Chapter 1: The New Girl

    It was the middle of January. Christmas vacation had come and gone, leaving Heejun uneasy. He knew that sooner or later Hee Sun’s mother would try to pull something to split them up. It seemed too quiet for her to be doing nothing. She hated his guts, so, what was she up to?

    He approached YoungHwa High, waving at Yoon Jae as they approached the gate. They walked into the foyer, seeing Ji Yeon with a new girl. They walked up to her as she turned from her conversation.

    “Hey, what’s up, Ji Yeon?” Heejun asked. She smiled at them.

    “Well, this is my friend, Ayaka.” she said. The girl bowed and smiled at them.

    “Hello.” she said shyly.

    “Hi! I’m Yoon Jae, it’s nice to meet you!” he said excitedly. She blushed, looking over at Heejun. He looked sideways. The girl was freaking him out a little.

    “Um, hey. I’m Heejun.” he said, extending his hand. She took it, looking down at her feet.

    “Hi.” She gently let go of his hand, and he put it in his pocket, trying to nonchalantly wipe away the awkwardness.

    “Well, classes are about to start, we’ll see you guys later, ok?” They nodded as they headed on their separate ways.

    “Does she seem a bit, off  to you, Yoon Jae?” asked Heejun, taking his seat. Yoon Jae shook his head.

    “Perhaps it’s because other than Ji Yeon and F4, we don’t really get a chance to speak with other girls our own age.” Heejun shrugged.

    “I suppose.” yet, he wasn’t so sure.

    Hee Sun sat with Chaerin in the garden of the school. They were waiting for Yuna and Ga In to get back from their shopping spree.

    “You’d think they’d wait till we got outta school, you know?” said Chaerin. “That way they’d have more time.” Hee Sun shrugged.

    “Not my problem.” she said, twirling her hair in her hand. “Say Chaerin,” she said.

    “Yea?”

    “My mother hasn’t said anything to me since we got back. Do you think she gave up?” Chaerin picked at her nails, thinking hard. It was true, her mother hadn’t spoken to her, in fact, she hadn’t seen her at all. Yet.

    “I don’t think so, chica.” Chaerin responded, moving stray blonde hairs out of her face. “Your mama’s got something planned, we just have to wait and prepare for it, just like always.” Hee Sun nodded.

    “I’ll ask Baek Hi if she’s heard anything when we get to my house tonight.” Chaerin nodded.

    “Sounds like a plan.” she agreed. Just then, Ga In and Yuna waltzed up to them, holding shopping bags and coffee.

    “Here,” Ga In shoved a cup into each of their hands. “We would have been back sooner, if someone hadn’t taken her damn time picking out one pair of shoes!” she looked over at Yuna.

    “Well, excuse me,” Yuna flicked her hair. “If someone hadn’t spent two hours in the lingerie store, we wouldn’t have had to wait for me to pick out shoes, because I would have actually had time!” she snapped.

    “Whoa, Yuna, chill out, girl. What’s your problem lately?” asked Chaerin. Yuna had been on edge since they came back from Japan. She always tried dodging the question, so it was hard to get an answer out of her.

    “Well,” she sighed. “It’s just that,” she dropped her bags and ran her fingers through her hair. “My parents have moved up my wedding date!” she cried. “They want me to marry Sung Kyu right after graduating, the next day.” she explained, plopping down on the soft grass. Ga In bent down and put her hand on her shoulder. “I’m getting married in April.” Hee Sun and Chaerin looked at each other.

    “I thought you were fine with this,” said Hee Sun. Yuna shook her head.

    “I was, but now,” she looked up at the sky, trying to hold back tears. “Now I think about all the things I had planned to do before marriage. I thought I could travel overseas and study art, but now...” her voice trailed off.

    “What are you gonna do about it, then?” asked Chaerin. Yuna looked over at her with her sad round eyes.

    “There’s nothing I can do.” Ga In hugged her.

    “Don’t worry, honey, you’ll survive, we all will.”

    Heejun exited classes that day, feeling like he was being followed. He looked behind him. Ayaka shyly stood back. He ushered her forward.

    “You know,” he said. “It’s kind of rude to follow somebody like a creeper.” she giggled.

    “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to,” she explained. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the street fair with me today.” He looked at her questioningly.

    “Oh, no, not like that!” she exclaimed. “As friends. You know, so we can get to know each other. Since I don’t know a lot of people here, and Yoon Jae and Ji Yeon are busy?” He sighed.

    “I suppose, I could,” he said.

    “Yay!” she gave a small jump of excitement.

    “But,” he said. “Only for a little while. I gotta get goin in a bit.” she nodded and grabbed his arm, dragging him off.

    Chaerin peered through her sunglasses at the scene before her.

    ‘I don’t know what this chick is up to,’ she thought. ‘But she’s got some balls to pull that kind of in front of me.’

END OF CHAPTER 1
 

*NOTE: sorry if the chapter is a bit short, I'll add chapter 2 tonight!