Minji’s POV

“So what I’m trying to say is, um…will you go to prom with me?”

I looked up in shock. Just a moment ago I’d been sort-of listening to a fellow second-year, Jinyoung, ramble on about the upcoming test in Chemistry and whether or not I’d finished my project yet…and then suddenly he was asking me to prom?

“Um…” I stammered, completely at a loss for words. “Ah…that is…”

“Sorry, I know you just got out of a breakup—with Lee Taemin, right?” Jinyoung said quickly, and I nodded, feeling a pang at his name. Even after a month and a half had passed, I still felt that sharp stab every time Taemin was mentioned. Come on, Minji, get a hold of yourself.

“It’s just that prom’s in two weeks and I heard from Key that you don’t have anyone to go with and I was just wondering if you’d want to, well, go with me,” Jinyoung babbled, looking slightly shy and nervous. I stared at him, knowing that any other mildly sensible girl in my grade would be falling over herself to accept if Jung Jinyoung were asking her to prom. But…I’m not mildly sensible. At least not right now.

“I’m really sorry Jinyoung,” I began, feeling immensely awkward. “You’re a really cool guy, and I’d love to get to know you better, but…I’m not going to prom this year.”

“Oh.” Jinyoung looked slightly taken aback. “Oh, okay. That’s fine. Um…sorry,” he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and taking a couple of steps away. “See you around, Minji?”

“Yep,” I responded, giving him a quick smile to show that I really did mean what I said. I watched as he turned and walked down the hallway, disappearing around the corner, before letting out a sigh. Another awkward rejection, I thought regretfully, shaking my head. It was the third one this week. Too bad too, since I’d already decided that I wasn’t going to prom this year…

“CHOI MINJI!” a familiar voice screeched from behind me. I stopped and slowly turned, watching wearily as Key’s familiar figure weaved in and out of the students. He reached me, resting his hands on his knees and panting. “Yes…?” I said expectantly, waiting.

Key’s head snapped up, his eyes locking on mine—uncannily resembling a snake locking on its prey. “Did Jung Jinyoung just ask you to prom?” he asked.

“Um, yes,” I said, not sure where this was going.

“And did you just reject him?” Key continued, staring daggers at me. Oh. So that’s where this was going.

I sighed. “Yes, Key, I rejected the lovely Jung Jinyoung, conqueror of teenage girls’ hearts. Now please leave me in peace; I need to get to class.” I hefted my books in my arms and turned to leave.

“Wait, Minji.” Something in Key’s voice made me stop. It wasn’t incredulously accusatory anymore; it was softer, and more serious—something that was rare to hear in Key’s voice. I turned to see Key looking at me without the slightest hint of humor in his eyes.

“Are you really not going to prom this year?” he asked. I felt another little pang in my chest and shut my eyes, trying to block Key out.

At our school—as at any ordinary high school—prom was a big deal. But, unlike other high schools, our prom was school-wide. I hadn’t gone as a first-year, but ever since Taemin and I had started dating around the beginning of my second year I had been looking forward to going to prom with him—that is, until about a month and a half ago. For obvious reasons.

“Look—I know you had very good reasons for breaking up with Taemin. And I know you need some time to get over it before you get into anything with anyone else.” Key gazed at me earnestly, and I stared back in spite of myself. “But why can’t you just go to prom with me, Jonghyun, your brother and Onew? You don’t even have to take a date—just come with us. Please.” He grabbed my hands, and I sighed, torn.

“I’d really love to, Key, seriously. But…I just really don’t feel like going to prom this year.” Key opened his mouth to protest, but I dropped his hands quickly. “I’ve gotta go. We can talk more about this later…you guys are coming over after school, right?”

Key hesitated, then nodded, looking disappointed. “Alright. Well I’ll see you then,” I said, and turned to walk to class, trying to ignore the worried look that I knew Key was wearing behind my back.

The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, and as the last bell rang I grabbed my stuff and walked out the door, heading for the tree where I always waited for Minho and the others so that we could all walk home together. I checked my phone—no new text messages or missed calls. I involuntarily let out a sigh, and then shook myself. Why was I sighing? It wasn’t like I was expecting anyone to contact me…

I looked up—just in time to see the last person I wanted to see walking out of the doors. Taemin was flanked by two pretty girls, whom I assumed were his noonas, since I didn’t recognize either. He was laughing and talking to them, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world—and it hurt, because I knew I hadn’t looked like that since before our break-up. Why is it that he looks so carefree, when I can hardly even smile?

“Minji!” I jumped and looked around, to see Minho standing behind me. “What’s up?” he asked, hoisting his backpack higher on his shoulders and peering closely at me. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” I lied, not wanting to concern Minho over anything. He’d already been so supportive throughout the whole breakup, and I knew he was probably tired of holding me while I cried and listening to my rants.

Minho continued to scrutinize me, however, and I quickly turned away to see Key, Jonghyun and Onew heading in our direction. “Hey look, here they come!” I said quickly, trying to divert Minho’s attention. Fortunately, it worked.

“Hey guys!” Minho greeted the three of them as they reached our tree. “Ready to get going?”

“Sure,” Jonghyun said, then smiled at me. “Hey, Minji.”

“Hi,” I said, returning the smile. As we walked away from the school I felt Key slip his hand into mine, and we started to swing our arms as we walked, like a happy-go-lucky couple. I felt myself giggle—we probably looked ridiculous. But Key was never one to really care about how he looked to other people, and thus kept right on swinging.

“So, Minho, we’re going to your house right? Are your parents home?” he asked. Minho shook his head. “They’re at some conference or something,” he answered. Both our parents worked at the same place, and they often weren’t at home, so Minho usually took care of me.

“Cool. Can I eat your food?” Onew inquired, as we reached the house and stepped inside. Key rolled his eyes. “As if you weren’t going to invade their fridge anyway,” he griped, and I laughed. Ignoring him, Onew happily grabbed some leftover chicken wings and promptly heated them up.

“So, Minji…how are you feeling?” Jonghyun asked, leaning back against the counter to look at me. I glanced up, surprised at the question.

“Um…good,” I answered, turning to put my backpack down on a chair. Out of my peripheral vision I saw the four boys exchange knowing looks, but I pretended not to have seen them. “Onew, your chicken’s ready,” I chirped, hopping over to the microwave as it beeped.

“Yesss!” Onew exclaimed as I handed him his beloved wings. He sat down at the table and began to eat. Meanwhile Key walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders, looking me seriously in the eye.

“Minji, we know you’re not okay. You obviously still like Taemin,” he said straightforwardly. I flinched, pushing him away from me as I blinked quickly. “What gives you the right to say that?” I demanded.

“Look, Minji, we know you better than anyone else,” Jonghyun began, as I slowly backed away. “And we can tell you’re hurting. We…we just want to help.” He used a wheedling tone, but his words angered me nonetheless.

“I’m not hurting, and I don’t need your help.” I turned and walked out of the kitchen, feeling angry tears spring to my eyes. I wiped them away hurriedly, stalking into my room and shutting the door. Once safely hid inside, I sank into my bed and curled up into a ball, crying. Why couldn’t they all see that I just needed some time? That even though, yes, I was still in love with Taemin, the pain would stop eventually?

Because…because it would. It had to.

Right?

A/N: Hope you guys like the first chapter! I know it starts off a bit slow, but things should pick up speed in the next couple of chapters. ^^