Byunghun and I had stayed that way for a long time. The usual routine was that I would go over to his classroom during lunch and we would go out after school. Most of the time, he ended up teaching me more piano. Occasionally, maybe once a week, I would go to the library with Yoonmi even though I would stay in my small corner. Despite the fact that I avoided Chunji, there were some times when Chunji would find me at school to simply talk. I didn’t want to be mean to him though since he wasn’t necessarily mean to me.

Everyone in Byunghun’s classroom pretty much knew that Byunghun and I were dating. As for the classrooms near mine, everyone was still confused. No one dared to question me though because Changjo was constantly with me. However, I could tell that Byunghun was slightly distraught at the fact that I hid my relationship with him from my classmates. It wasn’t my intention to hide it though.

This cycle continued for another month and before I knew it, it was the day before Valentine’s Day. Since Valentine’s Day was on a Sunday, I was more at ease since I would have the whole day to prepare. I stood in front of my oven staring at the instructions on how to make the chocolates. Thankfully, my parents were out of town the whole weekend so they didn’t have a clue about my preparation for Valentine’s Day. It took me a good 6 hours to make the chocolates. I placed them in a small container box and I tied a ribbon around it. Then I quickly cleaned the kitchen.

The next day, I got ready and left around 5. I walked all the way to Byunghun’s house and rang the doorbell. Almost immediately, Byunghun opened the door and to my surprise, he was already dressed and prepared. He came outside and closed the door behind him. “I was waiting for you.” I smiled and asked, “What if I never came?” He shrugged, “I guess that means I would’ve waited all day.”

We decided to catch a bus to the Hankang River and hang around there. We walked around a bit before sitting down on the steps. I handed him the box of chocolates and said, “Happy Valentine’s Day.” Byunghun looked at the box and smiled, taking them. He carefully opened the box and looked at the chocolates. “These look homemade.” I smiled and said, “They are homemade.” Byunghun looked at me with his eyes wide. “You made them? I thought you couldn’t cook.” I shrugged, “Well you know, I’m sure 6 hours of hard work will pay off.” Byunghun continued to smile at me. “Thank you.”

He reached in and got a piece of chocolate. It had a heart on it and Byunghun smiled before eating it. He swallowed it and said, “Eh…” I frowned, “Really?” Byunghun looked at me and said, “It’s really good.” My face brightened which made him chuckle. He took another piece and began to eat it while he held my hand, twining his fingers with mine. I stared at him eat my chocolate with a big smile on his face.

And then before I knew it, it was the day before White Day.

Byunghun was walking me home as he asked, “What do you want for White Day?” I shrugged, “I don’t know.” Byunghun sighed and said, “I guess I’ll just have to get you everything.” I giggled and said, “You don’t need to get me anything at all.” Byunghun just scoffed. “And have you pissed at me forever? No it’s okay.” I just laughed.

When we got to my house, Byunghun held onto my hand tight. I looked at him and asked, “Is something wrong?” He smiled and shook his head. We just stared at each other and Byunghun bit his bottom lip at one point. Then slowly, he leaned in towards my face. By instinct, I slightly pulled my face away. Catching this, Byunghun smiled and sighed. “Maybe not today then.” He kissed me on the cheek and said, “Good night.”

I watched him walk down the hill and I felt sorry for rejecting him like that.

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The next day at school, I walked into class and saw girls with gifts already. I smiled at the sight of all these happy girls around me.

During recess, I left my classroom to get my book from my locker. When I closed my locker, a guy stood next to me and he looked nervous. “I… I always thought you were cute and here.” He handed me a box of chocolate and said, “I just wanted to give that to you.” Then he ran away before I could say anything or even catch his name. To be quite honest, I had never seen him before.

I walked back into my class and saw a small teddy bear with a box of chocolate sitting on my table. I opened the card and it said, “Happy White Day. – Secret Admirer” I furrowed my eyebrows. This couldn’t have been Byunghun. I looked around my classroom but no one seemed to pay attention so I just sighed as I placed everything on the floor.

Changjo walked back into our classroom and he saw my presents. “Damn, someone’s popular.” I looked at him and put on a small smile. “I’m just waiting for Byunghun’s.” Changjo tried to hold in his laughter. “What…” He shook his head and said, “It’s funny for me because I know what he got you.” I frowned making Changjo laugh even harder. “You’ll see at lunch.”

The bell rang for lunch and I put all my books away into my bag. I was about to get up to go to Byunghun’s classroom when someone placed a large box of chocolate onto my desk. I smiled and looked up, but my smile immediately faded when I saw that it was Chunji and not Byunghun. “Happy White Day, Yoon Sungah.” My eyes were wide. I didn’t expect him to bring me chocolate. At that moment, the door opened and Yoonmi walked inside. My eyes widened even more when Yoonmi saw what was going on. Tears were about to form in her eyes.

That was when Byunghun walked inside. He hid something behind his back as he walked inside. When he saw all the chocolates on the floor as well as the chocolate that Chunji gave me, his face turned angry. He walked up to my table and asked, “Why did you get so many?” I just blinked. Angry, Byunghun threw Chunji’s box of chocolates off to the side and placed his own box of chocolates along with a small bouquet of roses. He looked at me and smiled. “Happy White Day, Sungah-yah. If you open it, you’ll find something else in there.” I looked down at his box and I slowly opened it. Inside, I found couple rings in the middle of the box. A big smile formed on my face.

I looked up and noticed how everyone in the room was staring at us, including Chunji. Some were whispering amongst each other and I could make out some of the questions they were asking. “So are they dating or does he just like her?” I sighed, looking at Byunghun. He looked around the classroom and saw how everyone was staring at us. He looked back at me with a small smile and turned around to leave but I grabbed his arm. He turned back around to me. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him. “Thank you.” I reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

And for the first time ever, I noticed Byunghun’s cheeks turn pink. I started to laugh and said, “You’re blushing!” Byunghun looked away and quickly walked out of the classroom while I chased after him.  

On our way out, I looked at Yoonmi who had tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry…” I whispered to her. She just looked down and said, “You have no reason to be sorry.”

-----

After school, we went to Hankang river again. “It was exactly a month ago when we last came here.” Byunghun smiled and said, “But this time, we can watch the sunset.” I smiled as we walked to the same spot we sat at for Valentine’s Day. I took out his box of chocolate and began to eat the chocolate. Byunghun just stared at me and smiled. I saw the two rings in there so I pulled them out. I grabbed Byunghun’s hand and put the ring through his while I put my ring on. We held out our hands in front of us and we both laughed.

I placed my chocolates and bag aside and gently rested my head on his shoulder. Byunghun chuckled and rested his head on mine. “Sungah-yah… rumors are going to spread about us now that your classmates know.” I sighed and said, “I don’t care, remember?” Byunghun lifted his head back up and looked at me, “And people are going to give you a lot of attention.” I just smiled as I stared at the sunset. “I don’t care.” He chuckled and said, “And what the hell, why do so many guys have crushes on you.” I lifted my head and looked at him, laughing. Byunghun grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers. “I guess that means you’re officially my girlfriend now.” I furrowed my eyebrows. “How does that even relate?” Byunghun smiled and looked at me. “Because now, I have every right to kick their asses if they try to do anything.”

I just stared at him and I blurted out, “Why do you like me?” Byunghun’s smile slightly faded before he started to laugh. “Do I need a reason?” I looked down and said, “I’m not pretty and I’m shy. I’m sure you’ve seen better girls than me.” I looked up at him, waiting for a reply. Byunghun smiled and said, “But you’re perfect to me. I think you’re one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever met. And didn’t you know? I have a thing for shy girls who’re always late to school with messy hair.”

I smiled and stood up. I pulled Byunghun up and said, “I’ll give you 25 points for your White Day chocolate and roses. I’ll give you another 25 points for the couple rings.” Byunghun just smiled as he listened to me. “And I’ll give you 50 points for your explanation. Do you know how much that adds up to?” Byunghun chuckled and said, “A hundred points.” I put on a surprised face and said, “Ding ding ding! You got that right. Now you deserve a reward.” Byunghun furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head, confused. I cupped his face and smiled. I reached up and gently kissed him on the lips. When we let go, we both smiled at each other.I wrapped my arms around his waist and placed my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and said, “Okay, today’s the best day ever.” I laughed with him as I listened to the fast pace of his heartbeat.

-----

The next day at school, was indeed a chaos. As soon as I sat down, a bunch of my classmates ran up to me and asked, “Are you and Byunghun dating?” I looked up at them and nodded. “Didn’t we tell you to stay away from him?” I sighed and said, “He’s not what you think he is.” I was saved by the bell as all the kids walked back to their desks. Changjo walked in right after and sat down. “So I hear it’s official?” I smiled at him and nodded.

Changjo made a kissy face and started to make kissing sounds. I gaped and I smacked his arm. “How do you know?!” He laughed and said, “All the guys were over at my house and Byunghun hyung came after dropping you off. He couldn’t stop smiling. We bothered him until he told us what happened.” I felt myself blushing and Changjo chuckled. “He really likes you, you know.” I looked down at my desk with a small smile on my face.

When it was lunch time, I got up and went over to Byunghun’s classroom. On my way there, someone gently pushed me from behind. I turned around and saw Yoonmi waving at me with a smile, before turning back around to catch up to her friends. I waved back and continued to make my way to Byunghun’s classroom.

When I sat down, Byunghun furrowed his eyebrows and sat up. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around slightly. He pulled something off my back and began to read it. I saw that it was a yellow post-it note. Byunghun looked at me and said, “Who the did this?” I gently took the post-it note and read it. . I blinked a couple times at this note. “Sungah-yah, who did this?”

I knew exactly who and that’s why it hurt me. Seeing the writing and remembering what had happened while I walked to Byunghun’s class, it was obvious it was Yoonmi. I put the note down and smiled at Byunghun. I asked him, “Did you eat?” Byunghun stared into my eyes for a couple of seconds. “Hey Changjo?” Changjo looked at him and replied, “Yeah?” Byunghun didn’t get his eyes off of me as he asked, “What class is that Yoonmi girl in?”

My eyes widened and I grabbed Byunghun’s arm. “No, I’m fine.” Changjo didn’t say anything. “I asked you a ing question, Changjo.” He sighed and said, “1-3.” Byunghun got up, taking the note, and went for the door. I went after him and grabbed his arm. “Don’t! Please?” Byunghun looked at me and said, “No one messes with my girlfriend. No one.” He continued to walk towards Yoonmi’s class while I tried to stop him.

When we walked inside, Byunghun grabbed someone’s water bottle on the table and opened it. Yoonmi and her friends turned around to me. “Byunghun, stop!” But he shrugged his arm off of my grip. He walked up to her and splashed the water on her face. Yoonmi screamed and shouted, “What the ?!” Byunghun crumpled up the water bottle and threw it on her head. He pushed the post-it onto her forehead and said, “I’m just advertising for you. I hope you get laid tonight. You need it.” Then Byunghun grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the classroom.

While we walked back to his classroom, Byunghun looked at me and said, “Sorry you had to see me like that.” I bit my lip and said, “I’ve never seen you so angry.” Byunghun chuckled and grabbed my hand, twining our fingers together. “There will never come a day when I’m angry with you.” I just smiled as I looked down at the floor.

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Can L.Joe be my boyfriend while I'm married to Woohyun? Kthx...