[CONTENTID1]Chapter 3: Sugar, oh Honey, Honey[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]A Selection of Chocolate-Boys by gaksitalGaksital[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

[CONTENTID3]

They met up with Jieun and Nana at the closest restaurant after their double lecture. The other two were already sorting out their notes. Jieun was reading a medical book, while Nana was eyeing every good-looking boy that passed their table. There was one particular boy, tall and handsome, that caught her eye.

She almost craned her neck to stare at him stroll by. Suzy saw the heel of her chair lifting. She gasped and hurriedly clamped her hand on the back of Nana’s chair to prevent her from falling over.

“Oh my!” Nana chuckled, “ He nearly made me fall for him.” She laughed at her own pun, but the other girls gave each other apprehensive looks. “Who is he?”

“Lee Sungyeol,” Krystal answered, searching through her phone, “I’ve found his facebook profile.”

The girls all huddled around her. They didn’t know how she did it, but Krystal was such a professional facebook stalker, that she knew almost every person in Seoul at this stage. They flicked through pictures of Sungyeol, who appeared to be somewhat of a party animal. For some reason, his wild pictures only made Nana swoon over him even more.

For Suzy, she felt embarrassed for scrutinising a stranger’s private pictures. The thought  made her blush. She didn’t know why Nana thought this Lee Sungyeol good looking. His face was too pointy, and his teeth were too large. He didn’t have a standard nose, or double lids.

“But Nana, he’s too old for you,” said Suzy.

“It’s only three years difference.” Krystal shrugged. “That’s not a big deal.” Suzy wondered if Krystal preferred older guys. The girl was too busy staring at their lecturer, Shim Changmin, then genuinely listening to him.

“He’s going to the Fresher’s Ball!” Nana squealed, almost falling off her chair again. Suzy refrained from smacking a palm on her forehead. “That means we have to go too.”

Jieun sighed in frustration and shook her head. She gathered her books into her arms.

“Where’re you going?” asked Suzy.

“To study. That’s the sole reason I came to university,” she replied. Nana and Krystal seemed disappointed in her.

“I’ll come with you,” Suzy offered. She wasn’t very hungry because her mother had provided a full breakfast. She wasn’t in the mood to regurgitate that food over Nana and Krystal’s ideal types.

“Eugh, you two are such a bore!” Nana retorted, crossing her arms across her chest and pouting petulantly.

“We can discuss about boys in the car, Nana.” Suzy ruffled her friend's hair before following Jieun out.

-

Frankly, Suzy hated studying, but the only reason she followed Jieun was to give her company. The girl had a mysterious past, and she was often left vulnerable because of this. Suzy watched out for her like a sister, so she made it her responsibility to ensure to that Jieun would never amble around alone.

The library in the science faculty was quite large. It could cater for a whole neighbourhood if they wanted to, with almost three floors of desks and chairs. The books remained inside large wooden stacks on the bottom floor.

The study ambiance already made Suzy flinch with boredom. She regretted her decision. Perhaps it would have been more fun discussing ideal types. While Jieun read through her anatomy book and took pristine notes, Suzy played candy crush on her phone.

She frowned, since the mint candy was so difficult to get rid of. Her mind lingered back to the strange, young man she encountered that morning; Kim Himchan. He reminded her of the mint candy, because she hated minty flavours. However, they always left a rather refreshing taste in one’s mouth after devouring them.

She giggled at the prospect, and Jieun shot her an inscrutable expression. The latter raised a supercilious brow, as Suzy regained her composure.

“What is it?” Jieun hissed.

“Nothing,” Suzy blurted, her mind trying to think of a reasonable suggestion, “Just Nana. She’s so funny.”

Jieun appeared unconvinced, but her nose peeked back into her book. Suzy resumed playing candy crush on her phone, until someone tipped her shoulder.

She looked to her right first, then to her left, but the shadow was standing tall behind her. She finally craned her neck to stare up at a pointy face. Suzy shrieked upon recognising that face, and her chair toppled over.

“Whoa!”

The shadow caught her into his arms, and they tumbled across the floor. The other students looked up from their notes, some irritated and others bemused. The heat crept up her face as Suzy stared into the face of the boy they had stalked earlier.

Lee Sungyeol.

She knew him. He probably didn’t have a clue who she was. This was awkward. Suzy felt like a thief caught in the act. However, he grinned at her in a way that made her heart beat like a drum against her ribcage.

“I could get used to this,” he chortled.

A foot tapped beside his head, and a guy with a single dimple on his cheek, glared at them as if they were the source of a commotion.

“Could you two please find a room? People are trying to study here,” he told them unabashedly.

Suzy immediately got back to her feet, her face red with heated shame. She was shivering from the accusation. Without looking at bewildered Jieun, she grabbed her school bag and stormed out of the library. Heavy footsteps resounded closeby.

“Hey, wait!” Sungyeol had followed her out, waving a long arm at her.

Suzy’s eyes grew larger on her face. What if he thought she was one of those girls? She quickened her pace, her gait now clumsy and unrefined. Her feet skidded across the slippery floor.

“Yo! Wait!” The wretch shouted again.

She needed to get rid of him, and fast.  Suzy pulled out the first thing from her bag. It was a half-eaten banana. She let out a puerile sigh, but sacrifices had to be made when the villain was chasing her.

She threw the banana at him. It hit him square in the forehead, and he toppled over with his eyes rolling in their sockets.

Something slipped from his grasp, and Suzy was struck with guilt. It was her pencil case, which she had left behind in the library in her attempt to vanish from earth.

Her feet slid to a halt but the slippery floor wasn’t supporting her. Instead, she ended up in the arms of another guy. He gripped her shoulders and kept at her arm's length.

Suzy’s jaw dropped open.

She had bumped into Shim Changmin, the young lecturer from her Biology course. muttered an incoherent apology but she might as well have constructed a new language. Changmin was even more handsome up close, and his heavy musk perfume infiltrated her nostrils, momentarily intoxicating her.

She prayed in her heart that he wouldn’t recognise her face.

“Racing in the corridors, sabotaging college property, and inflicting harm on fellow colleagues? What do you think this place is, a kindergarten?” He berated her, causing her to cringe over his harsh tone.

His astringent criticism forced her eyes to water. Suzy sniffed and stared at her shoes.

“I-I’m sorry, sir,” she whimpered, suddenly feeling very shrivelled and small under his intense gaze.

“Behave yourself next time. I’ll let you off this once, but in the future, I will report you.” He stepped aside, and took long strides down the corridor, one hand in the pockets of his suit's trousers .

Suzy watched him disappear around the corner. During this time, she was unaware that Sungyeol had witnessed her humiliation. He wiped a tear away from her eyes. Suzy didn’t know she had cried.