A/N: This story is about you, Kim Jiyeon.

 

“Why is Professor Kim not here yet?” Sanghee asked.

“OH MY GOSH! YES! He is sick?!” Jihye jumped into conclusion excitedly.

“Ehhh~ you are so heartless…He is your teacher, you know.” Sanghee teased and shook her head.

“Aish. Stop acting like a good student there. I know you are definitely going to be the first to cheer if his medical leave is officially announced.” Jihye rolled her eyes and retorted.

The bickering went forth and back until both of them were sick and tired of the meaningless argument.

“Hey. I am bored.” Jihye said with a pout, looking up from the table surface.

“Me too~” Sanghee sang.

Jihye then poked you who were sitting at the table in front. You were busy reading stories through your phone’s downloaded app.  Quickly scanning the next few lines, you turned behind.

“Yea?” You asked with a smile.

“Let’s play…Truth or dare!” Jihye announced and Sanghee shot up from her seat excitedly.

“I don’t have much to tell though.” You warned them beforehand.

“It’s okay. Everyone says that all the time… Faster! Let’s get the game started!” Jihye said as she took Sanghee’s bottle and placed it in the middle.

Jihye spun the bottle around and crossed her fingers, praying hard that she would not be the target but her prayers seemed to have failed her. The two of you cheered excitedly as she became the first target.

“Truth.” She said.

“Who is the most handsome guy in class?” Sanghee asked and wiggled her eyebrow.

“Hmmm…” Jihye tapped her chin thoughtfully and scanned the noisy class quickly.

“I think…Kim Myung Soo is quite cute.” Jihye confessed softly as she leaned closer to the two of you.

“Oooohhhh~” Both of you chorused.

“Yah! Yah! Shhhh…” Jihye blushed and shushed the two of you.

She then quickly spun the bottle to stop you two from bothering her. The bottle finally stopped its motion and found a new target.

“So… Who do you like?”  Jihye questioned excitedly as you unluckily became the 'target'.

“Hehe…No one?”  You confessed.

“Eh~ you are not allowed to lie in this game. Faster tell us!” The two scolded as they shuffled closer to you.

“I really like no one.” You repeated in a serious tone.

“Are you freaking serious?” Sanghee and Jihye gasped.

“Is crush in elementary school considered?” You thought for a few moments and asked innocently.

“Oh my gosh. Please tell me you’re kidding, Jiyeon.” Jihye said as she facepalmed herself.

“I told you just now that I don’t have anything much to tell.” You said with an innocent smile.

“Jiyeon, you are really amazing. How can it be 4 years in High school and you still don’t have a crus-” Sanghee was interrupted by some commotion at the front of the class.

“Settle down, kids!” Professor Kim shouted loudly.

Everyone shifted their tables and chairs back to the original places before sitting up straight.

“And I thought he was sick.” Jihye mumbled to herself.

“We have a new kid joining us this year.” He announced.

There was a certain suspense lingering in the air and everyone was excited to see the new face.

“Let’s welcome our new friend with a warm round of applause now!” He sounded like an emcee on stage.

Everyone clapped as a good-looking boy stepped into the class, smiling. He was wearing a cap which made him stand out even more among the students. He made his way to the front of the class and stood beside Professor Kim awkwardly.

“He is only a bit taller than Professor Kim.” Sanghee whispered.

“Esh. Stop being obsessed with height again, woman!” Jihye slapped Sanghee on the back and scolded.

“Isn’t he handsome?” Jihye leaned over the table and whispered to you.

There was no response except from a nodding head in every few seconds.  

“Wow. Dozing off when a handsome boy is being introduced? You are really something, Jiyeon.” Jihye mumbled to herself.

“Hello everyone, my name is Baro and I am new to this school. I hope you will take good care of me and we will get along well. Thank you.” He said and ended his introduction with a warm smile.

Everyone clapped and most of the girls smiled back, seemingly melting at the sight of the cute and handsome boy smiling.

“Where should I sit?” Baro asked Professor Kim.

“Oh yea. Where should you sit?” Professor Kim finally realized.

“How about…There? Beside Jiyeon.” He pointed to the last seat available in class.

Baro nodded in understanding and bowed politely before making his way to you who was still currently travelling towards dreamland.

“Jiyeon.” Jihye called out as she kicked your chair.

“Uhmmm…” You parted your eyelids a little and turned behind to look at your best friend in your sleepy and incomprehensible state.

“Look to your left.” She whispered and winked mischievously.

You turned to your left in confusion and met with Baro’s unfamiliar face, inches away. You sprang back immediately in shock and became completely awake.

“Who are you?” was the first thing that exited your mouth thoughtlessly.

“Oh. I am the newly-transferred student. My name is Baro and I will be your table mate from today onwards. Nice to meet you.” He said with a smile.

“Oh, I see. Hello…?” You said with an awkward wave before turning back to Jihye.

“When was he here?” You whispered softly.

“When you were busy drooling away…” Jihye teased.

“Seriously?! I drooled?!”You questioned in surprise and quickly checked the surroundings of your lips.

“I was joking.” Jihye stated and refrained from rolling her eyes at you.

After school…

“Are you going home?” Baro asked casually.

“Yep.” You said simply as you slowly packed your bag.

“Which bus are you taking?” He asked.

“Bus service 3.” You replied without looking up.

“Eh, really?! I am taking that bus service home too! Let’s go back together!” He said with a bright smile.

“Really?” You questioned in surprise.

“Yup!” He beamed.

You cursed inwardly that you have to go home with your new table mate as you bet it would be extremely awkward. This is especially so when you are terribly bad at breaking awkward silence since you deemed yourself as a not-so-sociable person.

Perhaps it won’t be too bad if Sanghee and Jihye were around as you would not have to deal with this awkwardness alone. However, just like the past few days, Sanghee and Jihye had disappeared right after the bell rang as they had to rush for council activities. You knew they were busy with council activities for this period as it was the student council presidential election in school.

You could only blame it on your unlucky self and big mouth for answering the new guy so thoughtlessly. Leaving school, the two of you walked to the bus stop side by side without speaking to one another. Or rather, there was nothing much to talk about. Reaching the bus stop, you looked in the direction where the bus would come from and wondered what was taking the bus so long. The wait seemed to be exceptionally long today in the awkward mood.

“It’s awkward, isn’t it?” he broke the silence first.

You nodded, not knowing what to answer. You can’t possibly say something along the line of “Yes, you’re right. It is indeed awkward.” or “Not really. I like the silence.” after all.

“So…What is your hobby?” he asked.

“Gosh, Baro. Nice way to start a conversation, huh?” he laughed in his mind at his ridiculous statement.

“Ummm… Sleeping, reading manga, watching animes, reading books, playing computer games and... Am I supposed to continue listing?” You paused and looked to Baro with a serious look.

Baro chuckled at your cute response.

 “Careful!” He called out suddenly as he pulled you in his direction to avoid the cyclist who was cycling at a carelessly fast speed.

 “Inconsiderate.” He scolded as he released you.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Umm, yea. Thanks.” You mumbled, still grasping the situation.

“You are not observant of your surroundings.” He pointed out.

“Yea. Sanghee and Jihye say that all the time.” You replied with an embarrassed smile.

“The bus is here.” Baro said.

“Oh. I didn’t realize.” You said as you turned around.

“As usual, I guess?” He said and the both of you laughed a little.

“It seems to be getting less awkward, surprisingly.” You thought to yourself silently.

 

─

 

Baro entered class early and the first thing he did was to look over to his seat. You were not there yet. However, Sanghee and Jihye had reached and were engrossed in some MVs. He walked over coolly and greeted a simple “Good morning” which startled Jihye slightly.

“Oh. Morning!” The two returned the greeting.

You checked your phone and sighed, knowing you are late again.

“I am going to get booked again.” You thought as you sent a text out to Sanghee and Jihye to tell them you would be late.

You missed the morning assembly with the class as you had to stand in a corner with the other late-comers. Among the late-comers, there were some nerds with heavy eye bags and some problematic students. Turning to your right, you saw a guy with spiked hair chewing on gum and were in the midst of being reprimanded by the discipline master.

“You little punk! Still not going to spit that gum out?!” He raised his volume.

“Wow. What a good start to the day.” You thought and sighed.

“You’re late.” Someone said.

You turned around quickly and saw Baro standing at the door. You were returning to the classroom to retrieve your books before rushing to Chemistry lessons when you realized someone had crept up behind you.

“Why aren’t you in class?” You questioned, slightly in shock.

“I went to the washroom and couldn’t find my way around.” He explained bashfully.

“Oh. I see.” You replied.

“I guess I really have the way to make people awkward.” You thought as the two of you were walking to class with you leading the way.

“Why are you late? Just curious.” He asked with a bright smile.

“Haha. I overslept again!” You replied.

Seconds later, you looked away when you realized how readily and naturally you answered him.

He chuckled at your reaction and you wondered if that was a habit of his already.

No one knows. Maybe …It has become a habit that he displayed only around you.

 

─

 

“You can’t go home with me again?” you asked with a pout.

“Mianhae, Jiyeon-ah.” Sanghee said with an apologetic smile.

“Should I wait for you two to go home together after your council activities then?” you suggested.

“I don’t think you should because… someone is here for you already.” Jihye said with a wink.

“Ooohhh~” Sanghee made a soft teasing sound.

You looked at them, confused as ever.

“Jiyeon.” Someone called out.

“These two girls.” You thought in your heart as they wriggled their eyebrows playfully at you.

“Hey there, Baro.” You turned around to face him.

“Going home?” He asked.

“Oh. Today, I am wai-”

“Yes! She is going home with you!” Jihye interrupted and smiled to you.

“Esh. What is this?” You thought with widened eyes.

“Let’s go then.” He said and walked ahead for a few steps.

You looked back at the two who ushered for you to follow him.

“They are acting so weirdly…” You thought.

“This is… Interesting.” The two faced one another and said, smirking.

After some time, you realized Baro has ended up all the way at the front.

“Guys with long legs can really walk fast.” You deduced.

However, some time later, you unknowingly managed to catch up with him.

“You walk really slowly.” He stated.

“And I have to walk slower to match your pace.” He added in his mind.

“Short legs, you see.” You looked down at your legs and laughed.

He chuckled, again.

 

─

 

“Oh.” You looked at the person before you in a surprised manner.

“Morning.” He greeted with a sunshine smile.

“Morning. Why are you waiting for bus here too?” you asked.

“Oh. My dad dropped me off at this bus stop today.” He said with a smile.

“Ah, I see.” You nodded in understanding.

“The bus is here.” He informed you.

“Hehe. There are seats.” You thought and sat down.

Baro took the seat beside you and you moved closer to the window because of the close proximity. He smiled when he saw you shift away uncomfortably. He then moved to his right, leaving a considerable space between you and him. Soon enough, you started to drift off to dreamland again. Somehow, the bus trips always have a hypnotizing effect on you and napping on bus became a sure thing or rather, a habit. Baro chuckled softly when he saw your head bobbing up and down, hitting your bag occasionally. Unconsciously, he reached out his hand to your head. Gently and slowly, he rested your head on his shoulder. Satisfied, he smiled to himself. You shifted your head against his shoulder till a comfortable position and continued sleeping.

“The pillow is so comfortable today.” You thought to yourself.

“This is how you should do it.” You heard a familiar voice say.

“Wait a minute. There are no pillows on buses!” You exclaimed mentally.

You wanted to open your eyes right away but you stopped, not knowing how to react when you find yourself on his shoulder. This is especially so when you kind of guessed he was the one who placed your head on his shoulder. At this note, you felt your heart accelerate a little. This was the first time you felt this way. You could feel the side of your body pressing against his side, giving off some body warmth. His scent filled your nose which made you heat up further. Now, you were faced with a choice- to pretend to sleep or to wake up.

Pretend to sleep
 

Wake up