Another Monday came and when Byeol's spare hour came, she went to the library as usual. And Taekwoon was also there, as his usual spot, with his closed book in front of him and his poker face on. The young girl wandered between the shelves, looking for something she hadn't read yet but this day, nothing seemed interesting enough for her. When a book finally caught her attention, because it had an electric blue edge, it was too high for her to actually reached it. She stood on her tip-toes and really stretched her whole body to its maximum but she couldn't even touch it. She was ready to give up when someone came behind her and grabbed the book. She turned around, ready to ask for it since she had seen it first, but when she met Cha Hakyeon's smiling eyes, she shut up and stared at him with an expressionless face.

“Hi, Byeol, how are you?” he smiled. She didn't answer and looked back and forth at the book and him. “Oh... you want this?” he looked at the book in his hands, “it seems interesting. You who read a lot, do you think I should read it?”

“I... I-I...”

“What are you saying?” he said, stepping closer, “I can't hear you, sorry.”

“Can you please... I mean...” she breathed in loudly, feeling suddenly hot, and closed her eyes.

“What is it you want, Kim Byeol? You just have to speak a bit louder, it's not a big deal.”

Byeol had her back against the shelf and Hakyeon was in front of her, standing way too close for her liking, but standing also in a way which prevented her from running away. She could have simply pushed him but she couldn't touch him, it was impossible for her. She just kept staring at him with her thoughts going crazy inside her head.

“Byeol,” he said, his face coming even closer to hers, “talk to me, please.”

She shook her head, closed her eyes and covered her ears.

“Leave me alone,” she managed to express her thoughts correctly, “leave me alone...”

She didn't actually see him but she felt him stepping backward and she breathed out, relieved. She waited a second or two and opened her eyes again only to see the head boy had left. She checked at her left and right before she actually move again.

“Byeol ar-”

“Leave me alone!” she jumped and turned around, expecting Hakyeon but instead saw Taekwoon. He frowned and did one step backward. “I-I am sorry, sunbae, I... I...”

She wasn't able to end her sentence, to scared and ashamed, and she ran away, ignoring the ugly librarian who also called for her.

*

“One week... it's been a week since the announcement was made and no one wants to join!” Jaehwan crossed his arms over his chest and sighed, looking at the noticeboard.

“I'm sure they're just shy...”

“No, Hakyeon, if they wanted to join, they would have done, they're just not interested.”

“But just the three of us is alright and-”

“Hyuk... just shut up,” Jaehwan glared at the youngest.

Hyuk rolled his eyes and left without a word.

“Yah! Be a bit nicer with him,” Hakyeon elbowed his friend.

“He is so selfish...”

“What are you talking about? Hyuk is an angel! He is just so shy and nice with everyone. He is only being a with you because you are with him!”

“Then if he is so nice why does nobody want to join the group? You, and Hyuk, and me, it should be enough to convince people of joining and yet-”

“You're right,” Hakyeon cut him and grinned, “you're right. With Hyuk and you it should be enough. You are right!”

He left, leaving a dumbfounded Jaehwan behind him and tried to find Hyuk. Fortunately he found the boy in his classroom and he entered it, ignoring all the curious gazes from Hyuk's classmates, and more especially the girls.

“Hyuk! Han Sanghyuk! I need you to do a little something for me!”

“What do you want?” Hyuk mumbled.

“You're going to talk to Kim Byeol, you know, the girl Ahn Yun talked about.”

“Hum, the girl you told me you didn't know but you actually know, I see, why?”

“W-what are you talking about?” Hakyeon laughed nervously.

“I'm not stupid, I'm young, but not stupid. Why should I talk to her? I thought you wanted to do it.”

“Byeol doesn't want to talk to me. I've already tried and failed several times. And I actually think she's kind of afraid to me since I'm older, but you are younger than her, so you should go and talk to her.”

“Because I'm younger you think she will be more at ease with me?” Hakyeon nodded, “I heard someone saying she was a weirdo who was only talking to her best friend and her brother. Rumors' been saying she's scared of people.”

“Hey... you shouldn't listen to rumors, it's bad... Byeol isn't like this.”

“Oh... so Kim Byeol isn't scared of people?” Hakyeon shook his head, “so why doesn't she want to talk to you? You're just a senior who wants to have a simple talk with her, it shouldn't be this hard for her.”

Hakyeon tsked and Hyuk smiled, proud of himself. Indeed, the boy was really clever, wise and omniscient even though he was only sixteen.

“Hyung, try just a bit harder. You need to do all you can for her to trust you and only then she'll talk to you.”

“How do I do that...?”

“Go and ask Kim Byeol's best friend what does she like, so that you'll be able to hold a conversation which is going to interest her. Oh! And ask what kind of boys she likes, it can also be useful.”

“I can't believe I'm actually listening to you, a little junior who has been single forever.”

Hakyeon waved at his friend and left, thinking about what Hyuk had said and by chance, he met Ahn Yun into the hall, laughing with Jaehwan.

“Yun!” he smiled nicely, “do you want to come and eat with us?”

“Yes!” she answered, “yes I do!”

Jaehwan frowned and questioned his friend with his eyes, but Hakyeon just mouthed “you'll see” and dragged Yun behind him. Obviously, once they sat in the big cafeteria, a lot of people looked at them, probably wondering why was Yun eating with them.

“So, sunbae, what do you want?” she asked Hakyeon.

“Hum? Well, actually, I've got a few questions about Byeol.”

“Oh? Really?” she frowned, “what do you want to know?”

“What kind of boys does she like?” he blurted out, yet not without blushing a bit.

“Don't ever think you'll have a chance,” Yun chuckled.

“It's not that! I just want to know!”

“She doesn't really have an ideal type,” Byeol's best friend shamelessly answered, “since boys don't really interested her.”

“What? She likes girls?” Jaehwan asked, surprised and shocked.

“W-what?! No! It's just that she prefers to concentrate on her studies instead of boys.”

“But she probably has a crush on someone, no?” Hakyeon frowned and Yun shook her head, “does she have a celebrity she likes? A singer or an actor for example?”

“Not really...” she thought about it, “she spends more time reading than actually listening to some music or watching TV.”

“Oh God she's so weird...” Jaehwan snorted.

Yun punched him hard into the shoulder and Jaehwan whined and started complaining but no one listened to him, so he stopped his little comedy.

“And so, she likes to read?”

“Yes.”

“And what else?”

“Nothing much. She spends more time reading then sleeping actually and she doesn't like to talk to people.”

“And...?”

“She only plays the piano and sings every Thursdays in one of the music rooms.”

“I already know that...”

“Well... Byeol doesn't talk to anyone except her brothers' friends and me. She often speaks to Kim Wonshik and Jung Taekwoon since they are Hongbin's friends.”

“Jung Taekwoon?” Hakyeon froze.

“Hum,” she nodded.

“So if I want to talk to her, I need to befriend her brother.”

“It can help, indeed.”

Hakyeon nodded and discreetly looked at Lee Hongbin who was eating not so far from them. But once he met Taekwoon's dark eyes looking straight at him, he looked away.

*

“Hey! Hongbin! We're going to Incheon tonight, wanna come?” Jisoo, one of his classmate, asked.

“No, I can't tonight. Sorry,” the flower boy smiled apologetically.

“Oh? Really?” Hyuna, a girl who had an obvious crush on the boy, said, looking sad and disappointed, “what are you going to do?”

“My sister and I are going to the cinema, a new war movie just came out yesterday and we want to see it.”

“Hey, Hongbin,” Hyuna rolled her eyes and came closer to him which didn't make him flinch or anything, he just kept smiling, “she's just your sister and you can go to the cinema another day. Tonight is the first concert of Jisoo's cousin, you really need to come and see him.”

“I guess I'll see his cousin another day, sorry.”

He shrugged not-so-innocently and left, a big satisfied grin plastered on his face. He left his classroom and waited next to the door of Byeol's, waiting for her to come out.

“Oh! You're already here!” she smiled when she saw him.

“Hum, are you ready? Can we leave now?”

She nodded and let Hongbin walked first, leaving a gap between them in order for him not to be seen with her, but the boy quickly understood her intentions and grabbed her arm, forcing her to walk right by his sides. She looked down and he told her to ignore all the stares and whispered surrounding them.

“I'm with you,” he ruffled her hair, “nothing's going to happen. I'm right by your side, Byeol.”

Hongbin had never been ashamed of her sister; on the contrary, he was proud of her and was showing it. What he was ashamed of was the fact that Byeol was hiding herself because of some es while she was so much cleverer and nicer than all of them reunited. Byeol deserved so much more than critics and she deserved to be living a peaceful life far away from all the troubles of school. And Hongbin was there to support her.

*

“Byeol! What are you still doing outside? It's raining! Go home!” her mother told her.

“Christmas is coming,” the young girl smiled and kept looking at the sky from where the rain was falling.

“What...? Yes, December will be there in two days, but it's not the problem now. Go home, please.”

“I wish dad and oppa would come this year, it would be great.”

“Byeol... hurry up,” her mother ignored her.

“Yes... I'm coming.”

They entered the house, Mrs. Lee locking the door for her not to go outside another time, and they went to the living room where Hongbin and his father already were.

“Oh! And Byeol, the school sent us the paper for the upcoming trip to the mountains,” her step-father told her, “your mother and I have decided it's better for you to go.”

“I will, if Hongbin is coming to.”

“Here is the problem,” her mother wrinkled her nose, “your class is going with the seniors while Hongbin's class is going with the other class of your grade and the juniors.”

Byeol stopped and frowned.

“What? No! It's impossible!”

Voilà ! Chapter five. 

I hope you liked this and please leave a comment tell me what you thought about it (it also helps to me to write more, so, yes... it's nice to read and answer your comments :D) 

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The next chapter will be post on Wednesday (I usually wanted to post one chapter a week, every Sundays, but since I've written quite a lot of chapters already, well, I can post chapters a bit more often). So, see you on Wednesday.

Thx 

xx

Mae.