author's note ;

Here's another update! Happy Valentine's Day, my lovely readers! I actually had a very shocking valentine's day... o3o

~=

I quickly stood up and turned the other way. From the corner of my eye, I saw the boys head towards my direction.

Down the road I saw my brother's car and hurried towards it. 'Saved!' I sighed in relief.

I quickly opened the car door and greeted my brother and Minjee. Minjee turned around in her seat and pulled me into a comforting hug.

"Thanks Minjee," I smiled thankfully after she released me.

"I'll always be here for you, even if your brother can't," she winked.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" my brother whined.

"You know what I mean, baby," she rolled her eyes.

I laughed and closed the door. The boys across the street stared at the car in defeat. I watched as their figures disappeared in the distance then turned back around.

"So, where do you want to go eat?" my brother glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

"Anything is fine, really," I shrugged indifferently.

"Korean barbecue it is, then!" Minjee declared.

"No, that's too expensive! Let's eat rice cakes," I shook my head.

"Hah, caught!" Minjee stuck her tongue out at me in victory.

I pouted and crossed my arms over my chest.

--

"Hey, Chunji. I thought you said Mimi was still sick? Why was she in the park?" CAP eyed the boy warily.

Chunji avoided his eyes and shrugged, continuing down the sidewalk.

"Chunji, what happened?" LJoe put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking further.

Chunji shrugged his hand off his shoulder and whipped around. "She would rather be with Kevin," he spat.

LJoe groaned in frustration. 'This idiot.'

--

Monday rolled around. I blankly stared at my alarm clock that blinked 6:23. My brother quietly opened the door and peeked his head in.

"Hey, wake up," he croaked restlessly.

I sat up and nodded. My eyes felt puffy and sore from another night of crying. My brother sighed from the doorway and walked back to his room.

I kicked my legs off the bed and walked to my brother's room. "Can I please just not go to school today?"

It was silent on the other side of the door. I heard a rustle and the door opened. My brother looked down at me tiredly. "You can sleep in, but you have to go," he muttered.

I thought about it and sighed. "Thanks," I grinned, and walked back to my room.

I jumped back on the bed and snuggled into my blankets. 'I hope you guys are okay, mama and appa...'

--

Chunji walked down the stairs to his first period class: Visual Arts IV. He sat back in his seat and eyed the chair across from him.

Ms. Yoon glanced around the room and furrowed her brows. "That's odd. Chyumi isn't here again today? That's too bad."

'Was I too harsh? Ugh, what does it matter!' Chunji shook his head before grabbing his pencil.

After about an hour of sketching and erasing, the bell rang. Chunji got up and packed his stuff. He grabbed his other project and pulled up a chair.

Just as he sat down, the door opened again. He glanced at the door curiously and dropped his pencil.

I tried not to look at him and walked over to the rack where the art portfolios were.

"Chyumi! It's nice to see you back! Did you oversl- Oh my. Chyumi, is everything okay?" Ms. Yoon hurried over to me and looked at my tired eyes.

I smiled at her and shook my head. "I'm fine. Sorry for missing first period."

"Oh, don't be sorry about that. Just get  to work on this project!" Ms. Yoon patted my back and walked back over to her desk.

I dragged a chair over to Chunji and sat down. I saw him look at me through the corner of my eye and turned towards him. "What," I looked at him coldly.

Chunji shook his head and turned back to his project. I scoffed and turned back to my own.

Ms. Yoon looked up at us in confusion. 'What's going with those two? It's barely been a month since school started.'

I glanced up at the clock and hurriedly packed my stuff. Once the bell rang, I sped out of the class.

I stopped when I arrived outside my next class and calmly walked in after catching my breath. I was the first one there.

I took my seat next to the window and lightly laid my head on the desk.

"Mimi!" a voice cheered.

I turned my head towards the door, keeping it on the desk, and waved. "Hey guys."

Kiseop plopped down in the seat next to me and took a long look at my face. There was a crease in his forehead and the corner of his lips were slanted down.

"Mimi, I'll always be here for you, okay?"

I pinched his cheeks and nodded. "Okay, Kiseoppie."

"That hurts!" he whined childishly.

I gave him a cheeky grin and let go of his cheeks.

"Hey, Kiseop! That's my seat! If you want to sit next to Mimi, go change your last name!" Eli walked into the class and playfully glared at his band mate and friend.

"No!" Kiseop crossed his arms and stayed in the seat.

"What's going on now..." Kevin walked in and rolled his eyes.

AJ and Hoon walked in behind him. They walked to their seats and nodded at me.

"'Sup Mimi,"

"How are you?" Hoon turned around in his seat and eyed my puffy eyes.

"I'm good," I smiled weakly.

Hoon decided not to push the matter and smiled back. Kevin crouched down next to my desk and placed his chin on it. I backed up my head a little, putting a little distance between our faces.

"Morning Mimi! I didn't see you this morning, did you come in late?" he asked.

I picked my head up from the desk and nodded. Kevin searched my face before he spoke again, "Are you sure you're okay? You just ran off..."

I gave him the best sincere smile I could and nodded. "Really, Kevin."

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"Yes," I quickly said, but my stomach betrayed me.

"Good. Here's a chocolate muffin," Kevin grinned, placing a small chocolate chip muffin on the corner of my desk where his chin used to be.

"Students, get in your seats! I'll be taking attendance and then we'll pick up where we left off. Oh, nice of you to join us Chyumi," the teacher glanced at me. "No eating in class."

I bowed my head and hid the muffin in my bag. "Sorry..."

--

Finally, the bell rang at the end of class. I dropped my head onto my textbook and groaned. "So much work for my first day back."

"Cheer up. We can do it together during lunch if you want," Eli laughed from my left.

"Oh yeah, my mom won't be in today, so I'll be taking care of your music class," Kevin said, handing me my bag.

"Oh, really? Is she okay?" I frowned, slipping my textbook into my bag.

"Oh, yeah, yeah. She's fine. She just had to go out of town for a while," he reassured. "Now, let's go to lunch?"

Kevin offered me his hand. I hesitantly took it and smiled up at him. "Okay!"

Chunji glanced around as he walked down the hallway to the courtyard. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth when he saw my hand intertwined with Kevin's.

Kevin playfully swung our arms back and forth. I laughed at his childish action.

Chunji averted his eyes and stormed down the hallway. 'Why should I care?'

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author's note ;

Hopy you liked it! ^^ Please comment and tell me what you think ♥ Thanks for reading!