March 2007

Minji sprinted down the stairs, like she was in a life crisis, rushing to go to the refridgerator. Hyun Jae and Kang Dae were standing at the kitchen island, waiting to give their daughter a hug before they go off to work, but she seemed to completely pass by them. They stared at her with widened eyes as she searched for something in the fridge, bobbing her head up and down. 

"Minji, sweetie," Hyun Jae called softly, trying to get her attention, "Where are you in a rush to go to?" 

Kang Dae then added, leaning against the counter and giving his daughter a puzzled facial expression, "Better yet, what are you looking for?"

Minji felt like she had no time to answer because she was in a rush to run to the Kim's household next door. She slid her body left and right, looking for her food that she had made to give to Ha Yi, Jong In and Taecyeon. She began to panic when she couldn't find it, still leaving her parents sitting at the kitchen island very puzzled. 

"Mommy, Daddy!" She called loudly, making them jump, "Where's the three sandwiches I made last night?"

"The chicken sandwiches?" Hyun Jae asked, remembering that Minji put it to nearly melt on the stove. Minji immediately replied, "Yes!" She sighed at her daughter and answered, "Honey. You must've been so tired last night. You left it on the stove so I had to move it to the fridge in the garage so it wouldn't go bad. This fridge is all full of your food, I couldn't fit it in there." 

Minji shot her head up, running to the garage, leaving her parents speechless again. Hyun Jae sighed and looked at Kang Dae, whose hands were rested on the table again, "I'm just waiting for my kiss from her". Just then, Minji came back with three plastic food boxes in her hands, giving her father a kiss on the cheek and hugged him from behind with one arm, "I didn't forget Daddy. Quit complaining." 

Minji went up to her mother and kiss her cheek, "Bye Mommy." 

"Is that for next door?" Hyun Jae asked Minji, curious to know why she was in such a hurry. 

"Mhm," Minji answered, nodding her head rapidly, "All for Yi, Jong In Oppa and Taecyeon Oppa." 

She frowned a little, asking, "What about Auntie Eun Hee?" 

"Umm," Minji stuttered, feeling like she was about to be lectured, "Auntie Eun Hee went to work early in the morning. But I have sweets for her when I see her after school later." 

"What about Daddy and I?" 

She nervously laughed, pointing at the fridge and replied, "I made food for you to bring to work today. It's labeled in the fridge."

Hyun Jae nodded her head, contented with her daughter's actions of being considered to everyone. She was always afraid of Minji being spoiled and bratty like other wealthy people, so she never considered hiring a maid or a servant. She didn't want to be the typical wealthy family that everyone always makes fun of. 

The Kim Household was quite different because Eun Hee's personality was similar to Hyun Jae, which was why they had been close friends for the longest time. 

As Minji smiled and waved at her parents, Hyun Jae brought up and asked, "How are you getting to school today?" 

"Dara, Yi and I are gonna take the sky train," Minji answered, gobbling on a blueberry muffin that she made for herself. 

"Dara and Ha Yi have to get off the stop before your school," Hyun Jae organized in her head, wanting a definite answer, "That means you're gonna on the train by yourself for at least ten minutes. Do you even know how to take care of yourself in that span of time?" 

"Mommy," she whined, pouting , "It won't be bad at all and you know Dara will message or call me until I reach the school. You don't have to be worried about anything, Mommy. I can most definitely take care of myself." 

"And getting home?" 

"I'll come back home with Yi." 

"How?"

"Either Auntie Eun Hee or Taecyeon Oppa can pick us up," she replied, trying to think thoroughly, "If not them, then we can just take the train back." 

"I need to know whose picking you up and at what time, what if something happens to you? I wouldn't know where you are or who you're with. When you answer me, you have to precise or otherwise it looks like you're lying to me. It's only your second week of school, I don't want you going out like this when you don't know how or when you're gonna get there." 

"Hyun Jae," Kang Dae called his wife because he started feeling bad for Minji, since her facial expression started changing into pure sadness, "Let Minji go already. She's gonna be late to school because of your questions. She's not a criminal, you act like you're a detective or something." 

Hyun Jae quickly turned her head to face Kang Dage and replied, "I need to know what time in case she's not home so I can start calling her." 

"She'll be fine," Kang Dae reassured. He signaled Minji with his eyes to leave the house before her mother asked any more questions that delayed her from going to school. Minji nodded her head, clutching onto the lunch boxes tightly, sprinting out of the house to put her black school shoes to match with her school uniform; which was a white polo shirt with a plaid blue skirt, to be worn with high, thin white socks. 

When Minji left the house, Kang Dae chuckled and looked at Hyun Jae, "Do you not realize she was in a hurry to go see her Jong In Oppa? It's his first day of college, she needs to say her wishes to him." 

"I'm starting to worry that our daughter might like him a little too much. She's a girl, she needs to be more settle when it comes to boys."

"She's sixteen, Hyun Jae," Kang Dae reassured, wanting to let her relax about their daughter a little bit, "The guy she's really ever been exposed to is Jong In and Taecyeon. There's no guys at the school you sent her to go to, so obviously, she doesn't necessarily know how these things work."

"I don't want her to look like she's desperate to be with Jong In, okay?"  

"You need to stop acting like your daughter is going to rebel. She's a good kid with good friends, they're going to be fine. Plus, she's a young girl with a puppy dog crush, I'm sure it will die down by the time they're all older." 

"I know our daughter is a good kid," Hyun Jae defended, "And she's the sweetest and kindest person ever. She's just not like other kids out there, she doesn't know the world well enough yet. I'm just worried that something bad could happen to her if she doesn't do things in order." 

"In order or your orders?" 

"Why do you two constantly think I'm being a strict mother? I only worry a lot because look at how she is. Have you ever seen her stand up for herself?" 

"I know but if you keep following her like this, do you think she'll ever grow up? She's already sixteen years old, she's bound to grow up into an adult one day." 

"I do want her to grow up," she replied, trying to make her husband understand her, "I just don't want anything to happen to her which is why I'm protective. People are scary nowadays, Kang Dae." 

"I understand our daughter is a beautiful girl but she can't fight for her life. But to understand life, you need to let her go. She needs to be on her own to be understanding everything. It's not going to happen if you keep hovering over her like this." 

Hyun Jae sighed, shaking her head and looking at him seriously, "So do you want me to wait for something bad to happen to her for me to stop complaining and being overprotective?" Kang Dae stopped talking, understanding where she was going at. If he kept trying to tell her to let Minji be independent once in a while, it would only lead to a dramatic and unwanted conversation that they both didn't want. 

"Let's head to work then," he said, completely changing the topic, "We're gonna be stuck in traffic if we don't leave now. Kang Dae grabbed his suit blazer, wrapping it around his left arm and held his briefcase in the other hand. He left the house first, leaving Hyun Jae standing there, whispering to herself with an unhappy mood, "Will you guys ever understand the feeling of being a mother?" 

Minji rushed into the Kim's household full of worry and excitement, afraid that she wouldn't catch up with Jong In before he headed to school for the first day. She ran across Mi Hyun and Min Hee, the maids of the house, stopping to greet them.

"Mi Hyun, Min Hee!" She called, getting their attention from a medium distant, "Hello!"

The sisters smiled and bowed at her, admiring her bubbly personality, "Good morning, Miss Minji". Before entering the house, she ran up to the two servants and handed them a plastic container, saying, "I made muffins this morning. I saved four for you guys. Enjoy them."

They smiled again, bowing to her once more, excited because they always though Minji made the best pastries and snacks. She was always so generous thinking about others when making it, that they admired her everytime they saw her. At this point, Minji ran into the house with her shoes on, almost crashing into Taecyeon as he was leaving the house.

"Whoa, slow down there kid," Taecyeon said, putting his palms up in front of her to stop her from sprinting, "Mi Hyun just mopped the floor, it's a little slippery. Be careful where you're going kid." 

"Sorry Oppa," she replied, nearly running out of breath.

"Where are you heading to? You're not going to school yet?" 

"Dara, Yi and I are taking a train to go to school. I came to get Yi..." She started, drifting off to grab on of the lunch boxes for Taecyeon. When she grabbed the top container, she handed it to him and continued, "And to give you this." 

"Geez, you're forever keeping my stomach satisfied for lunch," he said, with a sincere smile, taking the box from her. He looked down at the two containers that were left and nudged his head, "Is the rest for Jong In?" 

"One's for Jong In Oppa and one's for Ha Yi."

"Oh my bad," he joked, "I thought you made all of it for Jong In because that's what you always do."

Minji widened her eyes, looking shocked as Taecyeon just continued laughing, rubbing her head, "I'm teasing you Minji. Thank you for the lunch box, I'll be sure to eat it during my lunch break, okay?" 

Minji sighed in relief, patting her chest, "Oppa, why are you a heart surgeon? With your jokes, you're the ones giving the patients a heart attack."

Taecyeon bursted out laughing, tapping Minji on her shoulders, "Alright. Have fun at school, okay? I'm gonna head to work now."  

"Make sure to eat my sandwich," she concluded, as he was walking out of the house to put his shoes on, "You need the protein energy so you can save lives, so that means the good karma will fall down all on me because I fed the doctor well." 

He rolled his eyes from afar and said loudly enough for her to hear, remembering that she went to church pretty much every week, "Alright Miss. Good Karma. Oppa's gotta go to work now. If I get back home tonight, I'll see you". She waved quickly as he disappeared towards outside, making Minji move to where Ha Yi was. Ha Yi was in the kitchen, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge. Minji walked in and sat at the stools, greeting, "Hello girl."

"What's up?" She replied, seeing the food containers, "Is that for Jong In Oppa?"

Minji looked up with widened eyes, pursing her lips, making Ha Yi laugh as she slid a container to her, "One's for you too". Ha Yi cunningly looked at her, nudging her head towards the last container, "So, umm, you save the most important person for last." 

"Yah, Yi Yi, you play around too much," Minji replied as she began to see where Jong In was. She began making scenarios in her head whether or not Jong In left early to go to class. Or maybe he went with Chanyeol to have breakfast; or maybe he went out to explore his university. Minji began to freak out when she thought she didn't make in time to see Jong In so she could wish him a good first day of class.

"Are you looking for Jong In Oppa?" Ha Yi asked, looking down to see Minji's wandering face. Minji stared back at her with a blank look, not wanting to answer. Ha Yi rolled her eyes and continued, "His class starts at nine, baby girl. He's still here and he's getting ready, you don't have to worry. I think he's probably leaving the same time as us." 

Inside, Minji's heart literally skipped a beat because she got excited. Excited that Jong In was still here and excited that they were leaving the house at the same time. Minji only nodded her head at Ha Yi, trying to be calm, "Cool."

"Don't act like you don't care," Ha Yi demanded, smirking at Minji, "Your eyes are the most expressive thing about you, you can't even hide your emotions from me." 

"Most expressive?" Minji asked, beginning to glare at her with a discontent face, "This say enough about me right now?" 

Right at that moment, Jong In entered the kitchen wearing a white buttoned down shirt and dark loose jeans, with a pair of black sneakers. Minji saw him and stopped immediately, feeling flustered and shy, while Jong In walked passed her to go the fridge.

"Yi, did Omma leave any snacks in the fridge? I have class until three, I'm afraid I won't be able to get lunch during my short break." 

Minji eagerly pulled out her container, wanting to show Jong In the big sandwich that she made for him, making Ha Yi amused by her gestures. Ha Yi tried to cover her laughing with her finger, then finally responding to Jong In, "I think someone prepared something for you." 

Jong In raised his eyebrows at her, slowly closing the fridge as he turned around to see Minji sitting at the kitchen island. She waved at him sweetly, giving him a smile as he grinned, "Oh, Ji Ji. I didn't see you there. When'd you get here?"

"A few minutes ago." 

Jong In nodded and continued, looking at Ha Yi, "You guys going to school together today?" 

"Yeah, we're taking the train. You want to come with us? We want Minji to take the train so she can actually know how to go on it," Ha Yi asked, making Minji's heart drop again, curious to know his answer. 

Jong In laughed, looking towards Minji's direction, "You don't know how to ride a train? It's the easiest thing. Princess status right here." 

Minji slightly looked down, a little embarrassed that Jong In said that to her. Ha Yi rolled her eyes and snapped back, "Okay, Mr. I-Never-Clean-Anything. You act like you ain't a prince yourself". He continued laughing and finally replied to Ha Yi's question, "No, I'm good. Chanyeol's picking me up because my university is on the way to his. Do you want to come with?" 

"What part of 'I'm Teaching Minji How To Ride A Train' do you not understand, Oppa?" 

"I was just asking you," he replied, drinking a glass of milk near the fridge, making Minji feel flustered every single second, "Besides, doesn't Ji Ji always go with Dara?"

Minji's smile went down again as he was completely oblivious how Minji was feeling. He invited his own sister to the car but not her friend, who was standing right in front of her. Ha Yi narrowed his eyes, giving Jong In an annoyed face, signaling that he was stupid, "Dara and I go to the same school. How the hell did you forget that? Minji goes to the Catholic school that's further away." 

"Oh right, oh right. My bad, I forgot, geez." 

"More like you're just not smart, Oppa." 

Minji only silently laughed as the two siblings were arguing with each other, but she just felt neglected that Jong In wasn't paying any attention to her. Ha Yi then signaled Minji to give her food to him, staring back down at the lunch box.

After a few moments, Minji hesistated but finally spoke up, sliding the box towards his direction, "Jong In Oppa." 

"Hmm?" He responded, widening his eyes and looking at her. Stuttering a little, she stammered, "I-I-I made a sa-sa-sandwich for you. It's chicken too." 

Jong In stayed still for a few seconds, feeling nothing and just nodded his head. He only knew that Minji had a huge crush on him but he wasn't sure how he should react with her, since he had none of the same feelings for her. He walked over to her, standing right in front of her, making Minji's heart pound even harder now. He took the container and rubbed her head softly, "Thanks Ji Ji."

"No problem Oppa." 

He felt awkward because he noticed her getting shy, so he quickly took his hands off her head so she wouldn't have any further thoughts. He felt like it was forced now because she was one of Ha Yi's best friends. 

"I'm gonna go text Chanyeol to see where he is, I'll be right back," he announced, leaving the kitchen with the box in his hands. Minji smiled cheerfully, looking after him as he held her food in his hands. Butterflies flew all over her stomach with happiness, as she couldn't shut her smiling mouth.

"Was that the response you wanted from him?" Ha Yi asked, trying to make Minji feel a little bit better. She knew Jong In was trying to avoid her at this point but she wasn't going to say anything because she felt too bad. 

"What response?" Minji replied, trying to act calm, "I just wanted to make all of you a sandwich."

Ha Yi crossed her arms and leaned against the counter table, "Don't mind Jong In Oppa too much, Minz. He's not really a bright guy... Well, maybe those words are too nice for him. My brother's kinda stupid if you haven't noticed, but that's just how he is. I just hope you don't think too much about it."

Minji rested her elbows on the table and sighed, forcefully grinning at Ha Yi, "Jong In Oppa's not stupid". Ha Yi looked at her a bit concerned as Minji continued to speak, "I just don't think he cares enough to interact with me." 

The way Minji said those words made Ha Yi's heart drop, feeling extremely pitiful towards her. The only words that Ha Yi was mentally screaming in her head was, "Damn it, Oppa. Why do you have to be so damn cold?" Minji was one of the nicest and sweetest girls that Ha Yi ever knew, she didn't get what Jong In's problem was or what kind of girl that he wanted to find. 

"Yi!" Jong In yelling out of sight for Minji and Ha Yi to hear. Ha Yi yelled back, replying, "What Oppa?!" 

"Chanyeol's here! I'm gonna go now! See you when I get back home!" He shouted back, Minji mentally sighing to herself. She pursed her lips, thinking, "He couldn't even say a bye to me at all." 

After Jong In's parting, Ha Yi came to her senses that his actions basically reassured that he had no care for Minji. She nervously laughed, something that was quite odd because she was never like that, "Umm, let's get to school. Dara's gonna have a fit if we don't meet her at the train station in time". Even Minji noticed a change in her tone, but she didn't say anything because her mood was brought down already. Minji slowly got up as Ha Yi tugged onto her arms, with her lunchbox in her right hand and said happily, "Let's go little princess. You're gonna learn how to ride a train today." 

They were walking outside of the house where something familar caught Minji's eyes. She looked over to see her lunchbox, knowing that it was the one she gave to Jong In just a few moments ago. Taecyeon had already taken his and Ha Yi was holding hers in her hand, which made it obvious that this one was Jong In's. He really just left it there near the plants; even if he had forgotten or didn't care about it, it still hurt Minji quite a lot on the inside. 

"Dude, dude, dude!" Chanyeol called, trying to get a hurried Jong In back to the window to ask him a question. Jong In popped his head back into the window, snapping back at Chanyeol, "Dude. I'm kind of in a hurry here. My class starts in exactly six minutes. I don't even know where the freaking building is." 

"I just need to tell you I'm out of class at six today. Do you want me to pick you up right at this spot?" 

"Yeah man, just anywhere. I gotta go now. Text me when you get out of class, I'll wait anywhere." 

"Okay dude, see you," Chanyeol concluded, finally driving off to go to school. Jong In adjusted his backpack strap, finally sprinting off to go find his building. 

When he finally found the building he needed to be in after two minutes, he ran around finding the room number in a maze. The room numbers were extremely disorganized and he had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he was going to be late, but he hoped that the professor wouldn't too harsh because it was only the first day. 

Jong In frantically continued speed walking and searching for his room, holding his paper schedule in both of his hands. When he looked down again to check the room number again, he didn't stop to see where he was going, suddenly colliding with another person. Everything seemed to fallen out as papers were slowly landing on the floor, with Jong In knowing that it belonged to the other person since everything he had was in his backpack. 

Jong In landed on his back, with his backpack protecting him from the white tiled floors. He groaned, slowly getting up and seeing papers everywhere on the floor. He sat up a little, about to help the person gather her material until he turned around seeing a gorgeous, light skinned girl with long, dark brown hair wearing a white blouse and long skinny jeans. His eyes became frozen as she looked like she was about to yell at him, but stopped herself when she saw his face. She too, thought that Jong In was an extremely handsome man, which got her speechless, so she couldn't say anything like she usually did. They stared at each other deeply for a few moments, before she reflected back and coughed. She began gathering her papers together, slowly getting up as Jong In realized he should do the same. 

Jong In smiled at her, scratching his head, "Sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going." 

"It's okay, I wasn't either," she replied, with a high pitched voice, that got Jong In's stomach churning. 

Jong In had had never been encountered with such a beautiful girl so close to him before. Well, none that he was ever interested in. As she picked up her papers, Jong In bent down to help her, suggesting, "Here, let me help." 

He noticed they were doodles of different girls wearing different types of clothing, which made him smile at the fact that she was probably an artist. When Jong In got all the papers he could, she stood there waiting for him to finish, as he stood up to stand right in front of her. He handed the papers to her, making him see that the top of her head was right at his nose, which made her a decently tall height. 

"Sorry again," Jong In apologized, wanting to say more to her but the words weren't coming out. 

"It's totally fine," she said, looking at him with amorous eyes and shook her head, "It was partially my fault. I was running late to class. I can't seem to find it." 

Jong In snickered a little, responding, "Oh hey, I'm not the only one looking like a loser trying to find the classroom."

"It is only the first day," she commented, "If they really do any type of punishment for us, I think we should complain". Jong In shyly laughed at her joke, getting her to blush that he was actually smiling at her. She held her books tightly, not wanting to go anywhere because she wanted to talk to him more. 

"Hey," he called, realizing that it was almost time for class, "Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for Room 156 D, but I can't seem to find it."

"156 D?" She asked, with a widened smiled, "I'm looking for that classroom too."

"You're in this class?"

Krystal slightly laughed, replying, "Is it Business Communications? With Professor Kwon?"

Jong In's eyes lit up and nodded, eager to talk to her, "Yeah. That class."

She smiled sweetly and looked at him, "I'm in that class too." 

"I mean, I guess we can run late together to the class then," Jong In flirted, trying to see how she would react. He had a sense that she felt the same way as him, so he tried his best to just go for it. She laughed and bit her lower lip, trying to make herself more attractive for him to notice, "Well, if we're both gonna run late together, shouldn't I get your name first?" 

"Jong In," he answered quickly and proudly, "How about you?"

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