Myungsoo’s POV

She’s laughing. And it was a sweet, cute laugh, too.

“Hey, you have a cute laugh,” Sunggyu said to Kasumi.

Dongwoo nodded. “Yeah, it’s really cute.”

She blushed and looked down shyly. “Kamsahamnida,” she said.

Sunggyu looked at the wall clock. “It’s almost time for us to go back to class. We should clear our tables and head off before we are late.”

I looked at Sungyeol. “Do you have library duties today?”

He shook his head. “I’m going back to class,” he replied.

I smiled smugly. “Good, because that means I’m taking Kasumi to the library with me,” I spoke up.

He pouted. “You can’t do that!”

“I just did.” I looked at Kasumi. “Do you want to go to the library?”

“Uh . . .”

“Hyung, you can’t just decide for her what to do then only ask her!” Sung Jong argued. “That’s just mean!”

“I don’t mind,” Kasumi said meekly.

Sung Jong sighed.

Sungyeol was whining until Sunggyu told him to shut up, which he listened, since Sunggyu was the leader.

All of us stood up and cleared our tables before we separated, but not before Sunggyu told me not to violate his ‘granddaughter’ and Sung Jong and Sungyeol told Kasumi to be careful and make sure that she doesn’t let me kidnap her if I tried doing anything funny to her. Dongwoo and Hoya even agreed.

I have such nice friends. Note the sarcasm.

As Kasumi and I were talking about the latest books, Kasumi accidentally bumped into someone as we rounded in a corner. “Gomeh!” she automatically apologized, bowing a ninety degree bow, letting her hair fall to her face as I looked up to see who she had bumped into and my eyes widened.

It was Kim Seohyun.

I was immediately on guard, like I usually was whenever I was around one of the girls from Seven Heaven. You can never trust them. They’re always up to something for their benefit. They are never nice.

“Hi, Seohyun-sshi,” I said politely through stiff lips. I turned to Kasumi. “This is Kim Seohyun, she’s in the year as me, although she’s not in the same class. Seohyun, this is Tanaka Kasumi. She’s in Sung Jong’s class.”

Kasumi smiled warmly at her like she does with everyone else in school.

“Annyeong, sunbae,” she said.

Seohyun just looked at her, then looked at me, and I knew she was wondering why some ‘ordinary girl’ (in her eyes) was hanging around with a kingka like me. Then she plastered a fake smile and said, “Annyeong, Kasumi-sshi. It’s nice to meet you. I know you’re new here so welcome to Kingsridge Academy.”

“You’re in Seven Heaven, right?” Kasumi asked eagerly.

I frowned. Why did she seem so enthusiastic and so happy to meet someone from Seven Heaven?

Seohyun nodded. “Yes, I am,” she replied. She giggled, covering as she did so, like how ‘elegant and sophisticated’ girls should. “I’m ‘one of the Seven’.” She struck a pose and winked.

“So cool,” Kasumi gushed.

Okay, something is really weird right here. Did Kasumi just gush as if she was fangirling over Seohyun? Seriously?

Okay, I admit that Seohyun is very pretty, being one uncommon girl who was able to pull off the middle parting look, with dark brown hair grazing below her shoulders, perfectly plucked eyebrows, a faint of blush on her spotless face.

She even had the body a lot of girls would die for.

But when it came to personality, she’s quite . . . girly.

She and her other friends, Hara, Jungah (she was the leader of Seven Heaven and the worse of them all), Iseul, Yong Ji,  Sooyoung and Eun Jong, were all pretty — y, even — but they weren’t very nice.

They were judgmental, and they’ve been trying to get Infinite to date them because they believed that was how the social life should be.

But we begged to differ.

In fact, we heard that they were planning on recruiting other girls to be like them so that once they’ve graduated, the newbies could be the new Seven Heaven to keep the linage and generation down.

A lot of girls were eager to join since it was like their dream to become one of the Seven — or at least to be recognized by them.

“You’re so pretty,” Kasumi went on, clutching onto her books tightly to her chest, with that sunshine smile on her face. “I love the way you’re able to keep your hair from becoming frizzy even during P.E.”

Seohyun smiled genuinely at the compliment, touching her hair. “Thank you. It’s called moisturizing your hair every now and then.” She paused for a while before she added, “You’re pretty, too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re pretty enough to be one of us.”

I snapped out of it and stayed alert.

There is no way they are recruiting Kasumi into this, brainwashing her. Infinite would not allow that if that was the last thing on earth. She’s too nice to become one of the new Seven. No way, I would not allow that.

But I was appalled when Kasumi asked her, “Really? I could be one?”

Seohyun had that fake smile on her face again and tilted her head as if she was actually considering recruiting Kasumi into one of the Seven. “Maybe, who knows? I’ll have to talk about it to the other girls, so we’ll see how it goes,” she said. “I mean, I’m not the one in charge, but I’ll be sure to pass along the message.”

“Thank you, Seohyun-sunbae,” Kasumi thanked her brightly. “You are really nice, like how everyone said you are.”

“Oh, I know.” She flashed a brilliant smile at Kasumi.

Over my dead body, I thought sourly. She’s a lot of things, but she’s anything but nice. Nice is not in her vocabulary.

Then she laughed and flipped her hair and darted a sideway glance toward me as if she was hoping I thought she was being nice by saying that to her. Fat chance, girl. I see right through you. “I gotta go; wouldn’t wanna be late for class.” She patted Kasumi on the head and winked at me.

I returned a smile although I was pretty sure it looked more like a grimace.

But if she had noticed it, she didn’t mention it.

“Okay, bye,” Kasumi said cheerfully. “I hope to get to know you and the other members of Seven Heaven better, Seohyun-sunbae.”

“Oh, I hope so, too, Kasumi-sshi. Annyeong, Myungsoo Oppa.” I winced when she called me that. We were not closed enough for her to be able to call me that. Seohyun waggled her fingers in what seemed to be a goodbye gesture and shrugged before she walked away.

Okay, she strutted away from us, down the hall.

Talk about diva.

“Kasumi —”

“I know.” Kasumi didn’t look at me as she kept on walking so I followed after her. “She didn’t mean what she said about me being pretty, or about joining them. Even if she did, I wouldn’t