For our sports class today, we were playing baseball. This was the one class that Kimmi outshined me in. She was a terrific player; strong, athletic and persevering were the characteristics of a sportsperson and when it comes to Kimmi, no man could match for her.

            I enjoy being on the field and watching the direction of the ball; from when it leaves the pitcher’s hand to when a batter hits it with tremendous force and it flies up high and is the size of a pin prick and then it lands and is grabbed by the other midfielders and passed on to eliminate the opposing team.

            “Aren’t you joining in?” Yunho walked up to me.

            “I think I like laying low.”

            Yunho took the grass patch next to me. “And I’m thinking of joining you.”

            “They are going to notice that their class leader is hibernating.”

            Yunho shrugged. “I was pitching and participating for most of the game. I thought that Yoochun was lazing around so I let him pitch for a while.”

            I looked at the batting position and saw Kimmi holding the steel bat tightly. I knew Yoochun was going to enjoy this. Kimmi was looking at him with a frustrated expression again and when Yoochun threw the ball, Kimmi’s aim was directly at him. It sped towards his lower abdomen and Kimmi rushed towards the first base. Yoochun had his glove at the ready and tried to catch the ball but that didn’t stop him from falling back into the ground and sliding a few good metres behind the pitch line.

            Kimmi was laughing happily as Yoochun struggled to stand up. He slowly arose and with all his might, held his glove high into the air. Within it, was the ball, clasped tightly and almost unnoticeable from the distance I was viewing from.

            “Batter is out!” The teacher cried and Kimmi became horrified. Kimmi fired up on the spot but then she saw me and Yunho in the distance. She dropped her helmet on the base and came to join us. However, she was called back by the teacher to take Yoochun to the nurse because he had collapsed on the field,

            “I better get back there and pitch.” Yunho rose and went to Yoochun’s earlier position. “You better catch something out here Minni.” He bent down and as expected he had his hand on my nose, pinching it enough to make my face crinkle. “Cutie,” he squealed and went to pitch.

            After a while, I saw Changmin in the background walking towards me. He took the spot beside me and laid down with his knees pointing towards the sky.

            “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” He commented.

            I looked around and agreed that today wasn’t a typical winter day. The grass was dry and cool underneath me and the sunrays were very strong today. Then I remembered that it was still class time. “What are you doing out of class?” I asked curiously. “You don’t have a study period do you?”

            “I’m doing an assignment and Hana asked if we could go to the library to get more resources.”

            “Hana?”

            “We’re working together. We were assigned to be partners.” Changmin had started picking at the grass.

            “Then shouldn’t you be at the library?”

            Changmin shook his head and tossed the grass at me. “She likes to work alone. I didn’t mind because I don’t like working at all.”

            “That’s not right.” I told him. “You should be helping her out whether she likes it or not.”

            Changmin looked at me and slowly sat up. “But I don’t really think she likes me.” He was choosing his words carefully. “And I don’t think we can work together either. I don’t think I like her either.”

            “Hana is a very independent person.” I admitted. “But that just means that she needs someone even more. She needs to know that people are not meant to be alone, everyone has to be there for each other.”

            Changmin looked away but I could tell that he was taking in everything I was saying.

            “Junsu and I can open up to her and I think you can too.” I patted his shoulder. “You’re a decent young fellow.”

            He turned to his shoulder and then he turned to me. I gave him an encouraging smile and that was when I saw a small circular shadow getting bigger and bigger on Changmin’s chest. I looked up and saw the baseball heading his way. Immediately, I shielded Changmin and anticipated the pain of the ball striking my shoulder blade.

            After a moment of no pain, I opened my eyes and slowly released the boy from my embrace. The face he gave me could only be astonishment.

            “Sorry,” I began shyly, “I thought the ball was going to hit you.”

            Changmin regained his voice by clearing his throat. “I think it was going to hit me too. What happened?”

            I looked around only to see Jaejoong’s back to me, just a few metres away, throwing the ball swiftly at home base. The ball perfectly reached its target although the teacher had already announced that the batter was out. That meant only one thing; Jaejoong had caught the ball.

            Hesitantly, I approached Jaejoong. As much as I disliked conversing with him, I felt that this was the right thing to do. “Thank you,” I muttered. “For saving Changmin.”

            He didn’t turn my way but replied coldly. “I don’t need your thank you. Leave me alone.”

            I managed a nod although he had already started walking away. “I’ll leave you alone.” I said then turned back to Changmin. “I think that you shouldn’t stay around here. It’s quite dangerous.”

            Changmin nodded slowly. “I’ll go see if Hana needs some help. Thank you.”

            I smiled softly at him. “Good idea.” By the time I turned back to the field, Yunho was approaching me again and taking his pitching position was Jaejoong.

                        “I’ve been thinking, why don’t we hang out this weekend?” Yunho suggested at the lunch table.

            “What do you want to do?” Kimmi asked.

            Yunho shrugged. “Go to the mall.”

            “Dude,” Yoochun chortled, “You sound like a girl who is in need of a desperate shopping spree.”

            Kimmi eyed Yoochun. “He’s not the one who is obsessed with his own good looks.”

            “See that’s what I mean.” Yoochun lifted his index finger making his point. “I know that I am pretty enough even rags can’t hide my radiance.”

            Kimmi puked.

            “Actually, I was thinking of going somewhere with fresh air but I was considering what the ladies would like as well.” Yunho placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder giving him a winning grin before turning to me expectantly.

            “Sounds fun.” I asserted but truth was, I don’t think I could go. The mistress was very strict towards me.

            “Minni, Kimmi, don’t forget to invite your little sisters and brothers as well.” Yunho inserted. “The more the merrier.”

            I brightened up a little, at least with the company of Junsu and Hana, the mistress will be more lenient on me.

            “If you’re looking for fresh air and shops for the ladies, I know the perfect place.” Yoochun began. “It’s an outdoor mall by the ocean, has a harbor touch to it.”

            “Sounds great.” Kimmi said sarcastically. “Just cold.”

            “Well there’s a café with outdoor heating just in front of the pier.”

            “That sounds better.” Kimmi muttered reluctantly finally agreeing with her neighbor.

            Out of nowhere a large cup of steaming fluid was slammed on the table in front of me. I took in the bizarre smell of chocolate and looked up to see the stairs-girl from yesterday. She smiled at me. “I bought this for you as a sign of my gratitude for your wise words yesterday.”

            “Thank you.” I smiled sweetly back. “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

            “It’s Sohee.”

            “Thank you Sohee.”

            She laughed lightly in a very girly way. “I should be thanking you.”

            “Too bad Minni doesn’t really like hot chocolate.” Hana appeared abruptly. “You spent your money for nothing.”

            I don’t know why Hana was saying that, I don’t really have a food I dislike; all foods tasted good in their own way.

            “And it’s too bad that I feel like hot chocolate today.” Another person was present at our table. Jaejoong. He grabbed the cup and took a sip swallowing with distaste. Sohee wore a sour expression. “Should have said that it was hot, did you want someone to get their throat burnt or something?” Jaejoong glared at her. I watched pitifully as tears welled up in the girl's eyes. Sohee took off before she could sulk again.

            “Why do you enjoy making others cry so much?” Kimmi started to feel frustrated.

            “Because being the bad guy suits me.” Jaejoong let go of the cup and when it hit the ground with a heavy thud, spilling brown milk everywhere, he stamped on the cardboard hard.

            “Jaejoong!” Kimmi yelled angrily.

            “Don’t!” Hana interrupted. “Don’t say a word against him.”

            I looked at Hana, her expression was now fierce and protective. It was the face that the mistress wore when she was very worried about her children.

            “I can’t believe you’re protecting someone as pathetic as him! What he did to that girl, doesn’t it remind you of what he did to you?” Kimmi cried, unable to restrain herself.

            “You don’t know anything.” Hana sneered in response and walked away.

            “I think we need to calm down.” I said

            “Minni, don’t tell me you’re siding with your sister.” Kimmi whined.

            I shook my head. “I just want everything to be peaceful. It would be better for everyone.”

            It was silent for a while and then Yunho broke it. “I agree with Minni.”

            Kimmi pulled me into a tight hug. “How can you be such a saint?”

            “I think you’re exaggerating.” I chuckled awkwardly.

            “Anyways about our plans, I think that Saturday noon would be a good time.” Yunho said and everyone agreed. We continued with our lunch and then I remembered that Jaejoong was still here. I turned around to see him walking away into the distance. He was heading to the forest that biology students had been tending to every year. I would sometimes venture there when I had biology but that was rarely at this time of the year since it was winter. Maybe it was Jaejoong's kind of sanctuary.

                        Psychology class was what I had after lunch and it was the only class where I had none of my close friends with me. The classroom was empty so I assumed that I was early. I sat down by the window as usual and opened my text.

            “Changmin.” I stammered as he walked through the door. “What are you doing here?”

            “I got promoted to this class since I have studied psychology before.”

            “Wow, you’re smart.”

            Changmin shook his head. “I’m just interested in this kind of stuff.”

            “Yeah, I find it interesting too.” I admitted.

            “So who else is in this class, Yunho?”

            I gave him a sad smile. “No one.” I began “Unless you count… Jaejoong.”

            “Do you like him?” Changmin blurted.

            My cheeks reddened but I guess it was because no one ever expected me to ‘like’ someone. I looked at him blankly. “I don’t like him in that way, he just seems to stand out wherever he goes.”

            “Because he looks good?” Changmin questioned.

            “Because he’s always getting into trouble.” I said immediately. “Just the other day, he was disrupting the class by putting his headphones on full blast.”

            Changmin raised his eyebrows. “So you hate him?” The tone in his voice seemed satisfactory with the thought.

            The teacher walked in and before she started class I muttered back to Changmin. “I wouldn’t say that.” Honestly, I didn’t know what I think of Jaejoong.

            “He’s not here.” Changmin whispered after the teacher had called the roll.

            “Probably late or ditching it.” I said. The psychology teacher was a fan of him too.

            Changmin shook his head disapprovingly. “Can’t this guy do anything right except look good?”

            “Minni,” the teacher called. “I forgot some handouts on my desk, can you go grab it for me?”

            “Yes!” I stood up and walked out the door. The teacher’s area was very close to the school entrance where students rarely venture unless it was necessary. Yunho would go often to complete his duties as class leader. Jaejoong probably visits it often too because he is always in trouble. It wasn’t because it was such a bad place (I heard it was very cosy) but the idea of being surrounded by teachers was what most students dreaded. Plus, their area was like their sanctuary and I didn’t want to disturb them in their own home.

            I reached the office and just had a few more corridors to go through but suddenly, I was pushed down a flight of stairs and rolled into a dark large storage room. The door was quickly closing and I crawled to open them but I knew it was too late for I heard the lock slide into position. I tried to stand up but fell back down due to a sudden jolt in my ankle. I was trapped.

            I winced in pain as silently as possible and I decided to position myself comfortably on the floor leaning against a wall close to the door, slowly stretching my legs out slowly so that the pain was bearable.

            “Is anybody out there?” I yelled. I heard a number of giggles from the other side of the door and remembered Hana’s words. Sadly, I was starting to believe her. The laughter faded and echoed; the somebody who was out there, wasn’t coming back.

            “I’m here.” A low voice came from further within the storeroom. I heard movement nearing me and tried to decipher who the stranger might be.

            “Who’s there?” I asked the darkness. Suddenly, a hand grasped my ankle and I kicked it away only to feel the jolt again.

            “Looks like you sprained your ankle.” The familiar voice was loud and clear now.

            “Jaejoong!” I stammered, completely shocked. He unlocked his phone, illuminating the room. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in class.”

            Jaejoong scoffed. “Aren’t you glad I’m here?”

            I thought about it. “I guess.” I then muttered. It was comforting to have someone, anyone when you were alone. Jaejoong was pressing his hand on my injured ankle lightly. When I cried in pain at some point, his hands grew gentler. I watched him as he was massaging my ankle, speechless that I was witnessing such a gentle side of him. His hair was in his face but I could tell that he was concentrating very hard. He generally was a very observant person after all.

            I then looked at my surroundings. It was a chemical cupboard, full of solutions used in chemistry experiments. I took in a strong odour and saw bottles of acids and jars of a range of substances.

            “Feel better?” Jaejoong asked and I turned to my leg, moving it a little. The pain wasn’t as sharp and it didn’t hurt as much. I nodded a reply. “Can you stand up?”

            I attempted, leaning my palm on the wall for support. “I should be fine as long as I have something to hang on it.”

            Jaejoong backed away and gave me a stern look.

I sighed in disbelief. Was I one of his fan girls? I picked myself up and used the wall as a mode of support. Who would want to hang onto someone who was cold 99.99% of the time?

            I looked back at Jaejoong as he pulled his right cheek up, succeeding in making a perfect side smirk. “Wait there.” He went to the back of the room and looked around. He came back with a small flask.

            I read the label and gulped. “What are you doing? That’s very strong acid.”

            “I know.” Jaejoong looked at me arrogantly. “I’m getting us out.” And then he poured the whole content on the door knob.

            I gasped as the door handle disintegrated revealing a hole, a small ray of light. Jaejoong then grabbed a bottle of water and wore some gloves. When the hole grew large enough for a hand, Jaejoong poured the water on the violated door hole. His glove hand then searched for the lock above the door know and with ease unlatched it and let us out.

            “You just violated school property.” I told him as we walked towards the teacher’s office; me clinging onto the wall for dear life. I still had to grab the handouts. “You could have just called one of your friends with your phone.”

            “I have no contacts on my phone.”

            I looked at him astounded, but then remembered that he would either be on his own or just make short offensive conversations with someone and then walk off. “Emergency call?” I suggested.

            “Narh, don’t want to get too much attention. And plus.” Jaejoong smiled maliciously. “Wrecking things is my thing.”

            I shook my head in disappointment while struggling to keep up with him. “I thought you were going to leave alone now?” I muttered to myself, remembering how he was keeping a distance from me recently.

            Jaejoong had the hearing senses of a dog. “Missing me already?”

            I ignored him and focused on the task at hand. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and wrapped my arm around his neck and placed his other hand on my waist for support. I looked up at him, trying to figure out what he was doing.

            He gave me his famous smirk. “You’re slowing me down.”

            “You didn’t have to come with me.” I muttered to myself. From the corner of my eyes, I could see his small smile. He had heard me once again. 

            We managed to reach the teacher’s area and retrieve the handouts. At the office, Jaejoong slammed a bundle of notes on the counter. “This is for the chemistry store room door.” He said with his mischievous grin. Now we were almost at the classroom.

            “Thank you.” I noticed that I had forgotten to show my gratitude.

            “I don’t want it.”

            “I learnt something new about you today.” My tone was soft. He turned around and looked at me, a bit surprised at my change of voice. “Although you tend to wreck things, you’re still able to mend things as well.” I gave him a genuine smile. “I think it’s beautiful.”

            Jaejoong’s eyes widened and his grip loosened. I felt myself lose balance and tried to cling onto him just before he grabbed my waist again and pulled me into him. Afraid of smashing my face on his, I turned away only to let him peck me on my left cheek. Shocked, I looked up at his eyes and saw my flustered face reflect in them.

            “Minni, you b*tch!” Jaejoong and I turned to see Sohee growling and advancing on me. Her right hand was up and ready to slap. I anticipated the pain on my left cheek, hoping it didn’t hurt as bad as the mistress’s or Jaejoong’s. Jaejoong clasped Sohee’s hand tightly and pushed her away with a deathly glare but I wasn’t focusing on them. I had began to think.

            Jaejoong had slapped me on my left cheek once. He also kissed me on the same cheek once, or was this the second time? My dad never kisses me on the cheek, it was always the forehead, and yet it felt so real. The puzzles were fitting together.

            “It was you that day.” I placed a hand on my left cheek.

            Confused, Sohee and Jaejoong looked my way. Jaejoong caught on easily but Sohee was completely lost. I looked at Jaejoong, urging him to give me a response. His eyes told me it was true but it was his that words was going to confirm it.

            Jaejoong clasped my hands in his. “Yes, it was me.”