Weekends usually meant one thing for me. It’s rather hard to occupy my time when it’s completely free, counter to most I’d assume. I was a sort of early bird when it came to homework, I’d almost never have to worry over the weekend. I could take pictures, but after the turmoil of events this week, I needed to blow steam, and there was only one way I really knew how to do that.

My third favorite pastime, saved only for the weekends when I really had time: running. I don’t really have a reason for preferring to run in my human self, I just did. The sun hitting my skin was reason, I guess. It was both burning yet relaxing at the same time.

Another reigning joke was that I was almost darker than Kim Jongin, which for one I wasn’t, and two was a direct insult to Kim Jongin himself. He wasn’t one to make jokes like that to me, but he did with everything else, so I just assumed he didn’t like it when people talked about his skin. Otherwise, he probably would have made fun of my skin color too. I paid no heed to their words. I look fabulous.

My morning runs were average when you really consider the amount of stamina I had. A simple jog wouldn’t satisfy. My runs consisted of a minimum of a 2 hour sprint. I woke up at 5AM [I know, I’m the only one in the universe to get up this early on a Saturday out of choice], and got dressed in a plain white t-shirt and running shorts, with my best running shoes, and let my body do the rest.

To say running was exhilarating was an understatement. I’ve been doing this since high school, so long that it has become part of my life. I’m not training for anything, like a race. I’m not trying to make myself look better by working out so much…I just like it. Wind in my face, burning limbs, all of the cheesy things like that. Well, I guess I like the cliché things like that.

3 hours went by like minutes. Not only did it feel like that, my watch told me that no time went by at all. I tapped the glass of the watch a few times, but realized it was futile. I would have continued, but I kind of needed my watch to function.

I ran back home, seeing that my brother and cousin weren’t even awake yet, and quickly hopped in the shower. It wasn’t like I had anything better to do with my time, so I dawdled. It was becoming a more typical Saturday morning as I lazily shuffled my feet around trying to get ready. I could have put my hair in a bun still wet, but I couldn’t think of a reason not to let it air dry. Maybe I had laziness in me after all.

By the time my hair completely dried, it was about noon. I gathered it back and tied it up in a bun, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Kind of a typical outfit for me. All I grabbed was my book bag, carrying just a folder of pictures and my wallet.

There was only one jewelry shop that repaired watches in our town, and one of the only shops in our town that I actually regularly went to. As I walked up to the store, that awful yet wonderful tingling in the depths of my stomach started happening again.

From the outside of the shop I was able to tell that Oh Sehun and Kim Jongin were inside, looking at jewelry. Great, no wonder. I was hesitant at first, but I had no other time to get this done. I grabbed the handle and pushed the glass door open, hearing the jingle of a bell.

“Ah, In Hye! What can I do for you?” The owner of this shop was and older man, I usually called him Uncle Ko. My father and he were really close friends, so he always treated me like his own, even though he had no idea about my other side. He was just a really kind person, something that I appreciated from an adult. I got a strange look from Oh Sehun, but decided to ignore it.

“Uncle, the battery to my watch is out again.” I sat down at the counter and handed the watch over to him. He took his glasses off and peered down to the watch.

“Ah, again? You know I can just get you a new watch right?” He chuckled, looking down at the old thing. I could see some nostalgia in his eyes, it probably reminded him of my father.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn’t want a new watch. The one I had was perfectly fine. Plus, after all this time it was still in really good condition. Noticing my silence, he looked up from the watch and smiled.

He chuckled again. “I understand. Keepsake for your dad right?” I nodded. “All right, I can do this now, give me a few minutes.” He reached over the counter and patted my head, going behind a curtain to get his tools.

“How is your portfolio coming?” He shouted from behind the curtain. He reemerged with tools in his hand and a new battery, with a smile on his face.

“I have new ones. Do you want to see?” My lips curved up, not into a full smile.

“I always want to see your work, In Hye.”

I pulled up my book bag and took out the folder with my latest prints. I might have been anticipating him asking to see. I had been working more with contrasting the sky and the horizon line, which was the subject to most of the pictures. Uncle stopped his work to take the folder, flipping through the pictures one by one. He laid some of them out on the counter, picking the ones he really liked.

Usually he’d make a compliment towards my photos, but he remained silent. My heart started pounding nervously, Uncle is usually one to over exaggerate that he loves my pictures. By the slight hanging of his mouth, I had no idea what he was thinking.

“I’m speechless, In Hye.” He breathed out. That’s when I saw it. He wasn’t silent, he was just in awe. There was a slight sparkle in his eye as they moved from picture to picture.

The two boys who were in the shop had come up to the front counter where I was. In Sehun’s hand was a delicate necklace; something I assumed was for his girlfriend. He kept his eyes forward, but his friend seemed a little curious to what was on the counter.

“Damn, that’s a good picture.” He picked up one of the photos that was on the counter. I wasn’t sure which one, but I wanted his dirty hands off of my prints. He was denting them. Not appreciated, Kim Jongin.

I reached over and pulled it out of his grasp with more force than I needed. I wanted him to get the picture: don't touch. I understood why he was in such wonder, as he happened to pick up my favorite of this batch. It was one of the most risky pictures I had taken, not because it was risque, but because it was a picture of the sunset. I had never run so fast to get home; I'd never gotten that close to my curfew before, but that picture made it worth while. 

"Watch the language in my shop, Mr. Kim." Uncle Ko was kind of everyone's uncle in our town. He expected the most out of people, disciplining them whenever he got the chance. There was no one who could really go against his judgment. 

"Y-yes sir..." He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, losing his playboy aura. 

The necklace Sehun was holding was dropped onto the glass counter. "Ah, your mother's birthday, I assume? Nice choice, I'll ring it up." Said Uncle Ko. Uncle Ko had this innate ability to know everything about the townspeople, including a recluse like Sehun. 

"Obligatory, at best." Sehun muttered, reaching for his wallet. He pulled out a black credit card and gave it to Uncle Ko. I kept myself occupied by straightening out the stack of photos I brought with me back into a neat pile. 

Again, just to clarify: I'm not avoiding Oh Sehun. I'm not, I swear. It just so happens that I don't want to see him at the current moment. Though there was the inevitable project duo that was the benifactor to my grades, I had more important things to worry about. Maybe if there were a guidebook to avoiding a most likely plausible mate, I needed it.

The feeling was becoming even more clear the more time I was around him, which seemed to increase as the days went on. They call it fate for a reason I guess. Maybe meeting him in the forest was that so-called fate as well. Maybe, but I wouldn't admit that just yet.

When the two friends left, I felt a lot more comfortable. It was less awkward, if anything. Uncle Ko went back to fixing my watch, unscrewing the back and all the works. In no time, he had a new battery placed, and my ears picked up the softed ticking. "There you go, In Hye. All fixed. How's the fit? Still good?"

I nodded, taking my father's watch and wrapping the leather strap around my wrist. My father was a fairly built man, so his wrists were twice the size of mine. Uncle Ko had cut off a large chunk of the strap and re-drilled holes to fit my wrist better. Ever since, it was always the perfect kind of snug around my bony wrist.

I showed him, twisting my lips into a half smile. Uncle Ko never charged me, persisting that it was a friends and family deal, because he and my father were close. I thanked him, leaving behind one of the photos that he liked as a gift. I knew how much he liked my photography. 

I left the shop, and the warm sun greeted me again. It was a really nice day, I just had nothing to do with it. I didn't really want to go home in fear of being stuck in a house with my brother and his friends all day. For once I wasn't in the mood to take pictures, developing was a different story. 

Since it was only the three of us living in a relatively large house, I had my own darkroom. I didn't use film too often, partially because it was a drag developing. I'd have my moods, and I guess today was one of them. I turned sharply to the right to head home, but a tall lanky something stopped me in my way. 

He hadn't spoken to me since his outburst about bears and wolves, and I had the slightest feeling he was the one who was avoiding me. I hadn't heard the typical bantering from him, or so much as a derogative nickname in the past couple of days. Now it was my turn to ignore him, considering I didn't want to soil my mood. I had a lot to develop, these moods didn't last long.

I looked around for Jongin who was supposed to be with him, but his friend was no where to be seen. Sehun was by himself, and by the looks of it, he was waiting...for me? I must have been mistaken so I kept walked, briskly grazing his shoulder. Turns out I wasn't mistaken; the sound of his shoes hitting the ground was fresh in my ears. He was following me. 

"Hey." He spoke from behind me, but it wasn't enough acknowledgement for me to be content. "Yah!" Oh, informalities now? Is that really the way to get someone's attention?

"Are you even listening to me? I'm talking to you!" The irritation in his voice was growing with each step. Just say it, I'll turn around. "Yah, Heuk..."

My shoulders depleted. That's not what I wanted him to say. Was it really that hard to get it out of him? Couldn't he try harder, even with me? I suppose that was asking for much. At least once would make me happy. He groaned dramatically, "Fine, fine! In Hye." 

I spun around on my heels, plastering an obviously fake innocence on my face. At least he did what I was looking for, by saying my name. Honestly, I don't remember him ever doing that.  "Oh, Sehun. Do you need something?" 

He deadpanned, and I received the uncountable stoic face of his. "Are you kidding me? God, whatever."

"No...seriously...what do you want?" I crossed my arms, it wasn't like him to call me out at all. Unless he was seriously desperate for these projects. 

"You do realize that we are going to fail these projects if we don't start right?" Bingo, hit the nail on the head. I didn't think Sehun cared about his grades this much, to be as desperate as to ask me to cooperate.

"I wonder why that is, Sehun?." I rolled my eyes, letting my sarcasm get the better of my tone, again. With the constant badgering and name calling, he couldn't seriously be thinking I wanted to do anything with him. Sure I skipped out on the times we did agree on; that was his fault, after what he said about my parents and all.

"Look, can't you just put all of your issues aside so we can just get the stupid thing done? I could be doing better things with my time, but I need a good grade." He shoved his hands into his pockets, leaning his weight on one leg.

"Wow, you must be sacrificing so much." God, I live for my sarcasm sometimes. 

He raised an eyebrow, strecthing his neck out as if he needed to hear better, "I'm sorry?" 

"You make it sound like doing a project with me is a chore." 

"It is a chore," He muttered, avoiding eye contact. I rolled my eyes. I probably wasn't supposed to hear that, but nothing goes past my ears. "Maybe I'm not the one with the problem!" 

Now it was my turn to deadpan. He wasn't being serious. He couldn't have been, there was no way he could think he was getting away being the innocent one. "And the way you treat me isn't a problem, Sehun? Really? I don't have a problem working together, but maybe you should work on being nice to the one who is the deciding factor to your 'good grade.'"

I turned around and headed home. So much for that mood of mine, the darkroom would have to wait. I could have let his grade go down the toilet, but my curiosity wanted me to see how he would bend over backwards to try. Oh Sehun needs to make an effort for once in his life. 

The beginning of this chapter is hilarious to me because I can’t run for my life. I’m pretty sure my mile time back in high school was like 13 minutes, probably more. Hey now, don’t judge. There is a reason I am gifted in music not sports xP For those of you who are still in school, don't give up! Final stretch, you got this!