September 2011

Sungmin laid her head on her desk and sighed. Why did summer have to end so early? She didn’t feel prepared for school at all; she had so much fun with Donghae and Ryeowook during summer vacation. Luckily, Sungmin knew that once she geared up, she would be fine. Plus, her 2 best buddies would give her all the support she needed. Donghae was going to join her class starting from today, but it’s sad that Ryeowook couldn’t study in the same school with them as her family didn’t like mixed schools.

‘Minnie!’ Leeteuk, who’s sitting in front of Sungmin, patted her half-sleeping friend’s shoulder and whispered urgently. ‘The teacher’s here!’

Sungmin sat upright and looked. It’s her teacher from last year, Miss Hwang. She felt relieved and lay back in her chair. She has always been Miss Hwang’s favorite pupil – well, she was actually every teacher’s favorite pupil. She wasn’t really a teacher’s pet, but she respected the teachers and behaved well in class, tried her best in everything and, of course, achieved outstanding results. Perhaps this year might not be as bad as I thought… She could already feel herself gearing up.

But what Sungmin didn’t know was, the ‘best’ was yet to come.

***

‘Hello everyone! I’m Lee Donghae…’

Everyone clapped after Donghae’s introduction. Sungmin clapped especially loud. My best friend is going to join her class! How exciting is that!

Miss Hwang then told Donghae to sit behind Sungmin, earning a small cheer from both girls as Donghae skipped happily to her seat.

‘Hello everyone! I’m Lee Hyukjae. You can call me Eunhyuk…’

Sungmin stared. A tall and fairly muscular boy was standing in the front of the classroom. He had big eyes, big ears and a shy, cute smile. ‘Ohh… Another new student,’ she reckoned. ‘Who looks like a weird monkey. Pffft.’

She was about to tell Donghae the joke she’s just thought of, but when she turned around, she saw Donghae staring at the ‘monkey’ and… Blushing?

‘… My hobby is dancing…’ Eunhyuk stopped and did a quick turn, ending with a cool pose and a mesmerizing wink. Sungmin swore she saw all of her girl classmates fainting because of that. She felt surprised herself, because of the way this monkey boy changed from cute and shy to cool and confident when he talked about his passion. But she didn’t feel ‘that’ way about him. He’s just not her cup of tea.

‘But he’s definitely Hae’s cup of tea…’ Sungmin observed and smiled. Donghae was blushing furiously and almost drooling now.

‘… Nice to meet you all. I hope we’ll get along really well! Oh and please take care of my cousin as well… He’s quite… Peculiar…’ He smiled and turned to the guy next to him. ‘But anyway, please introduce yourself.’ Eunhyuk ended his introduction and nodded to his cousin. He then smiled shyly and looked around the class. The class erupted into a round of applause and cheering. And some girls (fangirls?) screaming.

Sungmin nudged Donghae for some time until she returned to her senses. ‘What..?’ Donghae asked dreamily.

‘Gosh… Hae, love at first sight? It’s only your 1^st day here… Control yourself.’ Sungmin giggled and said.

‘H… Hey of course not! St… Stop that!’ Donghae pouted and hit Sungmin lightly but couldn’t help smiling herself. She couldn’t stop herself from blushing and her racing heartbeat. Sungmin continued laughing but stopped abruptly when she noticed the whole class fell silent, waiting for another guy to introduce himself.

‘Hello, I’m Cho Kyuhyun.’

He had a deep and gentle voice, but the temperature instantly dropped for a thousand degrees, as if his words have frozen every corner in the classroom. He looked around the room and suddenly fixed his gaze on Sungmin. He smirked and continued, ‘Nice to meet you.’

The class was silent. Sungmin was lost for words; she was scared of that gaze: totally cold, absolutely intimidating, simply terrifying. She couldn’t understand that smirk or even see a hint of emotion in his eyes.

The class was silent for another 5 seconds for what seemed like forever. It was Miss Hwang who ‘unfroze’ first and cleared .

‘Hyukjae, why don’t you sit in that empty seat next to… Donghae, over there…’ Miss Hwang pointed. There were only two seats left in the room so she thought she would just arrange the two new boys randomly. She didn’t notice Donghae slightly jumped up from her seat when she announced the seating plan.

All the other girls in the class squealed with jealousy. Angry whispers could be heard everywhere. Everyone’s eyes were following Eunhyuk as he walked up to his seat. Donghae was flabbergasted by her luck and the person (angel?) walking up to her.

‘Hello, Donghae ssi. Nice to meet you.’ Eunhyuk showed his adorable gummy smile and held up his hand to the dumbfounded Donghae.

‘Hel… Hello, Eun… Eunhyuk ssi. Nice… Nice to meet… Meet you too.’ She sighed. At least I successfully finished my sentence. She shook Eunhyuk’s hand. At the very moment when their hands touched, Donghae could almost see fireworks and confetti and felt her heartbeat gaining speed again. It was as if electricity was flowing throughout her body and she could feel her face getting burning hot. She quickly withdrew her hand and fanned herself.

Eunhyuk sat next to Donghae, stifled a yawn and stretched his arms slightly, not noticing Donghae’s fanning and blushing and fidgeting.

‘… And Kyuhyun, you can go sit next to… Sungmin, the girl in front of Donghae.’ Miss Hwang finally said after much contemplation.

Again, cold air filled the room as Kyuhyun walked to the seat and sat down. Sungmin felt herself tensing up and her heart beating faster.

Is it because I’m scared? Or is it something else…

Kyuhyun turned and looked at Sungmin. He smirked again, this time showing a bit of amusement and evilness.

He then turned around to Eunhyuk and grinned. ‘Hey couz, glad we’re sitting close to each other.’ When Eunhyuk replied with a gummy smile, Kyuhyun glanced at Sungmin and continued, ‘Looks like we’ll be having some fun this year.’

Gosh… What is he going to do to me…Sungmin thought worriedly as she noticed his glance at the corner of her eye. I’m not sitting next to a e, am I…

***

For the rest of the day, Sungmin couldn’t concentrate during lessons because she felt that her new neighbour seemed to be watching her every move. She’s getting more and more freaked out and she really couldn’t stand it, so she finally decided to talk to him about it after school.

‘Excuse me, Kyuhyun ssi.’ Sungmin tapped her neighbour’s shoulder after all of her classmates were gone, including Donghae, who had to go practise dancing in the nearby studio.

Kyuhyun was too absorbed in his PSP game to realize Sungmin’s existence, never mind her gentle tap.

‘Kyuhyun ssi..!’ Seeing no response, Sungmin called a bit louder.

But still no answer from the game addict.

‘KYUHYUN SSI!!’

He finally heard her. He put his PSP down and turned around. ‘Yes?’ He said, his tone annoyed and his gaze intimidating as usual.

Sungmin gulped. She’s not the type of girl that gets frightened easily, but Kyuhyun was really giving her the creeps.

‘Can… Can you please stop staring at… At me during class?’ She stuttered, then hit herself mentally. Where on earth is that brave and confident Lee Sungmin!? She thought in frustration.

Kyuhyun showed his amused smirk again. He stood up from his seat slowly and moved nearer to Sungmin.

Sungmin’s heart almost jumped out from her chest as Kyuhyun’s face inched closer and closer to hers. She could smell his minty breath, feel his warmth, and sense his mysterious aura advancing towards her. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, expecting the worst.

Is he going to kiss me!? Should I push him away? Stop him? Kick him? Okay, Lee Sungmin, get ready to punch him right in his face with your black-belt taekwondo skills. It’s coming it’s coming……

5 seconds.

10 seconds.

20 seconds.

‘Mwahahahaha…’

What?

Sungmin flipped her eyes open. There, standing 3 feet away, was Cho Kyuhyun laughing evilly.

‘What the HELL were you doing?!’ Sungmin shouted, outraged by the fact that she was tricked and got frightened over nothing.

What kind of devil IS he?

‘Look at your face,’ Kyuhyun said between his laugh. ‘Pouting just like a bunny.’

Sungmin froze. Bunny?

That’s what her parents used to call her. And only her parents could call her that.

Waves of memories of her past and her family crashed in her brain: the happy times, the hard times, the struggle, the hopelessness, the frustration, the anger, the hatred.

Angry tears sprang to her eyes. She really didn’t want to remember all those things again. She grabbed her bag and tore out of the room, leaving a slightly bewildered Kyuhyun standing alone.

Geez. What’s her problem? It’s just a little joke. Is she that easily fired up?

Feeling increasingly annoyed, Kyuhyun walked out of the classroom and headed home while thinking about other pranks he could play on Sungmin.

On the other hand, Sungmin ran across the streets, letting her tears free-fall from her eyes. The fright from before hasn’t faded yet and bits and pieces of shattered memories about her family tried to piece together. She was feeling worse than ever.

Thanks to you, Cho Kyuhyun…

She clenched her fists. She must take revenge on this devil who has just appeared in her life out of nowhere a few hours ago and already disrupting her life.