I knock briskly on the infirmary door before heading inside, not bothering to wait for a reply. The room was dark so I the light switch.

Which I completely regret doing.

On one of the beds was my cousin, completely , tangled up with some girl. I let out a small shriek, taking a quick step backwards and bumping into one of the shelves, knocking down a giant pile of ice packs.

Jongin, who had the decency to cover himself up with a pillow, scrambles away from the bed to pull on his pants. The girl scurries out from under the sheets as well, throwing on her uniform haphazardly and bolting it out of there. I could feel my face burning bright red as I stare up at the ceiling.

"You can look now."

I grab an ice pack off the ground and hurl it at him. He dodges swiftly out of the way, adjusting his tie in the process. Stupid dancers and their stupid sense of coordination. 

"Why the hell would you do that during school hours?" I demand, gripping the bridge of my nose tighter. Ugh, at this rate, I'll pass out from blood loss or something.

Jongin smirks at me, no trace of shame on his face. "Say it with me, my dear cousin. ."

My cheeks flame up again. "Shut up. Where's Nurse Lee?"

"Lunch break. She's always gone from noon to 12:30. I would know."

I shudder at his implications. It looks like I won't be using my free period to take naps on these beds ever again.

Jongin steps closer to me, bending down to my level to examine my nose. "Did you get in a fight or something? You're bleeding."

"I am aware!" I snap, narrowing my eyes. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

He pokes my nose and I cringe, slapping his hand away. "Whoa, it's all swollen, too. Whoever punched you got you real good."

"What?" I screech. Pushing him out of the way, I grab the small hand mirror on Nurse Lee's desk. Sure enough, my nose was twice its normal size now. Black and purple bruises decorated the bridge, with splotches of dried blood surrounding it as well. "- Have I been walking around for the past 30 minutes looking like this?"

Jongin snickers, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "Maybe instead of "regular" Seoyeon, you'll be "gangster" Seoyeon now."

I rinse off the bloody handkerchief, squeezing out the water and stuffing it in the pocket of my blazer. At least the steady stream of blood had stopped. Searching the shelves, I try to find bandages that would cover my atrocious-looking nose.

"Looking for this?"

I turn to see Jongin dangling a square-shaped, white bandage in one hand and tape in the other. The playful smirk on his face made me want to give him a nosebleed. "Yes. Toss it over here."

"You know that I never give out anything for free."

I roll my eyes. "What do you want, Kim Jongin?"

"Wow, you're using my full name. I'm so afraid," he taunts with a chuckle. "I'm glad you asked, though. What you just saw a few minutes ago? Erase it from your memory."

My lips twitch into a smug smile. "You mean, you having with a sophomore? I don't know, Jongin. I might forget it now, but that might change next week at the family dinner..."

Jongin's cool expression cracks. "Seoyeon!"

I blink innocently at him. "Yes?"

"You know my mom will castrate me if she finds out that I did that," he whines, stomping his foot like a toddler. Not many people saw Jongin like this. He's usually mysterious, charming, suave. In reality, he's just a big baby.

I suppress my urge to laugh. "So? How is that my problem?"

He pouts immaturely. "Fine. What do you want?"

"I'm glad you asked," I say in a high pitched voice, mimicking him from earlier. "You owe me one favor. I can ask for anything at any time and you have to do it for me. Deal?"

"That's bull!" Jongin protests. "Tell me what you want right now instead of leaving me hanging like that."

"I don't think you're in any position to negotiate," I drawl, examining my nails and trying to ignore the throbbing of my nose. 

He mutters some not very nice words under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"I thought so."

Jongin lets out a long, overdramatic sigh. "Fine. Deal."

A wide grin spreads on my face. "See? Was that so hard?" I reach my hand out. "Now give me the bandage."

He rolls his eyes, holding the bandages right above my hand. I look up at him expectantly just to see his eyes lighting up with an idea.

I glare at him, noticing his change of expression. He better not. He wouldn't.

But he does.

Jongin pushes the infirmary door open so hard that it bangs loudly against the wall. Before I knew it, he was sprinting down the hallway, his cackles echoing through the school. "Come and get it, Kim Seoyeon!"

I clap my hands on my cheeks, groaning. Honestly, my life.

***

The classroom is alive with chatter as I sneak in through the back door. There is only a few minutes left until the final bell and I'm the last person to get back from lunch. Actually, I had skipped lunch today, thanks to Kim Jongin and his wild goose chase. After I had beaten, I mean taken, the bandage from him, students were already filing back to class from the cafeteria. Today was kimchi fried rice day too! Ugh, the more I think about missing lunch, the more I want to wring Jongin's neck.

I plop in my usual seat in the back, going unnoticed by anyone. Over in the middle of the room stands Seoyeon, surrounded by a gaggle of fanboys who shower her with baked goods, homemade cards, and bouquets of flowers. Usually, I would roll my eyes and stare out the winow, but today, I can't help but stare at the mouth-watering chocolate muffin sitting on Seoyeon's desk. Could starvation give you auditory hallucinations? Because I swear I heard that muffin say my name.

"...Kim Seoyeon. Is the other Kim Seoyeon here?"

"Shut up, you chocolate muffin!" I blurt, slamming my hand on my desk. 

Twenty pairs of eyes are on me, along with the baffled stare of my mathematics teacher. Standing next to him is a freakishly tall guy. A familiar, freakishly tall guy. 

And his gaze is on me, too.

"Excuse me, Ms. Kim?"

"I mean..." I clear my throat, nibbling on my lips nervously. "Yes, I'm here."

Mr. Hong gives me a warning glare. "As I was saying, the new student will sit next to that Kim Seoyeon. Now, would you like to introduce yourself?"

The lanky boy flashes a toothy smile at the class. The girls in front of me squeal softly. Even the pretty Kim Seoyeon is sitting on the edge of her seat, her eyes glued on the giant. 

"Hi everyone, my name is Richard Park and I'm from Orlando, Florida," he greets in English. I roll my eyes. What a show off. If the girls were excited about him before, they almost fainted after hearing his voice. 

He switches to Korean, shuffling his shoes awkwardly. "My Korean name is Chanyeol. I lived in Korea when I was young, so I'm fluent in the language. It's good to be home, you know? Anyway, I look forward to befriending you all. Thanks."

The class erupts in applause and I join half-heartedly. It's not like I hated the guy or anything, I just didn't want to be desk buddies with him. Now my backpack would have to rest on the floor, just like everyone else's. It was an outrage, really.

Wait a minute. Park Chanyeol. Why did that name sound so familiar?

I glance up to see Chanyeol making his way towards me. As I study his features, a series of images run through my head.

A chubby boy with a permanently red nose.

A stuffed polar bear.

Endless supplies of tissues.

The chair screeches as he sits down next to me, a knowing smile on his face.

"Hey Seoyeon. It's been a while."

***

Sorry for the lack of updates, I'm pulling this story straight out of my . At this point, anything goes!! I'm also vacationing in Korea at the moment, so I don't have as much time to write. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please look forward to the next one and comment your thoughts below <3