Junghye suffered through math lessons later that day. Her teacher was furious that she didn’t have her book and despite everyone knowing what happen, they didn’t speak up. She was sent to the back of the class with her hands up in the air for the rest of the lesson. She glares at Daniel’s back figure, unhappy that he caused this.

 

What she realizes from standing at the back was that; one, Hyunmin was in her class. Two, Kang Daniel was sleeping. Three, many people were on their phones. Her arms were starting to ache and she shifts uncomfortably. “Byun Hyunmim!” the teacher suddenly yells out and the said student stands up immediately.

 

He strolls to the back of the class to stand next to her. He squats with his arms in front of him. The teacher eyes him warily but doesn’t mention anything and turns to continue teaching. Junghye suddenly felt a rest below her arms. She turns to look and Hyunmin side-looks at her and smiles. She nods, fully knowing that he understood her.

 

When the bell finally rings, the teacher dismisses the class at the end of the day. Junghye breathes out in relief, as her arms were pulled downward. She rubs her elbows, shifting them slightly. Hyunmin was pounding his thighs and arms. “Thank you,” she whispers and he catches it.

 

He looks at her and smiles, nodding slightly. She looks at him massaging his left arm that was supporting her for a whole half an hour, frowning slightly. “Don’t worry about me,” he reassures with his eye smile. “I do Taekwondo, what I experience there is way worse than this mere punishment.”

 

Junghye nods understandingly. “Time to go home. Take care of yourself hey,” Hyunmin says, walking to his table to gather his things. “Do you want me to send you home?”

 

She shakes her head then bows slightly. “You sure?” he asks and she nods. “Alright then. Take care on the way home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

She nods and waves goodbye to him as he leaves the classroom. She slowly packs her things up, taking her time to think about what books to bring back home. “Peasant,” the familiar voice calls out and she immediately reacted to it. “Not bad, you know your place.”

 

At the sight of peach hair, she looks back down, ignoring him. Her hands move quicker this time and turn to leave but he stops her. “You’re… not speak about that day right?” he asks hesitantly and she glares at him.

 

“If I wanted to, don’t you think I would have done by now?” she harshly states before leaving the classroom, annoyed at Daniel’s question.

 

Another day comes and as usual, Junghye leaves the house, walking to school once again. Step by step, she gets closer to her destination. Soft raindrops start to fall and she looks up before smiling slightly, continuing her pace, not minding the rain unlike those running for shelter around her. With her pace, she gets to school slightly drenched.

 

She greets the guard who returns the greeting but seeing that she was drenched, he gifts her a warm drink that he just bought for himself. “It’s hot chocolate, student! Take care of yourself!” he says and she nods, thanking him.

 

Her hands curl around the cup, enjoying the slight warmth. She enters the school building while avoiding bumping into others or vice versa. When she enters the classroom, all eyes were on her and she lowers her head, heading for her seat. She gently sets the hot chocolate on the desk and reaches for a book when she touches something smooth.

 

She frowns and pulls out the object to reveal a brand new book. She opens the book, expecting it to be from Daniel, the culprit.

 

Annyeong  ^^ I had a spare one lying around so here you go~ I never had the chance to apologize for Daniel’s actions. I’m sorry. Please accept this apology because I know he didn’t mean it. Anyways, use this well~ Also, let’s grow closer as friends!

- Byun Hyunmin

 

Junghye smiles but feels slightly down for some reason. She shakes her head lightly and raises her head to scan the classroom as her eyes land on the sleeping figure. A small smile appears and she reaches for the stack of sticky notes she placed under her table. Her hand works quickly and soon she places the pen on the table before tearing the note off.

 

She rises to head towards the sleeping figure, gathering the attention of everyone. She ignores the stares and whispers with every step closer to the person. When next to the desk, she gently sticks the note next to where his head was placed before turning to head back to her own seat. “Oh?” one of the classmates speaks out loud, looking at their own friends, excitement clear in their eyes. “Wah. Even she has someone she likes.”

 

She simply ignores them and opens her language book to study. The bell rings and the students scramble back to their seats as the teacher walks in. “Byun Hyunmin!” the teacher exclaims, hitting the pointer on the podium loudly, startling the boy awake.

 

He yawns, scratching his head while rubbing his eyes. The teacher simply rolls his eyes before turning around to start teaching. The male student rubs his eyes once more before realizing the yellow sticky note on his table. He reaches for it, taking it off the surface and reading it. When he gets to the end, he smiles and turns back slightly to make eye contact before grinning.

 

“Byun Hyunmin!” the teacher yells, making him turn back immediately.

 

The moment the teacher turns again; he quickly turns back and raises the note that was held by two fingers before making a gesture to thank her. She giggles silently and bows. “Byun Hyunmin!”

 

~~~

 

By the time school ended, word got around that Hyunmin and the apparent mute girl like each other and was most probably going out together. His fangirls groan in disappointment at the thought, wondering what did their Oppa see in the quiet girl. 

 

Many were animatedly chatting about the ‘couple’, some claiming them to be cute together while others downright hated it. But one question lingered in their heads for a moment; how did they know each other, let alone become a couple.

 

Junghye was very aware of the talks about her when people thought she wasn’t listening. She heard how the word spread and was blown up by those dramatic people. The teachers seemingly kept an eye on the both of them, pretending not to care. She sees all this and wonders if people at her school really had nothing better to do.

 

She looks up to the dusk sky, admiring the beauty made by Mother Nature. She hears someone settling down next to her and looks over. “Annyeong~” Hyunmin greets with a slight smile. 

 

She nods as a greeting and then continues to look at the sky. Hyunmin mimics her and wonders what she was looking at so intensely. “Hyunmin ah…” she calls out and his head snaps over in surprise. “I’m sorry… We’re now tangled in a rumour… Because of my actions…”

 

He smiles fondly and shakes his head lightly, knowing that she can sense him. “Aniya,” he responds. “People just have nothing better to do.”

 

“I’m still sorry,” she says, looking over and he smiles to reassure her it’s fine. 

 

They stay silent for a while, staring at the sky, finding some sort of peace within the silence shared between them. When the darkness starts to take over the vibrant colours, Hyunmin looks down at his watch and his eyes immediately widening and curses softly, getting to his feet. 

 

“I’ve got to go now,” he hurriedly says as he picks up his duffel bag, slinging it across his torso. “My taekwondo master is gonna kill me if I turn up late. See you tomorrow!” 

 

He runs towards the front gate, turning back to jog backward momentarily to wave goodbye and receives a wave along with a small smile. She laughs softly at the sight of Hyunmin almost tripping when he turns back. She then smiles at the figure, happy to have made a friend and that not everyone in this school was as bad as she thought it was. 

 

“Oh, it’s peasant!”

 

Maybe not.