Time for a little insight.

“Mikyung-ssi and I went to the same middle school,” Yoohyuk paused, “Though I doubt she even knows that.” Yoohyuk shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “So I’ve known her for almost five years now and I was there when she first transferred in. “

N looked at him shocked, “Transferred?” Leo only looked at Yoohyuk intently.

Yoohyuk nodded. “She transferred from Singapore in our first year of middle school. But no one found out why she was in Singapore in the first place since she didn’t talk that much back then either.”

Leo finally looked away and thought back to that day when he saw her father drop her off. The older man had already been in complete military uniform then giving a clear sign about his position in society. He guessed that her father had been stationed in Singapore due to his job and he had taken his family with him.

“So that’s why Mikyungie is so good in English?”

“Yeah, pretty much. She’s always excelled in that subject.”

N looked eager to learn more but Leo had enough and turned to walk away. N, knowing his friend, grabbed onto his shoulder. “Where are you going?” Leo only stepped out of reach until N’s hand fell back to his side. “But we’re learning more about Mikyungie,” he exclaimed while gesturing to Yoohyuk.

Leo turned to at his friend, “Not this way” he said while staring straight into his eyes. He left without another word.

“Leo-ya!” N called after him but Leo didn’t even look back. “Aish, him and his dramatic exits.” He kicked the dirt.

“What did he say?” Yoohyuk was looking at the retreating figure, “I didn’t hear him.”

“Oh,” N returned his attention to his classmate, “He said he doesn’t want to learn about Mikyungie this way.”

Yoohyuk looked back at him as Leo’s back disappeared from sight. He nodded, “That makes sense. I guess it was presumptuous of me to tell him about Mikyung-ssi.”

N raised his eyebrows, “Even though you’re the one who probably knows her the longest here at school, you still use formal speech with her.” He was surprised to see the other boy blush a brilliant shade of red.

“Oh, ah, ummm,” Yoohyuk cleared his throat and his eyes darted here and there, not really settling on anything. “I-I could never do that.”

After he said that, he was quick to excuse himself. N remained standing there and couldn’t help but feel sorry for his classmate’s retreating back. He turned to look in the direction his friend left and those feelings transformed into something different, “Stubborn,” he muttered as he kicked the dirt again. He let out a big sigh before moving to follow after his friend.

Leo had escaped from everyone after school on the day of the volleyball game. He briskly walked to the bus stop nearest to the school on his own. He was one of the first students there. His mind was feeling very scattered at the moment and he didn’t want his friends to see him in this state.

Her smile and the sound of her voice as she bantered with her sister while holding the (cute) baby gave him foreign feelings. He saw a bus coming up but it wasn’t his so he moved closer to the sidewalk to make room for the students who were now running there to catch the bus.

He watched as traffic continued on its way and he let his mind wander. He thought about whether he should listen to his mom and get a driver’s license. One of his sisters likes to about not having one. Ken and N have talked about it themselves but Leo never saw the point in getting it especially since public transportation had been working him well over the years.

His bus was approaching when a flash of a bright color popped up next to him. It was bright pink and the color hurt his eyes so he shifted his weight a little so it was out of sight. But the person donning the attire in question, moved closer to him and it was back in his sight.

“Annyonghaseyo sunbaenim,” the pink blob bowed to him. He couldn’t ignore her so he made sure his indifferent look was in place as he nodded back at the girl. The bus pulled to a stop in front of them and Leo didn’t make any move to get on even though this was his bus but he wanted to check something. The girl was the same as she remained standing next to him. He suddenly took a step forward, testing to see if she would follow and she did. He sighed once he was on the bus as she moved right behind him.

Once on the bus, one of the male students offered his seat to the girl and she quickly looked at Leo for his response but he didn’t notice and moved towards the back. There were a few empty seats but he had only one in sight and walked past those other seats. When he reached that specific seat, he sat down next to another guy who had the same school uniform as him. The guy looked at him before immediately looking out the window. Leo noticed him scooting closer to the window and couldn’t hide his amusement at the reaction his presence can induce from other guys.

There was something Jung Taekwoon always did since his second year in elementary school. The thing he always did was choose a specific seat in the bus and he stuck with it. It was always a new seat for every new semester.

It started when his parents let him take the bus to and from school since they and his sisters were usually too busy to drop him off and pick him up. One of them usually walked him to the bus stop but that stopped in his middle school years. What had started as a sort of celebration of being independent away from his family, became a ritual he abided by as his school years progressed.

On the first day of school this year, he had jumped onto the bus late thanks to his friends who had ambushed him after classes ended. That was a little his fault since he had hid from them all during lunch but N and Ken’s excitement for the first day was too much for him to take. And to add to that, it was also his three younger friends’ first day at high school which would make it even more unbearable.

So Leo had to run to catch the bus and when he climbed on board, it was fairly full. There were one or two seats in the front but he already had a seat in the front last year so he wanted a place further back.

That’s when he saw a person he had met today. She was the classmate who made an interesting impression on him. He took a quick look around the seats before he settled down in the seat next to her but she didn’t move from her position leaning against the window. He stared at her for a second before pulling his mp3 out of his pocket to block the excited chatter going on around him.

All throughout the short bus ride, he waited for her to notice him but she stayed in the same position. He grew curious about why she was like that but he dismissed it and thought it best to mind his own business. The next day she wasn’t on the bus but she had played a role in his choice of seat for that semester.

Leo was always in his element when he played soccer. It wasn’t a time to joke around. It was a time to give his best effort. He looked at the classmates who would become his teammates. He didn’t know any of them by name, except for one of them who had made the soccer team last year, but he had already assigned them positions and addressed them by such.

“Whoo! Leo-hyung!” his trusted and unwelcomed cheering squad shouted from the bleachers.

He saw one of his teammates, the left wingman, eye them suspiciously. Despite Leo’s obvious indifference to his friends, a few of the guys on his team were wary of the supposed first year ‘spies’ from the other classes, namely Hongbin, Ravi, and Hyuk.

“I love Leo-hyung forever!” Ken shouted while forming a heart with his hands.

Ravi laughed at him, “I love Leo-hyung more!” He made a heart with his arms. Hongbin and Hyuk only laughed while N smiled.

Leo rolled his eyes and sighed but turned his back to them.

“Look at his broad shoulders! Aigoo I’m going to faint!” Ken’s swooning voice could still be heard over