I met her one day on a spring day during a wedding when I was ten years old. We've been together in a strong friendship ever since that day. The groom was my cousin while the bride was, coincidentally, her older sister's friend. It wasn't a friendly meeting at first, not at all. Sitting in the same table as her as we ate, I got in a very childish fight with her over the last dish of mango pudding that was served for dessert. In the end, neither of us got it; my mother had taken it and given it to the youngest member sitting in the table, which was the six year old kid that sat in between us.

            We didn't really get along in elementary school either, which was kind of natural. Don't boys and girls treat each other as little germs capable of spreading cooties when they are little?

            It got a little bit different, however, when we moved into middle school together. There, I watched her begin her development to a full-fleshed woman while I, in turn, traversed on the road to become a full-fleshed man. We naturally became nicer to each other as the immaturities of a child slowly faded away into the past. I questioned my eyes very deeply when the thought of her being extremely cute crossed my mind one day when we were walking home together. Heart beating and cheeks flushing, I stuttered a very nervous "I'm okay" when she asked if I had caught a cold.

            I found her alluring. I slowly grew attracted to every part of her, from her calmness to her random outbursts of craziness. She was always outgoing and independent. She also had the most wittiest mouth I ever heard, but that just made it more fun to talk to her. Everything about her screamed wild, but at the same time, whispered gentleness.

             I never thought I would fall so deep in the pit of love when I took the exam for one of the most hardest high schools ever near our area. I studied so much, it scared me; what was I becoming?

            However, every thought of regret was wiped away when I saw her adorning the same uniform as me on that spring day, smiling that smile that swept me off my feet.

            I, Byun Baekhyun, was, and still am, hopelessly in love with Park Hyejung.

~.~.~.~

            I met him one day during my older sister's friend's wedding. It was funny how we kept fighting over a dish of mango pudding, only for it to be given to the kid sitting right in between us.

            Living in the same area, we attended the same elementary and middle school. We didn't really get along in elementary school, but once we entered middle school, things became a lot calmer as we became older.

            I was always taller than him in elementary and most of middle school. I always felt dominant, seeing that he always had to tilt his head slightly up to look me directly in the eyes. However, it all changed when he had saved me from getting run over by a car on our way back home. He pulled me by the wrist, causing me to bump into his chest as the car rushed passed us. He had asked if I was okay, and that was when I realized that it was I who had to look up at him now.

            His growth spurt had hit at a pretty late stage--our third year of middle school. Everyone called him a shorty, but not soon after, he towered over everyone else. Whenever he touched me, I felt electricity shoot up at the places in where he did. Most of it were just accidental ones, but it had the same effect on me nonetheless. Near the end of middle school, I finally realized that he wasn't the same, annoying boy in elementary school. He had grew into a very mature teenager.

            And a handsome one too.

            And it wasn't just the physical parts of him that made my heart flutter. His nonchalance to many things made me feel inferior to him in many cases, but I soon to realize that he was just a bubbly guy underneath. He was kind, but sometimes silly. Although, sometimes it seems like he never listens to my rants, but he takes me by surprise--like he always does--when he gives me a well fleshed out response.

            So, when it was time for our separation to go onwards to high school, I felt a slight pang in my chest, although I had no idea what it was.

            However, when we met up one day in the park, he showed me his acceptance letter, smiling that cocky smile of his. I looked at it in shock and realized that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

            Now a high school student, I, Park Hyejung, am continuing my normal life as I desperately hide my feelings in order to maintain our strong friendship.

            "I still can't get over the fact that your best friend's a total hottie."

            "Eunji!" My female best friend laughed at me as I grew a bit warm. Currently, we were waiting outside the school parking lot as we waited for our rides. Well, Eunji was waiting for her ride; I was waiting for Baekhyun so we could catch the train ride back home.

            "Hey, I can't lie, that boy's fine. Look, there he is now." I looked at where she was discreetly pointing at before feeling my heart pick up its pace. There he was, walking with his eyes glued to his phone with his bag swung over his shoulder. School uniforms weren't suppose to look that good on a person, but he rocked every single outfit he ever wore, even if it was just plain sweats and a T-shirt.

            He looked up from whatever entertained him when he reached the front gates and headed towards my direction when he spotted me.

            "Ready to go?"

            "Yeah." I waved a hand good bye to Eunji before catching up to his side.

            Baekhyun was a natural gentleman. Every time we boarded the train, he always made sure I was by the walls and away from the squirming crowd as he stood in front of me so that I wouldn't get shoved around. I always felt embarrassed that I was the only one who got flustered at our close proximity. Baekhyun never looked disturbed as he held onto the grab handle above his head. Sometimes, a person from behind him would shove him into me, allowing me to smell the familiar scent of his clothes only for a split second before he retracted and muttered an apology.

            This was Byun Baekhyun, who always had the ability to make my heart race because of all the little things he did.

            I wasn't sure how long I would be able to hide my feelings for him, because it was dangerously threatening to escape out of its cage.

~.~.~.~

            Train rides are dangerous. I concluded that when we entered high school. They were vicious, throwing us off balance here and there without us ever knowing when. And there was the crowd of people who couldn't stop fidgeting under the bumpiness of the trip.

            It was more dangerous to my heart, I came to realize. The distance between our bodies was always less than a foot, making my pulse race every time I think about our proximity. However, Hyejung never seemed to mind me that much as she scrolled through her phone. Sometimes, a person behind me would push me against her, but even then, she would not stir.

            "What are you looking at?" I asked, feeling a bit jealous of the phone. Yup, that's how far she pushed me; I was jealous of an inanimate object for stealing her attention away from me. She looked up. It took everything I could to not steep a bit lower and kiss her in order to make her heart beat faster, even if it resulted in me getting slapped.

            "Nothing special," was all she said before putting it away. I frowned slightly, but quickly got rid of my curiosity. At least her phone's gone.

            And so, our fifteen-minute ride home swiftly ended with me trying not to lean in closer to get a better whiff of her sweet-scented hair.

~.~.~.~

            Back in middle school, I always thought I was the smarter one. I even got into one of the hardest high schools in the prefecture, but the mindset slowly started to decay when Baekhyun got into the same school as me as well. I watched as he began to get better grades than me, which didn't strike me as surprising. Back in our younger days, all he did was fool around. Now that he was more mature, I guess he's actually caring about his grades now.

            It was a winter day when we both decided to study for our semester exams. He was over at my house, like he always was, up in my room. I felt uncomfortable, knowing that it'll be just us two again in my room, although I never had such a thought before. I had told Eunji about our studying sessions and how they were usually in either his room or mine. The moment I told her that, she shook me by the shoulders.

            "A boy and girl alone in a room? How scandalous!" So now, because of the things she implanted in my brain, I grew more conscious of his presence. Baekhyun didn't seem to even think about it though as he made himself at home and messed up my bed.

            "Your house has a lot of food. I lowkey only come here because of it," he said cheekily, taking my blankets and wrapping it around himself as he settled down to sit at the table where all our books laid. I tried to keep the blush down. Whenever he did that, his scent would stay on my blanket for at least a day, making me unable to sleep at night.

            "Freeloader, get off," I kicked him jokingly before sitting myself down across from him. My mother came in with a tray of drinks and snacks.

            "Study hard you two. Hope you guys don't mess around again like last time," my mother warned. We both nodded at her before she took her exit.

            The table was a little bit too small for my liking whenever we studied. Baekhyun would always be focused, so whenever I looked up to steal a glance, his head was a bit too close for comfort. His black and glossy hair was always very neat outside of school, but during school mornings, it was so messy. His bangs always sat attractively right above his eye, something I wished my hair would do.

            I saw him write something in my book, which irritated me slightly. It was my new book. However, I quickly forgot about it.

            "What are you writing in my book?" He swiftly closed it and shook his head.

            "Nothing. His finger suddenly brushed against my hand as he reached for the eraser, causing my pencil to skid across the table and electricity to run up my arm. I quickly retracted my hand away, a bit shocked.

            "Sorry," was all he would say before returning back to concentration.

~.~.~.~

            Keeping my grades up was naturally wanted; how else would I be able to make a living later in life? I did more than I needed to do get an A in the class, and that was because I wanted to impress Hyejung. She was always naturally smarter than me, although she always claims I'm just trying to flatter her. The only reason why I was even better than her was because I probably studied twice as much.

            Of course, no one knows this. It's too embarrassing to admit.

            Studying with Hyejung never resulted in me ever studying. Her presence was too distracting for me to focus, while she was off into her own little world of studies. I always pretended to study and write notes, but all I did was rewrite the notes I had already written. It was an automatic thing, for my brain surely wouldn't be able to function with her around. Call me lovesick, but having a brain of a teenage boy did have some of its burdens.

            Unconsciously, I wrote 'I like Hyejung' in her book she lent me to borrow to read.

            "What are you writing in my book?" I felt my heart leap in surprise. Quickly, I shut the book before she could read the embarrassing thing I wrote.

            "Nothing."

            When I accidentally bumped my hand with hers while reaching for her eraser, she retracted her hand away immediately. Feeling a stinging pain, I managed to hide it as I gave her a small smile and a one-word apology before returning back to my "studying."

            Since then, I try not to touch her, or else her repulsiveness would kill my heart over and over again.

~.~.~.~

            "Baekhyun has someone he likes!" I looked over next to me at whoever said that, which was his loud and hyper friend, Chanyeol. We had an hour of self-studying, but no one seemed to be studying as everyone chit-chatted.

            "Chanyeol!" Baekhyun half-yelled. Baekhyun had started to sit next to me during the last quarter of the semester due to a random draw. I wasn't sure if I could call myself lucky or unlucky: lucky that I was able to sit next to him or unlucky that I would not be able to concentrate in class.

            I watched as his cheeks colored a small tint of pink as he chided Cha