Somebody asked how I know all of these random facts.

The answer, my dear children, is a mystical being that works in mysterious ways.

Even I cannot fathom the depth of its knowledge.

The name comes out from deep inside of your soul, in a loud, throaty whisper ...

Google.

"How have you been, Sungjong?" Kyungmi chirped as she sat on the edge of his bed.

"I feel great, Kyungminnie!" He said cheerfully. "No, honestly! My leg is feeling a whole lot better, and I can move the fingers in my left hand. I think I can start going back to school in no time at all!"

"You think so?" Kyungmi beamed. "It would be wonderful to have you back, Sungjong! I can finally have someone to talk to in science class! And you can come eat lunch with me and L!"

"L? Yeah, he was a nice guy. Think he'd mind having another nerd eat with him?" Sungjong was teasing, but Kyungmi still didn't smile. "Not funny! You're not a nerd!"

"Not as much as you," he affectionately noogied her head. "What about his friends? How are you holding up with them?"

"They're scary," Kyungmi complained. "Woohyun is some sort of casanova who dates a bunch of girls and breaks up with them. L said he has his reasons for not getting too close to girls but he won't tell me why. Dongwoo is nice, but he's really loud and a bit scary. Sungyeol is really shy, but I think he's just like Dongwoo when I'm not around. I like Sunggyu and Hoya the best, though. Sunggyu is really cute and smart, and Hoya is nice and quiet and just plays guitar."

"I can just imagine what people are saying about you in school," Sungjong snickered. "A stunningly beautiful girl with the highest grades in the class, hanging out with a bunch of men all by her lonesome? Oh, the scandal!"

"Shush!" Kyungmi lightly smacked his arm, being careful to avoid the bruises. "Don't lie!"

"You know I never lie, Kyungminnie." He shifted slightly on his bed, barely wincing at all. Kyungmi knew then he really was healing. "So, what else is knew besides your fantastic new friends?"

"Well ... Halmeoni has been worrying me lately," Kyungmi admitted softly. "She keeps taking all those stupid concotions The Nosy One creates."

"Ick." Sungjong made a face. "You don't mean those nasty things your weird neighbour keeps cooking up. Like the daisies mixed with purple paint?"

"And the one that smelled like dog poo," Kyungmi added. "They're disgusting and smell horrible. And Halmeoni just keeps trying them for her, like some sort of ... of guinea pig or something!"

Sungjong frowned slightly. "Why does Halmeoni even bother? She barely even has any wrinkles. Unless you count the ones near and the crows feet, but that's about it. Actually, come to think of it, that's really weird. She should be like seventy by now. Oh my sweet jesus god, Kyungminnie, those things actually work!"

"No, they don't, don't be stupid," Kyungmi scoffed. "Halmeoni is just naturally youthful."

"Okay, no, Kyungmi, nobody can be that naturally youthful. There has got to be a catch. You can't just look fifty when you're seventy unless you tried some hardcore ."

"Halmeoni doesn't do drugs, Sungjong!" Kyungmi said defensively. "... Anymore."

Sungjong just burst into laughter and ruffled her already-messy hair. 

*♦*

Kyungmi arrived at school very early. Granted, she usually does, but today it was almost an hour before class started and there were hardly any students around. Just the way she liked it. Plus, today was the day to sign up for the match competition, and Kyungmi tended to like to be first up on the roster.

With almost an hour to kill and metaphorically dying of boredom, Kyungmi wandered the halls until she reached the courtyard, a great big square hunk of land in the middle of the school with a couple of trees and benches. A place popular for hipsters, art junkies, band nerds, and couples wanting to make out without getting in trouble.

Kyungmi sat on the bench for a while, avoiding the bird poo as much as she could. It was nice, just sitting around, everything silent except for the rustle of leaves and wind and Smoke on the Water ...

Wait, what?

Kyungmi sat up straighter, then stood up fully when she realized someone was nearby playing music. It was quiet and soft, and it was only because nothing else was moving that she could hear it.

Following the sound, Kyungmi rounded a corner to a small section of the courtyard that dipped into the school, with the door that led to the band room. Sitting there, leaning against the wall, was a boy plucking at a guitar, lost in thought.

"Hoya?" Kyungmi blurted out as she caught sight of the familiar face. He looked up at her. Surprise flickered across his eyes but he didn't say anything.

"Oh, yeah. Um, hi. Sorry for, uh, bothering you, and, um ... nice g-guitar playing, um ..." Kyungmi panicked. "Did you know the oldest known representation of an instrument displaying the essential features of a guitar is a 3300 year old carving of a Hittite bard and a guitar is descended from the Roman cithara brought by the Romans to Hispania around 40 AD?"

There was a long silence, and Kyungmi felt herself begin to blush fiercely. Man, she was such an idiot. Why couldn't she just keep her cool when talking to people? The only people she could actually manage to hold a decent conversation with was Sungjong and his parents, Halmeoni, and L.

Just when she felt like really turning and running off into the sunset in shame, Hoya's mouth quirked up into an easygoing smile. "That's cool."

He went back to playing, but the awkward tension between them had melted away to something a bit more mellow and relaxed. Kyungmi's blush receded, and she realized there was an unspoken invitation for her to join him.

She slowly stepped forwards, carefully, in case she did something stupid like distract him from his guitar-playing and he would want her to leave. She slowly sat down on the grass nearby. As Hoya played on the guitar, she pulled and twisted at the grass in front of her and listened to the music. 

When he finished playing a song, she said shyly, "You're very good."

"Thank you," he responded back softly.

"The range of a normal guitar is four octaves," Kyungmi added, "And the first electric guitar was created by George Beauchamp and Adolf Rikenbekerom in 1931. It had a metal case."

"Really?" He began to strum something quick and snappy, his fingers dancing along the frets. "Electric guitars are nice, but too loud for me. Too metal. I like softer things."

There was a few more minutes of comfortable silence.

"There's something on your mind, isn't there?" Hoya murmered quietly. Kyungmi looked up from the ugly and really ty grass necklace chain she was making. "Huh?"

"Something appears to be bothering you." He gave her a tiny smile and tapped the spot in-between his eyebrows with a finger. "It's all crinkly there."

"O-oh." Kyungmi felt her forehead, and indeed it was scrunched up. She quickly tried to relax. "U-um, well ..."

"It's okay if you don't feel like talking about it." Hoya returned to strumming. It was lilting, light, and airy, and it helped her feel a bit better.

"U-um, actually ..." 

The guitar stopped playing.

"Well, I mean ... it's kinda stupid ..." Kyungmi shifted uncomfortably and fiddled with her glasses. "It's just ... you know the deal I made with L, right? The bet? Our plan for Oh Saeryun?"

"Yes."

"It's just ... am I becoming a bad person?" Kyungmi spat out. "I mean, I'm in cahoots with a guy known for beating up people for some extra pocket money plotting to ruin someone's career life forever just because he hurt someone I cared for! He will literally never have the life he could have had if I go through with this. A-and now I'm planning to break some girl's heart by splitting up her and L, and I just don't know anymore! What if I am turning into a horrible monster and I just don't know it?!"

She broke off from her rant, suddenly feeling self-conscious and embarrassed and looked back down at her grass necklace. Hoya didn't say anything, just listened quietly. Then he became silent for a few moments. Kyungmi realized it wasn't because he had nothing to say, it was because he was actually thinking of what she said and seeing if it made sense.

Nobody ever did that before. Nobody ever took her that seriously.

"I think it's okay," he said quietly, looking completely serious. "He is a bad person. He's hurt more than just your friend. You may be a bit harsh in your punishment towards him, but a man like that doesn't deserve his kind of athleticism and talent."

Kyungmi bit her lip, chewed at a bit of chapped skin. "You think?"

Hoya tapped at his guitar thoughtfully. "And as for Son Nara, it's best if they do split up. A relationship like that is unhealthy, and it'll only get worse and worse if they stay together. Myungsoo does his best to be kind to her, but any feelings he once had for her disappeared a long time ago. I think Nara knows that, but she still tries to keep deluding herself anyway. Maybe it is a defence mechanism or something."

Kyungmi stared down at her necklace. "That ... no one ever listened so closely to what I have to say before. Except Sungjong."

Hoya shrugged. "I believe everyone has something important to say. And when they do say it, it's best if you listen. Don't sell yourself short, Kyungmi. You're very interesting to listen to."

Kyungmi grinned despite herself, flushing pink with flattery.

"I have to get going, band practice starts half an hour before school," Hoya said, standing up and grabbing his guitar. "Will you come to the Music Night?"

"Y-yeah! Sure! I-if you'd like!" Kyungmi garbled nonsensically. Hoya nodded and gave her a little smile before opening the door to the music room and shutting it behind him.

Yes. It was official. Kyungmi liked him secondmost out of L's friends.

She scrambled to her feet, brushing at the dirt clumps that had fallen into her lap. Her legs were covered in grass stains.

Just as she was about to run off to her locker to find a book to read, she heard a strangled sob coming from the math hall. Carefully, she poked her head around the corner, only to see Woohyun standing there with a crying girl.

"B-b-but why?" The girl was whimpering. "I-I thought, I thought we were ..."

"I'm sorry, Jina," Woohyun said, his face stony and expressionless. It was completely different from the relaxed, carefree expression he had around L and the others. 

"I-I just want to meet your parents!" The girl called Jina was blubbering. "I thought we had a c-connection! We were c-close, weren't w-we?"

"Yes, we were." Woohyun said softly. "Too close. I'm sorry. I'm not ready for a committed relationship. It's best if we go our separate ways now."

"Y-y-you ... you jerk!" Jina slapped his face with as much strength as she could muster, then ran off in the appropriate manner, crying loudly and dramatically. Kyungmi's seen enough of Halmeoni's dramas to know that some really intense musical score should accompany this scene, followed by soft melancholy music and close up shots of their faces for about three minutes.

Woohyun suddenly looked up and locked eyes with her. Kyungmi froze and a little squeak burst from her lips.

They stared at each other for a moment. Woohyun's eyes were unreadable and -- could it be -- a little bit guilty. 

Kyungmi suddenly realized that what she just witnessed was something Woohyun couldn't explain to her. Not yet, maybe not ever. He didn't break up with that girl out of pure malice or spite.

Without acknowledging the other, the two students broke their gaze, turned around, and walked off in separate directions. They both made a mental note to pretend this never happened the next time they met.