July 8, 2004

"So, you're saying that they never let you play?"

"Yeah, not even today," Yoonmi muttered, staring unhappily at the group of twelve running around playing basketball on the other side of the court. Right in the middle of them was a brunette that hadn't spared a single glance in her direction ever since she had first come here.

Stupid Byun Baekhyun.

"And they always say the exact same thing to me," She cleared dramatically. "No girls allowed~"

There was a laugh from beside her.

"Atleast they're nice people... They're pretty famous around here for being friendly, aren't they?"

Yoonmi scoffed. "Friendly? More like loud. They're reaching the end of middle school by now... Shouldn't high schoolers be more mature?"

"Not really... My brother's in high school, and he says some kids get even louder."

Yoonmi dropped her jaw at such a dangerous statement. "I seriuosly need to move," She muttered under her breath.

It was silent for the next few moments, as Yoonmi glared at the brunette having a blast with his friends in the distance. She willed at him to look over just once.

And everybody else had atleast waved at me, too.

"Hey, but if you really wanna," The low voice began again next to her. "Want me to teach you how to play basketball?"

Lee Yoonmi perked her head up in surprise. It had been the first time she had heard such a glorious sentence before.

But before she could exclaim a loud "Really?!" in excitement, Yoonmi turned around to look at her unknown partner in conversation, having realized that she didn't know who she had been talking to all this time.

"Wait, but who even are y--"

She stopped when she saw the tall, dark-haired guy. He had notably wide shoulders and a familiar, handsome face.

Yoonmi blinked in surprise. "... Jin oppa? What are you doing here?"

The guy smiled, looking amused. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I almost couldn't recognize you at first!" He leaned on the basketball pole. "You used to be this tiny," He stretched out his hand to just below his waist.

Yoonmi rolled her eyes and got up. "I wasn't that short. And it's been almost five years since you last saw me at the end-of-the-year party!" She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here? I thought you lived way over there on the other side of town."

"My brother needed to buy something from the beach store, and he told me to wait here." Jin suddenly reached for his backpack. "But while he's doing that,"

He spun a sleek, round basketball in his fingers. It sparked a glint of excitement in Yoonmi's eyes.

"Want me to teach you?"

------------------

"Who the hell is that."

Suho slapped Kai's head with a roll of his eyes. "Pretty words, Kai. Use pretty words."

"That's our uniform, isn't it?" Chen squinted at the tall figure helping Yoonmi reach the basketball hoop on the other court. He suddenly widened his eyes. "Oh, that's just Jin! HI, JIN!"

"Jin hyung? What's he doing here... doesn't he live in the other direction?"

"I think his brother needed to do something here. I saw him walk here with his brother after school ended." D.O. pointed out.

"Oh..." Kai blinked, somewhat annoyed by the sight of the girl laughing and jumping around in the distance. "Well, doesn't Yoonmi look like she's having loads of fun."

"There you go again, thinking every girl belongs to you," Xiumin clucked his tongue jokingly. "Yoonmi's ours, not yours."

"No she isn't."

Everybody turned and looked at Baekhyun, who hadn't spoken a single word until now. The brunette blinked for a few seconds, before quickly turning around to start shooting the ball again.

Luhan cleared his throat. "Anyways, it's you who kicked her out in the first place, Kim Jongin! Don't be complaining now that someone else is teaching her."

Kai made a sulky face. "Whatever... I-It's not like I care or anything."

He ran after Baekhyun. "Gimme the ball, hyung!"

--------------------

"... Um... I think you need to go."

Yoonmi looked up at Jin.

"Huh?"

The boy gestured to whatever was behind her, making Yoonmi turn around in confusion.

Staring straight at them was Byun Baekhyun, shooting daggers from his eyes.

Get over here, he mouthed.

Yoonmi rolled her eyes, but not before feeling blood rush up to her cheeks. She quickly stuffed the basketball to Jin's hands with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry! Gotta go... Thanks for teaching me, though! It was really fun!"

Before Jin could give his answer, Yoonmi ran off, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She felt like one of those kids from the TV shows, who had just been caught doing something bad.

And I didn't even do anything bad. She thought bitterly.

"What now," Yoonmi muttered when she stopped in front of Baekhyun. The brunette only looked at her with an expression that she couldn't quite read.

After a few moments, Baekhyun pointed at the benches a couple of feet away, where the boys' belongings were.

He suddenly broke into a familiar, mischievous smile that brought chills down Yoonmi's spine.

"Can you get me my water?"

The day ended in an empty plastic bottle on the ground, a satisfied smile on Yoonmi's face, and a wet Baekhyun dripping from head to toe.

-----------------

July 12, 2004

"Ow!"

Yoonmi muttered a stream of curses to herself while rubbing her knee, where a heavy, metal box had just hit. It was nine in the morning, and no one was even out on the beach. Yet, despite the sleepy state that Yoonmi had been in this morning, her mom had plopped down a heavy, metal box that probably had a hundred pounds of food into her arms, telling her to give it to Baekhyun and his friends to eat.

Which was a pretty annoying situation to Yoonmi, considering how she wouldn't care less if Baekhyun and his friends starved for twelve months.

And besides, why make her do it? She already saw the group of guys enough to make her sick of them. Yoonmi's mom herself could've walked on over to give a single box full of food to the guys.

Yoonmi huffed in annoyance as she walked up the Byun's doorsteps, already tired of even being there. Her legs hurt like crazy, and the box was really heavy to the point where she wondered exactly what was inside. After ringing the doorbell and hearing Mrs. Byun's 'Coming!', Yoonmi decided to make use of the time she was spending just standing there waiting out in the heat and opened a flap of the box, leaning forward to peek inside.

"What the--" 

The door suddenly opened, cutting her off.

"Oh, it's Yoonmi!" Mrs. Byun said with a smile.

Yoonmi smiled back. "Hi, Auntie. Is Baekhyun and the other guys here? Mom wanted to send this to them." She gestured at the box.

"Oh, is that so? The guys actually went out to the basketball courts just a few minutes ago."

God. No.

"This early in the morning?!" All the way over there?! Yoonmi weakly thought to herself, dejected. She was already out of breath from thinking about what was ahead with this horrifying box of doom.

"Exactly! That was the same, exact thing I said to them." Mrs. Byun rolled her eyes. "Boys. They think it looks 'cool' to go out in the morning and bounce a brown ball around some green block of cement."

Yoonmi nodded. She couldn't have agreed more.

"But if you would like," Mrs. Byun reached out for the box. "You can leave it here, and I'll send it to them myself--"

"No, no, it's fine!" Yoonmi tried to hide her total opposition against her words. Yes, she would love it if she could let go of this terrifyingly heavy box and run out of here back to her bed, but she knew her mom would kill her if she found out she had shoved all the work to Mrs. Byun.

She forcefully smiled the older woman. "I'll send it to them myself."

And that was how Lee Yoonmi spent even more of her Saturday morning carrying a fifty-pound metal box out in the heat.

"Screw this. Screw that. Screw everything." She angrily blew on her bangs, which were stuck to her sweaty forehead. Just WHY was she going through this heat to feed a bunch of basketball pigs?!

"I hope all the food rots under the heat." She muttered as she dragged her feet through the sandy street, clumsily heading for the cursed basketball courts.

"... Lee Yoonmi?" A familiar voice of a guy suddenly said.

God, no.

Yoonmi turned towards the voice with a dull expression, unsurprised to see Kim Myungsoo and his Myungsoo-ed styled hair staring at her as if she was crazy.

Which she didn't blame him for, because who wouldn't think a teenage girl muttering to herself while carrying a metal box at nine in the morning as abnormal?

She definitely would.

"Hi." Was all Yoonmi curtly said before turning around to start dragging her feet across the street again.

Apparently, curious Myungsoo wasn't satisfied with such a greeting.

"What the hell are you carrying?" He looked at the box dumbfoundedly.

Yoonmi let out an angry breath.

"Watch. The language. You could've just said 'What are you carrying?'. Leave 'the hell' out." She stated in one, sarcastically dull tone. "And it's called a BOX. Is it your first time seeing one?"

Myungsoo rolled his eyes and scoffed to himself. "Rude."

Yoonmi's eyes gave a quick glare at him before lingering over to the soccer ball in his arms. Again with the sports, she thought.

"What are you doing here anyways?" Myungsoo said in that Myungsoo way of talking, which Yoonmi definitely didn't like.

"Carrying a box." She bluntly answered.

"What's in the box?"

"None of your business." She was getting tired of this guy already. Now if he could just carry on with whatever he was doing with his own life--

"Is it a secret? Is that why you're trying to hide it from me?"

He suddenly reached out and grabbed the box away from her, only to grunt in surprise.

"God... What's in here? Weights?"

"Well, I thought it was just food. But that was before I opened it. When I actually opened it--"

She reached out and opened the box's flaps. Myungsoo gasped.

"--It was a TON of food."

For a few moments, Myungsoo quietly stared at the rows and rows of lunchboxes made with kimbap, bibimbap, and sandwiches, thinking of who knew what. Then, suddenly, he looked up at Yoonmi with a smug smile.

Yoonmi braced herself for the worst.

"It's for your crush, isn't it?"

.... What?

"What in the world are you talking about?" Yoonmi closed the box again, looking at Myungsoo as if he was crazy. But he only snickered knowingly, as if he actually knew anything.

"Really, Yoonmi. I can't believe someone like you would take the time to pack a lunchbox for the guy you like. How cute."

Yoonmi's jaw dropped. What in the world--

"But who's it for?" He looked towards the way she had been heading. "Seeing that you were going to the basketball courts..." Myungsoo suddenly gasped, giving Yoonmi a sudden bad feeling.

"It's for Baekhyun, isn't it?!"

"... What?!"

Yoonmi stared at him incredulously with wide eyes, blinking in shock. She quickly opened to correct him, only to be cut off.

"I can't believe it!" Myungsoo laughed. "It's really Baekhyun?! THE Baekhyun?! These lunchboxes are for him?!"

He laughed some more at Yoonmi's stricken expression. She really wanted to just grab his soccer ball and throw it into his face.

"But Yoonmi, my dear." Myungsoo suddenly waved his hands in the air, gesturing to the box. "This whole thing... It's really not helpful at all. In truth, guys don't like these kinds of stuff. I say this out of experience, but it feels burdensome, and it's too... you know... clingy."

.... Clingy? Yoonmi frowned. What the heck was this idiot saying?

"So I advise you to stop right here and eat this all up yourself before you get your heart broken." Myungsoo stated as a matter of factly. "Baekhyun sunbae-nim will hate it if you go to him carrying this box full of self-made food. He'll feel annoyed, especially since it's in front of all his cool friends."

Yoonmi scoffed, finding this whole situation downright ridiculous. Who was HE to say anything at all?!

"Stop jumping to conclusions, Kim Myungsoo. Sorry to ruin all your stupid fantasies or whatever, but this food--"

"Will make Baekhyun fall in love with you? That's what they all say. Trust me, Yoonmi. He'll not like it. Just the sight of you clumsily walking over to him with a box full of lunchboxes will freak him out. And besides," He gave the girl a once-over. "Sorry to say, but you're not exactly the hottest girl in town. It you were, then maybe the lunchboxes might've looked better."

Yoonmi scoffed incredulously as Myungsoo ignorantly spun his soccer ball in his hand and turned to leave with a smug smirk.

"Later, then! Oh, and you better listen to my advice! Seriously, what would you have done if I hadn't bumped into you..."

Yoonmi widened her eyes.

"Wait! No! Y-You can't leave just like that! I didn't even--"

"See you!"

"Wait--But.. but...." She watched the boy run off to the fields, dumbfounded. "I didn't even make any of this food..."

Her voice trailed off when she saw Myungsoo couldn't even hear her. He was off in the field with his friends, kicking around the cursed soccer ball across the field.

Yoonmi dropped her jaw. Never in her life had she felt so... injustified. Had she just experienced such a ridiculous situation?!

She scoffed and rolled her eyes as she started walking towards the baketball courts again. "Whatever." She began muttering to herself about how incredulously stupid that idiot Kim Myungsoo was.

But she couldn't help but think back to what he had said earlier... about how she would look clingy. Did guys really hate girls who put all their effort into them? Were they really that full of themselves? Or was it just an entire stupid bad-boy syndrome?

Yoonmi looked down at the box in her hands. She suddenly thought of Baekhyun getting annoyed by her clinginess.

.... Maybe she shouldn't--

"No!" Yoonmi quickly shook the thought out of her head. What in the world was she thinking?! She hadn't even made all this food. And why should she even think about the stupid things that idiot Kim Myungsoo said?! He probably didn't even know what he was saying... She should be smarter than this!

It was just Byun Baekhyun.

With a huff, Yoonmi continued stomping off towards the basketball courts, which she could clearly see by now. The boys were playing a sweaty, but fun game, much to her disapproval. It always made her feel empty whenever the boys played something fun without her... especially when they did it on purpose.

Like in any kind of sports.

"Guys." Yoonmi muttered unhappily as the boys ran after the ball, totally deaf to the frowning girl who had just came with a box of food. She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Guys." She said a bit louder. The ball had been thrown closer to Yoonmi's way, and yet they didn't take any notice of her. That, or they did a really good job of pretending like she wasn't there.

Yoonmi tightened her jaw in annoyance.

"GUYS!" She yelled.

All twelve guys suddenly turned to look at her in surprise, as if they really hadn't known she had been calling for them for the last few minutes.

"Yoonmi? What are you doing here?" Baekhyun was the first to ask, which only increased the uneasy feeling in Yoonmi's stomach. Myungsoo's words just seemed to ruin her thoughts every second.

With a deep breath, she pointed to the box in her arms with her chin. "This."

Baekhyun blinked at the box for a few moments, before curiously walking over to Yoonmi. He was followed by the rest of the guys. With a grunt, Yoonmi finally set the box down onto a bench next to her. She stretched her exhausted arms as the boys came over one by one.

She didn't know exactly why, but she somehow felt a bit nervous. Her box had now become the center of all twelve guys' attention, and it wouldn't be long before she would have to open it and reveal its contents. She couldn't help but worry about the ridiculous: what their reactions would be to all the food.

Was even sending the food her mom made for them classified under 'clingy'? What if guys were really that stupid? Would they be disgusted? Would they leave Yoonmi out of their sports and games even more than now?

Yoonmi nervously bit her lower lip as she reached out and slowly opened the box. She held her breath for their reaction.

"YAY IT'S FOOD!" Baekhyun's voice immediately cried out happily.

... What?

It took her a few moments to realize that she had been closing her eyes up until now. When she finally opened them, all she saw were twelve hungry guys dive for the box with joyed looks on their faces.

Yoonmi almost scoffed out loud.

"Thanks for the food, Yoonmi!" Xiumin waved a kimbap into the air gleefully. Yoonmi smiled back, still a bit dazed at how different their reactions were than how she had imagined them to be.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh my god it's BIBIMBAP." Kai suddenly jumped on top of the bench and made a huge heart shape with his arms into the air, exclaiming through a mouth full of bibimbap, "I love you, Lee Yoonmi! Will you accept my confession?!"

"In your dreams!" She retorted almost instantly in disgust, making Baekhyun choke on his own rice in laughter.

D.O. scoffed. "Why'd you even bother to ask, Kai?" He rolled his eyes at him before suddenly facing Yoonmi with a cheesy wink. "I love you more, my love!"

Yoonmi shook her head. "Oh, God."

"I love you MOST!" Chanyeol pumped his fist into the air.

"I love you MORE than the most!" Chen snickered at his own cleverness, only to cry out in pain when Suho smacked him on the head talking about how what he said didn't make any grammatical sense.

Kai looked up at Yoonmi again while stuffing a spoonful of bibimbap into his mouth.

"So, who are you gonna pick?"

"Pick for what?" Yoonmi stole a chip from Baekhyun's plate, ignoring his glare of disapproval.

"For marriage, of course!"

Yoonmi scoffed, contemplating whether she should slap the guy in the head or go along with the joke.

She suddenly placed her hands on her hips, pretending to be haughty.

"Thanks for all the confessions and all, but really," She joked with a smirk. "I already have a man."

"What?! Who?!" Kai cried out with a cracked voice, earning laughs from the others.

Yoonmi smiled mischievously.

"Him!"

She reached out for the nearest guy and linked arms with him. It was only when she looked to see who it was when she found a tall, shy boy with tousled brown hair who was unable to meet her eyes.

Kai burst out laughing.

"Awww... Of all guys, your man is the shy little Sehunnie?"

Yoonmi pretended to blush and curled a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Of course... I dig shy guys."

"Really?!" Kai jumped down from the bench. "W-well... I-I'm p-pretty sh-shy as well...." His voice went up a notch higher, making the others laugh again.

Yoonmi rolled her eyes with an amused smile, wondering why Kai had always been that one guy who had a flirtier mind than the rest.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Baekhyun suddenly went between her and Sehun, hanging his arms around each of their necks.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Poor Sehun is dying here having to link arms with Yoonmi."

Yoonmi scoffed and gave him an annoyed look, feeling somewhat insulted.

"And what's wrong with linking arms with me?!"

"Everything." He ruffled her hair with an amused smile. Yoonmi only looked up at him with a frown, patting her messy hair down again.

"But did you make all this food yourself, Yoonmi?" D.O.'s voice suddenly asked.

Before Yoonmi could answer, Luhan interrupted with a scoff.

"Of course not. Yoonmi's not the type to make lunches for guys."

Chanyeol suddenly chuckled.

"Are you kidding me?! Yoonmi making lunchboxes for a guy?! Yoonmi?!"

Yoonmi blinked a few times.

Okay. Why did this feel like an insult rather than a compliment?

"Really, Kyungsoo. You should know Yoonmi by now." Baekhyun popped a kimbap in his mouth. "She's not like any other girl.... In fact," He suddenly looked at Yoonmi, his left cheek full of kimbap.

"Sometimes, I don't think she is a girl."

That earned him a good smack on the head.

-----------------
lol ok enough with the filler chapters
just wanted to make time pass with a subtle look at how some things/ppl are beginning to change+what's going on in Yoonmi's head!
Just for a preview of the next chapter(s):  Suwon Summer Dance I
please look forward to the start of drama :)
(but I still like cute stuff so that'll still be on there)