“Ouch,” Jongin yelped, pulling himself away from the nurse who was treating his busted lips. Jieun was feeling bad for what happened to her friend. Why the hell would Sehun just punch Jongin like that? Did he really think that I was in danger or something like that?

“Were you in a fight?’ the nurse asked and Jongin shook his head.

“An orange jerk just punched me out of the blue,” he remarked before yelping again as the nurse pressed the cotton on his lips. Jieun could feel her own lips hurting just by looking at Jongin. “Was his fist made out of steel? I feel like my teeth are going to fall.”

The nurse chuckled while grabbing a clean cotton ball. “Nobody punches anyone without a reason.”

“He’s an exception,” he answered before looking at Jieun. “I told you before, right? He has this aura that does not match me. Now, I’m really sure about that.”

“He’s not-”

“Jongin?” Sarang called out all of a sudden as she opened the door. The nurse stood as if she knew right away that it was her cue to take her leave. Jieun stepped back. Sarang glanced at her before looking back at Jongin. “Babe.”

Babe? Wow. I should really leave this room.

“What happened to you? Who did this to you?” Sarang asked, lightly touching his lips. Jongin winced, trying to tell Jieun that he was alright. Jieun quietly walked towards the door, taking her exit as quiet as possible. “Babe, what happened? Were you in a fight?”

“No. Wait- Jieun!”

“Huh?” Jieun squeaked, turning to the two. She just wished that he did not do that in front of Sarang. She knows girls’ feelings and if she’s in Sarang’s place, she’d hate it that her boyfriend’s giving attention to another girl.

“Don’t go near that jerk.”

“O-Okay.” She replied, nodding slowly.

“Who’s this jerk that you’re talking about? Is he the one who did this to you?” Sarang questioned, holding his cheeks to look at his busted lips. “Are you okay? Does it hurt that much?”

Jieun could hear from Sarang’s voice that she’s really worried. “I’m okay. It’s just a scratch,” he replied, smiling at Sarang. Scratch, my . You were yelping a while ago. Jieun looked away, mentally slapping herself to come to her senses. She quietly walked away.

Oh-range-y, is he some kind of thug? But…he does not really look like one. He even saved me in the elevator back then. What’s his deal? Hmm…orange head.

Those thoughts filled her mind as she walked through the lobby. I forgot to buy something to drink. She looked around and like a miracle, she saw the old vending machine without the ‘not operating’ sign. Fishing some coins from her pocket, she walked towards it. Let’s see…what should I get? I’ll just go with orange juice. She put the coins in the slot and pushed the button for the orange juice.

What the- She tapped the side of the machine. Where’s my drink? Don’t tell me it got stuck again? She sighed, rolling her sleeves up before hitting the side of the machine once again. She glared at it. It’s not the first time that her coins got eaten by the machine without producing her drink. Why would they not put the sign when it’s obvious that it’s still not functioning well?

She kicked it twice but nothing happened. She was about to kick it the third time when she came to a stop after hearing a guy shouting at her.

“Hey piggy, stop kicking the machine! If you keep kicking it with those things and legs, it will collapse!!”

Jieun turned to where the guy was standing with his friends who were laughing. Guessing from the color of his tie, he’s a year younger than her. She scoffed. “Hey kiddo, stop yapping. Do you want to get kicked? Try collapsing once in a while. Maybe it will cure your ed up attitude.”

The guy’s friends started teasing him – Junsu, that’s his name basing from the loud jeering of his friends. Junsu’s face was starting to turn red. Jieun was already flipping her hair in victory. What do you take me for? There are too many jerks in this world. 

“ you!”

Jieun raised a brow. Is that the best thing he could come up with? She rolled her eyes before frowning a bit. “Sorry kiddo, loser’s not my style. Go and screw someone else or you can do it on your own. You know…with your hands.”

Fits of laughter came next and Junsu just walked away with a face with the color of a ripe tomato. Jieun shook her head, looking at those guys take their leave. Was that too harsh for a kid like him? Oh well, he deserves it.

Turning to the machine, she frowned. “Give me my juice,” she muttered before kicking it again. She heard the sound of the can hitting the wall of the machine. “Oh!” she exclaimed when she saw that her can of orange juice made it down. With a smile, she picked it up. Finally.

She opened it and took a sip. Delicious. Now, let’s go to- She almost coughed up her drink when she saw Sehun staring at her and when an amused smile came to his face, she wanted to hide right away.

Why…What does that smile mean? Did he hear what I said to that guy? What should I do?

“If you do this….you get this….and when you put this here….this will come out….so this….and this….will come up with this answer….”

Jieun covered as she yawned. Being in a prep school is not really part of her plan but her sister insisted on paying a class for her, telling her that it will help her with some subjects. This class is boring and all she could hear is ‘this’. Their teacher is the life out of her. It’s so boring. Why do people pay money to take this class? I can learn this stuff on my own by just reading.

She looked around. She’s not sure if the people in that room were listening or sleeping with their eyes open. Is that even possible? Maybe that’s what they call daydreaming. Junmyeon was attentively listening to the teacher who was talking about ‘this’ and ‘this’. Noticing that she’s staring, Junmyeon looked at her.

“Why? Is there something wrong?” he asked and she shook her head before glancing at his notes. He’s really taking everything seriously. His notes were neat unlike hers which have several gibberish words on the side of each page. Alien-like dra