Minho’s P.O.V.

            My eyes widened a little bit when I heard my name called after Gi Young’s.  That’s good, I thought, at least I can give the note to her without being too conspicuous about it.  The note sat carefully folded in my backpack. 

~Flashback~

Taeminnie, Jinki hyung, Jonghyun, and Key really startled me when they told me they wanted to meet Gi Young.  I was inclined to refuse at first.  She was probably still mad at me for some of the things I said and the way I treated her.  Then I realized that by having the other members meet her, I would have a chance to apologize face-to-face.  I finally agreed to their request, much to their excitement.  Key, Taemin, and Jinki hyung had asked me if they could bring the girls as well.  I was taken aback.  “Y-you guys want to introduce her to the girls already?” I questioned. 

They all nodded.  “Hyung,” Taemin said to me, “this girl, Gi Young.  She’s. . . different.  I don’t think she’s going to react the way other girls would.”  I mulled it over.  In a sense, Taemin was right.  Gi Young was very different from other girls I’d seen. 

“Arasso,” I reluctantly agreed, “bring them over.”

“Where are you gonna meet her?” the four asked me.  I thought for a moment before smiling slightly.

“The P.E. fields.”  Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, but they didn’t question it.  As everyone else left to do their own activities, I walked to my room, trying to think of how to tell Gi Young that I wanted to meet her. 

Should I just tell her?  No. . . I’ve seen the way girls look at her. . . I don’t want to land her in more trouble with them by speaking with her.  A note then?  Yes. . . that sounds like a good idea.  I can just slip it to her before class starts or something. . .

I was satisfied with the idea of the note, so I sat down at my desk and pulled out a sheet of paper.  Now. . . what should I write?  I really do want to apologize to her. . . should I write that in the note?  No. . . bad idea.  I want to apologize to her face-to-face.  Then. . . should I kinda just write down the question? Ugh, why is this so difficult?

I sat at my desk for about an hour.  Every time I would write something down on a sheet of paper, I would just crumple it up and throw it at my over-flowing dust bin.  As I picked up a new sheet of paper for the umpteenth time, I heard the door softly open.  When I looked up, I saw Taemin come padding in.  He got down on his knees next to me.  “Whatcha doing Minho hyung?” he asked.

I sighed.  “Nothing really.  I’m just writing a note to Gi Young so she knows that we’ll be waiting for her.”

Out of nowhere, Taemin suddenly blurted, “Do you like her hyung?”  I almost choked.

“BWOH?!  A-ani. . . I just met her.  Wae?”

“Well. . . you’ve never really acted this way about a girl before hyung. . .”

“I-er. . . uh. . .ani.  I don’t like her that way,” I denied.

Taemin smiled.  “Whatever you say hyung. . .” he said as he got up to leave, “good night.”

“Good night Taeminnie.”

I looked down at the paper and closed my eyes.  “I got it!” I said to myself as I quickly wrote down the little message.  All that trouble, just for a stupid question. . . I thought as I lay down in my bed.  I was reckless for Monday to come.

Why am I so excited to talk to her. . .?  She’s just another girl. . .

~End Flashback~

I walked over to sit down next to Gi Young.  I looked at her from the corner of my eye.  Her expression was neutral, but were cheeks a bit pinker than normal?  It was probably from that scene with Chae Hun from earlier.  My eyes tightened a little bit when I thought about it.  When Chae Hun had first asked her to be his girlfriend, for some reason. . . I found myself holding my breath to see what her answer would be.  When she said no, I felt. . . relieved?  When Chae Hun kept pushing her though, I started to get angry.  When he grabbed her, I was just about ready to punch him in the face.  But why?  Why was I feeling this way towards Gi Young?  I just started talking to her two days ago!  AND we hadn’t spoken to each other after that!  Aish, what is my problem?

Regardless of what I was feeling, I couldn’t help but admit, I was impressed with the way Gi Young held herself.  If any other girl got asked out by Chae Hun, they’d probably pass out.  I hated to admit it, but Chae Hun was pretty popular among the girls.  The idea of him being rejected by a girl was practically unfathomable.  But Gi Young proved me wrong.  Again, I thought to myself wryly.  She didn’t look like she had the slightest interest in Chae Hun.  I couldn’t believe it when she grabbed his hand like that and called him thick skulled.  Then I remembered what she said about the SHINee boys being the kingkas. . .not him.  I couldn’t help myself; I started chuckling as I thought about those words.  Gi Young turned to look at me with a confused expression on her face.  Still smiling widely, I shook my head at her. 

Looking at Gi Young reminded me of something.  I pulled the note out of my backpack.  Before I could pass it to her, I saw Mr. Lee start making his rounds to returns the tests.  He was talking about the scores.  “This exam was indeed a challenging one.  You all did your best, and that makes me happy.  Without further ado, I’d like to announce the two highest scores in the class:  Ryu Gi Young and Choi Minho both passed with perfect marks.  Congratulations you two.”

As Gi Young and I silently took our tests from Mr. Lee, everyone started politely applauding.  As I looked around, I noticed that no one was looking at Gi Young as they clapped.  They were all looking at me.  When I looked back at Gi Young, I noticed she was slightly smiling at someone.  I followed her gaze and noticed a girl smiling back at Gi Young as she clapped.  It was the girl that pulled Gi Young off the basketball court on Saturday after our game.  I felt bad for Gi Young; I wish I could understand why all the girls treated her so coldly.  I shook myself out of these thoughts as the lecture started.  I quietly put the note back in my bad.  I guess I’ll just pass it to her when class ends. . .

Soon enough, the bell rang.  Gi Young and I had not interacted at all during the class period because today was just a lecture day.  We both quietly packed our stuff.  Before I left, I inconspicuously slid the note in front of her.  I had just enough time to see her look at me quizzically before I rushed out of the room.  Now all that’s left to do is wait.

Gi Young’s P.O.V.

            I stared at Minho’s retreating figure, then back at the folded piece of white paper in front of me.  I was a little apprehensive of the note.  He probably just felt like writing a few mean things to me just like the other girls do sometimes.  Pfft, like I care.  When I thought about that, I realized that I was probably going to find a bunch of “lovely” notes in my locker today.  If girls had been giving me dirtly looks while I had confronted Chae Hun. . . I could only begin to describe how most of them were looking at me when they found out I was sitting next to Minho. . . 

            I slowly unfolded the note and read:

Gi Young-ssi,

               Please meet me in the gym next to the P.E. fields during lunch.  Hope to see you there.

-Choi Minho

I stared blankly at the words written on the paper.  He wants to meet me?  What, so he can publicly embarrass me or something?  Or does he just want to threaten me?  It would be foolish of me to even consider going.  But. . . I always go to the P.E. fields during lunch. . . What should I do?  “What are you looking at?” a voice suddenly said.  I jumped a little bit and looked up to stare into the face of Soo Jin.  Knowing I couldn’t keep this from her, I wordlessly handed her the note.

            She looked like she was about to explode from excitement.  “He wants to meet you?  A SHINee member wants to meet you?  This is amazing!” she whisper-yelled.  I looked at her.

            “So. . . what should I do?”

            “Are you kidding?  Of course we’re gonna see him!  We’re going down to the gym during lunch today anyways for your sports practice!”

            “Okay then. . .” I said.  Besides, this could all just be a joke anyways.  I didn’t even think of that.  He might not even show up.  At least I’ll still get to play sports. . .

            “Now come on!  We’re gonna be late!” Soo Jin yelled as she grabbed my hand. 

I was EXTREMELY distracted during English.  Soo Jin poked my arm.  “Gi Young?  Focus.  Professor Chun wants us to finish analyzing this story by the end of class,” she whispered. 

“Mianhe,” I whispered back.  We eventually worked out the meaning of the poem that we were looking at.  Just in time too, because the bell rang as soon as we turned in our paper. 

Math didn’t go much better.  I kept zoning out.  I was lost in thought about what was going to happen during lunch.  Why is this bothering me so much?  I have to stop thinking about this.  It’s going to distract me all day. . .  Ack!  Focus Gi Young.  CRAP, it looks like the lecture’s about to finish! I brought myself back to reality as I looked to see what we had been talking about in math.  I sighed in relief.  We were just talking about basic derivatives, a topic I was already comfortable with.  I felt considerably better after math was over.  The reason?  Music class was next.

Music.  That was something that had become a very big part of my life along with sports, reading, singing, and dancing.  I loved music because just like the other things I mentioned, I could pour my heart and soul into it.  I smiled widely as I saw the grand piano sitting in the corner of the stage.  I walked to it and sat on the bench, playing a few basic scales to get myself warmed up.  I sighed happily as the sounds came out of the keys.  Soo Jin grabbed her cello and walked over to me, smiling at the expression on my face.  I looked at her brightly.  She played a few chords on her cello for her warm-up.  After about five minutes of warming-up, our music teacher, Mr. Han, clapped his hands together and everyone fell silent.

“All right everyone!  Do you remember what today is?” he asked.  Everyone nodded.  Some people looked excited, others looked nervous.  “Right!  Today is the day everyone presents their pieces!”

I noticed Soo Jin’s hand convulsively clench her cello.  Her face had paled.  I gently released the death grip she had on her instrument.  “Breathe,” I told her, “you’ll do great.”  Her eyes were wide with fear, but I felt her relax when I spoke to her.  She returned my smile. 

“Everyone take a seat and we’ll begin!” Mr. Han said excitedly.  Everyone listened to each individual piece that was performed and applauded when it ended.  Finally, Sooj’s turn came.

“Moon Soo Jin will be performing a song called ‘Secrets’ by a band known as One Republic!” Mr. Han called out.  Some of the girls gasped in recognition at the sound of the American band.  Everyone applauded before she even started.  Soo Jin looked at me on her way to the stage.  I gave her a crooked smile and a thumbs-up sign.  She smiled back before taking a deep breath and beginning to play.  She got through her performance flawlessly and everyone was applauding and shouting her name by the time she was done.  I high-fived her as she came down from the stage.

“That was excellent!” I yelled.  She blushed.

“Gomawo,” she said in reply. 

More students got up and performed their pieces.  Finally, it came down to the last person.

“Finally, our last performer!  Ryu Gi Young with be performing ‘The River Flows in You’ by Yiruma!” Mr. Han said.

Soo Jin flashed me a thumbs-up sign before I walked to the middle of the stage; she looked a bit surprised though.  She didn’t know which piece I was going to do before hand.  The piano was there waiting for me.  There was a dead silence as I stared at the keys on the instrument.  I put my fingers on the keys and began playing.  The piece was important to me.  Somehow, without using any words, it portrayed all of my feelings.  It explained my story as a child.  The hurt, the loneliness I felt, everything.  My eyes closed as my fingers graced along the keys.  The feeling of losing oneself in music is unforgettable.  I let out all of my feelings as I played on that stage.  I forgot where I was and who I was playing in front of.  I felt. . . happy.  It was just me and the piano.  Me and music.  Me and my feelings.  I became so lost in my emotions with the piece that when I finished, my vision was blurry.  I turned so no one could see and touched my eye.  My finger came back wet.  I quickly brushed away the tear, stood up, and bowed.

There was an absolute silence in the room.  When I looked up, I noticed an enormous crowd outside the door.  Students and teacher from all the different classes had come to hear the music.  The silence stretched out for a few seconds, but it felt like years.  Soo Jin slowly stood up and started clapping, her eyes shining.  I heard more clapping and saw five pairs of hands applauding loudly, but I couldn’t see who it was.  Then. . .

The whole room as well as the crowd outside exploded into applause.  I was a bit taken aback.  I had never seen so many people clapping for me before.  I blushed a little bit and smiled, bowing again before I walked off the stage and took my seat.

“That. . . that was so beautiful,” Mr. Han said.  I glanced over at my teacher.  He was crying.  “Well done Gi Young.  Full marks.”

I bowed to him.  “Gamsahabnida,” I replied.  The crowd outside the room and my classmates still had their eyes on me.  I put my hand on the nape of my neck and bit my lip. 

“That was amazing. . .” someone from the crowd whispered.  For some reason, that voice sounded oddly familiar. . .  I didn’t have time to reflect on it because soon, all the teachers were calling their students to order so they could return to class.  Before they left, all of the teachers that had come came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed listening to my playing.  I blushed a little bit and acknowledged their compliments.  I quietly sat down by Soo Jin.  I felt her hand reach out and squeeze my own.  She was sending me a private message.

You’ll never feel that way again.

I returned the pressure gratefully.  A few minutes later, the bell rang for fourth period dismissal.  I blinked.  It was lunch time.  Oh boy. . . Here we go. . .

Minho’s P.O.V.

            I was sitting in my fourth period math class with Key and Jonghyun, but I was completely distracted.  I found myself repeatedly thinking about how Gi Young would react to the note.  Will she listen?  Or will she just completely disregard it?  Oh man. . . what if she takes it the wrong way?  Yah Choi Minho!  Why are you so concerned?  You did your job.  That’s it.  Finished.  Done.  WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SO ANXIOUS?

             Jonghyun snapped me out of my thoughts.  “Yo Minho.  On a scale of one to ten, how mad do you Mrs. Sook would get if I asked to go to the restroom?”

            “Um. . . 9.5.  UNLESS,” I sniggered, “you use the puppy dog eyes. . .”

            Jonghyun pretended to shoot himself in the head.  “YAH!” he whisper-yelled at me, “I have a reputation here to ya know!”

            Key snorted.  “Yeah. . . as the world’s smallest dinosaur.” 

            I had to put my head down to keep myself from laughing out loud.  Jonghyun’s expression after Key’s comment. . . Priceless.  “Yes Jonghyun?” I heard Mrs. Sook ask.

            “Forgive me for interrupting your lesson Mrs. Sook, but may I please use the restroom?” Jonghyun asked politely.  Key and I both had our heads in our arms at this point, trying to muffle our laughter.

            “All right.  Just this once.  Please come back quickly.”

            “Gamsahabnida.”

            “CHOI MINHO.  KIM KIBUM.  ARE YOU TWO SLEEPING IN MY CLASS?” Mrs. Sook suddenly yelled.  Key and I jumped.

            “A-aniyo Mrs. Sook,” Key said, “we-”

            “We couldn’t see properly because Chae Hun’s head was blocking our way,” I said abruptly.  Yeah, I shared my fourth period with that jerk.  Chae Hun turned around to glare at me.  I gazed back at him evenly. 

            “Chae Hun, please lower your head onto your desk,” Mrs. Sook said.  He obviously didn’t like the idea, but after shooting me one last glare, he turned around.

            “What’s his problem?” Key whispered to me.

            I didn’t want to get into details just yet.  The story was Gi Young’s to tell, not mine.  I simply shrugged my shoulders and tried to turn my attention back to the lesson. 

            It had been about ten minutes and Jonghyun still wasn’t back from the bathroom.  “Yah, where is that guy?” I muttered to Key.  Key looked as clueless as I felt.

            “May-” Key started to stay.  He didn’t get to finish his sentence because at that moment, Jonghyun came back into the classroom.  Mrs. Sook was so absorbed in what she was teaching us that she didn’t bother making a remark on Jonghyun’s long bathroom break.  It only took one look at Jonghyun’s face to know that something had seriously surprised him.  Key and I exchanged wary glances.  He immediately pulled out a piece of paper and began writing.  He passed it to me and motioned for me to pass it to Jonghyun.  I took a look at what it said.

            Yah, what took you so long? – Key

          I wordlessly passed it to Jonghyun.  He looked at it and immediately began scribbling.

            Guys. . . you won’t believe this. . . – Jonghyun

            He passed the note back to me.  Key and I both stared at it.  Curiousity got to the best of me and I began writing.

            Believe what?  What happened that made you take FOREVER?  - Minho

               *What follows is the note conversation between Key, Minho, and Jonghyun*

            So, I actually did need to use the restroom.  On my way back, I passed by the music class.  No big deal right?  WRONG.  They were doing presentations today.  You know, each person going up to present the song that they worked on.  So anyways, when I passed by, a girl with a cello walked up to the stage and began playing.  First thing’s first, wanna know who that girl was?

          Who?

          Who?

          IT WAS THE GIRL THAT DRAGGED GI YOUNG OFF THE BASKETBALL COURT THIS PAST SATURDAY!

          BWOH?!  Was Gi Young in the same class?  Did you see her?

          BWOH?!     

          I don’t know. . . I couldn’t really see anyone except the girl on the stage.  The reason it took me so long is because I stopped to listen to her play.  It was so nice.  I could have sat there and listened to her play forever. . .

          Woah there Jjong.  You interested?  ;)

          ^^Keke, he probably is.  All right, out with it Jonghyun.

               *Sigh* I really don’t know guys. . . She’s definitely cute.  I really enjoyed the way she played.  It was beautiful.

          The piece was beautiful or the GIRL?

               Keke. . .

          Erm. . . both  I mean the piece!  The piece was beautiful. . .

          LIAR!

               YEAH!  COME ON JJONG.  JUST ADMIT IT.

          Aish. . . GUYS I’VE ONLY SEEN HER ONCE BEFORE THIS.  How should I know if I like her?

          Considering the fact that you smiled at her when she looked away from you that day?  That’s proof enough. . .

          ^^Agreed. . .  Honestly.  Hmmm. . . maybe you could try to get to know her better ;D

               Jonghyun was about to write something back when all of a sudden, the sound of numerous footsteps came drifting down the hallways.  Everyone froze, including Mrs. Sook.  She stuck her head out the door to see what was going on.  After a few seconds, she came back inside.  “Class,” she said, “we’re going to go outside to listen to something for a little bit.  Be very quiet all right?”

            Jonghyun, Key, and I exchanged confused looks.  “I wonder what happened,” I said. 

            “Well, looks like we’re about to find out,” Key said.  Jonghyun and I nodded in agreement as we got up and walked outside the classroom with the other kids. 

            As soon as we got outside the door, I noticed a huge crowd of students and teachers silently walking down the hall.  “Wow. . . that’s a lot of people,” Key muttered.  I nodded.  Where are we going? I thought.

            “Guys!” Jonhyun whispered, “we’re going towards the music room!  The place where I saw that girl play her cello!”  Jonghyun was right.  There was a huge crowd of teachers and students gathered around the door of the music room.  A voice full of authority began speaking over the crowd.  It was loud enough that even Key, Jonghyun, and I could hear it even though we were still a bit far from the group.  Everyone grew silent as we tried to hear what he was about to say. 

            “Okay, everyone,” the teacher said, “as you know, the music class presentations are going on right now.  We decided that everyone deserved a bit of a break from their studies, so we came down here to listen to the last performance of today.  Now, we need you all to be extremely quiet; anyone that breaks this rule will be punished severely.  I’m going to open the door so everyone can hear.  Remember, absolutely NO NOISE.”

            Key, Jonghyun, and I quickly picked up our pace as we drew closer to the crowd.  Some of the girls noticed us and almost squealed.  Thankfully, Key raised a finger to his lips and smiled at them before they could make any noise.  They silently started bouncing on the balls of their feet.  I mentally rolled my eyes.  We silently pushed past a few people to get closer to the door; many eyes were widening in recognition as we walked by.  I spotted Taemin and Onew hyung near the front.  Grinning, I nudged Key and Jonghyun and nodded my head in their direction.  They met my grin and we immediately made our way towards them.  When Taemin saw us, he almost yelled.  I quickly put up a hand to cover his mouth.  Onew hyung chuckled at Taemin’s apologetic face.  He nodded at all of us in a greeting.  Finally, we turned our attention to the inside of the classroom, awaiting the next person to come up.  It looked like whoever was playing had already been announced because a girl stood up and was walking towards the stage.

            Her back was facing us, so we couldn’t see her face.  Why does she look so familiar? I thought to myself; my eyes narrowed as I tried to remember.  The girl’s dark brown hair was tied up in a pony tail.  She looked taller than most girls, but I was still a few inches taller.  She carried herself with an air of humbled confidence.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about her that made me feel like I had met her before.  “Oh great, it’s the creep,” I heard one of the girls behind me mutter, “I would rather be in my lessons than see that thing play something.” 

            I felt anger boil in the pit of my stomach.  I hated girls that spoke like that.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only girl speaking like this.  The whispers drifted over the silent crowd.  Mrs. Sook and a few other teachers quickly silenced them.  Taemin and the others looked at me with a worried expression on their faces.  I simply shook my head and turned my attention back to the girl who was now walking up the stage.  She reached the piano in the center and slowly turned around to face the audience.  When I finally saw her face, my jaw dropped.

            Ryu Gi Young.

            It took me a few seconds to recover.  When I looked at the others, I could tell that they were just as surprised as I was.  “HER?!” they all mouthed simultaneously.  I didn’t have time to form a proper reaction because at that moment, Gi Young started playing.  The piece started off simple but quickly formulated into something more complex as the time signatures changed.  I felt something move in my chest as I finally recognized the piece she was playing:  “The River Flows in You.”  I heard people shifting next to me.  When I looked over, I noticed that the others had recognized the piece.  I decided to turn my attention to Gi Young.

            Gi Young had closed her eyes.  A small smile graced her lips as she played.  For some reason, I had a feeling that she was pouring her heart out through the music.  The sweet/sad tune of the song made my eyes mist a little bit.  I wasn’t much of the crying type, but the way the piece was executed moved me.  I closed my eyes, smiling to myself as I felt the music flow through my body.  When the piece ended, I opened my eyes and looked at Gi Young.  She had turned her face away from the crowd.  I tilted my head a bit, trying to see what she was doing.  I saw her lift her hand to her eye and pull it away.  Is she. . .crying?  However, when she turned to face the crowd and bow, she had her poker face mask on again.  A pin-drop silence had engulfed the class and everyone in the hallway.  Then, one girl slowly stood up and began clapping.  Onew hyung, Taemin, Key, Jonghyun and I followed suite a few seconds later.  All five of us applauded pretty loudly; aside from that, we were the only people clapping other than Gi Young’s friend, so I wasn’t surprised when Gi Young turned in our direction.  I don’t think she saw us though.  I heard a small sniffle next to me.  One tear slid down Taemin’s cheek as he clapped.  I smiled a little and put my arm around his shoulder.  Two seconds later, everyone had erupted into applause.  Gi Young looked a bit startled, but I noticed a trace of pink on her cheeks as she walked down the stage. 

            “That was beautiful,” Mr. Han said, “full marks.”

            “Gamsahabnida, Mr. Han,” Gi Young replied.  Everyone fell silent again, their eyes on Gi Young.  She put her hand on the nape of her neck and bit her lip, uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

            I don’t know how it happened, but I found myself saying:  “That was amazing.”

            Gi Young’s head snapped up at the sound of my voice.  I saw her scan the crowd in search of the owner of the voice.  She didn’t get a chance to find me, because at that moment Mrs. Sook called us to attention and had us return to class.  The second we walked through the door of our class, the bell rang, signalling the end of class.

Minho/Gi Young’s P.O.V.

            Lunchtime. . . I wonder what’s going to happen.

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Hi again everyone!  I hope you're all doing well!  Oh wow, the first official meeting is coming up!!  I wonder what will happen. . .  Everyone's been awfully quiet lately. . . but that's okay!  You can't like everything~! :P  If you CAN, please do comment and subscribe.  It helps me and encourages me to know what you guys think of the story!    I just realized that this chapter is HUGE.  Oh welll~~ I hope you guys enjoy this update!  See you next time!

~AthleticShawol