They are talking about me. They’re the same. She couldn’t blame them though. It was her own behavior that had her labeled like that. Like a cold person, a freak who refused to speak to anyone. But it wasn’t in her control. The past had made her that way and changing her back to her old self was something that would require a lot of effort, effort that most people weren’t willing to put.  She put on her poker face and faked a cough, successfully catching their attention. They stopped abruptly, just as she predicted, they even gave each other the same looks that she’s seen every other person she caught talking behind her back give. They were 3 boys; the one on the extreme left, the one who she overheard being called Kyungsoo, was short and somewhat chubby. He had round big brown eyes and black hair that shined under the direct sunlight. Over all he was deemed quite adorable, but judging from what she heard he was the same as them, which in her eyes made him like everyone else.  The other, standing awkwardly in between had a leaner figure compared to the latter. He was taller, just a little and was playing nervously with his slender fingers. She could see the dark brown orbs of his almond eyes that matched perfectly with his hair and although he was avoiding her gaze, she could see they were rimmed with guilt.

The third boy, she remembered him clearly. What she also remembered was her childish move. He smiled at her, flashing his dimples during the act and reached out to her.

“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Lay, hope we can work well together. You must be Hana, right?”

She looked down towards his extended hand, then back to his face before fixing her gaze on his hand again. She heard a soft scoff from somewhere behind them followed soon by a hushed cry of complaint but chose to ignore it. She inhaled deeply; acquainting was something she hadn’t done in a long time. Moreover, it was the guy who she almost embarrassed hers in front of. Then again she was sure he hadn’t seen her. She scolded herself for being so paranoid and took another deep breath. Slowly extending her right arm she clasped her hand with his in an unsure way and responded with a nod.

His smile slightly fell when she made no move to accept his handshake. He felt slightly humiliated and counted himself lucky that there wasn’t an audience to witness his fail social attempts. However, his thoughts were pushed aside when he felt a warm sensation on his hand. A small hand had wrapped itself around his and he instantly recognized those slender fingers. His smile instantly returned, brighter than before as he shook her hand. He could feel reluctance in the touch but ignored it, he was happy with what he could get. She pulled away a bit too early for his liking and he straightened himself before awkwardly clearing his throat, preventing another round of suffocating silence.

“Let me introduce you to the others, this here is Baekhyun. This guy beside him goes by Kyungsoo; they’re both heads of the vocal group in the Music Department.” Baekhyun reached for a handshake which she returned, feeling slightly braver than before. Maybe it was the friendly aura the boy emitted or his toothy grin of his that made her feel slightly better. Or maybe it was the fact that she was not face to face with the person whom she almost humiliated herself in front of.

She turned towards the last boy who just gave her a curt nod which she had no problem replying to. The atmosphere got tense yet again; however this time it was Baekhyun who took the initiative to break the ice. He suggested discussing the future plans and song ideas inside the library. Going with his idea the four of them made their journey towards the library. With the boys at the front, Hana lingered at the back. Being an unwanted company was something she’d rather avoid therefore she thought it’d be best for her to keep a distance from the trio ahead of her.

Lay noticed the absence of a certain presence. Furrowing his eyebrows he looked towards his left then to the right but the girl was nowhere to be found. He abruptly turned around and almost bumped into an all too familiar figure. He sighed, relieved that she was still with them and didn’t wander off somewhere else. He quickly apologized to her and watched her walk past him with a smile ghosting over his lips. He picked up his pace to catch up with the girl and fell in step beside her. Sneaking glances at her every once in a while he tried making a conversation. His attempts though, were futile since the only response he was able to get out of her was only a nod a shake of the head. Some questions she would just blatantly ignore while shrugged at some, she didn’t even give him so much of a smile.

He was confused. He wanted to be friendly but she refused to cooperate. However, he wasn’t complaining. Unlike his hit head friend, Lay was the owner of a calm disposition. For him to lose his cool at something was rare and his friends had seen him angry only once. Her lack of responses weren’t going to stop him. I’ll get her to talk, he thought determined. During his attempts at instigating small talks, he took note of how she constantly checked her cell phone and used it to text someone. He told himself that she was distracted, that apparently she had someone better to talk to hence, she was distracted from him. Albeit he never stopped and constantly asked questions that most people would’ve shouted at him for being so annoying. But she didn’t respond, not even once.

The path to the library had never seemed too short for Lay unlike today. They had arrived at the library way too early for his taste. Settled on a table at the corner, Baekhyun took the liberty to seat himself next to the girl, much to Lay’s dislike. He hoped to have another round of attempts to get her to utter even a single word but his advances were dismissed unconsciously by his dear friend. Sitting beside Kyungsoo instead, the group set to work. They discussed everything ranging from the theme to the costumes they’d wear. Hana remained quite. She’d scribble notes every now and then and show it to the trio, explaining her idea through drawings and pictures she generated on the spot. Her skills in drawing weren’t as exceptional as her skills in music, but they were decent enough for the boys to get a clear understanding of her idea.

An hour and a half of constant talking had drained the boys of liquid. Kyungsoo volunteered to grab the group some drinks while Baekhyun was already half asleep, making the most of their break and taking a power nap. Hana was too busy staring out the window while the boy stared at her. He noticed her stare, followed her gaze but there was nothing on the field worth paying attention to. He looked back at the girl and this time he realized that although she was looking outside, she wasn’t really looking at anything. Her gaze was empty. It was like she was in the room only physically but mentally she was somewhere else. Lay took the time to analyze her face. She was beautiful no doubt, having a small nose and a pointed chin with big brown eyes. However, he felt like he had encountered this face before. He was sure she wasn’t with him during elementary or middle school, then where had he seen her? He felt those brown eyes looking very familiar. He snapped out of his train of thoughts when his elbow accidentally hit the edge of their table, making a pulse of pain surge through his entire arm. Hana, being oblivious to her surroundings, was still staring outside with a blank expression and unblinking eyes. Rubbing the sore area of his arm, his eyes landed on the square shaped object on the table. An idea popped up in his head as he looked back and forth once between Hana and the object before allowing a smirk to appear on his face.