Chapter One: of first loves and first heartbreaks

Jongin first meets Joohyun when he is 10 years old.

His father is holding a party in honor of their shopping mall's grand opening all across Asia and Joohyun is the daughter of one of his father's friends.

He notices her from across the venue. She's in a ruffly white dress with a red ribbon around her waist, and her hair is tied into two braids, swinging back and forth in time with the breeze. Her eyes are round and bright, and she hasn't let go of her father's hand since she's arrived.

Jongin greets her with his father, making sure to act polite and friendly -- just not too friendly, like his father has taught him.

She smiles shyly when he introduces himself, but doesn't say anything, leaving them in an awkward silence.

What's worse is the fact that his father instructs him to stay with her for the rest of the party, explaining that it'd be nice for the two of them to get to know each other. It seems strange to Jongin that his father would say that, until he realizes that his father simply wanted the "kids" out of the venue.

So, without a choice, he takes her to his room because there's nowhere else for them to go anyway. He sits on his bed and ignores her, hoping that she will take his silence as a hint and just stay quiet herself.

Unfortunately, that is not the case.

She sits right next to him and smiles -- that stupid, wide grin of hers -- again.

It annoys him to no end. "Just what are you smiling for?" He snaps.

Her smile never falters, even at his harsh tone. "Do I need a reason to be smiling?"

"Most people do," He mutters. 

"Well, I can give you plenty of reasons. I'm safe and healthy again today, I got an A on my math test at school, my mom made me pancakes this morning for breakfast, and," she pauses, giggling a little. "I made a new friend today."

With her last words, she looks pointedly at him and he reels, horrified.

"M-Me!? I'm the new friend?" 

She nods excitedly.

"I'm not your friend!" He exclaims. "I just met you today, and I don't like you already! You smile too much, you say weird things, and because of you, I'm stuck here, instead of at the party."

"We can have our own party here," She comments cheerfully. "And besides, we're already friends in my book if we've talked for more than five minutes."

"You have weird standards for making friends," He snorts.

"I hear that a lot!"

"What a thing to be proud of, huh."

Surprisingly enough, time goes by fast and Jongin doesn't even realize that the sky has gotten dark already. She is strange, that's for sure, but she's become the closest he's ever had to a friend in his 10 years of being alive. She's amusing, compassionate, and oddly enough, very intelligent. They talk, draw pictures, and read books. His initial dislike for her quickly disappears and is replaced with happiness. 

He even feels a little disappointed when he hears his father open his bedroom door, telling the two of them to come downstairs.

As he says bye to her at his door, he notices a mark on her cheek, probably from when they were drawing earlier.

Before she turns around to leave, he taps at his cheek, trying to tell her about the mark without embarrassing her in front of the adults.

He repeats the action, growing frustrated with her confused looks, until her face lights up brightly.

His eyes widen in pure shock as she suddenly leans over and plants a kiss on his cheek -- her lips barely graze his cheek, leaving as soon as he feels them.

His cheeks immediately burn red, and he doesn't even have the time to react, as Joohyun and her father leave. He hears her giggles, as the door closes.

And his heart flutters for the first time.

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Somehow, his heart continues to flutter.

He sees her several times after that. Their fathers are friends, so it's normal that they would run into each other at different parties, meetings, and gatherings.

He notices immediately when she cuts her hair, wears a new dress, or has a new pair of shoes on. 

Sometimes, he'll stare at her for too long, and other times, he'll flinch if he accidentally touches her. 

Even though his heart thumps in his chest violently and he acts awkwardly, he tries to ignore it.

He doesn't want to know what this strange feeling is and hopes that it will go away with time. After all, he can't keep feeling like this around her.

"It's love," His older sister, Taeyeon, tells him as he enters his first year of high school.

"Love?" He repeats. The word sounds new on his tongue.

He isn't stupid. He knows what love is. But he has never felt it before. 

"Yup, love," She says with a grin. "You're growing up, aren't you, kiddo? Falling in love with girls now. I knew you stared at that Joohyun girl far too much to just be friends."

A blush flares across his cheeks, but he still speaks. "Is love...good?"

He feels embarrassed of himself for asking such an idiotic question, but thankfully enough, Taeyeon doesn't laugh or make fun of him. 

"It depends," Taeyeon remarks. "It's usually good, but it can be bad and painful too."

He stays silent, contemplating her words.

"The most painful of all loves is unrequited love. You're so in love with that person and you would do anything to make them happy, but somehow they don't return your feelings. Sometimes, they're just in love with another person."

At that moment, he doesn't quite understand her words. He doesn't see why this unrequited love thing would be so painful and why a person would lose themselves over it. 

He really doesn't.

Until Joohyun meets Xi Luhan when they are 17 years old. 

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Even at age 17, Joohyun has never taken a romantic interest in any boy.

She has boys that she likes. There's Jongin and Baekhyun (Jongin's self-proclaimed best friend), who she thinks of preciously and as her own brothers. There's also Jungsu, a senior at her school that treats her like a daughter, and Kyuhyun, her classmate and friend from the school's math club.

But she doesn't feel her heart flutter around them. Her head doesn't go hazy and her cheeks don't flare up hotly.

Joohyun isn't one to foolishly believe in fairytales, but she still wishes that she would find her special someone soon. She knows that she's still young and in high school, but it would be nice to experience what her female friends squealed about at lunch everyday.

"I thought all those couples were ridiculous and crazy when I looked at them being lovey-dovey," Her friend, Yoona, had once said. "But now that I have a boyfriend myself, I can kind of understand it. Donghae is honestly the sweetest."

She isn't quite looking for a full out relationship, but just the idea of falling in love with someone makes her feel giddy inside.

Her first experience of falling in love comes with the sudden transfer of a Chinese exchange student in November.

Xi Luhan is his name. He's got a cute, deer-like face, that reminds Joohyun a bit of Yoona, and it earns him a lot of teasing on her part once they start dating.

He transfers from China because of his father's job and he ends up sitting next to her in math. He's patient, considerate, and well-mannered, and while those are all good characteristics, nothing about him really intrigues Joohyun. She simply passes him off as another kind classmate at first and treats him politely.

It isn't until he starts writing her notes during class that she really takes notice of him. On his notebook, he begins to make cute drawings along with messages for her to read during class.

His first one comes in the middle of their teacher's long, tiring lecture -- Annyeong! ^^ We don't really talk, do we, table partner?

She looks at him quizzically, but he only smiles and writes another note.

Hmm~ I think we should be friends. We can become friends now. After all, you can't really be paying attention to this lecture, right? :o

Somewhat amused, Joohyun writes him a response this time -- Teacher Park is known for his long lectures. You should get used to it, table partner! :) Well, if we're going to become friends, you should tell me about yourself.

He grins, his eyes meeting her eyes directly, surprisingly causing her heart to beat a bit faster.

My name is Xi Luhan. I'm 16 and a Taurus. I hate when people say I look like a girl and I love playing all kinds of sports. I'm confident at beating people at any video game and I secretly love to sing as well.

Joohyun stifles a giggle at the girl part.

Looking like a girl isn't a bad thing. You're cute, like a deer! In fact, you kind of remind me of my friend Yoona!

As he reads this, he pouts and Joohyun can barely contain her laughter. He looks like such a choding.

As he notices her holding back her laughter, he can't help but quietly chuckle himself as he scribbles another note to her.

So, Miss Seo Joohyun, care to tell me about yourself?

And when she looks into his eyes, he's looking at her with an emotion that she can't quite put her finger on and it sends her heartbeat racing.

Maybe this is what her friends were all talking about.

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Jongin doesn't think much of the new transfer student at first.

Baekhyun tells him to "keep his guard up" because Joohyun and the guy seem to have a "thing" going on, but Jongin takes it as one of Baekhyun's exaggerated stories and ignores it.

It isn't until Joohyun brings the boy up in their conversation a week later, that he actually notices.

They're at his house, studying, as usual. It was a weekly routine for them (and Baekhyun, who always tagged along) to gather at his house every week to study for the upcoming tests. Both he and Joohyun are model students and have excellent grades.

While Baekhyun is in the kitchen getting a snack, Jongin is reading over his history textbook and he doesn't realize how fidgety and distracted Joohyun is.

Finally, she speaks.

"I have a favor to ask you, Jongin."

He glances up from his book, an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

He can't help his eyes from drifting over to her lower lip, that she is chewing on vigorously -- a habit of hers when she gets nervous.

"Could...could I bring a friend of mine next week?" She asks hesitantly.

"A friend?" Jongin is still really just staring at her lips, and replies distractedly. "Sure. Who is it?"

"Xi Luhan."

At this, his eyes snap back up to meet her eyes. She's blushing, and she's twiddling her thumbs together -- something Jongin has never seen her do in his entire six years of knowing her.

Something inside of him aches.

"H-He's a friend from my math class," She stammers. "I've gotten pretty close to him since he's transferred and he doesn't seem to have many other friends beside me. It'd be nice if he could get close to you and Baekhyun too."

Jongin doesn't answer. She's blushing, stuttering, and nervous.

Just like him when he talks about her.

The realization comes to him all at once. In the same way that he is in love with her, Joohyun is in love with this Xi Luhan.

His thoughts are further confirmed when Luhan actually comes to his house the week after.

There's nothing to hate about the boy. He's considerate, polite, and kind. He knows how to joke around, but is still focused on his studies.

Yet Jongin finds himself resenting him.

His chest tightens as he sees the two laughing and smiling at each other, sitting side by side. It's immature and petty of him, but he can't help it. They simply look so perfect together that it makes him bitter with envy.

Taeyeon's words come back to him at this moment, ringing inside his head.

"The most painful of all loves is unrequited love. You're so in love with that person and you would do anything to make them happy, but somehow they don't return your feelings. Sometimes, they're just in love with another person."

He swallows.

At age 17, Kim Jongin first experiences heartbreak.

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A/N: Eep, so sorry for the first chapter being kinda crappy and boring. Though the first few chapters will take place in their "younger" years, the main story is supposed to be when they're older (around mid to late 2os). Unfortunately, no Sulli in this chapter and only minimal appearances from Baekhyun and Taeyeon. I promise more of them in the next chapter!^^

Thanks for reading and comments are always appreciated! :)