When the bell rang to announce our dismissal from class, I slowly packed my bag and glanced outside. However much I was skeptical about his intentions, I was still hoping that he was really sincere about his promise earlier. But when I looked out, he wasn’t there. In that instance, my heart sank. I should have known than to trust him. Who am I compared to him? Who was I to think that he would really like me? Without any hesitation, I walked out of my classroom to go home. My right foot was out of the gates when I heard my name being called.

“Kim Haemin sshi!”

It was his voice. I could recognize it even when he was shouting from inside the junior’s block. He really came for me. I turned around to see him dashing across the campus towards me. When he reached me, he was panting a little and perspiration was dripping off the side of his head. But he was still glowing in perfection.

“Didn’t I say to wait for me after your class? Or did you forget your friendly date with me?”he asked.

“I thought you were just joking around…,”I admitted.

His face broke out into a smile.

“Haemin sshi, I’m not someone to lie about things like this. I’m serious about asking you out. Shall we go now?”he gestured towards the bus stop, down the road.

I walked towards it and he followed suit. It was all silent between us but there was a comfort in it. It wasn’t awkward at all. When we approached the bus stop, students from my school saw us and began whispering about us. I wouldn’t blame them. Who else wouldn’t gossip when you see the most popular senior standing with a non-existent junior? I looked up to see his reaction but he was oblivious to it. As if he knew that I was looking, he lowered his eyes and caught mine. All he did was smile and look away.

“The bus is here, Haemin sshi,”he said.

We boarded the bus and he was a real gentleman, letting me board first and sit inside. I didn’t know where we were going and was just following him. He looked straight ahead with no hint of hesitation. It seemed as if he had it planned for a long time.

“Sunbae, where are we going?”I asked, timidly.

He turned to look at me and his eyes softened.

“Call me Hyukjae. And we’re going to grab some lunch. It’s a nice place and I know you will like it,”he answered.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to call you by your name. We barely even know each other,”I mumbled shyly.

“Then, call me oppa. Hyukjae oppa,”he grinned this time round, clearly enjoying himself.

I must have shown hesitation for he stopped grinning.

“How about I call you by your name? Does it make you feel better?”he suggested.

“I guess it does,”I nodded.

“Alright then, Haemin. Call me Hyukjae oppa,”he smiled.

“Hyukjae…,”I trailed off, not knowing if it was really safe to call him that.

“Go on,”he prompted.

“Hyukjae oppa,”I almost whispered it.

“That sounds better,”he reached out to ruffle my hair and turned to face the front once again.

For the rest of the trip, it was all silent again. But after 15 minutes or so, he pressed the bell and stood up, motioning for me to do the same. I got out of my seat and walked towards the door with him following behind me. We got down from the bus and he led me towards a nice and warm noodle house. After getting a table and settling down, he asked me to order whatever I wanted. The waiter came, got our order and left us alone once again. Hyukjae was all but calm unlike me. He drank the hot tea provided and looked at me while doing so. He saw the tension in my shoulders and put down the cup with a smile.

“Why are you so tense? Relax, Haemin. Do you have a lot of questions in your mind? Ask me. I’ll answer everything,”he put his arms on the table and leaned forward towards me.

I stared back at him and saw that he only had sincerity in his eyes. It seemed like he perfectly understood me in a matter of minutes.

“How do you know about my existence?”

“I’m sorry?”his eyes widened at my weird question.

“How do you know about me? I mean, I’m not even close to any of the seniors and outstanding for you to notice my existence,”I explained.

His eyes stayed in that wide position for quite some time before he relaxed and looked rather amused by my question.

“You aren’t non-existent, Haemin. You’ve been sitting under that old oak tree for some months, haven’t you?”he answered.

“You saw me?”I asked, shocked that he would actually have seen me reading.

“Of course I would. A beautiful girl like you, sitting there and reading is a rare sight. Moreover, why do you think I keep showing off those flashy dance moves when I’m there?”he smiled.

At that moment, heat crept up my cheeks and I was left sitting and blushing in front of him.

“Any other questions?”he asked.

The waiter came with our noodles and we began eating.

“So, you’ve only seen me reading under the tree?”I asked.

“No. I’ve walked pass the band room once and saw you in the room. Don’t judge me! But because of that, I came to know you’re in the band and I sort of…loitered outside…to look at you from then onwards,”he replied, blushing a little.

That made me smile a little and seeing that, he smiled back.

“But why me?”I asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know since as you’ve said, I barely know you. I just somehow got attracted to you,”he explained after swallowing some noodles.

“How long have you…liked…me?”I asked, stuttering a little.

All this was too foreign for me. I never thought that Lee Hyukjae would actually go about looking at me when I wasn’t paying attention. It was just like how I had been watching from afar.

“January 15 was the first day that I noticed you under that tree. And I thought to myself, why hadn’t I noticed such a beautiful girl before that. And then it just hit me and I like you ever since,”he replied firmly.

The way he answered all my questions so sincerely made me relax and the fact that he actually remembered the day he first saw me made it even more heart-warming.

“Anymore questions for me?”he asked as he grabbed his cup.

I thought for abit before shaking my head. He placed his cup down and cleared his throat.

“My turn,”he pushed his bowl away and that was when I realized he was done with his noodles.

I looked at him, waiting for whatever he had in store for me.

“Do you like me?”

End of Chapter

DarkAngel