~~~

He stopped the car right in front of a small, dingy looking house. The rain had stopped and there were puddles of water on the road. The sky was a colour of gloomy grey, which gave a sense of foreboding. But unlike the weather, Yoona was feeling a little peculiar. It was like there was a warm sensation billowing in her chest, it was rather odd but she liked it nonetheless. How her stomach lurched when she peered carefully at Donghae, and how she would blush when he notice her looking at him.

“It’s here, you can stop the car.”

Donghae peered at the house, frowning. “Are you sure? You live here?”

“Yeah.” Yoona replied shortly. “Nothing to be surprised about. Anyway, thanks for the ride home. Urm… Goodbye.”Donghae did not reply, but stared at her intently before closing the window and driving off.

“Thanks.” She whispered and glanced forlornly at her house. And for some reason, there was a sinking feeling in her stomach.

‘What the heck is wrong with you, Im Yoona!’

~~~

-The next day-

"The square root of 123 divided by 2 multiply by 55506 is....''

The teacher droned on and on and she was getting edgy. She was rather surprised on how the other students could survive without sleeping in class. Yoona promised to meet Jessica at the ice cream parlour at 4pm, but it looks like she would be late. She sighed. ‘Stupid teacher.’

Yoona started dozing off, her head resting on the much damaged and vandalized table. Her eyelids drooped, and soon she was feeling the fatigue engulfing her...

... 

"Yoona"

"Mmm?"  She glanced at the black figure and realized who it was. "Donghae....What do you want?" She asked, annoyed.

"You." He replied seductively, leaning closer to her. Yoona was momentarily stumped, and stood rooted to the ground. He was leaning closer, closer, until he left less than a centimeter long of gap. He closed in and she felt his hot breath,his luscious lips on hers. She wanted to push him back,to scream at him.But it seems like her body had other thoughts.The worse thing was, she liked it...

 ...

"Yoona."  She felt someone shaking her."No,stop pushing me," She mumbled,then jerk up. "Class ended already." One of her classmate said and gave her an irritated look. She glared at the guy,then proceeded to pack her bag. ‘Gosh, what time is it now? 3.45pm? Phew,I'm early.’ Slinging her heavy school bag over her shoulder, Yoona headed towards the school gate.  Her mind drifted towards the dream.

"What an absurd dream! Gosh,why are you even thinking about it huh?" She cringed then mentally chided herself. "But the dream seemed so real....it felt real too," Yoona mumbled to herself, touching her lips.The kiss felt real, and her lips would tingle if she touched them. Shuddering, Yoona scanned and spotted Jessica among the midst of the crowd.

"Sicaa!!!! I'm here!!!" She gave a relieved nod and walked towards herwith two ice cream cone piled up high with ice cream in her hands. She handed one to Yoona,and Yoona smiled her thanks. She it anxiously,afraid that it would drop or spill. It was a hot day,and the cold ice cream felt delicious in her hot parched throat.

"Well," She began, "I wanted to talk to you about the competition." Yoona furrowed her brows. "What about it?" She nearly did a face-palm as she choked on her ice cream. "What do you mean,’what about it' ? It's important! I'm asking what you want to perform of course," She looked incredulous at first, but sighed after that. ‘Aish,it's just a competition.’

"It’s not a big deal or anything… I don’t feel like joining. Why is everyone so bothered about such a small competition?” Yoona shrugged nonchantly,

“This talent competition is held only a once in a few years! And only the very talented ones can join!” Jessica flailed her arms indignantly, while Yoona just shook her head, nonplussed.

~~~

"You know, you could just go over to him and say hi. You've been staring and drooling over him for like the whole 45 min and I doubt you even listened to what I said." Sooyoung said as she slurped her drink. Yuri tossed her hair to aside,then answered in the most irritating manner. "I wasn't drooling alright. And besides, you know he'll be mine." She scowled. Sooyoung gave a 'whatever' look before shrugging.

"I wouldn't be too sure. Apparently I've heard from some students that he was eyeing this girl from his class." Sooyoung stated. Yuri whipped her head, glaring at her. "I don't believe you Soo. Anyway,who's this girl?" Yuri asked haughtily. Sooyoung chortled,"Don't you know already? Im Yoona." Yuri gave a loud yelp before leaping to her feet.

"W-What??!! That nerdy Im girl?!" Yuri exclaimeds hotly while Sooyoung nodded.

"Hmm-hmm. Personally I don't find anything special about her." Sooyoung said in a bored tone.

"Obviously. She's a geek." Yuri said through gritted teeth.

"She appears rather the innocent type."

"Fine, an airheaded geek. Wait, Donghae's falling for an airheaded geek?!"

"Yeah,sort of. Wait, is the almighty queenka jealous?" Sooyoung teased with a grin. Yuri unclenched her teeth and pretended to look uninterested. She played with a stray stand of her hair and twirled between her fingers. Then after pausing for what seemed for a long time, she grinned evilly. "That's it!" Yuri snapped her fingers. "That's what?" Sooyoung said with a weird look.

"No no silly, the talent competition!"

"What's the competition have to do with anything?" Sooyoung asked,curious. "You're not telling me you want to join it are you? Or are you trying to plot against someone? The Yoona girl? What are you trying to do? Don't tell me you are-" Yuri was irritated at Sooyoung's many questions, but replied with smugness on her face.

"Oh don't worry Soo, I have a plan." She cackled. Sooyoung stared at her, amused.  "You mean a really nefarious one?" Sooyoung replied in awe. Yuri giggled and smirked with a malicious look.

"Yep, a nefarious plan."

~~~

 It was after school,and students rushing out of the classrooms,eager to go home. Yoona picked up her bag, then trudged towards her locker. Her locker was beside Jessica's and she wasn't surprised to see Jessica beaming at her.

"How's lesson? Mrs Park gave us a lot of homework today! We have math homework- strange, what's that?" Sica pointed at a coloured paper stuck to Yoona's locker. Yoona shrugged,not really caring what it was,as she was too preoccupied in her thoughts. Picking the paper,she squinted at the minute yet cursive words.

Dear Im Yoona,

Hi Yoona-ssi,I was wondering,will it be okay if we have coffee together? I've heard a lot about you,and hope we can have a chat. Can we meet at the Cafe Paradise, few blocks away from the school? Probably late afternoon, at about 5pm.  I hope to see you there.

From Kwon Yuri.

"That's strange, who is this Kwon Yuri?" Yoona scratched her head. "Yuri? You mean The Kwon Yuri? You don't know her?" Jessica said sharply, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know, it says Kwon Yuri on the paper! Look!" She frowned, her eyes scanning through the paper. "Ok,this is really weird. Why does she need to meet you? If she wants to meet you...Then it's good news!"

"Good news?!"

"Gosh Yoong,you really don't know who she is huh? She's this school's Queenka!" Jessica exclaimed and Yoona furrowed her brows. "Queenka?" Yoona questioned but was ignored. The ice princess wrung her hands together,before pausing dramatically. "Then you'll be popular!" Yoona got even more confused. "Popular?! I don't get it!" She replied in puzzlement.Sica sighed,before inhaling deeply.

"She's the queenka,so if you are friends with her,you'll be popular in this school! Everyone will worship you like you're a goddess! You’ll be climbing the social ladder! But then again…" Jessica halted and Yoong seized the opportunity to talk.

"I don't want to be popular-"

"Shush Yoong! But,it may not be a good thing....if she wants....meet you...." Her voice trailed and looked deep in thought. Tired of getting ignored,Yoona folded her arms and grumbled incoherently,pouting. She was startled,when Jessica started shaking her arm.

"Yoong! I don't think it's a good idea! I think you shouldn't meet her....It may be bad!"

"Why? She asked me to go,so I'll go! It’s rude to reject." The stubborn girl shook her head. "I just have this really bad feeling, that's all." Jessica stuck out her tongue. Annoyed, Yoona sighed loudly. "I guess I'll go."

~~~

"S-Sorry,I-I'm l-late Yuri-ssi," Yoona panted while clutching on her handbag. Apparently she had overslept and forgotten totally about the meeting. Only when Jessica had texted her and warned her to 'be careful when meeting the queenka' had she finally remembered about her special 'meeting'. She took a deep breath, bowed and gave a weak smile. Yuri grinned widely, before gesturing for her to sit.

"It's ok, you were just a few minutes late. I just came." Yuri replied in a silky voice. She was dressed rather casually, but her olive-skinned and black hair seem to stand out a lot in her brightly-coloured clothes. She was dressed simply, clad in only blouse and jeans, but she still looked like an haughty beauty. Even though with her casual clothing, she sat in a lady-like manner, with poise and grace. Yoona stared at her, amazed at the gorgeous looking girl in front.

"Annyeonghaseyo Yuri-ssi!" Yoona gave a cheerful smile.

"Annyeonghaseyo Yoona-ssi,you can call me Yuri unnie if you want. I'm sure this is the first time we met?" Yuri bowed elegantly.

"Yes,um,I'm not trying to be rude,but why did you decide to meet me? I mean,a nobody like me-" The younger one asked in a small voice, very much unsure. Yuri laughed at her awkwardness, before pretending to put up a gentle smile.

"Well, I think I'll go straight to the point, shall I? I don't want to keep you waiting." She gave another tinkling laugh. "But first, let's order some drink before I begin." Yuri gestured for the waitress, before turning to Yoona.

"What do you want to drink,Yoona dear?"

"Er, just a latte, please. Thanks."

"Ok, two cups of latte please."

After a couple minutes of uncomfortable silence, most with Yoona fidgeting uncomfortably while Yuri stared at her, beaming though it looked fake. The drinks came, which broke the uncanny silence. Yuri started finally, after giving a small and quiet slurp on her latte.

"Yoona-ssi,I'm sure you've heard about the talent competition?" Yuri chuckled. "Yes, I have, Yuri-ssi."

"Have you thought about singing duets?"

"Um...No,I mean,it'll be a wonderful experience...." Yoona frowned upon her question. "May I know-"

"Well," Yuri interrupted.

"What do you thing about doing a song duet, both of us?"

"A duet? Both of us? W-Why? Are you sure-"

"Yes,what's wrong?" Yuri shot her a rather piercing gaze,and Yoona seemed to deflate under it. ‘What are you trying to imply?’ She was really confused. She then remembered her Sica unnie reminding her,"Be careful and remember,whatever that queenka,that queenka gets! And if she doesn't get what she wants, she'll do anything to get hold of it!" 

“I…actually don’t want to j-“

“I was hoping that you won’t object, Yoona dear." Shaking her head to clear her mind, Yoona finally made her decision with a glum face.

“A-Alright… I’ll do it.”

~~~

 "What?!" Sica shrieked. Yoona was alarmed at her reaction and shushed her. "Be quiet unnie! What's wrong?"

"A-A-A--" She spluttered, words stuck in . "You agreed?"

"Yeah," Yoona said wearily. "I still don't get it, why are you so surprised?" Sica shook her head, heaving a deep sigh. "Not any ordinary person can just perform with the queenka like that! I'm not saying you're ordinary,  but I still think it's kinda suspicious. What if she's planning something bad?"

"Maybe. And maybe not. Aish,I'll just perform with her, and hope nothing goes wrong during the actual duet." Yoona answered in a dry tone. “I don’t want to say no, in case she does something bad to me…” She shuddered.

~~~