It was a clear day when school ended. She struggled with her heavy bag as she waited in the yard for Myungsoo. He had asked to meet with her via a text message. Naeun waved her goodbye. The girl was taller now, and she seemed to have lost most of her baby fat. Her face was still round, but the edges of her cheekbones were showing. Suzy was amazed with her transformation.

    Herself, she felt as if she gained a bit of weight. It could have been from the stress of moving house. Her mother could no longer afford the mortgage for their first house, so they had to recently move into a two-bed apartment somewhere in the town center. It was noisier, and her school was farther away. The only good that came out of moving was that there was a direct bus to the country, where she met with Hongbin at times.

    Lately, Hongbin avoided talking with her, and Suzy was uncertain as to why that was. He barely replied to her texts, claiming that he had sports practice. She forgot that Hongbin played for the local soccer and basketball team. He did mention that he hoped to get into college with a sports scholarship. After all, he would be completing his final year the year after Myungsoo. Then it would be her turn. She was not sure if Jongin wanted to go to college.

    The thought of Jongin set butterflies in her tummy. She rubbed her stomach as it churned in discomfort. He was becoming unintentionally attractive in the days. And it did not help that girls liked boys with bronzed skin and smoky eyes. Plus, there was that bad-boy attitude that drew them in like moths to a flame.

        Suzy leaned against the wall. She let her school bag drop to the floor. Her muscles ached. It was nearing the end of the school term, and her final exams were due.

    “I hope you didn’t have to wait too long.” Myungsoo ambled over to her. The bristle of a downey beard lined his angular cheeks. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. The signs of a student hard at work. “Thanks for coming.”

She smiled. “What’s up, Myungsoo?”

    He rubbed his hair, unable to glimpse her in the eyes. “Well, my graduation is nearing. And I need a date for the ceremony. I was wondering…” He paused, and Suzy’s heart fluttered. “If you could be my date?” He coughed into his fist. “Of course, we’ll go as friends. I just don’t want to ask any of the other girls in my year.”

    She found that odd. Myungsoo had many admirers. He was very handsome, so she could imagine the amount of heartbreak if he chose her.

“I….” She her lips. “Sure. I can be your date.”

    His lips stretched into a smile. He rarely smiled, but she thought he looked even more handsome when he did. It accentuated his almond-shaped eyes. “Thanks, Suzy. I’ll pick you up this Friday then. Make sure you let your mom know first, okay?”

Suzy met with Jongin later. They decided to have some quick ramen at a nearby fastfood shop. Jongin was already on his third batch when she walked in. He was furiously texting, muttering a hello without looking at her.

    “Isn’t Soojung coming too?” Jongin glanced about him, as if he expected Soojung to appear out of thin air.

Suzy bit her lip. A tightness coiled around her chest. “She said she’s going to the library.”

    Jongin frowned. “Dammit. That means I can’t ask her.” He let out a bedraggled sigh.

Suzy perked a brow. Curiosity overwhelmed. “Ask her for what?”

    She still never forgot the day he asked Soojung out for her school’s party. It was a disaster, in her opinion. Because Jongin wasn’t even from her school. He had recently broke up with his nameless girlfriend (Suzy was glad that he did).

    “Well, there’s this concert on the Friday evening,” he said. “And I was thinking of going with her since she’s into rock music.”

    “She is?” Suzy blinked. Soojung had never mentioned rock music to her. In fact, she was not sure what sort of music Soojung enjoyed.

“Yeah, I ended up buying two tickets to see her. Besides, I wanna get away from Jaejoong and Taeyong. They’re so