Chapter Three
"Would you like an award for that?"

18th of December 2013

"I swear to God, I'm the unluckiest person alive." Minseok mumbled under his breath, turning around so he'd look up to Kai who was jogging towards him. "Hey, so it is you." Kai smiled widely, patting Minseok on the shoulder. Minseok managed to fake a smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah... it's me." Kai then looked over Minseok's shoulder where he swore he saw Minseok with a girl earlier, "Weren't you with someone?" Realizing that Kai probably noticed Hee Young he was hugging, Minseok shook his head, "Nah."

Kai raised an eyebrow with a finger pointing at Minseok's face. "I swore I saw you hugging someone."

"No I wasn't." Minseok immediately defended himself when Kai narrowed his eyes at him. Minseok gulped and chuckled awkwardly, "See... I've got to go..." As he tried to take slow steps away from Kai, he thought he was going to get away with it until...

"Let's walk to class together. If I remember correctly, we're in the same class."

Minseok slapped his forehead - what if they were late?

Chitter and chatters could be heard in the large hall room as they waited for their lecturer or some may say, the weekly devil to walk in. Mrs. Chan is by far the strictest teacher on campus and if possible, her words could burst you into flames. In other words, avoid making her lose her marbles at any cause - any cause at all. Hee Young stared at her notebook where she flipped it open to randomly doodle something on as she waited for her lecturer to walk in as she was early, just like everyone else who feared the wrath of Mrs. Chan. The moment the door creaked open, she lifted her chin up to see that the devil herself had entered.

Everyone else held in their breath, screeching of chairs could be heard as students took their respective places to sit on - it was a general rule : before Mrs. Chan reaches her table, everyone has to be seated. Late comers? You'll see what would happen soon.

She smirked when she reached her table, placing her things on her table and she whipped out the cane she held behind her back as she her heels to face the hall room with an eerie grin - "Is everyone present?"

No one even dared to answer. Only pure silence filled the room. "Very well. We'll begi-" She let her voice cut off on it's own when the door opened again, revealing two boys who tried to silently walk into the hall room without getting noticed but already all eyes were on them from the moment they took their first step through the door. Before they could even head to their respective seats, the devil herself cleared with her cane whacking the wooden table, causing everyone to gasp quietly - some even predicted it anyway.

Hee Young lifted her chin only to widen her eyes slightly when she met with Minseok's eyes. Almost immediately, she hissed and put her pen down - she wanted to just strangle him on the spot now. "Alright class," Mrs. Chan smiled as she pulled her cane to place it behind her back as she walked towards the two boys who froze on the spot when she appeared in front of them. "You all know the drill." Mrs. Chan spoke up when she eyed the two boys before her. "Whoever is late, will need to run five laps around the campus field - no breaks. Next, you'll proceed to pick up the rubbish all over campus until the time of this class ends. At the end of the day, see me in this exact same hall to get the notes for today."

"I'm sure you all know that, right?" Mrs. Chan asked everyone in the hall room who meekly nodded twice - how could they not? They were afraid that if they didn't nod, they would get punishment as well. Which of course, was possible considering Mrs. Chan was also the discipline teacher.

"Unless, of course, one of you decide to volunteer to help them - then, while two of you run, the other will collect the rubbish. You should be able to make it back here if you move quick enough so that you won't need to see me at the end of the day.

"Anyone?" Mrs. Chan asked blankly, knowing that barely anyone had the guts or has a nice heart to even volunteer themselves.

Hee Young looked around the hall room swiftly, only to take note that none of Kai's friends were going to help and Minseok, has only her to depend on. Even though she knows she was taking a leap of death here, she knew that deep down inside that Minseok would help her too if she was in shoes right now. Their friendship was so deep, they would actually take a bullet for each other so, what was this?

"Seeing that no on-"

"I volunteer." A voice spoke up and Minseok's eyes darted to Hee Young who stood up. Minseok felt like half of him died when he saw her standing up while the other just cheered for joy - she still cared for him deeply. Mrs. Chan cocked an eyebrow in partial shock while everyone else remained silent. Kai stared at her weirdly - she looked familar... he thought.

"It's very rare of you to volunteer." Mrs. Chan commented but Hee Young simply stood by her seat, waiting for Mrs. Chan to motion her towards them. A few people gasped at the person who got up, but to Hee Young, she had already learnt how to mute the voice of other's in her mind at very young age. "The three of you, wear this tag and run along." With her hand motion, Hee Young snatched three of the tags, brushing past the two boys who stood there, dumbfounded as they didn't move an inch even though Hee Young was already out of the door.

"Aren't you coming?" Hee Young snapped, causing both Kai and Minseok to just drop their bags by the door before messily turned around to follow behind her.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Hee Young mumbled under her breath when she walked ahead of the two boys to the campus field. It was on the other side of campus and they needed to use the long way to get here, which took about five minutes - if they walked fast. Minseok sighed heavily as he followed her quietly, until Kai nudged him by his arm. "Who is she?"

Minseok couldn't help but just grin inwardly like a little kid - Hee Young had actually put it all just to help him at a time like this. "My savior." Minseok answered meekly when he lifted his chin to look at Hee Young's back profile. "C'mon, we have to hurry. If not, she'll get pissed." Minseok whispered to Kai who had two of his eyebrows raised, but he followed Minseok nevertheless. In Kai's mind, that girl in front of him was definitely the girl Minseok was hugging, and probably the girl back at the restaurant yesterday but could she also be the girl in the library?

"By 'her', who do you mean?" Kai asked when they were almost reaching the field but Minseok smiled, pointing at the girl in front of them before he jogged ahead to catch up with Hee Young. Kai let out a soft grumble, before he jogged behind them quietly when he wanted some answers but yet again, he got none.

"Alright," Kai breathed out when they were at the starting point of the track field, two of his hands were at his hip as he spoke up even more, "Which two of us are going to run?" Kai asked as he looked at both Minseok and Hee Young, she had her hoodie up to prevent any eye contact, especially from Kai. Hee Young sighed heavily, but she turned to face Minseok as she handed him the only blue tag - the one that needs to collect the rubbish. "Here," Hee Young spoke up softly and Kai raised an eyebrow - this arrangement was rather odd as usually if there were two guys and one girl, the girl would be the one collecting the rubbish.

Why was it the other way around?

"Why-?" Kai couldn't even complete his sentence when Hee Young had already said, "You can't run - you have breathing difficulties when you run. So you'll go collect the rubbish. I'll run with this boy over here." Hee Young pointed over her shoulder, to Kai who was standing behind her. He cleared his throat - because he didn't know Minseok had such a problem and because she had just referred him to 'this boy over here'. "Well this boy over here has a name. And Minseok, will you be alright?"

Minseok grinned sheepishly at both Kai and Hee Young before he lunged forward to hug Hee Young lightly, "Thank you, He-" She had already broke the hug and place a hand over his mouth but Kai had already caught the first syllable that left Minseok's mouth. Minseok nodded twice silently - knowing that he shouldn't say her name as he patted her head. "I'll be quick." With that, Minseok slipped on the blue tag before he jogged back into the campus. She hissed when she saw him jogging, "Stop jogging!" She shouted loudly once but she could only hear his playful chuckle and Kai's snicker behind her.

"Take your time! If I need to haul your to the nurse again, don't hope on it!" She shouted again and soon, Minseok had already disappeared back into the campus with a grin on his face.

A person cleared his throat and she realized that she wasn't alone - damn it.

She looked over her shoulder to meet with Kai's eyes who tried to lower down to meet with hers. She shoved a tag in his hands. "Five laps. Start running." With that, he simply stared at the girl who shoved a tag in his hands - who was now running off without him. With the click of his tongue, he slipped on the tag around his neck before he started running.

It's time to get some answers.

Looks like two years of keeping a low profile will go down the drain. She thought agitatedly as she ran with all her might - the last thing she wanted was for Kai to catch up beside her, because she knows he's a pretty damn fast runner himself considering he's a dancer with all that stamina in him. She shook her head and picked up the pace when she heard grunts behind her, it was Kai and he was getting closer. "Hey!" He managed to shout just as he was merely an arm's length behind her.

She decided not to answer as they continued to run with him calling her out again when they were nearing each other again. She groaned inwardly as she tried to run faster but it was no use, he was getting closer and closer each time she tried to distant herself away from him. 

Just one more lap... She kept a positive thought, knowing that once she finished her laps, she can immediately go find Minseok to help him pick up the rubbish together.

"How the hell?" Kai mumbled softly when she suddenly got faster, creating a greater distance between him and her. As he recalled back the way she talked to Minseok earlier, it had snapped in him like a twig - it was all the same girl. She was the same girl who he saw Minseok hugging, the same girl who was with them in the restaurant, the same girl in the library and also the same girl who had bumped into him at the hallway - she must be Hee Young, he thought confidently.

He knows that if he were to slowly approach her, it wouldn't work, she would definitely avoid him and considering he has half a lap before her, he has to act now - even if it's a stupid move.

Just as she was about to stop running because she was done, he took a huge leap as he had his arms wrapped around her, causing the two of them to fall onto the ground with a grunt as they rolled around the grass with immense pain stinging their body - especially his, because he was cocooning her in his arms without a warning. The two grunted loudly when they were now on the ground with him on top of her, legs tangled between one another and her hands were squished between his chest and her own. Their minds went haywire, not even knowing what was going on - especially hers but she had one specific thought.

He's still a .

Their eyes were clenched shut as he had his face so near hers only to take note that her hoodie had fell off when they rolled on the ground. Her eyes opened only to glare at him when all he could do was open his eyes to stare into her own. Those pair of eyes and the name Kwan Hee Young... it was a name long forgotten that even now he still couldn't recall who it was. And it seems like he would never remember but he'd like a chance to try, even if it may be the wrong person.

"So you're Hee Young." He breathed out on her skin and she felt goosebumps over her body the moment she realized the position they were in. There goes my two ing years. She grunted as she tried to push him off but it was impossible, his arms were wrapped around her tightly. Seeing that he already knows how she looks like, and her name, she could easily see that it still didn't ring a bell in him yet - she was safe... for now.

Now she decided to act quick to come off with a different approach. Instead of avoiding him, she'll just go with the flow.

"You attacked me like that just to see how I looked like?" She spat the words at his face and he paled before he gulped deeply. It felt like his common sense wasn't working at the moment. "Get off me." She snapped at him and he quickly loosened his grip around her to let her stand up as he did the same - now their clothes were covered in dirt with patches all over.

Smart move, Kim Jongin.

"Well if I tried to ask, you would probably snap at me like how you did in the hallway." He retorted back and she dusted her clothes before she glared at him further. "Well did you ask?" She cocked her head sideways and he blinked at her a little before he clicked his tongue, "N-No."

"Now you've seen how I look like, and now you know my name. Would you like an award for that?"

All Kai could do was blink at her.

It was the first time in a long time since any girl has spoke to him in such way - apart from his own sister of course.

"I'll take that as a 'no'. Now if you'll please, try not to attack me again." She breathed out, pulling the hoodie off her head to reveal her dark brown locks slightly covering her forehead while the ends of her hair covered her shoulder as she swept it to one side. She noticed him staring and she raised an eyebrow, "What now?" She deadpanned and he gulped, "Do I know you?"

She stared at him hesitantly before she looked away, "No."

With that, she simply her heels to jog away from him - the quicker the better but all he did was stand there with his eyes locked on her. He swore he's seen those pair of eyes before but nothing came to his mind at all. But definitely, she left an impression that was pretty... unforgetable. Staring at her until she disappeared off into campus, it had knocked into his mind that he had to continue running for half a lap, then only he would join back with Minseok and... Hee Young.