“What did you wanna tell us anyway?” Boa asked as she, Seulgi and Hyojoo walked to homeroom.

Hyojoo gave them a goofy smile and opened to answer. But before she could, she felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind. She turned around to give Donghae a peck on the lips.

Boa and Seulgi watched the scene unravel in front of them, and stood there, with their jaws dropped.

It lasted for a few seconds, until Boa and Seulgi squealed.

“OMG!!!” Boa squealed. “You guys are finally together!!!! OMG, OMG,OMG, OMG!”

“I’m so happy for you guys!!!” congratulated Seulgi.

“Thanks,” Hyojoo said. “I was kinda freaked out when you guys were just standing there, with your mouths open.” Donghae, whose arms were still wrapped Hyojoo, nodded in agreement.

Boa, who was still surprised, could say nothing but, “OMG!”
Seulgi pulled her away, so they can leave the happy couple alone.

“OMG!” Boa said again, as soon as they were by themselves.
“Can’t you at least say something else?” Seulgi asked.

Boa just looked at her, eyes still widened. “OMG!”

“Look Boa, I know you’re shocked and all, but this was bound to happen! It was only a matter of time, until th-“

“That’s not what I meant,” Boa cut her off. “I’m happy for them, too, and to be honest, I was kinda getting impatient on waiting for them to make it official.”

Seulgi tilted her head to the side. “If that’s what you felt, how come you kept on saying OMG?”

“Look, who are Hyojoo’s friends?” Boa asked.
“You and me”, Seulgi answered.
“Right. And who are Donghae’s friends?” Boa continued.
“Yunho and Jaejoong,” Seulgi replied.
“Which means that…?” Boa pressed.
Seulgi’s eyes widened. “OMG!”

“My sentiments exactly,” Boa concluded.

Seulgi groaned. Boa was right. Since Hyojoo and Donghae were together now, that means that she and Boa would have to hang out with Yunho and Jaejoong more often, since they were Donghae’s friends. Not to mention, they would have to see Lina around, too since she seemed to cling to Yunho for dear life.

“I have a strong feeling that life is gonna be harder for us from now on,” Seulgi said.

“Amen to that,” was Boa’s reply.

…

The end- of- year exams passed by without a hitch, and so did result week. As usual, Seulgi got the highest marks, while the others received fairly average grades. Seulgi and Yunho’s chem. project was a big success, too thanks to their so- called teamwork. Chem turned out to be Yunho’s highest subject for that year.

The publishing of the yearbook was postponed, much to Boa and Hyojoo’s dismay, due to the coming holidays.

Yes, Christmas was coming and the so-called gang was doing everything in preparation for the special time of the year.

Then, there was also the case of the Christmas dance. All the boys were going around the school, either making surveys of the non- taken girls, or running away from the dates of the taken girls that they asked.

Jaejoong put on his confident playboy smile as he knocked on the door of the chem. classroom.

“Come in,” came a muffled voice from inside.

Jaejoong opened the door to see the beautiful chem. sub, doing some paperwork. . He made his way to her and stopped in front of her desk.

She raised her head up and said, “Oh, Jaejoong, what do you need?”

Jaejoong smiled and said, “I need a partner for the Christmas dance.”

Song Hye Kyo looked at him straight in the face. “And? You’re asking me?”

“Yes,” Jaejoong replied with a sly smile.

She sighed. “Jaejoong, you’re cute and all, but no thanks.”

Jaejoong’s face fell. “Why not?”

“Because we both know that it’s not me who you truly want to ask.”
Jaejoong looked at her widening his eyes, sitting down on the chair in front of her. “Bwoh?? How would you know that?”

Song Hye Kyo chuckled. “Just admit it, Jaejoong, I’ve seen the way you look at Boa. And even though you still act like a playboy and talk to all those girls in my class, I still see you look at her from the corner of your eye.”

Jaejoong sighed, held his hands up in surrender, then rested his head on the table. “Okay, maybe you’re right! Maybe I have been thinking of Kwon Boa lately! And I may have been thinking of asking her to the dance! Happy?”

The chem. sub gave him a beautiful smile. “Yes. But why haven’t you asked her already?”
Jaejoong grunted. “I don’t know. Whenever I talk to her in chem. my heart does little back flips, and I go nervous, but I do my best to hide it.”

Hye Kyo smiled, and tilted her head to the side, telling him to say more about the subject.

Jaejoong took a deep breath and continued. “And just last week, when I tried to ask her to the dance, you came in the classroom and she shot me a dirty look and turned away.

“Well, with the way you’ve been staring at me, I don’t blame her,” she said.
“What? All the other guys give you dirtier stares! Plus, you’re hot, so you can’t blame us guys from having raging hormones.”
“Okay, I’m going to pretend that you never said that.”

Jaejoong laughed. “Mianhae.”
Hye Kyo smiled and thought of an idea. “How about I help you with you situation?”
Jaejoong perked up. “You mean you’re gonna help me win Boa’s heart?”

She nodded in response.
“Kamsahamnida, sungsaemin!” Jaejoong said, bowing repeatedly.
“You can call me Hye Kyo.”

…

“Oppa!!! Where are you?!?!” Yunho heard Lina yell from a distance. He was trying to hide from her, ever since she showed him signs that she wanted him to ask her to the Christmas dance. He tried everything to shrug her off, but alas, none of his techniques were effective.

He ran to another direction, only to bump into someone who was passing by.

“Hey! Watch it, you jerk!” yelled Seulgi, who he bumped into.
“Oh… it’s you.”

Seulgi shot him one of her famous annoyed looks, which, by that time, Yunho was already used to.

Yunho sighed and said, “Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go hide from-“

“OPPA! There you are!” Lina said, finally spotting him.

“Too late,” he muttered under his breath.

“Why don’t you just ask me to the dance, already?!?!?” Lina whined.

“Because I don’t wanna take you there! Now leave me the heck alone, you crazy woman!” Yunho replied

Seulgi witnessed the whole thing and had to stop a smile from forming on her lips. So he hated her. That was a plus.

Seulgi was busy with her own thoughts and didn’t hear Lina and her complaints and whines.

But her smile faded away when she heard Yunho talk.

“Fine! I’ll take you there! NOW SHUT UP!”

“Yay!” Lina cheered. “I’ll see ya Saturday, oppa!” she said and walked away happily.

Yunho sighed with relief. “She finally left me alone!”

Seulgi scoffed. “Moron. You don’t realize that you have to take her to the dance, do you?”

Yunho, who didn’t notice her presence, which was drowned out by Lina’s irritating voice, turned to look at her and realized that she was right.

His eyes grew wide with realization. He groaned exasperatedly.

“AAARRGGGHHH!! Why didn’t I think of that?!?!”
“Because you’re stupid.”

Yunho bit his lip. “Aaaah! Ottoke?” he asked himself.

Seulgi shrugged. “Morunda. Figure it out for yourself,” she said and walked away, anger and hurt threatening to break her apathetic façade.

Yunho just sighed and looked at her as she walked away. “Well… so much for asking her to the dance.”
…

Donghae and Hyojoo were hanging out in his room, sitting side by side on his bed. Her head was on his shoulder and their hands were intertwined.

“Sooo… about this Saturday…” Donghae said casually, playing with their tangled hands.
“Which is the day of the dance,” continued Hyojoo.
“Yeap. We need dates, don’t we?” 
Hyojoo smiled, knowing where this conversation was going. “Well, they’re not exactly compulsory, but if you think you need one…”

Donghae grinned. “So, it’s pretty obvious that my girlfriend has to go with me, ‘cuz it won’t look very good if I went alone.”

Hyojoo raised her head to look at him and smiled with a sly expression. “So the only reason I’m your girlfriend is because you want an automatic date for dances?” she teased.

Donghae decided to back. “Maaybe~” he sang.

Hyojoo’s mouth opened wide, to show him that she was insulted. She lightly slapped Donghae on the shoulder and laughed.

“You are, like, the worst boyfriend ever!” she said while slapping him and laughing at the same time.

“Hey!” he said, holding her hands to stop her attacks. “I thought I was the best boyfriend ever!” he said, emphasizing on the word ‘best’.

Hyojoo stopped attacking him. “You’re right,” she said, and pecked him on the cheek. She looked at the time. “Oops! Gotta go! I made Boa and Seulgi promise we’d go shopping for dresses today.”

Donghae pouted, because he didn’t want Hyojoo to leave. “Okay… fine.” Then his frown turned into a smile. “So, I’ll see you under the mistletoe?”

Hyojoo laughed. “Don’t push your luck.” But she winked when she said it.

Donghae put his two fingers to his lips and waved them to her, as if blowing a kiss.

“See ya, oppa,” Hyojoo said one last time, and left.

Donghae plopped down back to his bed and sighed with happiness.

“Couple life is good.”

…

“Ooh, how about this one?” Hyojoo exclaimed, as she ran to a dress rack. “Or this one?!” she said yet again, and ran to another dress rack on the other side of the room. She was carrying a ton of dresses in her arms, and she was still looking for more.
“I swear, she’s getting all blurry when I see her race around the room,” Seulgi said, as she watched Hyojoo sprint off to another rack of dresses. She turned to Boa. “Have you found yours, yet?”

Boa looked up from a dress she was examining and shook her head. She sighed and sat down in a nearby chair, holding the dress in her arms.

“Why do we even have to buy dresses, if we don’t even have dates?” she asked.
“Let’s just do this for Hyojoo. Ever since she and Donghae got together, she’s been really jumpy and hyper,” Seulgi answered, looking at their joyful friend.

Boa sighed again. “I guess. Now, let’s look for our dresses.” She stood up and walked to a rack, still holding the dress she was examining earlier.

“Hey, do you mind if I look at that dress?” asked Seulgi, pointing to the one Boa was holding.

“Oh, this one?” Boa said, not realizing she was still holding the dress until Seulgi asked her about it. “Sure. It doesn’t suit me anyway.”

Seulgi examined the dress. It was black tube top dress, which had a kind of puffy skirt with pixie- like edges and lace. Simple, elegant and cute.

“Hey Boa, how come you didn’t pick this one? It’s gorgeous.”

Boa looked at the dress and shrugged. “I don’t know. It just didn’t say ‘Boa’. Y’know what I mean?”

Seulgi looked at the dress again. “Do you kind if I try it on?”
Boa shrugged, still looking for the right dress. “Sure, why not? It’s not mine anyway.”

Seulgi walked over to the dressing rooms and tried the dress on. It fit her perfectly.

“Hey Boa! Hyojoo! Come here for a sec!”

Her two friends walked over to the dressing room to see her dress.

Seulgi spun around for full effect and faced them “How do I look?”

Boa and Hyojoo’s eyes widened as they saw their friend. Their jaws were dropped and they were rendered speechless.

“Miss, have you made you decision?” asked a sales lady, who was walking towards them.

Seulgi turned to her and beamed. “I’ll take it.”

By the end of the day, all three girls were satisfied with their choices.

Boa bought and elegant dress with a shade of pink that really complimented her hair color.

Hyojoo bought a blue dress that went well with her skin tone.

And Seulgi bought the perfect black dress.

…

The rest of the week passed by in a flash and before they knew it, it was the big day. Everyone around the school was making last minute preparations, the dateless boy were running around, asking random dateless girls, all the girls were doing some last minute shopping, fixing their makeup and what- not.

Yunho sat on his bed, not wanting to join any of the chaos that was going on outside his room.

“Hey, which one do you think Hyojoo will like me in?” Donghae asked, holding up two ties, both a shade of blue.

“Who cares? They look exactly the same,” Jaejoong said apathetically.

Donghae rolled his eyes at him. “You’re just jealous, because for the first time in your life, you are dateless.”

Jaejoong scoffed. “Ch. I can just pick any random girl up there,” he said. But, by random girl, he meant Boa.

He remembered what Hye Kyo said to him a few hours earlier.

[Flashback]

“Just remember,” Hye Kyo instructed him. “Be nice. I don’t get why all guys think that girls like jerks.”

Jaejoong blushed, remembering the words he said to Yunho when he was trying to make Seulgi fall for him.

“Anyways, just walk up to her and tell her that she looks nice,” Hye Kyo continued. “Then, cook up a conversation, and after talking for a while, ask her to dance. But do it casually. Although, don’t be scared of being nervous. Some girls may find it cute.”

Jaejoong nodded, and took down some notes, scribbling madly onto his notepad.

“I assume you know how to dance?” Hye Kyo asked him.

Jaejoong nodded again. “I always dance when my parents have formal parties.”

Hye Kyo smiled. “Then I’ll se you tonight. You better get ready now.”

As he stood up to leave, Jaejoong turned to his teacher. “Umm… gomawo… for saying yes.”

Hye Kyo smiled. “Don’t mention it, Jaejoong. I’m glad I said yes.”

He smiled, bowed and left.

[End of Flashback]

Jaejoong took a deep breath. “Kwon Boa, here I come.”

…

Boa stormed inside the dorm room, tears threatening to flow down her cheeks.

She threw her self onto her bed, thinking about the conversation she just heard.

[Flashback]

“Aish,” Boa thought, as she walked down the hallway. “Why did I have to forget my notebook in the chem. classroom, of all places?”

Just as she reached for the doorknob, she heard voices from inside. She pressed her ear to the door to hear more clearly.

“Gomawo… for saying yes,” she heard a familiar voice say. Kim Jaejoong.

“Don’t mention it, Jaejoong,” said another voice. A female voice.

Boa realized that it belonged to the chem. sub.

“I’m glad I said yes.”

That last line made Boa’s heart hurt. She pulled away from the door and ran to the room, her eyes watering.

[End of Flashback]

“Stupid Kim Jaejoong,” she thought.

Just then, Seulgi entered the room with an angry face.

She huffed and sat down on her bed and thought back on the scene that just happened.

[Flashback…again]
Seulgi was entering the dorms when she heard that familiar whiny voice that she hears almost all the time.

“Oppa! Wait for meee~” Lina whined. 
“Stay away from me, you crazy !”
“Oppa, why are you so mean?”
“You call this mean? I’m already being nice to you!”

Seulgi watched as she saw Yunho and Lina playing tug of war with his sleeve. She remembered the times when she and Yunho fought and called her pabo. She looked at the couple again and wished to be in Lina’s shoes.

She didn’t realize that the so-called “happy” couple walking towards the entrance of the dorms, to where Seulgi was standing.

“Yah, pabo, let me through,” said Yunho as he saw that Seulgi was blocking the door. Lina was still clinging to Yunho and he just couldn’t shake her off.

Seulgi put her hands on her hips. “And who are you to tell me what to do?”

Just and Yunho was about to start on his “I’m-the-incredible-Jung-Yunho speech”, Seulgi held her hand up to silence him.

“You know what, don’t answer that.”

The two continued their bickering session and Lina saw how the two had so much chemistry with each other. Anger and jealousy boiled up in her chest.

“I can’t let that peasant take my Yunnie Oppa away from me!” she thought, fuming.

She put a fake smile on her face and clung tighter onto Yunho’s arm.

“Oppa! Let’s go! We have to get ready for tonight!”

Yunho groaned exasperatedly. “If you wanna go now, go yourself!”

Seulgi scoffed. “OH, JUST GO WITH HER THEN, YOU PIG-HEADED JERK!” she suddenly exploded with jealousy, much to Yunho’s confusion. Seulgi then stormed off into the dorms and went straight to her room.

[End of Flashback]

“AAARRGGGHH!!!” Seulgi and Boa, who were both in the room, said together.

“Men are jerks,” stated Seulgi
“Tell me about it,” agreed Boa.

Hyojoo suddenly entered the room, looking excited. “Guys! We better get ready fro the dance! Man! Isn’t it great to have a man by your side?!?!” she said happily.

“AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!” Boa and Seulgi suddenly screamed together again, burying their heads into their pillows, so their voices were muffled.

“Did I say something wrong?” Hyojoo asked innocently.

<3--------------------------------