“Kikwang-ssi…”, Such a sweet voice is calling out to me. A voice softer than my pillow, and sweeter than coke…

 

“Kikwang-ssi…”, Aah.. again, melody to my ears. If only time stood still, and left me with you here forever.

 

“Kikwang…, Wake up…”, And leave you here, alone? Never… We’ll be together here, forever, just me, you, and that sweet coke-like voice of yours…

 

***

 

“KIKWANG!! WAKE UP!!” yelled Bongsun, while pulling away the table he was leaning on.

 

“Oof!” Kikwang fell face-flat smacked on the floor. “Ouch..” moaned Kikwang, rubbing his face in pain, still drowsy from being woken up so forcefully.

 

The whole class was laughing at him, with Joon laughing the hardest. Kikwang saw Yoseob was trying to hold in his laughter, while biting his (marker?) pen. ‘I guess he feels bad for me, that’s why he’s not laughing. Guess one can rely on one’s brother after all,’ thought Kikwang.

 

“Hmph, Kikwang, you dare sleep in my class?!”

 

“Ah..N-no, th-that, I was just..,” Kikwang thought for a moment, “focus..ing..? yeah, focusing! That’s it!”

 

“Focusing?! What were you so focused on that you have to close your eyes?”

 

“I was focusing on listening to what you were saying, Bongsun-ssi!”

 

“Oh? Really?”

 

“Of course!” Kikwang assured her. “it’s easier for me to listen to you if I close my eyes.” “I’d never sleep in your class! Never!”

 

“Hehehe, that’s so sweet of you, Ok sit down,” Bongsun said. “Oh right, on second thought, since you’re already standing up, could you go to the next classroom,” Bongsun requested. “My marker’s out of ink, so could you go and borrow the other teacher’s marker for me?”

 

“Yes ma’am! Right away,” Kikwang hurriedly said, trying to please the teacher.

 

Kikwang walked out of his class. Now that he was a bit less drowsy, he noticed that Soyeon was sitting in the seat in front of him, right next to Min. ‘Hmm? Did the seating change? I’m sure both of them sat far away from me,’ Kikwang thought. Kikwang also saw that Hyosung was still giggling at him, with a marker pen in her hands? Just like Yoseob? Now that he thought about it, these 4 people were all holding a marker pen in their hands.

 

“Uhm, Bongsun-ssi…” Kikwang said before stepping out of the class. “Those 4 all have a marker in their hands,” Kikwang said, pointing to the 4 people. “Oh? Soyeon has two even. Can’t you just use their marker?” asked Kikwang.

 

“Aish, I can’t borrow a student’s pen,” answered Bongsun. “I have my pride too, you know,”

 

“Oh.., okay..” Kikwang replied, before leaving the classroom. ‘So her pride is not borrowing marker pens from students… Hmm, weird pride,’ Kikwang thought to himself. Kikwang went over to Yonghwa’s classroom to borrow a marker pen.

 

*knock on the door*

 

“Uhm, excuse me,” Kikwang said before entering the classroom. Everyone looked up towards him. Jaesuk-ssi, who was currently teaching the class, looked surprised to see him.

 

As soon as he stepped into the class, everyone started laughing their head off. Yonghwa just stared at him in surprise, before rushing over to him.

 

“Ya! What are you doing?!” Yonghwa whispered towards Kikwang.

 

“Hmm? Me? I’m here to borrow some marker pen,” answered Kikwang. “Why are they all laughing?” asked Kikwang innocently.

 

Yonghwa looked over his shoulder at his classmate before turning back towards his friend. “Did..did you… fall asleep earlier?” Yonghwa asked in a whisper.

 

“Oh? How did you know?”

 

Yonghwa opened his mouth to say something, but Jaesuk cut him off. “Yonghwa-ssi, please return to your seat,” Jaesuk ordered nicely. “Kikwang-ssi, what brings you here?”

 

“Bongsun-ssi, would like to borrow some of your marker pen, that is, if you have any that you’re not using right now,”

 

“Hmm, sure I do,” Jaesuk said while taking out three marker pens from his pocket. “But, that, Yonghwa-ssi, what time is it currently?”

 

Yonghwa who was already back at his seat, looked at his watch. “It’s 11.13 a.m.,”

 

“Hmm, they should be here already,” Jaesuk whispered to himself. He then looked at Kikwang with a wide grin plastered across his face.

 

“Kikwang-ssi, could you help me out a bit?” asked Jaesuk. “I’m kinda thirsty right now, so could you please go over to the vending machine and buy me some instant coffee?” Jaesuk requested. “Here’s some money,”

 

Kikwang took the marker pens and the money, a bit confused by what he heard. “So, let me get this straight, you want me to go and buy you coffee… during class time..?”

 

“Yes,” answered Jaesuk simply. “Why? Is there a problem?”

 

“N-No..” stuttered Kikwang. “Which coffee would you like, sir?”

 

“You know the vending machine near the canteen?” asked Jaesuk. Kikwang nods his head. “Ok, buy me the coffee from that machine.”

 

“O-Okay,”

 

The class was still laughing when he left the class. Yonghwa, on the other hand kept mouthing something at him while pointing towards his face, but he couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.

 

‘Why was the class laughing though?’ thought Kikwang. ‘Guess Jaesuk-ssi must have cracked another one of his jokes,’

 

***

 

On his way to the canteen, he passed by a couple students. Strangely enough, they all began to giggle when they saw him. Kikwang just ignored them.

 

When he arrived at the canteen, there was a large crowd of students gathered there. Only, they’re wearing a different uniform than him. Kikwang was slightly puzzled by this. He looked at his watch. ‘11.20.. nope, it isn’t recess yet,’ he thought.

 

He went over to the vending machine and noticed that a girl was already there, drinking her coffee. Kikwang went and inserted the coins, and waited for the coffee to fill. By this time, the group of students already noticed him and he could hear them whispering and murmuring, some even giggling at him.

 

‘That’s it, something’s definitely up,’ Kikwang thought. He tried to reach his back to see if there were any dumb notes stickered there.

 

Kikwang looked over at the girl. “Uhm, excuse me miss, would you mind helping me?” Kikwang asked, smiling.

 

The girl just blinked at him with her big round eyes. “S-sure,” replied the girl.

 

“Great,” Kikwang turned his back towards her. “Here, is there any notes stickered to my back?” asked Kikwang.

 

“Uhm, no,”

 

“No? Hmm, then why are they all laughing?” Kikwang said to himself, while taking the filled cup of coffee from the machine.

 

“Uh..uhm, that..,” said the girl pointing towards his face.

 

“Hmm? Oh, right, where are my manners,” Kikwang responded. “I’m Kikwang, nice to meet you,”

 

“Ah.. yes, my name’s Jieun, Lee Jieun. But people call me IU,” said the girl shyly.

 

“Hmm, okay than IU-ssi, nice to meet you!” Kikwang said brightly, taking a sip from the cup. Then he noticed that IU wasn’t wearing the same uniform as him. “Oh? You’re the same as them,” Kikwang said pointing to the group of students at the canteen. “Why are you wearing a different uniform?”

 

“Hmm? Oh, I’m from a different school,” replied IU. “We’re here for the music festival rehearsal,”

 

“Oh? So you must be from that ‘Dream High’ they were talking about,” Kikwang asked her. IU nods her head. “It’s a bit early though, isn’t it? The festival isn’t until next month,” Kikwang said taking a big gulp of coffee. “Ahh! It’s hot. IU-ssi, aren’t you going to drink your coffee?”

 

“A-Ah, yes,” stuttered IU.

 

“So you’re only here for a day then?” asked Kikwang.

 

IU shakes her head. “I’m not sure yet,”

 

“Hmm,” Kikwang thought for a while. “I hope not,”

 

“Why?”

 

Kikwang gave her a big grin. “Because I want to see you again,”

 

IU face turned bright red. She took a big sip from her cup.

 

“Hahaha, I’m just joking,” laughed Kikwang. “Oh? IU-ssi, you have…” Kikwang said pointing to the foam mustache on IU’s face.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“It’s okay, let me wipe it off,” Kikwang said, wiping the foam with his thumb. “But seriously though, I really wouldn’t mind you coming here now and again,” he continued. “It’s not everyday I get a cute friend like you,” smiled Kikwang.

 

Again, IU’s face turned a bright shade of red. She took another big sip from her mug.

 

“Hahaha, that’s really cute!” laughed Kikwang. He then tried to take another sip but his coffee was already finished. “Oh? It’s finished,”

 

Then he heard some of the students giggling when they saw him.

 

“Ceh.. Why are they laughing,” puzzled Kikwang.

 

“Kikwang-ssi, your face..”

 

“Hmm? My face? It’s cute right?!” Kikwang said, giving her one of his eye smiles.

 

“N-No..”

 

“What?! You’re saying I’m not cute?” Kikwang said, sounding hurt.

 

“Ah, N-no, I mean..”

 

“So, I’m cute then, right?”

 

IU nods shyly. “Uhm.. Kikwang-ssi…, I was wondering, don’t you have class right now?”

 

“Oh?! Your right!” Kikwang stood up, just remembering about class. “Oh man, I’m late!” Kikwang then rushed away towards his class. Before he left he turned back towards IU. “IU-ssi! Good luck on your rehearsal!!” Kikwang shouted, beaming.

 

He then ran full speed, towards his class, the coffee’s taste still lingering in his mouth. ‘Hmm, it tasted pretty good,’ Kikwang thought. ‘Wait, coffee? COFFEE!!’ Kikwang made a sudden stop, he nearly fell. He then rushed back towards the canteen.

 

When he reached the vending machine, IU was still there. “Hi there,” Kikwang waved at IU before trying to take out his wallet. “Oh? Where’s my wallet?!” panicked Kikwang. Then he remembered that he left his wallet in his bag in class. “Oh no..”

 

“Why, what’s wrong?” asked IU.

 

Kikwang turned and gave IU a wide smile. “Hehehe, IU-ssi, can I borrow 500 won?”

 

***

 

“What took you so long?!”

 

“I’m sorry Bongsun-ssi, Jaesuk-ssi asked me to go and buy him coffee, then I got mixed up and then… everything went wrong…” answered Kikwang.

 

Bongsun-ssi suddenly giggled. “Jaesuk-ssi asked you to buy him a cup of coffee?” asked Bongsun.

 

“Uh..yeah.. Why?”

 

The whole class laughed when they heard this.

 

“Wh-why?” Kikwang asked, looking around at his classmates.

 

“Hey, nice makeup bro,” Yoseob said, laughing while pointing at Kikwang’s face with his marker pen.

 

“What makeup? I’m not wearing makeup,” puzzled Kikwang.

 

“You sure about that?” Soyeon said with her sly smile. She then threw him her compact mirror.

 

Kikwang opened the compact mirror and looked at his face. “Wh-What?! What is this?!” yelled Kikwang. His face was covered in scribbles and drawings, using marker pens. Panda eyes, bright red nose, bright pink cheeks, nose hairs, a huge mustache and beard, thick eyebrows, and that was just the beginning.

 

The whole class roared with even bigger laughs. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

 

“Uhm, excuse me,” Jaesuk said. “Ah, Kikwang-ssi, I was wondering who was screaming this early in the morning,” Jaesuk said with a smile. “Anyway thank you for the coffee,” he teased Kikwang, before returning to the next class. A moment later, the next class also roared with laughter.

 

“YOU!!” Kikwang said while pointing his finger in anger towards Yoseob.

 

“What? They did it too,” Yoseob said pointing towards Joon.

 

“What?! Min’s the one with the marker pen,” protested Joon.

 

“It was Soyeon’s idea,” Min said hurriedly.

 

“Hyosung’s the one who did most of it,” Soyeon pushed the blame.

 

“What?” surprised Hyosung. “We-well, Bongsun-ssi was the one who gave us permission,”

 

Kikwang stared at them with fires in his eyes. “YOU! YOU!! YOU TRAITOR!!” pointing towards his friends, which made the class laughed even harder.

 

Kikwang got a smack right on the back of his head. “Ya! Stop yelling,” Bongsun said. “Who told you to sleep?”

 

“…” Kikwang remained quiet.

 

“Good, now go and wash your face,” Bongsun said. She then whispered towards him, “I’ll treat you and Yoseob to an Ice-cream after school, okay?”

 

“..Fine,” sulked Kikwang, before leaving for the toilet.

 

“Oh, by the way, you might wanna wash it extra hard, with soap,” chipped Soyeon. “I gave Hyosung a permanent marker,”

 

“Wh-what?” Hyosung stuttered.

 

Kikwang glared at Soyeon before turning to leave for the toilet.

 

***

 

*school bell rings*

 

“Kikwang-ssi, what’s wrong with your face? It’s all red and bloated,” Min asked, her face full of (fake) concern.

 

“Ya! You think this is funny?!” retorted Kikwang.

 

“Hahaha, no I don’t think it is, I know it is,” laughed Min. Kikwang was pouting his mouth, sulking.

 

“Aah, lighten up man,” Yoseob said.

 

“Easy for you to say, you’re not the one with a bloated face right now,” replied Kikwang. “So much for ‘counting on one’s brother’,”

 

“Well, at least it’s not like anyone else saw it,” mused Joon. “Oh, wait, they did!” he teased.

 

Kikwang glared at Joon. “Ya! I thought we’re a team!”

 

“Well, school’s a totally different matter,” Joon said simply.

 

“That’s enough guys, stop teasing him,” interrupted Soyeon. She turned her attention towards Kikwang. “Just let it go. It’s no use remembering how dumb you looked when you woke up from your sleep. How you were humiliated in front of the class, and also the next class. Forget how you were fooled by all of us into humiliating yourself in front of a different school. How Bongsun-ssi tricked you into going to the next class, how Jaesuk-ssi fooled you into buying a cup of coffee for him. Forget about it. Forget how you felt when everyone laughed at you when you found out about the prank,”

 

Kikwang stared at her in annoyance. “You’re saying all this on purpose, aren’t you?” annoyed Kikwang.

 

“Of course, I am,” she smirked. “Did I mention you looked really dumb when you found out about the prank,”

 

“Hey, stop it! That’s not nice,” interrupted Hyosung. “Hey, I’m sorry for pulling the prank on you, truce?”

 

Kikwang looked at her, and smiled. “Really?”

 

“No,”

 

Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing. Everyone except Kikwang. He then heard a giggle.

 

“Seohyun! You too?”

 

Seohyun tried to pull a straight face, before letting out a small chuckle. “I’m sorry, Kikwang-ssi, but it’s really, really funny,”

 

Yonghwa suddenly came by and went over to them. “Yo, guys,” Yonghwa greeted them. He then turned his attention towards Kikwang. “Ya! Do you know how embarrassing that was? I was embarrassed just for knowing you,”

 

“If you’re that embarrassed, imagine how I felt,” replied Kikwang.

 

Yonghwa pulled a serious face before chuckling. “But I have to admit, that was funny. Soyeon you’ve outdone yourself,”

 

“It’s always good to know someone appreciates my work,” bowed Soyeon.

 

“Haha, really funny,” Kikwang said sarcastically.

 

Yoseob’s tummy suddenly grumbled. “Erggh, I’m hungry,” Yoseob said, while rubbing his tummy.

 

“Now that you mention it, so am I,” added Joon. “Let’s go grab a bite,”

 

The group went on towards the canteen, laughing and joking (and sulking) along the way.

 

“Oh man, I just remembered,” Kikwang suddenly said.

 

“Why?” asked Yoseob.

 

“I just met this cute girl from “Dream High” when I was buying coffee,”

 

“Is it Suzy?”

 

“No, no, it’s not,”

 

Yoseob sighed in disappointment. “So?”

 

“So, I met the girl while I was in ‘dummy face’ mode,” explained Kikwang. “She probably thinks I’m some kind of weirdo,” regretted Kikwang. “Aish, and I made all those cheesy comments too,”

 

“Hmph, serves you right,” Hyosung said as she walked by, pouting her lips.

 

Kikwang looking puzzled, turned towards Yoseob. “Was it something I said?” he whispered.

 

“I don’t know, maybe she’s in ‘that’ period..”

 

“Oh, maybe,” replied Kikwang.

 

“Ya! I heard that!” yelled Hyosung, who then hit both of them at the back of their head. “And I’m most definitely NOT in ‘that’ period!” she then stormed off towards the canteen.

 

Joon went to the two boys. “What’s ‘that’ period?”

 

***

 

“Okay everyone that’s it for today, you can close your books,”

 

“Yes~, Hodong-ssi,”

 

“Okay. Oh, before I forget, our school will be having an MC audition for next months music festival,”

 

Min’s quickly raised her hands. “Hodong-ssi, what about last years MCs”

“Yes well, Jokwon and Sulli will still be resuming as this year’s MC, but Yonghwa said that he wanted to focus more on his music,” answered Hodong. “Now then, with that being said, anyone interested should come see me later. The audition’s after school,”

 

Suddenly a loud snoring sound was heard. Hodong raised his eyebrow in surprise. He looked around to see who was sleeping, and un-surprisingly he saw Kikwang. “Ugh, and wake that.. student over there,”. “Kids these days, no respect for their elders,” grumbled Hodong before leaving the class.

 

Hyosung went over to Kikwang to wake him up. “Ya, Lee Kikwang wake up,”.

 

“Hyosung, that’s not gonna wake him up,” Yoseob said. “If you want to wake him up, you have to do it like this,” Yoseob said before grabbing Kikwang’s chair.

 

“Yoseob wait, are we really gonna wake him up just like that?” Soyeon asked him.

 

“Hmm? What do you have in mind?”

 

“Hehe, I’ve got it, wake him up,” Soyeon said, giving her mischievous little laugh.

 

“Okay..” Yoseob said. He then pulled Kikwang’s seat from right under him which made him fall -first on the floor.

 

“Oof,”

 

“Ya, Kikwang, Hodong-ssi would like to see you,” Soyeon said to him.

 

“Huh?” Kikwang managed to say, still a bit drowsy.

 

“Ya, sleepyhead, Hodong-ssi would like to see you,”

 

“Wh-what, Hodong wanted to see me?”

 

“No, I said he’d ‘like’ to see you,”

 

“Huh?” Kikwang said slightly confused.

 

Yoseob finally caught on to what was happening, “Ya, just get up,” Yoseob said, pulling Kikwang up to his feet. “Now just go out there and go to his office, Hodong-ssi doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” Yoseob said, pushing Kikwang out of the class.

 

“Wh-what?”

 

“Why did you lie to him?” Hyosung said unhappy about the prank that the pair pulled on Kikwang.

 

“Hmm? What are you talking about? I didn’t lie to him,” replied Soyeon.

 

“Yes you did!” insisted Hyosung.

 

“No, think back about what I just said,” Soyeon defended herself. “I said Hodong-ssi, would ‘like’ to see him. I didn’t say that he wanted to see him. So technically I’m not lying,”

 

Hyosung was left speechless hearing that.

 

***

 

*knock on the door*

 

“Come in,”

 

Kikwang head popped into the room.

 

“Oh? You’re that student who was sleeping earlier,” Hodong said. “Are you here for the audition?”

 

“Eh?”

 

“Great! Although to be honest, I expected better,” Hodong said jokingly. “What’s your name?”

 

“M-me?”

 

“Yes, yes! You! Now faster, faster!” demanded Hodong.

 

“My name’s Kikwang, Lee Kikwang,”

 

Hodong scribbled something on a piece of paper. “There, you’ve registered,” Hodong said. “Oh yeah, you were asleep earlier so I’ll tell you again, the audition’s this evening, after school, okay?”

 

“Uhm, y-yes,” stuttered Kikwang.

 

“Well, what are you still doing here?” Hodong asked him. “Go back to your class, now! Faster!” With that Kikwang was pushed out forcefully.

 

“Wh-what just happened?” said Kikwang who was still in a daze.