The town's annual concert -- which was simply called The Fundraiser -- was about five days away and while I got to see less and less of Yoona due to her practice, I slowly got used to having Hoya around me. 

Hoya's strange split personality intrigued me to no ends. It was like a tame version of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, being naive and friendly around Yoona but turning into a worldly-wise and straight-laced man with me. I tried and failed to analyze the root of his problem, only to realize that maybe there was no problem at hand. Maybe Hoya had known Yoona for long.

"Can I ask you something?" It was a lazy afternoon and while I was busy in the book shop, Hoya had kindly stopped over to get me my iced caffe mocha.

"Of course," Hoya shrugged, a little offended at my formality. 

Taking a deep breath in, I logged off the store PC and rested my chin on my hand.

"Why is it," I started, "that Yoona can hang around with you but not the Others?" A certain amount of time had passed and calling Hoya's friends The Others had suddenly become a way of referring to known strangers, specifically four strangers.

Hoya pursed his lips, looking like he was carefully rolling the right words to say in his mouth. "Well... That is a question that only Yoona can answer."

"She said you work next to her," I hurriedly responded.

Hoya nodded. "That's her way of looking at it."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what about you? Why do YOU think she only opens up to you and not your friends?"

A small smile played on his lips. "I don't mean to sound too boastful but out of the five I'm the most approachable. What if I asked you the same question? Why you don't make an attempt to know the rest?"

I startled a bit, a reaction that had almost become customary around Hoya. "I don't see them often."

"Exactly," Hoya raised his finger, closing the book he had been blindly flipping through. He was standing in the archives section and was now ascending down the spiral stairs.

"You could call it an excuse. You might feel you don't need to make an effort but I would say you're being aloof."

I blinked at him, absorbing his perceptive words in my head. "Has anyone ever told you you have a strong intuition?"

Hoya laughed, a laugh that seemed almost too unnecessary and mocking at the same time. He slowly sighed and walked out the door, waving at me before turning to enter his workplace.

                                                                                             **********************************

"You're not allowed--"

"My sister studies here--"

"Yeah right!" The security guard gave a once-over glance and attempted to throw the tall and athletic figure away, only to met by a smirk.

"We're going to use force now, huh?" Pushing the shocked guard away, the man rode on the railings of the gate with ease and entered the amphitheatre.

A commotion started as students, who were in the middle of rehearsal, watched five security guards run out of nowhere and try to stop a young man from walking, only to have him flick them away like they were dead flies.

Yoona pushed past the crowd out of curiosity, only to encounter a mischievous smile. 

"Wow," the man whistled. "Sister really does make great friends."

Yoona crossed her arms. "We're in the middle of rehearsals. What do you want?"

The man raised both his palms as if to surrender. "I'm not going to disturb you anymore than I already have. Just wanted to know... Is this the School of Art, Literature and Drama of Verdelann?"

Yoona curtly nodded. The man sighed in obvious relief, laughing with his eyes. 

"Gosh, this town is really remote! A well-kept secret I must say!"

"Like I said before," Yoona sighed, "what do you want?"

The man looked at her then stepped closer. "Where's Saya Lee?"

Yoona stiffened. Was this crazy guy possibly Hyun Joong?

"What do you want from her?"

"Ah," the man sang. "Defensive I see... Don't worry, I'm not that bastard of an ex of hers."

Yoona narrowed her eyes. "Saya has no family and you're not her ex. Who the hell are you then?"

"You're wrong." The man's lips turned up, sending shivers down Yoona's spine. "I'm Nam Woohyun, Saya's cousin and her only family."