The next day, I awoke on my bed with the blanket wrapped snugly around me. I stared around my room, puzzled. How the heck did I get in my bed? I don't remember getting up last night to move myself to bed... I rubbed my eyes as an attempt to unblur them. I shifted over to face the clock on my right, which was inconveniently blocked by a piece of folded paper. I was stumped for a few seconds, then it clicked.

Lee Sungyeol.

I smiled as I reached for the note and opened it. My smile widened as I read his carefully written words:

Good morning, beautiful! What were you doing on the couch last night? If something happened, you should have called me, babo. Because of your foolishness, I put you on your bed so that you could sleep well and wake up without sores. Oh, and do you have a new neighbor? There were a lot of thumping noises last night from the apartment next door. This might be a great opportunity to make new friends! ^^ Well, maybe you wouldn't want that, knowing you. Anyway, I made breakfast for you, so eat well and have a nice day at school! I'll see you at rehearsal! Much love, Sungyeollie-oppa.

Of course, it was Sungyeol-oppa who put me in my bed. Who else would be that considerate? Even I wouldn't do it for myself. I rose up from my bed and stretched my arms high above my head. Then, I remembered my initial intention for looking at the clock. I quickly looked at the clock and gave a small shriek of horror. It was 7:30! I only had half an hour to get ready for school!

Cursing under my breath, I flung myself out of bed and propelled myself about to get things done. After getting ready, I gulped down Sungyeol's delicious breakfast of omelette and toast and exited my apartment, not bothering to wash the dishes.

I tripped over a pretty wicker basket at the foot of my door and stood up, cursing again. What the heck is this thing doing at the foot of my door? Then, I noticed that every single door on my floor had a wicker basket, all adorned with silky ribbons, all different colors. All except my new neighbor's door.  

My anger slowly dissipated when I observed my own basket. The ribbon was of a navy-blue hue, my favorite color. Behind clear cellophane wrap were many snacks of all varieties: hard candies, chewy candies, dried fruits, granola bars, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate. I softly smiled. Wow, I might just like this new neighbor. Should I take Sungyeol-oppa's advice and make new friends?

I placed it on top of my shoe cabinet and closed and locked my door. When I turned around, I walked smack into a broad chest and crumpled to the floor. I cursed for the third time that morning and whipped my head up to glare at the person who dared to stand in front of my door. It didn't take me long to figure out who it was.

"Hello, neighbor," said an attractive, athletically-built male around my age. He smiled softly at me and held out a hand to help me up. I grumpily brushed his hand to the side and stood up on my own.

"Hello."

"I'm Nam Woohyun. I'm sorry for standing in your way. Were you in a rush to get somewhere?"

I stared at the male, completely speechless at his dumb question. I wanted to shout, "Of course, I'm in a rush to get somewhere, you idiot! What kind of question is that?" However, I restrained from blowing up and bowed slightly.

"Choesonghaeyo (*a formal way of apologizing). Yes, I'm in a rush to get somewhere. Please excuse me." Just as I made my way toward the end of the hall, he blocked my way, stuck out a hand, and flashed me a grin. I eyed his hand with suspicion.

"It's nice to meet you. I hope that we meet again." His smile alone was beginning to give me the creeps. He took ahold of my hand and pumped it up and down.

"What is your name?"  

I jerked my hand out of his and replied, "My name is Kang Hwayoung. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to go."

With that, I jogged to the end of the hall and disappeared down the stairs, trashing the thought that I was actually attracted to this male.

~:~:~:~:~

(*Author's Note: Sungkyunkwan University does not have a "Stairway from Hell." I put in this scene from my memory of going to Soonchunhyang University. That school has the "Death Stairs." I'm sorry for any confusion.)

I arrived at school with ten minutes to spare and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, my class was very close to the entrance to the school... That is, if you didn't count going up the "Stairway from Hell." I stopped at the bottom of the stairway my school was famous for and glared at it like it was my sworn enemy. (Truthfully, that isn't far from the truth.) It had ten flights of stairs, with fifteen steps per flight. In all, it had 150 steps. Most of us Sungkyunkwan students tried to avoid it as much as possible, which resulted in white, pristine steps and a long history of late students. Unfortunately, I wasn't that type of student. The one thing I hated more than the stairs was being late to class.

I remembered going up for the first time: crawling up the last flight of stairs, thinking about how my thighs seared with pain, and sweat dripped down my forehead like rain. I had glanced left, right, and behind me and noticed that other students were suffering the same fate I was. It was in my freshman year, when I made the terrible mistake of taking three classes located at the top of the stairs. I winced at the memory. It was just my luck that this semester had two classes there.

I glanced at my watch, 8:27, and exhaled. I curled my fingers around my backpack straps into fists and leaped for the first step. I began with a slow trot and built up my momentum when I got past the third flight. Around the fifth flight, I could already feel the burn in my calves and thighs, but I kept going, for I knew that stopping there would mean giving up on the journey altogether. I began to slow to a trudge at the eighth flight, running low on energy and will power. By the time I reached the tenth flight, I had to use my hands to crawl up the remaining steps. At the last step, I looked at my watch: 8:33. I had to gather the rest of my energy and sprint towards the entrance of my classroom within the last two minutes.

I screeched to a stop in front of my classroom door and swung it open. My entire class stared at me in awe, for they knew that I was rarely late to class. I ignored their eyes and glided to the empty seat usually reserved for me in the front. The teacher entered the room five minutes after me, appearing as irate as ever, and slammed his books on the table.

I rolled my eyes. What the heck is his problem today?

"Alright, class. I had a ing horrible morning, so you guys better shut up and let me teach the lesson today. Anyone who isn't taking notes will be given extra homework. Let's get started." He went straight to the board and began his lesson.

~:~:~:~:~

Right before rehearsal, I decided to take a lunch break. It was an hour after noon, when everyone was in their classes, leaving me peace and quiet to accompany me towards lunch at the school's local cafe. I checked my watch and smiled. I hope Sungyeol-oppa is working today. I want to thank him for putting me in bed yesterday.

Just when I looked up from my watch, I walked smack into another female and her friends. Ready to curse her for her rudeness, I stood up, only to be met with an unexpected sight. There, stood Dahee and her friends from the locker room. I scowled at them, which they returned with frightened expressions. "Watch where you are going next time, freaks." I brushed my clothes off and began walking away.

"W-wait, Eonni!" blurted a voice from behind me. I spun around to find Dahee smiling tentatively at me. "Do you have anyone to eat with?" Her friends shot her horrified looks.

"No." I replied curtly. I my heel and barreled towards the cafe. It warmed my heart to hear her say that sentence. She cared enough to ask and, unlike other girls, she seemed sincere. I shook my head. In order to keep myself from feeling such unnecessary feelings like love and pain, I have to reject every single friendship opportunity. Plus, I only need Sungyeol-oppa.

As usual, a group of fangirls were crowding around the already full cafe, screaming and taking pictures of Sungyeol, who was probably giving them fanservice by giving out free baked goods and basically, being himself. And that was what I hated about him; he always had to share his attention with all his fangirls. He had no reason to be nice to them, but then again, he had no reason to be nice to me either. He was a kingka at Woolim High and that title followed him to Sungkyunkwan University, where he double-majored in Theatre and Dance.

I sighed and forced my way through the crowd, which immediately parted like the Red Sea when they realized who I was. Yes, I was famous. Famous for being female lead for our school's past three musical productions. Famous for visiting Sungyeol for two days a week. Sungyeol wasn't always the lead in every production he had been in, but he has been for the past three productions, leading his fangirls and our supervisors to believe that we were dating. How ridiculous.

Some girls whimpered as I strode past them. Others whispered behind their hands or gave me hard glares. One thing could be said about them all, though: they were all afraid of me.

Actually, I had no idea why everyone was afraid of me. It wasn't like I bullied others and I certainly didn't flaunt my talents; suffice it to say, I wasn't a primadonna. In fact, I worked just as hard as everyone else to obtain those lead parts. I auditioned like everyone else and was judged fairly by the same judges. I detested all the attention (negative and positive) I received, I rarely spoke to others, and I got good grades. By society's standards, I was a model student. But, it was true that I put myself on a pedestal, which was only for self-esteem purposes. I felt that I should take pride in my hard work. Had I gone too far with this pride recently? Perhaps. Even to the point of arrogance? Yes. I admitted this sin to Sungyeol in the past many times. But, I was never ashamed of it. Hard work should be recognized, no matter the shape, size, or form. It was a philosophy I believed in.

I stopped in front of Sungyeol's counter just when he popped up with a tray of chocolate chip cookies. When he saw me, he jumped back in surprise, which caused the cookies to leap off the tray and onto the floor. I rolled my eyes.

"Hwayoung-ah! You're here!"

"Oh, yeah? I didn't notice," I snorted. My expression changed to a serious one. "By the way, Oppa, thanks for last night."

There was a collective gasp as the girls began gossiping amongst themselves. My eyebrow twitched irkingly at this. Why do fangirls do this ? Don't they know it's annoying to Oppa?

Sungyeol smiled as if nothing happened. "You're welcome. You know, you should really get to bed earlier. You're getting a little heavy to carry." I swatted his arm.

"Yah, Lee Sungyeol!"

"Nongdamiya (*I'm just kidding)..."

"Tch, nappeun nom (*bastard). Yah." I jerked my chin at his tray. "What was that?"

"I was baking cookies."

I let out a sarcastic laugh.  "Since when were you a baker?" Actually, I knew that he loved baking, and he was good at it. He was just self-conscious about his confections. He often gave his "First-Tries," as he would call them, to me. I loved everything he made. For him to share this sort of intimacy with the fangirls made me a little jealous, to tell the truth.

"What? You know that I love baking!" Girls sighed left and right. I rolled my eyes. What a bunch of lunatics.

"Yes, I know. Now, stop doing that."

He pouted. "What? Am I not allowed to bake cookies?"

"No." At least, not for these girls.

"Y-Yah, kijibaeya (*girlie)! Who are you to force our Oppa to stop baking?" screeched a freshman from behind me.

"Yeah, just who are you, anyway?" squeaked another one right beside her. I whirled around to find two petite girls with the same hairstyle as me. I blinked slowly and made my way towards them.

"Yah, that's Kang Hwayoung!" Their friends whispered. They widened their eyes at me. "Don't cross her! She's Oppa's girlfriend!"

When I heard this, I scoffed. "Psh, no. Why would I date him? He's the WORST person to go out with. I should know; I'm his sister."

Sungyeol gave me a bewildered look. "Kang Hwayoung! You aren't--"

I rolled my eyes and slapped a fresh 5,000 won bill onto the counter. "I only came for lunch, Oppa. Not to be harassed by your fangirls. So, I would like to get a Turkey-Spinach Panini and a bag of tortilla chips. Thank you."

He stared at me in awe, then smiled at his audience, but I could tell that he felt humiliated. I waited on the side for my order with my arms crossed and smirked. That's what you get for being such a nice guy, Oppa.

When I finally received my food ten minutes later from one of Sungyeol's co-workers, I shot him a genuine smile to let him know that I was just joking. His expression softened and he mouthed, "See you at rehearsal." I nodded and went on my way.

Once again, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, but this time, the glares were deadlier. I just kept walking. I didn't give a damn about them. I only cared about Sungyeol, since he was the only person in my life worth caring about. I sauntered over to my usual spot under the oak tree and sighed in contentment when I took out my Panini. The tantalizing scent of toasted bread and roasted turkey wafted up my nose and made my mouth water in anticipation. Turkey-Spinach Panini. The best sandwich invented by man.

Just as I was about to take a bite of my long-awaited lunch, someone plopped down next to me. My eyebrows furrowed in irritation. Who is it, now???

"Eonni!" exclaimed Dahee with a dazzling smile. I groaned. This girl doesn't know how to quit! "What's that? It looks really good!"

"I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?"

"I'm eating with you. You're the only one who isn't eating with someone."

"I happen to like eating alone. And I think it's pretty well-known that I'M the only one who eats here." I gestured to the solitary oak tree. Dahee glanced around and sure enough, no one else sat at the tree. I was, basically, a loner, and I liked it that way. She was quiet for a bit.

"Is your name on the tree?"

I did a double take. Did she--? "What?"

"Is your name on the tree? Because if it isn't, that means that anyone is allowed to eat here, not just you." She blinked at me innocently.

"What the heck--? Fine! If you want to eat here, I'll move somewhere else," I replied hotly. I wasn't in the mood to play with such an annoying creature. I had other places to be after lunch! But, I remembered with a mental slap to the head: Dahee was also a part of the latest production, with me and Sungyeol.

"No, Eonni! W-What's wrong with eating together? We can go to rehearsal together afterwards!" She reasoned, almost close to tears. "I know that you probably don't like me..."

"Look, kid. It's not that I don't like you. I'm pretty sure that you're cool hang around. But, I just don't hang with people. It's not my thing."

She smiled happily at me and tilted her head to the side. "So, it's not that you don't like me? That's great! Then, does that mean that you don't mind if I eat with you?"

I inhaled sharply. She was beginning to get on my nerves with her over-the-top aegyo and boundless energy. Where the heck does she get all this energy from??? "Did you not hear me? I don't hang with people; it's not my thing! Now, if you don't mind, would you please eat with your friends and stop trying to eat with me? I don't want to eat with anyone but myself!" I took a big, grumpy bite of my Panini and gave her my famous death stare. The strange thing? She didn't even flinch. She just smiled softly at me and continued eating her dosirak (*lunchbox).

"You can grumble all you want, Eonni. But, I'm not going to stop until we become good friends," she replied. I stopped chewing. No one in my life, except, of course, Sungyeol, had the guts to say that to me. Every girl who tried being my friend always ended up doing so for personal gain. But, Dahee had a genuity about her that I admired. However, there was no way that I was about to let her know that I thought so.

"Well, suit yourself. I'm leaving right after I'm done with my food," I said, brushing crumbs from my sandwich off of my fingers. When she saw that I was almost done, she shoveled her food into with blinding speed. I almost broke out in laughter, but I kept composed, knowing that she could probably figure out that I found her fascinating from it.

~:~:~:~:~

Rehearsal was a long and stressful one. For some reason, the director didn't seem to be in an uplifting mood, which was not unheard, just unusual, of him. He drilled me and Sungyeol for every mistake we made and even cursed once or twice. Not once did I complain. I could understand his predicament. Our first show, though it was a dry show, was in three weeks. On top of that, our choreography was a bit loose and one of our mains injured her ankle. That meant that an understudy, coincidentally, Dahee, had to take over her part for the rest of the production.

Sungyeol and I were drenched from head to toe by the last scene, but we still refused to complain. Everyone was following our lead and it looked bad if we broke under the pressure of the time limit and the director's criticisms.

The director gathered us all together to inform us of the next practice, which was the next day. "Be sure to bring in your costumes. We will be having our first dress rehearsal." There was a collective groan around the room.

"But, Saem (*informal 'Teacher,' 'Teach')! We are three weeks away! Why do we need to practice in those costumes now?" cried a male understudy.

"Yeah! We barely have the choreography down!" complained his female opposite. "We need time--!"

"YAH!!! Sigani eobseo (*there is no time)! My decision is final. Bring your costumes and be ready by 3:00 sharp! Anyone who is late will do ten pushups for every minute they are late." With that, he picked up his items and stormed out of the auditorium.

I sighed in exhaustion and checked my phone. It was already 8:00 p.m. We had rehearsed for five hours and we still didn't have the choreography down. No wonder Saem was pissed... "Yah, think fast."

Sungyeol threw me a Chilsung Cider (*a Korean Sprite) can. I caught it swiftly and popped it open. "Man, Saem was pretty hard on us today, huh?"

"Yeah, it was no joke," I chuckled. "When I didn't point my toe in the third scene, I thought he was going to bite my head off."

"I wonder what's wrong with him..." Sungyeol casted me a sideward glance. "Did you enjoy breakfast?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I liked the omelette. Thanks, Oppa."

"You know, I wasn't joking when I wrote you that note. You really need to make new friends. Someday, I'm not gonna be here for you, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know. You're gonna get married to one of your fangirls and move out of the city and into the country. That's always been your dream, right?" I asked quietly. I could feel my throat tighten at the thought of not being able to see him anymore. I knew that he was just joking. I knew that he only wanted me to make new friends. But, I only wanted HIM as a friend. No one else interested me.

"No, Hwayoung... It's not that. It's just--"

"I understand, Oppa. You want me to have a friend that's a girl. I can't. You KNOW that I can't. Mom left and--"

"I know that your Step-mother wasn't the greatest, Hwayoung. But, you need womanly support. And I can't give that to you. You glare at every one of my fangirls. Every girlfriend that I had broke up with me because you were too harsh with them! What about the girl you walked in with? What's her name?"

"Dahee?" I scoffed. "I think you're mistaken into thinking that she's anything close to friend material for me. Don't you know? I need a friend who can understand everything that I've been through and that's you. And not to mention, her personality is freaking irritating. She never knows when to shut up. Seriously."

"Maybe you need a friend like that. Maybe you need someone who is talkative and fills your life with joy." Sungyeol sighed when I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, never mind. You are so high-maintenance. Do you have a ride?"

"Nope."

"Alright, I'll drop you off."

We said our goodbyes to the remaining members of the production, including Dahee. She beamed at me, as though she was expecting more than just a goodbye. I rolled my eyes and followed Sungyeol out the door.

When I got home, I bade Sungyeol goodbye and trudged upstairs. As I passed by my new neighbor's door, I thought about when I first met him. He was kind enough to offer me help when I fell. He was handsome and appeared to be of good standing. Maybe he wouldn't be bad as a new friend. Nam Woohyun.

With that thought, I opened the door to my apartment with a small smile.

*****Hey, all! Here is my third chapter! I hope you all like it as much as I loved writing it! Please comment and subscribe. Constructive criticism is also welcome! I appreciate it! :)*****