Written By: MurasakiMasquerade

Sitting in my desk at the back of the room, I waited for class to begin. Another school year, another year of torment. It isn't like I am bullied or anything, but being ignored is just as bad. My classmates filed into the room with smiles on their faces as they talked to each other in excited tones. They must have had a fun summer. I spent mine at home. The bell rang obnoxiously, signaling the beginning of class. Everyone found their seats. Sadly, since the class has an odd number, the seat next to me was empty. I guess it is for the best since I have major social anxiety. Then, the teacher entered the room with her stack of papers in her hands and her glasses resting on the tip of her nose. She put the papers down and nudged the glasses up her nose.

"Good morning class," she greeted us. 

"Good morning," everyone replied.

"I would like to introduce you all to a new student who just transferred this year." The, a tall, handsome boy entered the classroom. His hair was a dark color with a small hint of brown when it hit the light and had eyes that matched. His face was completely at ease as he walked into the room. I saw the excitement on the faces of the other girls in my class. New meat. They all looked at him with a hint of hunger in their eyes. Once he reached the center of the front of the room, he stopped and gave everyone a dazzling smile. 

"Hey, I'm Junho," he said in a deep voice and I believe I saw some of the girls swoon. The boys in the class just rolled their eyes. 

"I believe that there is a spot open in the back," said my teacher. "You can sit right next to Hyoyeon." My heart dropped as I heard the sound of my name. I felt the envious stares. Junho casually sauntered over to the desk next me and took a seat. I cautiously looked at him from the corner of my eye.

"Hey, nice to meet you," he said to me. My heart pounded as I felt weak from nerves. Before I could finally muster up the courage to say something, Fei spun around in her chair and grabbed Junho's hand.

"Hi, I'm Fei," she said as she flashed a gorgeous smile. I felt my cheeks begin to feel hot and dropped my eyes to my lap. Naturally, he would rather talk to the most popular and beautiful girl in the school. "If you have any questions about the school, just ask me." 

"Thanks," said Junho. Fei clung onto his hand as she continued to smile at him.

"If you want, I can show you around later," said Fei. Junho hesitated before answering.

"Sure," he said.

"Fei, class is starting so please turn around and be quiet," said the teacher.

"Can't wait," said Fei. She winked at him before spinning back around in her chair and giving her soft brown hair a flip off of her shoulder. During class, I remained as still as possible. I couldn't focus on the lecture at all. All that I was conscious of was that there was a person sitting next to me. The minutes dragged by until it was finally lunch break. In the cafeteria, I finished grabbing my food and looked to the sea of tables for a solitary spot for me to sit. I located one in the back corner and began to head for it until I heard my name.

"Hyoyeon," said a deep voice. I froze and turned slowly to the source of the voice. I saw that it was Junho. He was sitting at a table with Fei and her other friends. "Would you like to sit here?" He gestured to the empty seat next to him. On his other side sat Fei, who glared at me with such intensity. I just simply shook my head and then hurried to the empty table without glancing back. 

The final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. My classmates talked excitedly as they quickly packed up their stuff and left. I waited for a few moments before I slowly started to pack up my stuff. In front of me, Fei pulled out her pink lip gloss and began to smear it onto her lips. She also checked the rest of her appearance in her little compact, purple mirror. Junho was at the front of the room talking with the teacher. I stood up from my chair and began to head for the door. As I passed Junho and the teacher, I heard my name. 

"Could I speak with you for a moment?" asked the teacher. I turned towards the two of them and my eyes connect with Junho's. Immediately, I dropped them to the floor and nodded my head. "Since Junho is a new student, he needs to catch up to the rest of the class." I wasn't sure what this had to do with me. "I was hoping that you would tutor Junho and help him catch up." My heart began to pound wildly and I felt my cheeks begin to feel warm. Unable to utter a word, I just simply nodded my head.

"Great," said Junho. "Let's start tomorrow, your house or mine?" 

"Mine," I said quietly before turning and rushing out the door. 

The next day at school, I sat in my desk as I struggled to stay awake. Feeling anxious, I could not sleep at all the night before. Fei strolled into the classroom looking as pretty as ever, except her eyes were directed towards me with an unfriendly look. She stomped over to her desk, sat down and huffed loudly. Then, she suddenly spun around at me with anger in her eyes. 

"I know what you are trying to do," she said accusingly towards me. Dumbfounded, I just shook my head. "Don't play dumb." Her voice was harsh. "Just warning you, Junho is mine." I could not respond so I just dropped my eyes to my lap. My hands squeezed into tight fists as I felt frustrated at my silence. I wished I had the courage to tell Fei off, and to make her stop bullying me, but I know that I lack that courage. Then, Junho approached his desk next to mine. I only knew of his arrival by the familiar sight of his shoes. 

"Good morning," he greeted. Fei shifted towards him with a smile on her face. 

"Good morning," she said. Junho pulled out a notebook and a textbook from his bag and sat down. 

"Good morning Hyoyeon." He directed it towards me and I felt the sting of Fei's glare.

"Good morning," I mumbled without lifted my eyes. 

"Hey," said Fei as she reached for Junho's hand. "Why didn't you ask me to be your tutor? I would have been happy to help you." Junho casually shook her hand off of his and shrugged.

"I guess I didn't want to bother you," he said in a flat tone. 

"Oh, it is no bother at all." 

"Hyoyeon is already my tutor." I cringed when I heard my name. Fei is probably going to kill me now. She turned around in her chair as the teacher began class. 

At lunch, I was sitting alone when a tray landed on the table beside me. Junho casually lowered into the seat next to me and smiled. My eyes flashed over across the room to where Fei was sitting, and she was obviously displeased. 

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked politely. I just shook my head. "You don't talk much." I cringed from the truth of that statement. "Why is that?" I just shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing to say?" He stared at me curiously and I felt my cheeks beginning to feel hot. "Nothing on your mind?" There was a lot on my mind in fact. I was currently thinking about how handsome his face was, how nice he smelled, and how wonderful his eyes were, but I would never say those things out loud. 

"There is just nothing to say," I finally managed to say. Junho chuckled.

"Now that I do not believe," he responded. Then, the two of us ate in silence.

The rest of the school day went smoothly, except for the harsh looks I constantly received from Fei. The final bell rang, and the classroom started to empty. 

"Ready to go?" asked Junho as he began packing up his bag. Tutoring starts today. I nodded my head and silently packed my bag. Fei stood up from her chair and gave Junho a gorgeous smile.

"See you tomorrow," she said before she left the classroom. Junho didn't say anything to her. Once we were both ready, we made our way to my house. The entire trip to my house, Junho talked mostly about his transition to our school and I just nodded my head to show that I was paying attention.

"I feel like I have been talking way too much," said Junho once we finally reached my house. I shook my head.

"Not at all," I said. The two of us went to my bedroom. I cleaned it the night before in preparation for this, but I have never had a guy in my room before. Junho plopped onto my bed and stretched his arms. 

"So this is your room," he said. My cheeks began to feel hot and I turned towards my desk. 

"Shall we begin?" I asked quietly. 

"Sure," said Junho. "What should we start with?" The two of us spent about two hours that night working. Junho is actually really smart. He caught on to the subjects very easily. I believe that I won't have to tutor his for very long. 

"You are very smart," I blurted out. Junho looked at me in surprise. My hand immediately went up to my mouth as I was shocked by my own words. 

"You said what was on your mind," said Junho. My cheeks began to feel hot and I dropped my eyes. "You should do that more often." 

The next morning, I woke up feeling a little bit different. Junho's words remained in my head. You should do that more often. No one has ever said something like that to me. After I ate breakfast and got dressed, I walked out my front door and saw Junho standing in the street. He was leaning casually against a light pole with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Then, he saw me and smiled.

"Good morning," he said. I walked up to him with my bag handle clasped nervously in my hand. 

"Good morning," I said. "What are you doing here?" Junho shrugged.

"Thought I would you to school," he said. "That is, if you don't mind." I shook my head and smiled.

"That is very sweet of you," I said as I walked by him. I expected him to follow beside me, but he remained motionless. "What's wrong?" He shook his head and then started walking beside me. Two weeks went by happily for me. Every other day after school, Junho and I spent a couple of hours studying, but I'm pretty sure that we didn't study that often during those times. We mostly just talked. Junho is very easy to talk to. Once in awhile, I would find him waiting for me outside my front door before going to school. I feel that Junho genuinely cares for me as a friend, and I have never had a relationship like this with anyone else before. Now, I actually found myself excited about going to school. and I am all around happier. Until, one day, I was at school when something bad happened. Junho was sick, so he didn't come to school. I was walking in the hallway on my way home when I was suddenly pulled into an empty classroom. I landed hard on the floor. Fei stood over me with her arms crossed and a hard glare in her eyes. Two of her followers pinned my arms down to the floor with their polished nails digging into my skin. Then, suddenly, Fei threw her head back and began to laugh, I failed to see what was so amusing. 

"Unbelievable," said Fei after she finished laughing. "A nobody could somehow get in my way." I felt the sting of the term "nobody." Fei let out another small laugh before continuing. "I mean, there is nothing special about you. You are ugly, have no appeal, have no charisma, and yet you are in the way." The insults hurt just as much as the physical pain. After they kicked me to the point where the pain was becoming numb, they finally grew bored and left. I remained for a while on the floor with tears stinging my eyes. My limbs hurt, along with my pride from the insults. "So this is what bullying feels like." 

The next day, I walked out of my front door and saw Junho waiting for me. As I walked out to him, I kept my eyes glued to the pavement. 

"Good morn--" his greeting was cut short by the injuries he saw on my face. "What happened?" The memories of yesterday's beatings came back to me and I struggled against the tears. His hand lifted my chin and my eyes could no longer avoid his. Concern was plastered all over his handsome face as he examined the small cuts and bruises that outlined my face. Unable to hold back the tears anymore, one slowly slid down my cheek. I could not take it anymore. I slapped his hand away.

"Its best if you stay away from me," I said and the marched off to school. The whole way, Junho followed me but he kept a distance away from me. Right before I was going to enter the classroom, Junho pulled me aside and I winced from the pain that shot through my arm. 

"Just tell me," said Junho. "Who did this to you?" My eyes drifted towards the classroom before I dropped them to the floor and shook my head. The two of us entered the classroom and took our seats in complete silence. Junho crossed his arms as anger radiated from him. Fei entered after us with a beautiful smile on her face and a skip in her step.

"Good morning Junho," she greeted him warmly. Silence. Junho didn't even look at her, nor did he even react. Fei's smile faltered as she felt the sting of rejection. With a small huff, she sat down abruptly and then gave me a glare. The school day went by very, very slowly. My body ached from yesterday's attack and Junho never seemed to have calmed down. Once the bell rang, Junho stood abruptly, grabbed Fei by the arm, and dragged her out of the classroom. Everyone in the class gaped in shock as they saw them leave. Curiosity gnawed at me to the point where I had to follow them. It took me a little bit, but I finally found the two of them outside, behind the school. Junho had Fei pinned against the wall with fear in her eyes and anger in his. 

"Why?" he yelled at her. "How dare you do that to a person." 

"I'm sorry," wailed Fei as she begged for his forgiveness. "I was jealous."

"What a stupid reason," yelled Junho. I ran up to Junho and tried to pull him off of Fei.

"Stop it!" I yelled. Junho froze and then turned to me in confusion. 

"Why are you stopping me?" asked Junho. "Even after what she did to you?"

"By doing this," I said. "You are no better than her." Junho thought about my words before finally releasing Fei. She collapsed to the ground with tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she kept repeating in a quiet voice. 

"Get out of here," yelled Junho. With a shriek, Fei ran off. Junho clenched his fists and breathed heavily.

"Why?" I asked. 

"Huh?"

"Why did you do this?" Junho sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

"I could not stand them hurting you." The words pierced my heart as I realized how much Junho cares about me. Unsure what to say next, I just remained quiet. The silence grew between us until Junho sighed again and wrapped his arms around me. One of his hands held the back of my head, while the other was placed on my hip. I felt my heart begin to beat faster, and my cheeks felt hot. With shaky arms, I reciprocated the hug. Then, Junho pulled away from me a little bit, lifted my face to his, and kissed me gently. It was only a quick peck, but I will always cherish it, especially since it was my very first. 

Hey Everyone!

HyoBeautyeon here with another update written by my coauthor MurasakiMasquerade!

I hope that you all have been well and I apologize for another late update

The next one will be real soon! I promise!

Thanks everyone for still supporting us through all this time!

I hope you all enjoy and have a great day! :)

- HyoBeautyeon

He is so cute, especially with little kitties

And y as hell!