“I’m Stephanie. Steph for short,” says the class monitress. “Don’t call me Miyoung or I’ll smack you.”

“Okay . . .”

“So, you’re Kim Taehyuk.”

“Er, yes. But you can call me Taeng. Or Taengoo. It’s my nickname.”

“Taeng.” Steph nods. “I’ll call you Taeng.”

Taeng smiles. It feels like he has just made a new friend and he’s happy. Even if she’s the strange girl who slept on his shoulder. Speaking of which. “I’m sorry if I surprised you on the bus earlier.”

Steph’s pinched cheeks make a comeback. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it.”

“Is it really okay?”

“Yes.”

Taeng thinks Steph sounds a little unhappy so he quits the topic. Maybe he can try to apologize properly later.

|\/\/|

Im Yoona rolls her eyes when she spots her best friend popping a piece of bread into his mouth. “You know you’re gonna get kicked out of this class if you’re caught sneaking in food again,” she whispers.

Choi Sooyoung takes no heed of her warning, however, and simply chews with a satisfied smile on his face. That smile freezes suddenly and Yoona wonders why. But not for long.

“Choi Sooyoung! Eating in class on the first day of school! And it’s not even been an hour yet! Get out of my class! Get out!”

|\/\/|

Seo Juhyuk sees the new boy talking to Steph and sighs in his chest. When will he be able to speak freely to girls like that too? Looking out the window, he is picturing the prettiest girl he knows in his mind and imagining what it would be like if he could talk to her as easily, when the very girl he is thinking about runs past his class with Choi Sooyoung, the school’s renowned joker and big eater. What happened over there, he wonders, while wishing he was the boy running with her.

“Seo Juhyuk, please help me to distribute this book list.”

Upon hearing his name, Seo Juhyuk turns his attention back to Mr Lee. “I’m sorry, Mr Lee. What did you say?”

“I asked you to help me to distribute this book list.”

Embarrassment sweeps over his cheeks as he scrambles to take the stack of book lists from his teacher.

“It’s not like you to be distracted, Seo Juhyuk.”

“I’m sorry, Mr Lee.”

Mr Lee chuckles. “It’s alright. It’s your first day after all. We’re all getting used to being back in school today.”

“Mr Lee, did you have fun over the holidays