|| chapter one ||

How did he become this way?

It definitely all stemmed from that flag pole he called 'friend'. Lee Sungyeol, with his self-proclaimed Grade A expert opinion on how “Girl World” worked, just had to open his big, stupid mouth and suggest something completely and utterly mundane without thinking of the dire consequences. But if he looked at it from a technical point of view, Lee Sungyeol's idea had only been the jump-off point-- it wasn't as if his friend had intended to transform him into... let's just say, something he wasn't born to be.

So how did Nam Woohyun become this way?

Backtrack to weeks ago when this whole fiasco started...

((((( )))))

If anyone had passed by, they would have thought that the scene before them was taken straight out of a Nicholas Sparks novel. One boy and one girl. A quiet, romantic date under the night sky. Shy smiles. Flushed cheeks. Fluttering hearts. Fingers intertwined into the other's. Mother Nature really outdid herself that night, seemingly in approval of the young love before her. The sky had been painted with a myriad of blues and purples, adorned with thin feathery clouds. Although the stars were not out in full gleam, the full moon was just as bright and beautiful to make up for it. Everything was just so perfect, it was as if the whole world momentarily revolved just around the two of them.

“So… we’re together again?” he quietly quips as he twiddled with her petite, soft fingers, afraid that he had misread her intentions. Afraid that she would reject him again.

A shy smile graced her face before she slowly nodded in response to his question. His smile mirrored her own afterward and he let out a light, airy laugh, partly in relief but mostly in happiness. His laughter was contagious enough to get her giggling as well.

"Hey," she calls out to him softly, her chocolate brown eyes locking into his own. "I just wanted to tell you..."

His thumb begins rubbing soothing circles down her hand, encouraging her to continue what she was saying. "... that?"

"--that I..."

"... you?" he pressed on, resting his forehead on hers. Her breath hitches from the close proximity, and her cheeks redden even more, but she quickly composes herself by taking in a deep breath before speaking.

“WAKE UP, HYUNG! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!”

Horrible unearthly screeching spilled forth from her pretty pink lips instead, in a voice that wasn't hers but sounded so hauntingly and annoyingly familiar. Suddenly the sky bled in fiery reds and oranges. The world around him began crumbling, falling and the earth beneath him began quaking so bad, he felt like it was attempting to throw him into the stratosphere. He quickly scrambled for something, anything to hold on to as the ground began opening up, and then...

Nam Woohyun's eyes snapped open.

He took in one moment to survey his surroundings. There was no earthquake, no fiery red sky, no Park Hyomin. It finally sunk in. Even if it had seemed so real, earlier had only been a figment of his personal dream land.  He was in his bedroom right now, and his annoying younger brother (wee devil, Woohyun liked to call him in secret), Nam Boohyun, had currently turned his bed into an inflatable bouncing castle whilst yelling for him to wake up. With an irate groan, Woohyun pulled himself to a sitting position. What time was it and why was this kid so hyper today?

“I'm awake! I'm awake! Boohyun, stop jumping! You're making me dizzy," he complained before sinking back down into his pillows with another loud, irritated groan. "Way to go ruin a perfectly good dream!"

“But mom sent me here to wake you up,” the kid answered innocently as he plopped down to lie beside Woohyun.

“You couldn't have done that without being so noisy and bothersome?" With that, Woohyun pulled his comforter over his head. "Five more minutes!"

"Alright, but you're going to get scolded again when Mom gets here and finds you still asleep," Boohyun teased in a sing-song voice as he stood back up. Then he noticed his brother's once-again neglected smartphone on top of his bedside drawer. “Weird, hyung. You aren’t making icky kissy faces to your baby boo? It's been two days now.”

That was the last straw. The rude awakening, he could let slip. But Boohyun intentionally rubbing salt into fresh wounds regarding his recent break with now ex-girlfriend really ticked him off. “Off my bed, you brat!” he growled as began shaking the kid off his comforter, repeatedly pulling on it and shoving him off in hopes that he would get the point. "OFF. MY. BED. NOW!"

One final hard yank had caused the younger boy to lose his balance and slip off right the edge of his bed. Luckily, Mrs. Nam was right there to catch her second-born right in the nick of time, right before he could fall to his impending doom. Like any concerned mother, she turned her attention to the eight-year-old first, cupping his cheeks. “Boohyun, baby, it's okay, I've got you! Does it hurt anywhere? Mommy is here to kiss it all better!”

Woohyun could only roll his eyes in disbelief as the younger boy started pointing at several parts of his body that he said hurt a lot; this his brother did while smiling the whole time. He let out a loud sigh, knowing that he wasn't going to be let off easily for this.

“WOOHYUN! Would it kill you to be careful with your younger brother? You're the elder brother, you should know better! You could have hurt him, for God’s sake!” Mrs. Nam nagged and nagged at him before calling out to her husband, who was passing by the hallway, concentrated on fixing his tie. "Honey! I don't know what is wrong with Woohyun lately! Would you kindly talk to your son about this new attitude of his?"

“Behave,” was all Mr. Nam said, peering into the doorway to give Woohyun a stern look before making his way downstairs together with the rest of the family.

“Well, good morning to you too, Dad,” Woohyun sighs, dragging himself up and out of bed to freshen up. After the usual morning routine, he raced down the stairs only to find the household rather silent. “Mom? Dad? Boohyun?” Woohyun made his way to the kitchen to find the house help clearing out all used plates and utensils but his. Still, his family members were nowhere to be found.

“They’ve already finished their breakfast, young master,” the elderly house help kindly informed him. "They're on their way out now--"

"Thanks!"

Mr. Nam had already started the car by the time he had gotten to the driveway. Mrs. Nam was helping load Boohyun's bag into the back passenger seat. "Hey mom," Woohyun called out, "Look I'm really sorry for earlier, but please wait up? Five minutes and I swear I'll be done--"

“Your father and I are already running late for an important meeting with the investors and Boohyun has activities today so we need to send him to school early. The driver will come in to send you off and pick you up from university, okay, Woohyun? We'll see you when we get home! Honey, say goodbye to our son!"

“Behave,” was all Mr. Nam grunted before driving off.

Woohyun sighed, wondering why he had even bothered pleading when he knew he'd be shunned again. Typical day at the Nam household-- what was new?

((((( )))))

Whereas he was regarded as a non-entity at the Nam residence, it was the complete opposite at Woollim. People flocked around him everywhere he went; they were always interested with anything Nam Woohyun had to do or so. Anything special that he wore became a fashion trend the following day. People, girls especially, got fiercely competitive to grab seats or tables nearest to him and his friends, be it class time or lunch time. He was the go-to guy when people had problems with schoolwork or other things. Everyone wanted to be in Nam Woohyun's league.

All this limelight, he shared with whom the school recognized as his female counterpart and perfect half, Park Hyomin. That wasn't going to be the case starting today.

For the first time in what felt like forever, he entered the university premises on his own, with no Hyomin hanging around his arm. The loneliness was unfamiliar and awkward. However, he didn't have to wait alone for long. Even from a distance, he could hear familiar dolphin-like shrieking and it immediately brought a smile to his face.

"HEY NAM WOOHYUN! What took you so long, damnit?!?"

Woohyun laughed as he spotted two familiar figures jogging to meet up with him. He's known Lee Howon and Lee Sungyeol since the two were in diapers; they attended the same schools, participated in the same sports, been there for each other in their most awkward, growing years. And even if Woohyun moved subdivisions eventually, the trio were still as inseparable as ever.

"What's the rush? Where's the fire?" Woohyun managed to snigger.

"Professor just called off class for library work, but who takes that seriously? That means we have an extra hour of free time!" Sungyeol announced.

"So? Second breakfast?" Hoya suggested, flashing his usual boyish wolfy grin that bared his canines.

It was a normal conversation that ensued between them. Not one of the two mentioned, or even breathed, Park Hyomin to him, and Woohyun was really thankful for that.

Dead smack in the middle of their casual conversation, Hoya suddenly grew silent, his gaze hardened, seemingly put off by something, or rather some people, that managed to catch his attention. "First thing in the morning, seriously."

Woohyun instantly frowned the moment his eyes landed on them: Kim Sunggyu and company.

To say that the small-eyed prick grated on his nerves was an understatement; it was bad blooded rivalry between the two of them. And he hated the fact that in everything he had to work extra hard for to earn-- grades, extra-curriculars, leadership positions and what-not-- Kim Sunggyu always effortlessly managed to one-up him. The two of them were so well-matched that it was always an uphill tug-of-war between the two of them to claim the top spot, and so far, the win-to-loss ratio for both of them was more or less of equal standing. Eventually, it got personal as they came to realize that their individualities and beliefs clashed with one another. And because their respective friends were the loyal bunch, it followed that they stemmed a deep hatred for the other group, and they became archnemeses as well.

“Rumors have been going around the mill, Nam. I’ve heard you’re running for Student Council President as well,” Kim Sunggyu, in his all-regal tone, finally spoke up the moment he got within earshot.

"You've been hearing right," Woohyun responded. "It's nice to know that your sense of hearing is still intact, good for you."

Everyone visibly tensed after that remark made. Woohyun's small diss definitely did not sink in well with the rest of Sunggyu's friends. There was high tension in the air now, and it drew in a small crowd, who was curious to see what was going on. 

“What a big fat joke.” Lee Sungjong was the one who spoke up first, his tone clearly laced in irritation. "You sure have a lot of balls, trying to go up against Sunggyu.”

"What? That old geezer?" Hoya scoffed. "He does the talking with his eyebrows, ooh, I'm scared!"

"Oh, I wouldn't be the one talking about eyebrows there, Jjang-gu¹." Despite the diss, Jang Dongwoo remained calm in the delivery, which only pissed them off more.

"It's funnier that remarks about appearance are coming from someone who looks like a wild animal," Sungyeol immediately growled, keen on the follow-up.

"This giraffe sure is hella noisy," Kim Myungsoo, who was normally the quiet, broody one of the group, finally spoke up as his patience was stretched thin.

“Say that again, alphabet!"

“Why? Too much earwax?”

Warning bells immediately started ringing in Sunggyu's head as Myungsoo started squaring his shoulders and sauntering up to the other. From his peripheral vision, Woohyun saw Sungyeol single-handedly cracking his knuckles, goaded by Myungsoo's display of aggression. Before any exchange of fists could even happen, Sunggyu and Woohyun had already stepped in to intervene, pulling their respective friends apart and away from the other.

"Alright, that's enough buddy, I'll take it from here," Woohyun told Sungyeol in an attempt to ease him before calmly turning to Sunggyu. "Your friends better watch their behavior. They might actually ruin your chances of decent campaigning."

"I could say the same for yours. And with regards to campaigning? We'll talk about that after you've filed for candidacy."

"Oh, I'll be there alright. Good luck, Kim. You might actually need it this time around."

“We’ll see in about a month's time,” Sunggyu dismissed coolly, “May the most deserving one between us win, Nam."

Woohyun wanted to wipe that confident smirk off the guy's face as he turned around. Bitterly, the three continued to watch as Sunggyu's group made their departure. The crowd that had gathered to get the scoop of their confrontation slowly started to dissipate as well.

"May the most deserving one win, and may the odds be ever in your favor-- what is this? The Hunger Games or something?"Woohyun mimicked before frowning.

"They big-time. Especially that alphabet. God, I hate him," Sungyeol gritted, yelping as Woohyun and Hoya started raining smacks to the back of his head.

"You just had to be so childish!"

"Well look who started dissing first-- OKAY! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll behave next time! STOP THAT!" Sungyeol screeched. However, he was laughing while pleaded for them to stop and their moods finally lightened as they continued to fool around. 

"Come on, we have an hour to kill! Still up for second breakfast?" Hoya invited, playfully dragging the two by the scruff of their shirts of to the university cafeteria.

One petty insult later, Hoya and Sungyeol found themselves racing each other to the cafeteria just to prove their respective points while Woohyun laughed and laughed all the way as he tailed leisurely behind them. Just as quickly as the two disappeared through the cafeteria doors, they high-tailed out of there in a span of a few seconds.

"Suddenly I'm not so hungry anymore!" Hoya announced. His laugh was so awkward and bitter, it was obvious that he was hinting something up.

Sungyeol was half-stammering when he spoke. "Yeah, you know what? Me too! Why don't we actually use the time for some library work? Loads to do, I've heard!"

Woohyun remained oblivious of their attempts to steer him away from the cafeteria, even when they were blatantly shaking their heads and trying to body-block him along the way. "Well, whatever, I'm starving! I haven't had any breakfast today because I was running late--"

He found himself wishing that he hadn't opened and walked through those double doors to the cafeteria.

“Hey baby, over here!”

Park Hyomin. Woohyun felt his heart drop down to the pit of his stomach the moment he saw her smiling prettily, waving excitedly from where she was seated as if nothing happened between them over the weekend.

"Excuse me, coming through!"

Woohyun was in too much of a daze at her strange attitude to get out of the way and his shoulder was brushed aside by one rushing passer-by, effectively knocking his backpack off. A look of disbelief was plastered on his face as he watched Kang Minho dash over to Park Hyomin like a lovesick, whipped puppy returning to his master. Something molten and angry started bubbling up in Woohyun's chest as he continued to watch the scene unfold before him. The complete nerve! Hyomin had just ended their relationship two days ago!

Unable to hold his anger in, he marched over to their table and grabbed Minho roughly by the collar, pulling him to a standing position. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

People were going into a frenzy. This was the second face-off they've encountered today, both with Nam Woohyun in it. Minho didn't hesitate to roughly shove Woohyun off and push him backward. "What the hell is your problem? You're the one that dumped her, you ! You have no right to be here!"

Who broke up with who? "What?" Woohyun exclaimed, feeling seriously wronged.

"You ended this, so back off, Nam. Leave her alone. You've caused enough damage already, don't be a jerk about it!"

Woohyun turned to Hyomin for any reasonable explanation for the crapload he was receiving but she wouldn't meet his eyes. Heated whispers began to close in from all sides of the room. Woohyun could feel all eyes on him at that instant and he found himself wishing that the ground would start swallowing him up just like what happened in his dream.

“Why isn’t he with with Hyomin?”
"Haven't you heard? He dumped Park Hyomin via text two days ago, right before Hyomin's major exam too! What an inconsiderate douchebag!"
"If he's really like that to his girlfriend, what difference does it make as to how he treats other people?"
"I'm frankly dissapointed. His good nature was all for show then."
"My vote's definitely going to Kim Sunggyu for university student council president, not that attention-seeker over there."
"Luckily, Kang Minho was there to comfort her. He's so sweet, he's actually been waiting for her all this time. Nam was being a complete -block."
"They're much cuter together though! I totally ship them more!"
 

Is that what she spread? It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd been played a fool by someone he'd deeemed the love of his life, but that wasn't the story that the rest of the student population knew. Frustrated that he couldn't do anything that wouldn't further damage his unjustly-wrecked image, he did the only safe thing to do: storm out.

((((( ))))

"They're the ones who end their relationship with you and yet they're the ones who tell the whole world they've been dumped. And then they go off and find themselves someone new and damage you and your running chances for the Student Council, all in a span of two days! Why do girls do that? How is that even fair?"

"Dude, with all the moping you're doing, you're starting to sound like a girl right now," Hoya told off, but immediately schooled it when Woohyun gave him a pointed glare.

This day could not be any worse! After the whole fiasco, the trio had isolated themselves by the second floor balcony beside the school greenhouse, where they had an eagle-eye view of everything and covering from the greenery. Woohyun was busy pacing about while his mouth did all the talking and ranting. Sungyeol and Hoya were there to listen and to keep their friend from doing something completely irrational and impulsive.

Sungyeol sighed, unable to continue watching his friend beat himself up over something like this. Nam Woohyun was practically the mood-maker of the group and it was hard to see him so downtrodden. “Piece of advice, my friend," he began, "Don't give others the victory of seeing you miserable because of them. You need to show Hyomin that you're not some weak-willed, crumpled-and-used, dirty piece of snot-filled tissue—”

“Careful with the adjectives, buddy, you’re a bit on the harsh side,” Hoya calmly cut in, noticing that Woohyun was only getting more and more distressed at each word that spilled from the choding's mouth; all the more he was reminded of how lame and incompetent he was in Hyomin's eyes.

"Anyway the point is, you need to move on, even if it's only for show!" Sungyeol continued, getting up from the wooden bench. "Beat her at her own game! Go get another girl as well! It shouldn't be too hard if it's you, and besides, the ocean is wide! There's plenty of available fish left to catch! The good news is we won't have to scout for potentials for long. I already have the perfect girl for you in mind!” Sungyeol announced. "Speaking of the devil, she's passing by right now!"

"Who?"

"Her."

Woohyun craned his neck and followed the direction where Sungyeol was pointing, fixing his eyes upon Exhibit A. Ripped jeans, sneakers and a loose dark-colored plaid top comprised her outfit of the day. There was absolutely no trace of make-up on her face. From one look alone, Woohyun could tell that she was the no-nonsense type of girl who didn't care much for her looks or outer appearance. From appearance alone, she was just a common girl who could easily disappear in a sea of people. 

"Freshman Kim Jieun. She's in my class. She got promoted a year up to the same Differential Calculus as me because she's that smart," Sungyeol introduced. "That's about as much as I can tell you.

Frankly, Woohyun was a bit disappointed with the whole suggestion. “How is dating her going to fix anything? What edge does she have over Hyomin? Her looks are average— she isn’t even popular!”

"You didn't know? She's practically the only kid who managed to call Hyomin out, though the reason for it was never disclosed," Hoya filled in. "She never ranted about the freshman to you? Either she forgot to tell you about it or you were probably too fixated on your baby boo to even listen properly."

Sungyeol could tell that Woohyun wasn't 100% agreeing on the idea as of the moment. “Dude, look, I think I kind of get how a girl's head works. When Hyomin sees you pouring your time and full attention to someone like Kim Jieun, she’ll definitely flip out in rage! Like how dare you even think of replacing her with a nobody? Someone she deemed her scorned enemy on top of that! She'll definitely feel the burn!"

"Okay, keep talking..."

"Also, you'll be able to right your completely made-up douchebag image. People will be on your side again and then hello, Student Council President! It's a long-shot, but it's guaranteed success and happiness for you, double-whammy for her!”

Woohyun's eyes lit up after that. Sungyeol's lame sales talk had him completely sold.

“Sungyeol, you're a genius! Watch carefully, you two. Before it hits noon time today, Kim Jieun is mine.”

((((( )))))

Operation: Woo Kim Jieun had commenced the moment the three broke confederation. Preliminary operations proved to be tough because he had nothing to start with. He didn't know her whom her circle of friends were nor what her interests and hobbies were, so he was a bit lost regarding what angle he could use to approach her.

And so starting with the only lead they had about the girl, Woohyun made a mad dash to where Sungyeol's DiffCalc class as soon as the bell rang in hopes of catching her along the way. Literally. The big plan was to bring the overly-cliche K-drama trope, the typical guy-catches-falling-girl scene, to life. Then all he had to do was flash his most charming smile, sit back, relax and wait for the Nam-effect to do its job and she'd be swooning for him in no time.

As predicted, Kim Jieun was now on the move towards her next class and was fast approaching where Woohyun had himself stationed. Right on cue, Woohyun had stuck his leg out, successfully tripping the girl. Kim Jieun found herself falling forward...

...right into the awaiting arms of Kim Myungsoo, who was conveniently right there, suavely catching her around the waist like the perfect Prince Charming would, even before Nam Woohyun could even lift his own arms up.

"Hey, 'you alright?"

"Sorry, that was clumsy of me. That's usually you though," Jieun muttered, steadying herself before straightening her backpack. "Sorry and thanks, Myung-Myung."

"Any time--" he responded nonchalantly before her words finally clicked to him, and he shuffled awkwardly before pulling her aside in hopes that no one saw or heard that. "I told you not to call me that in school! It's L!"

"What's wrong with Myung-- okay fine. L, L, L, L, L!"

He was supposed to be making her fall for him, not for some other flower boy. Woohyun stood there feeling like a truck had just run him over as he sunk into the reality of his failed plan.

The next opportunity came quicker than he expected. A good hour later, target Kim Jieun was by herself, struggling as she stuffed rather heavy books into her locker. There could not be a more perfect time for him to swoop in. With long strides, he made his way towards her with the full intent of showing off his gentlemanly charms by helping the damsel-in-distress out.

"Hi!"

Jieun had shut her locker by then, having finished placing her books in. "Hi?" she greeted back, a bit confused as to why a complete stranger was suddenly talking to her.

Words failed Woohyun as she gave him a puzzled look, the atmosphere becoming extremely awkward. Now that he had lost his purpose for being there, he had absolutely nothing to bring up now.

"Ummm... bye?" Kim Jieun greeted as she turned her attention to the crowd, right before he could even manage to strike up a decent conversation. "Hey Sungjong! Wait up!"

".... bye," Woohyun muttered sadly as he watched her run off.

"Maybe you're coming off to her as way too forward. I don't know, the way I see it, she seems like an old soul. Maybe she just needs to be wooed the in the traditional, old-fashion way," Hoya suggested when Woohyun came running to him for advice later that day.

"Wow Howon, because giving her a cow as dowry surely is going to sweep the lady off her feet! My reputation is already ruined as it is, and I certainly do not want her to think that I'm a big fat joke or something."

"What era do you live in, the Joseon Dynasty?!? For all you know, she's the type that likes love letters from a secret admirer or something."

That idea ignited an all-new fire inside of Woohyun and determined to do his best, he immediately pulled out his notebook began drafting several poems and sonnets addressed to Kim Jieun.

Roses are red, violets are blue
Have I mentioned I have a crush on you? <3
-NWH

Hoya had almost puked right then and there after reading the love note he had written, his most decent work yet. Sungyeol had reassured both of them that it was fine and that girls really secretly liked fluffy, sweet gestures like this. And so Woohyun rolled his prized masterpiece up with the intent of secretly slipping it into the girl's planner. Currently, she was having lunch at one of the benches outside campus and he managed to sneak around the bushes right behind her bench where he could easily access the girl's planner.

"Hey Ji!"

Alert horns started to blare in Woohyun's head and due to his panic, he ended up shoving the small rolled-up piece of paper into her sandwich, right between the mayonaisse and lettuce.

"Sunbae!" greeted with familiarity as Dongwoo jogged towards her. "Hey, how was dance practice?"

"We're good, but I sure am starving! That routine was a complete work out!" His hungry eyes instantly lingered over. "That looks good, can I have some of that while waiting for Myungsoo to finish up his elective?"

"Here, I'm just about full, you can have it all."

Woohyun could only watch in horror as Jang Dongwoo hungrily gobbled up the entire sandwich, his love note included.

"This is soooo good! What is in this sub sandwhich anyway?"

Hoya tried not to laugh and look too relieved when Woohyun narrated to him what had happened to their failed plan later that day. "Don't feel too bad. Despite what Sungyeol said, that was still horrible poetry. You would have ruined your chances anyway."

Girls were so difficult. His self-imposed noon time deadline had been way overdue and Kim Jieun had barely spoken a word to him, except "Hi" and "Bye". Not even one bat of her eyelash was thrown his way.

"THIS IS HOPELESS!" Woohyun groaned, discouraged by how his plans kept backfiring one after the other.

"Right now, Kim Jieun is the best shot you've got, Woohyun. Are you going to let it slip away just like that? How badly do you want to fix things?" Sungyeol asked, trying to drive some sense into his friend. Although Woohyun remained quiet, the determined look in his eyes told Sungyeol everything her needed to know. "THEN WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?!? MAN UP AND GO GET THAT GIRL!"

((((( )))))

Futile attempts from Woohyun continued for days on end. Kim Jieun just wouldn't give him her time of the day. He was just on the verge of running off to Sungyeol and Hoya to declare that he was throwing the towel in when life decided to make a big mockery out of him.

Of all the people whom he could have ran into, it had to be Kim Jieun. Although not in a situation he quite expected.

A very menacing Kang Minho was towering over her. Although the girl was slowly backing away, Kang Minho visibly tensed, his hands curling in to make a good fist. That was when Woohyun impulsively decided to step in and do something about it. Before the guy could fully draw his elbow back, Woohyun had used enough strength to grab his fist and keep it from connecting to its intended victim.

"Back off now, Kang," Woohyun growled hotly, his voice dipping dangerously low, anger plastered over his fine features as he stepped in between the girl and her offender. Minho put more power into his elbow but Woohyun's tight grip kept him from moving. "I'm really suppressing the urge to beat your sorry right now. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit girls?"

"Nam, you bastard, don't interfere--"

Before he could pull back again, Woohyun immediately twisted his opponent's wrist, sending him crumpling towards the lockers and howling in pain. Woohyun wasted no time and began ushering Kim Jieun out, grabbing her squarely by both her shoulders to push her into the opposite hallway. "I'll buy you time and keep him busy. You need to get away from here."

"W-Wait! I can't--"

"GO!" Woohyun bellowed, punctuated with one final shove towards the opposite direction. In his concern for seeing her off to safety, Woohyun did not notice that Minho had already been aiming, and the guy's hard fist connected to the side of his mouth, sending him flying backward and into the corner of the hallway. Soon the barrage of punches started, but Woohyun made no move to return blows, although occassionally, he dragged Minho away whenever he intended to go into the direction that the girl had run off to. It took a good deal of self-control on his side to hold himself from hitting back. Despite every punch to the face he had received, Woohyun still made it a point to check the surroundings just to ensure that Kim Jieun was out of harm's way.

"Not so arrogant now, are you, Nam?" Minho roared in devious glee, pride swelling from seeing his bruised and bleeding opponent. "You always prance around like some king of Woollim-- how does it feel to be the one beaten around like a plaything?"

"Is this all you can do?" Woohyun challenged with a smirk, wiping the blood from the corner of his lip. "Because it doesn't hurt one damn bit!"

Goaded, Minho once again grabbed his shirt, yanking the smaller guy forward. Before Minho could land the final blow, he received a good sock to the underside of his jaw, courtesy of one, angry Kim Jieun. Both boys stood there in shock at the gesture, their one-sided fist fight put to a halt. She had mouthed something to Minho-- Woohyun's angle of view didn't allow him to properly read her lips, but the next thing he knew, Minho's grip on his shirt loosened. 

"Hit back. Let's see if it's going to make you feel any better," Jieun dared this time. Somehow, Kang Minho got whatever point she was trying to drive at because he backed away immediately and broke into a frenzied run, scampering off to God-knows-where.

Despite his busted lip, Woohyun managed to let out a huge chuckle at the guy's cowardice and injured pride. "Nice shot!"

"I did what I had to," came her nonchalant reply as she politely pried off his arm, which he had unconsciously wrapped around her shoulders. "Sorry for the trouble," she added, giving him a polite bow after before she made her leave.

He was tired of this. He was tired of life making everything miserable for him and here he was, both his body and ego bruised and hurting. Woohyun's fist met the lockers with a resounding bang. He pulled his hand back and hit hard once more. At this point, he couldn't care less if his knuckles were scraped raw and blood was seeping through the spaces between his fingers. This was practically nothing compared to all the pent up ill-feelings that he had been harboring lately. Everything already hurt to the point that he had grown rather numb.

"You."

Someone had suddenly spoke up, shocking him for a bit. He didn't notice that Kim Jieun had come back and was now staring at him intently. Woohyun started looking around before pointing to himself doubtfully. "Me?"

"No, I'm talking to the ghost beside you-- of course, you! I made sure the area was devoid of people before running back to punch the jerk. Come with me, please."

"W-What?"

"Come with me!" she repeated as she approached him, and with much difficulty, began tugging on the wrist of his good hand with both her hands in a sad attempt to get him to follow, which Woohyun thought was pretty funny coming from a girl who could really pack a punch. Giving in, he allowed her to lead him to wherever place she had in mind.

It turns out that she wasn't reporting him for damage on school property. The infirmary was empty when they got there, but Jieun remained unfazed and was quick on her toes, requesting for Woohyun to take a seat as she began rummaging through the shelves for a first aid kit. Jieun made a mental note to tell her brother to do something about the staff running off on service hours. Jieun put some medicine on a clean cotton swab before carefully applying it to the small cuts on the corner of Woohyun's lips and under his brow.

"Ow."

"Hold still, please."

"--hey, OW! OWW! Can't you be more gentle?" Woohyun complained, pulling himself away from her temporarily as his eyes began to water from the sting of the medicine.

The girl breathed heavily, holding in her frustrations. "You know, this is partly your fault so please stop complaining," Jieun muttered. Judging from how they were taunting each other earlier, she was sure her run-in with Minho had only been the oil to the fire. "If it's alright to ask, what's the beef between the two of you anyway?"

"The guy hates me, I hate him; the feeling's mutual. That's all there is to it."

"Your hand is a different story though..."

"I hate my life."

"You can't just go punching people's lockers because you're angry at the world! If you were that capable, why did you let him hit you in the first place?"

"I apologize for my failure to see some of those punches coming; you see, I was too busy making sure someone had gotten herself to safety."

Jieun grew a bit silent after that sarcastic response. "Okay, valid point. But why didn't you hit back even if he was completely pummelling you out there? If you were going to start a fist fight, at least do it properly."

"And have new rumors about me being a gangster on top of being a douchebag surface? No thank you," Woohyun sighed, "Like it matters anyway. The word's probably spread already and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm suddenly on disciplinary probation tomorrow."

"You're safe. If he rats me out, he'll be shooting himself in the knee, so I'm sure he won't tell a soul about that fist fight, at least for now," Jieun quickly replied, which puzzled Woohyun greatly as to how she knew that. "Trust me, just like you, he has to keep a clean public image too."

Jieun's reassurance worked wonders. Woohyun stopped fidgeting and calmed down considerably after that, allowing her to carry on easily. All he did was wince when she proceeded cleaning and treating his knuckles, which she responded to with occassional 'sorry's'. "How are you going to explain your injuries to your parents?" she asked again after quite a moment of silence between the two of them.

"I... uh... had a really bad fall off the stairs?"

"Like your mother is going to believe that," she laughed before holding up two rolls of bandages. "Breathable or regular?"

"Breathable," Woohyun responded and she got to work, carefully wrapping the material around his knuckles which had stopped bleeding now but were still very much raw and red. "I'm serious though. It doesn't matter whether I fell off the stairs or got myself into a gang fight. No one is going to care about how I got these."

“You?” Jieun snorted in disbelief. “A nobody? Please, you’re the school's prince-- you’re smart, you’re nice, you’re good-looking, you’re talented, you have a billion hand maids and butlers ready to attend to your every need 24/7 and people love you— anyone would kill to live a day in your shoes.”

“Tell them they can have my life if they want it. I'd be completely willing to trade."

Before he knew it, Woohyun ended up narrating about his life at home while the girl continued wrapping the bandage around his hand. He didn't know why he felt so comfortable sharing about his family problems to someone who was a complete stranger, but the feeling of someone just being there to listen was gratifying. Despite her involuntary participation in this, Kim Jieun was all ears.

"Now that is one surprising plot twist," she concluded, feeling somewhat sorry for the guy. Right now, he didn't need her sympathy, just someone to hear him out. The most she could really do was listen; she wasn't in a position to be giving sound advice in the first place. They weren't close enough for her to do that. "There, all done!"

Woohyun observed his hand which was neatly wrapped and was quite amazed by her handiwork. "Thank you for uh... for this..."

"Where are my manners? Jieun. Kim Jieun."

He already knew that. He's known her name for days now. She had probably misread his stuttering as an attempt to equate a name for his gratitude. "Thank you for putting up with all my ranting too. I'm Woohyun. Nam Woohyun," he replied anyway out of courtesy.

"I know, sunbae-nim" she responded coolly, getting up to gather her things. "Well, the bandaging was taking awhile anyway, so don't mention it."

"You're leaving? Did you have to be somewhere?"

Jieun didn't reply to that. "Just be good and don't go Hulk-mode on any more things," she dismissed.

"I won't," he promised, dutifully making a cross over his heart to show her he was sincere in keeping it. And quickly like that, Kim Jieun had entered and exited his life. It was a short encounter, but Woohyun was nevertheless thankful for it. It didn't matter to him now whether they would cross paths again or not.

"Hey."

He craned his neck upwards. Kim Jieun had decided to pop back in through the infirmary door. "Um, hi again. What you did for me earlier-- I know tending to your wounds won't be enough, but thank you, really." This time, she was smiling at him, her tiny dimples more prominent. "You’re not a nobody, Nam Woohyun-sunbaenim. Not to me, at least.”

Although it continuously pulled on his busted lip, although Kim Sunggyu had beat him by a mere point in their latest exam, and although he passed Park Hyomin by the library (their first face-to-face encounter after the whole cafeteria incident), he couldn't care less. Woohyun found himself smiling a lot more that day.

All because of kind words from someone he least expected it from. Oh, and the entertainment she brought with her UFC-worthy uppercut.

A/N: Hi all! First of all, YAY, YOU MADE IT! I'd like to congratulate and thank you, the reader, for getting through the first chapter! How was the initial build-up so far? Any characters you enjoy/hate? Scenes you found awesome/lame? Hopefully, this was just the right amount of sap and comedy for you guys, and I promise, the plot will really get moving soon. Comments get me going, so hopefully you guys'll keep them coming as well!

1. Jjanggu is in reference to Beatles' Code 2 interview. And please note Jjanggu's eyebrows and their similarity to our Howon's, thanks!

2. I am terribly, terribly, terribly sorry for pitting Woogyu against each other! *throws Nam hearts* As to how Infinite was split into their respective groups, well we have their parody of Shut Up! Flower Boy Band (Part 1, Part2) to thank for that! :)

2. Woohyun, Hoya, and Sungyeol are stupid. This is what revenge does to you people. Kids, please don't try this at home!