Chapter 2 - First Encounter with the Devil

  Seunghyun entered the classroom and noticed everyone had taken all the seats at the front. There were no more room for him to be near the board. Strange. Why did everyone shift to the front?

  His eyes wandered until he spotted the girl from earlier. She was sitting in the back right corner next to the window. Every seat beside her was completely empty; no one wanted to sit next to her.

  There were still a few seats available for him that was far away from the girl, but he didn’t want to sit there. Something attracted him. He wanted to get close to this “Devil.” As he walked down the classroom, students began to stare. The closer he got to the girl, the more students stared and whispered.

  Which seat should he take? The one in front of her, diagonal of her, or beside her?

  Soon, he was close enough to touch her but she didn’t notice since she was in deep thought, staring out the window. Even in this side angle, he found her beautiful but there was something in her eyes: sadness and loneliness.

  Seunghyun cleared his throat, grabbing her attention. “Is someone sitting here?”

  The murmurs got louder and more distinct. “What is he doing? Is he an idiot?”

  “Why is he going to sit with her?”

  “He’s in for big trouble.”

  Seunghyun heard everything, but he shrugged them off.

  Dara glared up at him. He was tall figure and her sitting down made him seem like a giant. She didn’t know this boy and it seemed like he didn’t know about her. Could he be a new student or what? She has never seen him before in her life! She snorted and turned away without a word.

  Some students snickered while some were worried.

  No one can mess with the Devil.

  But Seunghyun took the risk and sat next to her. As he pulled the chair back, more gossip could be heard. Again, he ignored them and persisted. After all, he didn’t know anyone in the class. All his friends are in Class B, including his best friend Jiyong. “I’m Choi Seunghyun, and you are?”

  Dara ignored him and gazed out the window.

  “If you won’t tell me, I’ll just figure it out from our teacher,” he said.

  She sneered. What’s with this boy and why is he here? Couldn’t he tell she didn’t want him around?

  “Okay…” His eyes trailed. As they fell on the rest of his classmates, they all turned away but still spoke amongst themselves. He leaned on his chair and began to think. This girl must be smart since she’s in Class A, but why is she so bitter? And it seems like nobody likes her, but I can change that.

  “Dara! We’re in the same class again!” A voice shouted across the room. Everyone fell silent and stared at the girl as she ran towards Dara to give her a huge hug.

  No one was shocked at this reaction except for Seunghyun. A girl could hug her, but she wouldn’t even let him talk to her? What’s up with that?

  Dara had an annoyed expression has the girl squeezed her to death. “Get off me Bom!” She exclaimed and roughly pushed her away.

  Bom pouted. “What a nice greeting on our first meeting at school!” She exclaimed sarcastically. Suddenly her eyes fell on Seunghyun. “You made a friend already?! What an improvement, but why are you so cold to me?”

  Dara made a face and turned to Seunghyun. “He’s not my friend.” She snorted and rolled her eyes at him. “He just decided to sit there.”

  “Oh.” Her eyes switched to him. “What’s your name?”

  “Choi Seunghyun.” He greeted with a smile.

  “Nice to meet you, Seunghyun. I’m Park Bom and this girl right next to me is,” she patted Dara’s shoulder, “Sandara Park, but she likes being called Dara.”

  He gazed at Dara who was rolling her eyes and sneering. “It’s nice to meet you.” Seunghyun paused as he processed the name in his head. “Dara.”

  Bom smiled for a split second, getting a sudden idea. There was something about him that made her feel as if he could break Dara’s ‘spell.’ She knew this boy wouldn’t be like the others. After all, he didn’t leave when Dara gave him cold shoulders. Bom could see he had a strong personality, perfect for the stubborn Dara.

  “Well! Since the seat next to you is unavailable, I’ll just sit in front of you! We’re still near each other, so it’s not that bad, right?” Bom asked as she sat in the desk in front of Dara.

  She shrugged and continued staring out the window.

  Seunghyun on the other hand, admired her from afar. She had soft, brown eyes, light skin, and cute nose. As he stared at this beauty a little longer, he couldn’t help but think of a bunny.

  “Can I call you Ssantoki?” Seunghyun suddenly asked.

  Dara clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. The name she hated the most other than Sandara was Ssantoki. She didn’t want to be called anything else other than Dara! What is with this boy?! “Yah!” She burst, fist held high. “Just mind your own business and leave me alone!”

  Everyone in the room had their eyes on Seunghyun, anticipating what would happen next.

  Seunghyun’s eyes widened. “Oh. I’m sorry…”

  “You better be.” With that, she went back to her calm self and stared outside.

  Bom scooted her chair back near Seunghyun and whispered, “Don’t worry about her. She’s just warming up to you.” She flashed a smile. “I’m sure she’ll be comfortable with you someday. Just don’t give up.”

  He eyed Bom and managed a smile. “Alright.”

  She gave him a thumbs up and winked. Surely, this boy could break Dara’s spell. It’s all just a matter of time and patience.

___________

At lunch, Jiyong met Seunghyun randomly in the hallways. When he spotted him, he ran up to him arms spread wide and shouted, “Seunghyun! Oh my god! I heard from everyone that you had an encounter with her!” He tackled him with a tight hug.

  “Get off me.” Seunghyun pried Jiyong off of him and smoothed his clothes.

  “Sorry, but are you okay?! You’re not hurt, right?!” He started patting his cheeks and checking if he had any injuries.

  Seunghyun slapped his hands away and felt offended. “I’m fine and stop talking about Dara like that!”

  Jiyong backed up. “What?”

  “Her name is Dara, not her and certainly not the Devil in Disguise.”

  His eyes widened. “She must’ve hypnotized you! Ah! What has she done with my best friend?!”

  “Just stop it Jiyong or else we won’t be friends anymore.”

  This caused Jiyong to pout. “No! You’re my best friend! Why would you leave me?!”

  Seunghyun was starting to get a headache with his annoying, best friend. Somehow he was able to put up with this for years, but now he was annoyed. “Because you just have to give her a chance. That’s what I’m doing.”

  “But-”

  “Just do it. I’ll show you how much of an angel she could be.”

  Jiyong sighed in defeat. He didn’t want to loose his best friend all because of a girl. They had many fights but this was a first about a girl. “What’s so special about her?” He mumbled, “What attracted you?”

  Seunghyun shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. She was just there and I felt like I needed to help her.”

  He pursed his lips. “Okay. I’ll give her a chance, but if she ever tries to beat you up, you’re going to get it from me. I’m going to tell you, ‘I told you so,’ and you’ll listen to my words from now on.” He puffed out his chest.

  He narrowed his eyes at him. “I don’t care if you tell me, ‘I told you so,’ but that doesn’t mean I’ll listen to everything you say.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Anyways, let’s go eat, I’m starving!” He grabbed Seunghyun’s arm and dragged him to the cafeteria.

  Once there, they ordered their food and sat at an empty table. Seunghyun’s eyes immediately fell on Dara who was walking with Bom, searching for a place to sit. Bom was the first to spot Seunghyun and Jiyong. She smiled brightly and nudged Dara.

  “Hey, there’s two seats available right there. Let’s go.” Bom suggested and started walking towards the two boys.

  Dara followed for a moment before realizing Bom was leading her to him. She paused in her tracks. “I’m not sitting there!”

  “Oh yes you are!” She grabbed Dara’s arm and dragged her with her.

  Seunghyun kept staring as the two struggled. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the beauty coming near him. His eyes soon reverted to the two seats in front of him and realized Bom was trying to make her sit with them. His expression brightened.

  Jiyong was eating his lunch and noticed Seunghyun didn’t touch his food. He swallowed and asked, “Are you not-” He paused and noticed Seunghyun making googly eyes at someone. Jiyong pointed at finger at his eyes and followed his gaze. He moved his finger away from his sight and found the two girls fighting. “Ah! What’s going on?!”

  “Nothing.” Seunghyun muttered and started eating.

  He gave his friend a worried look. Seunghyun has fallen too hard for this girl! I can’t afford him to be into her and loose him forever! Ah! What should I do? But then, I don’t want to do anything for the fear of ruining our relationship. Ah! I don’t know what to do! With those thoughts in his head, he began pulling on his hair.

  “Are these seats taken?” Jiyong heard someone asked.

  He looked up to see the Devil and her minion standing on the other side of the table.

  “Uh. Uhm. Eh…” He began to stutter.

  “No. They’re available,” Seunghyun answered.

  Ah! What is he doing?! Jiyong’s eyes widened as the Devil sat in front of him. She’s right in front of me. What do I do?!

  Dara had her head down the whole time. She didn’t want to look at the boys in front of her, especially Seunghyun. She still couldn’t understand why that boy was being so persistent and why Bom wanted her to sit with them.

  “Hi, I’m Bom and you are?” Bom asked Jiyong.

  “Uh… I’m… I’m… J-Jiyong.” He stuttered, getting so nervous. His eyes never left Dara, scared she would do something.

  Bom nudged her.

  “I’m Dara…” She muttered.

  Jiyong let out a deep breath. At least she could be friendly sometimes?

  Dara shift her gaze up at Jiyong with her head still down.

  Jiyong immediately looked away as she appeared like she was glaring at him. He began to cry inside. Why do I have to encounter her today? Ah! I’m going to die!

  “Yeah, Jiyong is my best friend,” Seunghyun stated and patted his shoulder. “He can be a weirdo sometimes.”

  Bom laughed. “I can see.”

  Without looking at Dara, Jiyong asked, “S-So y-you guys are in the s-same cl-class?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I see.” His eyes drooped. Why can’t I at least be in his class for once?

  “How long have you known Seunghyun?”

  Jiyong grinned. “For a long time.”

  And that was how the conversation started. Basically, Bom was getting information about Seunghyun through Jiyong. She wanted to make sure he was the right man for Dara before letting her go off into the world with another person. She wanted Dara to open up and be that friendly girl she knew before middle school. What changed her broke Bom’s heart. She didn’t like the new Dara. She wanted the old Dara back and knew Seunghyun was the right person to bring her back.

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  So guys, what do you think about Jiyong's personality? It's fun writing him like this ha! Well, do you think Seunghyun will be able to wake Dara up?