Throughout the next week, Ro finally sees signs that autumn is closing in. what’s surprising though, is that it’s coming in a bit fast. Thursday’s temperature was somewhere in the eighties (Fahrenheit) and sunny. Friday, however, is a windy, blustery day, ripping dried leaves from the trees and making them dance ballet midair. The sky is crystal blue and the shuddering sound of branches rubbing on branches reminds Ro, ironically, of summer at the beach. She pulls her parka around her tighter.

Ro, JR, MinKi, SooMin, Aron, and BaekHo are sitting outside on the grass during the lunch hour. MinHyun is with his music teacher, catching up on the song that was memorized during the two days that he was sick and absent this week. And Ara got detention from doing God knows what.

The six friends kind of pair themselves up with someone to chat with. They’re all sprawled together in one big group, but JR and MinKi are together in a heated discussion in which member is hotter in 4Minute and 2NE1 (>>;); SooMin and Aron are on their backs, staring at the sky (talking about Ara, actually . . .); and Ro settles with BaekHo.

“Wow,” he sighs. He’s twiddling with a long strand of grass. There’s also a small pile of them on his right knee. “I can’t believe we’ve already been in school for over a month. Eight more to go.” [A/N: I have no idea how the Asian school system work. I know very little from manga/anime, Unni, fanfics, and small tidbits here and there. So idk if Koreans have the same nine month time period for school like America. So bare with me ^^;].

“Tell me about it,” Ro groans. She’s leaning back on her hands, shoulders near her ears and legs crossed at the ankles in front of her. Her glossy hair swirls around her warmly. BaekHo, on the other hand, has taken off his uniform blazer and is clad in only a sleeveless muscle shirt.

“You’re going to catch a cold, dongsaeng,” Ro comments lazily, raising her brows at the younger boy. He just looks at her with crinkles in his eyes, an opened mouth smile, and chuckles. He replies, “The cold never bothers me. What about you? Aren’t your legs cold?” He plucks another strand of grass from the dirt and begins to braid it with two other ones from the stack on his knee.

Ro tugs the hem of her skirt down absently. “A little, but I’ll live.” There’s an unexpected burst of wind and her hair flies across her face. As she flips it back again, BaekHo reaches forward and takes a piece between his fingers. Then he notices something.

“You’re roots are light brown.”

Ro looks at him, then at the lock of hair in his hand. “Is your hair dyed black?” BaekHo asks. Ro nods a little, feeling a bit embarrassed for whatever reason. BaekHo senses this and drops her hair and falls silent, waiting for the awkward moment to disappear. Ro, though, ignores the change in the conversation and just stretches her arms high over her head, reaching for the wispy white clouds, dirt sticking to the heels of her palms. She tries to breathe in the last of the summer air before it’s blown away by the crisp wind and regrets never getting to experience that specific inhale for the rest of her life.

BAEKHO’S POV

BaekHo raises his eyes from the braid he is making with his spontaneous grass collection to watch Ro stretch, her body angled in a strict English capital ‘L’. She yawns, covering with the back of her hand, and falls backward softly. Her shoulder-length hair splays randomly. The natural flush of her cheeks; the red on the tip of her nose from the slight chill; the grass stains on her white uniform socks; the specks of dirt under her nails; her ever-changing laugh that varies from obnoxious to flirty; her sparkling obsidian eyes always flitting with different emotions – always underlined with a consistent memory, a constant pain; her flaws and perfections.

It didn’t take a month for BaekHo’s heart to tie itself securely to a certain girl. That very first bumpy meeting at the yogurt stand, Kang DongHo knew that he’d see that strong, brave girl again, even if he had to hunt her down. He wants to know her past, her present, her future, her next life, her previous one. He wants to be part of it all. It isn’t some dumb ‘love at first sight’ B.S.; it’s more than that. Like a story quickly unraveling – and his character is going to make his entrance in the upcoming chapter.

Choi Ro is imperfect. But that’s what makes her so beautiful in the White Tiger’s eyes. She is a broken girl, broken by a horrible past memory that haunts her heart and it flashes before her eyes at unexpecting, inconvenient times. But she is toughened up by this and refuses to be scarred with another regret, another horror.

Ro’s been clouding up BaekHo’s mind – has been invading his innermost private corners of his thoughts – for weeks now. Her smile that seems so effortless, but it really takes all over her concentration. Her twinkling, flashing eyes that hold so much emotion, unwittingly putting herself out there and at the mercy of everyone around her. Her billowy hair – which is apparently not even the color he fell in love with. Just another thing for her to cover up. Her rough fingertips, always affectionately messing up his short mohawk.

But her laugh. BaekHo came to the conclusion a while back that this is the only real thing that Ro holds close to her. It’s ever-changing, matching the situation, her shifty mood. It’s like a surprise, like one of those Valentine’s Day chocolates, where the center flavor can be toffee, crème, caramel, fudge, nuts, or raspberry sauce. What will it sound like this time? is the question lingering in BaekHo’s mind when a joke is cracked. Will she snort brazenly? Or gasp and go “Ohh-ho!” when an insult flies? Will she giggle shyly when Aron glomps her, still teasing her about the incident BaekHo caused about having Ro confess to Aron that she ‘loves’ him? Maybe she’ll laugh until tears form at the corners of her eyes; with those, BaekHo knows she’s at her happiest.

Ro suddenly catches BaekHo’s steady gaze; he’s been staring. He quickly drops his eyes back into his lap. His fingers are stained slightly green from the grass juice, but he continues the braid he had abandoned to check-out the girl he likes. But his fingers are on autopilot. His thoughts are still lingering on Ro.

The boy risks another look. Ro has shifted her arms so that they are under her head and there’s a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

BaekHo doesn’t think Ro notices – but she has quite a beautiful eye-smile herself. BaekHo thinks, with a shyness that he’s not accustomed to feeling, How could I ever compare to her~?

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A/N: Someone remind me to put in the Aron gif in chapter one. Gym time~