Mirae’s eyes drifted to a clock and she stood up hastily.

The other occupants of the table turned to her in alarm, questioning her sudden action silently. She sent them an apologetic look. I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll be late for class. Heechul oppa won’t be pleased with that. I’m going.

Jaejoong laughed at that. Heechul was known for being temperamental. He could either be mad at you for being late, pushing you to detention or to do certain things to make up for it or he could be accepting of it, brushing it off with a warning. “Go ahead. You never know with Chullie hyung.”

Mirae smiled, nodding in agreement. Yeah, so I’ll be going. I’ll see you guys later. She waved at the group and ran off.

“Where is she going?” Junsu asked.

“She has classes today. She’s running late for a class and the teacher is temperamental. I think Chullie hyung will be harsh on anyone who’s late today for his classes. I heard he’s being quite moody since Geng hyung is on a business trip in China,” Jaejoong explained.

“When is he not moody whenever Geng hyung is away?” Yoochun chuckled.

“Don’t let him hear that,” Jaejoong warned, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He turned to Junsu, smiling warmly. “So you have Yesung as your teacher, huh?”

“Yeah,” Junsu hummed. “Do you know him, hyung?”

Jaejoong cooed at the cute display. Junsu’s wide eyes and tilted head were just too adorable. “I know him. He’s a friend of mine. He can be a little weird, though, so you might want to watch out.”

Yoochun groaned. “Wait, Yesung hyung isn’t touching philtrums anymore, right? I don’t think Junsu will be fine after the lessons end.”

“Unfortunately, he still has that habit. He doesn’t do it with people that he’s not comfortable with, so don’t worry about that. Maybe you should have Junsu meet him today, so that he’ll know what to expect by tomorrow,” Jaejoong responded.

“That’ll probably be best,” Yoochun agreed.

“Why?” Junsu asked in confusion.

“Yesung has a bizarre personality, I guess you could say. He thinks a little differently from people, but he’s a nice person. He has turtles as pets and he’s very talkative. But then, he can also just be brooding in a corner. He’s a great guy, but he has an odd personality,” Jaejoong said.

“Oh,” Junsu said.

“Don’t worry. He’s a great person,” Jaejoong assured. “He’s one of my closest friends.”

“We’ll meet him later if you want,” Yoochun offered.

“Sure,” Junsu nodded. “I don’t think I’ll be doing anything, anyway.”

With Mirae

Mirae ran through the halls of the academy, her heart beating anxiously as she thought of Heechul. The elder male was probably in one of his moods since Hangeng had just left the day before for China.

‘Please be a little lenient. Please be a little lenient,’ she chanted in her mind. She sighed in relief as she saw the door, quickly slipping inside and running to her seat. She saw Heechul sitting silently on his desk, eyes narrowed at the class with a faint smirk tugging at his lips. Mirae paled. ‘Oh, we are doomed.’

“Hey, you made it,” someone whispered next to her ear. “What happened to you? You never arrive this late.”

Mirae turned her head to the side and found Taeyeon, a childhood friend. Taeyeon was caught in an accident when she was only 6. She turned blind after the incident and had been enrolled in the academy since she was 10. She suffered from depression when she was 8 because she started being bullied. This was the reason that her parents decided to enroll her into the academy. Despite this, the younger had a very beautiful voice. Taeyeon regained her eyesight a week ago after a successful surgery.

Mirae quickly signed an answer. I was having lunch with Joongie oppa, Chunnie oppa and Junsu-ssi.

“Who’s Junsu?” Taeyeon asked in confusion.

I’ll tell you later. Mirae signed. She flinched as a book slammed on the desk.

“Eyes at front,” Heechul barked as he stood up.

No one hesitated at the order as they immediately fixed their positions, looking at their professor.

“Today, we’ll be having a quiz,” Heechul announced with a smirk.

Groans erupted from various points of the class, earning an annoyed growl from the redhead.

“Shut up, you brats!” Heechul yelled. Everyone clamped their mouths shut at the command, shifting in their seats nervously as Heechul handed out the papers. He stood in front after he finished, about to start the test, but a knock on the door interrupted him. “What do you want?!” Heechul roared, staring at the door. He glared at the student shuffling by the door, head bowed apologetically. “Lee Donghae, why are you late?”

“Sorry, seonsaengnim,” Donghae apologized profusely, bowing at the angered redhead. “I was showing the new student around and I didn’t notice the time.”

“Sit down and don’t let this happen again,” Heechul said.

Donghae nodded furiously, scrambling to his seat. “Yes, seonsaengnim,” he responded.

‘He’s lucky Heechul favors him,’ Mirae thought. ‘But which student was he showing around?’

“As I was saying before I was interrupted,” Heechul said, briefly glaring at the fidgeting Donghae. “You have one hour to complete the test. There better not be any cheating going on and I want complete silence, are we clear?”

A chorus of ‘yes’ and nods answered his order.  “Time starts now,” Heechul announced.

After the Test

Mirae shuffled out the door as she handed her test paper to Heechul. She received a faint smirk from the elder as she did. She offered him a nervous smile in return.

“Unnie!” a voice called, and then an arm was thrown over her shoulder.

Mirae turned her head to her left, smiling at Taeyeon.

“So who’s Junsu?” Taeyeon asked.

You couldn’t just let it go? Mirae asked.

Taeyeon giggled, shaking her head. “Of course not,” she replied. Her eyes sparkled in the next second, making the other wary. “Is he your boyfriend? Is that why you don’t want to tell me about him?”

Mirae rolled her eyes, slapping the other’s hand off her shoulder. He’s not. He’s Yoochun oppa’s dongsaeng, I guess. Yoochun oppa enrolled him here.

“Oh, he’s a new student?” Taeyeon questioned.

Mirae nodded. Yeah, he’s starting tomorrow with private classes.

“Why is he here?” Taeyeon asked with her eyes imploring as she looked at Mirae.

He’s turning deaf. Mirae signed.

Taeyeon easily picked up on the sad vibe from her answer. “Is that a bad thing? Well, worse than losing your hearing, of course.”

Mirae looked at the younger briefly, but she quickly turned her eyes back on their path. He seems like someone who really loves music. He said he used to play, but I think he stopped after whatever happened for him to lose his hearing. It just seems too cruel.

“So take care of him,” Taeyeon shrugged, easily understanding Mirae’s concern. Mirae also lost something incredibly important, after all. She lost her voice when all she wanted was to sing. But she turned to give Mirae a warning look. “But it’s not like you like him, right? You just see him as a friend, right? Or do you want Junsu-ssi to be a replacement for him?”

Finally! An update!! How long has it been? Almost a month? Ahhh... I'm really sorry for being lazy to update and all. I hope that this appeased you somehow, hahaha. Who is the he in Mirae's past? What did he do? Is Junsu just going to be a replacement for him? And how will Junsu's meeting with Yesung go? Well, you'll just have to wait for a while before you find out. Hopefully I don't get too lazy and finish the next chapters already. Ugh. And that scene with Heechul... HAHAHA! I just couldn't resist! I hope it made the atmosphere lighter before the bomb that Taengoo dropped for us. Thanks for waiting for this and for supporting! That's always nice. Thank you! Comment and subscribe~! ^^