I had stayed still and began to read my book while Byunghun slept on my shoulder. I didn’t want him to wake up because of me.

After a while, I looked up and noticed that it had turned dark already. I just sighed and returned to my book when I felt the weight of Byunghun’s head lift away. I turned to look at him and he blinked a couple a times. He looked at me and asked, “What time is it?” I took out my phone and saw that it was almost 7. Byunghun stretched and asked, “Did you stay here because of me?” I just blinked and closed my book. Byunghun chuckled and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” I put on a small smile and said, “It’s okay.” Byunghun grabbed his stuff and got up.

I got up and followed behind him. We passed the tables and I noticed that Yoonmi had already left with Chunji. Byunghun turned to me and said, “Were you here with your friend today?” I looked back at him and nodded. “Where’d she go?” I looked around a bit and said, “I think she already left.” Byunghun looked at the tables and muttered, “What friend leaves without telling you…” Then he looked at me and said, “Let’s go, I’ll take you home then.”

I just followed behind him and said, “It’s okay, I can just go home by myself.” Byunghun put on a small smile and said, “You don’t have to be scared of me.” I paused and said, “I’m… I’m not scared of you.” Byunghun chuckled and said, “That’s what they all say.”

Byunghun and I walked to my house in complete silence but strangely, it wasn’t awkward. It was an acceptable silence. When we arrived at my house, I turned to him and smiled, “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Byunghun smiled and said, “See you tomorrow.” Then he turned around and walked back down the hill as he pulled out his earphones and put them on. I exhaled and walked into my house. Something about him was so captivating to me. That night, my head was filled with my thoughts of him.

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The next morning, I rushed out of bed again when I saw the time. I was late again. I had no time to shower so I tied up my hair and I skipped breakfast. I ran to school to see that the gates were closed again. I was panting for air as I saw the last students run into the school building. I walked over to the wall and tried to reach the top but I wasn’t tall enough. I sighed, trying to think of what to do.

“Late again?” I jumped and turned around, seeing Byunghun. He smirked and said, “You’re late a lot.” I bit my lip and said, “I slept through my alarm again.” Byunghun looked up at the wall and back down at me. “Hey…” I looked at Byunghun. “Let’s just ditch school.” My eyes widened, “My parents would kill me.” He smiled. “I’ll call in for you. Let’s go, I don’t want to go to school today.” Byunghun grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. “Where would we go? We’re in school uniform!” Byunghun stopped and looked at me. “Just trust me, okay? It’s not my first time.”

Byunghun had brought me to his house so that we could change out of our uniforms. When we got inside, Byunghun took his phone out and asked, “What’s your full name and class?” I replied, “Yoon Sungah. Class 1-1.” Byunghun looked at me and asked, “You’re 1-1?” I just nodded. Byunghun returned to dialing a number. “Ahnyounghasaeyo, this is Yoon Sungah’s father calling in. Yes, she has a fever so she won’t be going to school today. She’s in class 1-1. Okay, thank you.” Then Byunghun hung up. He placed his phone on the table and said, “No need to worry now.”

He got up from the couch and looked at me, “Come on, I’ll give you my sister’s clothes or something.” I followed him and he told me to stay in his room while he went into his sister’s room. Surprisingly, his room was pretty clean. I sat on his bed and observed his room.

Byunghun walked in and threw leggings onto the bed next to me. “Just wear those and I’ll give you one of my sweaters.” I went into the restroom and changed into the leggings which were a bit too big but it was better than nothing. I walked back into Byunghun’s room and I immediately turned around since he had his shirt off. “S—sorry.” Byunghun started to laugh and said, “You can come in.” I slowly turned around and walked inside, sitting on his bed again. He gave me one of his sweaters and said, “You’re really shy, aren’t you?” I just looked down at his sweater. I heard him chuckle and mutter something but I couldn’t hear.

I left my bag in Byunghun’s house and I followed him out. I was actually nervous about ditching school. What if I get caught? I just trailed behind Byunghun, trying to ignore my worries. Byunghun looked at me and chuckled. I furrowed my eyebrows, “Why are you laughing…” He stopped walking and turned to me. He reached up and fixed my bangs as he smiled, “Your hair gets messed up really easily.” I just smiled, feeling my heartbeat accelerate.

We got on a bus and sat in the way back. He asked me, “Are you hungry?” I nodded and told him, “I skipped breakfast because I was late…” Byunghun smiled and said, “I guess we’re eating first.” We went to a café that sold waffles and we sat there in silence again. “Do you know who Changjo is?” I looked at him and nodded. “I sit next to him.” Byunghun looked at me, “Really? That’s cool. He’s like my little brother.” Then the silence returned.

After we finished eating, Byunghun asked me, “What do you want to do?” I shrugged, “Doesn’t matter.” Byunghun leaned back on his chair and said, “It’s your first time ditching, there must be something you’ve always wanted to do.” There was something I always wanted to do but it would be awkward to go with him. “There is something, huh? What is it, just tell me.” Byunghun told me, as if he read my mind. I bit my bottom lip and said, “I’ve never been to an amusement park.” Byunghun raised his eyebrows, “Really? Not even as a kid?” I shook my head. Byunghun smiled and said, “Let’s go.” I widened my eyes, “Wait, what? Really? Do we even have enough money?” Byunghun just laughed and got up, making me follow him.

When we got there, I asked him again, “How are we going to pay for our tickets?” Byunghun looked down at me and said, “We don’t.” He grabbed my wrist and dragged me somewhere that was quiet but everything was gated. “Are we sneaking in?!” Byunghun looked around and said, “It’s not our fault it’s so easy to sneak in.” He took me to the far end of the gate and I noticed a door. Byunghun squeezed through and waited for me. I was hesitant. “Come on, I know a lot of people who do this.” I looked at him and back down at the gap. I sighed once before going through.

We walked through the park and I felt like I was dreaming. Byunghun turned to look at me and smiled. He took my hand and asked, “Why are you walking so slow?” I just held onto his hand tightly as he pulled me through the park.

We went on several roller coasters and it was so relieving for me. Byunghun would shout with me every time there was a fall, making each other laugh. We went on the swing ride and I felt butterflies in my stomach. The first couple times we would fall, I would cover my eyes because it was scary for me. I sensed Byunghun laughing at me but I ignored it. By the fourth time, Byunghun pulled my hand away and said, “Stop covering your eyes. It’s not fun.” I restrained myself from covering my eyes but I still closed them, holding onto Byunghun’s arm tightly. After a couple more rides, we left the park.

As we walked around the streets, I got a call from Yoonmi. “Hello?” She asked, “Hey, are you okay? Why weren’t you at school today?” I looked at Byunghun who didn’t seem to pay attention and I just told her, “I went to school too late.” Yoonmi then asked me, “Oh then can you come to the library with me today?” I pouted, “The library right now?” Byunghun looked at me. “Uh…” was all I said before Byunghun took my phone and said to Yoonmi, “She’s busy.” Then he hung up. “She ditched you yesterday so she’s probably going to ditch you again today.” I just sighed and took back my phone.

Suddenly Byunghun took my hand and pulled me to a music store. The store was fairly large and had numerous shelves filled with CDs. I wasn’t really familiar with music so I just followed Byunghun. I watched as he went through CDs. He turned to look at me a couple times to see what I was doing. He asked me, “Do you like music?” I looked up at him and said, “It was nothing I really paid attention to…” He smiled and grabbed a certain CD. He handed me headphones as he scanned the CD’s barcode. “I think you’ll like this.” I looked up at him and he looked down at me, smiling. He turned me around so that I was facing him and he placed the headphones on for me, fixing my hair along the way. Piano started playing in my ears and I just listened to it. The song was definitely a sad one and its melody was very soothing and peaceful. I took the CD and I looked for which song it was. River Flows in You.

I sat down on the floor, listening to more of Yiruma’s songs. I yawned as another song started playing. I looked up at Byunghun who was looking through other CDs. I leaned my head back on the wall and I slowly drifted off to sleep, tired.

“Hey… Sungah?” I woke up and I found myself in bed but I was in someone else’s bed. I looked around the room and realized I was in Byunghun’s room. I immediately sat up and saw Byunghun in front of me. “It’s almost 7, I should take you home.” I blinked and asked, “How did I get here?” Byunghun smiled and said, “I carried you here.” I felt extremely embarrassed. Byunghun barely knew me and he had to carry me here. Byunghun stood up and handed me my clothes. “Get changed and let’s go!” I nodded as Byunghun left the room, closing the door.

Byunghun and I started to walk to my house. At one point, Byunghun chuckled and said, “This is the second day in a row where I take you home.” I smiled and said, “Maybe it’s turning into a routine.” Byunghun looked at me and smiled. When we got to my house, I turned to Byunghun and said, “Thanks for today. I had a lot of fun, thanks to you.” Byunghun smiled and ruffled my hair. “I had fun too… Make sure you’re on time tomorrow and remember to fix your hair.” I giggled and said, “Okay.” Byunghun chuckled and said, “You’re pretty cute.” I blinked twice, slightly taken aback by what he said. He smiled and said, “Especially when you blink like that.” I felt myself blushing so I quickly said, “I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow!” Then I turned around and ran into my house.

I pulled my blanket up to my face with a smile on my face before I went to sleep.

-----

While walking to school the next day, I took out my phone to text Yoonmi. As I scrolled down my contacts, I found Byunghun’s name on there. My eyes widened as I opened his contact and found his number in there. I decided to text him and asked, Did you put your number in my phone? Then I texted Yoonmi to tell her I was going to school.

As I walked into the school building, someone placed their hand on my head, making me turn around. Byunghun looked down at me and smirked. “It took you a while to find out.” I blinked, trying to figure out what he meant. Byunghun smiled and said, “There you go blinking again.” As soon as he said that, I felt myself blushing. I tried to run away before he could see me but he grabbed my arm and turned me around. “You’re blushing…” he smiled. I covered my cheeks and said, “No I’m not!” Byunghun laughed and said, “If you say so.” He let me go and said, “By the way, I like your hair today.” Then he messed up my hair, smiling, before walking to class.

During lunch, Yoonmi came into my class and sat down next to me with our friends. “Sungah-yah, who were you with yesterday?” I didn’t respond and she asked, “You weren’t with… Chunji oppa right?” I shot my face at her and nearly shouted, “What, no! Why would you think that?” Yoonmi pouted and said, “I trust you but I just feel like Chunji oppa’s interested in you. He always asks me about you and he wasn’t at school yesterday either.” I blinked, “Oh… well no I wasn’t with him.” Yoonmi furrowed her eyebrows and asked, “Were you with… Lee Byunghun?”

Before I could reply though, the whole class turned silent again and this time, everyone was staring at me as well as the door behind me. I turned around and saw Byunghun by the door, walking towards me. He came to me and asked, “Are you done eating?” I slowly nodded and he grabbed my hand, pulling me up. He pulled me out of the classroom and I asked, “Where are we going?” Byunghun just pulled me all the way to his classroom. “My classroom.” I asked him, “Why?” He opened the door and said, “I just missed you.” I looked at him. Did I hear him right?

He grabbed a chair and placed it next to him and said, “Sit here.” His class didn’t seem to care that I came inside except for his friends. They all just stared at me. “Oh hey Sungah, you know Byunghun hyung?” Changjo asked me, smiling. I just softly nodded as I sat down on the chair next to Byunghun. One of his friends sitting in front of Byunghun asked, “Who is she?” It would’ve helped if they all wore nametags but Changjo was the only one who did.

“Yoon Sungah. She’s a first-year.” Everyone looked at me and someone else asked, “Why’d you bring her here?” Byunghun leaned back in his chair and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Because I like her.”

All his friends including me, looked at him in shock.

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