"jongin, where are all the good people in the world?" 

"Mff-" a string of intelligible sounds is all he makes before he turns to his side on the grass and plops his arm down. grass gets stuck onto his white school shirt, not that he cares and soojung figures that as his friend the least she could do by disturbing his sleep is to gently pick the grass off him. summer was coming to a close and the winds were getting chilly. 

too often she realises she is bothering him. far too much than the necessary and she wonders what she did to deserve such a person like jongin. he had been nothing short of the best friend she could ever dream of deserving and accompanied her for the past three weeks since he arrived. in fact, ever since he found out about her -lines- he has been by her side 3/4 of the time. and she wonders if he views her like that of a porcelain doll, delicate, fragile and easily smashed to smithereens. but soojung thinks she can at least handle the urge to draw lines. yes, she is capable of at least that much. what does jongin see in her that is worth staying next to? why does he insist on being by her side despite everything? what if all of a sudden he realises the type of person she is? she selfish, she's a brat. what if he decides to leave her because she is such a useless good for nothing that can't even solve logarithmic equations?she certainly can't handle that. what if he finds out that-

"Soojungie what are you thinking about now? you've got one of those faraway looks on your face again." jongin stretches out, revealing that tiny slit of bronzed skin on his stomach. soojung immediately turns her head, her cheeks flushing red.

"nothing." she replies a little to quickly. at least fast enough for jongin to realise there definitely is no "nothing".

"Come on tell me, don't you have enough faith in your little friend here?" the said friend points to himself with his chest proudly puffed out, pouting his lips.

its moments like these that soojung questions why on earth she even fell for such a ridiculous person.

"Quit staring at me like that, I know i'm handsome and its flattering to be looked at once in a while but can you stop looking and start spitting? and by spitting in this context i don't really mean the saliva kind but the talking kind if you know what i mean."

"Pfft ok here it goes, jongin why are there no good people around? do they really exist?"

"there are good people everywhere around you, just that you do not notice it. all it takes is just that little step or effort to look a little closer for you to realise that speck within them and soon enough you will realise that they are a kaleidoscope of colours, beautiful, smart or funny," he pauses, "soojung would you believe me if i said that i can show you that little part?"

she raises an eyebrow.

"give me chance to prove it to you ok? just once, I'll lead the way and you just have to take my hand and follow me. I promise it would be worth it, just once." the determination in his eyes makes her feel so sure that it is possible. all that is left is for her to grab that opportunity, say yes. take that little leap of faith, scratch that, big leap of faith for it to happen. and she just migh-

"Yah hyung! what on earth are you doing hiding in this corner of the school? do you know what time it is right now coach will be screaming at us if you don't get your there in 5 minut-" oh sehun stops with a start upon realising that there was perhaps more people here than he was expecting. 

"take a chill pill oh sehun, 9 years knowing you and you really don't change a teeny bit." jongin  combs through his hair in a feeble attempt to make himself slightly more presentable.

"oh and by the way soojung, you do know who sehun is right? i mean you guys should see each other around sometime or something so i shan't bother with the formalities since they are long and boring." 

oh sehun. even though they never acknowledged each other or even frequently bumped into each other at all, how could she ever forget who he is? the guy that told her she was " the ugliest girl i have ever seen" at the age of 7 on the first day of school and later went around telling around when she started crying. jackass much?

at least he made a lasting first impression.

"soojung are you even listening to what i just said? oh never mind i think we are running late," jongin gives his hair one last comb through before grabbing his backpack off the ground. "bye soojung, don't worry i won't forget what i promised you, just wait and see!" with one last wave he runs along. "OH SEHUN YOU LITTLE COME ON WE ARE LATE STOP DALLYING!"

"Bye soojung," he shyly says before turning round and following jongin.

and that is the first time sehun acknowledges her by her name and not just "that girl" or "yah".

Not that soojung realises or bothers to know.