I sluggishly entered the school gate. Mr. Jung was there inspecting our uniform. He was also my home teacher.
"Yah, you, you, Ahn Daniel~! where were you yesterday after lunch break? you started to skipping classes, huh?", he hit me lightly with his 60cm wooden ruler. In his days I might be as well get spanked in front of other students.
"No, sir. I was having a bad headache, really... So I went home", I said.
"Don't you dare lying to me... there was no record from the infirmary", he said.
"It was too painful, I don't have time to go there, I just went home and have a sleep", I said.
Mr. Park inspected my face thoroughly, he thought he could read my mind. I just looked into his eyes, tried not to be afraid.
"Fine, I'll let you go this time", said Mr. Park and I bowed at him.

I knew it was wrong to skip class. But it's not that I did it everyday... I went to my class and copied the homework I forgot to make from my buddy Ilhoon. We always helped each other. Other friends were busy watching some and getting little bit too excited about it. I sat in the second row from behind, near the window. Behind me was Ilhoon, he was smart but also a stoner, he was so high at one class before, he couldn't help but laugh as long as the class went. The school was so eager to expelled him out but he always manage to took the no.1 ranking in our school. Talking about geniuses... but he seemed didn't have any passion in academical study, he always said to me that he wanted to become an artist. Now talking about how unfair this world is...

"Niel!", a knock on the window shocked me. Our class was on ground level, facing the Southern parking area. I looked at the boy beyond the window closely, it was Jonghyun. He waved a weird shaped stone at me.
"What?", I opened the window.
"Come out!", he said.
"Tsk. Wait, I'll write down this final answer first", I copied the last writings from Ilhoon's book and jumped out of the window, after made sure that no teacher was around.
Jonghyun and I then took a walk around the parking area. We sat under the maple tree on its left side and had these series of hills as our backdrop.
"Look, I got this meteorite yesterday", Jonghyun handed me his stone and I looked closely to its slick, black, sparkly surface. I put it under the sunlight and I could see nebula like formation inside it.
"Yah... it's so beautiful", I whispered.
"I know right...? We didn't find any UFO yesterday, but had this instead, I think some extraterrestrial activity had invaded our forest before", said Jonghyun passionately.
Then I remember how I couldn't get in touch with him yesterday, I just pouted and handed back his stone with sour face. Jonghyun wasn't sure how to react. He just put back the stone in his pocket and looked at me.

"Is there something you want to say to me?", Jonghyun always could read me like a book.
"No, not really", I said, tried to put all yesterdays ugliness behind.
"That's exactly when you had something to say... just spill it out", said Jonghyun as he leaned his back on the big maple tree.
I just stayed silent.
"Spill it out. Nielieee~~~", Jonghyun approached my face so close that I thought he would kiss me. He widened his nostril as his lips folded down.
"Spill it ouuuut~~", he said with his funny voice.
"Get off me~!", I pushed him hard and we both were laughing like crazy.

"Guys...!", a familiar voice came from across the parking area. It was Byunghun-hyung, he spotted us. Why did I want to run away...
"What are you doing here?", he asked us so innocently and sat between me and Jonghyun.
"Hyung, look at this", Jonghyun showed off his stone once again.
"Whoa, this is the meteorite? it's beautiful, Jonghyun-ah, do you have more? give me ooone", Byunghun-hyung whined like a kid as usual.
"Hum hum, I'll give you another one once I found more", said Jonghyun.
"Yay. Good", said Byunghun-hyung, he then avert his eyes on me.
"Niel-ah, I want to say something to you", he continued hesitantly.
I took a glance on him. I couldn't shake off my anger but I also didn't wanna fight with him. If he just gave me more time...
"You don't need to. You don't need to say sorry. It's alright. You had a blast with Hyuna yesterday. Anyway, congrats, hyung", I finished my lines abruptly and walked away.
"Wait, Nielie~! It's... not...", Byunghun-hyung ready to caught me but Jonghyun prevented him.

"Yah... what's wrong with you?", Jonghyun caught my arm and I tossed it off.
"Tsk. Go away, really", I said.
"Byunghun-hyung's parents finally divorced this very morning. That was the news he should hear before he went to school today. He called me before, crying, where were you? he said he couldn't reach you at all", said Jonghyun.
I stopped. My feet were so weary, felt like I could just dropped my body on to the cold soil and buried away. I didn't answer Byunghun-hyung's calls this morning indeed, because I still mad at him. I took a glance on Byunghun-hyung that stood up watching us, I could see that sad face, biting his own lips and finally turned his back on me. Was I being so selfish? Is it my fault now?. It wasn't Hyuna he called first, it wasn't Jonghyun. It was me.
"Why are we like this...", I said faintly as I took a detour to entered my class properly.

I spent the rest of the day inside the class, I really didn't wanna go anywhere, I didn't wanna see either Byunghun-hyung or Jonghyun.
"Here's your burger", handed Ilhoon to me.
"Thanks", I said.
"It's rare to see you have lunch inside like this", said Ilhoon.
"Yeah? I want to know how does it feel like to be you", I chuckled.
"Hahaha... a loner stoner they call me", said Ilhoon.
"That's rather cool", I said.
"Nah... they don't know anything, do they. I'm experimenting drugs, tried to immerse its reaction to my brain. It's an interesting journey every time. But well, I've been clean for 2 months now", said Ilhoon.
"Really? ah, yeah, I could see that", I said, inspecting his eyes.
"I saw my friend overdosed back then. It's funny how as a modern human being, we're still afraid of death. I'm no exception... so then, I decided to quit drugs", he said.
Ilhoon was such an interesting guy. Unlike any other teenager that used drugs so they could get along, Ilhoon used them for some intellectual purpose. No one really hung out with him, as everyone saw him either as weird or dangerous. I didn't really want to know his other life anyway, but really, he just like any one of us, he enjoyed online games, he watched movies, he had beautiful girlfriend from other school. He once told me that he could remember an information in detail once it reached his brain. He didn't need to repeat one formula or theory in order to understand it, just read it once and he would remember it for the rest of his life. No wonder he was never really sober in class and just before exam he'd read all the materials at once and still get 100 mark. Awesome, huh.

Sometimes I wondered how did it feel like to be an awesome person. I didn't have super brain ability, I didn't have any special talent, I didn't get along with people so easily, I didn't born in rich family, I didn't drive cool cars like Chanhee did. In fact I just got my bike fixed this very afternoon. School finished quite early that day, since teachers had a meeting with the foundation chiefs. I rode my bike uphill, to bought some garlic from Mrs. Kim. In my way back home, I spotted someone familiar...

Chanhee... wasn't he just like pickle inside the burgers, it's always there even tough you didn't need it. So there he was, with a beautiful noona on the rural road side, arguing with a man. Both were parking their cars on the side of the road. I could easily spotted Chanhee's navy Ford Taurus and the black Range Rover must be the man's. And who's that lady, really... does he have a sister that we didn't know of. I focused my sight and hide behind a postal box. Wait... isn't that... actress Park Siyeon? damn, Chanhee, our highschool prince is having an affair... with a famous actress. A thought of blackmailing him rushed into my mind.

But before I managed to take out my mobile for some pictures, the man that having an argue with them was taking out a gun from his pocket. Damn, I looked around, there was no people at this hour, just empty vegetable fields beside us. What should I do?! I should just called the police, shouldn't I?
"Jagiya... stop it, calm yourself down, alright... put the gun inside", said Siyeon to her suspectedly husband.
"This kid messed up with me, looked how he thinks he's a big deal", said the husband, he was this statuesque gentleman with slick black hair and well-built body. His intense eyes blazing by the sunlight.
"You had the guts to actually hurt a man now, I'm impressed", said Chanhee, with his trademark mocking grin.
The husband was very angry at his word and it seemed like he was about to pull the trigger. I couldn't think anything else, calling the police would be too late. Even tough Chanhee was annoying as hell, I couldn't just see him dead, that would be one of craziest thing to witness. So I just pedaled my bike fast and deliberately crashed myself into the Range Rover. Hoping that they'd see it as a clumsy mistake, I managed to spill my garlics all over the road.

It was enough to distract the husband, even to put his gun back in his pocket.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, I think your car was alright?", I looked at his bumper.
"The road is so bumpy, I lost my balance. I'm so so so sorry, sir", I continued as I took my bike up.
"Jagiya, let's go from here... let's talk this thing out together, just the two of us", said Siyeon