*note: if you didn't read the prologue in my forewords, you wouldn't get this story at all.

Chapter 1:

Seulgi looked at the uniform she was wearing.
“This is it,” she thought. After years of hard work and good grades, she was finally going to go to the Rising Sun Academy, the most prestigious and best school in Seoul. And the best part was, she was on scholarship.

“Omma!!” she called out. “I’m leaving for school”
“You take care now,” called back her omma.

As she walked down to the bus stop, Seulgi couldn’t believe how lucky she was to go to such a great school. Ever since Boa told her about it, she always dreamt of walking down those school halls with her. And today, those dreams are coming true.

Seulgi was in such a good mood, that she was humming and whistling the whole bus ride. She even put it a small dance here and there. “Nothing can ruin my good mood today,” she thought, with a huge smile on her face.

As she hopped down the bus, she heard an incredibly familiar voice calling her name.

“Yah! Bae Seulgi!!”
Seulgi grinned.
“Boa!!” she greeted her, opening her arms for a tight hug.

Kwon Boa and Bae Seul Gi have been best friends and schoolmates ever since they could remember. But it all changed after grade school, when Boa’s parents’ company shot up and she started going to expensive schools. Seulgi’s middle school years weren’t the same without her.

“High school is gonna be so much more fun, now that you’re here,” said Boa as the duo walked arm in arm to the school entrance.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited, and all...” replied Seulgi. “…but I’m kinda nervous”
“What do you mean?” her friend asked, concerned.
“C’mon, Boa, you know what I mean. Being a transfer student in sophomore year, and coming from a working class family” Seulgi reminded her. “I’m just scared of being laughed at because of my status”
“Have you been watching Boys Over Flowers again?”

…

Jung Yunho walked coolly into the classroom and gave his best pretty boy smile as he heard his fan girls swoon.
As soon as he sat down, he was joined by his friends, Lee Donghae- the smart sensitive one, and Kim Jaejoong- the fellow playboy.

“So, how was the holidays?” asked Donghae
“Awesome!” replied Jaejoong.

Donghae rolled his eyes. Jaejoong went to Paris for the summer and he probably made the best of it with the hot French girls.

“How about you, Yunho?”
Yunho grunted. “Well, they were fine, until yesterday,” he said. “I met some angry chick who wanted a stupid apology just because she didn’t move her car when the light turned green. I mean, hello, I’m the incredible Jung Yunho! I don’t apologize.”

“Well, at least you’re never gonna see her again, that’s for sure,” countered Donghae
“Yeah, Donghae’s right,” agreed Jaejoong. “But it would be a shame if she was hot, though.”

Yunho gave Jae a look. “Well, it wouldn’t matter, cause she was crazy. Plus, she was plain as paper.”

Jaejoong shrugged and thought about the hot French girls again.

“You so thought she was cute,” Donghae said knowingly. He knew Yunho.
Yunho gave him a death glare.

“Well, moving on to lighter topics,” said Jaejoong “I heard we’re having a new student today.”
Yunho smirked. “Well then, she is one lucky girl.”
“And why is that?” asked Donghae.
“Are you kidding? She’s gonna be in the same class as the great Jung Yunho. I’d be surprised if she didn’t fall in love at first sight. I mean, look at me! I’m hot.”

“Whatever you say.”

The class grew quiet as their teacher, Ms. Park, walked in.

“Anneyong Haseyo, Sungsaemin,” the class greeted.
“Good morning class. Take your seats”

As soon as the class settled down, Ms. Park made the announcement.

“Okay class, we have a new student today. She’s a transfer student and she’s here on scholarship, so I want all of you to make her feel welcome.” She beckoned to the door. “You can come in now”
…
“You can come in now”

Seulgi held her breath as she entered the classroom and took in Ms. Park’s welcoming expression.

She felt all eyes on her and she looked at Boa, who was sitting by the back row. Boa gave her an encouraging smile.

“Well, since I know how shy these new kids can be, let me introduce her to you. Class, this is Bae Seulgi. As you all know, she will be studying here from now on.”

Yuhno wasn’t looking up and just ignored the new girl. Suddenly Jaejoong let out a low whistle.

“Not bad,” he said.

Yunho looked up to this Bae Seulgi’s face and his eyes grew wide the minute he saw it.

“YAH!!”

Yunho almost knocked his chair down as he got up and pointed at Seulgi. She looked at him in alarm and recognized him at once.

“Hey! You’re that guy from yesterday!”
“What the hell are YOU doing here?”
“Well, in case you didn’t notice, genius, I’m the new student.”

Ms. Park, noticing the exchange between the two, suddenly cut in.

“Yunho, I didn’t know you knew each other”
“We don’t!” Yunho and Seulgi yelled in unision.
“Aw, that’s nice”, said Ms. Park, ignoring their statement. “Yunho, you can show her around the school then.”
“Are you crazy, woman?!?!” shouted Yunho.
Ms. Park went up to him and smacked him on the head. “Of course I am. Now, you will show her around school for the whole day, or else I will fail you in all your subjects.”

Yunho hung his head in defeat. Seulgi opened in protest, but her attempt failed.

“Okay Seulgi, you can sit behind Yunho. And since he’s showing you around school until you get use to it, I’m going to take the liberty to make your schedules exactly the same, so things can be easier,” concluded Ms. Park.

Seulgi groaned and did as she was told. It was a good thing that her seat also happened to be beside Boa’s.

Jaejoong and Donghae snickered as Yunho sat down again.

“Love at first sight, huh?”
“Looks like our Yunnie’s not quite the hottie anymore”

“Shut up,” Yunho glared at them. “She’ll be head over heels by the end of the day.”
“Whatever you say”

…

“Yah, will you hurry up?” said and impatient Yunho as he waited for Seulgi to pack her books. It was already lunchtime, but it was proving to be a really slow day for him, especially since he got stuck with her.

Seulgi stuck her tongue out at him and continued to pack her books at the same speed. “Aish, what’s wrong with him? I’m already having enough difficulty as it is, having to carry a ton of books, being a new student and all.”

They arrived at the cafeteria and were joined by Boa.

“Seulgi!! I’m so sorry I left you there!! I should’ve volunteered to show you around, instead of that douche,” said Boa, not noticing Yunho walking beside them.
He cleared his throat. “That douche is right here.”
Boa instantly looked up at him and fell into an ‘O’ shape. She went red immediately. Seulgi stifled a giggle.

Then, without warning, Yunho grabbed Seulgi’s wrist and dragged her to another direction.

“Yah, where are you taking me??” yelled Seulgi.
“We’re sitting at my table, pabo.”
“Okay, first of all, nobody gave you permission to drag me to any table, and second, who told you to call me pabo all of a sudden?”
“Well, in case you didn’t notice, pabo, if Ms. Park saw us separated, it’d mean trouble not, only for me, but for both of us. And since you didn’t notice that, that makes you stupid, thus, the nickname pabo.” Yunho reasoned

“Well, that does make sense,” agreed Boa.
Seulgi gave her a small slap on the arm. “Yah, whose side are you on?”
Boa gave her an apologetic look.

Seulgi sighed. She had to admit, Yunho was right. She didn’t wanna get in trouble on her first day.

“Fine. I’ll sit at your table. But Boa has to come,” Seulgi said, pointing at her best friend.
“Like I’d have a choice,” Yunho retorted.

The trio met Donghae and Jaejoong at their usual spot. Jaejoong was flirting it up with about three girls, and Donghae was cam- with his phone next to him. When they both looked up, Jaejoong dismissed the girls and Donghae snapped his phone shut.

“Why, Yunnie what a surprise! I never thought you’d bring girls to our table,” Jaejoong teased. Yunho rolled his eyes.
“I didn’t want Ms. Park to see I lost her, so I dragged her here,”
“Okay, that explains the new girl. But how about the other one?” Jaejoong was pointing at Boa.

Boa huffed as the three took their seats.

Seulgi smacked her lips as she took out her bento box.

This seemed to interest the three guys, as they all looked at Seulgi’s lunch.

“Ooh, peasant food,” they chorused.
“Bwoh?” Seulgi said.

“I’m sorry,” said Donghae. “It’s just that… we’ve never seen your kind of food before.”
“So what’s it called?” asked Jaejoong
“Does it taste as bad as its cheapness?” added Yunho.

Boa rolled her eyes.

Seulgi gaped at the clueless trio.“For your information, I made it myself.”
The guys gasped. “You don’t have a chef?!?!” Jaejoong and Yunho asked incredously.
“Of course not, you dummies! I’m not rich enough to hire a private chef!
“Well, we thought poor people would at least have like…Public chefs..” they said uncertainly, as if they didn’t know what they were talking about.

Boa gave Seulgi an “I-know-what-you-feel” look.

…

The day went by quickly and before Seulgi knew it, it was already her last subject-biology.

As Seulgi entered the room, she noticed that everyone else-even Yunho, had a lab partner.
“Pabo,” Yunho called. “I’m gonna be stuck with my partner for the rest of the year, so you’re gonna have to find your own, araso?
Seulgi just nodded in understanding.

There was only one empty seat next to a pretty, but shy-looking familiar girl. Seulgi took the liberty to sit down next to her and introduced herself.

“Hey, aren’t you that girl who sits beside me in homeroom?”
The girl looked up and recognized her at once. She shyly nodded her head.
“Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full..”
The girl smiled. “No, its okay.”
“Thanks.”

Seulgi sat down and held her hand out for a handshake. “Bae Seulgi. I’m obviously new here.”
“My name’s Han Hyojoo,” her new lab partner introduced herself and accepted the handshake. She smiled.
Seulgi smiled back and chatted away with her the rest of the class.

After biology, Yunho rejoined Seulgi. “Who was that chick you were talking to?” he asked.
“Oh, you mean my lab partner? Her name’s Hyo Joo.”
“Is she new, too?”
“What do you mean? She’s in our homeroom. She sits behind Donghae? Ring a bell?”
“I haven’t seen her around before.”
“She’s been here since freshman year.”
“Oh… Well, maybe I just didn’t notice her. I don’t usually pay attention to middle class people.”
“Uh, first of all, her family owns most of the fanciest restaurants all over Korea, and secondly, I’m the only middle class person in school, and you don’t have the right to talk about my people like that, you jerk!!”

And with that, Seulgi stormed off, with mixed emotions of anger, insult and disgust. “Aish, how could he talk about human beings like that?” she asked herself.

“Man, is this girl blind or something??” thought Yunho. “Why isn’t she pawning over me like any other girl?” He looked at his body. “Nope, nothing wrong. Still perfect as always.”

Suddenly, a thought came into Yunho’s mind. “I know what this is,” he nodded knowingly to himself. “Yes, that must be it. It explains everything!” Yunho congratulated himself for his “cleverness” and walked over to Seulgi.

“Yah, Bae Seulgi, I know what you’re going along with, so you can admit it now.”
“Bwoh?” asked Seulgi. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, don’t play games,” Yunho sighed. “Look, I know you like me, but you’re one of those girls who don’t want to confess, either because you have pride, or fear of rejection, so you cover it with stubbornness”

Seulgi scoffed and rested her palm on Yunho’s forehead, as if checking for any signs of fever.

“Are you sick, or something? Why would I like you? I mean, c’mon. You’re a self-centered, egotistic, self-loving, idiot who thinks he’s better than everyone. Totally not my type”

“Wait a minute, am I really hearing this? From a girl?”
“Well, I hate to burst you bubble, but yeah, you are”

Seulgi then walked off with her head held high.

…

That afternoon, Yunho, Donghae and Jaejoong hung out in Yunho’s house, as they usually did after school. Yunho told them everything that happened that day and how Seulgi was crazy for not being the slightest bit attracted to him.

As soon as he finished, Jaejoong and Donghae snickered.

“Omigod!!! Our one and only Jung Yunho has lost his touch!!” said Jaejoong in mock despair and pretended to faint.
“Oh, how will we live? Without your hotness, we will surely not survive!” followed Donghae. The two ended up on the floor, laughing their butts off, having trouble breathing.

“Yah, cut it out, you two!” Yunho yelled. “I have certainly NOT lost my touch!! That girl is not normal!! I’m Jung Yunho! I can make anybody fall for me!”

Jaejoong and Donghae stopped laughing. “Okay then, Mr. I’m-So-Hot,” Jaejoong said. “I bet that you will never make Bae Seulgi fall in love with you. EVER. So, you up for the task?” Jaejooong held his hand out.

Yunho narrowed his eyes at Jaejoong’s challenge. He took Jaejoong’s outstretched hand and shook on it. “You’re on”

“But,” Donghae interrupted. “Don’t you think we should make this bet more interesting?”

“What do you mean?” the other two asked in unison.
“I mean, we should add a little something something...you know what I mean?”

“Aaaahhh, I know what you mean,” Jaejoong said, tapping his forehead.
“Wait,” said Donghae. “You do?”
“Well, at least I think I know what you mean.”
“Okay, then I think you should tell me what you think I mean, so I’ll know if you really know what I mean.”
“Okay, but what if what you mean and what I mean are different, I really wouldn’t know what you mean, which means, you’re trying to tell me something else that has a different meaning.”
“Yeah, but if what I mean and what you mean are exactly the same, then we’ll know that we’re thinking the same thing, which means you get what I mean.”
“Yeah, then it means what I think what you mean is what you really mean, so everybody wins.”
“Yeah, but then again if what you mean is totally different from what I mean, then it means-”

“SHUT UP!!!!” Yunho screamed.
Jaejoong and Donghae looked at him with frightened expressions.

Yunho sighed and sat on the chair. “Donghae, just tell us what you mean and put Jae out of his misery.”

“But, then I’d have to know what Jae was thinking I meant.” said Donghae.
Jaejoong whispered something Yunho couldn’t hear into Donghae’s ear.

Donghae gave him a powerful head smack.

“OUCH!!” whined Jaejoong.
“THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT WHAT I MEANT!!!” yelled Donghae.
“Okay, then what did you mean?”

Donghae sighed.

“Okay, since it’s no use in making you guys guess what I’m suggesting, I’ll save us some time and get straight to the point. What’ll happen if Yunho falls for Seulgi?”

Jaejoong, finally getting the point, thought it was a good idea. “I like what you mean, Dongie.”

Yunho chuckled confidently. “Guys, I can assure you that I’ll never fall for that little freak. No need to make that addition.”
“Oh really, Yunnie?” Donghae taunted. “Because I think you’re just scared.”
“Yeah!” Jaejoong agreed. “Scaredy cat! Chicken!”

“So that’s what you think?? Okay, fine, I’ll do it!! I’m sure that I’ll never fall in love with that girl anyway!! You’re on!”

Jaejoong and Donghae slyly smiled as they took turns in shaking Yunho’s hand to seal the deal. “Oh, and remember. Your pride as a pretty playboy will be at stake when you lose.”

Yunho huffed and turned his back on them. He pumped his fist in the air in the determination.

“HWAITNG! Bae Seulgi, let the games begin!”