To many, Kim L was a mystery. An enigma. A powerful unreachable force, like the sun. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. He knew that he was big, powerful and scary. He didn't care where he went because he knew that wherever he did there would be no one to bump against. He was the sun and the school was the galaxy. It revolved around him. People were afraid to get closer in the fear of getting burnt by his eyes, both cool and fiery.

But there was one who wasn’t. That one new star that didn't know you were supposed to revolve your life around the sun. People called her naïve, stupid, in the belief that her efforts were only going to end in heartbreak. But they all agreed on one thing: she was brave. Stupidly so.

Because Han Sooji didn't see any of the things they did. All she saw was someone who was too tired of being feared yet knew he couldn't do a thing about it. And maybe that's what made her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. 

* * *

Sooji had been at school for three weeks. And in those three weeks, she had figured out how the school worked. 

It was just your typical high school; the nerds and the 'physically challenged' (Sooji was just too nice to say ugly). And of course the kings and queens of the kingdom. In this case, the boys of Infinite and the Barbie Triplets. 

Unsurprisingly, Kim L was part of Infinite. But unlike L, the rest of Infinite were fun-loving children who didn't care about their images nor made any trouble to maintain one. Sooji loved them.

And, they also all happened to be in Sooji's class. Or rather, Sooji was in their class. Upon her arrival, Infinite (sans L) had bombarded her with enthusiastic greetings. Woohyun had sent her a greasy heart that nearly made her cringe. Hoya and Dongwoo had done a partner dance that somehow ended up with their arms around her shoulders. Sungyeol had poked her cheek, as if to check if she was real and not an apparition, then laughed. Sungjong complimented her hair. Sunggyu was the mildly normal one, shaking her hand and saying a polite "hello~". 

L had looked at her from his seat, earphones in, gave her a rudely dismissive nod of the head then went back to staring at who-knows-what.

"Did I do anything wrong..." Sooji asked, frowning. 

"No, L's just like that," Sungjong said matter-of-factly.

"He's pretty, isn't he?" Sungyeol said with a laugh. 

He was pretty indeed. Infinite considered him as the visual of their group. In fact, the rest of the school did. But Sooji didn't find prettiness as an excuse for rude behavior.

Sooji wondered about the overly-elaborate greeting of Infinite, then noticed that the male population of this class greatly outnumbered the female one. Sooji could see about five girls (not including herself) in the class. The rest were boys (about 13 of them.) That meant the total class population was 18 students. Sooji's eyes widened. 

"This is such a small class," Sooji marveled.

Sungjong turned to her in confusion. "Weren't you told? 1-A is the advanced class. The school chooses 20 people each year to be part of this class. We consist of geniuses and prodigy. You must be pretty smart to get in as a newbie."

"Genii," Sunggyu corrected from his spot on the window.

Sungjong rolled his eyes but continued. "Sunggyu and Myungsoo hyung are our English genii." A pointed look to Sunggyu who smiled in satisfaction. "Woohyun hyung and I are in for music. Sungyeol hyung is on for art. And, as you can tell, Hoya hyung and Dongwoo hyung are in for dance. But Dongwoo hyung is really good in mathematics as well."

"I think I'm in for literacy," Sooji mumbled. "I won a competition a few days before I was offered a scholarship from this school."

Sungjong brightened. "You and L hyung got in the same way!"

"Oh..."

Sooji's eyes went to L, who was now conversing with a pretty brunette. "Who's she?"

Sungyeol's lip curled in distate. "Lee Hyerim. L's girlfriend."

"Stop lying!" Sungjong said, slapping his arm. "That's not really L hyung's girlfriend. She's just the only female that can talk to him."

"Because she belongs to this class?" Sooji asked bitterly. She had had some unpleasant experiences with people like L. People who believed that just because they had everything, they had an excuse to look down on everyone else.

"No, because she's the only level headed female in this school," a voice said behind her. Sooji whirled and came face-to-face with L, in all his close-up glory. He was even better looking face to face. Sooji's breath caught in .

"Come on Hyerim," L called from behind his shoulder.

"Coming."

Bowing to Sooji on the way out, Hyerim skipped after L like a puppy. 

Sooji had already decided that she didn't like L very much. 

* * *

In the whole two and a half months that she had been there, neither L (or Myungsoo, as Sooji had found out from his friends) nor Sooji had exchanged one word with each other. L didn't even try, even though they saw each other on a daily basis because of Infinite. Sooji was too afraid to try, as much as she didn't want to admit it. L didn't seem to want her company, so why force it on him?

But she would catch him, sometimes, studying her with unreadable eyes. What could that mean?

“L-ssi,” Sooji said one afternoon, sliding into the bench across from him. L’s head remained bent over his work but his hand had stopped writing across it, signaling that he was choosing to acknowledge her presence. “When do we start on the project?”

This time, L looked up, his eyes impassive. “Huh?”

Sooji was confused. “You know, the project that Miss Ko had assigned us yesterday?”

L merely blinked in surprise. Then, “But I thought that…”

“What? That what?”

L’s eyes returned to its coldness. “Listen,” he hissed quietly. “You are going to do your part and I am going to do mine. The only interaction we will have is when we make sure it looks like a united report. Got it?”

Suddenly, Miss Ko appeared, glancing disapprovingly at L. “Kim Myungsoo-goon. Unfortunately for you, I have had enough of your lies. I know that none of the partner work you have done with anyone else has actually involved your partner. But not this time. No, you will be working with Miss Han if it’s the last thing you do.”

L’s lips pursed and his eyebrows met. But he nodded.

When Miss Ko left, he turned to Sooji with a glare to rival the heat of a thousand suns. “This is your entire fault,” Sooji thought she heard him mutter under his breath.

Sooji’s shoulders sagged. What was wrong with her? Was she that repulsive? Sighing, she stood up to leave. L’s head did not rise.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, L-ssi,” Sooji said to him quietly. “I’ll just work on my half of the project.”

She gathered her things and left. She didn’t feel the eyes of Kim Myungsoo watching her retreating back.

* * *

“I will have you know that working with me requires rules,” L said, plopping down into the empty seat across her the next day.

“Huh?” Sooji said in surprise.

“Rule number one, no saying stupid things,” L said pointedly, ignoring her obvious confusion. “Number two-“

“So you’ll really work with me?” Sooji said incredulously.

“See, you’ve already broken the first rule,” L glared, but gave a terse nod to her question. “Rule number two, you have to respect my personal space. That means no skinship. Three…”

But Sooji had already stopped listening. She was happy that L had momentarily forgotten about his resentment towards her to finish a project. Of course, that didn’t solve the resentment problem but Sooji would take what she could get for now.

“Yah, are you listening to me?” 

"Of course, L-ssi." Sooji smiled.

L suddenly shifted uncomfortably. "Well then. Rule number five, no excessive smiling. Number six..."

"L-ssi," Sooji interrupted. "If you want to tell me what you don't want me to do in your company, please tell me when I do it. That way, I can learn hands-on." She smiled again.

"You're breaking all my rules already," L muttered. "But fine. 

Sooji was about to ask what time they should meet up, when L said, "After school, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You'll leave at 5 sharp. I won't speak to you at school and neither will you. No one will know about this. Understood?"

Sooji nodded meekly.

"Good."

That afternoon (for it was a Wednesday), L met Sooji at the gate and they walked together to Sooji's house. 

"Welcome to my palace," Sooji said with a beam (a certain violation of rule #5), opening her arms as if to embrace the air.

Her room was nothing special, just big enough to fit one person. But what it held inside was what MADE it special. Three of the four walls were a mix of different colors, as if the painter had merely given up on order. The fourth wall was painted emerald green, with an antique-looking oak table leaning on it.

On the table was a small laptop, and giant piles of paper. All holding Sooji's countless poems, songs and stories. In the corner was an acoustic guitar, which L's eyes immediately fell on upon entering her room. 

"Sorry for the mess," she said sheepishly, but L wasn't listening. 

"You... Do you play?" L asked, pointing to the guitar.

Sooji nodded slowly, wondering how her guitar-playing skills were relevant in this situation.

L picked up the guitar, and held it out to her. "Show me."

Sooji was a bit peeved that she was accepting his demand a little too easily, but she was determined to get onto his good books or at least out of his hate list. She played a simple melody that just popped into her head. 

L's eyes were alight. "Are there words to that?"

Sooji picked up at the chorus:

"Oh nan nege jul su inneunge eobseo

Missing U

Ttatteutan maldo mothae I Missing U

Gamhi baral sudo eobseo I Missing U

Ireokhe mireonae

Naegen gajingeon simjangppun motnan neomira~"

There was a different light dancing in L's eyes that Sooji had never seen on him before. " What else are you hiding?" It seemed more like he was talking to himself. 

"What-what do you mean, L-ssi," Sooji asked nervously.

L walked to her table, and before Sooji could stop him, picked up one of her pieces of papers. 

It was a drawing, an uncompleted sketch. The eyes were there, as well as the hair and the mouth. The features of...

"Woohyun? You're drawing Woohyun?"

Sooji nodded. "Woohyun-ssi had told me that his birthday had passed two days before I came to school. I decided to give him this as a present."

L frowned. "You're drawing... Woohyun."

"Yes. Why? Is there a problem?"

L shook his head and dropped the paper back where it belonged. "It shouldn't bother me..." Sooji thought L murmured, but it was so quiet that she wrote it of as a mere swish of the breeze.

"Sooji-ssi."

Sooji's head snapped up, their eyes meeting.  It was the first time he had ever said her name. 

"Let's get started, hmm?"

* * * 

Sungyeol raised an eyebrow at the pair. "Don't you two seem very close."

"No," L replied curtly, stabbing his food.

"Absolutely not, Sungyeol," Sooji said with a shake of her head. 

Sungyeol's eyebrow remained raised. 

"They do seem awfully close," Sungjong commented, eyeing the unsuspecting pair. "Normally they wouldn't even be sitting anywhere near each other. But now they're sitting RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER."

"Suspicious..." Hoya said.

"Indeed," Dongwoo continued.

"What? What's wrong? I don't see anything other than normal here," Sunggyu said. 

"Are you serious?" Woohyun replied incredulously. "You really don't know?"

"No..." Sunggyu shook his head. 

"And you call yourself our leader..." Sungyeol said, hanging his head in second-hand embarrassment for the eldest.  

The other 4 groaned in agreement.  

Meanwhile, across the table, Sooji was a little suspicious as well. 

"L-ssi. Do you think they suspect something?"

L rolled his eyes. It seemed like this was going to be a conversation he would actually have to participate in. "Please. None of them are smart enough to figure this out. Trust me."

Sooji nodded dubiously. "If you say so." Sooji paused in consideration. "L-ssi."

L nearly groaned aloud. Why wouldn't she stop talking to him? "What?"

"Why do we need to keep it a secret? Especially from your best friends. Don't you think that they won't react the way you think they will? As a friend you should-"

"Don't lecture me. I've put down my rules and it's up to you whether this is going to go on or not. This, whatever this is, stands just as long as you keep quiet about it. We made an agreement, we stick to it. End of discussion."

"I'm sorry..." Sooji mumbled, scooting away from L like he could burn her. Why was he so cold? Not just to her but to everyone else? Both slumped in their chairs and brooded. 

***

Sooji ran but pain slowed her limbs. She ran so, so hard but it wasn't enough to save her. 

She felt the beat of their hands on bare flesh. The blood that flowed out of the wounds. How adrenaline kept most of the pain away, but once it was gone it was all she could do to bite her tongue and muffle the screams. 

But not once did she cry. Sooji was not going to give these bad guys the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Her eyes did not sting once as she walked and walked around aimlessly, wondering how the heck she was going to get home and explain the bruises and cuts all over her body. Sighing, Sooji clutched at two broken ribs (probably the sixth and the fourth ribs) and limped forward.

A dark figure shot put straight from the shadows, grabbing her arm. Oh no you don't, Sooji thought, sending well-placed kicks in the direction of her attacker. 

But he (the figure was male, as deduced through the broad shoulders) dodged both easily and successfully captured her into a headlock. 

Of course, Sooji put up quite the fight but in the end pained determination was not enough to gain victory. 

Suddenly, the arm on her beck slackened and a surprisingly familiar voice said, "Han Sooji?" 

Sooji took that opportunity to swiftly slip out of the slackened headlock and pin the other's arm to his back. 

"Wait. Kim Myungsoo-ssi?"

"Yes," L grunted. "Now let me go."

Sooji released her hold on L and backed away, just in case he wasn't who he said he was. 

L looked into her eyes. "What the heck are you doing in this side of the neighborhood?"

Sooji had enough strength left to smile a tad sheepishly. "I guess I took the wrong turn home."

She out long before Kim Myungsoo scooped her and carried her home.

By the time Sooji woke up, it was already 1:24 AM. Sooji didn't really have much energy to sit up, much less think about how much trouble she was going to be in when she got home. 

Looking around, she did not recognize the place she had just found herself in. She forced the rising panic down and focused on her memories, to see if there was anything reliable in them. She remembered the beatings (she had to wince through those), limping to who knew where, a dark figure shooting straight out of the shadows....

Sooji's eyes shot open. "Kim Myungsoo..." she whispered.

"You're awake."

Sooji's head whipped so fast to the doorway, resulting in a mouthful of her own hair. How embarrassing, especially in front of...

"Kim Myungsoo!" Sooji repeated, but this time in surprise.

"Yes, I'm aware of who I am," he replied with an impassive glance to her. He slowly approached her with a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully.

"Where am I?" Sooji asked, wiping with the back of her hand.

"My house," L replied matter-of-factly, as if her presence in his house was the most normal thing in the world. 

"What?" she spluttered, the water threatening to jump out of her stomach.

"Don't worry, my parents are home." He sat down on a chair beside the bed, dropping a cloth and a basin half-filled with water onto the table also adjacent to the bed. "We're not alone. Now, sit still and shut up."

L pushed her shirt up, stopping just underneath her chest. Sooji resisted the urge to punch the face of the other, deciding that whatever L was doing was for her own good. (That still didn't make her feel better about being so exposed in front of Kim Myungsoo, inside his house.) L squeezed the sopping wet cloth then lightly pressed it against one of her aching ribs.

The pain was so blinding Sooji's breath stopped. She found L studying her and forced a watery smile. This was pain like she had never known before, but that was no excuse to look like a huge crybaby in front of Kim L. (Sooji was furious that she cared so much of what the boy thought of her but at the same time, she couldn't NOT care. He just had that effect.) Instead, to keep her mind of the pain, she sang.

"Love u kkok hanbeon haejugo sipdeon mal

I love u heunhaedo hanboneul mot haejun geu mal

Gakkai isseoseo neul gwenchantago malhaeseo

Geuraedo deaoneun arasseo

For you yeotaekkeot batgiman haesseoseo

Song for you gosaenghan dangsinkke deurigo sipeun

Bogo sipeodo deutgo sipeodo

Neul geureoteusi neujeonneyo~"

Soon, Sooji figured out that while two of your ribs were busted singing was not a very good and painful idea. So she opted for mouthing the beautiful lyrics while L worked his magic on her wounds.

L broke the silence a few minutes later. "What was that song?"

Sooji smiled in her memories. "I heard it on the radio. It was a Mother's Day special from this boy band. They're really great."

L grunted, "I only asked for the song name."

"Eomma," she answered with a laugh. That almost hurt as much as the singing. 

"Oh."

Sooji carefully turned her head to the side to survey the room. Talking hurt because of aforementioned busted ribs so she couldn't do much of that. She suddenly noticed a guitar on its stand lying in the darker side of the room. "You play guitar?" Oops, so much for not talking.

"I do." L kept his head down. 

Sooji frowned at his short answers. "L-ssi tell me a story."

"A what?" L said in surprise, his hand lightly tapping her midriff.

Sooji pretended that that didn't make stars explode in her vision. "Yes, L-ssi. A story."

"O-okay..."  L sounded weirdly unsettled.

"Once, there was a boy and a girl."

'What kind of story is this?' Sooji thought dubiously, but stayed quiet to see how this story was going to turn out.

"At first, the boy hated the girl. Because the boy was the personification of darkness. He was scared of the light, of things filled with light like happiness. Because he was scared of what people might think of him if he revealed too much of himself. So he stayed in the darkness, in the quiet, in the loneliness. Until this girl came and changed everything.

"She was the epitome of light and happiness. No matter  what, there always seemed to be a smile on her face. The boy resented that. How dare she be so happy near him when he tried so hard not be? He made all attempts to make her stay away from him, afraid that her light would bleed onto his life. But inevitably, it did. And also inevitably, he fell in love with her.

All the while, L's hands were still gently tending to her injuries. His touch was cool and pleasant, as light as an angel's feather. Sooji's heart both calmed and raced at his touch. What was this feeling?

"He tried to hide his love from her. And he succeeded. But maybe a little too much. The girl never gave any indication that she felt the same. but sometimes, he knew that her eyes would meet his when they were trained on her. Could she be so blind to his feelings?

"He wants to know if she loves him back. Because he doesn't know." L smiled with a tinge of sadness. "To this day, he still doesn't know."

Sooji waited patiently for more, but no words came. She opened her eyes. "Is that all? Is that the ending of the story?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"What?" Had she been able, Sooji would have gotten up and shook the guy by the shoulders. Fortunately for L-ssi, she was incapable of doing so. "Are you serious?"

"Are you criticizing my story-telling skills?" L spluttered defensively, eyes uncharacteristically filled with emotion (shock). "How dare you! You're the one that asked for the story? And that's what I get? Is that how people show gratitude nowadays? I am not your nanny!"

"You call yourself a writer," Sooji growled. "That is not a sufficient ending. WHERE IS THE HAPPY ENDING L-SSI?"

(L was honest-to-goodness scared of that girl right then. Not that he would ever admit to the accusation.) "There's no 'sufficient ending' because it hasn't happened yet!" L nearly shouted, hands twitching to gesticulate. "The boy hasn't gotten the girl of his dreams, the girl is still completely clueless and there will be no happy ending at the rate both are going!"

"You mean they're real people?" Sooji asked brightly. "Who are they? Do I know them?"

"I don't think he'd appreciate it if I said his name," L muttered guardedly.

Sooji sighed, knowing full well that she wasn't going to get anything out of him any time soon. Suddenly, all the excitement of tonight caught up to her and she felt exhausted. Did someone tape skyscrapers to my eyelids, thought Sooji sleepily. Closing her eyes, she slurred, "Night, L-ssi. I tired."

Was she even making any sense anymore...

"Sooji?"

Sooji studiously ignored the electric currents her name on his lips sent to her. "Mmm?"

"Call me Myungsoo, okay?"

"Okay," Sooji slurred.

She was already under the blanket of sleep when Myungsoo planted his lips onto her forehead, ever so lightly.

* * *

"Yah! Han Sooji!"

Sooji turned to find a small group of girls forming a tight semi-circle around her. "Y-yes?" She had a bad feeling in her chest. Sooji clutched her books tighter to her chest.

"Who do you think you are, hanging off Infinite oppas arms, like some leech?" the girl in the middle hissed. Sooji wondered why the girl looked so familiar, the remembered. This was Ahn Jiyoung, the leader of the Barbie Triplets and their disciples. She was also pretty sure Sungjong and L (no, Myungsoo, Sooji corrected herself) were younger than her. So what oppas?

"Yeah. How dare you even look at them, you piece of garbage? What right do you have?" Barbie 2, Gu Hana, hissed. "You're like a dog, pathetic and a peasant. So how dare you even approach our oppas, who are human beings?"

Barbie 3 (Lee Haejung) continued their crazy fangirl rant. "How dare you even BE in the presence of OUR Infinite oppas? You're not even good-looking."

Apparently that was supposed to be insulting, but Sooji only blinked. "You want your oppas? You can have them. I'm not interested in any of them." Well, that might be a lie...

All three Barbies gasped in shock. "Are you saying that they're not handsome enough for you, is that it?"

Sooji rubbed her temples. Who needed this in the morning? "Look, let me give you some advice girls. If you only like someone because of their looks, then you are petty, shallow people who need to get a life. Now, I'm late for something so if you're done I'll be going now." She gave them a two- salute then ran off to who knew where.

Jiyoung stomped her foot to the ground. "Are you serious? How dare she talk to me, Ahn Jiyoung, like that? Does she not know who I am? AHHH!"

"Well, Jiyoung. She's certainly gotten on your nerves," a voice mused from behind that trio. "Unusual."

"Hello, traitor," Jiyoung spat, nostrils flared, until she noticed just who exactly was standing beside the 'traitor'.

"L oppa!" Hana squealed, rushing up to him all smiles and sparkly glitter roses. "How are you this morning?"

Myungsoo's gaze was livid. "Listen, girls, and listen well. You are not to touch Han Sooji. Not a hair on her head will be harmed, nor a rumor about her spread. Do we understand each other?"

The Triplets' happy faces faltered. "But L oppa," Jiyoung whined. "Don't you think she's a nuisance? I mean, hanging around princes when she's just a peasant herself."

"And I suppose you think you're a beautiful little princess and everyone should bow down to you," Hyerim drawled rolling her eyes. "Well reality check, princess, there are only three lowly peasants in this school. And not one of them is Han Sooji."

Myungsoo and Hyerim's gazes were enough to scare the petty Triplets scurrying with their pretty little tails tucked between their perfect little legs. Hyerim turned to Myungsoo with a satisfied smirk. "Where's my thank you? I just helped protect your Princess after all, Prince Charming."

"Oh, shut up Hyerim."

* * *

"Another project?" Sungyeol groaned. "And I didn't even get paired up with Myungsoo. Instead I have to be with the maknae again."

("Myungyeol~!" screamed every fangirl in vicinity and ear shot of the group.)

"Shut up, Sungyeol hyung. I'm the one who ends up doing all the work when I get paired up with you," Sungjong sulked.

"Well, it looks like we're paired up again, Myungsoo-ssi," Sooji beamed. Her smile suddenly faded into a small frown. "There's no problem with that right?"

"Why would there be a problem with that Sooji-ah~?" Woohyun sang. Winking, he added, "Any man would be fortunate to work with a woman as beautiful as you."

Sooji laughed awkwardly, uncomfortable in Woohyun's greasy scrutiny.

"Shut up you ball of cheese," Myungsoo muttered. "You're making her uncomfortable." He turned to her. "Since I don't know much about this particular project, why don't we go to the library this afternoon? I'm free."

Sooji thought carefully, knowing full well that she was free. Can't have the boys thinking she was too easy, of course. "Sure, I'm free too."

"It's a date then," Sunggyu commented off-handedly. He then noticed the considerably deep shades of red each of their faces had turned.

"What?" Woohyun said slyly, noticing their red faces along with the rest of the group. “He meant a study date."

Sungyeol raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Unless you want it to be a real date..."

"Wh-where are you p-pulling these ridiculous ideas from?" Myungsoo spluttered, his eyes wide.

Sungyeol took note of his obvious nervousness and burst into tears. (Note: fake tears.) “You’re abandoning me? I thought I was your true love, Kim Myungsoo! How dare you lie to me?” Sungyeol bent his head into his arms, shoulders dramatically convulsing.

“You drama queen.” Myungsoo rolled his eyes. “Anyway. After school, Sooji?”

Sooji nodded, trying to keep her laughter in from Sungyeol’s little display. “He’s special isn’t he?” Sooji murmured happily.

“Yeah, he is,” Myungsoo said with a small, tender smile.

After school, Sooji and Myungsoo walked together to the library (Sooji earning plenty of death glares from Infinite’s fangirls). Upon arrival, Sooji immediately went up to the librarians and greeted them with a happy smile. “Annyeong, unnies!”

“Sooji-ah!” one (Lee Jaehwa as her badge said) said, reaching for Sooji and enveloping the younger in a hug. “It’s been a week already, I would think you were avoiding us.”

“Mianhae, Jaehwa unnie. I’ve been really busy with school.” Really, was it possible for Sooji’s smile to get brighter?

“Sooji-ah, the book you ordered hasn’t come in yet. You might need to wait a little-”

“Yuri unnie!” Sooji squealed, wriggling out of Jaehwa’s arms and barrelling into the small, bespectacled woman that had appeared.

“Well, hello to you too,” Yuri chuckled, rubbing the younger’s back.  Yuri noticed Myungsoo awkwardly standing nearby, shuffling on his feet. “And who might that young man be?”

“Ooh, our Sooji’s finally grown up!” Jaehwa squealed. “And he’s so handsome too!”

“No, you’ve got it completely wrong!” Sooji rushed to correct, ears red. “He’s my partner for my class’s latest project. We came here to research our topic, since he doesn’t know much on it. And the things I do know are kind of unreliable.”

Yuri smiled knowingly. “Well then. Jaehwa and I will leave you to it then. I know you’ve pretty much memorized the whole library. Hope you do well on your project.”

Sooji bowed. “Thank you Yuri unnie, Jaehwa unnie.”

Myungsoo strode to her side. “Who goes to the library enough that their memorized by the staff?”

“I do,” Sooji said, a tad defensively. “Is there a problem with that?”

“No,” Myungsoo replied with the same smile from before. “I find you… different.”

Sooji was unsure on how to take that.

“It’s nice.”

“Oh.” Desperately trying to ignore the burn in her cheeks, she suggested, “How about we split up? We’ll each search for as many books as we can find related to the topic and meet up by that table over there.” Sooji pointed to the table by the window, which the sun washed with almost ethereal light.

“Sounds good,” Myungsoo replied, already scanning the library for possible places to start.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Sooji beamed, confidently skipping until she had disappeared through the twists and turn of the huge public library.

It took Myungsoo about five minutes of aimless wandering to figure out that he didn’t know the first thing about a library. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. How was he to win the heart of a bookworm if he didn’t even know how the Dewey System worked?

Yes, it was no longer a secret. Kim Myungsoo was in love with Han Sooji, just about the most beautiful woman he had ever encountered. He himself was unsure how it started. Maybe it was that she was beautiful, but that he was unsure of. Myungsoo might have had quite the face, but he was not superficial. Maybe because she had all the makings of a girl that had only ever appeared to him in his dreams. Her straight hair the curled slightly at the ends, her angelic voice whether she sang or spoke, her skills in all artistic fields, he could go on. In the short amount of time he had met her, he had fallen hard. So hard, so fast, and heartbreakingly so.

And he was absolutely clueless on what to do.

For it was the very first time that Myungsoo had fallen completely head-over-heels for someone, instead of the other way around. It was he pining away, and not the other person. He was still quite unsure on how to handle the situation, much less make a plan to resolve the situation and make Han Sooji his.

“Excuse me, young man. Do you need any help?” a woman’s voice said behind him.

“Yes please,” Myungsoo groaned, turning around, then freezing.

It was Yuri. It seemed that she recognized Myungsoo as well. “Oh, Sooji-ah’s namjachingu. What can I help you with?”

I wish, Myungsoo thought in response, then hurried to correct the accusation. “Ah, no, I’m not Sooji’s boyfriend.” Yet.

“Oh, I apologize then.” Yuri offered a smile that seemed a little too knowing for Myungsoo’s liking.

Thanks to Yuri’s help, Myungsoo managed to find two books that he thought would be helpful. Heading for their arranged rendezvous, Myungsoo froze.

He only had two books but Sooji had two heaping piles of books, all which he deemed helpful from their size. “Oh, Myungsoo-ssi. Hi.”

“Hi…” Myungsoo said in a daze, eyes running over the big piles of books in shock.

"Oh great," Sooji smiled, noticing the two books in his hands. "Just add it to whichever pile."

"Okay," Myungsoo did as he was told, Sooji returning to whatever she had been doing prior to his arrival. 

Myungsoo took out his own notebook, craning his neck to see what Sooji was doing. One of her books was open in front of her, her hand steadily moving as she took notes. Her hair fell slightly in front of her face and she paused for a moment to tuck it behind her ear.

Pull it together you idiot, he reprimanded himself, bending his head down and trying to focus on the open book in front of him. Clicking his pen open, he proceeded to take notes as well.

So focused on their activities, they didn’t realize what time it was until Yuri and Jaehwa approached them to say that it was two hours past the closing of the library.

“We didn’t want to disturb you because you just looked so darn cute,” Jaehwa explained, which resulted into Yuri’s elbow dug into her stomach.

“Thank you for that Jaehwa-ssi. Now shut up.” Yuri glared at her co-worker.

“Well sorry,” Jaehwa muttered, wounded.

“Thank you so much for letting us stay later, this information was really necessary.” Sooji smiled, gesturing to her notebook.

“Oh, Sooji-ah. You’re so hard-working,” Yuri said. “Every teenager should be like you.”

“I like to try my best in everything Yuri unnie,” Sooji replied matter-of-factly. “It’s really nothing.”

“Well, you better be off, kids.” Jaehwa checked her phone. “It’s nearly half past 9. If I know anything about your father, he’s going to be really angry if you don’t come home before 10.”

“What?!” Sooji said, eyes wide, and checked her phone as well. “Oh my gosh, my dad is going to skin me alive!’

Without so much as a glance to Myungsoo, Sooji ran out of the doors as fast as her feet could carry her. Myungsoo bowed hastily to the two women, the hurried to catch up to the panicked Sooji.

Thanks to Sooji's amazing sprinting skills and Myungsoo so-so chasing skills, they got to their desired destination in record time. Unfortunately, though, not fast enough. Just as they caught sight of the bus, it had already left. Gritting her teeth, Sooji had tensed her muscles and getting ready to run at full-throttle, when Myungsoo said that there was no point in chasing after the vehicle. (Which was now quite a distance from them.)

Sooji turned to her (unfit, out-of-breath) companion, glaring with the intent of murder. "And what do you suppose we do, Myungsoo-ssi? Walk home?"

Myungsoo took a quick glance at his phone. "If we start now we may reach your house by 10:30. So I suggest you stop trying to kill me with your eyes and get walking." Without glancing back, he walked off.

Sooji contemplated, then decided that her need to get home was greater than her need to keep her pride (but only at that moment). She rushed to Myungsoo's side.

They walked together in silence, the only sound being their foot steps and the occasional yowl of a stray cat. Sooji's eyes darted around suspiciously, trying to keep as close to her male companion without actually touching him. She hummed to herself to banish traitorously paranoid thoughts.

A sudden weight settled on her eye lids. Sooji tightened her grip on her bag, and it was all she could do to keep standing, much less keep walking.

Myungsoo glanced curiously at the stumbling Sooji, then blew an aggravated sigh. "Aish, this girl," he muttered. 

Myungsoo grabbed Sooji's wrist, making the latter's eyes glance up in sleepy surprise. Bending down slightly in front of Sooji, he said, "Get on."

"Wh-what?" Sooji was awake enough to feel embarrassed.

Myungsoo sighed again. "If you want to get home faster, I suggest you stop saying stupid things and get. On."

Sooji jumped on his back, sleepily muttering, "I'm not stupid..."

Myungsoo hummed in reply, rolling his eyes. He glanced behind his shoulder. "Ready?'

A thumbs-up was pressed sloppily against his cheek. He chuckled.

Soon, Sooji's breathing turned steady and rhythmic, signaling that she was asleep. Myungsoo smiled, adjusting her on his back.

"I wonder why I like you," Myungsoo mused out loud, seeing as she was asleep and could never hold the words against him. "I don't think I know myself." He glanced back. "Do you know why I like you?"

Myungsoo turned thoughtful. "Let's see. Hmm, you're pretty. You know you're pretty yet you choose to not let your face rule what people think of you. And you don't let your appearance rule you either. 

"You're intelligent. You know you're intelligent, and you have so many fascinating interest in things most people wouldn't even think twice about. You have this fresh curiosity that makes people pay attention to you. You're persistent in everything you do, especially in the academic fields."

Myungsoo gave the sky a bitter smile. "You're you. You're perfect. Why would you like me?"

Lost in his love-filled thoughts of Han Sooji, he hadn't realized he was already in her street. Myungsoo blinked once in surprise, wondering where all the time had gone.

Stopping in front of Sooji's house, Myungsoo noticed a man pacing in the front lawn. He wasn't the only one.

"Yah, imma! What are you doing with my daughter?" Sooji's dad shouted, running straight for him. "How dare you take advantage of such as sweet and beautiful girl as my daughter?"

While Myungsoo was in the middle of wondering how a piggyback could be classified as "taking advantage", Sooji's father snatched Sooji off his back nearly knocking him to the ground in the process. Sooji's eyes shot open in surprise, her father's shove-pull action jolting her awake.

"Appa?" Sooji murmured, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Are you alright, Sooji-ah?" Mr. Han said in reply, pulling her tightly to him. "Did this-this bad guy to anything to you? If he did, I'll call the police right now!"

"Aigoo, Appa," Sooji muttered, readjusting the straps of her bag. She glanced at Myungsoo, who was standing awkwardly to the side. "Are you okay, Myungsoo-ssi? Appa didn't punch you did he?" Sooji's eyes grew wide in horror.

Myungsoo laughed. "No he didn't."

Sooji sighed in relief. "That's good. Your fangirls would kill me."

Myungsoo only shrugged.

Sooji scowled. "You shouldn't be so calm about this. You're Infinite's visual after all."

Mr. Han's voice took on a hysterical note. "Infinite? INFINITE? You're dating a musician?! Sooji-ah, tell me you're not!"

Sooji sighed. "I'm sorry for this Myungsoo-ssi. My appa is... well, he's my appa. The most paranoid being alive."

Myungsoo smiled. "I should probably get going, Sooji-ssi. It's late."

"Why don't you just stay over, Myungsoo-ssi? It's already so late."

"And where do I have a say in this?" Mr. Han screamed. He was ignored again.

Myungsoo only shook his head.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Sooji's eyebrows furrowed, clearly not in favor of the arrangement. "Well, bye."

The other gave her a small wave, before turning his back and walking away. Sooji watched Myungsoo's retreating back, before dragging her angry and irrational father inside.

"Seriously, Sooji-ah, what is going on with you and that Myungsoo boy?"

"APPA!"

* * *

"Can you believe it?" Sunggyu said in wonder. "It's already finals week."

"Yeah, we can believe it. We can also believe that you old man tendencies were enough to let you forget it was finals week," Woohyun quipped.

Sunggyu's already-tiny eyes turned into mere slits as he glared at the grinning younger. "Yah, Nam Woohyun. Respect your elders."

"Yeah Woohyun. Respect the elderly," Dongwoo laughed. 

The other 6 members of Infinite doubled over in laughter, catching the attention of the class. Sooji was slowly inching away from the laughing group.

"Sooji noona, where are you going?" Sungjong said, already having recovered from laughter. 

"I don't know this Sooji noona you speak of, you weirdoes," Sooji teased, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Yah! Take that back!" Myungsoo said with an equally amused grin. 

Sooji winked. "Make me~" She bolted out of the classroom as fast as she could.

"Yah, where do you think you're going?!" Myungsoo screamed, already on his feet.

As the Infinite members watched the couple chase each other, they all gave a sigh to express their OTP feels. "You know hyungs, maybe it's not Hyerim noona Myungsoo hyung likes," Sungjong said thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's someone completely different," Woohyun continued, gaze intent as he watched Myungsoo, once a cold kid that rarely showed his friendly side, catch up to Sooji and hug her from behind with a laugh they could hear from there.

"Sorry, Woohyun," Sunggyu clapped the youngers back. "I know that you had a crush on her."

Woohyun  wasn't all that surprised that his hyung had noticed. He grinned. "It's okay. She's not my type anyway."

Meanwhile, Myungsoo was reprimanding Sooji for her little outburst. "Hmm, how should I punish you for being so mean?"

Sooji rolled her eyes, not at all threatened. "Oh God forbid it. Kim Myungsoo is going to punish me. And what exactly would that entail? Making me dress in so much fedora hats and black items of clothing until I suffocate?"

Myungsoo pouted (yes, that is the effect of love on a person). "Yah! I can be scary!"

Sooji smiled, knowing all too well. "But that's the thing. You aren't that scary anymore."

"Good thing?"

Sooji nodded.

They were being so awfully couple like, in the way that Myungsoo threw her over his shoulder and carried her back to class caveman-style, to her Sooji pathetically beat her hands on his back and how they both ended up in fits of giggles once they got back. So freaking obvious that they felt something, more than something, about each other in the way the Sooji was always where Myungsoo was and vice versa. So freaking obvious that they were in love with each other.

So FREAKING obvious to everyone but themselves. 

Even the fangirls had noticed and accepted that their L oppa had found his destined other half. They had even made an OTP name and fan club. Yet the pair remained so awfully clueless to what was really obvious that it had fangirls and shippers everywhere flipping tables in their aggravation.

Infinite had been tempted more than once to lock the two up in a room with supplies to last for 24 hours until they got over themselves confessed to one another. But they all agreed with each other that it was best if they found out by themselves instead of from other people.

But of course, this was Infinite. They wouldn't be over-sized man children if they didn't meddle in some way. So, they decided to negotiate with the root of the problem. Kim Myungsoo.

"Yah, what are you doing?" Myungsoo yelled after being roughly pulled into a random unused classroom by 6 masked boys. (He had a pretty clear idea on which 6 boys would be stupid enough to pull a stunt like this.) 

"Kim Myungsoo," Sunggyu said monotonously (which was kind of hard what with the immature giggling boys beside him). "We have come here today to speak of a very important issue."

"Sunggyu hyung, you really at acting."

"YAH! How dare you say that you-"

The other five members of Infinite groaned in sync. Really, was their stupid, elderly leader hell-bent on messing everything up?!

"Gyu hyung!" Sungyeol screamed. "He was baiting you! He didn't know for sure that is was you, you idiotic grandpa!"

Myungsoo blinked. "Actually, I kind of did."

Every brainless head in the room turned to him. 

"I mean, who else would be idiotic enough to pull something like this?" Myungsoo rolled his eyes.

Myungsoo coolly crossed his arms. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Sungyeol began, "Well, see-hey wait a minute, didn't we have you tied up?!"

Myungsoo raised an eyebrow. "And who was in charge of knotting?"

Sunggyu and Dongwoo raised their hands.

Sungyeol sighed. "Point taken."

Woohyun just decided to get to the point. "We know you like Han Sooji."

Myungsoo turned to him with wide eyes. "What?"

Sungjong kicked him off his chair and sat down. "We know you like Sooji noona."

"Who else knows?" Myungsoo said in panic.

Hoya snorted. "Like, everyone else in the school. You're not really that great at hiding your loving gazes from everyone else. And, unlike you, not everyone is stupid."

Dongwoo readily agreed with his best friend's statement, nodding three times with great vigour. 

Sunggyu pulled a chair out of nowhere and asked, "So what are you going to do about it? I mean, usually when you love someone, they do SOMETHING about it."

Dongwoo turned to the eldest in shock. "Myungsoo loves Sooji?"

Sunggyu nodded. "And I thought it was pretty obvious. I mean, you don't become a completely different person for a person you just LIKE. There needs to be a bigger motivation."

Finally, Infinite could see why he remained their leader, no matter his mess-ups and mistakes.

"Myungsoo..." Sungyeol whimpered, and Myungsoo felt the storm before it came. "WAHH OUR MYUNGGIE HAS GROWN UP! HUG ME BROTHAA!"

Myungsoo was suddenly assaulted by long limbs from his position on the floor. He groaned when his body hit the floor from his best friend's tackle, then started counting the places he was sure there would be bruises later. 

It took all five of them to pry the sniffling man off Myungsoo, who was greatly relieved. He loved his best friend, yes, but Sungyeol's love for snacks weren't helping anyone else. Especially when he decides to squash you on a daily basis. 

After calming Sungyeol down, everyone entered a thoughtful daze trying to find the best ways to find their hyung/dongsaeng in his problem. After five minutes of thinking, they came up with nothing. (Not really a surprise because five minutes wasn't that long. But you couldn't expect children to stay still for more than two, so it was quite a feat.)

When it was only Sunggyu and Myungsoo left in the room, Sunggyu put a hand on the younger's arm to stop him. "Wait, Myungsoo."

Myungsoo looked back at his hyung. "Yeah, Gyu hyung?"

Sunggyu's voice was soft but stern. "Myungsoo, we're serious about this. You only have two weeks to get it together and confess your feelings to her. After those two weeks, who knows when you'll ever see again?"

Myungsoo looked down. "I know hyung. I know."

So, finals week was spent in stress and with piles of junk food wrappers (empty or otherwise) surrounding them in a sea-like manner. And, not to put more pressure on Myungsoo, but nothing came in mind for his confession to Sooji. Knowing himself, he couldn't do an extravagant, overly cheesy thing. That was more Woohyun hyung's thing. But it would have been helpful if he had at least half of Woohyun hyung's annoying amazing ability to romance the pants of just everyone. 

So, as he strived to keep his grades in perfect shape, he desperately tried to come up with a way of confessing. 

When finals week finally came to an end (much to everyone's relief), Sungyeol had decided to throw a small party of Infinite, Lee Hyerim and Han Sooji. Everyone was darn tired that they didn't know whether their overused brains could handle a party, but Sungyeol somehow managed to convince them. Oh, the powders of their choding.  

So, that was how they ended up in Sunggyu's quite spacious apartment, relieved to finally have time to relax after a whole week of heads buried beneath books.

At the moment, the YaDong couple were fighting over what music would be played, Sunggyu as the eldest hyung was trying to pry them apart (note "trying"), Woohyun and Sungyeol were in the kitchen cooking more food, Sungjong and Hyerim were in their own little corner immersed in what appeared to be a heated discussion, and Myungsoo and Sooji were left to their own devices.

Myungsoo was complaining to Sooji. "I should be at home sleeping. WHY am I not at home? WHY Sooji?"

Sooji only rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, I think that you're a bigger drama queen than Sungyeollie. You didn't sound all that tired to me after your last exam yesterday." That was definitely one of the, if not THE, highlight/s of her day.

Myungsoo replied with wide eyes, "In a week, I will be free of school! What's not to celebrate about?"