[CONTENTID2]"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." Emily Bronte [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID1]

Both Heeyeon and Dongwoo avoided each other as the day avoids the night. Sunggyu grew frustrated with their immaturity, especially since he was moving into his final year and getting ready for college entry exams. The last thing he wanted was his friends ending it all on a terrible note. Besides, he needed their support during the current year but it was as if they wished to tear him into two.

Heeyeon was always talented with whatever she did, and finding new friends was one of them. She was attached to a group of people that oddly resembled her personality. Dongwoo, on the other hand, was not so auspicious. He spent his free time inside the library, where he found Howon, a boy who rarely spoke but when he did, he made sure that his words were laced with malice and daggers.

Sunggyu was pushed around between them. Heeyeon wanted him to be with her but Dongwoo insisted on him not to leave him alone. One lunchtime, Sunggyu had enough. He decided to negotiate between them too. He started with Dongwoo, who was sitting next to Howon. The latter was never too fond of Sunggyu but he never bothered to ask why that was.

‘This has to stop’, Sunggyu gestured. ‘You and Heeyeon should let go of the past.’

Dongwoo frowned. “Are you telling me I should forgive that witch? Look at my forehead, Gyu.”

He pointed at the feint indent just above his eyebrow. It was a scar that reminded them of the day their miraculous friendship had ended. “What if the rock hit my eye? Then I would be half blind now. What if it hit my mouth and broke my teeth? What if it hit my throat and my jugular vein? I’d be dead right now!”

Sunggyu refrained from slapping a palm over his forehead. Instead, he rolled his eyes. This was harder than he imagined.

“Why should Dongwoo be friends with her anyway?” Howon interrupted, “She’s a bully.”

“Exactly!” the other boy agreed, nodding his head and diving back into his pot of noodles.

Sunggyu let out a heavy high. He glanced through the crowded cafeteria and noticed that Heeyeon was sitting with Hyojin, a girl with a reputation worse than fire, and Junghwa, a girl who people thought was timid but she was a troublemaker in all the classes and the school’s number one prankster. It wasn’t a surprise that Heeyeon was recruited into their forbidden circle.

They were chatting excitedly amongst each other. Sunggyu grabbed his tray and ambled across the room. Hyojin was the first to see him. A devious smirk played on her lips and she whispered something to the others. Their laughter died away and all eyes followed him until Sunggyu swallowed the uneasy knot in his throat.

He suddenly felt outnumbered in this atmosphere full of oestrogen. It was unnerving and his stomach flipped countless times. He was glad that he didn’t spend too much time with Heeyeon’s friends. Otherwise, he’d probably turn into a girl as well in the abundance of female pheromones.

It reminded him how strange girls were in the first place. He could never read their minds or what they schemed behind sepulchral eyes.

‘May I sit down?’ He glanced at Heeyeon.

“Wha’ he say?” Hyojin asked, her voice rough and intimidating.

Heeyeon shot her a warning scowl. She pulled a chair for Sunggyu and he ensconced into it.

“What’s wrong, Gyu? You usually spend your lunchtime with that donkey. What made you come here?” Heeyeon gifted him with one of her infamous smiles.

He didn’t know why his heart skipped a beat. He missed her smile, and the fact that he dwelled in the library more than the play-yard left him sentimental of the older days. A pang of nostalgia rushed through him.

‘You and Dongwoo are acting childish. It’s been over a year now, and I’m going to college.’

He was aware that Hyojin and Junghwa were eyeing him with suspicion.

Heeyeon tapped a finger on her chin. “Oh Gyu...You know, Dongwoo and myself don’t deserve a friend like you. You’re so thoughtful and caring.” Her hand reached out to hold his.

His muscles stiffened and he was momentarily immobile as jolts of electricity effervesced up his arm. His mouth thinned dry and he blinked countless time to mollify his blurry vision. This was never the first time that Heeyeon held his hand but what was wrong with his heart? It was beating like a wild drum against his chest, and he cursed at it inwardly, pleading for it to stop.

It wasn’t working none the less. For once he was glad that he couldn’t speak because if he did, his voice would emit tremors. He was completely tongue-tied. From the periphery of his vision, he saw Hyojin and Junghwa cackle amongst themselves.

“I want to make up with Dongwoo, I really do, but do you think he’ll forgive me? I’ve tried to catch him a few times but he keeps stalking off as if I’m some sort of Boogeyman...or woman,” Heeyeon said, oblivious to the way he stared at her.

Was she always this beautiful? Sunggyu wanted to slap himself but since when did her eyes grow so big, and how was it that her nose curved resplendently over her nostrils? Was her smile always this wide? Heeyeon hadn’t changed. Her eyebrows were the same, and she still wore clothes that were more befitting for boys, but there was a distinctive aura about her that he couldn’t quite pinpoint.

“So…” Heeyeon stared across the cafeteria at Dongwoo and Howon, who seemed to be scrutinising them with lurid interest. “Do you think he’ll let it aside? I mean, this is Dongwoo we’re talking about.”

Sunggyu shook his thoughts aside until they scattered across his mind like wafts of dust. ‘You’ll never know until you try. Please? For me?’

Heeyeon’s lips stretched into another smile. “Awh, Gyu-goo don’t say that!” She punched him playfully across the shoulder. “You know I’ll do anything for ya, right?”

Sunggyu merely blinked, not quite sure of the ambivalence in her words. He wondered if her heart ever increased in pace when she saw him, or if there was a part of his face she also admired. He doubted it.

Why should she? He had no voice to pique her interest. He was just Sunggyu, the person who drifted into the background, the mime who could barely express his emotions.

‘Can we try now?’

“Sure, why not? Maybe he’ll be more cooperative if you come around as well, hah.” Heeyeon pushed her chair back, glancing at her friends. “I’ll be back later, girlies.”

They strolled across the cafeteria towards Dongwoo’s table. When the latter noticed them approach, he froze, mouth still on the verge of taking a bite out of his cheddar and chicken sandwich. His eyes grew as large as ostrich eggs, and a sheen of sweat was evident on his face.

Howon’s face darkened. He pursed his lips.

“Hi.” Heeyeon waved at them. She shifted her weight onto her right leg. “Umh…”

Dongwoo’s lips trembled. His eyebrows knitted together. He glared at Sunggyu, summoning the best scary face he could but it only made him seem like a desperate kitten who tried to escape the rain.

‘She wants to say sorry.’ Sunggyu grinned victoriously. ‘Give her a chance.’

Dongwoo slammed his fist on the table. “What part of ‘I-don't-want-to’ do you not understand, Sunggyu? What if she throws another rock at my face?”

“But I’ve grown up now,” Heeyeon countered. “And everyone deserves a second chance. Like, we’re all human at the end of the day. I know I’ve done something wrong but that doesn’t mean I meant it.” She paused when Dongwoo glowered at her otherwise. “Okay, I did want to hurt you, but I was angry, and now I want to say sorry.”

‘Come on’, Sunggyu flicked his wrists. ‘Do it for me. I’m leaving next year.’

Dongwoo pointed a metal chopstick at him with a trembling grasp. “Don’t you play the sympathy card on me.”

Heeyeon snorted, a hand clasped over . She instantly realised her mistake and stammered an apology. Dongwoo’s lower lip protruded. His eyes watered.

He swayed back on his chair and sighed in defeat. “Fine! I’ll give you another chance, Heeyeon but no more funny stuff, okay?”

Heeyeon squealed in delight. She grabbed Sunggyu with one arm, and Dongwoo