I was never much of a morning person, and a seventy-five minute second-block gym class was something I could do without. However, for the rest of the girls and boys alike, gym was the best class after lunch. Flirting, tight clothes, and the other tenants of courtship appeared more often than sweat.

Gym was also the one class I stood out in. While the rest of the class walked during the laps, I jogged.   My ‘scholarship’ did come with certain requirements for grades after all.

Kai and Baekhyun were both in my class. This was the first time I had noticed Kai at school, and I wondered why I hadn’t seen him sooner. He stood a little apart from the others, and though the girls openly stared at him, no one approached him. And yet, never for a moment did he seem to care; he lounged against the bleachers and smirked when he saw me. He made his way over, parting the others easily. People actively dodged out of his way.  

Baekhyun, on the other hand, was engulfed in a mass of students.

“What are you looking at?” Kai asked, tapping me on the shoulder. He looked over to where I was staring at and his eyes narrowed.

“Nothing.” I smiled a bit. I couldn’t see Baekhyun so I technically wasn’t looking at him. Kai didn’t respond, but he crossed his arms over his chest.

Upon closer examination, I realized he was actually quite muscular. He caught me staring.

He smiled, showing his teeth. “What are you looking at?”

“Your muscles.”

“And what do you think about them?”

“They’ll probably turn to fat when you’re old.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Then you’d better enjoy the view while you can.”

He scanned me critically. “What are you wearing?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Clothes.” I was wearing sweatpants and a large shirt. Both were quite faded. He deliberately looked at me and then at another girl. She was wearing a tight shirt and neon short shorts.

“Yeah, but why don’t you dress like that?” He whistled as the girl stretched, showing a tantalizing bit of skin.

“It’s too cold,” I said, crossing my arms. It was probably thirty degrees in the gym.

“Okay.”

“And I can’t breathe in tight things.”

“Okay.”

“So are we clear?”

He leaned in closer, bringing the scent of dew with him.

“Crystal.”