Today will be the day, right?

Please tell me today will be the day.
Please tell me we'll be friends again today.

Or at the very least, he'll forgive me for my insensitivity.

I waited in the room.
We have english, math, history, then dating.

All day long, I've been wanting to go near Onew.
I could apologize again and again but he's still cold to me.

He still won't look at me.
He still moves slowly.
He's still not smiling.
And I still feel bad.

The rumors still won't die down though some people have created theories:
Theory 1: She and Onew are not talking because they want to overthrow us. They want us to think they're not really together. Typical.
Theory 2: They're not really together. Why would Onew go out with her? And why would she go out with Onew? It's just a false alarm.
Theory 3: It's just for show. They're really both going out with someone else.

I don't even correct people anymore. I don't respond when they give me dirty looks or keeps on firing questions.
I don't care anymore.
Because today, we'll be friends again!
I'm 100% sure!

Why?

Well it's simple, really, today's the reporting for the dating subject!

And we can't do a proper report if we're mad at each other right?
I mean, that's totally stupid. And it's just logical that we talk to each other again to create a fantastic report.

I checked my watch, it's 10 minutes before history class ends.
I glanced at Onew, his head was down on his desk.
I wonder if he's okay.
I leaned my head down too and thought about our report. How exactly are we going to present it? I mean, really, I'm clueless.
Onew won't tell me anything.
I checked my watch again.
5..4..3..2..1.
KRRINGGG.
There goes the bell.

"Joon! Do we really have to do ...you know." Gikwang called out.

Joon turned to face him and smirked.
"Uh, yes. You want an A+, don't you?"

"Well, yes.."

"Then just do it." He turned to face the front again.
Gikwang sighed.

Hmm...Oh well, that's not my problem anymore.
I turned to face Onew. He still had his head down on his desk.
I walked towards him.

Inhale, exhale.

"Onew-sshi?" I still didn't drop the formality, as he did to me these past days.

He lifted his head up slowly.
"Hmm?--Oh. It's you." He looked away all of a sudden.

Simple moves like that still make my heart ache.

"Uhm..." I tried to control the hurt in my voice.
"How are we going to present the--"

"Leave it to me."

"It's both our presentation."

"I know."

"So aren't you going to tell me how?"

"We'll just do a simple reporting. Nothing spectacular. Just speak up if you have some points to add." Then he buried his head in his desk again.

Well, that's helpful.
I walked back to my desk, disappointed.
I guess today won't be the day.

That's okay. I did additional research. He thinks I can't handle it?
I'll definitely be adding my own points.

Professor Kangta entered the room.
"Hey guys, good morning! Are you all prepared for the report?"

"Yeah!" Some of us answered enthusiastically.
Oh great. I can't wait.

Until this is all over.

"Okay, I'll be picking those who will present randomly. So be alert!" He brought out a box with papers on it.
"Okay,ready?" He picked a paper.
"Ah. This should be interesting." He grinned.
"Marriage!" Then he went to the back to sit.

"What?!" Lee Joon complained again.
"Man, prof! You didn't call me earlier for the pairings but you called me first for the reporting?! Ah. Life really is unfair."

I glanced at Onew.
He didn't disagree with that sentence anymore.

"Hey, where's Gikwang?" Mr. Kangta asked.

"He'll be here shortly." Joon walked infront and smiled mysteriously.

We waited for about five minutes when suddenly Eunhyuk whistled.
"The signal!" Suddenly, Joon started to take off his uniform.

"Hey, hey what are you doing?!" Mr. Kangta stood up from his seat, looking surprised.
But Joon continued, much to the disappointment of some of my girl classmates who perked up when Joon started to his top, Joon was wearing something underneath.

A suit.

A groom's suit.

"Woah." Teuk commented.

"This is creativity." Joon smirked.

Suddenly, the wedding march started to play.
We all looked around.
Seungho was playing it on his phone.

Wow. They really prepared for this.

Then the door opened and Gikwang went in slowly.

Wearing a bridal dress.

"My GOSH!" Jessica and some of the girls shouted.

"He's so pretty!"

"Not really, look at those muscles. Bridal gowns are so not for him."

Some of the guys who were in on the plan started to throw flowers around.
I laughed a little. It was really funny. Especially with Gikwang scowling and all.
Out of habit, I glanced at Onew again.

There was no trace of humor in his face.
Not even a little bit of smile.

I stopped laughing immediately, feeling bad again.

"Okay, you guys ready? My bride and I will be reporting marriage!" He put an arm around Gikwang's waist.
Gikwang's scowl deepened.
"Okay, first of all, we'll be reporting about the History of Marriage. Marriage started in-"

"That's it!" Gikwang suddenly threw his veil to the floor.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Those are rentals!" Joon took his hand off Gikwang's waist, looking annoyed.

"I can't stand this anymore! I won't be 'the bride'! Not anymore!"

"B-but...are you leaving me? On our wedding day? Er--report?!"

"No! Of course not. But I'll be reporting..." He suddenly took off his dress and some of the girls perked up again.
But he was wearing his uniform underneath.
"without this stupid dress." He kicked it off to the side and also took off his wig.

"Okay, fine. But I won't be taking my suit off! I look really good in it!" Joon fixed his collar and smiled suavely.

"Whatever. Let's get on with it." Gikwang went up the platform.
"Okay guys, we will be reporting in 2 parts. The other's objective and the other's subjective."

Their objective part contained all the facts about marriage. The history, the elements, marriages in different cultures, etc.
Their subjective part contained interviews on married couples about their experience in marriage. They also presented the problems of marriage such as adultery and stuff.

"Ultimate, I--we think that marriage really is a sacred thing."

Gikwang nodded. "Yes, there's really no need to rush. Remember, Marriage is forever. You can't just marry then annul or divorce, that's just not love."

"Not at all. So take your time in finding the one--date around. Be open-minded. Who knows? One of our classmates right now could be your destiny."
I sighed. I'm starting to hate their report.

"Get married to the one you love. And you will surely be together forever." Joon and Gikwang grinned.
"That's the end of our report. We hope you enjoyed it."

The class gave their applause. Their report really was great. It was very well-researched.

"And to remind you all about marriage, we bought you guys something." Joon nodded to Gikwang and he produced a box.
"These are couple rings. You guys can choose to wear this or not. And since we really don't know how to pair you guys up, Gikwang and I just decided to pair you up according to  your pairings here in dating subject." Gikwang went around to distribute the rings.
It wasn't the expensive kind like the one Onew won in the contest. But it was cute enough, plus each pair had a unique design.

"Here you go." Gikwang handed me one.
"And your partner is..." He consulted his list.
"Onew." He went over to him and gave Onew a ring just like mine.

After all the rings were distributed, Joon spoke up again.
"Guys, is it okay if you wear it right now? In our subject? Just so you know..." He grinned shyly.

I looked around. Everyone else was wearing theirs. Even the boy-to-boy couples.

Only Onew and I had bare fingers.

I reluctantly slipped mine on and saw that Onew did the same in the same hesitant manner.
I saw him looked over at me, and when he saw that I was looking at him, he quickly turned away.

Oh great. Even though we had couple rings on, nothing's changed.
That really bummed me out.

After the marriage presentation, other couples got called.
They also gave great presentations.
The moving in couple (Teuk and Taey) even documented their time together because they actually really moved in together, with their parents' permission, for a whole week. They gave the pros and cons of moving in together.

The breaking up group (hara and junhyung) did reenactments of breaking up situations.
They basically did varying degrees of a bad breakup and a good breakup. They also gave the after effects.

Okay, now I'm nervous. They really prepared for their reports.

I, on the other hand, don't even know the flow of our own report thanks to my partner who won't tell me anything helpful.
The other groups also gave fantastic reports.
Why aren't we called yet? I mean, really, how many groups are left anyway?

"And our last topic, long distance relationship!"

Oh. We're last.

"Save the best for last." Eunhyuk smirked at us.

Onew stood up, expressionless and I followed suit.

"The dynamic duo!" Teuk clapped.

"Yeah. Top 2 and 3 of the class." Joon agreed.

"Plus, they're dating." Taecyeon whispered.

They might think I didn't hear them.
But I heard them--I heard everything. Who knew boys like to gossip?!

Onew climbed on the platform and almost immediately, all the seriousness in his face vanished.
For the first time in days, a smile appeared on his face.

That smile.
That smile I've been longing to see again.

But wait, something's different.

His lips are smiling, but his eyes remain vacant.

An empty smile.

Somehow, seeing that smile hurts more than seeing his face without it.

"Hey guys! Maki and I are here to report Long Distance Relationships."
So, he's dropping the formality, huh?

"Okay, we're all juniors here, so I assume you guys are now fast learners, right?" He produced a pile of papers.
"Get one and pass." He smiles.
"Those papers contain everything you need to know about LDR."

Everyone took one and started to read.
I read one too.
It explains LDR and the situations where it occurs.

"Okay guys, imagine you and your partner, are a couple right now, and you're in Korea and she/he is in another country. How would you two communicate?"

"By phone!" Junhyung called out.

"By mobile phone!" Joon shouted.

"That's the same." Junhyung gave him a weird look.

"Your answer could be pertaining to landline, I specified mine." Joon rebutted.

"By email!" Nana recited.
"Chatting!" Sooyoung said.
"Letters!"  Gyuri shouted.

A lot more answers were given and Onew grinned. "You guys are really good! Those are all correct!" He walked around the room like a professor.
"Thanks to our advancing technology, people in LDR can now communicate better and make their relationship last."

I know I look like an idiot standing at the side, so I decided to voice out my own points which I have researched. Onew nodded at my points and smiled at me.

A forced, empty smile.

And it makes me sick inside.
He was obviously just doing the cheerful thing just for show.

"Okay guys, I think I have experienced for a short while--actually, it was just one night--how it felt, well just a glimpse really, of how LDR is." I knew exactly what he was talking about. It was when we were stuck in the warehouse.

Flashback.
"Doesn't this feel like our report?"

"Our report?"

"Yes. On long distance relationships."

I thought about it. "Uhm..how?" I feel stupid.

"Lovers on LDR usually just communicate through phones, letters, chats, or emails. They hear each other's voices, but they don't see each other."
"Looks like we won't be having a problem anymore." He sounds cheerful.

"So this is how it feels." I started to understand a little of what he said.

"Yes. So the report feels easier now, right?"

"I guess."
End Of Flashback.

"But it's not really worth remembering or sharing." He waved his hand.

And once again, I felt hurt. That was one of our moments, and he's practically saying it's nothing.
It seems like he's bent on hurting me by throwing in my face back all the insensitive things I said to him that day we fought.
I looked away.

"B-but..I mean..uh..it was a good experience. Somehow." I looked at Onew and saw that he was looking at me.
He must've seen the hurt in my face.
For a second, I thought I saw concern and regret in his eyes but maybe that was just my imagination.

"Anyway," He continued, looking at the class again and smiling forcefully.
"We have interviewed some people who have experienced LDR or are in the same situation right now."

I listened quietly as he presented his interview data.
He even made everyone laughed so many times.
He's really good with people.But even though he laughed with them, his smiles and laughter are really foreign to me.

They were all forced.

How could anyone not notice?

"Hey guys, can I ask you a favor? Can all the girls stay on the right side and all the boys on the left?" He smiled.
Our classmates followed quickly, wondering what was up. I was already on the right side, far from Onew so I didn't move anymore.
I was left wondering what would happen next.
"Okay. So, to give you guys a glimpse of how LDR really is..." He snapped his fingers and suddenly a huge black cloth fell between us.

The classroom was now divided into two, and all I can see were the girls infront of me.
The dark cloth totally became a curtain blocking the left side.

"Wow, Maki. What's going to happen?" Yuri asked me excitedly.

"Uhm..." I honestly didn't know what Onew is planning.
"You guys just have to wait and see." I smiled feebly.

"Hey, what's going on? I can't see my lovely girl classmates!" Lee Teuk said jokingly.

I heard Onew laugh."Exactly. We guys need to suffer for a while. This is kind of how LDR feels." He explained.
"Why don't we try it out? Guys, try to say what you want to our lovely girl classmates now."

"I love you!" I heard Joon shout.

"I love you, too!" dubumints shouted back.
Some of the girls giggled.

"I think you're really pretty."  Junhyung shouted.

"I think you have nice hair!" Hara shouted back.

"Just the hair?" I can almost see Junhyung frowning.

All the others kept on shouting what they wanted to say. They don't target anyone, they just say what they want.
Others were random while some contained sweet nothings or just teasing.
Plus, they were all having fun.

While all my girl classmates were shouting back responses, I decided to take a chance.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of it." I shouted a little.

"It's okay, baby!" I heard someone else shout back.

With all my heart, I wished Onew was the one who replied back.
Well except for the baby part, Onew would never say that.

Some of my classmates infront looked at me curiously.
I smiled back weakly. "Just testing."
They laughed and continued to talk to the boys on the other side.

I zoned out a little.
"Why aren't you eating anymore?" I heard someone ask through the other side.
I looked up. It sure sounded like Onew.

"I'm on a diet!" Bomi answered back happily.
I heard a weak laugh. Was that Onew?

I'm not even sure anymore.

I sighed and zoned out again.
"Please. Make sure you eat right. I'm always worried about you." Someone called out again on the other side again.

I ignored it though and leaned on the board, wishing our report would end soon.

After a few more shouting back and even Prof Kangta joining in while shouting our grades, I heard a whistle being blown.

"30 more seconds!" I heard Onew shout.
The others started to quickly shout random stuffs.

I stared at the black cloth, almost visualizing Onew standing right infront of me.
"I'm really sorry, Onew. I didn't mean any of those things I said. It's okay if you don't forgive me. I just need you to know that I really regret what I said." I murmured, wishing I could say it all out loud.

Another whistle.

"Time's up! Great job, guys. That almost turned into an open forum." I heard Onew chuckle.

I straightened, time for reporting again.

"Continuing on, people on LDR don't really have time to fight anymore because they don't even see each other at all."

I glanced up. That was totally different from what I have researched.
"On the contrary," I walked nearer to the center and raised my voice.
"people in LDR fight a lot since they feel that their partners are neglecting them in terms of time and attention." I looked at my girl classmates.

"How could two people fight if they aren't even speaking?" Onew asked through the curtain.
Oh, kind of like us, you mean? I wanted to retort back.

"That's the whole point. When they speak the next time, they usually fight because of time constraints."

"Time constraints?"

"Yes. Let's take for example you and I--I mean," I blushed, cleared my throat and quickly scanned the faces of these girls.
"Junhyung and Hara. Let's say that they don't get to communicate that much really. Because of different time zones and because of different activities. Hara can feel neglected if Junhyung doesn't call her or email her at least twice a week. Once she mentions this to Junhyung, he will most likely voice out the fact that he's busy and time is lacking. And I think we all know what comes next." I looked at the class.
Hara was nodding in agreement.

"Well, I think there's a different point that we need to see here." Onew said after a while.
"Lovers on LDR would most likely just grasped what they can from the time they communicate. You don't even see each other anymore, would you just really spend your time arguing?" He challenged.

"Well--"

"Let me put it another way. Tell me, Maki, have you looked forward to talking to someone at least once in your life? For example, it was the weekend, and you can't wait until Monday just so you can talk to that person again."

Yes. I've experienced that. When I was trying to get him to forgive me. I remember looking forward to this day because I was sure we'd be friends again.
But I didn't answer. I just stared at the curtain.

I was aware of some of my classmates whispering and trying to figure out what was going on.
Even the boys were quiet.

"If you waited all weekend, would you spend Monday arguing with that person?" Onew continued to ask.

"Well, no. But what if I was really looking forward to Monday but that person just insists on arguing and not even being open-minded, even though you're trying your best to clear the air and start that day nicely?" I was unable to stop myself. I was fully facing the curtain now.

Come to think of it, I hear Onew's voice clearer now too, as if he's just infront of me.

"What if you wanted to say something really important but he just insists on being all formal and not even bothering to give you a chance?! What if you laid awake all night trying to find the right words to say just so you can set things right again but that person seems so bent on avoiding you? You don't want to argue anymore, but what if he's not willing to be rational or to even make-up?" I was going out of the line here. What I was talking about totally has no  connection to our topic anymore.

I knew the whole class don't understand what we're talking about.
Even Mika was staring at me, open-mouthed.

But I know Onew does.
Onew understands perfectly.

Someone yanked the curtain and it fell to the floor.
"Oh, . Sorry." Eunhyuk looked down at the curtain he accidentally stepped at.

I was still staring at the left side and the first thing I saw was Onew.
He was staring back at me. There was an unreadable emotion in his eyes.
He opened his mouth when suddenly, the bell rang.

"Okay, class." Professor Kangta clapped his hands and stood up.
"You all gave such great reports! You two were great too!" He looked at Onew and me nervously. "You guys were very creative." He clapped Onew on the back.
"I'll be reading your written reports and on the next meeting, I'll be giving you guys your grades. Good job everyone! Have a nice lunch!" He got his things and everyone else started to arrange their things and prepared for lunch.

But Onew and I were still staring at each other.

"Hey Onew, come on. We have a meeting this lunch! And I really want to grab a bite before the meeting starts!" Jonghyun came to our room and started to pull at Onew's arm.

Onew blinked as if he were in a trance and looked at Jonghyun, then at me again.
"Yeah. Let's go." He scooped up his bag and I saw him look at me with a hurt expression, that was the only time I saw his eyes take on an emotion again.

He stared at the couple ring in his finger, looked at my couple ring, bit his lip and slowly took off his own couple ring and pocketed it.
It was as if he really didn't want to wear it because the other half was with me.

Never did I thought that a small gesture like that could hurt so much.):