Sungmin sighed as she shut her locker, twisting the dial a few times. The sound reverberated throughout the hallway before disappearing among the chatter of students and the banging shut of other lockers. She headed to her music composition and performance class.

"Well hello, have I seen you before?" Kyuhyun fell into step beside her. She snorted.

"Have you? I don't know you, I think I'd recognize such an ugly face," she grinned brightly up at him. He glared at her.

"Way to be nice on the first day of school, how are you going to make friends?" he sighed.

"I don't need new friends, I'm fine as it is."

"Well, I'm helping you out anyway. Meet me by the school entrance at the end of the day, I have someone to introduce to you."

"Yeah, whatever." She waved as he turned the opposite direction, dashing to his Physics class.

"Welcome to class, students. I am your teacher, Mr. Kim. In this class, we'll be learning about different instruments, music compositions, and even writing our own music. At the end of the year we'll have a performance for the whole school.

I have some instruments here for us to share, but since this is a college-level class I hope you guys already know how to play an instrument and start bringing your own as soon as possible, yes? Alright. For your first project, you'll need to find a partner. Pair up and I'll explain more then."

Sungmin groaned mentally. Finding a partner in a class full of people she didn't know was always awkward. She looked for another person who seemed like they'd be nice when someone stepped in front of her desk.

"Hi, I'm Jonghyun. Want to be partners?"

Sungmin blinked up him. He was a stranger, but seemed familiar. He was very handsome; a more masculine version of Kim Jaejoong. "Um, sure. Yeah."

"Great." He flashed her a blinding smile. "What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm Sungmin. Lee Sungmin," she held her hand out, cursing herself when she found it shaking. 

"Cool. What instruments do you play?" His hand was warm.

"Piano and guitar, but I'm trying to focus on guitar for this class." She congratulated herself on not stuttering.

"Ah, really? Me too. Not bragging or anything, but guitar is my forte," Jonghyun grinned and Sungmin reminded herself to breathe. It suddenly struck her why he seemed familiar.

She opened to say more when the teacher began talking again. "Alright, I see we have partnered up already. For your first project of the year, I want you guys to write a piece for you to perform as a duet for the class. Extra points if you can incorporate other instruments into your performances, including voices," Mr. Kim looked expectantly at all of them. "You have one month, and I will be providing time in class. Don't waste time doing nothing, because I will be grading hard for this project."

Jonghyun turned to her. "We should do a guitar duet, with singing."

Sungmin gulped. "I, uh, I don't know if I'm good enough to sing."

"Oh, it can't be that bad. Do a line or two."

She looked around. "Here? How about we wait until after school, or.."

"Or..?" he looked at her expectantly.

"Never?" she suggested meekly. He shook his head. "No, I know you'll be a good singer."

"How do you know? I could totally sound like a dying whale."

"Hey, do you remember about 10 years ago for the talent show, when you sang the three bears' song-"

"You know about that?" Sungmin was horrified. "I was hoping everybody forgot or nobody knew about that," she moaned.

He laughed. "No, it was cute. And you were on-pitch even then, so you'll definitely be fine now."

Sungmin tried to convince him otherwise but he wouldn't have it. "Nope, after I go with my friend to meet somebody after school, come to my house," he held a pencap in his mouth as he scribbled an address down, handing it to her.

Her dad was going to have a fit.

"Oh, and give me your cell phone number." He held his hand out expectantly. Sungmin gave him her phone. "My, don't you move fast," she joked, taking his phone. 

"Well, it's not like you rejected me," he replied. She quickly punched her number in and threw his phone back. "I'm just being nice, don't assume anything," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not assuming. Just coming to the conclusion that you find me appealing enough to exchange numbers with," he flashed another grin.

"Believe what you want, Lee Jonghyun."

"You know my full name?" he seemed surprised. "Are you a stalker?"

Sungmin snorted. "So I don't confuse you with the sophomore, Kim Jonghyun. And you're in that band, CNBlue, right?"

"Why yes, that is correct. I'm surprised, most people don't know about us." His face showed he was genuinely pleased.

"I know good music when I hear it," she replied, albeit shyly. 

"Ah, you're such a nice friend. You should come to one of our concerts sometime."

"I've already been to a few," Sungmin admitted. "I just don't like to stick around when the kids start to drink and smoke."

Jonghyun rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, that's when we start packing up. We have morals, you know?"

"That's why I like your songs," she laughed. They exchanged glances and Sungmin found herself flushing. Why did this random cute, musically-gifted boy decide to be her partner?

They continued talking about music, singing, and instruments until the bell rang.

"Hey, before you all go," Mr. Kim interrupted the steady flow of students merging with the crowd in the hallway, "remember. This is due in thirty days, so no screwing around. Tonight you should meet up with your partner to discuss your plans, so you at least have an idea about what you want to do. See you tomorrow!"

Sungmin grabbed her books and waved to Jonghyun, who responded with a wave as well along with another dazzling smile.

Time for Calculus.

She walked into the classroom to find her best friend already there, sleeping on her textbook.

"Yah, Lee Donghae," she nudged her. "Wake up, class is starting soon."

Donghae lifted her head sleepily. "Oh, hey Sungmin. Your hair looks cute today." She flipped to another page in her book and promptly fell asleep again.

Sungmin subconsciously touched her ponytail to remember what her hair looked like. "Yah, it's only the start of the year, do you want to get in trouble already?"

Donghae mumbled incoherently.

Sungmin sighed. "Hey, I met a boy today."

Donghae's head flew up faster than it did when she found out the clownfish exhibition was in town. "Really? Details, Min. Name, appearance, height- who, what, when, where, why and how."

Sungmin blinked, already used to her friend's hyperactive ways. "Lee Jonghyun. Flower boy. Um, Kyu's height, maybe? MCP class. Like an hour ago. He asked to be my partner for our project."

Donghae squealed and Sungmin mentally prepared herself for the rapid-fire interrogation she knew was coming when the door opened. The teacher walked in and set down a stack of books on her desk. Students paid no mind as she dully explained the course of the class and what they would be learning.

"Hey," Donghae whispered, leaning close. "Is he cute?"

Sungmin snorted. "Didn't I say he was a flower boy?"

"Lee Jonghyun.. Lee Jonghyun.. why does that sound so familiar?"

"Remember, that concert I dragged you out to see last week?"

"Yeah." She pouted. "You made me miss my date with Hyukjae."

"Oh come on, it's not like you don't get to see him every day of the week," she retorted.

"You girls!" The teacher called them to attention. "Do you have something you'd like to share with the class?"

"No, ma'am," Sungmin replied immediately. Donghae looked as if she was seriously considering it. Sungmin elbowed her in the ribs. "No, carry on, songsaengnim," she wheezed, glaring at her.

The teacher gave them a stern look before continuing. "Class, open your books to page 3."

The sound of hard covers meeting hard desks resonated throughout the class, along with pages rustling as they were flipped. Donghae looked eager to continue the conversation but Sungmin gave her the I'll-tell-you-later look understood between all best friends. Donghae grudgingly agreed and fell asleep on her book again.

Sungmin took neat notes, knowing some people would need to borrow them later.

When lunch came around, Sungmin unpacked two bento boxes. She slid one across the table to Kyuhyun, who arrived with Hyukjae.

He pulled out his chopsticks and immediately began digging in.

"No bento box from a sweet, beautiful girlfriend for me?" Hyukjae pouted. Sungmin laughed and elbowed him. "I'm flattered, Hyuk. At least someone appreciates me."

Kyuhyun grunted but continued shoveling rice into his mouth. "Sfes nat my grulfprend."

Donghae coughed before handing a homemade bento box to her boyfriend. He showed his gratitude with a gummy smile. "I knew you wouldn't forget me, Hae!" He pulled her onto his lap before landing a kiss on her cheek. She laughed but pulled away from his arms. "Not at school, you touchy monkey," she reminded him. He frowned sadly before digging into his lunch.

The girls blinked as they watched them eat. Zhou Mi came and plopped down next to Donghae. "Guys, you'll never believe what just happened!"

"Wait, Sungmin has something to tell too!" Donghae sang. 

"Ah ha, no, it's nothing." She coughed, signalling her best friend to shut up. Donghae didn't take the hint.

"No, she's totally head over heals after meeting a cute boy!" Kyuhyun looked up. "What boy?"

Sungmin mentally groaned. Just like Yesung, Kyuhyun was a bit nosy when it came to boy business. Just a bit."

"It's nothing, I'll fill you in later, what were you saying Mi?" Sungmin hastily brushed the topic off, successfully diverting everyone's attention.

"Yoona was just rejected by Siwon! I heard she's crying in the bathroom." 

Sungmin stood up quickly. "Which one?"

"Right outside the cafeteria, the one on the left by the entrance."

She left her lunch untouched, knowing that it would have remained that way even if she had stayed. She lightly smacked Donghae on the head as she passed. "Say nothing!" Her tone held a warning. 

Pushing open the bathroom door, she found two of Yoona's best friends already there. "She's a little better now," Yuri mumbled behind her hand as Sungmin passed. "She was sobbing hysterically before."

"Was not." Yoona glared half-heartedly before sniffling and brushing at a few stray tears. Sungmin came and took her hand. "Aw, there's no need to feel bad Yoona. Siwon doesn't mean any harm." 

"I thought he really liked me," Yoona's voice came out small and cracked. "He always helped me out when I called, and he never complained."

Sungmin knew how she felt- Siwon was a natural gentleman, inclined to help anyone in need. That, combined with his undeniable good looks, basically made having a crush on him a rite of passage for every girl in school at some point in their life.

"He does like you," Sungmin agreed. "Just maybe not in the way you were thinking."

"He'll still be your friend," Taeyeon patted her hair reassuringly. "And there's tons of boys out there dying to be in his place, so you should give them a chance. It's possible that Siwon wasn't meant to be your prince."

Yoona nodded quietly. "Let's go back, I'll think about this later. Can't miss class." The three girls freshened up her face before taking her back. Sungmin parted ways with the girls before returning to her table, where Siwon was now present with a guilty expression.

"Are you going to yell at me?" He asked timidly. Sungmin guessed Donghae and Zhou Mi already had.

"No, you had a reason, right?" He nodded fervently. "I guess I'm glad you didn't lead her on, but give her time. She's still sensitive."

"Why do girls have to get so upset over everything, would she rather have been in a one-sided relationship?" Kyuhyun said.

"Yeah, like why would you want to be with a guy who doesn't really want to be with you?" Hyukjae agreed.

Zhou Mi looked wounded. Sungmin interjected, "Well, a girl can't help but hope, right? Isn't it the same with guys?"

"Nope. Guys figure there's no point in going after something you can't have, and move on." Hyukjae stated firmly.

"No, I agree with Sungmin. Guys can have a one-sided crush too." Siwon spoke up.

"Well, when is the right time to move on?" Zhou Mi asked.

They all pondered this.

"I guess.. after the other person makes it clear that they don't have feelings for you?" Donghae suggested.

"So you're saying until then, there's hope?"

"I think you should give up if the other person is completely oblivious and shows no signs of returning your feelings," Kyuhyun decided.

"But what if you can't?" Zhou Mi pressed. Sungmin was a bit unnderved by how nonchalant she seemed.

"Well, you'll just be stuck there, won't you?" she replied softly. "Sometimes moving on will give you something better, instead of waiting for something that might never be."

Zhou Mi looked her in the eyes and Sungmin was afraid she would tear up but she looked away. "That makes sense, Min."

The boys exchanged are-we-missing-something glances but before they could question it further, the bell rang.

At the end of the day, Sungmin was pulling her pink backpack from her locker and loading it with textbooks, spirals, and binders as Kyuhyun bounded up to her.

"Hurry hurry, he doesn't like waiting," he nagged impatiently.

"Hold on, do you want me to fail all of my classes?" She interrupted him as he was about to speak, "No, you don't. You don't want to be friends with a deadbeat high school dropout."

"Seriously, I know it takes a long time for girls to get ready for school but it shouldn't take long to get ready to leave."

"Geez, calm down I'm done." She tossed her Guide to Composition textbook and her lunchbox into his arms. He staggered under the sudden weight but she walked past him. "You said he was going to be at the entrance, right?"

"Hurry, we can't keep him waiting!" She yelled as he struggled to steady himself and catch up, muttering all the way.

She stepped out into the late summer air, feeling refreshed after being stuck in a building all day. 

"Guide to compostion, eh?" Kyuhyun looked at the book. "Hey, that's the class my friend is taking!" 

"Is it, now?" She tried to think of people in the class that could be his friend. "Is it.. Max Changmin?"

"Nope, but he is my friend." Sungmin watched, shocked as he waved to a familiar boy with a gorgeous smile. "His name is Lee Jonghyun."