Familiar faces filled the seats of our favorite lunch table. Bom sat on one side of me, Kwanghee on the other, and the rest of the spaces were picked off by Top and his Big Bang brothers. It was hard to hear with the low roar inside the cafeteria, and the air conditioner seemed to be on the fritz again. The air was thick with the smells of fried foods and sweaty skin, but somehow everyone seemed to be more energetic than usual.

 

 “Hey Siwon,” Top said, greeting the man sitting in front of me. His olive skin and chocolate eyes offset the white Seoul Football hat pulled low on his forehead.

 

 “Missed you after the game Saturday, Top . I drank a beer or six for ya,” he said with a broad white grin.

 

 “I appreciate it. I took Bom out to dinner,” he said, leaning over to kiss the top of Bom’s long Red hair.

 

 “You’re sittin’ in my chair, Siwon.”

 

 Siwon turned to see Jiyong standing behind him, and then looked to me, surprised. “Oh, is she one of your girls, Ji?”

 

 “Absolutely not,” I said, shaking my head.

 

 Siwon looked to Jiyong, who stared at him expectantly. Siwon shrugged and then took his tray to the end of the table.

 

 Jiyong smiled at me as he settled into the seat. “What’s up, Butterfly?”

 

 “What is that?” I asked, unable to look away from his tray. The mystery food on his plate looked like a wax display.

 

 Jiyong laughed and took a drink from his water glass. “The cafeteria ladies scare me. I’m not about to critique their cooking skills.”

 

 I didn’t miss the appraising eyes of those sitting at the table. Jiyong’s behavior piqued their curiosity, and I subdued a smile at being the only girl they had seen him insist on sitting with.

 

 “Ugh…that Bio test is after lunch,” Bom groaned.

 

 “Did you study?” I asked.

 

 “God, no. I spent the night reassuring my boyfriend that you weren’t going to sleep with Jiyong.”

 

 The football players seated at the end of our table stopped their obnoxious laughter to listen more closely, making the other students take notice. I glared at Bom, but she was unconcerned with any blame, nudging Top with her shoulder.

 

 “Jesus, Top. You’ve got it that bad, huh?” Jiyong asked, throwing a packet of ketchup at his cousin. Top didn’t answer, but I smiled appreciatively at Jiyong for the diversion.

 

 Bom rubbed his back. “He’s going to be okay. It’s just going to take him a while to believe Dara is resistant to your charms.”

 

 “I haven’t tried to charm her,” Jiyong sniffed, seeming offended. “She’s my friend.”

 

 I looked to Top. “I told you. You have nothing to worry about.”

 

 Top finally met my eyes, and upon seeing my sincere expression, his eyes brightened a bit.

 

 “Did you study?” Jiyong asked me.

 

 I frowned. “No amount of studying is going to help me with Biology. It’s just not something I can wrap my head around.”

 

 Jiyong stood up. “C’mon.”

 

 “What?”

 

 “Let’s go get your notes. I’m going to help you study.”

 

 “Jiyong…”

 

 “Get your up, Dara. You’re gonna ace that test.”

 

 I tugged on one of Bom’s long red braids as I passed. “See you in class, Bommie.”

 

 She smiled. “I’ll save you a seat. I’ll need all the help I can get.”

 

 Jiyong followed me to my room, and I pulled out my study guide while he popped open my book. He quizzed me relentlessly, and then clarified a few things I didn’t understand. In the way that he explained it, the concepts went from being confusing to obvious.

 

 “…and somatic cells use mitosis to reproduce. That’s when you have the phases. They sound sort of like a woman’s name: Prometa Anatela.”

 

 I laughed. “Prometa Anatela?”

 

 “Prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.”

 

 “Prometa Anatela,” I repeated, nodding.

 

 He smacked the top of my head with the papers. “You got this. You know this study guide backward and forward.”

 

 I sighed. “Well…we’ll see.”

 

 “I’m going to walk you to class. I’ll quiz you on the way.”

 

 I locked the door behind us. “You’re not going to be mad if I flunk this test, are you?”

 

 “You’re not going to flunk, Dara. We need to start earlier for the next one, though,” he said, keeping in step with me to the science building.

 

 “How are you going to tutor me, do your homework, study and train for your fights?”

 

 Jiyong chuckled. “I don’t train for my fights. Daesung calls me, tells me where the fight is, and I go.”

 

 I shook my head in disbelief as he held the paper in front of him to ask the first question. We nearly finished a second round of the study guide when we reached my class.

 

 “Kick ,” he smiled, handing me the notes and leaning against the door jamb.

 

 “Hey, Ji.”

 

 I turned to see a tall, somewhat lanky man smile at Jiyong on his way into the classroom.

 

 “Donghae,” Jiyong nodded.

 

Donghae’s eyes brightened a bit when he looked to me, and he smiled. “Hi, Dara.”

 

 “Hi,” I said, surprised that he knew my name. I had seen him in class, but we’d never met.

 

 Donghae continued to his seat, joking with those sitting beside him. “Who’s that?” I asked.

 

 Jiyong shrugged, but the skin around his eyes seemed tenser than before. “Lee Donghae. He’s one of my Big bang brothers.”

 

 “You’re in a frat?” I asked, doubtful.

 

 “Big Bang, same as Top. I thought you knew that,” he said, looking beyond me to Donghae.

 

 “Well…you don’t seem the…fraternity type,” I said, eyeing the tattoos on his forearms.

 

 Jiyong turned his attention to me and grinned. “My dad is an alumnus, and my brothers are all Big Bang. It’s a family thing.”

 

 “And they expected you to pledge?” I asked, skeptical.

 

 “Not really. They’re just good guys,” he said, flicking my papers. “Better get to class.”

 

 “Thanks for helping me,” I said, nudging him with my elbow. Bom passed, and I followed her to our seats.

 

 “How did it go?” she asked.

 

 I shrugged. “He’s a good tutor.”

 

 “Just a tutor?”

 

 “He’s a good friend, too.”

 

 She seemed disappointed, and I giggled at the fallen expression on her face.

 

 It had always been a dream of Bom’s for us to date friends, and roommates-slash-cousins, for her, was hitting the jackpot. She wanted us to room together when she decided to come with me to Seoul University, but I vetoed her idea, hoping to spread my wings a bit. Once she finished pouting, she focused on finding a friend of Top’s to introduce me to.

 

 Jiyong’s healthy interest in me had surpassed her ideas.

 

 I breezed through the test and sat on the steps outside the building, waiting for Bom. When she slumped down beside me in defeat, I waited for her to speak.

 

 “That was awful!” she cried.

 

 “You should study with us. Jiyong explains it really well.”

 

 Bom groaned and leaned her head on my shoulder. “You were no help at all! Couldn’t you have given me a courtesy nod or something?” I hooked my arm around her neck and walked her to our dorm.

 

 · · ·

 

 Over the next week, Jiyong helped with my history paper and tutored me in Biology. We stood together scanning the grade board outside Professor Choi’s office. My student number was three spots from the top.

 

 “Third-highest test grade in the class! Nice, Butterfly!” he said, squeezing me. His eyes were bright with excitement and pride, and an awkward feeling made me take a step back.

 

 “Thanks, Ji. Couldn’t have done it without you,” I said, pulling on his T-shirt.

 

He tossed me over his shoulder, making his way through the crowd behind us. “Make way! Move it, people! Let’s make room for this poor woman’s hideously disfigured, ginormous brain! She’s a ing genius!”

 

 I giggled at the amused and curious expressions of my classmates.

 

 · · ·

 

 As the days went by, we fielded the persistent rumors about a relationship. Jiyong’s reputation helped to quiet the gossip. He had never been known to stay with one girl longer than a night, so the more times we were seen together, the more people understood our platonic relationship for what it was. Even with the constant questions of our involvement, the stream of attention Jiyong received from his coeds didn’t recede.

 

 He continued to sit next to me in History and eat with me at lunch. It didn’t take long to realize I had been wrong about him, even finding myself defensive toward those that didn’t know Jiyong the way that I did.

 

 In the cafeteria, Jiyong set a can of orange juice in front of me.

 

 “You didn’t have to do that. I was going to grab one,” I said, peeling off my jacket.

 

 “Well, now you don’t have to,” he said, flashing the dimple on his left cheek.

 

 Siwon snorted. “Did she turn you into a cabana boy, Jiyong? What’s next, fanning her with a palm tree leaf, wearing a Speedo?”

 

 Jiyong shot him a murderous glare, and I jumped to his defense. “You couldn’t fill a Speedo, Siwon. Shut the hell up.”

 

 “Easy, Dara! I was kidding!” Siwon said, holding up his hands.

 

 “Just…don’t talk about him like that,” I said, frowning.

 

 Jiyong’s expression was a mixture of surprise and gratitude. “Now I’ve seen it all. I was just defended by a girl,” he said, standing up. Before he left with his tray, he offered one more warning glare to Siwon, and then walked outside to stand with a small group of fellow smokers outside the building.

 

 I tried not to watch him while he laughed and talked. Every girl in the group subtly competed for the space next to him, and Bom shoved her elbow in my ribs when she noticed my attention was elsewhere.

 

 “Whatcha lookin’ at, Dara?”

 

 “Nothing. I’m not looking at anything.”

 

 She rested her chin on her hand and shook her head. “They’re so obvious. Look at the redhead. She’s run her fingers through her hair as many times as she’s blinked. I wonder if Jiyong gets tired of that.”

 

 Top nodded. “He does. Everyone thinks he’s this , but if they only knew how much patience he has dealing with every girl that thinks she can tame him…He can’t go anywhere without them bugging him. Trust me; he’s much more polite than I would be.”

 

 “Oh, like you wouldn’t love it,” Bom said, kissing his cheek.

 

 Jiyong was finishing his cigarette outside the cafeteria when I passed. “Wait up, Butterfly. I’ll walk you.”

 

 “You don’t have to walk me to every class, Jiyong. I know how to get there on my own.”

 

 Jiyong was easily sidetracked by a girl with long black hair and a short skirt. She walked by, smiling at him. He followed her with his eyes and nodded in the girl’s direction, throwing down his cigarette.

 

 “I’ll catch up with you later, Butterfly.”

 

 “Yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes as he jogged to the girl’s side.

 

 Jiyong’s seat remained empty during class, and I found myself a bit irritated with him for missing over a girl he didn’t know. Professor Lee dismissed early, and I hurried across the lawn, aware that I was to meet Kwanghee at three to give him Sherri Cassidy’s Music Appreciation notes. I looked at my watch and quickened my pace.

 

 “Dara?”

 

 Donghae jogged across the grass to walk beside me. “I don’t think we’ve officially met,” he said, holding out his hand. “Lee Donghae.”

 

 I took his hand and smiled. “Park Dara.”

 

 “I was behind you when you got your Bio test grade. Congratulations,” he smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

 

 “Thanks. Jiyong helped, or I would’ve been at the bottom of that list, trust me.”

 

 “Oh, are you guys…?”

 

 “Friends.”

 

 Donghae nodded and smiled. “Did he tell you there’s a party at the House this weekend?”

 

 “We mostly just talk about Biology and food.”

 

 Donghae laughed. “That sounds like Jiyong.”

 

 At the door of Morgan Hall, Donghae scanned my face with his big brown eyes. “You should come. It’ll be fun.”

 

 “I’ll talk to Bom. I don’t think we have any plans.”

 

 “Are you a package deal?”

 

 “We made a pact this summer. No parties solo.”

 

 “Smart.” He nodded in approval.

 

 “She met Top at orientation, so I haven’t really had to tag along with her much. This will be the first time I’ve needed to ask her, so I’m sure she’ll be happy to come.” I inwardly cringed. Not only was I babbling, I’d made it obvious that I didn’t get asked to parties.

 

 “Great. I’ll see you there,” he said. He flashed his perfect Banana Republic model smile with his square jaw and naturally tan skin, turning to walk across campus.

 

 I watched him walk away; he was clean-shaven, with a pressed pin-striped dress shirt and jeans. His wavy black hair bounced when he walked.

 

 I bit my lip, flattered by his invitation.

 

 “Now he’s more your speed,” Kwanghee said in my ear.

 

 “He’s cute, huh?” I asked, unable to stop smiling.

 

 “Hell, yes. In that prepp