.14.

~ 14 YEARS AGO ~

Back then, Jaehyun was the typical high-school teenager, the one who was popular, sociable, good at sports as well in academics. But there was one thing he never seem to excel at. Dating. Almost everybody in school was attracted at the 'Jeong Jaehyun', but he showed zero interest, that was the problem.  Not until after he saw her. 

Jaehyun met her in the 11th grade. They would passed by each other a lot, at the cafeteria, at the school yard, even at the hallway where they have the same floor of their classroom. He was a year older than her, but he was unaware of the girl named Haru. Until. . .

"Jaehyun!" The teacher called for him as he stood up from his seat, where his classmates gathered around him. 

"Yes, Mr. Seo?" 

"The sports festival is coming up. Since Soyeon is absent, you'll stay behind for the meeting after class, okay?" Unkowingly, even the teacher had taken him as a role model for students that's why it was always him they would ask this kind of favors because they knew he would always agree.

There was still a few minutes before the meeting starts but he wanted to go there early so he could get a good spot at the back, just to avoid getting assigned as a representative as he was just covering up for Soyeon. He slid the door open as he was greeted with an almost occupied room. His eyes darted at the back and a girl was already sitting at the corner, specifically his preferred place.

"Damn it." He curse under her breath as the only seat available was the one next to her, his shoulders slumped in dismay. It was either that or the seats in front. He had no choice as he walked over towards his seat, of course, some of the girls giggling as he passed by them, his presence was somehow unexpected. 

He sat down, the girl sitting at the far corner was probably sleeping as she had her head down on the desk, her hair almost covering her face. Jaehyun busied himself in his phone as he waits for the meeting to start. The girl suddenly stirred on her sleep, knocking out an eraser from her desk as it rolled down towards him. Jaehyun crouched down to pick it up, but as he reached for her desk, she had woken up. They both carried the same surprised expression, their faces a few inches away from each other. At the exact moment, the teacher came in greeting everyone in the classroom. Both of them quickly looked away as they both straightened themselves on their respective seats. 

As the meeting started, he would steal glances at her, but she seems too preoccupied staring at the leaves falling on the window, that she was barely listening at all. He wondered if she was also forced to attend this meeting just like him. How come he haven't seen her before? But knowing Jaehyun, he never really showed any interest to the girls at their school, it was either his studies or playing sports, there was no in between. All throughout the meeting, he kept his attention to the speaker in front, not minding the girl beside him. 

As soon as the teacher left, the backdoor slid open as Jaehyun's friends started to marched towards him. "We're here to collect our friend." Taeyong announced as he hooked an arm around his neck. Some of the students gathered around, admiring the closeness between the four of them. "I thought you guys went home." Jaehyun said, touched at their gesture to wait for him.

"Nah, that would be boring. We're going to play football, it wouldn't be fun if it's just us, even though Doyoung doesn't count." Yuta said, earning a slap from Doyoung. 

"Let's go then!" Taeyong said, dragging Jaehyun out from his chair as he took one last glance at the chair beside him, briefly meeting the eyes of the owner. He wanted to atleast apologise for what had happened awhile ago, but he didn't even have the chance to do so. 

For the remainder of the school year, he somehow have become more aware of her presence. He would meet her by the halls, by the cafeteria, anywhere inside the school, everytime they would passed by each other, their gaze would briefly met, but after a second, they would instantly look away. Not until the end of the school year did Jaehyun finally get a grasp of her name.

"Hey, Jaehyun! Can we stopped by Jinyoung's class? I need to borrow something from him." Doyoung asked, making a turn to the corridor. "Sure." Jaehyun said as they halted at the backdoor of Jinyoung's classroom. Doyoung peered through the small window, searching for his cousin.

"Hyung!" Jinyoung called as he approached the both of them. "Can I borrow your calculator? I forgot mine at home." Jinyoung went back to his seat as the two of them waited near the door.

"You're lucky Jinyoung goes here." Jaehyun suddenly stated, making fun of Doyoung's forgetfulness. "I was running late this morning, and I forgot to put it inside my bag." Doyoung said in his defense which made him start in a tirade.

"Haru!" A voice can be heard throughout the corridor which caught his attention. He peeked through Doyoung's shoulder as he saw the same black-haired girl who sat beside him at the meeting. The girl he had been having a one-second eye contact with everytime he encounters her.

She had her earphones on as another girl tried to catch up with her, but she was too busy looking through her phone. 

"Lee Haru!" She called out for her as she tried to grab her arm, but instead tripping on her own foot, causing her to let go of her phone and in that exact moment, Jinyoung ran out of the room, stepping on her phone, making a small craking sound. 

His eyes widened in surprised as he moved his foot away. "Oh no!" He gasped as he picked it up. The owner, he assumes her name was 'Haru' wore the same expression as his. "I'm so sorry, Haru!" Jinyoung said as he checked her phone. "I'll pay for it." Jinyoung offered, but she shook her head a few times, taking her phone from Jinyoung's hand.

"It's okay. I can go and get it fix instead." This was the first time that Jaehyun heard her v