The next few weeks pass, just like that. Seoul High continues to do well at math competitions and while their long time rival absolutely crushes them (to her utter embarrassment) at one particular game, they pull themselves up for the next couple games and manage to stay in the running for championships.

Haeri gets to play quite a few times, and one night while she's doing her homework she remembers one game that she can't stop thinking about. It was a strange day indeed. She and Sehun had been sitting next to each other as partners, watching the freshmen play and preparing mentally for their own game. And suddenly, Haeri just had to ask him something. So she turned to him, and did.

"What's it like being popular?"

Sehun looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Haeri elaborates, "is it nice being part of the elite at school? You won't ever be looked down on, or picked on. You can do whatever you want."

Sehun's face clears up, and he answers in understanding, "Ah, I know what you're asking now. It's..." he seems to be looking for the right words. "It's different than what you think, and what most people believe. Being at the so-called 'top' of the school comes with it's unseen parts, too. You're expected by the school, and even your own friends, to dress a certain way, act a certain way, even if it's not very nice. You can't really be yourself."

Haeri's quiet for a moment.

"But it doesn't seem like that to me," she insists finally. "You're in this math club, aren't you? That's not exactly a cool thing."

"Well," Sehun says, smiling, "I happen to be at the top of the elite. So it doesn't really matter for me. I set the standard!"

Haeri laughs despite herself, understanding that Sehun is joking. But his hand nudges hers gently, and she also understands that it really isn't as easy being popular as most people think it is.

And it's weird, but Haeri realizes in an instant that this isn't so bad. She doesn't know when it happened, but somewhere in these past few weeks Sehun has changed from her enemy into... something else. Not a friend, definitely not. But acquaintance? Possibly. Math partner? Yes.

And of course, because of this, she's now wondering about something else.

"So, you seem like a pretty nice guy," she beings. Sehun snorts, but she ignores him and continues.

"How come, before this year started and I met you, I always heard such bad things about you and your friends? That you guys drank underage, caused trouble around the city but never actually got in trouble because your families were important, smoked, bullied kids, that kind of stuff."

"Oh," Sehun waves his hand in the air. "Those are just rumors. Well, most of them, anyways. C'mon: have you ever actually seen my and my friends bully anybody at school?"

"No," Haeri says defensively. "But you were pretty rude to me that one time."

"What one time?" Sehun asks.

Haeri crosses her arms. "Don't pretend you don't know. When you rode past me on your motorcycle and just about ran me over!"

Sehun thinks, hard. "When was this again?" He holds up his hands at Haeri's glare. "I swear I'm not trying to annoy you! I really don't know what you're talking about."

Haeri sighs, exasperated. She has finally revealed the heart of her grudge and yet Sehun seems to have forgotten completely.

"Okay, it was over the summer. I was biking back from the library and then some guy zoomed past me on a motorcycle and almost ran me over and I cussed at his back but he ignored me. Coming back to you?"

"No."

"Fine, okay. Well I went to the coffee shop after that and saw the motorcycle in the parking lot and decided to figure out who the rude guy was so I could tell him off. And I went in and waited for ages and saw nobody and just as I was about to leave I stood up and crashed into you. And you were the motorcycle guy! Same jacket, same rude attitude. And you scared the out of me, honestly. I thought you were going to make my life terrible at school because I spilled coffee on you and because you asked me what my name was."

Sehun stares at her.

"Oh," she adds as an afterthought. "Why did you ask for my name, if you weren't going to make my life terrible? Because so far, you haven't. Not that I'm testing my luck," she says hastily.

Sehun opens his mouth.

"Um."

"What?"

"Well I saw you at the coffee shop, that's true. And I asked for your name because I'd never seen you around before and were curious as to who you were." He smiles to himself at some secret thought, and Haeri would ask, except she knows she won't get a straight answer back.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Sehun continues. "And honestly, I had no idea I almost ran you over, or that you cussed me out." He laughs. "Boy, would I like to hear that now. I can't imagine you cussing anyone out. It's just that- have you ever been on a motorcycle?"

Haeri shakes her head.

"It's really loud," Sehun says. "And that's all you really need to know. That's why I didn't acknowledge you, or help you up like a good gentleman would."

"Ah," Haeri says slyly, "but somebody else, just like the gentleman he is, did help me up."

"Who?" Sehun demands, but Haeri shakes her head again and asks Sehun one last thing.

'Why did you join math club?"

"Here we go again," Sehun groans. "Your questions are endless, I swear. You should just become a popular kid do you can answer them yourself."

"As if it's that easy," she scoffs back. "So?"

"Okay, okay. I joined math club because I'm good at math, of course," he says haughtily.

Haeri shakes her head for the third time that day. "Oh, you privileged young man, " she mocks.

What am I going to do with you, Oh Sehun?