When Joohyun brings in the bouquet of white lilies that she received from Kyungsoo to the student council headquarter, she is greeted by the excited chirping that belongs to a really petite wavy haired cutie that goes by the name Kim Taeyeon.

"Flower again? Someone is popular~," Taeyeon comments in a sing-song tone while putting a tall stack of papers on the desk in front of Joohyun, next to the beautiful bouquet. Taeyeon is the student council’s secretary and being a playful girl she is she likes to tease Joohyun about the many admirers that the student council’s president has.

Being the president of the student council does boost her popularity, but she has been well known since long before it. After all, she is the perfect heroine commonly found in manhwas: a long haired beauty who is elegant and smart. Therefore, no one was really surprised when her name was instantly spread like a wildfire among all the students in her first few weeks in high school. Instead of antis, she gained plenty of female fans instead, like the typical Mary Sue she is. Everyone wanted to know her and befriend her without any exception. When she applied for a position in the student council, she entered it smoothly. In fact, her popularity earned her a place as the treasurer of the student council. It was, by far, the highest position a first year had ever gotten.

“Do you want it?” Joohyun offers offhandedly--ignoring the scarlet coloring that makes it ways to her pale cheeks--as she skims through the documents that Taeyeon has just given her.

“Aw, the poor boy has spent so much money and thought for the flower and you’re going to give it away? You are so heartless,” Taeyeon teased mockingly while handling another huge pile of documents to the bronze guy—Jongin—who has just entered the room. The said boy's eyes widen in disbelief when he felt how heavy the papers were but Taeyeon shoos him to his desk. Despite Jongin's fervent verbal protest, Taeyeon pushes him away.

“Oh shut up, you two. I need to read this,” Joohyun mutters in slight annoyance. Her thoughts, however, wander to a memory she has long buried deep in the back of her mind.

“Flower? Woah, someone is popular~”

Joohyun turned to Chanyeol’s direction and smiled gracelessly—ignoring the hot blushing that reached her ears—only to be replied by his bright lopsided grin. Joohyun had just entered the student council room after receiving her first exclamation of love from an unfamiliar sunbae. Joohyun and Chanyeol were the only last two in the student council room: he was still signing some documents while she was waiting for him as he had promised to walk her home like he usually did.

“Who is it from?” Chanyeol asked inquiringly while still reading the paper in front of him.

“Uh, Kim Joonmyun-sunbaenim,” she muttered while fidgeting with the bouquet of red roses in her hand. She sat on her chair awkwardly and idly played with the petals of the flower. It was really delicate and soft, she noticed.

“Joonmyun? From my class? How does he know you?” he looked up from the paper he was signing on; child-like curiosity was plastered on his face.

“Uh, I don’t know? He just sort of confessed just now,” Joohyun sheepishly answered.

“I see. Someone is really popular, then,” Chanyeol commented while grinning goofily before he continued to face the documents. For a while, calm and relaxing stillness enveloped them. The only sound that could be heard was coming from the rustling papers and the ballpoint rolling against them. Joohyun watched him and wondered: why on earth the orange sunlight that went through the glass behind him could fall in all the right places on him, highlighting all his prominent features. His black hair seemed to shine under the light and Joohyun felt she had never saw anyone who looked that good in his uniform.

It had been quite sometimes since Joohyun had grown an attraction to the guy sitting in front of her. She denied it, though. She ignored all the skipped heart beat and swarming butterfly sensation in her stomach as she couldn't believe that someone like her would fall for such an awkward person like him. She didn’t mean to think too highly of herself but someone like Park Chanyeol was definitely not the one she had in mind when she thought of her ideal type. She had always imagined someone more eloquent and refined to be her first love, not an odd and cheerful guy like him.

Besides, what if Chanyeol didn’t like her back? Joohyun refused to be the only one who fell in love between the two of them. It hurt her pride as the perfect heroine. Chanyeol had always been kind and caring to her but without a confession from him then she couldn’t be sure if he felt the same way about her, right?

 Despite all that, she still wondered, could Chanyeol simply be a unique male lead in her tale? Could it be that he was an eccentric male protagonist who was so different from the rest of the flock and could only be found in rare modern stories?

After Chanyeol finished reading and signing the documents, he stretched his hands to relieve some muscle soreness he got after a few hours of sitting in the same position. Joohyun’s trained eyes followed his every movement and wondered how now everything he did seemed to be so graceful whilst in a couple months before she definitely thought the other way. He was stuffing his bag when he broke the silence.

“So, did you accept him?”

Joohyun snapped out of her reverie to answer him. Her eyes landed back on the flower resting on her lap.

“No.”

“Why?” pure curiosity twinkled on his clear eyes as he brought his backpack to his shoulder. Joohyun slung her backpack as well before she gave him her answer.

“Well… I don’t know him.”

When Chanyeol’s eyes widened in disbelief, she quickly elaborated her reason.

“I mean, I've heard about him a couple times but I've never interacted with him before. Don’t you think it’s awkward to be in a relationship with someone you barely even know?”

Chanyeol chuckled while standing up from his chair. “Well, if you put it that way, it is true, I think. Never been that popular to actually be in your situation,” he snickered in a mixture of mockery and poorly covered envy. He hurriedly cleared his throat when he saw her sour expression and added seriously, “Joonmyun is a good guy, though. You might regret not giving him a chance.”

Joohyun felt a little painful tug on her heart after she heard the remarks but she paid no heed at it. Instead, she stood up and followed him. “Besides, there is also the student council work,” she said weakly.

Chanyeol nodded in agreement; a knowing grin formed on his lips. “Yeah, I can feel you. I’m practically dating the student council right now as well: it takes all my time.” He laughed on his own joke, triggering her to break into a smile. Chanyeol opened the door and then stepped aside, letting Joohyun to pass first. This gentlemanly custom of him was one of Chanyeol’s habits that always amused Joohyun. When she was already outside of the room, she waited for him locking the room door before they walked side by side.

“I would like to pursue one when I’m done with this, though. A relationship, that is,” he commented casually while running his fingers through his tousled hair.

Joohyun felt like all the air in her lungs was out instantly as she heard his nonchalant remarks. He said it so naturally, so uncaringly—he didn’t had any idea how the simple statement made her heart tightened as she wished so much that she could be the one in the relationship that he had mentioned.

“Anyway, do you like anyone, Joohyun-ah?”

Her heart suffered a mini attack at the carelessly thrown question. She glanced at the guy walking next to her; the warm sunlight enhanced his already good look. It was him that she had a crush on but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to admit it. Joohyun was not a risk taker: she wouldn't take an action if she was still uncertain about the result. She inferred from his previous statement that Chanyeol had a crush on someone and that someone might not be her, despite of his constant care and kindness to her. Joohyun was a safe player: she rather lie than being hurt.

And so she lied.

“Now? No, I don’t.”

These days, sometimes she wonders what would have happened if she had less vanity and more courage to confess to him that time.

Regrets always come late, after all.

TBC

AN:

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himalayancat