I continue to stare at him in the same position we were the last time I encountered him here. He was like a gazelle who pranced freely in the woods without a care of its surroundings. But apparently, I was the cheetah, quietly stalking my prey from a distance, lurking in the bushes and waiting for my chance to pounce. Unfortunately, this cheetah isn't fast enough to catch up to the gazelle.

It's been a while since I saw him. For one week I've suffered, kept in solitary confinement to wait for another individual to keep me company.

But after seeing him in the hallway during break, it was no coincidence to why he was in my dreams last night.

Up until then, I didn't look forward to escaping to that place every single night, waiting for a person who wouldn't be there. There would be no wind in the atmosphere but it was still cold. It was then that I thought Kris should be there, even if my actions haven't progressed in any way.

All of a sudden, he began to turn toward me again. And as soon as I saw the corner of his eye, I heard the increasing sound of my name being called from the back of my mind.

"Cho Ae~ Chooo Aeee~"

I blinked and lifted my head off the palm of my hand. "Huh?" I looked down at the untouched food in front of me and the finger that pointed to it.

"Are you going to eat it?" Dongwoo asked. "If not, can I have it?" He joined his hands together and pouted at me.

Before I could answer, Sungyeol interrupted. "If you're not gonna eat the apple, can I have it?"

"But I wanted the apple..."

Sungyeol's arm shot forward to grab the apple, but my hand intercepted and tackled him to the side.

"Why don't you both share the apple?" I suggested.

Sungyeol slouched. "Wae~ I don't want to!"

"Ya, pabo!" Sunggyu exclaimed from across us. "Would you rather have half an apple, or none at all?"

Sungyeol frowned, dropped his head, and answered in a soft voice, "Half."

Sunggyu leaned back in his place, arms crossed, and a satisfied look on his face as Dongwoo took the apple and handed it to the person beside him, which was Hoya, who nodded and broke the apple perfectly in half while still having his earphones plugged in. Dongwoo took the two halves and handed the second one to Sungyeol, who snatched it from his hand and began eating it gleefully. Dongwoo laughed and ate his half.

"Oppa!" I called.

Hoya head lifted up and he took out his earphones. "Yes?"

"How's that song going?"

He smiled. "I almost got all the choreography down."

My eyes widened. "Without even practicing?"

Dongwoo answered for him. "You know Hoya already, Cho Ae. He's the dancing machine of INFINITE. If it has anything to do with dancing, he can do anything."

"Hyung~" Hoya whined with embarrassment. Dongwoo began laughing.

"So what were you dreaming about again?" Woohyun asked, leaning forward on the table and batting his eyelashes.

Myungsoo sneered. "Probably about Woohyun." He grinned.

"Ya!" Woohyun yelled, hitting Myungsoo. Everyone laughed. I joined too, but inside I sighed.

"Jongie~" Sungyeol cooed at the maknae of the group sitting on the other side of Woohyun, "What are you doing?"

Sungjong's head was buried in the book. If he went any closer, he would practically get into it. "Shh! I have a test for English next class and I really need to memorize these words!"

Sunggyu laughed and flicked his head towards Sungjong. "This is why you should be studying than staying up all night long practicing girl group dances." We laughed once again. Sungjong let out a long, deep, frustrated sigh. Sunggyu continued in English, "You can do it! Sungjong, fighting!" He shook his imaginary pom poms in the air.

"You still didn't answer my question," Woohyun asked suddenly.

I blinked. "What?"

"Who were you dreaming about so much that made you not eat any of your lunch?" By the tone of his voice, he had an idea about who I was dreaming of. His guess would be correct.

I opened my mouth to protest but got cut off by the bell. Thank you, I thought. I guess I really am being saved by the bell. "I gotta go guys." I got up from the table and grabbed my bag. "I'll see you after school."

----

I tapped the eraser end of my pencil on the desk as I tried to comprehend what my teacher was trying to say about predators and prey.

"The cheetah is the world's fastest land animal in the world. It can reach speeds up to sixty miles per hour on average, which is essential for catching smaller animals like antelopes or gazelles. Now, if a cheetah is injured, it can't keep up with a gazelle that's running away from it. While the cheetah and gazelle are examples of predators and prey, there are also those who can hunt each other. An example of this is..."

Hmm... Cheetahs and gazelles. Predators versus the prey. The roles can switch just as easy. While one depends on the other to survive, it can do the same thing in turn. Well, that sounds interesting...

----

After school is finally approaching, and it will be one less day to count until summer arrives. It has been a long day today, with almost facing what would likely be a very heated confrontation between me and Woohyun about my recent obsession with dreaming. I would hope that won't happen. It would set Woohyun off in a way that would not be pleasurable for anyone.

I sighed as I sat in my seat. I finished most of my homework for this class and have decided to finish the rest at home.

Now all I was worried about is getting a ride back home.

Riiing!

I slipped the straps of my bag onto my shoulders and stood up, feeling the weight of the books pull toward the ground. I strolled out of the class and down the hall through the doors to my freedom. I spotted Woohyun leaning on his car talking to Sunggyu, Dongwoo, Myungsoo, Sungjong, Hoya, and Sungyeol. My heart began to pump faster in my chest as my steps shortened the distance.

"Hey, Cho Ae!" Sungjong greeted first.

"Did you do well on your test?" I asked.

He grinned and nodded. "All correct!"

"I guess listening to those English versions of Girls' Generation's songs paid off, huh?" Sunggyu joked. Sungjong rolled his eyes and I giggled.

"How was your Biology class?" Myungsoo asked.

I shrugged. "Okay. All we learned about was how animals hunt." Woohyun stepped away from the car and towards me. "Uh, yeah, oppa, about lunch, I—"

He smiled. "That's okay, Cho Ae." He held up a heart with his hands. "I'm not mad. You can't help what, or who, you dream about, right? Just make sure you eat though. That's what matters to me." The rest of the members snorted.

"So Cho Ae," Hoya announced, "are we still up for your house?"

I nodded. "Yeah, of course! My parents aren't home and they said you guys are all welcome to coming over anytime as long as I'm not alone in the house."

"Well, that's not a problem." Hoya nudged Woohyun's arm and winked at him.

"Okay guys." Woohyun pushed him away. "Let's just get going. Don't we all have homework to do?"

The members groaned with a "yeah" and dispersed to their own cars, leaving me and Woohyun right where our mode of transportation is.

"Come now, Cho Ae," Woohyun called as he went around to the driver's side of the car, "let's go."

"Mhm," I replied, adjusting the weight of the books in my arms. I turned my head to peek at my bag over my shoulder but caught a glimpse of Kris heading my way.

He looked absolutely flawless. Although his facial expressions may be stone hard and ice cold, everything else about him seemed perfect. The way he walks, his blonde hair in the sunlight, and the confidence that seemed to radiate from him. My eyes met his, but he turned away and continued to strut, passing me and toward the end of the runway where his shiny Corvette was parked.

I hadn't realized how long I was staring at him with my jaw to the floor until Woohyun snapped me out of my daze.

"Cho Ae," he said a little harshly, "let's go."

"Oh." I nodded and turned to face the car. "Yeah." I dropped my bag and books in the back and got in the seat beside the driver.

I could never get used to seeing Kris around school. Whenever he would appear, a light would only shine on him, and his path was a runway, with no one in the way of his performance until his time in the spotlight was over.

What I would do to be his spotlight for one moment...

----

"Yah! Lee Sungjong, you die!" Sungyeol yelled as he threw the miniature basketball at Sungjong.

"Wae!" Sungjong yelled back. "Hyung, stop it!" Sungjong fought back and threw one of the pillows that he grabbed from my couch. Sungyeol lunged toward Sungjong and pulled on his legs, causing Sungjong to land flat on his back.

"You guys!" I shouted. "I invited you guys to do homework and practice your dancing, not to physically assault each other!"

"Mianhe," the two kids apologized, bowing their heads.

I reached over to pat their heads. "It's okay. Now let's get our homework finished so you two can enjoy some free time."

"Ah, Cho Ae is like a leader," Sunggyu complimented. "She takes after me because she can't stand kids like you."

"Yah!" Sungyeol challenged. "We're seventeen! Not seven."

"You sure?" Sunggyu questioned.

Another argument arised between the two. I shook my head as I resumed to focusing on my Biology homework.

The question read: What is an example of predators and prey and why are they important to every day life?

I thought back to class today and what my teacher explained about predators and prey.

"The cheetah and gazelle are an example of predator and prey. The cheetah has to hunt down the gazelle in order to eat. It is the same as how humans hunt for food to keep them alive and healthy. We constantly try to find animals that satisfy our hungry stomachs and we hunt them down, killing them in the process. If we do not hunt, we will lose what we needed so badly in order to survive, and in turn, we will become the hunted, the prey."

If we do not hunt, we will lose one of the most essential ingredients to survive and become the hunted...

Suddenly I felt sick to my stomach.