“Did a banshee move in next door or something like that? I mean who the hell screams for five straight minutes every morning at 4:00 A.M.? No one can sleep in this condition!” Sehun grumbled as all the guys in their suite gathered around in the living room.

                “Kai is sleeping like a baby in his room.” Lay pointed out as he went into the kitchen to make coffee.

                “Not surprising; he can sleep through a hurricane.” Jongdae added.

                “Kai’s a lucky bastard. I wish we can all sleep like him.” Sehun crossed his arms as he glowered at the door, “This has been going on for the past three nights. Is our new neighbor a psycho or something?”

                “Hey, if you’re so curious, you should go over and see who lives next door.” Kris suggested.

                Sehun sighed deeply. He didn’t want to, but the constant hollering had become too much of a nuisance to ignore. Stuffing his feet into his slippers, he marched over to apartment 23B and pressed the doorbell.

***

                RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG     

                Hyolim stopped stirring her warmed milk as the doorbell rang again. Who could it be at this hour? It couldn’t be him, right? She shivered as the worst case scenario flashed in her mind.

                Don’t be silly, it can’t be him, she told herself as she exited the kitchen.

                Stepping on her tippy toes, she looked through the peephole of her door. Her brows furrowed when she saw who it was. She might not have a photographic memory but she recognized the boy instantly — he was that rude rookie from ESSO or ESTO or X.O.O or whatever his group was called. He was wearing light blue pajamas and matching slippers. From the tired look on his face and the headful of bed hair, he probably just woke up.

                She chewed on her lower lip, hoping her screaming wasn’t the cause of the problem. Did she wake him up?

                “Hello? Is anyone in there?” the boy asked, jabbing the bell again and again until it broke.

                Hyolim made a face when the boy started pounding on the door when the bell ceased to ring. What the hell! Why was he so persistent? With her arms crossed, she stayed where she was, refusing to answer the door for an insolent like him.

                The grim scorn on his face deepened when no one answered the door. After muttering under his breath for half a minute, he returned to his apartment.

                Hyolim pinched the bridge of her nose when he was finally out of sight. Of all the things that could happen in this world, why did she have to live next door to him? She groaned aloud when she realized she worked in the same building as him. With her fingers crossed, she hoped she wouldn’t have to see him around SM. It was a large building; she could avoid bumping into him right? RIGHT?

***

                “Did you talk to our neighbor?” Luhan asked when Sehun finally came back.

                “No. But I’m sure someone is in there!” Sehun threw his arms up in the air, “You know what, I’m going to write him…or her…a note.”

                “You can put your name but don’t put our names on it.” Lay said after sipping his morning coffee, “I don’t want trouble.”

                “Scaredy-cat.” Sehun teased. Going over to the drawers, he pulled out a stack of post-its and a giant red marker. Crudely, he wrote his message. Stomping over to apartment 23B, he slipped the post-it note under the door.

***

                Hyolim didn’t notice the note until she had to report to work later that morning. Curious, she bent down and picked up the note.

                SHUT THE HELL UP! PEOPLE NEED TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, YOU BANSHEE.

-          OH SEHUN

               She didn’t know which was worse: him calling her banshee or him telling her to shut up. Either way, he was extremely rude. She had never met anyone more despicable…except maybe the stalker that was after her, but that was a different matter.

               Angered, she flipped the post-it around and wrote a reply note. It was short but it would do the trick. After locking her front door, she slipped the note under apartment 23A.

               Take that, you rookie!, she laughed in her mind as she skipped over to the elevators.

***

                Kai groaned as sunlight danced across his eyelids. Raising an arm over his eyes, he sat up and checked the time on his phone. He yelped and fell off the bed when he realized it was half past noon. Why didn’t the guys wake him up?! They might not have a concert or photoshoot or music recording today but dance practice was still important! He couldn't miss practice!

                 After slapping himself in the face, he raced over to the bathroom and tried his best to multitask. To his disdain, he found out that it took him longer when he tried to shower and brush his teeth at the same time. Before leaving, he slipped on his dark navy cap, sunglasses, and black mouth mask.

                He wanted to take a taxi, but the ride to the SM Building was too expensive. It would definitely put a big dent in his wallet if he decided to splurge on a simple ride. With no other choice, Kai decided to take the bus instead. It felt weird waiting for the bus again after seven months. He hadn’t done that since high school.

                There weren’t many people waiting since it was midday. His eyes bypassed two ahjummas on the bench and landed on a dark-haired girl with a large art portfolio case in her hands.

                She’s beautiful, Kai thought as he stared at her, his jaw dropping a little.

                The girl appeared to be about his age, maybe a little younger. She wore a simple beige trench coat, skinny black jeans, a beige beret, and beige booties with bows on the sides. Her head nodded up and down slightly as she listened to her music, her fingers tapping rhythmically against her 30X40 portfolio case.

                She must be an art school student. I wonder what college she attends, Kai thought, his eyes trained on the girl. He didn’t realize that the bus had pulled over until the girl stood up from the bench and headed his way.

                Trying to act cool and disinterested, Kai looked away and got on the bus. To his horror, he didn’t have any small bills.

                “If you don’t have exact change, get off the bus.” the bus driver said gruffly.

                “But…but…but…I need to go to a very important place!” Kai exclaimed.

                “Don’t we all.” The bus driver cocked his head to one side and nodded behind Kai, “There’s a whole line of people behind you; you’re holding up the line, sir.”

                Kai clenched his fists. He didn’t know what to do.

                “I’ll pay for him.” said a feminine voice behind him. Before he knew it, the girl walked past him and deposited a bunch of coins into the machine, then pulled him toward the back of the bus. They sat down at the very last row.

                “Thank you.” Kai murmured, bowing his head.

                The girl smiled, “You’re welcome.”

                “I will pay you back.” He told her as he opened his wallet again.

                She shook her head, “It’s okay. You don’t have to. Bus fares don’t cost that much anyway.”

                “I know but I feel bad.” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Where are you going?”

                “School.”

                He laughed, “That’s not very specific.”

                “I know.” She cocked her head to one side and looked at him, “Why are you so curious about me? Do you like me or something?”

                Kai’s cheeks reddened under his mask, “I…I…”

                She laughed, “I’m just kidding. You looked so freaked out.” She offered her right hand, “I’m Mira Lee, by the way. What’s your name?”

                Kai froze. Did she just say her name was Mira Lee? Mira Lee as in his ex-math tutor? Mira Lee as in the overweight, glasses-wearing, geeky-looking girl from high school? Mira Lee as in the awkward girl that secretly liked him even though her crush wasn't very secretive at all?

                WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HER?

                His eyes skimmed over her long black hair, pretty face and slim body. This girl looked nothing like the ugly duckling from high school! This girl was beautiful! This girl was…Mira Lee. As unbelievable as it was, he knew she was the same Mira Lee from Genie High School. How could anyone change so much in seven months? Did she go on a weight loss diet? She must’ve lost at least thirty pounds over the course of the summer. But her weight wasn’t the only thing that’d changed; she also got a new haircut, new clothes, new shoes, contacts, and a new attitude.

                Mira Lee raised an eyebrow when he didn’t shake her hand, “Are you okay?”

                “No. I mean, yes. I mean…are you seriously Mira Lee? That’s seriously your real name?”

                “Yes.” She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him with a more spectating eye, “Do I know you?”

                Kai groaned and looked the other way, his fingers clenching and unclenching as he debated whether he should tell her the truth or not. Did he really want to tell her that it was him? To be honest, they didn’t end on good terms in high school because of his incident with Sunrin, his twin’s girlfriend and Mira’s best friend. Kai winced as he remembered her cussing him, calling him an and a pig while she threw math notebooks at his face.

                “No.” he lied a minute later.

                “Oh, okay.” she didn’t sound as if she believed him but she didn’t question him further.

                Kai let out a breath of air when Mira got off the bus ten minutes later. He might be physically attracted to her now but he still hoped he wouldn’t see her again. All hell would break loose if she found out that the boy she was sitting next to today was really him.

                When it was his turn to get off, he noticed a piece of drawing on the bus floor. It was one of Mira’s sketches. There must be a gap in her portfolio case...

                As much as he hated to admit it, she was a great artist and the clothes that she drew were very versatile and wearable.

                Whoever thought a math geek would turn into a fashion-designer-to-be, he thought as he stepped off the bus. He clenched the edge of the paper when he realized he had to return this sketch to her. If she didn’t change her phone number and email, he was pretty sure he could contact her again.

                But the problem was: did he really want to see her again?

Author's Note:

I'm updating this because I'm having a writer's block on CatSkin. >_> 

I don't know why, I have this urge to write chapters for this story whenever I have a writer's block on my other stories...I'm so weird.

Anyway, there's going to be a love square in this story, I hope you guys are ready ^-^