It was a self-study period so Suzy began to pack her necessary stuff and leave the class. She was supposed to go to her Art class because only a few students were taking the subject so no specific period was allocated for the subject. Hence, she had to sacrifice her free time. Her parents kept on saying that Art was just wasting her time but she proved them otherwise. Once, her artwork was a center of attraction during a small art exhibition at a renowned gallery in Seoul and this surprised her parents. From then on, they gave her the support that she needed and this made her extremely happy.

But, their teacher couldn’t make it today but the students were given a small task to be done. Along the way, she flipped through the pages of her drawing block. She zoned into each pieces of artwork and recalled every story behind each sketch. Suddenly, she saw a tall figure heading towards her without stopping.

“You should be careful of where are you walking at,” a familiar voice advised her. She looked up to find out that the figure was just Junho. “Or, should I say, who are you walking to,” he said as he flashed his signature smirk.

“Haha,” she rolled her eyes. “Where are you heading to, anyway?”

“Me? Well, it’s not art class. That’s for sure,” he muttered sarcastically as she tsked at him. “I’m going to the workshop, of course.”

“You’re taking carpentry? I didn’t know that you’re actually capable at that.”

“Well, sort of. Don’t you have art class, anyway?”

“The teacher is not here so it’s not a must to be in class on time, right?”

“Right, right,” he said unexcitedly. His eyes trailed over to her drawing block and he began to feel curious. “Do you like drawing?”

“It depends,” she said after blinking her eyes. “I like drawing things that I love, or sceneries that are pretty, or anything that I like at that particular moment. I find it as a… de-stress-er. A stress reliever.”

As soon as she finished reasoning, they finally arrived at the art classroom and Suzy excused herself as soon as possible, without even saying goodbye like she was supposed to or even turning back. Junho watched her back as she went inside before continuing his way to the workshop. Art is pretty much the same for everyone, it’s just depends on what shape are you turning it into, he suddenly concluded.

+

“I have an assignment for you guys!” the teacher exclaimed happily, which was a bit uncomforting, before continuing, “You will be grouped into duos, in which I will randomly choose, and do whatever you want! Isn’t it fun?”

(Junho sighed as he leaned back into his chair, contemplating whether he’s in a high school class or a kindergarten class. The teacher could be rather annoying, sometimes.)

“I will give you all about a month or two, and then you’ll present your project together. Marks will be taken based on creativity, teamwork and good presentation and idea. So, here are the groups…” the teacher continued, trailing off with his names’ list.

Junho eyed the students, watching their faces as the teacher announced the groups. Some were being happily excited, clapping or bumping their fists in mid-air, and some even dumped their faces on the desks, maybe because they were paired up rather unluckily. Suddenly, he heard his name being called out with another boy (it was Son Dongwoon. Star player of the school’s soccer team and was much taller than him, of course.) and suddenly the urge inside of him decided to do something really different today.

“Teacher! Can I ask for a switch of group member?” he raised his arm suddenly and his question echoed throughout the class. Everyone looked at him in curiosity. It was strange for someone to request as such, and with the fact that he’s basically new here in the school, it made everything become stranger.

“Oh really? With who?”

“With Bae Suzy, please.”

The class was in pin-drop stillness. Suzy mouth hung wide open, definitely surprised at this turn of event. She was already happy, being paired up with Jiyoung. She even already had an idea for a project with her. She gave him a sharp glare as she prayed for the teacher to not agree to his crazy idea. She even made signs to show that she didn’t agree to such idea.

But still, the teacher ignored her plights. “And your reason for asking so?”

“Well, we are the only ones taking another extra subject, which are related, one way or another, so why not?”

The teacher rubbed his chin, obviously finding his idea a very splendid one. Slowly but surely, he nodded in agreement. “Sure, I don’t see why not. So, Dongwoon, you’ll be with Jiyoung.”

Junho thanked his teacher before sitting down, smiling to himself as his idea had been accepted without much trouble. Meanwhile, Suzy felt like the world was being extremely unfair to her.

“What was that for?” she hissed at him after all the students left the class and they were the only ones in the class. “I do not want to do an assignment with you.”

“Why not? Look, I could need your help with building my tree house. In fact, I need all the help that I can get.”

“And what makes you think that I’m up for the job?” she crossed her arm grimly over her chest, her cheeks reddening due to anger.

“I like your vision on drawing. It’s… charming.”

“Haha,” she rolled her eyes at him. “You’re such a brat.”

“Look,” he stood up as he towered over her, inching closer than ever, before saying, “You and I both know how important this assignment in determining whether we’ll graduate or not. And I’ve laid out the perfect project for us both. I’m helping you out here, alright?”

There was a deafening pause, as if the atmosphere, or any of them, could burst due to its seriousness. She sighed before nodding slowly. “Okay, just… okay.”

“Good call,” he said before grabbing his bag and slung it over his shoulders. “Do you want me to walk you home?”

“No, it’s okay,” she regained her composure after going blank for a few moments. “I have to go to… work.”

“You’re working? Can I follow you?”

“No! I have enough of you for the day so goodbye!” her voice rose as she gave him a sharp glare before storming out of the class without turning back.

He stood there, leaning against his table. He liked the way her cheeks became pink when she was angry. He found it cute. Then, he shook his head as if to not believe over what he had just thought about.

+

Suzy and Jiyoung took their seats as they walked from the food counter. Weekend was coming up and they were planning to go shopping during the weekend. They dug into the ramyeon served for the day as they discussed about the trip.

“Are you free on this Sunday?” Suzy asked with full.

Jiyoung pondered about her schedule for a minute or two before she suddenly realized something. “Oh! Sorry Ssuj, but I am going to meet someone this Sunday too.” she said as she played around with her chopsticks.

Suzy raised her eyebrows quizzically. “You have a meeting? With who?”

“My partner for the assignment.” Jiyoung explained with a bashful smile on her face.

Suzy blanked out as she took her time to remember her partner. “Son Dongwoon? Wow. That was fast. So, what happened?” she began to chuckle.

“What? He is kind of… cute. And masculine and funny and such.”

“Are you serious, Jiyoung? You have to be kidding me, right?”

“You can’t control your feelings, after all,” she replied with a small smile on her face, oblivious to the fact that Suzy still couldn’t believe that her best friend was being all lovey-dovey. “And besides, it’s a one-sided affair. It’s just me, having butterflies while thinking of him.”

Suzy couldn’t help but to smile as well. Jiyoung’s like that. She’s quite the dreamer, so when Jiyoung liked someone, even other people could feel the fluttery feeling. “Since when did you like him?”

“Since he’s in our class this year.”

“Well, whatever happens, I wish you all the happiest feelings, Kang Jiyoung. But still, don’t abandon your studies and such. It’s our final year, after all.”

“Of course I won’t, silly,” Jiyoung laughed as she rolled her eyes at her best friend. “So, about your promise…”

 Suzy raised her eyebrows at her. “What promise?”

“To find your own prince charming once I’ve found mine.”

“Jiyoung, among all the things that you need to remember, and you choose to remember this,” Suzy said sarcastically as she shook her head. “What about it then?”

“Junho is kind of okay, right?”

“He is not. And don’t even think of him,” she leaned back into her seat, suddenly feeling full even though there was still some ramyeon left. “I had enough of him for the past few weeks. He’s so… ugh.”

“Alright, Suzy. Whatever you say, Suzy.”

“Don’t ever think of setting me up with him, Jing.”

“You’ll set yourself up later on.” Jiyoung muttered as she slurped the last ramyeon and her lips. With that, she earned herself a kick on her shin from Suzy.

As if things could turn out according to what we originally planned.

+

Junho stared at his platform for the tree house that he had just finished hammering. A satisfied smile crept on his face as he swiped the beads of perspiration off his face. He had so many plans for his tree house – his den – but he couldn’t transfer the idea onto paper. He’s not much of a good drawer, after all. He knew that Suzy would definitely help him out. But, he had no ways of contacting her.

He made a mental note to discuss with her after the weekend ended.

Seeing that he could use some inspiration, he decided to walk over to this shop that his dad mentioned about before. His dad also told him that a pretty, young girl was working there too. Why not? He told himself.

He stopped his tracks when he saw the large sign that confirmed that it was the shop. “A bit childish,” he muttered. The bells chimed as he entered the shop and he saw the neatly-arranged paint cans and brushes of all sizes. Quickly, he walked over there to choose some paints for his tree house.

Suddenly, a familiar voice greeted him. “Hello there, sir. How may I – oh, it’s you,” Suzy said cheerfully at first but turned sour when she glanced up to see that the customer was Junho, apparently. “Welcome.”

He chuckled in astonishment when he also found out that she’s working here. “Bae Suzy, I didn’t know that you worked here. So, you’re the pretty, young girl that my dad mentioned before.”

“Very funny,” she sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. “What are you looking for, anyway?”

“You know the tree house that we’re supposed to do?” he asked before she nodded. “Yeah, I – I mean we – could use some paints or such. And besides, I need your help in sketching the plan and 3D drawing of the tree house.”

“You sound like an architect.”

“Soon-to-be, maybe,” he said as he smirked at her. “So, when are you free?”

“Well, I don’t work on Sundays so –”

“Great! See you tomorrow at the ice-cream shop at two!” he hurriedly showed her a thumbs-up sign before dashing off. She rubbed her forehead as she was taken aback over what had just happened. He was really making her crazy, in a bad way. 

sorry for the glitch before.