Kyungsoo never really saw what was so special about the boy named Kim Jongin.

He looked oddly normal to him. Well, he was darker than the average Korean, but he couldn't pinpoint other characteristics that made him stand out. That was, if he stood out.

To Kyungsoo, he was just another boy that girls and boys fawned over.

That was the thing that irked him too. Jongin had too many people surrounding him as if he was some K-Pop star. They would clog the hallways or the lockers and it annoyed him to no end.

What was so special about him? He would just stand there, and the girls and guys would scream.

But the thing that really set the fire within him ablaze was the fact that Kim Jongin had a new girlfriend every week.

It was a bad kind of fire.

He hated people who couldn’t stay in relationship.

"Yo, Kyungsoo!" Byun Baekhyun, his best friend called him. He didn't know why he was friends with the boy. He was incredibly quiet while his best friend was extremely talkative.

He just looked at him with wide, unfeeling eyes. "Baekhyun," he greeted.

The other just rolled his eyes and sat down beside him. "You should be more enthusiastic, you know," he said as he unpacked his lunch. "Ooh, rice and squid! And kimchi! My favorite!"

Kyungsoo scoffed. "That's what you say everytime you open your lunchbox."

Baekhyun grinned at him. "Food is good."

"Ayo, waddup, guys," Park Chanyeol, their other best friend who was as talkative as Baekhyun, greeted. He clasped their shoulders and went to sit on his spot.

Kyungsoo raised a brow at his unusual greeting. "What's up?"

The tall boy just grinned, like he usually did. "Nothing much. But something is up with Jongin." He nodded to the boy surrounded by girls who were trying to feed him.

Kyungsoo shook his head in disgust while Baekhyun leaned in secretively. "What?"

"He's transferring to our class!" Chanyeol said triumphantly.

The talkative boy let out a whoop and high-fived the tall boy. "This is great! We should befriend him!" He looked like he was in paradise as he imagined the benefits of being friends with Kim Jongin.

"Why is he transferring to our class?" Kyungsoo asked irritably, although he tried not to let it show. He was very content with his class. He was sure that the peace in his class would get disrupted once the superstar came to the class.

"Oh, the teachers got fed up with all the girls ogling him instead of listening to them," Chanyeol answered breezily.

"But why to our class?" he asked.

"Because you're there," the taller boy answered as he ate his own lunch. "You're the class president and they're all afraid of you. Plus, the girls in our class are pretty tame."

Baekhyun nodded in agreement and Kyungsoo just groaned and went back to eating his fried chicken.

The next day, Kim Jongin entered their classroom.The girls started whispering and giggling to each other while the guys groaned. Except for Chanyeol and Baekhyun who were already standing up and greeting their new classmate.

"Hey, Jongin! It's nice to meet you. I'm Byun Baekhyun and I can be your new best friend."

"I'm Park Chanyeol and I can be your other best friend."

Jongin shook their outstretched hands and gave them a small smile.

The girls swooned.

Kyungsoo stood up and cleared his throat loudly. The giggles died down and the students scrambled to their seats. "New student," he called out, "go find a seat."

"I have a name," Jongin said softly, but still went to the back of the class and sat on the empty chair. All eyes followed him as he did this.

The teacher came in and was surprised to see the whole class in order. She thought that there would be chaos because of Kim Jongin. She looked at Kyungsoo in awe and praised him, "You're really something."

The day passed by without a hitch. There was the usual noise, but nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Until their last period.

"Alright, find a partner so we can start the activity," the teacher announced.

They were all used to partnering up for activities. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, and Kyungsoo would go together since their class size was an odd number.

But now that Jongin was part of the class, they weren't anymore.

Jongin stood at the back of the class, isolated. Everyone had a partner and the trio were grouped in front like always.

The teacher saw him standing there alone and realized that he had no partner. "Oh, dear. Kyungsoo, how many are you in this class again?" she asked.

"Thirty-one," he answered easily.

"No! Now that Jongin's here, there are thirty-two of us now," Baekhyun said.

The whole classes murmured in agreement. The teacher nodded and looked around the class and back to the trio.

Kyungsoo nervously took a step back. He didn't like the way his teacher was looking at his group.

"Kyungsoo, do you mind being Jongin's partner for this activity?" the teacher asked sweetly.

His wide eyes widened even more and he wanted to tell her that he did mind. Instead, he pushed Baekhyun forward and said, "Baekhyun would be pleased to be his partner," he said. "It's his dream."

The boy looked at him, surprised. "But Chanyeol is my partner!"

"There are three of us in this group. Chanyeol and I will be partners," Kyungsoo said with an air of finality.

Baekhyun shook his head and whined, "Chanyeol and I have been partners since we were toddlers!"

He was about to retort when the teacher said, "Kyungsoo, please. We've wasted enough time. Just go to Jongin so we can get this over with."

He had no other choice but to follow her orders. He glared at his best friends and stalked to where Jongin was standing. He didn't spare him a glance and just sat down when the teacher told them to.

"Your name's Do Kyungsoo, right? I've heard a lot about you," the darker boy said softly.

He didn't want to admit it, but he felt a bit of pride when he heard that piece of information.

"My name is Kim Jongin," Jongin continued, "if you don't know already." He didn't sound arrogant when he said that. He sounded like being famous was a burden.

Kyungsoo ignored him and just looked at the teacher who was preparing their activity sheets.

"People spread lots of rumors about me, but they're not true. Actually-"

"Please do not speak to me," he said coldly. He still refused to look at the other boy.

When the teacher was done fixing the papers, she went around the class, handing a sheet to each group. "This activity will be your final project," she explained. "I'm sure you know each other very well already, however, I want you to observe each other like you never have before."

"What's the relevance of doing this and art?" a student asked.

The art teacher smiled. "That's what I want you to find out. And, you'll have to pass an artwork as your final output. Also, you'll be doing this until the end of the school-year, so make sure you like your partners enough. You can only change your partners until the end of this class." She stopped in front of Kyungsoo and handed him the paper. She smiled cheerily. "Except for you, Kyungsoo dear."

He wanted to get up and wipe the silly smile from his teacher's face, but he wasn't that disrespectful and mean.

"Looks like we're stuck together, huh?" Jongin said.

He groaned inwardly.

"Ya, Do Kyungsoo! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Baekhyun screamed as he tailed after the said boy.

"Stop acting like a twelve year old," Chanyeol added. He reached out and grabbed his shoulder, but he just shrugged it away and walked faster.

"Why are you so mad?" Baekhyun asked exasperatedly.

He stopped walking and faced them. "Because," he said, "I don't like him. He's annoying and noisy."

Chanyeol crossed his arms, refusing to accept his answer. "We're annoying and noisy too, but you still stick with us. What's the difference?"

"Kim Jongin is a jerk. I hate him," he said flatly.

"You don't even know me."

He turned around to see Jongin standing there, looking like a sad puppy. He opened his mouth to say something, but the boy just shrugged his shoulders and walk past them.

For the first time in his life, Kyungsoo felt guilty.

Kyungsoo walked to school nervously. He didn't want to face Jongin after everything he had said yesterday. He tried to tell himself that it didn't matter if Jongin got mad at him, but then he remembered their class project. He had never felt stupider in his entire life.

"You should just say sorry," Chanyeol said as they walked to their classroom.

He shook his head. "No."

The tall boy just sighed at his friend's stubborness. "Fine. It's not my grade on the line anyway."

He bit his lip. "Alright. I'll apologize to him once I get the chance."