Dara stirred in her sleep. She can feel that whatever she’s sitting at is moving. She woke up.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Taeyang said looking at her through the rearview mirror of his car. “You sleep so soundly. I even piggy ride you to bring you to my car but you haven’t woken up.”

Dara creased her forehead. She can’t remember sleeping.

“You fell asleep while we were sitting at the bench,” Taeyang explained returning his focus to the road.

Dara remembered. She was crying silently that time. She was thinking about their family. She was grateful of Taeyang being beside him, even though she never told him what troubled her. At least she can feel somebody’s presence by her side.

Arriving at their house, Dara immediately went upstairs without greeting her parents. Wherever they are, she doesn’t want them to know she has arrived. She still feels heavy about them.

The next morning, she wasn’t awakened to the usual quarrelling her parents do every morning. Instead, she woke up on a peaceful Monday morning. Curious, she ran downstairs.

There, she witnessed a very unusual scenario.

“Good morning, dear,” her father greeted. “Honey, your daughter’s awake.” Her father briefly looked up through the newspaper he was reading.

“Oh, good morning, dear,” her mother said. “Sit down. I’ll prepare your breakfast.”

Dara creased her forehead. It was unusual, yes. But she likes this kind of family. She pinched herself. She thought she was dreaming. But, no.

“Have you slept well?” her mother asked.

She stared at her, and tears started to roll down her eyes. “Mom!” she ran and hugged her. “I’m sorry for yesterday… and the other day. Mianhe.”

“I’m sorry too, dear,” her mom kissed her forehead.

They both stared at her father who has his left eyebrow high.

“I love you Dad,” she said hugging her father. “I love you, Mom.” She motioned her mother to join their ‘little reunion’.

Walking towards school, she was thinking of what had happened a while ago. Somehow, she was still troubled. She knows that it was her mom’s idea. That kind of thing won’t happen again. Tomorrow would be same ole. Nevertheless, she still liked to replay it in her head. Even though it was for show, she still pretended that it wasn’t.

Along the hallway, Dara felt a tense atmosphere oozing from the students’ aura. It felt like she had done something wrong and it spread through the school like wild fire. It wasn’t the usual jealous stares. It was worse. She shrugged it off.

When she arrived at their room, she saw a rose on her desk.

“Dara-ah!” Bom greeted. “Omo, a rose, who’s it from?”

Dara read a note.

                When I first saw you, I felt a special kind of feeling. It must be love, Dara. J

“It’s unsigned,” she said.

“I wonder who it is from,” Bom wondered. “Do you have any idea?” she asked Dara and she shook her head. “Oh yeah, Taeyang and you went out last night right?”

Dara’s eyebrows met. “How did you know that?”

“Everyone knows. It seems like someone spread that information.”

Now, Dara knew the meaning of those hateful glares she met.

Later, when they went to their lockers to keep some things, Dara saw a fallen paper when she opened her locker. And it was another note.

                Dara, have you seen the rose? It was from me. – Taeyang

Dara smiled. “How sweet of him.”

“Of whom?” Bom said upon hearing Dara whispering by herself.

“Taeyang,” she showed Bom the note. “It was from him.”

Upon reading the note, it seemed like Bom’s face fell. “Oh,” she nodded and returned the note to Dara. “Let’s go back.”

Dara regretted why she shared the note to her best friend whom she thinks has fallen to Taeyang.

“I have some important announcement, class,” Mister Choi said. “But before that, let’s first congratulate Jiyong’s team for winning their game last Saturday. We are proud that you’re going to represent our school, Mister Kwon.”

Everyone applauded and Jiyong just nodded his head once.

“So, for the important announcement,” Mister Choi paused for dramatic effect. “Your exam’s approaching but before that let me give you a Chapter Test on Chemistry tomorrow.”

Mister Choi hasn’t finished yet but everyone has groaned already.

“So, I expect you to study.”

“Class is over,” Bom said jumping around.

“Let’s go the gym,” Dara said.

“Wow!” Bom suddenly stopped. “Is that really you? Having a stop-over first before going home and we’re having an exam tomorrow.”

Dara chuckled. That’s true. “I won’t be long.”

Arriving at the gym, she witnessed another crowd cheering for the basketball team.

“Why are we here?” Bom shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I’ll just return something,” Dara answered.

“Dara!” Taeyang immediately spotted Dara’s hair in the middle of the crowd. He ran through the crowd, ignoring the girls being crazy about him. “What made you come here?”

“Oh, I’ll return this,” Dara said giving him his jacket. “Thanks for last night.”

“Oh,” Taeyang said amazed of her not keeping silent of his date with her last night. And even making it sound so mysterious as if they made other things last night.

The girls around them became silent.

“I’m going home now, Taeyang,” Dara said, waving. She thought of kissing him on his cheek to make the girls around her more jealous but she thought it would be better to take it step by step.

Arriving home, she studied immediately.

But in the middle of the night, instead of studying, he just stared out the window just like what Jiyong does during class.

I wonder if he’s also studying like me. Will he be okay? He must be tired of his practice and he must have slept when he got home.

She interrupted her own thoughts. “What am I thinking?” she said. It’s very unusual for her to think of a guy. It’s her first time.

The next day at school, she immediately reviewed her lessons before the exam start in a few minutes. She can’t stop noticing Jiyong just lying at his desk, his head leaning on his folded arms.
“Have you studied yet?” she whispered but she never meant it for him to hear it. But Jiyong stirred.

Bom cleared . “I saw what you did.”

Dara became embarrassed that he engrossed herself back to studying.

 When the exam started, everyone was so absorbed to answering their exam. Some of them are answering continuously. Most of them are scratching their heads. Dara saw Jiyong just staring blankly outside his window.

“What’s wrong with you?” again Dara didn’t mean for him to hear it. But he stared at her for a second and went back to staring outside.

Dara went back to answering her exam. “You have a very strong hearing,” she whispered to herself, softer now so he won’t hear it.

Few hours later, in their home room class, Mister Choi returned their papers. Dara got the highest score. Bom got a passing score – but not high enough but she still looks very satisfied. Jiyong got the lowest score. Mister Choi thought of a plan and it made him grin.