“Stay with your dad. Don’t follow me, understood?” Her eyebrows creased and she stood up from her kneeling position, brushing off imaginary dirt on her pencil skirt. Yuri blinked at her mother for a few times, her lips curving downwards. She clucked her tongue at Yuri and sighed before grabbing her handbag. “I’ll leave now.”

“No! Mummy, don’t leave!” Yuri ran over to her mother and clutched her leg tightly. “Mummy, please. Stay.” She shut her eyes and held on tighter, in which her mother tensed up in response. Her mother is going to leave for good, she knows it.

“Yuri…” Her mother started, her tone impatient.

“No.” Yuri whispered.

“YURI.” She looked at Yuri, exasperated at how stubborn her daughter can be.

“No, please…”

“AHN YURI, I DON’T WANT YOU ANYMORE. I am abandoning you! Get it? Now get lost!” Her mother shrugged her off mercilessly and glared at her before heading for the front door.

“Mum… Mum! MUM!” Yuri slumped onto the ground and covered her face with her tiny hands. Soft muffled cries soon escalated into loud wails.

The light pitter patter of the rain welcomed Yuri back to reality. She looked around with her half lidded eyes and closed them again. It wasn’t the first time she had a nightmare of her mother abandoning her. She sighed and held out her hand, letting the cold rain water seep through her fingers. The rooftop of the school was her only escape during school hours all these while. But lately, she wondered if she should find another escape.

Yuri stood up and dusted her skirt. She inhaled the fresh rainy scent and exhaled slowly. If only she could stay here the entire day, she would. The bell rang, signaling the start of the second half of the day. She certainly didn’t want to return to the class of barbarians who only knew how to bully her but she didn’t have any choice, did she? Dragging her feet towards the exit of the rooftop, Yuri looked at the edge of the rooftop and swallowed. *Is that the only way?*

Peeling her eyes off the edge, she turned around and saw someone leaning on the brick wall beside the grey door. His head was down, hands in his pockets with a leg propped up against the wall. It was that hair, that familiar golden brown hair that drew her in. Yuri took a cautious step towards him and bent down to see the face that was covered by his long golden brown fringe. It was indeed Chanhee.

A soft gasp escaped her lips but he didn’t stir at all. His eyes remained close and his breathing was even. *He must be sleeping.* Yuri giggled at how impossible this guy was. She stood rooted to the ground, admiring his perfectly sculpted features. He was like a piece of beautiful artwork hung up in the museum, wanted by many. Her heart was starting to beat erratically again. Reality punched her in the gut.

He’s everything. You’re nothing, Ahn Yuri.

Right, how could she even allow her thoughts to wander when they had only met a few times? He would never look at her in the same way as she did. Her body acted on its own as one of her leg turned towards the exit. *Class is starting, Ahn Yuri. You need to go.*

The moment Yuri whipped her head around to face the grey door, he spoke. “You’re not planning to just leave after staring at me for that long, right?” She almost choked after he finished his sentence. He wasn’t sleeping? She was basically caught red handed for blatantly staring at his gorgeous face. Yuri cursed mentally. *What is he going to do to me?* Chanhee pushed himself off the wall and took light steps towards her. “Remember what I said at the café previously?”

Curiosity gripped Yuri by the collar, demanding her to turn and look at Chanhee. Her knees buckled at the mere sight of his alluring dark brown eyes. His question had yet to be processed in her brain as all she could ever focus on now was his sweet, raspy voice. *His voice is y. Really y.*

“What’s your name?” Chanhee spoke again but this time, his lips curled upwards. His eyes twinkled with excitement for some unknown reason but Yuri didn’t bother to decipher. She was pretty indifferent the previous time she saw him at the café. Why is she so jittery today? Or perhaps it was because this Chanhee was different? He frowned when Yuri didn’t reply. “You said you would tell me your name if I saw you again. It’s no fair how you know my name but I have no idea what’s yours.”

“It’s Yuri. Ahn Yuri.” She replied, almost instantly. Chanhee’s pouty lips spread into a wide dazzling grin. Calming her beating heart, she broke eye contact with Chanhee and looked at the ground, her face turning into a shade of red.

“Yuri, aye? That’s a beautiful name.” Chanhee murmurs, his voice softer and much gentler. He leaned in. Yuri lifted her head to look at him, who had his face just inches away from hers. This time, she couldn’t look away. Neither could he. As Yuri looked into his eyes, she could see it again. Loneliness, despair… And a little bit of hope. Chanhee searched her eyes for a while before returning to his usual position. “We should go back to class.”

Yuri widened her eyes and looked at her watch. “Yes we should!!” She opened the grey door and ran down the stairs to the hallways. Students are beginning to head to their own classrooms. She heard rushed footsteps from behind her and noticed that Chanhee was following her. “Why-”

“No time for chit chat. I’m sending you to class and I’ll head off to mine.” Before Yuri could refuse his offer, Chanhee spoke again. “What’s your class?” He turned to her, his face no longer amused.

“Um.. 3-B.” Chanhee grabbed Yuri’s wrists and pulled her towards her classroom. They reached her classroom within a minute due to his long strides. Yuri looked down at his hand still wrapped around her wrists and her cheeks flushed again. “Thank you… Chanhee-ssi.” She says shyly and slightly tugs her hand to let him know that he is still holding on to her.

“Oh!” Chanhee retracts his hand and rubs his nape, embarrassed. “Well, you should go in now. You know how they might bully you again if you’re late.” He urged her with his eager eyes and Yuri felt the corners of her lips turn up. Once again, he had managed to capture her heart with those eyes of his. *Why does he care so much? Is he pitying me?*

“Sure, I’ll go in now.”

“See you around… Yuri.” She felt like all the air within her was knocked out in a nanosecond at the mention of her name. To hear her name roll off his tongue so naturally… How many times had she dreamed of that? Yuri stepped into the classroom and headed to her seat. Chanhee was still outside, watching her, as if to make sure she was fine. When he took a step into the classroom, Yuri held her breath. *What is he going to do now?* Her subconscious mocks her when Chanhee acknowledged his buddy, who was coincidentally sitting in front of her.

“Sup Daniel! Cya later.” Daniel held a hand up and Chanhee grins. That smile again! His eyes shifted a little to look at Yuri who was gazing right at him and he winked discreetly. *That’s it. I think I’m as red as a tomato now.* She covered her face with her hands, utterly flattered yet alarmed that the progress between the both of them is improving really quickly. Chanhee smirked knowingly and left for his own classroom.

Joohee let her eyes travel on him till he was finally out of sight. She closed the fashion magazine she was reading and slammed it on the table. She strutted towards Yuri, her face calm and collected but her eyes sent daggers. “Ahn Yuri, right?” Her voice was icy cold and it sent shivers down her spine. Yuri let her hands falter and looked at Joohee.

Joohee had her jet black hair tied up into a high ponytail, emphasizing her high cheekbones. She had freckles on her cheeks but it accentuated her pecan shaped eyes. *She’s really beautiful.* Yuri cleared and nodded. “Yes, I am.” This caught Daniel’s attention.

“Just now, did I see you with Chanhee sunbae?” Joohee wasn’t one to beat around the bush and Yuri knew it very well. *Am I getting in trouble?* My subconscious raised her brow at me. *Oh that’s right. I kinda forgot that I’m dealing with one of the popular guys around here.* Joohee’s patience was wearing thin. “Did I or did I not?” She taunted.

“You did.” Yuri’s voice came off as a whisper. *I’d better not offend her. Please let her get off my back.*

“And so I did. You do know that he’s out of bounds right?” Joohee crossed her arms and took a step closer to Yuri. This caught Yuri’s attention. *Out of bounds? What does she mean? He’s taken?* She pursed her lips and waited for Joohee to continue. “He’s single but not available. Anyway, even if he was, you can’t even match up to him. At least I’m pretty. What are you?” Joohee sneered. Yuri looked down in defeat. Joohee was right. Who is she to hang around Chanhee like this?

“I don’t see anything bad in Yuri.” Daniel spoke and both girls looked at him – Joohee in shock and Yuri surprised. He stood up and placed both hands in his pockets, not turning to face them. “She has a prettier heart than you, Joohee. I’m sure Chanhee would be irked if he knew you had this side to you, childhood friends or not.”

Joohee felt her face heat up and stormed up to Daniel. “Shut up, Daniel. He’ll be on my side, no matter what. We’ve been through so much together. He wouldn’t leave me.” Yuri felt small and foreign to their talk. It’s like they knew so much about each other but she was only a transfer student. She knew nothing. *Especially about Chanhee. I would lose to her in many ways.*

“Oh yeah? Explain why he didn’t greet you just now. Actually, he hasn’t greeted you ever since your little incident last time.” Daniel looked at Joohee coldly, his hard gaze intimidating her. She stumbled back and avoided his gaze, her expression full of guilt. *Oh? Did she do something unforgivable?*

“Don’t mention that again, Daniel.” Joohee bit her bottom lips and clenched her fists. “You know I didn’t mean to.”

“I don’t care what was your motive then, but you do know that as his friends, we can’t stand looking at his heart all bruised and beaten up by someone whom he called his best friend.” Daniel cast her one last glare and sat down on his seat again. “Or first love.” He muttered softly. Yuri looked at Joohee’s teary eyes. *What exactly happened…?*

Joohee wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before tears could fall. She let her eyes wander to Yuri. “You, Ahn Yuri. No matter what, you stay away from Chanhee sunbae. Understood?” To appease her, Yuri nodded her head and looked down, seeing her figure leave from her peripheral vision. *Why is she so possessive? Jeez.*

Yuri had so many doubts from one single conversation between Daniel and Joohee. *Oh right, Daniel!* She reached out and tapped his shoulder lightly. He turned his head to the side, wondering what she would possibly want to say. “Thank you… Daniel-ssi.” He was genuinely surprised. A part of him felt relieved that she wouldn’t see his small smile tugging at his lips.

“I didn’t do it for you. I was just… Standing up for a classmate.” Daniel fibbed. Yuri knew he wouldn’t do this for anyone else and held in her laughter at his excuse.

“Ah sure, Daniel-ssi. Thank you for standing up for me then.” Daniel turned around in time to witness her first genuine grin. And boy, was he smitten.