“Okay class today I would like to introduce a new student today. He just moved into town over the weekend, introduce yourself,” The teacher spoke, pulling me away from staring out the window.

 

“Hello... My name is Lee Jihoon. I just moved here from Busan. Please take care of me,” He said giving a light smile to the class.

 

     There was a cold air around him but he was kinda cute… Sadly he’ll end up like everyone else though. I sighed, lost in thought, before I heard the chair next to me being pulled out as Jihoon took the seat next to me. I nodded my head as a small greeting and he returned the gesture before both of us turned back to the lesson. The teacher droned on about different equations and formulas until finally the bell rang. The teacher dismissed us and I quickly grabbed my lunch just as people started to swarm around Jihoon. Among the ton load of questions they asked, one comment stuck out before I left and I knew she said it.

 

“You shouldn't really interact with Seyeon. She is two-faced and can betray you within a blink of an eye,” Nana warned.

 

     I didn't want to listen any further and left for my usual lunch spot under a cherry tree in the back garden. I gently picked at my food as I thought of the worst. There goes any chance of an actual friendship… why did I actually get my hopes up? I do this to myself every time. Why did I think he would be different? I closed my half eaten lunch and put in my head phones. The calming sound of the piano filled my ears as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sun. Once the next song started, the warmth of the sun disappeared suddenly. I opened my eyes to see Jihoon looking down at me.

 

“Oh, Jihoon-ssi what brings you here?” I asked, pulling out one of my earphone.

 

“The bell rang and I saw you still sitting here on the way back to class.”

 

“Oh. Thanks,” He walked away and I grabbed my things and got up. I looked over to still see Jihoon waiting.

 

“Did you need something else?” I asked confused.

 

“We are headed to the same place so I'm waiting for you,” He replied simply.

 

“You still wanna hang around me even after everything they told you?” I asked, the shock evident in my voice.

 

“Why would I believe other people when I can decide your character myself?” He stated bluntly.

 

“Oh…” I said at a loss for words.

 

“Hurry up or we’ll be late for class,” He nagged as he started walking away. I bit back a smile and jogged to catch up with him. He is different…

 

“Why are you smiling like that?” He questioned. I just shook my head and said it was nothing.

 

     The rest of the day Jihoon and I talked and we found out we had a lot in common like our favorite color and the fact that we are both more introvert than social. My favorite fact was that we share a passion for music. We talked about a bunch of artists and by the end of the day we exchanged numbers. As everyone started to go home I decided to be forward and ask Jihoon to go home together.

 

“Do you want to walk home together?”

 

“I have to head over to my cram school but if you live near the station I can walk you there,” he offered.

 

“I would like that,” I said with a smile. As we walked, we continued to chat about our interests. When we were walking past the next school over a pair of boys came out and headed straight for us.

 

“Yo~ Jihoon what’s up?” The tall cheerful one called out.

 

“Nothing,” Jihoon replied as he tried to hurry pass.

 

“Oh hyung did you already get a girlfriend?” The boy continued in a teasing tone once his eye landed on me.

 

“Wow. It's only been a week since you came to Seoul and you're flirting,” The other added.

 

“Yah! Boo Seungkwan, Kim Mingyu be careful of what you say,” Jihoon threatened. I chuckled at his response.

 

“Hi, I’m Park Seyeon. We were just heading to the station together since we were going in the same direction. We are just friends. I only just met him today,” I clarified.

 

“Oh, poor hyung got shot down before he even had a chance,” The tallest one continued to tease.

 

“Aish. Sorry these are some of my friends from cram school. You can introduce yourselves,” Jihoon snapped, most likely at his limit for the younger's teasing.

 

“The name’s Kim Mingyu,” The tallest one said with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

 

“Hello, my name is Boo Seungkwan,” The other boy replied politely.

 

“Don't you guys have somewhere to be?” Jihoon probed.

 

“We have to go buy the snacks for punishment but they can wait,” Seungkwan said brushing off the errand.

 

“Well then go on. Might as well do it quickly. I'll see you at cram school,” Jihoon shooed. They both bid their goodbyes and headed on their way.

 

     After we split ways at the station that day, it became normal for Jihoon and I to always be together. We ate lunch together, walked home together, and I even started to hang out with him and his cram school friends. As time passed my initial attraction to Jihoon turned into feelings of love for that awkward ball of adorable. When I am with him he puts me at ease but we were practically best friends, even making a promise to tell each other everything. I was able to open up about what happened between Nana and I to those 13 boys who still whole heartedly accepted me. It’s been 2 months since then and I was headed to meet the boys at the park so we could get ice cream together. Since I was running late I expected everyone to be there when I got there but once I got there I noticed that they were missing a person.

 

“Hey guys! Is Jihoon not here yet?” I asked while greeting the boys.

 

“He's running late. He’ll be here in 15 minutes,” Jeonghan replied.

 

“Oh, okay,” I was about to ask how their day was until I was suddenly interrupted.

 

“Well we’re sorry we can't be Jihoon,” Soonyoung stated dramatically.

 

“What?” I asked confused.

 

“We all know you like Jihoon-hyung,” Seokmin replied with a smirk.

 

“What nonsense are you guys talking about?”

 

“Seyeon-noona, it's okay. Hyung isn't here so there is no need to hide it,” Chan said, resting a hand on my shoulder in mock sympathy.

 

“Am I that obvious? How long have you known?” I asked, worriedly.

 

“Yeah but Jihoon is oblivious to these things so he doesn’t know,” Seungcheol comforted. That gave me a small sense of relief.

 

“We noticed from the beginning. You're always looking at Jihoon-hyung with heart eyes,” Hansol said, half jokingly.

 

“Are you planning on ever telling him?” Jisoo asked.

 

“No! I can't. You know my story, I don't want to risk losing him too,” I said with a sigh.

 

“Hey guys, sorry I'm late. What did I miss?” I jumped at the sound of Jihoon’s voice approaching from behind me. Thank god he didn't hear me.

 

“Nothing much, we were just talking about Seyeon-noona’s hopeless love life,” Mingyu stated.

 

“Yah Kim Mingyu!” I snapped.

 

“What? Seyeon has someone she likes? Park Seyeon why am I the last to hear this? I am you best friend!” Jihoon stated jokingly with an adorable pout.

 

“Aniya~ it’s nothing, really,” I tried to cover.

 

“Who is it?” He demanded. I know he hates being left out but I can’t tell him.

 

“I can't tell you,” I said giving an awkward forced smile.

 

“I’ll give you a hint. He’s pretty mean but he is nice in his own way,” Soonyoung stated.

 

“Oh! He’s also shorter than most of us but a bit taller than Seyeon is,” Jun joined in.

 

“You know him too,” Minghao added. Before I could try to stop them Wonwoo and Mingyu got in my way.

 

“Jeon Wonwoo, Kim Mingyu, Kwon Soonyoung… Aish! I hate all of you guys. Why am I even friends with you people?” I said falling into a squatting position with my head in my hands.

 

“You'll thank us later,” Wonwoo said with a smile.

 

“Can you guess who it is?” Seungkwan asked in his talk show host voice. Jihoon looked at them all confused and all the boys groaned in exasperation.

 

“Aigoo noona I don't know what you see in him, he is so dense,” Chan said in defeat.

 

     My head snapped to look at Jihoon to see if heard Chan but he didn’t. I could see the anger build up from being left out of the loop and being teased for it. Before I knew it, Jihoon grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the boys. Once we were far enough away he sat me on the bench before joining me.

 

“Why is it that you can tell everyone else except for me?” He asked, betrayal evident in his voice.

 

“In my defense, they just kind of figured it out for themselves,” I defended.

 

“Then can't you tell me? Don't we tell each other everything?” I sighed in defeat, remembering the promise we made to tell each other everything since our personalities made it hard for us to open up.

 

“I'm scared of how you may react,” I said, not looking him in the eyes. He sighed.

 

“You know I'll always support you no matter what,” He declared, making me look at him as he gave me a reassuring smile. I gave a small smile in return but his smile seemed… off. I told myself to worry about it after the confession and mustered all of my courage to mentally prepared myself.

 

“It's not that simple though... because the one I like…… is you.”

 

     He stared at me in shock. My heart was pounding and it seemed as though time slowed down. I was terrified of what he would say if he would say anything at all. I was about to get up and leave because it was a mistake but before I moved, the shock melted into one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen him make.

 

“I am so relieved because.... I… like you too. It's just I knew you that you had a bad history with boys and I didn't want to make our friendship awkward and would you go out... with me?” He rambled as a deep red  blush crept onto his cheeks to match mine.

 

“Of course,” I said with a chuckled before giving him a hug. I pulled away at the sound of rustling bushes before I saw 12 boys fall out of their hiding place. They were cheering about how we were finally together and the teasing began.

 

“Aigoo. Just shut up and let's go get ice cream,” Jihoon said getting annoyed.

 

     They finally shut up and we all left the park. Without knowing it, as we walked our hands intertwined and everything seemed to feel balanced. It's funny how a boy destroyed my closest bond but another boy was able to create 13 new ones.