I'm the girl that notices everyone. But I’m not necessarily noticed back. I would say that I have an ability or a sixth sense, if you will, to read people like a book. I can easily attribute people's personalities and behavior to their situations in life. I guess you can just call it being observant, but I consider it a talent. Living in such a small town, not much was able to be hidden. Gossip spread quickly around the town, so if anything major happened, the whole town would know about it by the end of the day. My grandmother had lived in the town her entire life, so she knew the back-story of every family in the neighborhood and she didn’t hesitate to tell me about every one of them. She was also quite the gossiper, so I was always filled in with the news of the town. 
 

There was only one school in our town. It was separated into three different sectors: elementary, middle, and high school. So basically, everyone grew up with each other through their entire school career. That is, until they graduate. Considering that there was no university in or relatively near our town, those seeking university had to move elsewhere. It was something many strived for. No one wanted to stay in such a small, close knit town forever. People wanted to branch out and experience a more urban life. Those who feared the metropolitan lifestyle usually dropped out of school and became farmers or local store owners. It was a safe route that many would take when the stress of school and exit exams were too much for them. It was so much easier to stay in the comfort that the small town offered than move away into unknown cities. 

Today was the very first day of senior year; the beginning of the end. I was sure that by now most of us were focused on making it out of the town and into the city. Anyone that wasn't ready to move on was already filtered out by the time we graduated middle school. Everyone else had all of their goals planned out and all they really needed to do was graduate high school and pass their exit exams. But there was one person: One person in our entire senior class that didn't seem to know where he was going with his life. 


His name was Baekhyun. Everyone that goes to this school was a local, but for some reason, Baekhyun took a bus from the city to come here and has been since the first year of middle school. For this reason, he was quite popular with everyone in the school. People would always ask him about the city life and his answers were inconsistent. Sometimes he would say that he loved it and sometimes he would say that he hated it. But every time someone would ask him why he came to such a small school in such a small town, he seems to be able to avoid answering it every time. Our school wasn't horrible, but it was probably mediocre at best; especially compared to the fancy schools in the city. So what did this school offer him that kept him coming back every year? 

"If you like him so much, why don't you just go talk to him?" Kris suggested. 

I broke my gaze from Baekhyun and stared down at my lunch. "I don't like him. I don't even know anything about him except that he's from the city," I said, pushing my food around with my chopsticks. It had been three months since I had seen Baekhyun and he didn’t seem to change at all. He still remained the mysterious boy that I can never get a proper read on.

"Well, you obviously think he's cute if you stare at him all the time," Lay added. 

"The entire school thinks he's cute," I muttered. 

"You didn't deny it," Xiumin said in a sing-song voice. I glared at him as I shoved a piece of kimbap into my mouth. 

These were the people I hung out with on a daily basis. There were six of them and they were all boys. Four of them were exchange students from China and the other two were locals. Kris and Tao stayed with Chen, while Luhan and Lay stayed with Xiumin. I used to only hang out with Xiumin and Chen, but during our first year of high school, the exchange students temporarily moved in with them. Instead of finding another crowd to hang out with, they opted to stay in the friend circle of their hosts. They were only supposed to go to our school for a year, but they liked it here, so they decided to stay and finish school here. They would visit home during winter and summer, so during the breaks it would just be Xiumin, Chen, and I again until they returned. I didn't mind hanging out with all boys. They weren’t as dramatic and they definitely got on my nerves a lot less.

The girls at my school didn't hate me, but they weren't exactly fond of me. Their interests seemed to be so different from my own. Most of the girls wanted to branch out into the entertainment industry thinking that as soon as they graduated, they would be able to be rubbing elbows with the famous. I, on the other hand, had a bit more insight on what life was like outside of our town. Things here were very simple and easy, while deeper in the cities; things were much more complex and hectic. There’s a lot more competition in the cities, considering that the population was so dense. But the girls at my school assumed that life would be just as easy in the city. I guess you could say that the girls at my school weren't the brightest. 

The bell rang for lunch and everyone began to disperse to their classes. None of my friends were in my next class, but nonetheless I was still excited. It was chemistry; my favorite subject. But it wasn't just regular chemistry. It was AP Chemistry, meaning that everyone in that class had to have passed regular chemistry with at least a B. The class was relatively small, considering that it wasn't a mandatory class. It was essentially for those that, like me, wanted to major in science. But what was most surprising was that Baekhyun was in my class. He had always been in my English classes every year, but it didn't reveal much about him because everyone had to take English. This class, however, was one that people had to place themselves in. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Baekhyun did know what he was doing with his life. 

The teacher had us all stand up against the wall as he assigned pairs to each lab station. There was a large chance that I would end up with a boy since there was only one other girl in the class. As I said earlier, most of the girls at my school were planning to major in the entertainment industry, so they really had no means being in a class like this. Anyways, the girl's name was Ahyoung. She's extremely shy and introverted, but it's mostly because of her low self esteem. Her older sister was extremely popular and outgoing and Ahyoung was always overshadowed by her. Even when her sister graduated and moved to the city, she still remained shy. She knew she could never live up to be like her sister, so she sticks to being quiet and unnoticed. Purposely failing was much better than trying and failing in Ahyoung's eyes. I felt bad for her, but she didn't seem to mind too much. She was probably more known to the school than I was, anyways.

My train of thought was interrupted when I heard my name being called. The teacher pointed to a lab station across the room. I glanced across the room and saw Baekhyun situated at the station he was pointing to. I felt a spark of excitement ignite in the pit of my stomach. Maybe this was finally my chance to get a better understanding of Baekhyun. 

"Hello," I quietly greeted as I sat next to him. He didn't say anything and just nodded his head, acknowledging my presence. From my peripheral vision, I noticed that he actually had headphones plugged into both of his ears: Usually when people did that it was because they didn’t want to be talked to. My lips formed into a straight line as I realized that getting to know Baekhyun was going to be quite the challenge.