The familiar sound of the bell rang all throughout the campus. Classes officially began again after the holiday season’s break.

The polished floors of the campus halls were rapidly dirtied by the number of students still running around the campus chasing the time. Hoping that they were not to be marked as absent for the class. Then there were others who did not seem to care at all, and took their precious time as if they were strolling in a park. These had all been witnessed by a girl who laid her head on a desk inside the classroom of her first class whilst looking through the clear windows which revealed everything occurring during that moment outside of the said room. She had just wanted to lie on her bed and consider not coming to school at all. She had perfect marks in attendance after all. One absence would not hurt her grades at all. But since it had been quite some time since she met with her classmates, she decided to attend classes.

She remained in that position, not minding the students, her classmates, piling into the classroom. ‘Did I even really want to meet them?’ she thought, eventually regretting coming to class. The last one to enter the room was their teacher. She raised her head to look at her teacher, and observed that his blonde hair seemed to be getting shorter and shorter with every holiday that had passed by. She remembered seeing her teacher rocking the 70s hairdo, golden hair coiled up until the crevices of his neck. She then wondered if her teacher’s hair had a similar case as that of Benjamin Button’s.

Her thoughts seemed to have run out of proper sense that she just decided to lay her head down onto the desk again. But then raised it again a few seconds later when she heard her teacher speak.

“So, how was your New Year?”

Some hollered at the question, gloating that they had the best New Year’s Day celebration ever. Some grunted from irritation because of the sudden noise. And of course, some just did not feel like answering at all. Since a teacher was required to have a very positive attitude, he then replied, “That’s great!” ignoring all other negative answers he had received.

Just as he was about to speak again, a girl with hair akin to that of Medusa’s came running into the classroom shouting, “Sorry I’m late!” The teacher just chuckled and stated, “Nothing new though…” It was loud enough for everyone in the classroom, making them chuckle, and making the girl’s face contort from being offended. “Hey! I’m not always late!”

“Just take a seat…”

The girl sighed in frustration and mumbled insults regarding the teacher as she walked towards her seat at the back of the class. As she was sitting down, she noticed her friend staring blankly at the teacher chatting with a student sitting in front. She giggled, and said, “Someone’s lively today!” This made her friend look at her direction and smile, lazily saying “Someone’s early today…”

“Shut up, Yeonhee! I don’t even know why I’m friends with you,” she said dejectedly.

“Well, Medusa, you just have to admit that I am that much alluring,” Yeonhee smugly replied.

“It’s Da-in, !”

“OK class! I know you still have hangovers on your vacations, and I really would love to continue chatting with you but we must continue class,” their teacher suddenly said out loud, quieting the chatters in the classroom. He then continued, “For today let’s have a speaking activity! Pair up with your classmates and write at least five questions you’d like to ask to your classmates on the paper I’ll be distributing. If possible, try to relate it to the New Year’s Day festivities, OK?” With that he proceeded to distributing the pieces of paper to the students.

The students’ chatters once again filled the classroom, each of them asking others to be his/her partner. Yeonhee and Da-in, however, faced each other, silently acknowledging their partnership for the activity. “OK, now for the questions!” Da-in said actively.

“Meh! Too lazy for that… Just ask them about their New Year’s resolution, what they did during vacation, and how, where, and why they did it,” Yeonhee said, waving her slightly limp hand dismissively. Da-in then stuck her tongue out at her and said, “You’re no fun!”

---

Once they have all written their questions, their teacher spoke out again. “Now here comes the fun part! I am allowing you to roam around the classroom to ask your questions to your classmates, but of course, don’t ask your partner! Don’t ask the partners of the ones you ask either. Have fun!”

After instructing, the teacher started walking around the classroom, asking some of the students how their work was progressing. Others separated with their partners, roaming around to look for someone to ask their questions. Yeonhee, however, did not even get the chance to move out of her seat when a boy with colourful clothing and hair the colour of lavender sat on a desk in front of her. He smiled brightly at her, making her smile back with the same enthusiasm.

“Hey Yeonhee!”

“Dongwoo,” she replied in acknowledgement. She then continued, “So, the questions… Ask away, my friend!”

Dongwoo chuckled quietly and said, “Alright then! First off, how was your vacation?”

 Yeonhee smiled at the question, reminiscing about the events of the past holiday. “It was really, really fun! I got to meet my friends living ten hours away from here. We celebrated Christmas together and I got to tour around their neighbourhood,” she said. “I didn’t want to leave to be honest.”

“Lucky girl! I was just stuck at home trying to learn English,” he said, laughing. He then turned serious and said, “I need to get a high mark at that English proficiency exam on Wednesday.”

Yeonhee just stared at his expression, however. She did not feel it fit for her to comfort him since she knew how important the score would be for school. Instead, she smiled and said, “Well, I guess I don’t need to ask you any of my questions then. Bummer…” This made Dongwoo chuckle, making her feel light again. She thought his smile was one of the most perfect things in the world. But of course, she did not have the courage to tell him that. He might think that she was interested in him when, in fact, she herself did not know if she did. She distracted herself by tearing her eyes away from him and jutting down what he had just stated. Once she had finished, she looked at him and said, “Okay, I’m ready for your next question!”

Dongwoo looked down at the paper he was holding, and read the next question, “How much did you receive from your family this New Year?” He looked at her, waiting for an answer.

“Well, I did not receive any… I was not able to see them during the holidays,” Yeonhee stated.

“Oh… right! How stupid of me to ask that,” he said, lightly hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand.

Yeonhee just shrugged, and said, “Next question.”

“What did you wish for last Christmas?”

Yeonhee stared at him blankly, not knowing how to interpret his question. Dongwoo noticed this and scratched the top of his brightly coloured head with the pen he was holding. “You did write a letter to Santa, right?” he queried.

“The are you talking about Dongwoo?” Yeonhee said, stifling the laughter trying to break out of her. “You still believe in Santa? Really?! We’re in college, not elementary school!” She was then unable to hold it in, and laughed audibly in the room. No one seemed to have minded, however. All of them were into their own conversation, even their teacher.

Dongwoo frowned at her as she was trying to calm herself down, fanning herself with her hands as if they were cooling her down. She exhaled loudly, marking the end of her high. “Okay, okay, Sorry for laughing. If it helps, I wished for a toy I’d been eyeing for months now,” she said unable to stop her smile as Dongwoo still frowned childishly at her.

Dongwoo then turned his glare onto his paper to jot down her answer, not forgetting to mumble loud enough for her to hear, “You wished for a ing toy. How dare you call me an elementary student?!”

“Hey! I said I’m sorry already. Now, onto the next question!”

He still glared at her when he looked up. ‘Adorable,’ she thought.

He then composed himself, and asked, “What’s your New Year’s resolution?”

Yeonhee then answered nonchalantly, “I need to learn how to wake up early… and be rich.”

“That’s it?” Dongwoo asked.

“Yeah, that’s about it… Were you expecting anything else?”

“You don’t even wish for a boyfriend?”

Yeonhee was flabbergasted by his question but composedly answered, “I don’t feel the need to have one.”

Dongwoo’s eyes widened, he breathed for a moment then asked her questions endlessly.

“Who will treat you dinner when you don’t have money then?”

“Who will you give chocolates to on Valentine’s Day?”

“Who would go on a stroll with you on temples during autumn and spring?”

“Who would comfort you when you’re sad?”

“Who would you give your hugs to?”

“Who will give chocolates to you on White Day?”

“Who would you spend time with on the weekends?”

He did not stop enumerating the questions flowing in his head until Yeonhee cleared and said, “That’s what friends are for, you know? To do what you’d just said if you don't have a boyfriend… or a girlfriend for that matter.”

“But… but that’s different!”

He was about to ask more questions about not having a boyfriend, and at that point she thought, ‘I’m in an argument I can’t win over, huh? Where is he even getting at?!’ She then sighed and said, “Fine, fine. This year, I want to find myself a boyfriend.”

Dongwoo then grinned at hearing her words, saying, “Perfect.” He proceeded to jotting down the words he forced her to say. “Now then, I believe you also have questions to ask me…” he said once he finished writing.

“You’ve already answered them if you remember,” Yeonhee said. Dongwoo’s face turned blank and then said, “Oh yeah…”

“But I have another question to ask you.”

Dongwoo smiled brightly at this. “Ask away,” he said.

Yeonhee was awe-stricken by his smile. It seemed to make her do anything and everything just to be able to let it stay that way. She had to admit that she involuntarily imagined Dongwoo to be the one doing the things he queried. She did not find the thought repulsive at all. It instead made her stomach feel like churning in an odd but pleasant way. She did not get it either, but she then disclosed it as a pleasant kind of pain, if she could call it that.

She distracted herself from her imagination and asked, “Do you give gifts to your family and friends during the holidays?”

Dongwoo then crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows at the question, deeply thinking it over. “Come to think of it, no I do not. Why?”

“Not even chocolate?”

“No. Why? You like receiving chocolate from people?”

“Of course, I do! Even just a piece of candy makes me happy, what more would a chocolate do?”

“Oh… well then, I’ll give you chocolate!” Dongwoo said grinning widely.

“Really?!” Yeonhee said in reply, her eyes glistening from happiness. This made Dongwoo chuckle. He then said, “Yeah! What are boyfriends for, right?”

Yeonhee looked at him as if he’d grown an ear on his forehead. “Since when were you my boyfriend?”

“Since you asked for it,” Dongwoo happily said, transferring to a chair beside her.

Yeonhee took this as a joke, and decided to have her own fun and ride the joke as well. ‘Just a harmless one,’ she convinced herself. “Ah… what do you plan on doing on February then?” she asked him teasingly.

“Spend it with you, of course! You’re my girl!” As he said this, he put an arm on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. This action did not convince Yeonhee to give it malice since he was touchy with other females as well. ‘He does this to boys as well, though,’ she thought. He then continued, “You know, we could celebrate the Lunar New Year in Chinatown! The dog dance is always fun to watch out for! Then we could have dinner in that famous meat buns shop! We could eat rice cakes as well if you want to!” He seemed overly excited stating this, making Yeonhee fake her enthusiasm as well, imagining that it would be real. “That would be perfect, Dongwoo! What a great boyfriend you are!” she said over dramatically.

Dongwoo cackled at this but then stopped as he saw his paper. “Woah! Still have to finish this activity. See you later, girlfriend!” He immediately got up from the chair beside him and ran to another student that seemed quite lonely. Yeonhee then looked for a new partner, and chatted away once she had found her prospect interviewee.

This went on until their teacher had asked them to go back to their seat. He then announced his final instruction, “Class, please compare the answers you’ve gathered with your partners and discuss about your realizations. You’ll have to present it later in class.”

Da-in faced Yeonhee, and said “I’m not even doing this! I know you could do this on your own.” She then handed Yeonhee her paper, continuing, “Here’s the answers I’ve gathered, go reflect on it, okay? I’ll treat you lunch later.”

Yeonhee violently pulled the paper from her friend’s hands, and muttered, “Make sure you do… or else you’d be my lunch, Medusa.” She compared both the answers they’ve gathered and immediately thought of what she would say in a concise manner. As she was contemplating on how and what she would say in class, she was distracted by a familiar cackling. She turned towards the origin of the sound, and saw Dongwoo playfully nudging his partner. “Gyu-jiji, Gyu-jiji! I have a girlfriend now!” He caught her staring at him, and his grin reached from ear to ear. “Gyu-jiji! My girl’s looking over here now!” His partner sighed, and said, “Okay, okay! God! You’re so troublesome.”

He turned to search for Dongwoo’s new found girlfriend, and Yeonhee saluted him when they met glances, signalling that she was the one Dongwoo had mentioned about. He saw her smile far too brightly and immediately recognized that this was a joke. He smiled at her politely, but rolled his eyes as he once again faced Dongwoo. “I saw her. Now let’s get back to work!”

And with that, Yeonhee went back to reflecting on what she would discuss as well.

---

The school bell rang through everyone’s ears, announcing that classes were supposed to end. The teacher then stood up from his seat, and said, “Okay guys! Let’s end it here. Your discussions have been really interesting and I am really glad to have seen you again after quite a long time! See you on Thursday!” With that, the majority of the students stood up from their seats and rapidly walked towards the exit, uniting with their own cliques to chat about their previous activities. Yeonhee looked around and realized that only she, Da-in and their teacher was the only ones left in the room.

“Girls, I’ll be going ahead of you. Have a nice day!” their teacher said as he exited the room. Yeonhee turned to her friend and said, “Buy my lunch, .”

“I know, I know… Let’s head to the mall then.” Da-in said exasperatedly.

As they reached the door, however, they noticed Dongwoo skipping happily towards them while flailing his arms as if he were flying. As he reached them, he turned to Yeonhee and said, “Hey girlfriend! Mark your calendar, okay? You’re all mine on the 14^th of February!” He then grabbed the sides of her face with both hands, and quickly pecked her lips. He giggled and made an exit in the same manner as he approach them, not forgetting to say “See you around, girlfriend!” in his low but childish voice.

Yeonhee and Da-in stared at his disappearing figure as he turned the corner. Silence was then broken by the clueless Da-in.

“Yeonhee, what the hell just happened?!”

Yeonhee turned to her friend, and looked at her blankly. Her insides seemed to have been being eaten away by the butterflies that fluttered nonstop. She bit her lip feeling the familiar sensation, then said, “Da-in, I think I unknowingly got myself a boyfriend.”

---

I decided not to proofread it at all... seeing Microsoft word say that I need to proofread 6 pages of total and utter blew me away. Therefore, I decided to end my misery and look at Dongwoo pictures at tumblr instead. He's just too adorable to handle.. TT______TT And see that chapter title? yeah... I did not know what to name it and went with something completely unrelated to the story instead. That's what my brain does to my unsleepy self at 3 am.

And I am putting my proofreading business in your hands! Please if you see mistakes don't hesitate to comment on it. You could even swear at me if you want to.

And of course, criticize me well! seriously, I can't write fluff for ...help me a little.. TT_______TT