The first thing you saw when your sister drove away was a group of girls wearing their summer uniforms with a simple jacket despite the weather being cold enough to see your breath. You sighed and felt bad for them since the whole school would be outside until the cross country race was over. There was no way you would be able to avoid the crowd today so there was no point in coming to school early like you had done in the past few days.

You shook out your hair which your sister had fixed. She was in a good mood this morning because she had just received a letter from Hwangin and you didn’t want to mess up her morning. You hadn’t felt comfortable as she curled your hair with her curling iron even though she sprayed something in your hair that she assured would prevent it from being damaged. You drew the line at just your hair though since you escaped before she pulled out her makeup bag.

Your hair floated around you as you tried to stuff it in your hood but a few strands still escaped. You did this while you walked through the school gates. You wanted to escape the cold as soon as possible so you quickened your steps, anticipating the warm hallways and rooms. You were in for a shock as you passed through the doors and it was just as cold as it was outside. Your steps stuttered because you were about to unwrap your scarf and you dropped your arms to your side. You sighed but still a little pleased you didn’t see your breath which didn’t say much about the temperature. You stuffed your hands into the pocket of your winter jacket, holding onto the heat pack Nunji had placed in your jacket, and trekked on to your classroom.

On your way there, you heard some students complaining and were bundled up similar to you. There were a few students who had on sweats and you deduced they would be running. You were surprised to see a few girls who were also dressed to run. In the past, you were usually the only girl who ran in the race which had brought unwanted attention to you. Because of that, you had decided on volleyball this year to avoid a repeat of what had happened.

Thinking about volleyball for some reason made you also think back to this morning when you had discovered the heat pack. You had caught Nunji holding your jacket this morning which naturally made you suspicious because she was looking around to make sure no one was around as you peeked at her from behind the couch. You inspected your jacket after she had left and found out about the one heat pack which made you feel bad for suspecting her. Now you knew you were right to have second thoughts about her supposedly kind action as you slowly began to sweat and felt a second heat pack stuffed in the back of your jacket and more in the sleeves. The heat packs usually took time to heat up which explained why your sister had rushed you to school so fast this morning so you wouldn’t feel them while she was there.

You cursed her silently as you adjusted your jacket and bag. You took off your scarf feeling a little smothered by the heat. Once inside your classroom, you dumped your bag by your chair and quickly sat down. You did your best to act normal and pretend you weren't sweating before someone comes in. Because who would sweat in this freezing temperature?

“When do you get to school Mikyungie? Because you’re always here before everyone.” N walked in with his scarf hanging around his shoulders.

You casually looked up from inspecting your nails. He was looking at you with a confused expression on his face. You shrugged your shoulders in answer before looking away from him. He mumbled to himself as he sat down at his desk. More of your classmates came in as you searched for the hidden heat packs strategically placed in your jacket to pass time.

By the time you felt a familiar presence near you, you had at least eight heat packs varying in sizes piled in front of you on your desk. You were staring at them in disbelief, surprised at your sister’s ninja skills as you saw a hand creep up to take one. You slapped the hand away knowing who it was and it retreated. You moved the heat packs farther away from him and you looked at him as you did so. He glared at you before moving to his desk behind you. Not giving him a second thought, you wondered about what you were going to do about the extra heat packs and if you should have let him take one.

Since your seat was by the window, you felt the chill even more than the others so you placed some of the heat packs back in your jacket before putting it on. There were still more than a few left over and you still didn’t know what to do with them. While you thought about this, you scooted your chair away from the window as much as possible as the cold crept into you. The people who were also by the window did the same.

You loosely wrapped your scarf back around your neck and you felt your hair being pulled thanks to this action so you tugged it out. The scent of the hairspray your sister used filled up your senses and you wrinkled your nose at the fruity or flowery smell. You couldn’t even tell what the smell was anymore since it had followed you around all morning as you got ready.

Then you remembered the note your mom had told you to turn in about her checking you out tomorrow to take you with her and Nunji to Mieun’s appointment after your game tomorrow. In the end, she had decided on this after the long night you guys had last night when Mieun wouldn’t stay asleep for more than an hour and as a result, kept you three up. Your “powers” were only limited to calming her down when she was crying so you didn’t help much.

You took out the note and stuffed the left over heat packs into your jacket pocket without a thought. You stood up and made your way out of the room. You were about to close the door behind you when someone pulled it open again. Your shocked look quickly morphed into a glare as you took in the person. You let go of the door as he stepped into the hallway and closed it behind him.

You glared at Taekwoon for a few more seconds before you started to walk down the hallway but you heard his steps follow you. You slowed down your steps, expecting him to walk by you but when he caught up to you he matched your pace. You stopped walking and he did the same. You let out a frustrated sigh as you looked at him. He had his scarf wrapped around his neck similar to you and his hands were in his pockets as he met your gaze. He sniffled a little and you said the first thing that came to mind, “I don’t have any hot chocolate today.”

He was taken aback by your words for a moment before a small laugh escaped from him. You ignored that and walked on. He quickly caught up to you and the two of you soon made it to the main office. He sped up a little to open one of the doors for you but you reached for the other door handle and opened that one for yourself. Once inside, you made your way to the receptionist’s desk and waited behind a group of students who were complaining about the cold to one of the custodians. You tuned out their conversation and took in the office since you didn’t usually have many reasons to come here. Taekwoon seemed to be doing the same thing but you avoided looking at him as much as possible. He stood beside you and one of the male students in front of you looked at you a little weird before nodding at you. You made a face at him and he turned back around.

Taekwoon gently pushed you but you ignored him. The group left with unsatisfied looks on their faces as you took a step forward and waited for the receptionist to finish typing something on her computer. When she was done she looked up at you two before asking, “And how may I help you two today?” You subtly stepped on Taekwoon’s foot before placing the note on the counter.

“My mother would like to check me out tomorrow afternoon for an appointment,” you explained as she read over the note.

She nodded at you before standing up, “Please wait while I take this and run it by the principal.” You nodded and she walked away. When she was gone, you placed your arms on the counter and rested your head on top of them. You felt him elbow you and you groaned before you lifted your head up to scowl at him.

He pointed to where she disappeared, “What’s wrong?” It sounded like he’s still sick and you forlornly thought about the hot chocolate you had graciously given him yesterday. Then you hit him. He looked at you shocked as he placed his hand where you slapped his shoulder. “What was that for?”

“Where’s my thermos?” you crossed your arms and he frowned at you. He was still trying to catch up with your sudden shift in the conversation as he tried to answer.

However the secretary returned with the principal behind her before he could reply. “Choi Mikyung right?” the principal looked at you.

“Yes,” you bowed to him and you saw him look at Taekwoon a little confused before understanding came over him.

His smile was mysterious as he looked at the two of you. “Your appointment must be serious if your boyfriend is here to support you.”

Taekwoon froze and your mouth dropped open in shock before you quickly composed yourself, “Actually the appointment is for my niece.” You thought it was best to ignore that last part.

His smile was still there as he looked down at the note but didn’t press for more information, “So is this a family emergency?”

“Yes. You can call my mother or my sister for more information. My mother also included the doctor’s office’s number if you wanted to check.”

“We will do that. If you can take a seat,” he gestured at the uncomfortable looking chairs in the corner, “we will get back to you.” You both bowed to him and the secretary before sitting down next to each other. The receptionist quickly called your mom, your sister, and then the doctor’s office. Afterwards, it was approved and she let your mom know.

You and Taekwoon bowed to her and he opened the door for the two of you. Once in the hallway you let out a relieved sigh, happy that was out of the way. He was walking closer to you than before and he took in a deep breath to say something but you heard a “Hyung!”

Hyuk appeared out of nowhere and this time you weren’t surprised to see him. “Mikyung noona too? Good morning.” He smiled at the two of you a little mischievously. “Guess what?” he didn’t bother waiting for an answer, “I’m going to be running today!” You took in his athletic wear and you gave him a thumbs up making him beam at you.

“You already told me,” Taekwoon stated as he brushed passed him and you followed after him wondering how many minutes before the bell rang.

“Ehhh, noona didn’t know so I told her,” Hyuk’s smile didn’t go away as he walked beside you. “You know, I’m kind of getting used to you actually replying to me.” Leo glared at him and you notice Hyuk move to the other side of you so you were in between them. It looks like you were playing a shield today again. “But of course Leo hyung has to get better,” he backtracked.

The three of you soon reached Taekwoon and your class and he slid the door open. Before Hyuk could leave, you grabbed his wrist and he looked at you surprised. You reached into your pocket with your free hand and placed two heat packs in his hand. You let go and patted his shoulder before smiling at him. You walked by Taekwoon into the class only to find someone engulfed in multiple scarves at the front of the room. All that stuck out was a nose and a quick look around the class told you it was Ken. N was tying another scarf around him as Ken was mumbling something but no one could understand him.

You walked by the group that was gathered around them and went to your seat. Taekwoon was standing by N when you were seated and you watched, a little surprised when he added his scarf to the clumpy figure of Ken. N was proudly patting his shoulder as Leo finished and took som