"Hoon...? Hoon, are you even listening to m-" My phone dropped onto the floor as the girl shuffled towards me and pushed me into the showers, throwing my wet clothes in with me, and signaling me to stay quiet. She then proceeded to pick my phone up and tossed it carelessly to me before pulling the pink shower curtains shut.

Once the shower curtain concealed me, I felt a faint blush rushing to my cheeks as I tried to get a grip on whatever was going on. I was just sitting. Yep. Just sitting. In a tank top. And my boxers. The girl came into the locker room. She saw me. My eyes widened as I comprehended what had happened.

This girl just busted into the locker room and saw me in almost nothing but a thin shirt and my underwear. Today an idol, tomorrow a fool. What the girl had just seen could possibly pummel me to the ground and make my life a laughing stock. I brought my wet clothes up to hide my red face, trying to calm myself down. 

The door creaked open and I could hear muffled sounds of the girl and someone else talking. I was far too embarrassed to even consider listening in on their conversation. Not that I would if I wasn't embarrassed. I pulled the shower curtain open a bit to get an idea of my surroundings.

The girl was with another girl. Compared to the girl, this girl looked rather... ordinary. Ordinary in a good way. She was ordinary, but she still stuck out. There were barely any people left in this school- no, ignore that. There is absolutely nobody in this campus that looks like her. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, opposed to the girl's light brown hair. The girl's light brown hair was left in soft curls and everything she was wearing was so... colorful.

In contrast, the other girl was in dark clothing. Not even cute or pretty. Just a gray shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of navy blue converse. Pretty ordinary to me and suspicious. With clothes and an appearance like hers, I was beginning to wonder if she really did have the money. Even people in the middle class could afford to look good. So why couldn't she?

"Jae Hee, I just need to grab my sweater and get out of here. It won't take long." The ordinary girl said, her eyebrows rising up to send the girl, Jae Hee (?) a look. The girl responded to Ordinary and Ordinary turned in my direction, causing me to quickly retreat into the shower, making sure I didn't make a sound.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Ordinary's voice rang into the air as she walked past the showers once more.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." I could hear their footsteps moving towards the door until- I made a mistake.

What was my mistake? My mistake was not turning off my phone.

The smooth screen of my phone lit up and it read AJ's name, the sound of AJ's rap from a song he wrote himself. I quickly pressed the power button, but it was obviously too late. I bit my lip and was close to marching out of the shower to take a cab to his office and punching him in the face for having a bad sense of time. However, I had to remind myself that I was in the girls' locker room and that there were two girls here. Once I make the mistake of walking out of the shower, the two girls would be able to blackmail me.

"Ahem." I heard a girl cough. Whether it was Ordinary or the girl, I wasn't sure. Footsteps came my way and my muscles tensed, anticipating the next move. The shower curtain was pulled open and the girl stood before me, shooting me a glare before snatching my phone from my hand and pulling the curtain shut again. "Ha, it was just my phone. When I was getting the water before, I left my phone in the shower. Silly me!"

Ordinary didn't reply or at least I didn't hear her reply. The thing I did hear though was the sound of the door closing. The silence welcomed me as I felt a wave of relief wash over me, quickly throwing on my semi-wet clothes. I didn't want the girl to walk in on me again, in just my underwear and a shirt that could barely cover me.

The door opened again and the shower curtain was pulled open and the girl handed me my phone back. I took it from her, coughing to relieve us of the awkward atmosphere. She turned away and left the locker room and I followed, watching her as she huddled near her backpack, a faint rustling noise emitting from her backpack.

"Hurry up and clean the gym. I have better things to do than just sit here." Grumbling, she got up and began to scrub the floors as I sat on the bleachers, patiently waiting. Meanwhile, I took my phone out and dialed AJ's number to curse him out for calling me. Result? He cursed back at me.

"Listen, I called you to tell you that Kiseop's cousin, Jun Young is willing to let you hang at his place for a couple of hours." Some papers were being shuffled on the other side of the line. "I sent a text message with his address. You could head over there any time you want."

"Okay. I'll go there a bit later." I leaned back on the bleachers. "Talk to you later."

"Sheesh, you're such an a**. I help you even though I'm practically drowning in work and no word of thanks?" AJ snorted as I heard someone in the background call his name. "But either way, you're welcome. I have to run now. See you in class tomorrow."

"See you." He hung up and I slid the phone back into my pocket, watching the girl grumble and clean the floor while glaring at me every now and then. I slipped into the boys' locker room to retrieve a basketball and began to dribble the ball and toss it into the makeshift hoop we had in the locker room. It was way too easy to make a shot into the hoop, considering the fact that it was only six feet tall. The locker room wasn't exactly roomy enough to fit a full size basketball court.

My phone beeped and I stopped to pull my phone out. A text message. Reading the text message, I rolled my eyes and disregarded it, stuffing my phone back into my pocket. Basketball was one of the ways I relieved stress. And there was so much stress right now. 

I'm not sure I can relieve all of it.

I'm not sure I can escape from it.

Min Jung

Walking across the campus towards the gates on the east side, I looked up at the sky. The sky was painted with orange, yellow, and a wonderful pink. It wasn't that late in the day and the sun was already setting. I had to remind myself that it was fall and that winter would come sooner than I would've anticipated it to be. Night would fall faster and the days would be shorter.

"Min Jung!" My thoughts quickly vanished and my paradise died. Looking for the source of the sound, I bit my lip when I spotted it. Standing by the gates was Kibum, waving his hands at me while grinning. Approaching him, he took my sweater and tied it around his waist. "How were your classes today?"

"What are you doing here?" I questioned, my arms crossed. "Don't you need to pack all your stuff before moving?" Kibum shot me a pained look and leaned against the gates, acting like a little child.

"I'll do it later. It's not that important!" He mumbled, tossing me a look. "By the way, I only have four days left here. I thought I might as well make a good use of my time and annoy you for the last four days."

"And yet you said you tried your best to keep your grades up. If this is what you call a 'good use of your time', then I can see why your parents are moving you to Busan." I scoffed. I could Kibum was getting restless as the conversation went on.

"Don't you need to get your part time job now?" Kibum asked, changing the subject. I cast a look at the black watch strapped to my wrist.

"Yes, I would've been on my way if it wasn't for you." I answered, turning to walk to the bus stop. I felt something envelope my head and I looked up to see Kibum's gray helmet resting on my head.

"Lucky for you, I'm sending you to work today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my days here." He beamed, revealing his black bike. Forcing me to sit on the back of his bike, he happily mounted the front. "Let's go~!"

"Not so fast!" I tugged at his shirt and he groaned.

"You always have to remind me, don't you?" He grumbled, grabbing his matching black helmet from the basket in front of his bike. He fastened his helmet and resumed cheering as he rode along. It didn't take long to arrive at the coffee shop and it most certainly didn't take long for me to get annoyed with him.

"Kibum, how have you been doing?" Sooyoung asked, sliding into the seat across from his. Sooyoung adored Kibum like her grandson. But then again, Sooyoung adored just about everyone. Same goes for me as well. She claims that once I reach her age, I'd be like her. Adoring and doting on everyone I know.

"I've been doing just fine. My parents want me to move though." Kibum frowned and Sooyoung reached across the table to pat him on the back.

"I suppose it won't be a bad thing though. A change of environment will be good." I placed a cup of coffee in front of Kibum.

"It'll be good for me too. I won't have to be annoyed every few minutes from then on." I said, agreeing with Sooyoung as Sooyoung shot me a look. There were other customers at the counter and I headed over to take their order, listening in on their conversation.

"But it's not only going to be an environmental change. It's also going to be life-changing for me." Kibum took a small sip and looked back at Sooyoung. "If I come back to Seoul... I won't be the same person as I was. And I'll miss everyone here."

"But nobody's really the same. With every second that passes, change happens. Even right now, we're changing." Sooyoung replied, sharing a few wise words. "It's just too subtle and we don't realize it."

"To be honest, I don't want to be separated from the people I know here." Kibum stirred his coffee, playing with it a bit. I finished the order and I headed back to the table, wiping some excess water from the dishes on my apron. Before Kibum could continue speaking, the phone rang and Sooyoung stood up, excusing herself momentarily. She pushed me down onto the seat next to Kibum, telling me to keep him company as she walked off.

"Well, that's just life. We can't expect everything to stay the same." I huffed, wishing that my life would make a drastic change years from now. I would want my very own business or if not, a stable job at a company. I want to be able to eat and sleep well. As of right now, I was too far from it. More customers came into the shop and I stood up, leaving Kibum alone to think. As of right now, we could both use some time to think.

Hoon

I opened the locker room door, taking a step inside the clean gym. The girl slung her backpack over her shoulder and stretched. From the windows in the gym, I could see the dark blue sky and a part of the moon. Every time I looked at the girl now, the only thing I could remember was my boxers and my shirt. Closing my eyes, I let out a silent sigh and headed for the doors.

"Hey, wait up!" Her voice called after me. Was she already trying to use the incident against me? To make me wait for her? However, I did end up waiting for her, her light footsteps coming towards me and stopping when she was right next to me. "Thanks."

The hallways were dim since the building was going to be locked soon. The shadows that we created as we walked the silent halls added a creepy effect to the school and the girl kept venturing closer and closer to me.

"It's creepy, isn't it?" She muttered, looking around every so often. I stuck my hands in my pockets, not bothering to answer her. My mind was preoccupied with more important things. Like how I was going to keep her quiet about- detention in general. We left the building and walked across the campus towards the exit in the north. It was the only exit that would be open at a time like this. Focused on getting to Jun Young's house, I didn't realize that she had stopped. Her hand tugged at my wrist and I turned to look at her.

"Why are you so quiet?" She asked, the wind brushing past us. I didn't want to answer her, but I couldn't help but let my curiosity get the best of me.

"You're going to use the incident in the locker room against me, aren't you?" I didn't move and let the silence take over once again.

"What are you talking about?" The girl questioned. "It'll make me sound like a- ert if I mentioned this to anyone! If I had really planned to use it against you, I would've have told you to hide, would I?" The girl let go of my hand and began walking again. "Is that why you refused to talk to me?"

"It shouldn't matter to you. It's not like we're friends." I coolly reply, walking at the same pace as she was. She made a face at me and I heard another rustle from her as she popped something into , letting it melt. It was a silent walk and I found myself getting lost in my thoughts. My thoughts only concerned my future and I knew that my life would go as planned if I didn't do anything. Which, I didn't want my life to go as planned.

"Which way are you going?" I was off of the campus now and was standing in the middle of a block.

"Why does it even matter?" The girl didn't reply and held something out towards me. The light from the stores nearby reflected off of the strangely familiar silver wrapping. "What is this?" I scoffed, not bothering to accept it. The girl frowned at me and took my hand, placing it into the palm of my hand.

"Salted caramel." She said, sending me a smile. "It actually helps a lot when you're feeling down."

Salted caramel? Why does everything seem so familiar?

"You'll be surprised to what it can do." The girl shifted as she slipped her hands into her sweater pockets. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." She waved good bye and continued to walk down the street to a car. Closing the car door, the car started and drove off.

Slipping the smooth caramel into my mouth, my face contorted due to the unbearable taste of salt. However, my mouth twisted into a smile despite the disgusting taste. Everything hit me like the salt had.

The library. The mask she wore. The words she said. The caramel she gave me. The first smile she gave me in years. A smile that I couldn't conceal. 

Everything fit her. All except... the fact that she had black hair. Why did she dye her beautiful black hair? A question I'll ask her one day.

As the caramel melted in my mouth, I could finally feel every last bit of stress, disappear.

Thank you.

Min Jung

"Min Jung, you can get off earlier today. I assume that Kibum could use a solid company instead of an old woman and someone working." Sooyoung said, already putting the 'closed' sign on the door.

"No, Kibum will be fine for another two hours." I answered, about to put the 'open' sign back on the door. Sooyoung shot Kibum a quick look, noticing how dejected he looked.

"No, just leave early. For today." Sooyoung smiled. "My granddaughter is coming from America to visit me. I'll need to take some time to prepare something for her. After all, she's only seven." Sooyoung forced the apron off of me and pushed me towards Kibum who was already by the door. I grabbed my bag and sent Sooyoung a doubtful look as I opened my mouth to speak. I could sense some sort of communication between Sooyoung and Kibum. And frankly, it was unsettling.

"Well- have a good night!" Kibum waved at Sooyoung, raising his voice so that even if I had chosen to speak, she wouldn't hear me. No one would hear me. He pulled me out of the coffee shop and tossed me the gray helmet.

It wasn't long before we reached our apartment building. On the ride home, I enjoyed looking at the sky without having to worry about where I was going. The cool breeze that came from the speed of his bike comforted me and made me feel more at ease, relieving some of the stress I had felt.

I was lost in a daze and I found myself staring at my apartment door as Kibum stood next to me, patiently waiting for me to open the door. I shot him a look, questioning him.

"Please? I'm only here for another three days." God, I wish it was one. I needed to complete an essay by tomorrow. I had no time to entertain him tonight. However, I did owe Kibum quite a bit. Living next door, he would always come to visit me and take care of me. If he ordered take out, he'd order extra for me. If he was throwing away his trash, he would take my trash too. And something as simple as inviting him into my apartment... shouldn't be that hard for me, right?

"Fine. But only until ten." I push the door open to my apartment and shuffled through the mess. I immediately went over to my desk and began to work on my essay. Time ticked by and I could feel Kibum's eyes rest on me as I worked on my essay. It was frustrating to know that someone was watching me, but I ignored it and forced myself to plow through the A-worthy essay. 

Once I was done with my essay, I turned to look for Kibum. Which wasn't hard considering the fact that he had passed out on my bed. Poking his cheek, I proceeded to waking him up despite how comfortable he looked to be sleeping.

"Kibum, wake up. You have to go back to your own place," I said, shaking him a bit. He shifted in his sleep and opened his eyes a bit.

"Min Jung, sleep next to me." He patted the space next to him on the bed, sleepily.

"Are you serious? This is a twin size bed." Kibum didn't seem to care as he continuously patted the space next to him. "Kibum, I can't. You have to go home and sleep tonight."

"I'll come back to annoy you tomorrow then." Rolling my eyes, I headed to the bathroom to change into my pajamas. I came back out to see Kibum still in my bed, dozing off. Giving up, I turned the lights off and laid in the space next to him, closing my eyes. I laid on my side, facing Kibum (my eyes are closed, so it's not like I'm watching him, 'lovingly').

The thing was I had this annoying habit of not falling asleep and just lying in bed, thinking about future goals and plans. Judging on my sense of time, it had to be at least thirty minutes since I've closed my eyes. The bed shifted a bit and I felt Kibum inch closer to me, until he could hug me.

What was he doing? Good question. I'll have to wait a bit to find out.

We stayed in the hugging position for a few minutes before I could hear Kibum's uneven breathing pattern. Was it just me... or did it sound like he was about to cry? I became distracted when I heard him whispering.

"I don't want to leave Seoul. Because I know for a fact that once I come back... nothing will ever be the same. I'll change in so many different ways." He whispered, his grip tightening. "I don't want to leave because I don't want you to forget me."

"I'll miss you the most, Min Jung."

My eyes opened at that moment and I felt a pang of guilt for wishing he'd leave earlier. For even thinking that life would be easier without him. With my face buried into his gray shirt, I knew he thought I was still asleep. How I wished I really was asleep.

Now, I don't want him to leave.

A/N: Another chapter for this story done! Be honest with me here, is my writing that bad? My other story, 'Protecting You, Killing Me' has more subscribers than this story. Or is it the plot that's bad? Please vote on the polls!