"Just because you're first place in school doesn't mean you're first place in popularity you ugly ." Was the first thing Juhyeon heard as he stepped foot in his new school. He looked at the crowd of people and plugged his earphones back in his ears, blocking him from the world. He rolled his eyes at them and yawned as he continued his journey to the school office.

"Ah Mr Kim Juhyeon I read that you were first place in your previous school? That's very impressive. You even won a few awards for your academics! I think you'll fit in just fine in Paran High. We have plenty of…" Juhyeon just stared at the painting on the wall behind the principal and nothing the friendly old man said went through his ears.

As Juhyeon walked through the hallways to his first class it wasn't a surprise when a few heads turned to check out the new handsome face the school received. He heaved a sigh of boredom and quickened his walking speed, ready to get his classes over and done with.

2-1

"Oh you must be the new student! I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up from the office myself. I came in a little late today." A disorganised young male walked towards Juhyeon with his hair flying in odd directions and his tie low and loose. The male gave him a bright smile and offered him a hand, releasing the papers tucked under his arms to fall to the ground. He laughed sheepishly and bent down to pick them up. Juhyeon too bent down and was about to pick up a piece of pink paper but as his hands touched it, another hand stretched out and the two hands made contact. He looked up to meet the most beautiful pair of almost fully black irises behind a square frame. His mouth immediately formed an o shape and the person behind the square frames stood up with a soft squeal.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to touch you!" Her voice was soft and as Juhyeon stood up, he noted how small she was in comparison to him. The young male picked up the last of his papers and chuckled at her reaction. "Kim Juyeon it's as if you haven't touched a boy before. Come on you've touched me more times than you've touched your phone."

The girl's pale face was as red as a tomato and her eyes wavered as if she was about to cry. Juhyeon's eyes went large and his mouth opened to say something. Anything. But the young male beat him to it. "Okay okay I'm sorry I'm sorry it was just a joke!!"

He went over to her and bent down to her eye level before rubbed her back. The male was shorter than Juhyeon and he noticed that he wasn't wearing the school uniform but something an office worker would wear.

"Oppa you shouldn't be doing this.  People will look and stare. Plus there's a new kid. You should pay more attention to him first." Oppa? Stares? Attention? Juhyeon's bewildered look made the two people flinch and the young male faked a cough to break the awkward atmosphere.

The girl, Kim Juyeon, dashed into the classroom as soon as the atmosphere turned awkward. The male introduced himself as Kim Sangbae, Juhyeon's new homeroom teacher. After sorting out his appearance, Mr Kim lead Juhyeon into the buzzing classroom. As soon as the six foot tall teen entered the classroom, the students quietened down their chatter to hushed gossip. Juhyeon rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort as Mr Kim asked him to introduce himself to the class.

"Hello. My name is Kim Juhyeon. Uh please take care of me. Thank you." With that, Mr Kim directed him to the seat at the back of the classroom right beside the big windows which showed the school courtyard. Mr Kim laughed sheepishly and explained to him that since he was quite tall, most students might have their view blocked if he sat in the middle or in the front. Juhyeon nodded in understanding and walked towards his new seat. As he walked towards his seat, the girls and guys around him eyed him up and down in awe and some of envy.

He noticed that he had a seatmate as he neared his table. He went around the table to the empty seat nearest to the window and set his bag on the floor before quickly settling down in his seat.

"Alright class I'll call for attendance now so try to be quiet please." As Mr Kim started calling out the names of the students, Juhyeon glanced sideward to his seatmate who didn't seem very welcoming of his presence. Suddenly, she lifted her head up and greeted him. "Uhm hello. My name is-"

Never did Juhyeon expect her to be the one sitting next to him. A big smile made its way to his face and he nodded in acknowledgement. Her eyes grew wide and her faced turned beet red. She nodded back at him and they sat in silence as Mr Kim continued calling out names.

"Kim Juhyeon." After Juhyeon raised his hand in response, Mr Kim carried on with the next person. "Kim Juyeon."

She too raised her hand and Mr Kim gave her a big smile, flashing his pearly teeth. Juyeon shrunk in her seat as her classmates started snickering around her.

"What a ."

"Mr Kim already has a girlfriend what the is she trying to do?"

Juhyeon looked at the front of the classroom to see Mr Kim continue with the roll call, unable to hear what was going on at the back of the classroom. He looked to his right to see Juyeon hide under her long hair like a curtain. Her hands were balled into fists on her lap and he could her breathing unsteadily as he neared her.

Although the snickering had stopped, Juyeon still felt like a thousand pair of eyes were staring at her. Don't cry god damn it. The new guy probably thinks you're a werido so you can't let him see you cry. You can't let anyone see you cry Kim Juyeon. She blinked away the tears that were heavy in her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. She brought her dainty hands up to her face to wipe away the tears and to stop the horrid thoughts from provoking her any further. As a small whimper was about to escape , a warm hand gave her a pat on the shoulder in comfort.

When she looked up at him, Juhyeon could see the confusion glazed in her small tearful eyes. "It's okay." Was the only thing he said before giving her the most heart warming smile she had ever seen in a long time. Juyeon sat dazed in shock and extreme embarrassment. She had only just met him but she felt scarily secure when she heard his warm words. Juhyeon gave her one last pat on the back before looking to the front .

 

The lessons went by in a flash for Juhyeon who had already studied the chapters before. Juyeon on the other hand paid total attention to the lessons, writing notes and raising her hand to ask a question when she didn't understand something. Each time she asked a question, the other students in the class would groan, knowing how long the explanation was going to take and without fail Juyeon would apologise meekly to the class with a shade of embarrassment on her face. Due to her active participation during the different lessons, Juhyeon paid more attention to his new seatmate than to the teachers that came and left.

 

As the bell rang to signal the end of lessons and the beginning of recess, the students jumped out of their seats in excitement, waking Juhyeon from his short nap. He looked around the class with a dazed expression and his mouth wide open to which Juyeon couldn't help herself from giggling. Juhyeon looked at her and flashed her a childish smile in response to her adorable laughing face.

"We should go now." Juyeon suddenly stood up and stretched her hands forward. Confused, Juhyeon asked her why they had to go. She looked at him with a small smile on her lips as she replied, "As the class president it's my duty to take care of the new students. Well only until they find better friends though."

When they walked side by side Juyeon's head only reached up until Juhyeon's chest, near to where his heart was, making them an odd pair to the students who saw them together. As she lead the way, students who saw them walking by would snicker and purposely talk aloud.

"Oh look she's doing her class president duties and showing the new kid around. How nice."

"You think she'll steal him like the rest of the boys?"

"Looks like it. I mean she takes away all the good looking ones and he's definitely very good looking."

"Tch she gets good grades and all the good looking guys but she isn't even that pretty. She probably threatens them with her daddy's money. Ugh I'm so sick of her."

Juhyeon stepped forward and was about to tell them off but Juyeon grabbed his arm and quickened her speed before roughly pushing the cafeteria doors open. As the girls behind them laughed loudly at her reaction, Juyeon speed walked toward a table at a quieter corner of the cafeteria before sitting down and dragging Juhyeon down with her. She immediately closed her eyes and her breathing wavered scarily. Juhyeon noticed her grip on his arm tighten and he patted her hand softly to try and calm her down.

Juyeon's eyes snapped open as she realised she was still holding onto him. She looked up at him and she could feel something inside her stir as she took sudden notice of their close distance. She immediately let go of him and stood up only to make things more awkward between them.

"Yah Kim Juyeon I thought I told you to wait for me..." Juhyeon stood up as a taller student approached the table carrying a tray on each hand. His smile faltered as Juhyeon stood behind a still shaking Juyeon. The said girl quickly noticed the change in the air and shook her head even before the tall male could ask her a question.

"No no no. Jun ah it's not what you think. This is Juhyeon my new classmate. I was just showing him around." Juhyeon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she explained their position with a tone of panic in her voice. Is he her boyfriend? The male, 'Jun', looked sceptically at Juhyeon before finally taking a seat at the empty table. He gestured at Juyeon to take a seat and she nodded to Juhyeon to follow. She realised that Juhyeon didn't have any lunch with him so she tried to excuse herself to bring some for him. Heojun sighed and told Juyeon to stay while he went with Juhyeon.

"Uh hi I'm Juhyeon." Although Juhyeon didn't exactly like the vibe this Jun guy was giving him, he couldn't exactly say anything else to him.

"Look I know guys like you. Although Juyeon's nice to you sooner or later you're just going to not talk to her anymore when you hear what the others have to say about her. So let's just get over the fact that Juyeon is pretty infamous in this school. A girl from a wealthy family who doesn't happen to be lacking in any area, it's not a surprise that people, particularly girls, happen to be jealous. So if you hear very convincing rumours about her it's up to you if you want to believe them or not." Just as Heojun finished his speech, the both of them reached the front of the cafeteria line. Juhyeon processed his thoughts and found it hard to believe why anyone would do such things to such a nice girl. The said male unconsciously took his own sweet time deciding what to buy for his lunch while drowned in his thoughts. He received a hard smack on the back of his head and he quickly paid for his food before Heojun could hit him again.

"What difference would it make if I left her or not? We barely just met." Curiosity got the better side of Juhyeon as the two tall males walked back to their suddenly filled table. Heojun chuckled at his question and replied, "Because you're the first student ever that she brought from her class. The last guy was already convinced that the rumours about her were true and refused to let her show him around."

As they approached the table, Juhyeon realised that Juyeon wasn't sitting alone. There were three other guys laughing loudly together with her. All four pairs of eyes focused on Juhyeon as he sat down next to Juyeon. He looked at his seatmate who only giggled in response.

"So this is Kim Juhyeon. You've come a long way from Seoul High. I'm Jaeho. Nice to meet you." Juhyeon was shocked by the nice words coming out from the lanky boy seated in front of him in contrast to Heojun's greeting. As the others introduced themselves Juhyeon found himself wondering if Heojun really was Juyeon's boyfriend. The said male was even seated at the other side of Juyeon which had to mean something. Right?

"Who do you sit next to in class?" Jonghwa asked Juhyeon who was silent throughout. Suddenly all the attention was on him which made Juhyeon shift in his seat uncomfortably. With a shrug he said, "Next to her."

"Yah Sangbae hyung let someone sit next to his sister?" Daewon laughed aloud which caused the others to let out screams of excitement and shock.

"Well he is tall no wonder he had to be put at the back of the class." Jaeho shrugged with a glint of amusement in his eyes. The only person who didn't seem amused was Heojun who only nodded his head slowly. Juyeon looked up at her seatmate with a sheepish smile on her face. "Don't mind them. Even I was surprised when my brother allowed a boy to be seated next to me."

Even after recess and the group parted ways for the next class, Juhyeon realised that Heojun still had his head down.

"So Mr Kim is your brother? And people were calling you names because they didn't know you both are related? And is that Heojun guy your boyfriend or something?" Juhyeon wanted to clear his mind as quickly as he could but his body took over as he asked the last question.

"Uhm yes Mr Kim, Sangbae oppa, is my brother. Yes nobody except you five guys know and no Junnie is just my very good friend. Why did you even ask the last question?" Juyeon could feel the blood rise to her cheeks at the thought of Juhyeon actually being interested in someone like her. Nah. As if.

"Us five? Jonghwa, Daewon, Heojun, Jaeho and me? Why don't you just tell people so the misunderstandings wouldn't happen?" As they neared their classroom the whispering around them got louder, making it hard for Juhyeon to listen to her reply. He spun around and gave the crowd one loud "SHHHHHHHH" before ushering Juyeon to their desks so she could finish talking.

"As... I was saying, telling the entire school will only make people understand that he's biased towards me BECAUSE I'm his sister, therefore since people don't exactly like me, Sangbae oppa will only get hurt in the process. Oppa worked hard to get where he is. I don't want to be the one to ruin his hard work." When Juhyeon didn't respond, she looked to her left only to see him resting his head on his hand while looking at her with a soft smile.

"Why would anyone not like you? The problem must be that they like you too much it hurts them." As the teacher entered the classroom, Juyeon didn't have a chance to ask him what he meant by that, leaving her curious until the end of class.

 

"Oh my gosh it's student council president Heojun sunbae!" Juhyeon jolted awake from his rest and looked up to see Juyeon blushing madly while packing her bag in a hurry. He proceeded to stand up and pack his own bag but curiosity gnawed his ever busy body mind. He just had to ask, "Hey do you like Heojun or something?"

Juyeon froze and slowly turned to look up at him. Why is he saying this? Why is my heart beating so fast? Is it because Jun is outside waiting? Or is it because Juhyeon's looking me straight in the eye? SNAP OUT OF IT KIM JUYEON. Juhyeon tilted his head as she stood motionless before him. She let out a strained laughter and the two proceeded to leave the classroom, Juyeon hoping he wouldn't question her any further. Before Heojun could even say anything, she blurted out, "I have someone to meet after school. Could you give Juhyeon a ride instead Jun?"

With that, the tiny girl ran towards the library, leaving the two tall males dumbfounded.

 

"What are you doing here little girl?" Juyeon leaped in shock as Jaeho snuck up behind the unsuspecting girl. She squeezed his arm in fright and proceeded to give him the most painful pinch when she recovered from her shock. Since they were in the library Jaeho had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and endure the pain as he tried to release himself from her iron grip. Juyeon asked herself why her friends were so tall. Even Jaeho who was shorter than her in sixth grade had a huge growth spurt and surpassed her height by the time they reached 15. She laid her cheek on her palm and heaved a sigh of worry. Jaeho silently took a seat next to her, waiting for her to tell him anything and everything. "I wonder how Juhyeon and Jun are getting along."

 

"I told you, you could've just turned at that intersection. Now we have to take the long way."

"Well excuse me, I know the road to my own house best so you should just be quiet and drive."

"Well I wouldn't even have offered to drive you but since Juyeon asked me too I have no right in going against what she wants me to do." This made Juhyeon freeze and Heojun looked over at him to make sure he was still breathing.

"You... You really like Juyeon?" Heojun straightened his body and cleared his throat before answering clearly, "No. I don't like her. I love her."

 

Jaeho watched as Juyeon did her math sums slowly and carefully. The focused look in her eye as she analysed a question, the furrowing of her eyebrows as she fails to understand what she got wrong and the small giggle that comes out of her cherry pink lips each time she finished a difficult question all make up the reasons why Jaeho couldn't take his eyes off this small girl.

Just then, a sudden realisation hit Jaeho hard in his heart and mind, he realised how much he wanted to protect her. Ever since they were little, Jaeho had been the one hiding behind her and even though she never won any of the fights, she would always tell Jaeho, "It's okay for me to get beaten up because Jaeho is still smaller than me, so Jaeho's body can't take the hits. It's okay for me since I'm bigger than you. Don't worry!"

 

"Hey Juyeon."

"Hmm?"

"Since I'm bigger than you in every physical way now, does that mean our roles have switched?" Juyeon looked up from her writing only to face a very serious Jaeho. He was looking straight into her eyes, making her feel embarrassed to the point of shifting her gaze before asking, "What do you mean?"

"Well you always protected me when we were younger. I figured it was the time for me to return the favour and protect you in any way possible. How about it?" Jaeho's sincere smile made Juyeon feel so much warmth in her chest. She nodded her head repeatedly and the two laughed aloud, causing the librarian to hush them loudly.

 

Juyeon didn't know what was going on anymore. Her heart hasn't pounded this much since the first time she met Kiyo, her golden retriever, in the animal shelter. How could her heart beat so fast for someone she barely knew? How could her heart beat so fast for a caring friend? How could her heart beat so fast for a childhood friend? The endless questions spun in her head and all she could think about was the three tall men in her life. How could she feel so much emotion in a span of just one day?

All she knew was that it was going to be a very long year.

 

"I guess some people are meant to be loved more than others. Maybe they seem to be more in need of the love." Heojun said as he parked his car after the two men sat motionless, waiting for someone to say something.

"Or maybe it's because we can't help but to love them." Was Juhyeon's simple reply.