(Listen to Bad Girl by Girls’ Generation : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjYmS56Bb6A)

The four of us entered the club and smiled at the surprised faces of Woohyun and Hoya. It was like Koreatown, with many young as well as middle-aged Koreans sitting in booths, drinking and eating with their friends. There were a few Europeans and Americans but no Indians. It was predictable, Koreans in Delhi and Gurgaon hardly interacted with the locals. They stuck with their own groups, a trait that often irritated me.

But as Woohyun slipped his arm in mine, smiling at me, I felt happy. I leaned over to see Kairi say something to Hoya in his ear, the latter nodding and grinning. I had my own group this time. And I was definitely going to stick to them tonight.

The music was electronic and k-pop. No surprise there. The man at the counter bowed at the four of us, then suddenly, reacting to Hoya.

“Oh! By any chance…Lee Howon?”

Hoya blinked and gave an awkward smile. “Yes…but I like to be called Hoya…”

The man laughed and shouted something at a group of Koreans sitting behind him. It was a pretty looking lady, in her late-twenties maybe and a man who seemed to be our age. The two listened to what the man had to say, then widened their eyes and their smile.

The woman flew to our side and suddenly, the man sitting next to her flushed as she grabbed Hoya for a hug. “Do you remember me?” she squealed. “Da Hae noona!”

Hoya’s eyes widened and he laughed at the young man. “That means… you… You’re…”

“Anyong-haseyo,” he bowed to us. I smiled at him but he ignored me. Taken aback, I let it pass.

“Yah! Come here!” Hoya was the one who flew for a hug this time and the man didn’t seem to mind at all. “Jae Hyo!” [BLOCK B ALERT]

Kairi dug her fingers in my arm and hissed, “Lee Jae Hyo! That guy from our batch! Remember?”

My mouth opened in acknowledgement and I wondered if his rude behaviour was courtesy to my reputation in my high school. Not at all fond of this reunion, I exchanged glances with Woohyun who had seen and heard everything. He narrowed his eyes at Jae Hyo who simply rolled his eyes at our locked arms. Thankfully, Hoya wasn’t the type to ditch us and he bowed after saying, “Well, I have some friends to be with tonight so I’ll catch up with you later!”

“Hey, why don’t you take—”

“OOH I LOVE THIS SONG!” Kairi saved us with her spontaneity and led us away while jiving to a song she had probably never heard of. “Which band is this?” she whispered. I sighed and shook my head. “Sounds like SNSD from their new japanese album.”

“Why are they playing Japanese here?” asked Woohyun and upon hearing Taeyeon’s voice nodded. “Ah…Sonyeoshidae.”

Kairi poked his stomach and smirked. “You like Taeyeon don’t you? No wonder you like Saya.”

Woohyun furrowed his eyebrows. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Kairi was about to say something when I pushed her inside a corner booth. It had a great view of the city’s skyline as well as the rest of the club. So my eyes are on a potential party-pooper, I thought and subtly looked across, pretending to look for a waiter. Lee Jae Hyo was staring at me and I shivered. What was up with him anyway? Sure, I was the definition of outcast in a school like mine. But did that justify the random hatred?

“Do you have a past with him?”

I was alerted by Woohyun’s question and vigorously shook my head. “No way,” I spoke. “Never heard of the guy before. Now that I think about it, he wasn’t in any of my classes either. Except for..”

I paused and blinked. Woohyun blinked back at me. “Nothing,” I smiled. “It’s been so long, I can hardly remember what I studied in those doomed halls.”

Woohyun grinned and shook his head. “Predictable”, he said and called for some appetizers for our table. After finishing off a plate of spring rolls and half-a-glass of wine, I excused myself to go to the loo.

I was impressed. This was the first time I was at a sophisticated night-out. The restroom was adorned with a comfortable beige couch, mahogany vanity dresser and two lines of wash basins and wooden-framed mirrors. I stepped out of the cubicle and moved towards the basin ahead of me, only to bump into a woman behind me.

“Oh I’m so--!” It was Lee Jae Hyo’s elder sister, Da Hae.

“We meet again!” If Da Hae and I had met in a less awkward situation, we would have surely become friends. She seemed quite friendly and unassuming, exactly the type of character that would never judge me for my shyness. I gave her a soft smile and proceeded to wash up.

“You know,” Da Hae spoke. “Now that I think about it, I think I have seen you somewhere.”

Oh great, I thought. My reputation precedes me.

“You’re Saya Park, right?”

I blinked and nodded. What else could I do? Pretend to be a doppelganger?”

“Oh!” Da Hae dried off her hands then ran back to me, clasping her hands to her chest. “So you’re the girl---”

The girl, my mind predicted, who was sent to a mental institution for excessive daydreaming.

“---who my brother had a crush on!”

I was taken aback. Mind you, I definitely was. Lee Jae Hyo, who frankly speaking, looked like he would swallow a thousand bottles of fire than stay in the same room as me? I wondered if we were talking about different people, until she answered my unspoken question.

“You know, Jae Hyo never said a thing to me but everyday, after choir practice, he would come back home happy! And I KNEW he had someone! So I followed him one day and saw you on stage singing ‘Goose’s Dream’. My, Saya, you should have seen the look on Jae Hyo’s face. Poor kid, Thursdays and Saturdays were the only days he would smile!”

My heart melted as I remembered everything.

“He’s alright…” Ji Hyun [4MINUTE ALERT]whined.

I glared at her. “You’re kidding me, right? He’s amazing!”

Ji Hyun sighed. “His notes were all over the place! We need someone who can keep up with the rhythm or at least hold us together! The pianist is important to every choir, whether for practice or for the stage!”

I swallowed my anger and gave an understanding nod. “I know that, I get what you mean. But this kid obviously knows what he’s playing. Be honest, you could feel the pain in the melody when he was playing, compared to all those technical sobs who preceded him... right?”

I had won. Ji Hyun sighed and nodded. “Alright then, we’re taking him in.”

I could see Da Hae’s mouth moving but no sound came out. Only the sight of the sincere words.

“What’s that?”

Kairi pointed at a note that had flown out of my locker and she tried snatching it up. I lightly shoved her and whispered, “Mind your own business.”

“Geez..”Kairi muttered. “Can’t be a secret admirer, right?” She leaned over and after reading the message, sighed. “Boring.”

It was a note written in hangul, something I had not read in a long time. Especially in my school.

“Thank you,” the note read. “I can’t do much, but I would do whatever that is within my capability to owe you back. Not once, but a million times over. Thank you.”

Back then, nothing had struck a chord. Now it did.

“Excuse me,” I interrupted Da Hae. Da Hae widened her eyes, as if she had just seen a snake do the can-can. Yeah well, that’s what happens when I talk.

“But…how does Hoya know Jae Hyo?”

“Oh…Well, Hoya’s mother and your mother were friends in school, right? Si Rae Lee? Thought so. So, turns out that during one book club meeting, our mother had experienced her first migraine attack and it was the two of them that had helped her to get to the hospital. In fact, if I’m quite right…”

Da Hae paused then gave me an awkward smile. “Never mind,” she said. “It seems you have a boyfriend…”

“Oh.” I smiled. “That’s Nam Woohyun.”

“Ah…” Da Hae suddenly threw me a sad smile with no signs of pretence. “Our mothers were very close friends. I’m glad you and Jae Hyo met. The boy can finally get some closure.”

I was about to say something when she left. I waited for a moment, then followed, only to stop again. Leaning against the wall was none other Lee Jae Hyo, my secret admirer.