“Do you understand now?” asks Niel under the light of the lamp. His finger taps impatiently on the equation and you nod your head.
“I’ll try it.” you say as your pick up your pencil and scribble senselessly all over the page.
“Yuri-ah!!!” he scolds you with a smile.
“This is boring. I’m going to go now, thanks for tutoring me for today.” you tell him as you bow politely.
“What’s with the formality?” he asks you. You just shrug your shoulders and leave.

Your phone vibrates in your pocket again, and you reach for it, thinking that Niel has texted you again.

Maria
5:35PM
Monday, 17 June, 2013
I want to talk to you at school tomorrow. Come early.

Yuri
5:36PM
Monday, 17 June, 2013
Sure.

What would Maria want to tell me that she can’t say over the phone? It must be real important, you wonder to yourself. You noticed that the way she texted you was straight forward and clear, not like the usual; flooded with exclamation marks, smiley faces and love hearts. This was very strange indeed. Maybe it wasn’t her who sent the text? Ani, ani—it can’t be.

You came to school ten minutes earlier than usual, waiting for Maria to arrive. A black limousine parks in front of you, and a figure comes out of the car. The sunlight envelopes the person, and you can see their features. The person was a tall male, with straight ashen blonde hair that is so light, it almost looks whitish gray, and strands burst out in random areas of his head. He had a cold aura, and his fierce eyes held a concentrated glare. He looked calm, but at the same time, an atmosphere that said ‘back off’.

You thought about how similar you both were, and you broke your gaze away from him, going back to patiently waiting for Maria.
“Ga-yun Yuri?” asks the guy in a soft voice that didn’t match his serious expression.
“Ne. (Yes.)” you reply, a bit scared that he knows your name.
“Maria won’t be attending this school anymore. I have come as her replacement. She had ordered me to become your friend. Nice to meet you, my name is Jung Dae Hyun.” he informs you in his gentle voice and bows.

“Bwoh? (What?) Waeyo? (Why?)” you question the gentle voice from the aggressive figure, shocked.
“That,” he says, after rising from his bow. “Is something I cannot tell you.”
You look at him, perplexed, concealing rage, but he just stares at you blankly.
“Shall we proceed to class now?” he asks.
You nod your head and walk away as he follows your trail.

Minwoo taps your shoulder from behind. You turn around to see who it is, and he kisses you on the lips. Caught by surprise, you stumble back and drop your notebooks and textbooks on the ground. Your pens scatter all over the floor, and your papers fly everywhere.
“Aish,” you complain under your breath.
As you bend down to pick up your things, Jung Dae Hyun holds his arm out to stop you from bending, and he picks everything up swiftly and efficiently, before Minwoo could even say a word to apologize. As you take your things from him, the atmosphere between the three of you becomes tense. Minwoo glares at Dae Hyun, who lifts an eyebrow.

“I’ll see you at lunch,” finally says Minwoo before he leaves.
“What’s with that kid’s glare?” asks Jung Dae Hyun.
“Does it matter? You don’t know him.” you reply.
“No Minwoo, your boyfriend from the year above. He is a senior and you are one year younger than him.” he states quickly, as if it were just a fact that he had memorized. You stay silent. What the heck.

You notice that everyone that walks past seems to have their eyes glued onto you two, because you seemed perfectly compatible with each other. He soon became quite popular to the school, and was considered as your ‘partner’ somewhat. He was even nicknamed the ‘ice prince’. This strongly conflicted with your relationship with Minwoo.

“Jung Dae Hyun,” you begin.
“Call me Dae Hyun.” he interrupts.
“What? Already?” you say. First name basis so quickly? What is this guy thinking exactly?
“Ani, (No,) it’s just easier.” he replies.
“So, anyway, ‘Dae Hyun’, why are you walking around with me?” you question his motives.
He says nothing to reply, which only infuriates you more. At lunch, you stomp off to your boyfriend as he still follows your trail.

“Sorry for making you drop all your books!” apologizes Minwoo to you. You shrug your shoulders, gesturing for him to forget it. 
“I’ll walk you home today!” he exclaims to you.
Why does he need to say that? He walks me home everyday, and I’m aware.

“U-uh, okay then.” you reply, feeling uneasy for the reason why he is, in a way, reminding you.
“Ani. (No.) I’m walking her home.” interrupts Dae Hyun from behind. Bwoh?

No Minwoo and Dae Hyun look at each other dangerously, and it was like invisible lasers were shooting from their eyes. It was like they were having war with eye contact. You stand in between them, attempting to change the subject from the strange atmosphere. Niel just sits there quietly, wide-eyed, on a lollipop with his plump limps. Help me out here? He just sits there, as if he were enjoying a show.

“It’s stupid to fight over this, right?” you ask them rhetorically. “Both of you can walk me home.”
“Nevermind, I won’t walk you home.” pulls back Minwoo as he flops back onto his seat. 
What? This is the first time he won’t be walking me home. In complete honesty, a part of you enjoyed him walking you home, because he showed his true personality to you during those times.