“I’ll go ahead,” you say and walk out of the room. Kai nods, and you grab your bag and exit the area. As soon as you’re in the hallway, you lean against the wall and take a deep, calming breath. It had felt claustrophobic in there, although not in a bad way. It just felt monumental, for some reason. Hearing Kai say that he’d sit with you at lunch just made you content, and armed with this satisfaction, you head for your next class.

Your teacher castigates you for your tardy appearance, but other than missing the first two morning classes, there isn’t much work to do. You awkwardly find a seat near the back and try to keep your mind focused on the curriculum. It’s difficult when you’ve just come back from a mini date with Kai, and all your mind wants to do is think about his simmering charm, not this lesson about science and frustratingly long words. You write notes in the margins, drawing little doodles about the random things you saw today, like a fire hydrant, or a post. You draw a mini iPod connected to a radio, and a cup of coffee. You become so engrossed in your task that you don’t notice the shadow looming over you until it’s too late.

“Can you focus on your schoolwork, please?” Your teacher asks in a stern manner. You become flustered and flip through the pages of your book, hoping she doesn’t see your doodles. She just glances at your page in mild amusement before she turns back to the front of the room and says, “And if you could go to page twenty-two … “

 The bell rings after an hour, and you clamor to get your things. Excited for what the day might unfold, you rush toward the cafeteria, almost tripping on your own feet in the process. You see Hyunsoo sitting exactly where she always sits – at the table in the middle of the room with her group of girls – and you sit next to her. She looks up at you, expectation in her eyes, and you angle your head in confusion.

“What?”

“I was just thinking you had some news for me,” she says, indifferently pushing the food around her tray. She pokes a carrot with her fork, lifts it in the air, and gives it a meticulous look-over before she bites into it.

“Uh, like what?”

“Uh, like Kai,” she says, mimicking your tone. “Didn’t he visit you – “

“Hey,” Kai says. Everyone at the table looks up at him in shock except for you. You greet him and scoot over to make some room, and Kai takes it and positions himself closely to you. The girls at the table stare at Kai with slack jaws. Hyunsoo remains silent, gathers her wits, and smiles.

“You’re sitting with me,” she points out, trying not to make a big deal out of it, but you can tell Kai’s presence satisfies her.

“My girlfriend invited me,” Kai breezily says. Hyunsoo almost chokes on her carrot, and you’re so startled that you involuntarily make an unattractive face. Kai glances at you, that arrogant tilt to his lips, and says, “Right?”

“Huh?” You mumble stupidly.

“Right you’re dating, or right, she invited you here?” Hyunsoo supplies, not helping the situation at all.

“I don’t know,” Kai shrugs, looking at you with those interminable eyes. “What do you think?”

You take a deep breath, feeling the air scatter down your chest and chill your bones. You take a sip of water and try to clear your mind as the cool liquid enters your body, but the time is too brief for you to organize your thoughts. “Both,” you decide, facing him with a sure set in your shoulders. He holds your gaze for a moment before he bursts into a smile, and all you can think about is how beautiful that smile is, and how you would have never seen it happen so many times had you not tried so hard to stay by his side.

“So you guys are dating now? Officially?” Hyunsoo asks. Kai grins, making you blush. She shakes her head and waves her arms in a dramatic gesture, saying, “Why do I feel responsible for this?”

“Do you want a reward?” Kai asks.

“Heck yeah,” she replies, throwing a fist on the table.

“Like what?” Kai casually questions as he chews on his food.

Hyunsoo pretends to think deeply about this. Afterwards, she points at his tie and says, “I want that.”

Kai fingers his tie. “You want this … ? This is the school’s.”

“Just give me something I can sell,” she requests. “For your information, your stuff is getting popular again. And you know why?” She leans in to whisper confidentially at both you and Kai. “Rumor is going around that your dad is coming to school.”

Whatever warmth had begun to encircle Kai’s exterior immediately shuts off. “Where did you hear that?”

You’re worried, as well. It was only just recently that you had left Kai’s dad at the hospital. There’s a slim chance that he was able to contact anybody in order to inform them of his plans in coming to the talent show. And why would he need to inform anybody in the first place?

“Uh, my official grapevine?” Hyunsoo makes a face, not understanding the mood. “It’s nothing big. Apparently all the sponsors have to be present, and the school board decided to invite them to the talent show.”

“Oh,” Kai says, leaning back, the fire falling from his eyes. “Okay. So he … “ he stops what he was about to say and returns to his food, but there’s a new slump in his shoulders.

So Kai’s dad hadn’t really accepted his son’s request on his own will, after all. He had been intending to go all along, if only because he had to. It’s good that he’s coming, even if it’s not for the reason Kai wants. But you know that Kai would much rather have preferred that his dad go because his son would be present, not because the school asked him to.

“What?” Hyunsoo asks cluelessly. She tortures yet another carrot and cuts it in half. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Uh,” you start, trying to save the situation, “It’s really not – “

“I need to go do something,” Kai states, pushing back from the table and grabbing his tray. You and Hyunsoo watch him empty its contents before he walks away. His breezy, lazy step is still there, but the dull tone in his voice had betrayed the image he portrayed. You let him walk away, deciding that it’s better he remains alone for a little while. You remember he doesn’t like eating with groups of people and turn back to Hyunsoo.

“I’m surprised,” Hyunsoo comments.

“About what?”

“That he came to eat with us. You,” she rectifies. “He doesn’t usually.”

“Does he not like the food?”

“Oh, it has nothing to do with that,” Hyunsoo scoffs. “It’s because every time he’d sit down at the table, whichever table it was, there was always that one kid who mentioned something about his dad, or the business. And they’d praise him or keep asking him questions. I mean, if you had a dad is big as Kai’s, you’d get sick of hearing about it all the time, right? So back then … back then I tried to make sure that nobody said anything that would get on Kai’s nerves.” She smiles at herself disappointedly. “But I guess I’m the one to blame this time.

“But at least he came, right?” She grins, shaking away the memories that had begun to cling to her. “That’s good. You know. At first, I didn’t think I’d like you,” she confesses, laughing brightly. “I don’t know why. Don’t ask me. I just didn’t think I’d like you. But you … look at him,” she sighs. “He’s different. I thought I could be the one to do that. But I can safely say that you take full credit.” She eats her remaining carrot and asks, “What’s your trick?”

You ponder her question and stare at her empty tray as you think. “I don’t think … I did anything,” you answer honestly. “I was just … there.”

She nods. “Yeah.” She looks away, at the hallway in which Kai had disappeared. “Sometimes that’s all it takes.”