“Wah, I think I’m in love,” Seungri sighed.

“Do you want Seven hyung to beat you up? Besides Park Hanbyul would never look at you.”

“Who said anything about Hanbyul? I’m talking about Dara.”

Seungri and Daesung went back and forth while Jiyong watched Dara walking toward her class. “Well I guess that settles that rumor then,” Youngbae said, jumping down onto the sidewalk. “The weird girl can definitely fight.”

Jiyong gathered his backpack and, along with his friends and dispersing crowd, made his way to his first period. Dara was already sitting at her desk when he went in, but unlike other mornings she had a scowl on her face as she took her supplies out of her bag and placed it on top of her desk. The other students watched her warily, whispering in groups.

It seemed to Jiyong that Dara was upset from that morning’s fight. She didn’t read her textbook like she normally did but instead sat staring at her desktop, even after the teacher came in, and throughout the whole of the morning. When the bell rang for recess Jiyong watched as she woodenly put her things away into her Spongebob bag and made her way out of the classroom. He followed her discreetly, or as discreetly as he could with all his fangirls crowding around him. He watched from a distance as he saw her look around, and then open the door to the rooftop and slip through. So that was where she would disappear to.

Jiyong growled at the girls around him. “Leave!” He didn't like being rude to girls, but sometimes that was the only way to get the message across to his fangirls.

Some of the girls dispersed but the more obsessive ones hung about still and made goo-goo eyes at him. “Oppa, don’t be so mean,” they whined.

“Look, the more you hang around me the more I don’t like you. Now leave!”

Slowly the girls left, leaving Jiyong finally alone. He quickly made his way to the rooftop using a roundabout way to make certain that he wasn’t being followed. It was hard having so many fans – and irritating! You can almost never keep a low profile because you’re always being followed.

Finally at his destination he looked around and didn’t see anyone. He walked the whole rooftop and still didn’t see anyone. But then he saw that in one corner there seemed to be a space that was hidden. Jiyong walked over and took a peek. Sure enough there was Dara sitting in the shade with her eyes closed. Jiyong cleared his throat and she opened her eyes and glowered at him.

Jiyong sat down a few feet from her, legs stretched out in front of him. He waited a few seconds to see if she would say anything but she didn’t.

“My name’s Jiyong. I’m in your homeroom.”

Dara turned her face to look straight ahead. She remained silent but still had that same scowl she wore throughout the morning.

Jiyong dug through his backpack and produced a bottle of orange juice. “Want some? It’s a little warm,” he offered. Dara ignored him so he shrugged and opened it and drank. Then he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. It was nice up here. There was a little breeze and it was like you were in your own little world.

He must have dozed because when he woke up he was alone. A quick glance at his watch and he saw that he was late for class. Jiyong swore and grabbed his bag and ran for class. When he reached his classroom and entered, everyone looked up from their desks. Everyone that is except for the weird girl, thought Jiyong with irritation.

“Mr. Kwon, care to explain why you’re late?” the teacher asked.

“Uh, the Principal wanted to speak with me.”

“Do you have a note?”

“Yes.”  He fumbled in his pocket, then pretended to remember. “Oh, I forgot it on the desk. I’ll run back and get it,” he offered, but the teacher dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

“Take your seat, Mr. Kwon. Don’t be late again.”

Jiyong bowed his head and made his way to his desk, passing Dara’s on his way. He looked at her, mad that she hadn’t woken him up. But she continued to do her work as if she hadn’t noticed him at all. Jiyong sat at his desk and glared at the back of Dara’s head for a good five minutes, willing her to turn and look at him. But she didn’t budge one inch other than to turn the page of her textbook. Finally with a sigh he opened his own text and began reading.

At lunch time Jiyong met up with his friends at the cafeteria and bought his lunch. He was sitting with them at their regular table.

“You looking for someone, hyung?” Daesung asked, when he saw Jiyong looking around at all the other tables.

“No, just looking,” Jiyong answered. He didn’t tell Daesung or his other friends that the person he was looking for was Dara. He spotted her two sisters sitting with their friends, but no Dara. Eventually he packed up his lunch and prepared to leave.

“Where are you going?” Youngbae asked.

“I’ve got something to do. I’ll catch up with you guys after school.”

Jiyong headed straight to the rooftop, but there was no one there. Where could she be?” he wondered.  He went back down and made his way out to the schoolyard. That was when he saw the tall lanky kid known as Chanyeol. The kid was only a freshman but according to Seungri, Chanyeol knew all the scoops around campus. Jiyong called him over.

“Channie, the youngest Park sister – Sandara. You know anything about her?”

“Dara noona?” The younger kid looked excited and he nodded his head.

“Where does she hang out at?” Jiyong asked.

Chanyeol hesitated, uncertain as to why Jiyong would be asking for Dara.

“I need to ask her about a project we’re assigned to,” Jiyong told him. “But I don’t know where to find her.”

Chanyeol seemed satisfied with this answer. “There’s only two places Dara noona hangs out at. Either the rooftop, or the library.”

“I already searched the rooftop. Wherein the library does she go?” he asked.

“Second floor, in the far right corner, next to the sci-fi section.”

Jiyong thanked Chanyeol and took off running. True to Chanyeol’s description Jiyong found Dara sitting on a chair in the corner next to the Sci-fi section. She glanced briefly up when she heard Jiyong approach. Her face remained blank as she looked at him before turning her attention back to the book she was reading. Jiyong placed his bag on the floor and sat in the chair close to Dara’s.

“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” he whispered.

Dara continued reading without saying anything. Jiyong sat staring at her for several minutes. He wondered in part why he was even bothering with trying to get to know this girl. But he had to admit that she intrigued him. After a while, and since she was still ignoring him, he grabbed his bag to get his math book out and work on his math homework. He took out an apple that was in his bag from lunch and he offered it to Dara.

“No eating in the library,” she said, not looking at him.

Jiyong smiled and stuck the apple back in his bag. He grabbed his book, notebook, and pencil and began working. Before he knew it the bell rang indicating that it was time to go back to class. He packed up his things and waited for Dara to finish getting her things as well. She still didn’t say anything to him, which he was getting used to her ignoring him, and the two walked out of the library and toward their afternoon class. A few feet from the library Dara stopped and looked at him.

“What?” Jiyong said, stopping as well.

Dara narrowed her eyes at him and began walking again with Jiyong walking beside her. Neither spoke or seemed to notice that almost everyone that saw them stopped to stare.

“Is that Jiyong… and Dara?”

“Are they friends? Since when did they become friends?”

“No, that can’t be! Jiyong wouldn’t hang out with her, would he?”

Jiyong turned his head toward Dara. “What are you doing after school? Do you want to hang out?” he asked, while Dara ignored him still.

The mouths of the kids around them gaped open. By the time the two reached their classroom word had spread through half the campus that Jiyong and Dara were – friends??

“You don’t talk much do you?” Jiyong said, taking the seat next to Dara. When the boy who normally sat at that seat came in, Jiyong asked him if it was okay to switch seats -- permanently. The boy, flabbergasted that Jiyong wanted to sit next to the weird girl, nodded mutely and took his things over to Jiyong’s former desk.

Dara glared over at Jiyong while the latter smiled back at her. He proceeded then to take his things out of his backpack and prepared for their next subject.