing right behind me and I hadn’t even noticed. “Oh…hello…” I managed to mumble before taking a few long strides away from him.

“Wait…Wait!” he called out to me. Hesitantly, I stopped and faced him. He asked awkwardly, “Uh…have I, um, offended you or anything lately?”

I stared at him coolly, trying not to show the fact that the way he was biting his lip and making shy, awkward glances at me was causing my stomach to turn somersaults.

“Possibly…” I said.

He took a deep breath, looked me dead in the eye and said, “I’ve heard...from some people...about how you don’t think much of boys…and I think it must have bothered you when I asked you to go with me for food the other day. I...I’m just telling you now that hitting on you was not my intention at all. I just…I was just trying to do something different and make friends with someone new. I guess I went about it the wrong way. I’m not most social person…so…” He stuck out his hand and said, “I’m Choi Minho.”

I opened my mouth to say something but no words would come out. Stunned, I stared at the hand he had offered to me. Slowly, I reached out and grasped it. “…Kwon Yuri…” I said cautiously.

His face lit up with a smile and said, “It’s nice to meet you.” That grin was infectious- I couldn’t help smiling a little back.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Would you like to be friends with me?” he asked, a hopeful edge in his voice. 

I hesitated, but looking into his dark eyes, the answer rolled off my tongue. “…Sure…” Just then, the first bell rang. Minho glanced over to me and said, “Wanna get to class now?”

This time, I grinned right back. “Alright- let’s go.” As we hurried into the school building together and the first bits of conversation started up, I felt a strange sensation of relief and happiness. It’s been a while since I could consider a guy something so simple as just…a friend.  

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A/N: annyeong everyone! i'm back after that weird two month gap. junior year in high school has been the death of me ;___; i was stuck on writing yoona's part for a while...but i finally got the inspiration and was able to continue onto the other two!

adlkfajldfkj i haven't had much confidence in myself as a writer lately. i feel like all the girls' personalities seem the same >.> geez, 1st person is really hard to distinguish. taking all those various factors of a story into account...i've been having a hard time just writing as i please lately. plus i dont have time. hopefully i'll get through this...

i miss my otps. hopefully SMTOWN (which i am unable to go to...-le cries-) will have some good moments :3 LET US HOPE. and i SHALL one day see super junior, snsd, SHINee, Homin and f(x) in person! yeah! -hwaiting-! lolwhat i make no sense.

but that's just some of my ramblings. anyway. PRECIOUS MINYUL AWKWARDNESS IS PRECIOUS. lol. i had fun writing this time, despite how long it took me. hope you guys like it! ^^ 

btw: SPAAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ OVER "THE BOYS" AHHH THE GIRLS LOOK SO AWESOME AND THEIR ENGRISH IS ADORABLE. teehee :3