[Flashback]

Earlier that morning, Donghae decided to make one last phone call to Eunhyuk. He was standing outside the steps of Officer Wu’s residence after having moved in.

After a couple of rings, Eunhyuk picked up. “Hello good-“

“Hyung, I’m going to walk her to school today,” Donghae cut in.

“Who?!” Eunhyuk exclaimed.

Donghae spoke rather quickly, “Who else, dummy? The witness, of course. Now I have to make a dashing impression. She probably thinks I’m an idiot from what happened at the police station with Father yelling at me and all. Do you think she’d like –“

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, buddy,” Eunhyuk said from the other end of the line. He seemed to be laughing. “First of all, you never told me she was a girl. You’re one lucky bastard.”

“I forgot. Now please tell me what you think I should do. I’m thinking chocolates, but she might be on a diet and that might offend her and –“

“Roses,” Eunhyuk said curtly. “Give her a dozen of them. Girls always fall for roses. You can’t go wrong with that.”

And thus, Donghae rushed at once to the flower shop and came out with the reddest, most expensive and most fragrant roses the store had to sell.

[End of Flashback]

~~~~~

“R-roses?” At the sight of the flowers, Yoona’s eyes widened. She slowly took a couple of steps back.

“For you,” Donghae said, the thin-lipped smile still on his face.

“B-but,” Yoona stammered. Suddenly, her eyes began to water, her nose turned a deep pink and “Achoo!”

~~~~

A couple of minutes later, Yoona found herself walking with Donghae to school. He had told her it was a necessary part of his assignment. She just nodded, feeling a bit disappointed that she couldn’t ride her bike. Her nose was still runny and once in a while, she would take out a handkerchief and dab at it gently.

“I’m really sorry,” Donghae said for the umpteenth time. “I didn’t know you were allergic to roses. You could’ve told me. I just wanted to make you feel better after seeing that awful sight yesterday. I didn’t mean to, really.”

“I - It’s okay,” Yoona mumbled. She anxiously glanced down at her wristwatch. Seeing that it was already fifteen minutes to seven, she quickened her pace.

“Hey! Wait up!” Donghae called out. He looked at the time himself. “I thought school starts at seven thirty. Why are you hurrying so much? Do you have a meeting? A project? Would you like some help?”

I need to make sure all my notebooks and books are arranged in order prior to the start of class. After that, I have to proofread my composition and recheck my algebra homework. Yoona refrained from saying her thoughts out loud. What would this Junior Agent guy think of her if she tells him? She stuttered in her almost inaudible voice. “I-I have to t-take care of a few things.”

“What? Take care? Of whom? A guy? Do you have a boyfriend?” Donghae asked suddenly.

Yoona had to smile. She shook her head vigorously then walked a bit faster.

By the time they reached the entrance of Jeongsan High School, Donghae was still talking. “I can’t believe you don’t have a boyfriend. You’re lying. Is he attractive? Talented? Is he an athlete? The student council president? How often do you go on dates? Are you talkative around him or are you always quiet like this?”

He was so distracted by his curiosity that he didn’t notice Yoona make an abrupt stop. A small but clear frown drew itself across her face when a tall, slender girl with bright orange hair approached them. Two other girls – one with curly brown hair, the other with straight black hair – stood next to her.

“Im Yoona, my book report,” Orange-head held up her hand.

“H-here Jessica-unnie,” Yoona fished out a two-page report from her knapsack and handed it over. She stared at the ground, uneasily.

“And who is this?” Jessica demanded after she tucked in the book report into her shoulder bag. A coy smile formed on her face as she sized up Donghae.

“Lee Donghae. New student,” Donghae answered casually. Jessica’s sidekick girls giggled when he spoke.

“And you two are -?” Jessica’s eyes narrowed.

“H-he…“ Yoona stammered.

“I’m her childhood friend,” Donghae lied. “Our families know each other so my uncle asked her if she could get me acquainted with the place.”

“So you’re not dating,” Jessica confirmed, raising her eyebrows.

“No, n-not at all,” Yoona replied, rather resolutely. The last thing she wanted was for Jessica to make her life miserable like what she did to the other girls who got in her way. Jessica was the school’s most popular, richest and most talented student. She was cheer captain, starred in all the school plays and had a record of stealing eleven boyfriends. It was rumored that when one of the victimized girls decided to confront Jessica, that girl ended up moving to a new school the next week. It was clear to all the students of Jeongsan High that no one should dare cross swords with Jessica Jung. These thoughts evoked fear in Yoona.

“I-I have to go. “ Without another word, Yoona rushed off to the front door of the school, leaving Donghae with Jessica and her henchwomen.

~~~~~

At exactly seven thirty, Jessica strode into the classroom, arm in arm with Donghae. Behind her were a train of girls, eyeing them with envious looks. Her sidekicks, Sooyoung and Tiffany tried to keep the onlookers at least three feet away because they might “contaminate the air”.

“Did I mention that my father owns a five-star restaurant downtown? They serve the most delicious yogurt parfait. It’s imported all the way from Europe. Does that sound okay?” Jessica asked in her high pitched voice.

“Yeah, sounds great!” Donghae forced a smile.

Jessica giggled girlishly but Donghae wasn’t paying attention. His gaze traveled to the other side of the room where Yoona was quietly sitting alone, absorbed in a paperback novel. A shy breeze from a nearby window was blowing her hair into her face. The sun illuminated her flawless skin, making her features look softer; her eyes pure.

What’s happening, Eunhyuk? Donghae thought to himself as Jessica held on tightly to his arm and as twenty other girls stared at him with awe. I thought being surrounded by beautiful women was going to make high school fun. Why am I not having fun?