A skytempo chapter...sort of 

Enjoy~

Seunghyun’s POV

"Nugu~geh~?"  (“Guess who?”)

A voice cooed in a sing-song fashion in my ears. The person had placed both hands to cup my eyes, blocking my vision. I then felt a head leaning against my shoulder and instantly I knew.

There could only be one person whom I permit this much skinship to;

My best friend.

So being my usual self, I could not fight the urge to be annoying. So I decided to poke fun at her.

"Hm…I don't know. Is it the girl who left a love letter and some chocolates on my desk? Are you one of my fangirls?" I asked back innocently, tilting my head to the side and pretending not to know.

"Yah! You bingu! So full of !" Chaerin spat and nudged my head forward. I chuckled at how upset she seemed by what I said. I quickly apologized, only to receive one of her infamous death glares.

I caught her in a headlock, pulled her to my chest and playfully ruffled her outlandish blonde hair. I knew how much she hated this but then again, I love annoying her. She squirmed under my tight grip and only after she sank her teeth into my arm did I let her free. I sat there pouting as I rubbed on the spot that now visibly showed her teeth markings. I glared at her in an attempt to make her feel guilty for causing my pain.

However, instead of feeling apologetic, she gave me the ‘you-deserved-it’ look. I could only scoff in disbelief.

Seriously this girl, she won't give in to anything.

Deciding to drop the matter, since I was losing anyways, I quickly whipped out a lunchbox from my bag pack and waved it playfully in front of Chaerin's face. She rolled her eyes at my childish gesture and began to rummage through her school bag as well. She pulled out her lunchbox and took off the lid, revealing its delicious contents. My mouth watered as I eyed her food.

She had egg rolls, nicely cut out kimbap, some slices of kimchi and a side of japchae neatly tucked in the compartments of her lunchbox. On the other hand, mine is filled to the brim with kimchi fried rice and nothing else.

Our lunch had always been shared; I would bring the main dish while she was in charge of the side dishes. And since we both agreed that my specialty was fried rice, I only had her side dishes to look forward to.

Chaerin is an excellent cook so she usually boasts her cooking skills with the myriad of side dishes that she brings every lunch.

Not wanting to wait any longer because my stomach was letting out a war cry, I held my lunchbox between us while Chaerin placed hers between us on the bench we were sitting on. We began to devour the food, well; I devoured the food while Chaerin just ate like a normal person. I didn't forget to sloppily praise her culinary skills with my mouth full. She simply gave me a huge grin and ruffled my hair playfully.

I continued stuffing my face with rice as I listened to Chaerin talk about a new student who she was assigned to give a tour to. I inwardly chuckle as she let out an exasperated groan. She has already begun hating the job she was assigned to. Her ranting went on to how the new kid better not be a rich spoilt brat. I nodded in agreement with her on that; our school is heavily populated with rich brats. We wouldn't need to add one more.

You see, students like Chaerin and me are considered as 'outcast'. The others say it's cause we are loners but what do they know? Chaerin and I just don't prefer to associate ourselves with kids who throw their parents' money around.

Both of us at one point of our lives had been through a struggle.

For me, it was when my mom was sick and our family needed to raise money fast for her medical needs. Being a filial son, I felt obliged to help my dad out seeing how he struggled carrying the financial burden on his own. Only after I have worked part time have I realized being a working adult is no joke.

So naturally for me, I learnt how to appreciate the value of money. But luckily my family, my mom recovered thanks to our efforts and her determination.

I can't say the same for Chaerin though.

If anyone has had it tough, it was Chaerin.

After losing her parents in a car accident, it was custody battle after custody battle for her. Her older cousin, Teddy, fought for the right to her custody till the very end. He did not want to entrust her to any of their other family members that she used to stay with.

Teddy is the closest thing she has to family and I'm sure her parents would be able to rest well knowing that their daughter is in good hands.

Teddy raised her well.

He was barely an adult when he became her legal guardian yet he had managed to mature fast in order to be everything Chaerin needed in her life.

Although I've been friends with Chaerin since forever, I still admire the fact that she remains strong and outgoing despite her past. All this was because she was surrounded with the right people.

I'm just glad that my friend didn't turn out to be one of those sad cases of kids who turn into rebellious, out of control mess because they grew up without parents.

Maybe that’s why I feel like I should protect her sometimes, though she is far from needing my help. She stands on her own two feet or so she likes to say. And honestly, I respect her for being a tough cookie. She definitely is the strongest and baddest person I have ever met and will ever meet.

So there you go, story of our lives as outcasts. And truthfully speaking, we didn't need anybody else as long as we have each other's back.

My trail of thoughts was interrupted by a pair of chopsticks frantically waving in front of me. I broke out of my trance only to see a pouting Chaerin.

"I'm disappointed in you Choi Seunghyun. You don't even listen when I speak. Is your mind too clouded with thoughts of Park Bom?"

She faked a hurt look which was soon shadowed by a mischievous grin. She wriggled her eyebrows and pointed her chopsticks accusingly in my direction. She must have noticed the blush on my cheeks as I faked a cough in a failed attempt to divert her attention.

"I think Park Bom likes you~” she teased again.

She giggled like a school girl before stuffing a piece of kimbap in . I was hoping she would stop teasing me about the girl in her class.

Actually, I find Park Bom to be the most beautiful girl I've ever seen; apart from my best friend of course (Chaerin doesn’t need to know this). But sadly, since me and Chaerin are not in the same class, I don't get to ogle at Bom. Then again, maybe that's a good thing so I don't end up looking like an idiot in front of a pretty girl.

Therefore, every chance I get, I will try to see her. This is usually done by me waiting for Chaerin outside her class to have lunch together. I notice how the other kids in her class would stare at me, including Park Bom, and exchange knowing glances to each other.

Maybe that's how the rumor about me and Chaerin being an item had started.

'The school kingka and the badass’, or so we were branded as.

We didn't really cared too much about it though since it was typical of them. Plus Chaerin said the jealousy would give someone a little push. I still don't get what she meant by that but if she's not bothered by it then I can't be bothered myself. We are not those types of friends who get awkward just because some people say we look good together.

We just took it as a compliment. Me and Chaerin, we are thick-skinned like that.

"No way. She doesn't like me. And how would you know? You're not even friends with her," I replied defensively, trying to hide the fact that I'm blushing like a teenage girl.

"Oh yeah…you're right, she doesn't like you."

“…”

“…Cause YOU like HER!”

And as if she knew she was asking for a beating, she sprang up to her feet and dashed indoors towards the school cafeteria. I let out a huge groan but was nonetheless determined to get my hands on her. I gathered both our backpacks and after discarding our empty disposable lunch boxes, I sprinted towards the cafeteria in search of the mad blonde.

Lee Chaerin, you are so dead!