(2 weeks later)

Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were part of our daily routine now. We met in class and occasionally went  out to eat and drink . They were part of the group.

But one of them hardly ever showed up these days, Donghae.

The last time I saw him was the first time we actually met, when the three of them came over to congratulate me before class started that day.

Where did he go all of a sudden. He used to always be with Kyuhyun and Ryeowook before. He seemed like a very good student as well , always listening to the prof and taking notes . Why was he not attending class anymore?

We were sitting and there were still a few minutes before the lecture started . All the guys were here as well and Ryeowook was sitting to my right .

It bothered me a little too much and my curiosity overtook me. Out of nowhere I turned to Ryeowook and finally asked him.

"How come Donghae doesn't come to class anymore ? "

Ryeowook was taking something out of his bag and he suddenly stopped and looked up at me.

"Oh! Donghae, he uhhh....... Donghae has another part time job." Ryeowook said letting out a deep sigh.

"Oh, he has two jobs ? And he is a full time student ?" I asked pryingly. How could he handle all that ? I barely get enough time to keep up with my studies and I didn't even work.

"Yeah, he had to take on another part time. His work hours overlap with his class schedule, that's why he doesn't attend classes regularly anymore." I felt a kind of worry and sorrow in his voice as he spoke.

"I see......but why does he need to work that much ?"I was just so curious and wanted to know more.

"Ummm........he.....uh........" Ryeowook seemed uncomfortable with the question. He seemed hesitant about answering it .

"He ..........it's more of a financial thing .... but Donghae is strong, he knows how to manage his time well." Ryeowook finally said with a smile.

I could tell there was more to it than what Ryeowook was letting out. I understood though, we are not that close ,we just met a couple of weeks ago and I don't expect him to expose his friend's personal life just like that.

I  got the hint and stopped there , I didn't question further.

The lecture started and was soon over .

My mind wasn't focused on what the professor was saying this whole time .

I kept thinking about what Ryeowook was holding back from telling me . I kept thinking of why he was working so much . What could of  have made him suddenly sacrifice his education for work? Wasn't he one of the top students back in Korea ? That's why he was chosen to study abroad, right? But , why was he letting  work get in the way of that?

I had so many questions on my mind.

(Later that day )

Sungmin texted after class , asking if I wanted to go watch a movie that just came out . I have been procrastinating so much these days  and homework has even just piling up. I probably had like a thousand pages to read and  that stupid report to finish . So, it would be a better idea to take my back home and get cracking on that homework that was spitefully waiting for me .

But it was Sungmin, I never backed out on plans with him. The last couple of times we met was when all the guys were with us . Probably he wanted just the two of us to hang out again and this time not at the pub or bar or at a party but just to go watch a movie. I liked that. We went to the movies all the time back in high school.

So, finally convincing myself I texted him back telling him that I would meet him in the parking lot and we will go together from there.

(Later on)

It was evening now and it was freezing cold out. The temperature had dropped dramatically. Sungmin and I decided to go together so we took his car. We arrived at the theater and quickly ran inside to escape the brutal cold.

We knew what we wanted to watch already , so we headed directly to the ticket booth to buy the tickets .

The line wasn't that long luckily for us.

It was our turn now , we went over to the cashier.

All of a sudden I dropped my wallet . My breathing grew heavier and I gasped .

The cashier . The cashier was .................... Donghae.

I stood there , unable to move . I was in a shock .

So that's where he worked? He was a cashier at the ticket booth ?

"Hyukjae, what's wrong ?" Sungmin asked , picking up my wallet and handing it back to me.

Sungmin didn't know Donghae yet. He had never seen him before because he never came along with Ryeowook and Kyuhyun  when we all hang out.

I shook my head , to snap back to reality, while still unable to comprehend the situation.

"Oh ! Ummm..... nothing let's go!" I said trying to make the purchase as quickly as possible trying get out of here.

I tried not to  make eye contact with him. Not because I didn't want to but because I just couldn't . I know I probably came off as rude or self centred but I found myself unable to get over my shock about the coincidence of seeing him here . I was just thinking about him this morning and talking to Ryeowook about his job.

I could tell Donghae was looking at me though, trying to make eye contact . Trying to get me to notice him. But he didn't say anything to make it obvious that we already knew each other .

He took the money and handed us the tickets .

"Enjoy the movie!" Donghae said with a joyful yet concerned tone and gave us a hesitant smile.

"Thanks !" Sungmin said and we made our way to the room where our movie was playing in.

"Everything alright ?" Sungmin asked, studying my face. I could tell he noticed my sudden change in behaviour around the cashier .

"Yeah ! Yeah! Everything's fine . I just thought that I forgot my wallet at home , so I got startled suddenly !" I let out a stupid excuse to cover up for my odd behaviour.

"Oh, really? You acted like you saw a ghost or something out there ! " Sungmin said laughing.

I laughed along as well, feeling like a complete idiot.

We found good seats and sat down. Within a few seconds Sungmin got back up again .

"Hi , I am gonna get something to eat. What drink do you want ?" He asked taking off his jacket and placing it on the seat.

"Whatever you are getting . It doesn't matter." I replied ,also taking off my jacket.

" Alright , I'll be back than!" He said and quickly left the room.

OH MY GOD ! WHAT THE HELL ! Why do I act like that every time I see him? And what is he thinking, working here?

Working at the theater was one of the most looked down upon jobs these days. The long hours . The rude and obnoxious customers . The ty pay .Why was he working here?

Why did I even care though? Why did it concern me where he did or did not work ? I didn't even know him personally!

I threw my head back on the head rest of the seat and stared up at the ceiling .

I needed the movie to start . I needed a distraction.

Soon Sungmin came back with a gazillion different things to eat. The movie finally started and like that the evening passed.

Sungmin dropped me home . The movie was ..... I don't know , ok I guess.  I wasn't able to focus on it , cause other things preoccupied my mind the entire time.

I came home to find only Sora and Henry there , they were in the living room watching TV. Mom and Dad were still at work.

"Oppa , is that you ?" Sora called out  after hearing me enter the house.

I poked my head in to  the living room to confirm my presence.

"Hi , guys! " I said and smiled at the kids.

"Hi!" Sora and Henry replied.

I could tell by the aroma that Ammi had made some sort of soup for me , like mom had told her to. But I was full from all the junk food we ate at the theater so I passed on dinner.

I headed upstairs and took off everything and dropped all the clothes on to the floor carelessly. The pile of untouched homework was sitting on my desk, mocking me . I knew I had to start it tonight but I just didn't want to .

I felt like something was bothering me . I couldn't figure out what though. I felt annoyed .

I went to take a shower. I let the warm water come down and seek through my hair and onto my body.

It felt nice . It was a cold night and the warm water felt pleasant against my skin. I felt my muscles relax and the tense feeling in my body slowly vanished .

After the shower I threw on  pajama bottoms and a plain white V-neck shirt. I picked up all the books from the desk and threw them on the bed and finally sat down to get some work done.

I opened the book and started to read the first paragraph . It didn't make sense so I read it again. It didn't make sense. I read it over again at least twenty times but it still just didn't make sense. I didn't know what I was exactly tiring to even read. I just kept staring at the words.

With frustration I slam closed the book and aggressively threw it on the sofa next to the bed .

My head was messed up tonight. My mind was not present. It was occupied with something else.

The events from this evening replayed in my head .

I threw myself back onto the bed , laying down. I covered my face with my hands and let out a deep whining breath.

It suddenly hit me then, that I have been thinking about him this whole time.

Donghae has been on my mind all day.