Everyone was flabbergasted when the next day the news of Irene’s meeting with the unknown guy broke off in their circle. Every single mouth kept on pestering the girl to spill the beans. It was obviously such a rare event if we talk about Bae Irene, the ice queen of SM High, having a date after school with an unidentified human being. They almost chocked with their food when a cheerful bear just broke the news that Irene had been with a guy the night before and that she had invited him to come along with them to the arcade.

In fact, Irene followed every instruction she was given, she also remembered how Seungwan almost dropped the ice cream when she told them. She actually felt somehow relieved when she noticed some hints of jealousy in her, like how she kept on asking her about this guy and warning her that he could be a killer for all they knew. Seulgi, on the other hand, was really excited asking the girl if he was handsome and just making a couple of fairy tales in her head with their fateful meeting. She was glad that her friend was actually showing some sort of interest in someone else other than Wendy, so she giggled away her worries and tried to dig more things about him as Irene gave vague answers.

Only evasive statements were replied by the girl when they asked about his name or what he did, there was a time when they actually felt a little nervousness coming from Irene but all they got was a “You’ll know once you see him.” It made them wish that the time could pass by more quickly.

Seungwan had been quiet the whole time, as if analyzing Irene’s every movement whenever the guy was brought into the talk. Her eyes captured every single movement, from her nervous smile to her fiddling fingers. It was weird to see this side of her, usually she was composed and had this dominant aura around her but now all of that was crumbling. The scene of that blonde guy walking away kept on replaying in her head, although she couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face she could tell that he had a nice figure and style. Her habit of biting her lower lip was coming back, she was feeling uneasy, her heart telling her that something didn’t add up. Her mind was plagued with a lot of questions and doubts, she knew that the only thing to do for now was to keep an eye open on him.

Time passed fairly quickly, everyone was excited about the meeting of this prince except for two people. The princess kept on biting her lip from all the stress, she didn’t know what to expect to be honest. She was feeling troubled with a little doubt arising in her heart. She hoped that he would be there when they got out or else she was going to be so screwed.

The bell rang and everyone was getting out of their classes to enjoy the weekend. Irene looked around while the rest of her classmates got out. She gathered up her things with such care that she almost looked like a slow motion film. She knew she couldn’t prolong it anymore when she jumped in fright at the sight of her friends all waiting with creepy grins in their faces by the door frame, hurrying her up with their calls. Seungwan appeared right next to her and smiled.

“Are you sure you still want to see him?” She asked a little too quiet for her own accord, her hands playing with the hem of her sweater.

“Yeah, I’m just a little nervous.” A smile graced her face.

“Why?” The blonde asked and Irene wanted so bad to cup her cheeks that were at her reach.

“Because is the first time I’m meeting with a guy like this.” She giggled when she caught her friend’s eyes almost bulging out. “Come on! It’s time to go.” She took her bag and dragged the girl to her friends that lurked the classroom like a bunch of hyenas.

“Heeeey! Let’s go! He must be waiting for you right now!” A cheerful Sunny began to push everyone out of the way before checking the girl to make sure that nothing was out of place but of course, she looked perfect. To be truthful, Irene took so much care to keep her appearance intact, from her perfectly combed hair that feel loosely on her shoulders, to her ironed uniform.

Each step she took was like a blow to the face for her. She could see the entrance getting near and that left her with an unsettling feeling in her stomach. The girls decided that she should be the first one to come out so he could spot her easily, that's why with trembling hands she pushed the door open and looked around in hopes to find someone who could throw some hints but there was none, not someone and no hints whatsoever.

“Hey, where’s he?” Wendy whispered and Irene felt her ear getting hotter.

“I-I do-“ “Hi, Irene. I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I got here earlier and decided to look around the school grounds for a little.” A deep yet pleasing voice spoke from behind them.

Both of them turned around at the same time and felt their jaws falling almost instantly. The rest of them already had their own on the floor the moment they saw this majestic creature walk past them.

This guy was out of this world, shiny blonde hair that looked like golden sunrays parted perfectly to one side with his hair a little longer at the back giving him a more matured yet young look to him. A pair of deep blue eyes that had a hint of gray in them adorned with a set of gentle looking eyebrows, a perfect pointy nose that made you want to pinch it but if you stared at it from the side it was like a walking sculpture with a pair of lips that seemed so delicate; the perfect balance between thin and plump. You could tell that he was almost 1.85 possessing a muscular body totally like a model’s, letting anyone know of his presence not because of his attractive face but because of his amazing style in clothing. A long brown coat on top of a black button up shirt that had the first two buttons undone letting you steal a glimpse of that luscious line between his chest that was a green sign for abs down there. Blue jeans hugged his built legs and were finished up with a pair of brown shoes.

The girls and the rest of the students were admiring that beautiful creature that allured every sense you owned with his mere sight.  

He gave Irene a charming smile and took a step forward before leaning down a little. “Did I make you wait for too long?” He smiled again and took his hands out of his pockets, reaching for a leaf that fell on top of the girl’s head a second ago. Everyone was stunned, no one dared to do such thing and still see the morning sun the next day.

‘Don’t worry, it’s me. If you want to talk to me use your mind, I’ll be able to hear you and it’s going to be easier for the two of us to help each other out.’ A voice rung inside of Irene’s head and she gasped a little before realizing that it was Sooyeon’s.

‘Thank you, Sooyeon.’

‘Welcome.’

Irene broke into a kind smile before answering. “Not really, we barely got out.” She was still amazed at how handsome Sooyeon looked, let it be a girl or a boy she nailed both of them. She couldn’t help but find similarities in their factions, some changed a little to be more masculine but it was still her no matter how you looked at it, and that alone made her feel more comfortable. She was so immersed in her thoughts that she failed to realize the remaining souls around them that looked like fish gasping for water until the one next to her faked a cough. She blinked fast before clearing . “I’m sorry, I was being a little rude. Let me introduce you to my friends.” She smiled when she saw the guy adjusting his pose to stand up straight, turning his head towards the blonde girl next to her who had this shocked expression. “She’s Seungwan, one of my best friends. Seungwan, this is…” Her last word dragged for a little before it was answered.

“I’m Jesse Jung, pleased to meet you.” He reached out his hand for the girl to take, noticing the discomfort on her face flash for a second before taking his hand in hers.

“A pleasure.” Her eyes were scanning his, searching for a trace of any evilness but there was nothing. She also found herself being swallowed into his beautiful eyes, noticing those delicate yet mainly features. 

Jesse let her hand go before placing it back inside his pocket. “Irene has told me so much about you, I’m glad I've got to meet you.”

“Such gentleman….” Damn mouth had to stab Yoona in the back. She was certain that she was just speaking on her mind but was proved wrong when everyone began to stare at her including the reason of her blabbering. She gulped loudly before staring down at the floor.

No one was speaking a word, all eyes were on the girl who was still making a fool out of herself by just pretending that the rock near her shoes was more interesting.

“S-Sorry about Yoona, she tends to be foolish sometimes! That’s why we call her Choding along with Hyoyeon.” She nudged Hyo in the ribs making the girl introduce herself with a smile. One by one, they began sharing their names with the help of the energy pill as the poor Irene decided to let the girl handle the situation. Taeyeon had this serious look in her face, the guy seemed familiar and she was having trouble remembering from where.

 “My name’s Sunny by the way. We were so excited to meet you.” She gave him an eye smile and he laughed for a bit making the girls drown with the sound of his voice, white teeth showing as he laughed heartedly.

“I’ve been wanting to meet all of you as well. I hope we can all get along.” He gave them an eye smile and they had to remember to breathe, along with the fact that he was Irene’s date.

He frowned for a little when he noticed Irene shaking a bit due to the coldness in the air. He turned to face her entirely and that made Wendy jump a little, she was actually a little lost in her thoughts. “You’re cold.” He said with a soft and caring voice, not giving the girl a chance to reply when he took off his coat and placed it on her. “It must be fate that we always meet when you’re freezing yourself to death.” He snickered and that was like a whole melody to the ears, even Irene was caught up in the sound. He began to rub her arms up and down in a very delicate way to warm her up more quickly.

Irene smiled showing her beautiful teeth along the way deciding to just enjoy the moment and let everything flow, she knew that she could trust Sooyeon with her eyes closed. “Thank you but aren’t you cold?” She frowned for a bit showing her worriedness, totally forgetting about who Jesse was.

He pursed his lips for a bit and his eyes flickered towards Wendy for a second. “Not one bit!” He smiled brightly before showing a surprised look when Irene cupped his cheek with her tiny hand.

Gasp! Irene saw the culprits; it was funny how they were staring at them like they were watching a drama or something.

“Are you sure?” She was feeling troubled, she almost moved her hand when it came in contact with the icy skin.

“100% percent.” He eye smiled and looked at his watch before feigning a gasp. “We should get going, I bet all of you want to play some games already, right?” His eyes moved towards the quiet blonde who kept her eyes training on him.

“Ye-ah, let’s go! You can tell us about yourself and how you met on the way. This girl right here just gave us minimal details, so we’re waiting for the whole story.” Sunny was feeling comfortable with him, he looked quite matured but often showed a childish side, which meant that he was actually showing all of his facets to them.

“That’s right! My gossip self is getting the best of me, so you better tell us Jesse!” Sooyoung was now munching on a bag of chips that she took out of nowhere with crumbs spilling everywhere.

“Gosh, Sooyoung. Mind your manners.” Taeyeon said throwing the girl a glare. “You’re going to scare him away on the first day.” She crossed her arms on her chest.

Irene felt cold sweat drip around her face but the fear was short lived.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.’  She smiled at him and gave Wendy a smile which the girl returned with some trouble.

“It’s okay, Taeyeon.” The said girl almost tripped on her spot, a little blush owning her face for a second due to her demeanor. “Let’s go, I’ll tell you exactly how we met.” He let everyone walk first and noticed Irene staying right beside him, his eyes scanning the anxious looking Wendy that was being pulled away by the bear. He saw how everyone was walking with their bodies facing them a little bit, waiting for the guy to start the story.

He giggled quietly for a bit before clearing his throat. “Well, first of all, I’m 21 and I live in Jeju.” His steps matched those of Irene’s so that the girl would feel no pressure, seeing how she was so absorbed in his words like the rest of them. “I came here just to do an internship in a hospital one hour away from here.” He his lower lip for a little and that action didn’t go unnoticed, a couple of eyes had to move away just to keep their sanity intact. “My meeting with her was a total coincidence. A friend who came to the internship with me has family living here so he asked me to accompany him to celebrate his uncle’s birthday. Last night we were drinking and I offered myself to go to the convenience store and buy what we needed to keep the party going.” A savage wind made Irene’s hair scatter around her face and he combed it with his fingers, it looked so intimate but what shocked the most was that Irene seemed perfectly fine with it. Wendy groaned under her breath as she thought that guy was a little too touchy with her, didn’t he understand the meaning of space? Well, it was only her who found it annoying as the other ones could only stare in awe at such gentleness.

“So, there I was, trying to find my way to the store when I heard a yelp and soon I saw a girl looking a little troubled while trying to pick up her bag that had fell onto the floor. She was grunting a little and somehow that made me laugh for a bit.” His soothing voice was so pleasant to hear that no one dared to interrupt, only distracting themselves when crossing the streets or making a turn. “I ran quickly to help her out and when she looked at me I was mesmerized.” His eyes set on her and for an instant she just couldn’t believe that this person was the same girl from yesterday who couldn’t understand anything about love. The girl who never showed a smile and that now even her words were full of warmth, how did this happen in one night??

“I felt like the world stopped in just one second and I won’t lie to you, with all due respect, each and one of you are seriously beautiful.” The girls blushed madly, only Wendy remained stoic. “But Irene, she just took my breath away. Then she glared at me for a bit before thanking me, I was just about to leave because I noticed that she was being uncomfortable when I saw her shaking a little. It was so cold yet she was only using a thin jacket on, so I gave her my coat and I think that did the trick because she smiled at me.” He gave them a gummy smile and the hell?! How can someone so handsome look like a puff ball out of nowhere???

“It was dark and I offered to walk her home, she was hesitant at first but it was for her safety. Either way, I was planning to follow her just to make sure that she arrived safely in case she refused. I cracked up some jokes along the way and made her laugh, I guess that also made her feel comfortable with me and here we are now.” He finished the story and a couple of Aws were being shared.

“So, are you saying that you accompanied her because you found her too beautiful?” An innocent yet harsh question was asked to Jesse who crossed sights with the owner of such cold voice.

“Not at all Wendy-ssi.” Wendy-ssi. He was showing respect to her. “I do admit that I found Irene to be breathtaking but I’ve never been one to impose myself in someone’s life. The only thing on my mind was to make sure that she was alright, I know that I’m not the only one who sees how beautiful she is, and there are people out there with such sick minds.”

“Hmm.” She replied while her eyes seemed lost. Irene and the rest looked like they wanted to be swallowed whole by the ground.

Seulgi cleared . “Thank you Jesse, for not leaving Joohyun alone. We may seem like we attack you…” Her eyes set on Wendy for a bit before returning to him. “…but we care a lot about her. It’s the first time that we have seen her meet someone outside our circle, she tends to be shy and distant with people she barely knows and with you, it’s so natural. As if both of you