The following week, Nuri was busy with asking her mom how to make seaweed soup. She said it was for her new female friend. Her mom is happy to know that she now has some friends other than her childhood friend Kang Daniel.

 

On the day of Minhyun’s birthday, Nuri wake up pretty early to make the soup. Her mom offered to help but she didn’t accept and said she wanted to do it all by herself. And she succeeded. Her mom approved of it. So, she packed it up and rushed to school.

 

During lunch time, she had lunch with Daniel as usual, while eyeing at Minhyun. When she noticed him leaving, she also followed with the soup in her lunchbox. Daniel wished her good luck.

 

She trailed him and as she thought, he is going to his usual nap place at the rooftop of the main building. She let him go up first. 

 

Minhyun was nearly fallen asleep when he heard the Happy Birthday song coming out from a corner. He wasn’t expecting anyone to celebrate his birthday. He never had. But, why this year?

 

He slowly got up to see what’s going on. As he passed that corner, he saw Kim Nuri, wearing a paper party hat and holding a lunchbox. He was surprised. He saw her smiling at him, singing along the birthday song she opened for him from her phone.

 

He couldn’t help but started smiling ear to ear. He clapped shyly at the end of the song.

 

“I got no candle to blow?” He .

 

“Here, the soup is still hot, blow on it as you drink.” She handed him the soup.

 

He took the box and sat down on the chair nearby.

 

“Seaweed soup?”

 

“Yup! And made by myself.”

 

“Wow!” He took the spoon and tasted a spoonful of soup.

 

“Eat the seaweed too.” She was excited.

 

“Okayy!” He can’t stop smiling.

 

“How is it?” She is dying to know how is he taking it.

 

“It is nice,” he said while carefully tasting, “not as good as the one I had this morning, but nice.”

 

“Your mom’s one?” She asked.

 

He nodded while taking another sip of the soup.

 

“Then it’s okay. It’s my first time making anyway.” She said.

 

He looked up at her with a surprised look on his face.

 

“What?” She asked him.

 

“I thought you made for your friend Kang Daniel every year too.” He said.

 

“No, my mom made them.” She replied.

 

His stomach suddenly filled with butterflies and feeling very pleased.

 

For her, she was just too eager to boast that she made the seaweed soup all by herself for the first time and not thinking what it would imply to him.

 

“So, I’m your special friend?” He asked with a smirk on his face.

 

“Oh,” she finally realized. “Umm.. Yeah.. I mean you are my partner, right? And you helped me a lot with my studies. So, yes! You are my special friend.”

 

“Cool” he said, smiling as he was happy to see her getting all nervous because of his simple question.

 

——

 

The next day at the cafetaria, Daniel came to Nuri’s table with all smile.

 

“What’s the happy occasion?” She asked.

 

“I got the answer back from Sua.” Daniel said with big puppy smiles.

 

“I assume it is not bad.”

 

“Ofcuz it is not bad. It’s a yes!”

 

“Ah ha! Congratulations, Kang Daniel.”

 

“Why thank you! Hehehe”

 

“So, why you are still here, having lunch with me and not with yout girlfriend? Isn’t she gonna be jealous?” Nuri asked. 

 

“No, she knows you are my buddy and she knows you like Minhyun.” He shut up as soon as he slipped out the last part.

 

“What?!!” She snapped, “How the hell did she know I like Minhyun?”

 

“Ah... that! Don’t get mad okay? She won’t go and say that to anybody anyway. I was just trying to convince that you don’t like me and I don’t like you in boyfriend/girlfriend way.”

 

“Every-sensible-body knows that!! You don’t need to go and prove that by broadcasting I am crushing on our class president.” She is so pissed at him right now.

 

“I’m so sorry Nuri-ah. I’m an idiot and you know it.” He is trying his best to apologize to her.

 

“And now you are also a traitor. A stupid selfish traitor.”

 

“Yes, I am everything you said. So, please forgive me, please...” He’s rubbing his two palms like a kid.

 

“Fine. Now get out of my sight and go to your girlfriend.”

 

“I can’t.” He said with his head down.

 

“Why not?” She asked.

 

“We are keeping the relationship a secret. You know who is her mother.”

 

“Oh I see. I can’t imagine what would happen if the headmistress knows about this.”

 

“Yeah, that’s why.” All his smiles faded away at the thought of getting caught.

 

——

 

The chemistry assignment that they were doing had come to an end. When the results were out, Minhyun and Nuri got the highest scores while Daniel and Sua got the third place. Normally, that would make Park Sua furious mad, but she didn’t.

 

These days one can see more smiles on Park Sua face than her usual grumpy self. And only a few knew that Kang Daniel is the reason why. They are now studying together for the upcoming finals.

 

On the other hand, Minhyun and Nuri are back to just classmates who greets occasionally when they meet face to face in hallways. 

 

She misses doing project with him in library after class and on weekends. What she didn’t know was that it was not only her who misses these sessions. He does too.

 

Now that they are back to just classmates, he could only steal glances at her every now and then to see how’s she doing. 

 

He don’t know what topic to go and talk to her even for a chit chat. There are no more projects to do, which he could use as an excuse to team up with her.

 

——

 

On one weekday after class, Kim Nuri went to the library to get some materials for her study. And there she saw Hwang Minhyun studying at a desk by the window.

 

While she was having dilemma whether or not to go and greet him, he looked up to have found her looking at him. She flushed and smiled at him nervously. He smiled back. 

 

Then, she quickly went back behind the bookshelves and disappeared. He didn’t get a chance to even think what to talk to her. He was left staring at the corner where she stood.

 

5 minuets later, she heard the sound of an incoming message to her phone. So, she put down the books and took out the phone to see who’s the sender.

 

It was Hwang president. 

 

She was quite surprised and got up to look around for him at his desk. Through the gaps between the books on the shelf, she saw him looking down at his phone too.

 

“What time are you going back?” the message says.

 

She feel so happy looking at his message which she got after a long time of no conversation with him.

 

...

 

..

 

.

 

~ to be continued ~