Two people could deny each other all their life, except when they were destined for each other.

Yook Sungjae and Park Sooyoung both grew up in Jeju, and came from respectable and wealthy families. Both were competitive, smart and unique. They first met in the best high school Jeju had, enrolling with scores nearly identical to each other, although Sooyoung’s score was one score higher. Yes. One.

This fact made them became desk mates for their whole high school life.

Sooyoung was ambitious and a perfectionist. The type of student that noted down everything the teachers said and would wake up in the middle of the night to check something in her notebook when she forgot it.

Sungjae was the type of student that always looked bored in all his classes, took a nap whenever they were assigned to do something independent, played soccer until late the night before exams, and aced everything anyway.

Despite their differences, their similarities were staggering, and they became best friends ever since day one. Rivalries had always been the spice in their friendship, and it made them smarter, more creative and achieved a lot more than they would have if they never met each other.

He had his own group of friends and she had hers, yet without stating it verbally, they both knew they understood each other the best.

Sooyoung was the kind of girl who would repair her own cell phone and laptop when they broke.

One day, she and Sungjae were tasked in cleaning the class. The light bulb had to be replaced.

Sungjae’s mother suddenly called and he took it. When he looked back, Sooyoung was already up on the ladder, replacing the light bulb on her own.

“You’re so not sweet” he had commented that day.

“What—does sweet mean I have to pretend I can’t do this on my own?”

“Yeah. You know. Scream when you see a cockroach, cry when it’s dark, ask help to carry heavy things. Those sort of things.”

Sooyoung snorted and climbed down the ladder.

“Yook Sungjae. I’m a girl. Not a stupid damsel in distress.”

“I know. You’re so not sweet.”

They had been friends for more than a year back then. They knew each other well already.

“I don’t want to be sweet.”

“Then what do you want to be?”

“A female Einstein that is as rich as Warren Buffet.”

Sungjae burst out laughing at that.

“Don’t laugh. You tell me what do you want to be.”

“The same like what you want to be. But I won’t change my gender.”

Sooyoung smiled at that.

“I saw what university you want to go to earlier.”

“I saw yours as well. We sit side by side. It’s kinda hard not to see what you write.”

“You want to go to KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), then?”

“More than I ever want anything else in my life.”

“.........maybe we won’t just see each other everyday in high school. Maybe that will continue in college as well.”

“Maybe” she agreed.

“Do you think we’ll get it?”

“We will. If we work hard.”

“Some people get things without working hard” he teased.

“Some lazy people will fall into their own trap eventually.”

He laughed again.

“Come on. This class is clean enough. Time to go home.”

“Yep. You promise to buy me bubble drink, though.”

“I know Sooyoung, aigoo. You don’t have to remind me that every hour.”

“I treated you tteokppokki yesterday”

“Such a stingy friend, God. I don’t know why I bother being friends with you.”

“Cos I’m the smartest in school and you often feel tired of stupid people.”

“Great minds think alike” he grinned.

They then walked together outside the school, and straight to the bubble drink shop.

*****************************************************

Whenever people asked them whether they were a couple or not, Sooyoung and Sungjae would immediately brush it off as “We’re just friends.”

Students confessed to them and asked them out, but they always refused them.

In Valentine’s day of their last year in high school, Sooyoung and Sungjae both went home with huge bags of chocolates. They were popular and well-liked, though they were not that social.

“