The following school morning passes by just like any other.  Jongup is still mobbed in the hallways as he rushes to his locker.  Himchan magically appears out of nowhere once more at the last minute, saving the dancer from the herd, and Jongup gives his classmate a smile of thanks before scrambling to his class with his books.  Surprisingly, the classroom is emptier than usual and Jongup doesn’t know why.  There are a few students in their seats texting the morning away with their phones while others are busy finishing the homework that they did not complete yesterday.  Jongup scoffs at this.  Who was there to text in the morning anyway?  And where would procrastination ever bring someone in life?  Jongup strides over to his own seat in the back when suddenly,

Crack!

            The brunette turns toward the direction of the sound.  As expected it was none other than clumsy Jung Daehyun, who had just broken his pencil’s lead while writing.  Jongup swears he hears a curse of some sort, but then doubts himself because Daehyun is far too innocent to say such things.  He laughs silently to his own thoughts and decides to approach the other, who is studying and jotting down notes as he scans the textbook.

            “Hey,” Jongup simply greets and Daehyun drops his pencil immediately and looks up, only to see the other smiling at him.

            “J-Jongup-sshi,” Daehyun stutters.  “W-What are you doing here?”

            “This is my class, too, Daehyun-ah,” Jongup chuckles and takes the seat in front of the other since it is still unoccupied.  “Why are you studying for this class?  Mrs. Jung never said anything about a test.”

            “But studying wouldn’t hurt…” Daehyun is doing that thing again, Jongup observes.  He’s avoiding eye contact.  And Jongup doesn’t know why.

            A few whispers are heard around the room.  Jongup scans the class and realizes that a few more students have entered, and that they are probably bickering about the fact that he is talking to the classroom’s social delinquent.  Tch.  At this point, Jongup doesn’t really seem to care much about what the others were thinking.  Daehyun was like any other normal person.

            “Class is starting in five minutes, Jongup-sshi… Why aren’t you in your seat yet?” Jongup can tell the other is starting to feel uncomfortable with the number of eyes on them.  He tries to read Daehyun’s expression, but of course he can’t because Daehyun has his eyes on his textbook.  He’s still avoiding eye contact.

            “Because I have five minutes,” Jongup simply answers, shrugging his shoulders as he turns the page of Daehyun’s textbook.  A gasp is heard from someone else in the classroom.  “Daehyun, we’re not studying that chapter.  We’re on Chapter Fifteen.”

            Daehyun flips the page back.  “But I’m reviewing, Jongup-sshi.  You should go back to your seat… before you’re tardy.”

            “Not until you drop the sshi’s when you talk to me,” Jongup fakes a hurt expression, but it’s meaningless because Daehyun doesn’t bother raising his head to see it.  “You make me feel old, Daehyun-ah.”

            Daehyun seems to bury his head deeper into the textbook.  Jongup assumes the other is trying to ignore him, and he finds it slightly amusing, so he stays there and refuses to leave.  After another minute, Daehyun finally looks up and for a second he stares at Jongup straight in the eyes.

            “Go back to your seat, Jongup,” and he pushes his glasses up before focusing his attention on the textbook once more.

            “That’s more like it,” and the dancer stands up preparing to leave.  The student that was supposed to sit in the seat quickly takes it.  Jongup takes a look at the jock who only glares at him.  The brunette shrugs and takes another look at Daehyun.

            “I only followed what you said because I was worried you might be tardy, Jongup-sshi,” Daehyun smiles and once again, time slightly freezes for Jongup as he absorbs the magnificent sight of Daehyun’s pearly whites.  He breaks out of his trance soon after though when the bell rings.  The dancer hops over the jock’s desk, receiving an annoyed grunt, and hurriedly takes his own seat a second before Mrs. Jung enters.  He hears the girls squeal at his “cool move,” but Jongup thinks he also hears a guy’s chuckle.  He turns around and looks behind him, searching for the source of the small laugh.  Jongup finds Daehyun smiling to his textbook and wonders if the chuckle belonged to him.  He wouldn’t be surprised if it was, because Daehyun’s singing voice was absolutely heavenly, so his laugh was probably just as soothing.  Jongup takes a moment to think about his own thoughts.  He frowns, but when the teacher starts speaking, he shrugs the emotions off.

            “We’ll be having a pop quiz on Chapter Fourteen and Fifteen,” Mrs. Jung announces as she grabs a stack of papers from her desk.  “Please take out a separate sheet of paper.”

            Jongup mentally curses at himself.  How does Daehyun know what to study for?!  He turns around at the other and watches as the student closes his textbook and pulls out a sheet of paper.  He notices that Daehyun had glanced at him while doing so, and that the boy had smiled cheekily while avoiding eye contact.  Daehyun’s laughing at me…

            “Oppa, do you need a sheet of paper, too?” the girl behind him asks.  Jongup turns his gaze to her and decides that he will take her offer.  When she hands him the blank paper though, she brings up another two questions,

            “Oppa, why do you keep looking at Daehyun?  Why are you even talking to him?”

            These words hit something in Jongup’s gut and before he knows it, he is offended.  “Is that a crime?  Daehyun has never done anything to anyone and he deserves better than how we all treat him.”

            “But he’s… Daehyun.”

            Jongup furrows his eyebrows and gives off a slight expression of disgust.  The brunette scrunches the paper in his hands and gives it back to the girl.

            “Keep it,” he says, almost growling.  “I don’t want your stinking paper.”

            He turns around and pulls out a sheet of blank paper from his own folder.  Jongup almost throws himself out the window when he hears the girl behind him squeal and then whisper to herself, “He touched my paper.”

            Later that day, Jongup lines up in the cafeteria for lunch and orders a burger.  Himchan invites the dancer to join him at his table and Jongup is about to agree when he notices an almost-empty table in the corner of the cafeteria, occupied by one person—Jung Daehyun.  “No thanks,” Jongup smiles at Himchan, who only shrugs before walking off with his small salad.

            Jongup approaches Daehyun who is currently unpacking his lunch bag.  “Hey,” he greets the other in the same exact tone as earlier in the morning.  Daehyun slightly bounces on his seat.

            “J-Jongup-sshi!  W-What are you doing here?” Jongup feels a wash of déjà vu.

            Jongup laughs.  “Can I sit here?”

            Daehyun’s expression is one of complete confusion and Jongup can’t help but find it cute.  He watches the other’s conflicted eyes and waits patiently before Daehyun hesitantly replies.

            “Y-Yes… I mean, you can, but…” Daehyun pauses.  “Wouldn’t you rather sit with your friends, Jongup-sshi?”

            “I could sit with them,” Jongup gazes over at Himchan’s table and watches as the boy roars with laughter, spitting his salad out of his mouth, “but I’d rather not.”

            He takes the seat across from Daehyun and they eat in an awkward silence.  Jongup watches as Daehyun quietly nibbles on his fried tofu and rice.  He finds this amusing until Daehyun is still on his first piece of tofu after a minute.

            “Do you always eat like this?” Jongup asks because he can’t help his curiosity.

            Daehyun widens his eyes.  “N-No!  It just… feels weird to eat when you’re watching everything I do…”

            Jongup nearly chokes on his burger.  He had no idea Daehyun was aware of the fact that he was observing him.  “I’m sorry.”

            They finish their lunch earlier than usual after Jongup decides to just focus on his burger and let Daehyun eat his lunch in peace.  When they’re done, the dancer offers to trash the leftovers.  He returns with a bright smile.

            “Have you ever been on the rooftop?”

            Daehyun stares at him for a while before nodding his head no.  Jongup motions for the other to stand up.  He hurries out of the cafeteria, beckoning at Daehyun so he would follow along.  Daehyun scans the cafeteria to find all eyes on him and feeling slightly uncomfortable about it, he obediently strides to catch up with Jongup.  The other leads him up the stairs until they reach a door, which Jongup pushes open, revealing a barren floor with a perfect view of the sky and the students below.  Daehyun stands at the door hesitantly before Jongup grabs his hand and pulls him forward to the edge.  Daehyun grabs onto the rail and looks down.  He smiles and Jongup is taken away once more.

            “Everyone’s small,” Daehyun comments and Jongup finds his statement cute.  A silence follows and after a few minutes pass, Jongup glances at Daehyun and decides to ask the question that’s been dying to escape his lips.

            “Hey, how does it feel?”

            “It feels great up here… I mean I used to be afraid of heights, but—”

            “No, I meant how does it feel to…” Jongup pauses and ponders for a while, struggling to find the right words.  “How does it feel to not have everyone’s attention on you?”

            Daehyun is taken aback by the question.  He alternates his glance between the view and Jongup, who is patiently waiting for an answer.

            “It feels…” Daehyun sighs.  “Lonely?”

            “Hm.”

            “Jongup-sshi, I don’t understand why you’re talking to me all of a sudden,” Daehyun confesses, refusing to look at the other.  “Everyone’s starting to give me odd looks just because you’re interacting with me.”

            Jongup watches as the other shifts awkwardly back and forth on his feet.  “There’s nothing wrong with talking to you.”

            “Everyone else thinks there is.”

            “Who cares what they think?”

            “Why don’t you care what they think?”

            “Because you’re not a bad person,” Jongup sighs.  “I admit I was like them before, but when I heard you sing, I just wanted to know you better.”

            “I don’t like the attention, Jongup-sshi,” Daehyun admits, turning to his side to face the dancer.  “You may be used to all of the attention, but I’m not and I never will be.  I’ve grown accustomed to the way people treat me.”

            Jongup frowns.  He looks at Daehyun, and when he realizes that the other is not looking at him, he waits until their eyes are meeting.  Daehyun seems so fragile all of a sudden that Jongup wants to just grab onto his shoulders and assure him that everything is okay.  But he doesn’t because he can’t.  He’s afraid Daehyun would break if he does.  “But I don’t like the attention either.  I would do anything to give the attention up.  I would do anything to be like you, Daehyun.  But it’s too late to try.  I can’t erase the performance that gained me all this unwanted fame.”

            He waits for the words to sink in before he smiles brightly.  “But if interacting with you will make me feel closer to being a normal student, I’m more than willing to do so.”

            “But I’m not a normal student,” Daehyun emphasizes his point by stressing his words.  “If I was normal, people wouldn’t mind talking to me.”

            Jongup begins to feel sympathetic for the other.  How is it possible for one to have such a low self-esteem?  At that moment, the dancer decides that he will be the one to change everything.

            “It doesn’t matter because I’ll be the one that talks to you.”

            Daehyun is speechless.  A silent minute passes before he slowly raises his head and stares at the boy in front of him.  Jongup isn’t sure if his eyes are just sparkling or if he is tearing.  But either way, they’re captivating and Jongup can’t deny it.  The dancer smiles reassuringly and the two take a moment to sink their lunchtime in before the bell rings.  Jongup is about to turn and hurry to class when Daehyun grabs his hand, shocking him and forcing him to halt.

            “But Jongup-sshi, if you’re going to talk to me, don’t do it at school anymore,” then he breaks into a breathtaking smile.  Jongup mentally praises himself for being the one to open a path through Daehyun’s many protective barriers.  “I don’t want your fan girls hunting me down.”

            Jongup is taken aback by the statement, but nonetheless he replies with a nod and a smile before Daehyun loosens his grip.