Chapter 1: Noona is so Pretty  

"Hey Key, guess what?" Jonghyun asked.

"What?" Kibum replied through a yawn.

"I got a girlfriend."

The two boys were resting through their lunch hour on the school roof, gazing at the cloudless blue sky. Jonghyun and Kibum were always together above all else and were friends since primary school. You would never see one without the other. All their peers knew this. Kibum knew this. So he didn't know when his friend had the time to get a girlfriend. Their friendship was the reason why girls stayed away. Most thought the two were in "that" kind of relationship.

"When?" Kibum asked.

"She's in my Literature class, a nice Chinese girl who transferred in last month. She confessed to me this morning so I said yeah," Jonghyun stated.

"You said yes? You barely know her," Key retorted.

"That's the point of dating hyung. Besides, you know I wanna know Chinese. Man Key, you had to see her, she was too cute. Her Korean was so bad but she was trying really hard. Maybe she can help me with my Chinese huh?" Jonghyun explained.

"I guess," Key sighed, "Are you going on a date with her?"

"Yeah, I was gonna take her to eat after classes."

"I thought you were coming over to my house today, watch some movies."

"I can go to your place any old day. Don't wait up for me."

"Whatever."

The bell rang for the change of class. Kibum was the first to get to his feet. He walked to the door and waited on his friend. Jonghyun was notorious for being lazy. He often waited for the second bell before making an effort to move. However this time, he stood shortly after and followed Kibum into the building. They didn't say anything on the way to the next class. The boys walked to History class together, though Jonghyun was the only one who took it. Before Kibum would go on his way, Jonghyun said, "Key, maybe now you can get yourself a girl too, right?"

"Sure," Kibum nodded and went about his business.

Throughout his next class, Kibum's mind wandered. He stared out the window, lost in thought. Shouldn't I be happy? he thought. His best friend finally got a girlfriend. Now that he did, that would mean the two would be apart more often. That would mean he would be able to get a girlfriend as well, just as Jonghyun said. However, just the thought of the two being apart made Kibum feel sick, or awkward in the least. He couldn't think of a time they weren't together. Their parents practically raised them as brothers. They were close enough to be.

Although he was told not to, Kibum was waiting down the hall from the Jonghyun's classroom. He wanted to see this girlfriend of his, to judge her. She came to the class. He wouldn't of recognized her as she had no special qualities in her appearance. A typical looking girl. She was obviously shy as she approached Jonghyun. She talked with her eyes staring at her feet. Maybe she was intimidated. Maybe this was supposed to be cute, for a girl but Kibum didn't find her cute in the least. His initial thought was, you blew me off for this? To avoid being seen, Kibum made sure he left first and walked home alone for the first time in years.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Kibum? Where's Jonghyun?" Kibum's mother greeted at the sight of her lonesome son.

"He's on a date with some girl," Kibum said in disappointment and he plopped himself down on the living room couch.

"Oh thank heavens!" Kibum's mother exhaled, "I thought you two were...ah, never mind. Isn't that good? You should be happy for him. Now maybe you can get a girlfriend too. You're a handsome, talented young man. I'm sure the girls swoon over you in school."

Kibum wouldn't tell his mother that he didn't want a girlfriend. From his observation, all they do is talk a lot, they're loud, they cry a lot over trivial things and this is before dating. If you happen to date them, they turn into a monster. Always jealous of other girls, they demand things and make anniversaries for every stupid thing they could think of. Kibum didn't need that. He didn't need some female draining the life out of him. He just needed his friend. Aish, I sound like a chick, Kibum thought. He the television to drown out his thoughts.

An hour later a lyrical melody of a phone ringtone sounded off from a bag carelessly left in the doorway. Only one person ever called. Against his initial thoughts, Kibum darted to his bag, nearly tearing it apart to find his cell phone. His subconscious was hoping Jonghyun was going to say the date was terrible and everything would be back to normal. He finally found his phone, dropping his bag and other contents back on the floor. He tried to regain his composure as he answered.

"Yeoboseyo," Kibum answered in monotone.

"Ni hao!" echoes out of the earpiece.

"What is that?" Kibum asked.

"That's Chinese, means hello," Jonghyun laughed.

"Oh, whatever. So, how'd it go?"

"We had a good time. We're going out again on the weekend. I'm gonna take her to a movie. You wanna come too? I wanna introduce you guys."

"Nah, I have to do something then," Kibum lied, 'So, you're still coming over tomorrow?"

"Sure. When don't I come over?"

"Today," Kibum thought, "Alright. See you in school. Later."

"Later."

Not what he wanted to hear. Kibum kicked his bag and cursed lightly. He didn't want to meet her. She was stealing his best friend. What could they have to talk about if her Korean was so bad? It wasn't Jonghyun going a date today that bothered him. He was bothered by the future. The more the couple click, the more they go out and the less he and Jonghyun hang out. Why was he so bothered? It's not like didn't have other friends. Kibum was very popular and was even called "Almighty Key" among his peers. But the friendship with them is not the same as with Jonghyun. Was this kind of friendship unhealthy?

*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Taemin, I need a favor," Kibum asked.

"Can't it wait until after class?" Taemin whispered back.

"No talking," the teacher stated out loud.

Taemin was a freshman in the Shin High. Even though he was a first year, he gained immediate popularity among the girls for his cute and childish looks. He was often given gifts of candy and love letters. Because of this popularity, Taemin was the go-to-guy for information on other students. Also, he was a decent guy who was a good listener and gave good advice. And his smile can cheer anyone up. His friendship with Kibum was a different matter. Kibum was known as user. He used Taemin for information. Mostly of Jonghyun since they had different classes. It was like keeping tabs on him. Why Taemin put up with Kibum's pushy behavior was a mystery.

"You have a class with that Chinese transfer student right?" Kibum whispered after a few moments.

"What about it?" Taemin asked.

"What do you know about her?"

"You want to date her or something. I thought Jonghyun was-"

"Just give me the info dammit!" Kibum spat.

"Kim-gun," the teacher scolded.

"Ah, sorry," Kibum smiled and class resumed. Taemin wrote some things on a scrap of paper and cautiously passed it to Kibum. It had a few quick scratches of information,

Zhang Liyin, from Sichuan, China, age 16, classes are...

This was just what Kibum wanted, her class schedule. He didn't plan to approach her just yet but such information could come in handy. Kibum folded the paper scrap and hid it in his notebook. He tried to put his attention back on the lesson but his mind was elsewhere. He was never like this before. This was definitely all because of her. The sound of the bell rang and first period was over. However, Kibum didn't notice until Taemin managed to bring him back to reality. The other students were already on the way to their next class.

Kibum quickly collected his things and followed Taemin out. He had class with Jonghyun next. Usually his friend would be outside waiting to walk with him and he looked forward to that. But Jonghyun wasn't waiting outside. Kibum looked up and down the corridor with no sign of his companion. Irritated, he rushed to his second period class. Upon arrival, he saw them. Jonghyun was being suave, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a smirk on his felt as Zhang talked softly constantly playing with her hair as she looked at her feet. Kibum rolled his eyes and his teeth as he approached. He ignored them and walked into the classroom. Seconds later, Jonghyun walked in with the same smirk on his face. He took his usual seat next to Kibum.

"Yo," he said.

"Morning," Kibum grumbled.

"What's wrong?" Jonghyun asked. Before Kibum could answer, the second bell rang off. They were silent as the teacher conducted the lesson. Jonghyun noticed Kibum's odd behavior and little did he know that he was the cause. He wrote something down quickly on a sheet of notebook paper and inconspicuously passed it to Kibum, who glanced at it briefly.

"You're acting weird. What's up?"

"Nothing," Kibum wrote boldly and passed it back.

"Liar."

"It's nothing. Honest."

"We've been friends forever. Is it me?"

"No. I'll be okay."

Jonghyun didn't reply. He pouted and leaned back in his seat. Kibum always told him anything. In fact, if you asked him how he was, he was such a chatterbox. Shutting him up once he started was the hard part. There was two things to expect from Kibum, his cheerful demeanor and his talkative nature. Both were absent in that person beside Jonghyun. He kept his head down and took notes, another unusual feat. Jonghyun tried to cheer up his friend quietly. He leaned against the back of his chair and pretended to yawn while his hand reached over to tug on Kibum's ear. Normally, the other boy would react. Instead, he said nothing and pushed the hand away. Jonghyun hung his head in failure. He'd definitely try again but his other methods might cause Kibum to be noisy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~