Kiss Me - G.NA (Playful Kiss OST) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-0fBQpQzBM)       ------------------------ Narrator’s P.O.V:     It was finally the first day of the new school year. Well, for Naeun, it was senior year. Strangely, she wasn’t really excited for it.   Naeun was mostly dreading it, but a small part of her was curious about what she had missed for so many months.   Her hair was put up into two neat ponytails. She straightened out her skirt and tie and fixed her blazer. A small sigh escaped her lips as she glanced around for her backpack.   After she slid it on, she noticed the glow of Baekhyun’s white feather on her side-table drawer. Naeun’s expression softened as she it once with her fingers. The feather felt like silk.   At once, all the anxious churning in her stomach calmed down. Instinctively, Naeun touched her neck, expecting to feel a hexagon, when she felt skin. She almost panicked. *My necklace!*
  Naeun whirled around when she saw the necklace on top of the kitchen counter. Her heart slowed down in relief as she ran over to clip it on. *Thank goodness.*   After slipping on her shoes, Naeun took one last glance at her feather and smiled.   *Wish me luck, Baekhyun oppa.*   ----------------------------------   As soon as Naeun entered the gates, she sighed. *Phew. Made it.*   A couple of students stared at her and muttered words behind her back as she blinked at them. Her ego slowly deflated. *Well, I can’t say I missed being treated like an animal on display here.* She ducked her head and hurried inside.   Naeun glanced around at the interior of her school. *Hm. It didn’t change a bit.* She made a face and walked to the office to pick up her schedule.   The secretary peered up to see her. “Name?”   “Song Naeun. Senior.” She said, fiddling with the straps of her backpack.   The secretary, Mrs. Hwang, did a double take as she printed out her schedule. “Song Naeun? You missed out on a lot of school last year. It’s good to see you back and healthy again.” She handed the schedule to her.   Naeun blinked rapidly, “S-Sorry?”
“Your caretaker told me that you had developed leukemia, which was why you had missed out on those five months of school. You even underwent many treatments.” Mrs. Hwang frowned worriedly.   “N-Nae?” Naeun was baffled. “Care…taker?”   “Yes.” Mrs. Hwang nodded, “Your new guardian. Ah, and if you ever feel unwell, immediately notify the teacher and you’ll be excused. Don’t hesitate to drop by the office afterwards, alright?”   Naeun was still bewildered. How did the secretary know that she had developed leukemia before? It wasn’t completely a lie, but still…   “P-Pardon?” She couldn’t believe her ears.   Mrs. Hwang furrowed her eyebrows, starting to get suspicious. “You did develop leukemia before, right? And now you’re cured and completely healthy?”   Naeun mentally told herself to shut up and nod, so she did. Mrs. Hwang smiled and nodded too, “Not to fear, Ms. Song. The principal has already excused you for the long break you took. It won’t affect you from graduating this year.”   Naeun let out an exhale of relief, but was still puzzled. Caretaker? The excuse to let her off school? Was this all part of Baekhyun and the other EXO members’ sacrifice too?   The loud, shrilly ring of the school bell made Naeun jolt up. She quickly shook those thoughts out of her head. *I’ve gotta get to class and think later.* Naeun gave a quick, curt bow to Mrs. Hwang before she dashed off for her first class.   ----------------------------   Luckily, Naeun hadn’t run into Kangsoo in any of her classes.   After long lectures and boring classes of doing nothing and spacing out, it was finally lunchtime. Naeun closed up her locker and walked down the hallways of the school by herself.   She debated on whether or not she should go to the cafeteria, but against her better judgement, decided against it. She didn’t want to listen to chaotic sounds right now. She just wanted to calm down. Plus, she wasn’t really that hungry.   Finally, Naeun decided to stay outside underneath a shady tree. It was ironic that trees were everywhere around the school, much like EXO Planet…   *Ah-ah-ah, Song Naeun. There you go again, thinking about EXO.* Naeun silently reprimanded herself and forced herself to think about other things for the time being. She was finally relaxing when a familiar, snide voice made her stomach lurch.   “Hey, look who it is! I was wondering why I didn’t see you all day.”   Naeun’s eyes fluttered open as a shadow blocked her path. She stood up to see the one person she detested the most in this world.   Han Kangsoo and two of his idiot friends were grinning at her. This time, Naeun didn’t back down. “Great.” She muttered under her breath, glaring daggers at him with her arms crossed. “My senior year is already ruined just by seeing you.”   His friends let out an appreciative, “Ooo!” Naeun rolled her eyes at their immaturity.   “Aww, babe, don’t be like that.” Kangsoo murmured seductively, running a finger in Naeun’s ponytails. “Look at you, trying to be all cute with your little hairdo.”   Coldly, Naeun slapped his hands away. “Leave Kangsoo. I came here to get away from people like you.”   Kangsoo eyes maliciously glinted, “Feisty. I must say that I missed that fire since you didn’t come to school for many months last year. What was it? Leukemia? to be you.” He smirked.   Naeun ignored his insults and narrowed her eyes, “You heard about it too?”   “Of course, sweet-pea.” Kangsoo said sarcastically. “Everyone in the whole school heard about it. The small, mouthy little orphan girl re-developed her illness that she had gotten so many years ago, but mysteriously got better soon afterwards. What a dramatic tale. Boo-hoo.”   Naeun’s eyes darkened. “Forget this. If you aren’t leaving, then I’m getting the hell out of here. You and your stupid friends are like flies buzzing in my ears.” Naeun pushed him out of the way and tried to leave, but Kangsoo grabbed a tight hold on her wrist.   “Let go!” She shouted, squirming.   “You know, I still haven’t forgiven you for calling me a retarded jerk before.” Kangsoo’s eyes maliciously glinted. Naeun gulped. She could tell that he was up to no good. *Keep calm, and stay strong.*   “Oh, build a bridge and get over it. There’s nothing wrong with calling you something that everyone knows you are.” Naeun vehemently spat.   Oh no.   She really did it now.   The grip on Naeun’s wrist became so strong that it felt like her hand would snap in two. She winced at the pain but tried to keep a poker-face on.   “Oh really? That’s the first thing you’re gonna say to your potential boyfriend?” Kangsoo glared as Naeun held onto her EXO necklace tightly, trying to stay composed.   Kangsoo noticed it. *Bingo.* He grinned slyly.   Naeun spitefully glared at him, “For your information, I already have a boyfriend.”   Kangsoo’s eyes widened for a second in surprise, but then he burst into laughter afterwards. His friends snickered like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard.   “The lonely orphan who doesn’t even have a single friend now suddenly has a boyfriend? You really think I would believe that?” Kangsoo scoffed. “Unless it’s some other small, sickly runt in the hospital, I would beg to differ.”   “It’s the TRUTH!” Naeun shouted, anger rising up in her chest.   “Sure, you can keep deluding yourself like that. It’s all in your head, Song Naeun.” Kangsoo shrugged, circling around her with his hands behind his back, “Who in their right mind would fall in love with you? What do you have to offer? No money, no beauty, and no size.” He gestured to Naeun’s chest. She flushed in mortification.   Kangsoo tilted his head, and almost immediately, one of his strong friends pulled Naeun’s hand away from her neck. Immediately, Kangsoo smirked, “It’s so easy to read you. You’re an open book.” In one fluid motion, Kangsoo pulled her necklace off of her. The chain broke from the force.   Naeun’s eyes were wide as she tried to wrench free from his friends’ grips. She started to uncontrollably shake in fury and pure loathing. “YOU BASTARD! GIVE IT BACK!”   Kangsoo seemed satisfied with her reaction and threw the necklace up into the air and caught it. He kept doing his and clucked his tongue. “Eh? What’s so special about this? It’s a cheap thing, to be broken so easily. Then again, maybe it’s the only thing that sad people like you can afford.”   “I TOLD YOU TO GIVE IT BACK, HAN KANGSOO! ARE YOU DEAF OR JUST PLAIN RETARDED?!” Naeun screamed at the top of her lungs. A few students nearby just sat back and watched. Naeun couldn’t believe them.   But Kangsoo wasn’t fazed at all by her insults. Instead, he shrugged. “You know, Song Naeun? I only wanted to date you out of pity, so I could dump you like yesterday’s trash. Don’t you understand? No one loves you in this world, so stop pretending like you’re all that. You’re not good enough for even the lowest of the low.” He furiously growled.   “Oh, wait. Maybe your imaginary boyfriend could help you. Where is he now, huh? Shouldn’t he come to rescue his princess?” Every syllable that left his mouth was dripping with sarcasm. It made Naeun want to kick him hard where the sun didn’t shine.   “I’m warning you, Han Kangsoo. Return that necklace back to me, right this instant.” Naeun tried to keep her tone low, for the sake of Baekhyun.   “Or what will you do? Tattle to your made-up boyfriend?” Kangsoo crooned. He tossed the necklace back up into the air.   In a swift, lightning fast movement, the necklace was taken from him in mid-air.   Kangsoo spun around, “Who the hell—“   “Imaginary boyfriend, you say?” The new voice popped up. His voice was casual, but edgy. “How can Song Naeun’s boyfriend be imaginary, when he’s standing right here?”   Naeun turned around and froze. Her mind went blank and she actually thought she had gone mental. *No. Freaking. WAY.*   Standing in front of Han Kangsoo was none other than a VERY pissed Byun Baekhyun.   And boy, he did NOT look happy at all.   Kangsoo gawked along with the rest of the students that watched the scene. His friends instantly dropped Naeun’s wrists, leaving a pink, raw circle around them, but Naeun couldn’t care less. She rubbed her eyes. Was she dreaming?   No, her dreams had never been graphic like this.   Naeun’s lips were parted in shock as her legs slowly gave way and shook like jello. Suddenly, she found herself sinking toward the floor.   Baekhyun turned around, looking gorgeous as always, and his facial expression softened tremendously when he saw Naeun on the floor. *Naeun…* He crouched down and grabbed her hands gently as Naeun just stared at them.   Baekhyun affectionately smiled and patted her head, “Pabo-ya, what are you doing? Get up.” He held out a hand for her to take.   “…I… I—“ Naeun couldn’t get any of the words out right. She was in tremendous shock. *I can’t.* She tried to say.   When he realized that Naeun couldn’t get up, he merely placed the EXO necklace in her hand and glanced once at her red wrists. Instantly, his face hardened. *Look at what those bastards did to her.*   “Hold on to my neck tightly.” Baekhyun whispered to her as Naeun stared at him. ‘What?’ Her gaze seemed to say. “Just do it.” Naeun didn’t question him twice and grabbed a hold of his neck with shaky hands.   Swiftly, Baekhyun carried her bridal style, with one arm supporting her back and one arm holding the back of her knees. He straightened up and poked the inside of his cheek with the tip of his tongue.   “Are you picking a fight, runt?” Baekhyun glowered at the slightly shorter Kangsoo.   “I-I…” Kangsoo was so stunned and intimidated by Baekhyun’s presence that he couldn’t even get his words out.   Baekhyun’s aura of hatred as so visible that Kangsoo stepped back a bit. Baekhyun smirked, “I bet you’re terrified now that Naeun’s boyfriend has come to her rescue, huh?” His grin suddenly disappeared into thin air as he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, “Listen, punk. I would kick your sorry little right now, but as you can see, I have more important things to do like spending my time with my girlfriend.” He made a show of nuzzling Naeun’s cheek with his. Kangsoo’s jaw fell open in both shock and disgust. Naeun gaped at Baekhyun’s vulgar language.   Once Baekhyun turned back to Kangsoo, his eyes turned to ice, which made him appear ruthless. A scowl overtook his flawless face, “If I EVER hear that you and your equally idiotic friends here are picking on Naeun again, then you can kiss your sorry goodbye, Han Kangsoo.” He spat.   Kangsoo shivered, “H-How do you know my n-name?”   Baekhyun smirked, “Why