“Hmm, now that I’ve seen you up-close, your face doesn't look quite right. I mean, you seem rather ugl-” Chanyeol blurted and stopped mid-sentence because of the I-dare-you-to-continue glare Aecha had sent him. Chanyeol quickly continued, “I mean you seem familiar. Have I met you before?”

What’s with him, really? Aecha thought and mentally face-palmed herself.

She knew she was ugly but hardly anyone said that right to her face like he nearly did. Maybe Kris did, but that arrogant jerk didn't count. Aecha may have had a small crush on Chanyeol but now she had regretted it. He hadn't left any good impression on her except for the smile he gave her that morning.

“Yeah, you did. Needn’t I say that we have met twice before, and we talked as well. What’s with you, really?”

Aecha said, trying to mask her annoyance. She would be very irritated with him if it was not for his smile that she saw this morning. That smile preserved a bit of the feeling that she had for him. She really likes it and would want him to smile at her like that again.

“Sorry, I'm very forgetful,” near Hana, Chanyeol added in his mind and continued, “So I have something I want you to help me with. That is if you don't mind.”

“What is it? I'll help you if I can.”

Aecha said just to be polite, but she could guess what he wanted already.

“You’re best friends with Hana right?”

Chanyeol asked politely, already knowing the answer but not wanting to come off as a stalker.

“Yeah, so you want me to hook you up with her or you want me to tell you more about her so you can court her yourself?”

Aecha answered nonchalantly.

This again. Aecha knew it. Every time a guy approached her, it was for either of the two things she had just said. She used to be upset about it because they didn’t even want to be friends with her and they just took what they wanted. However, it's not as painful anymore because Aecha got used to it and she hadn’t helped any of the guys lately. They wouldn’t succeed anyway. The word “love” wasn't in Hana's vocabulary. At least not until after graduation or before college if that mattered.

“Wow, you read my mind. You are so very smart, you know.”

Chanyeol complimented her. A little flattery would help him get on Aecha's good side. Besides, she was really smart to have guessed his intention right.

Aecha rolled her eyes. Yeah she was smart, not like someone else she just met that couldn't even remember her name.

“Well if that's what's on your mind then forget it.”

Aecha said and waved her hand dismissively. 

“Why?" Chanyeol cried out, then he softened his voice. "What I need you to help me with isn’t unreasonable, is it?”

Chanyeol countered, trying to get into Aecha's courtesy.

“Actually, it is. End of discussion.”

Aecha said firmly, cutting Chanyeol off when he opened his mouth. But he didn't give up anyway.

“I can help you with other things in return.” He bargained, giving Aecha an offer.

“Well, too bad that I don’t want anything from you.”

Aecha shrugged, smiling triumphantly inside. Now, what would Chanyeol come up with to counter her?       

“Why are you so against it?” Now, he was frustrated.

“Because I can.”

Aecha smiled sweetly at him, challenging Chanyeol to find something else to say.

Glaring at her, Chanyeol threw his hands up in frustration. Giving up, Chanyeol returned to his group in annoyance.

“Two tough nuts to crack, aren’t they?”

Kyungsoo asked after hearing pieces and bits of their conversation.

“Yeah, no wonder they're best friends, except one is beautiful and the other one is blehh, an ugly duck.” 

Chanyeol spat angrily.

“Hey! Don’t you dare call her by that name. Only I can call her that.”

Kris joined in, glaring at Chanyeol. Then he continued.

“Just as I had expected, Aecha won't agree to help you. She has been like this for a while.”

“What? Then why did you tell me to go ask her? To embarrass myself?”

Chanyeol raised his voice and sat up straight, angry at his newly made friend.

“Yeah, that too.”

Kris smirked to himself because you are tall and handsome just like me.

“But I told you to talk to her because I knew it was necessary.”

Kris continued to calm Chanyeol down.

“It better has been,” muttered Chanyeol petulantly.

“And how is that?”

Baekhyun peeped in curiously.

“For the two of them to really acknowledge each other.”

And Kris added in his mind and for this stupid giant to pay attention to the ugly duck.

“Sounds reasonable.”

The group nodded in agreement.

“So, what now?”

Chanyeol asked impatiently.

The bell rang and stopped their discussion that they all seemed to be very interested in. Before running off to the next class Kris quickly replied,

 “I’ll have a plan for you by the next break. But it will probably cost you some effort.”

During the second period, Chanyeol glanced at Hana then returned his attention to the lesson. He was a fast learner and good at school, except there were a few moments when he appeared to be stupid. You could say that he’s intelligent and talented too. He could play some instruments and rap as well. No wonder he and his friends were so popular.

The break came and Chanyeol bounced over to Kris. Then together, they walked over to an isolated corner in the hallway to discuss Kris's plan.

“Well?”

“So are you good in school? I guess not.”

Kris smirked, eyeing Chanyeol up and down.

“Hey, don’t assume that everyone is like you. Actually, I'm pretty good.”

“Really? That’ll make things a lot easier.”

Kris his chin then said, “So you continue to persuade Aecha until she agrees.”

“That’s it? That's your so-called plan?” Chanyeol looked at Kris incredulously as he exclaimed.

“I haven’t finished yet. You should offer to be friends with Aecha and not just for your own purpose, but you should really be friends with her. It’ll be very difficult and will take a long time to make Hana fall for you, if not ever. So you need Aecha to back you up. But don't just take advantage of her, I won't allow that. Can you do it?”

“You need to know that,” smiled sheepishly, Chanyeol went on, “I don’t really like girls that aren’t pretty. I mean, look at me! I have some qualifications for whom I'm friends with.”

“I do, too. But that’s the only option. Besides, Aecha is really nice. If you could set aside her appearance, she would make a great friend. That’s the reason Hana stayed her friend despite what people used to say about the two. You aren't that shallow that you care too much about how Aecha looks, are you? Being friend Aecha won't be too hard for you, will it?”

“Ok, I’ll try. Not that I have a choice, but surely that’s not the only thing I need to do, right?” Chanyeol nodded, listening to Kris.

“Of course that's not all. You should say that you could help Hana and Aecha with their studies. That’ll give Aecha something to think about before she refuses you. First of all, some aegyo might help, but not too creepy though. Secondly, be nice when talking to her, she has enough crap from people to deal with. And lastly, good luck!”

Patting Chanyeol's shoulder, as he wished him luck. Kris really hoped Chanyeol would succeed, because it'd give Aecha another friend at least. Chanyeol seemed like a nice guy, if not a bit childish and too straight forward.

“Ok, I’ll go now.”

Chanyeol was ready to leave but Kris held him back.

“Wait, no. Tomorrow will do, if you do it now, she’ll be suspicious. Now you go to class first, I’ll follow in later, just in case.”

The day ended smoothly with Kris joining the group that called themselves Exo. They agreed with Kris's seemingly silly idea and accepted him in their group.

Hana and Aecha walked home together for about 5 minutes then separated their own ways at the park. Their houses were 10 minutes apart by foot, and separated by a park where they used to hang out.

The next day came and Chanyeol did exactly what Kris told him to, while putting in some effort. Chanyeol found that if he was nice to Aecha, she would be quite easy to get through.

Finally, Aecha agreed to help him but she added on a warning,

”If you are that persistent then I’ll try to do what I can but I’m not going to assure you of the results. I've helped several similar cases and up till now, none of them had succeeded. There was a persistent guy like you in grade 8, he lasted a year and a half and I admired him for staying that long.”

“Ok, ok. I’ll try my best. Thank you very much.”

Chanyeol said eagerly and happily. He thought that Hana would fall for him in no time. He didn’t know who he was hitting on just yet.

“Don’t thank me yet. Besides, I'm doing it partly because I just want to be by your side.”

She mumbled the last bit to herself, and then Aecha sealed their agreement with a handshake.