Though it’s kind of hard to believe, Chanyeol and I had been friends once upon a time. We actually went to school together for a little bit before he had to leave after being casted into the SM training program.

Back then, Chanyeol was just the weird, lanky kid that I somehow got along with. We shared a common interest in some of the same things, and pretty much always had something to talk about. We were practically joined at the hip. That is, if my hips were level with his…but whatever, you get my point.

He was the only person who was able to make me laugh even during the worst kinds of situations. And even though he was kind of awkward, he was still there for me when I needed someone to confide in.

Chanyeol wasn’t by any means the most attractive middle-school kid out there. But he wasn’t exactly ugly either. It wasn’t really until high school when the full-on blows of puberty hit him that girls started to take notice of him. It drove me crazy to no end seeing girls in their overly shortened skirts hanging off of him all the time. But even then, he still always seemed to come back to me.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I was in love with my best friend (how cliche, right?), even long before he made his high school debut.

Coincidentally, this was also around the same time that I officially became the bullying target of the female student body.

Chanyeol noticed, of course, when I would come into class with soaked slippers or when I’d have to sit out during gym class because my gym clothes were secretly shredded and not actually left at home like I led him to believe. Yeah, he noticed, but he didn’t know the truth. So he eventually stopped asking.

When he joined the basketball team later that year, the sweet and goofy Chanyeol I used to know practically disappeared. Instead, he was replaced with this cocky imitation of himself that started blowing me off to hang out with the “popular kids.”

I eventually let him. I stopped trying to pine after what we once had in a friendship. Stopped being the best friend and instead became “that short girl he used to hang out with.” But his newfound cocky disposition somehow did nothing to deter my feelings for him. The real him.

At least, I loved what I thought was the real him. That is, until I heard that fateful conversation he had with his new “friends” that was never supposed to reach my ears.

“Neh, oppa, do you keep rejecting me because you like that other girl?” Asked a girl in a fake sickly-sweet tone of voice.

“Who?”

“That Mimi chick or whatever her name is. The one who looks like she belongs in grade school! She’s totally in love with you, haven’t you even noticed?”

Ouch. Was I that obvious?

The small group surrounding Chanyeol started to laugh at the girl’s accusation.

The must’ve taken his momentary silence the wrong way, since one of the guys piped up saying, “He’s not denying it, he’s totally into her! I didn’t know you had a thing for shorties Channie; she must have better assets than we thought!” which just caused more laughter amongst the group.

That’s when Chanyeol quickly piped in, trying to redeem himself.

“Yah! Are you kidding? Why would I go for a shorty like her, huh? She’s not even that cute!”

It still felt like a slap in the face when I thought about it now.

I eventually had enough of listening outside the classroom door. I slid the door open as loud as I could, causing it to bang against the wall and effectively silence the laughing group. I didn’t pay them any mind as I held my head high and walked to my desk to grab my bag. A whisper of  “do you think she heard us?” started to circulate among the girls. When I finally did acknowledge them, I only looked at one place in particular.

Into the surprised, brown eyes of the boy who was once my friend. My rock. My first love.

His mouth opened and closed for a bit, like he was trying to figure if he should say something. I never let him speak, though, since I mustered up the best glare that I could give him (without breaking down before I could), my heel, and walked out of the classroom.

I wasn’t surprised when I heard the slap of hurried footsteps behind me. Nor was I surprised when a hand gripping my elbow stopped me in my tracks.

“Mina…” he said, with what I figured was synthesized remorse in his voice. Of course he would try and apologize. Wouldn’t want anyone hating the school’s ‘it boy’ now would we?

I can still remember how much effort it took to do what I did next.

Ripping my elbow out of his grasp, I turned to glare up at him with hard, glassy eyes

“Do us both a favor, and never talk to me again. Okay, Yeollie?” I said, spitting out the last word like it was acid on my tongue. Shock. That’s all it was that was evident on his face. I wouldn’t bring myself to believe that he was hurt by my words. Sure, I had never gotten so angry with him before. But that was then, this was now. I guess we both changed more than we thought possible.

 I left him standing there in a stupor before he could even respond. I was done. I had enough.

It was over.  

But at the same time, it wasn’t. I don’t know why I was secretly hanging onto the hope that he would call out to me. Or why I was wishing he would come after me to tell me he was sorry. To hug me, console me, do something.

Maybe that was all I wanted. Maybe I wanted something more, who knows.

But he didn’t.

He started showing up at school less and less after that, and eventually just stopped coming altogether after a while.

 It wasn’t until later on that I found out he had moved for who-knows-what reason.

But he left.

Left me to suffer through the last two and half years of high school by myself. Left me with the bitter feeling of how I wished I could’ve told him goodbye. And worst of all, he me behind with an aching heart, as cheesy as it sounds.

The bullies kind of calmed down when they didn’t have something left to fight for, and I just became another face in the crowd of students who had to suffer their way through high school.

That’s why, when I got accepted into a college in Seoul, I didn’t hesitate to leave life in a small town to become a city girl. Sure, it was hard to leave my family behind, but they were incredibly supportive, and urged me to go regardless.

While I was there, I was fortunate enough to be chosen for an internship program at a major music company. But somehow, my internship to study music production had turned into a job where I was carting around with some newbie group that was supposed to be the “next big thing in music.” They were trying to convince me that it would be beneficial to help me better understand the world of music. But secretly, I just think they were a bit short-staffed and needed someone reliable for the job that they wouldn’t have to pay.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect, walking into my first day on the job. Would these guys be nice? Would they accept me? What was I even going to be doing?

I was soon to find out.

I swear some of the guys I was introduced to were giants. 

Their manager introduced them one at a time, and they each gave the appropriate polite hello in return. It wasn’t until he got to the tallest one in the goup that everything seemed to go wrong. He didn’t even have to say his name. I already knew.

“Park…Chanyeol?”

If there was ever a chance where the odds weren’t in my favor, now would probably the time.

I was, undoubtedly, staring into the scrutinizing eyes of the same Park Chanyeol who was the sole cause of the misery that was my high school career.

His face broke out into that same idiotic grin that I knew was his trademark. And this stupid heart of mine decided to react. My fragile female emotions really pick a bad time to respond to the guy I was supposed to be forgetting.

“So it is you!” he exclaimed, laughing to himself like he had just come to an amazing revelation.

“No way…” I muttered disbelievingly to myself. As much as I wanted to doubt it was actually him, I would’ve just been a fool for trying to convince myself otherwise.

Well, there go all my attempts at forgetting my first love. Luck never has been on my side…

“You two know each other?” one of the group members at the table asked, one that I had currently forgotten the name of.

Chanyeol must’ve become uncomfortable under the multiple questioning gazes he was receiving, since I could see his muscles tense up as if he was being prosecuted or something. Leave it to him to react before he thinks. He laughed, albeit a bit awkwardly, before answering.

“She’s just some girl I kind of knew in high school.”

And just like that, it was as if the past decided to come and give me a few slaps in the face to remember the brutality of it all. Just some girl? That was all I got? I was there to comfort you when your pet ferret died, you jerk! And all I get is ‘some girl?’

He was still the same. With no chance for reconcile. 

“Is there any special relationship between the two of you that we should know about, Mina-sshi?” their manager asked me, probably wondering if it was a mistake that they hired me.

“No,” I replied. If Chanyeol thought I was letting him off that easy, then he was dead wrong. I could pretty much see his grin falter, though it was very slight.

“Not at all. He’s just some jerk I knew in high school. There’s nothing between us.”

And I guess things just went downhill from there. 

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A/N: Super long but necessary filler chapter is finally done! My goodness! I feel like I should tag this story with angst now...or what I think is angst...idk. 

P.S. most of this i supposed to be a sequence of flashbacks in case that wasn't clear. Mina should've been working a few months into the job by now. 

It's probably good that this chapter is long though, because I haven't figured out what im doing for the third chapter yet and it might take a while...lol (I know, that's pretty bad). 

Anyway, thanks for reading!