Jangmi noticed Youngmin’s stare and returned it with a hesitant smile. Something seemed out of place about him but she couldn’t figure out what. To break the awkward tension, she slowly lifted her right hand to wave and immediately he turned away. Minwoo was watching Youngmin, raising an eyebrow when he suddenly shifted his gaze and then followed the direction opposite of where he was now looking to the timid and embarrassed girl sitting beside him. She pulled her hand back down, her cheeks flushed red as she bit her bottom lip.

            “Oh? The new girl has a thing for Youngmin already?” Minwoo teased half-heartedly, changing his sitting position to face her. Jangmi felt angered by his words, but when she looked up to meet his gaze his eyes reflected nothing but sincerity. An innocent face like his did not match the reputation he and his friends held at the school.

            “I’m not sure if anyone told you this already but Youngmin can be pretty harsh when girls confess so you might want to think it over a bit before you go and ‘pour out your love’ to him, alright?” He warned seriously with a wink before pulling off his hat to fan himself. The classroom was heating up despite the cold weather outside even Jangmi’s neck felt sweaty in her wooly turtleneck. She didn’t want to say anything snarky to him, after all for all she knew he was probably just extending a helping hand to a random girl that just got shot down by the most popular boy in their grade—maybe even school.

            “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” She smiled and then released a heavy sigh, pulling out a notebook from her backpack and flipping past her old Japanese notes to a fresh page. Half the notebook was still useable and she hated wasting. Minwoo was watching her out of curiosity. He had always taken strong interest in the new kids. To him, everything was a game of guessing how they would all fit into their school’s social hierarchy, but the smug response he received from Jangmi just now made him unsure where she would belong. Glancing briefly at each page as she flipped, he placed a hand on one page to stop her abruptly and mumbled,

            “Why did I end up falling in love with you?” He was reading the small short sentence Jangmi had scribbled just the class before. He chuckled playfully,

            “Ah, so you’re one of those hopeful romantics that scribble love all over their notebooks?” He always found scribbles in girls’ notebooks amusing, ranging from death threats to silent confessions, it all added flavor to his psychological game. Jangmi stared back at him, confused that he was able to read her complex script in Japanese so quickly. He just didn’t look the type to know languages, but judging people based on looks was not her forte. She gave him a strange stare, wondering why he was even looking at her notes and ignored his question, brushing his palm off her notebook and flipping to a fresh lined sheet. Minwoo found her tolerance level quite amusing, preparing to ask her more ice breaking questions until Donghyun tapped him roughly on the shoulder.

            “Getting friendly with the new girl already, Minwoo?” He joked, giving Jangmi a disgusted look behind her back. Out of all their friends, Donghyun was known to be the shallowest and the fact was proven repeatedly by his bold and shameless attitude.

            “Well if I’m going to be sitting beside her for the rest of the semester I might as well be comfortable about it.” He defended; rolling his eyes at Donghyun’s mixed assumption. He really had no other feelings for her; he just didn’t want to be a jerk like the rest of them. She already proved herself to be pretty witty and polite, so there was no sense in sending her into high school hell in her senior year. Then again, if she got mixed in with anyone of the guys she’d be a definite drama magnet.

~~~

            After an awkward English class spent avoiding the temptation to turn backwards to glance at Youngmin, she hugged her binder close to her body and trailed down the hallway towards the cafeteria. She had a habit of skipping lunch, and though it was an unhealthy form of dieting, she didn’t mind one bit.

            “Why so stiff?” Eungyo asked with a laugh, running to join Jangmi’s walk to the cafeteria. Her red hair hung down just past her shoulders; against the light it was impossible to miss her. Jangmi coughed, loosening her shoulders and readjusting the strap of her backpack.

            “How was English with Youngmin?” She asked curiously with a nudge, not expecting a positive response. Every girl in the school knew how Youngmin was. To those he knew little of, he was cold and ignorant and there were very few out there that he ever let close to him. Jangmi shrugged, feeling a hurtful pounding in her chest when she remembered how Youngmin blankly turned his head away the moment she greeted him. According to everyone at Namnyeo high school, he was like that—there was no explanation.

            “Oh! Look over there,” Eungyo smiled brightly, pointing to Kwangmin who sat at the end of a vacant lunch table nibbling on a sandwich with a biology textbook opened in front of him, “That’s Youngmin’s identical twin, Kwangmin.” Jangmi looked in the direction Eungyo pointed to and smiled, speeding up her pace as she walked towards him, leaving Eungyo lagging behind confusedly.

            “You’ve just met him and you’re already attracted? Well I guess you’d have a better chance with Kwangmin if anyone…” Eungyo mumbled, following Jangmi to the table. Jangmi ignored Eungyo’s comment and hopped onto the seat across from Kwangmin, slamming his biology textbook shut making him lose the page he had been reading. Kwangmin looked up at her with his big, shocked eyes. He had no words to say.

            “Ah… Jangmi…” He mumbled nervously, unsure of what to do. Considering she would recognize the clothes he wore this morning to pick her up, there was no mistaking that she had figured out the lie he initiated. Sitting here awkwardly alone at a lunch table only reinforced the fact that he wasn’t the popular Youngmin who never went anywhere without an entourage.

            “Jangmi, Kwangmin,” Eungyo introduced filially, “Kwangmin, Jangmi.” They both waved awkwardly at each other before Kwangmin opened his biology textbook again.           

            “Uhm… He’s just naturally quiet so don’t be offended.” Eungyo informed, watching Kwangmin as he nibbled on his sandwich completely engrossed in whatever he was reading about erythrocytes.

            “I should’ve known you were Kwangmin this morning. It’s not as easy for me now since I haven’t seen you two since we were nine.” Jangmi explained, examining his face for traits that would help her differentiate between the two. At school, no one needed to stare at the two for hours to be able to tell them apart. They simply looked out for whoever was the loner, and they’d automatically know he wasn’t the Youngmin they all sought.

            “It’s… okay. I’m sorry for tricking you.” Kwangmin apologized, his head still locked on the text book. It was evident he still liked her even after all these years but it was obvious that even she hadn’t changed much. One important fact remained true—Jangmi still loved Youngmin.

            “Wait, hold up!” Eungyo interrupted, raising both arms as she demanded,

            “Kim Jangmi, you know the Jo twins personally?” Jangmi turned to her with an apologetic expression, nodding. It would be a while before she would be comfortable enough to give a story of her past to eungyo considering they had only met hours ago. Kwangmin looked up again when the shadow that overlapped his section of the cafeteria was overwhelmed by the sudden rays of sunlight from the windows on the roof. Jangmi looked up to see the bright sun, shining elegantly through the transparent sheets of glass as the warmth sent welcoming chills down her spine. A sudden outburst of girls gossiping filled the air as Youngmin and his crew of friends entered. Hyewon was the arrogant one that fled immediately to Youngmin’s side, clinging onto his arm annoyingly like a disease. He immediately pulled his arm away, giving her a loathing glare before continuing on his way to the dance room. Jangmi’s eyes were locked on Youngmin who gallantly lead his group as if they were some street gang but much more proper. Seeing him push away Hyewon so heartlessly pushed a nerve in Jangmi, and though she was known for being patient and tolerant, she wanted nothing more than to ask him why he was being so cocky. This was not the Youngmin she fell in love with back when they were younger. She knew age changed a lot of things but she never thought that Youngmin would ever become a jerk to that extent. Her hands involuntarily clenched into fists; Eungyo could almost see a vein pop in her forehead. Before they exited to the dance hallway, Youngmin left his entourage and jogged over to Kwangmin.

            “I’ll be home late today so don’t wait up for dinner, alright?” Youngmin mumbled quickly into his ears. Jangmi stared at him suspiciously, half angry but half in admiration. No matter how angry she wanted to be with either of the twins, she never could be bold enough to act out whatever went on in her head. Before Youngmin to sprint off back to his friends, Kwangmin grabbed onto his arm and reminded,

           “We’re having a dinner party with Jangmi’s family tonight sowherever you’re going, cancel it.” To everyone, Kwangmin seemed like a silent push over with no backbone, but when it came to controlling the wildness of his twin brother he was a force to be reckoned with. Youngmin groaned annoyed, shooting Jangmi an almost hateful glare before agreeing,

            “Fine,”

            “One more thing; you’re bringing Jangmi back after school.” Kwangmin noted, rolling the plastic bag that held his sandwich into a ball and chucking it straight into the garbage can across from him over Jangmi’s head. From Eungyo’s perspective, he looked almost as cool as Youngmin that moment. The personality transformation he made when dealing with Youngmin was much more intriguing than his usual social awkwardness. No one ever understood why he never tried harder to be part of the crowd—or any crowd for that matter.

            “Why can’t you?” Youngmin whined like a five year old to his twin brother.

            “I signed up for a practice chemistry lab today after school. You got off the hook this morning; don’t expect me to do you another favour.” He answered strictly. None of his words shook and he never hesitated midway like he usually would. Youngmin looked back at Jangmi who was staring at him in disappointment. From closer up, she wasn’t ugly at all, in fact, her face still kept a younger charm that reminded him of how she was when they were younger. Her skin was not ghost pale, but pale enough to give off a sense of purity and though she wore little or no make-up, her warm eyes stood out the most to him. Those eyes were the exact same from when they were nine years old, curiously going on careless scavenger hunts around the neighborhoods. He remembered how they formed a beautiful half moon whenever he made her laugh, and how sorrowfully heartbreaking they were when her father scolded her to the edge of tears. Though they were high school seniors now, the expression she gave off made them feel no different than from when they were nine.

            “Yo, Youngmin. If we’re late again our coach is going to make us do hand stands for half an hour again.” Minwoo called, stepping out from the larger crowd that patiently and loyally waited for him. His voice interrupted his short reminiscing and before he left to go join his friends, he gave Jangmi an apologetic smile, once again making her heart flutter with ease. 

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating in so long! I've finally finished Dare to Desire AND Footprints in the Snow so the only pending fanfic I have is this, meaning i'll be updating much more diligently ^^! Hope you all enjoy this chapter. I'll be updating again soon. (: