Being alone on the first day back really does . I didn't really have anyone to hang out with during lunch. I had friends from my classes, of course, but they weren't the close ones I'd hang out with.

And being Seungyeon's past friend and follower, that kinda made me a person others didn't want to be with.

I wasn't a bad person, really, but I did things I wasn't proud of. Or maybe it was the things I didn't do. Seungyeon was kind of sassy and mean. She insulted others in a joking manner, but it truly wasn't funny to me at all. I know how embarrassed those people were and how hurt that everyone was laughing.

I wasn't usually laughing, but I did something worse. I did nothing. I mean, I did nothing to stop it. I just stood there, watching everything in front of me. That was probably worse, right?

I know I seem like a jerk, but I just couldn't stand up to Seungyeon, especially since she was the only friend I hung out with. With her, I could go to the cool parties and everyone wouldn't be all, "Ugh, what is she doing here?"

But what happened during the break really messed all of that up.

Throughout the day, if she was in earshot, I'd hear her call me nasty stuff like, (forgive the potty mouth) "" and "" and all of that, which I know I'm none of the above. And I still don't have the courage to stand up to her.

Maybe, I did deserve this.

I went home, sad and hurt because I couldn't say anything. Technically, it's not my home; it's my aunt's. I lived with her and my cousin because my dad was doing his time in jail.

Look, I love my dad. But when my mom left, he didn't make the right decisions, and he ended up there. He writes me, but I don't write back because I feel like he's a total stranger now.

My aunt is a different story. I'm not very fond of her and neither is she fond with me. She's my mother's sister and I guess she doesn't like me because she never really liked the fact that my mother married my dad. And when my mom left us, my aunt got even more mad at my father and started putting that anger on me too because I was his "offspring".

But my cousin is way different. She loves me and I love her, despite the age difference. She's like my older sister that looks out for me. She's really kind and I know she probably hangs out with the good people, unlike me.

Her name is Taeyeon.

And when I walked in the house, looking horrible, she looked at me concerned. "So how was... school?"

"Bad," I replied, not looking at her. I put my backpack down on the couch and sat there. "It was bad."

She sat down next to me. "I see." She put her hand over mine which was resting on my knee. "Mind telling me all about it? Maybe, I can help."

I sighed and I felt like crying all of a sudden. So I did. I let the tears fall and I felt her arms wrap around me. Next to me, she would look like she was in high school as well because of how short she was. But I trusted her because she had more experience than me in these kind of things. She was already past highschool drama and in college.

I explained to her what was making me feel so bad, and she just nodded in understanding.

"It's okay," she told me. "It's all okay. The sun will be there tomorrow, meaning a new day. Maybe, you can work things out tomorrow."

I nodded and wiped my tears away. "Thanks, unnie."

"Well, hey... there is a lot of ice cream in the freezer," she grinned. "Maybe, we can eat it while watching a romantic comedy."

I smiled. So far, that was the best thing I could get. "Sounds good, unnie."

So after a month had passed and the first report card of the semester was coming home soon, I could say things hadn't really gotten better. The good news, though, was that nothing had gotten worse either.

Well, nothing seemed worse than Seungyeon always bumping into me purposely, making me drop my books, and calling me nasty things. So I guess things weren't that bad.

Since I was alone, I spent all of my time out of class in the library studying. I became pretty good friends with the student librarian, the one that helps the teacher librarian throughout lunch. His name was Yonghwa.

He was a good person, but I didn't get that close to him. All we ever did was have friendly chats as I was returning or checking out a book or renewing it. I liked talking to someone who didn't really judge me the moment he saw me.

I also met Yoona. She was one of Sungyeon's victims of insults. At first, Yoona didn't like me. She didn't look at me, she didn't talk to me. But soon, we started talking a bit. And by this time of the month, we were kinda friends.

Still, I had no one to hang out with. And the library was the safest place away from Sungyeon. It would be surprising if you even saw her there.

So the library was my safehaven. Away from Seungyeon. Away from the populars. Away from the bad boys.

Seriously, when you hang out with Seungyeon, you meet a lot of boys, and most of them are not good. At first, they seem like it, but they're all total jerks because they think they're so perfect. Believe me. I know.

In the library, I spent a lot of time studying on my math. There was a big math test coming up that was going to be part of the grade in the report card. I realized how hard the math was to me, so I spent a lot of time on it.

But I really didn't seem to get it.

So one day, after school, when Taeyeon or my aunt weren't at home, I went to the park, another safehaven, to study there. It was calm and peaceful and the sun was shining bright. It seemed like a good idea.

Which it was.

I was sitting at a table by myself, my mathbook in front of me. Before studying, I at least had to finish my homework. I wrote down the answers, or what I thought was the correct answers, thinking things carefully.

A lot of the questions made me scratch my head. I didn't exactly remember when I had learned this.

Again, being around Seungyeon can change you. I used to be very very VERY smart. But now, it seems pretty hard.

I kept working before the wind came blowing and my paper flew off the table. I jumped up and ran for it. It flew here and there, making me run here and there, my hand up in the air to grab it. 

The wind tossed and turned the paper around, and I had to spin to the other direction at some points. I'm pretty sure I looked like an idiot doing that.

And all of a sudden, I lost sight of it. I walked around near the place I last saw it. I was near a tree, and I heard rustling from the tree. I turned to look, and I saw the leaves and branches moving around.

I walked closer in curiosity. I knew something was in there because the wind had stopped.

Then, suddenly, a guy popped upside down from the tree leaves.

I screamed in shock.

He screamed in surprise too.

"AHHHHH!"

He fell from the tree and on his head. "Ow!" He got up, dusting off his pants and shirt before touching his head in pain. "That really hurt..." I was able to see him much better rightside up.

He was young, I could tell. But he wasn't exactly young enough to be called a highschool boy, and I never saw him in school before, so I guessed he was in college. He had messy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He looked... familiar.

"Kyuhyun-ssi?"

He looked at me. "Do I know you?"

It was him. It was Cho Kyuhyun. I heard about him. I knew about him. He was in my neighborhood, and everyone knows about everyone in our neighborhood, even if you never really spoke to the person or even seen them.

"You're in my neighborhood," I told him. "And everyone knows everyone."

Kyuhyun nodded. "True. And I'm sure if I knew your name, I'd be that way too. You are...?"

"Seo Joohyun," I answered.

"Oh, yeah. I know you," he said, tapping his chin with his finger. "Yes, your Taeyeon's little cousin, aren't you?" I nodded. "But how did you know I'm Cho Kyuhyun and not anyone else."

"I've seen you at Taeyeon unnie's  parties," I responded, remembering the parties she had at the house. He was invited because he was her friend. He was also her boyfriend's friend. "I always stayed in my room, though. That's why you probably never saw me. Or I was at some other party."

He nodded again. "Makes sense."

I looked up at the tree, then back at him. "What were you doing up there anyways?"

He looked up at the tree and laughed. "Oh, well... funny story really." He looked back at me. "I have this friend, Heechul, and he wanted me to watch his cat. So I watched him, but when I went to the park, he ran up the tree." He scratched his head, looking back at the tree. "I climbed up the tree to get him and I couldn't get down with the cat in my hands. So my friend came and he took his cat. He told me he'd get a ladder and come back, but I guess I found my own way down."

He laughed softly. His voice sounded smooth and soft. It was nice.

"Oh... well," I smiled slightly. "I guess you did find your way down. I must say, though, it wasn't a very good one." We both laughed. "Well, um... Kyuhyun-ssi, I was looking for something, and I was wondering if you could've seen it."

"Oh, is it a paper?" he asked. I nodded. He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. He glanced at it. "Does it have math equations on it?" I nodded again. He showed me the paper. "Then this must be yours."

I looked at the paper and smiled in relief. "Oh, thank you! Where did you find it?"

"Up on the tree," he grinned. "It landed on a branch near me so I thought I might as well return it to who it belonged to."

"Oh, well, thanks," I told him, reaching to take it. But then he moved his hand. I looked at him, confused.

He looked at the paper. "Just so you know, though... these answers are wrong."

I looked at him, surprised. "They are? Dang it!" I sighed and hit myself. "I thought I was finally starting to get it. I really need a tutor."

He looked down at all the equations. "Yes. Yes you do. No offense."

"None taken," I sighed. "But that would cost too much."

"Oh, well..."  he started, looking like he was thinking deeply on something. "I know someone who can do it for free."

"Who?" I asked with hope.

"This guy!" he smiled, pointing to himself. "In highschool, my best subject was math. I was in the math olympics." He chuckled. "Seriously, I'm really good. And I have no problem helping the little cousin of a friend."

"Can't I just ask Leeteuk?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He made a funny face that made me laugh. "You want help from him? I mean, he's my friend, but come on, he's not as good as me." He smiled sincerely. "Don't you trust your cousin's friend? Don't you trust me?"

I looked at his face. This was our first time meeting.

But for some reason, I did trust him.

>.< oh yes! finally done xP heh, well, i think it went well, dont u think? ^^