His smile was warmer than summer sunshine;

Hyeri had never thought of liking someone so cold and nonchalant. His eyes reflected the brittleness of glass, were so transparent and crystal clear.

His glare—that was always fixated on others—were a mixture of fire and ice, and it hit her hard.

But whenever his lips curled up once or twice; a rarity, his seldom smile turned out to be warmer than summer sunshine; warmer than a hot cup of chocolate and much sweeter than the said it.

A simple dimpled, sparkly-eyed smile was sufficient to cause her breathing to become chaotic and that was the kind of magic Kim Myungsoo possessed on her.

She did not know when or why or how she was attracted to this quiet boy who perpetually lived in his own world.

♫

The first time she saw him was in their first year of high school—during their school’s baseball competition. She didn’t really know the faces or the names of people her level. When she first saw Myungsoo taking photographs of the players, she assumed that he was either part of the school’s photography club that worked with the writing comm.

She didn’t know what really attracted her but he managed to capture her attention throughout the whole game. Then, Myungsoo turned to face the spectators and took a snapshot. Through his viewfinder, he met eyes with Hyeri. She looked away immediately, flushing scarlet.  

Their parallel lines had decided to turn and had met.

Up to date, Myungsoo still kept that photograph. What he took was not merely a bunch of excited spectators, he knew what he took was a girl he had to meet, had to know and had to love.

Hyeri soon found out that that boy’s name was Kim Myungsoo and according to Hayeon, he was popular due to his good looks and photography interest. Hayeon added that Myungsoo was cold and didn’t like to smile.

And it was true. Myungsoo hardly smiled. Hyeri had witnessed Myungsoo nod to people cordially who past by him in the hallway. He did talk more to his closer ring of friends. Whenever she crossed paths with him, he had his camera with him.

He always carried such nonchalance and coldness. But he didn’t frown either. He was purely emotionless. Numb.

And maybe that answered her ‘why’ question. She was more or less intrigued by his numbness—she wanted to know more about him.

Why didn’t Myungsoo smile often? Why didn’t he like smiling? Sooner or later, she had this urge of making Myungsoo smile. It had become a mission.

Myungsoo put on a façade and it was like a layer of ice but Hyeri knew that beneath it was someone alive and beautiful.

Whenever she saw him in the hallway, she would hide (sometimes behind Hayeon or behind a pillar or even stuff her head into her locker like an ostrich). The tug on her heart was inevitable and definitely calling.

 

But, it wasn’t exactly love.

It was more of a deep infatuation on a breathtaking boy and his eccentricity. Hyeri liked Myungsoo and there was not really much ways to describe the way her heart would thump erratically and the way she wanted to cry whenever he flashed a subtle smile.


 

Hidden there behind the layer of ice, behind the face of a beautiful boy, she saw him.

The real him.

Kim Myungsoo.

The boy who enjoyed taking photographs to drown in the reality and the rawness of people.

The boy whose heart so innocent and pure, whose mind so dark and tainted.
 

♫

The first time they talked wasn’t really significant but thanks to Sungyeol—her perky and overly amazing (according to himself) seatmate, her relation with Myungsoo kicked off nicely as friends.


It all began with a simple greeting from Myungsoo when Sungyeol introduced them to each other.

“Hi.”

His one-word sentence rendered her speechless.

Their story sparked off a glimpse more when Sungyeol invited Hyeri and Hayeon and his friends to his family's villa during summer break. That was where Hyeri met Hoya who became her best friend instantly (because he was so amazing and charismatic—according to him). And that was also where Myungsoo had the chance to spend time getting to know Hyeri who he found really intriguing. 

By the villa was a huge lake and they had stopped by to observe the beautiful scenery for awhile. Hyeri did not know how she ended up with