JESSICA'S POV

The melody was calming and all thoughts about having people watch us as we sing started to vanish, especially since Hae is looking me straight in the eye, holding my gaze, my hand...

And my heart.

I've been living with a shadow overhead,
I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed,
I've been lonely for so long,
Trapped in the past,
I just can't seem to move on!

I started to sing the first line of the song. I couldn't help but think about my situation right now—how the lyrics embodies my past emotions.

It was his turn to sing and I felt his thumb gently make circles on my hand that he's holding. I don't know why, but I find the gesture so intimate. And because of this, I couldn't help but to turn crimson.

Just as the chorus part came, he let go of my hand and placed his hand on my chin, tilting it and making me look straight into his eyes once again.

All I wanna do is find a way back into love.
I can't make it through without a way back into love.
 

I froze in place. I couldn't seem to make my hands lift the microphone I was holding nor make my lips open and produce some sound.

Upon seeing my situation, Hae smiled bigger than before—making his eyes look like slits on his face. The view made my heart flutter and my face even redder.

His hand slowly fell and made its way to mine, intertwining them once again. Embarrassment took the best of me, so I faced the floor while singing.

But wait. I shouldn't be embarrassed about this. I should take advantage of this situation. With much gathered strength, I raised my head and looked back at him while singing...

I know that it's out there,
There's gotta be something for my soul somewhere

The message of the song was on point to what I was feeling.

I want to know that if ever I start to open my heart to him, to break down the walls I built around it, will he know what to do? Will he be able to fix it completely, or rather, fill in the gap? 'Cause I am damn sure that if his answer to all those questions are yes, then I will stay by his side 'till the end.

And after that, the both of us were beaming with happiness up until the ending of the song—cheekily smiling at one another, totally forgetting about our teacher and classmates' presence.

It was only when they started clapping and shouting when we popped out of our bubble, causing my face to redden once again.

I looked at Hae through my lashes and he was also bending down his head. And his ears also turned red! How adorable! I just want to squish him, but then again, he's waaaaay bigger than me.

When the noises started to die down, the teacher took over once again, hugging the two of them.

"Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you sing. Singing isn't just about opening your mouth and producing sounds that could hit proper notes or whatsoever. What makes singing good are the feelings that would float along with the melody. And that duet was beyond amazing. Not only did the two of them harmonized and blended together well, they also filled the song with feelings. Of course, the love and affection the two of you have for each other didn't go unnoticed, right class?", I could feel my face getting hotter because of her statement.

"The accompaniment, Seohyun dear, was perfect. Thank you.", she finished and starts to turn her back, walking to the direction of her seat.

However, she stopped and looked back at us once again, "And by the way, go get a room! Just kidding. Again, you two were amazing. That was beyond my expectation. Thank you, and you may take your seat now."

We took our seat while our faces were still flushed red. It was embarrassing for other people to have witnessed that scene involving the two of us, but something inside of me is eerily happy about it. 

Well, not to lie, but I'm specifically pertaining to a certain someone whom we'd just all, for the sake of hiding their identity, Yoona. 

Yeah. I know. Creative and not to mention secretive.

The class went on as usual, but the atmosphere between me and Hae wasn't. I don't know if it was because of the stare off that had taken place or because of the way our shoulders are touching right now.

I'm feeling all tingly inside--my heart beating rapidly and other indescribable sensations in my chest and stomach. And I can even feel my face heating up.

Maybe I've gone mad. Or is it my time of the month? Hormonal imbalance, aye?

I keep on stealing glances of him through my lashes, as I act like I'm paying attention to the things discussed in front, nodding and answering with yes or no. 

He caught me looking at him, and smiled at me. And that was when I felt him lean closer to me, leaving no space in between us, not even air. 

Since, our seats weren't really that far apart, the room being too crowded causing the seats to be compressed with one another as possible because many attended this class, it would appear as if half of my body is resting on his.

Being the low key chic that I am, I slowly leaned unto him too, causing three-fourths of my body to be completely pressed to his. 

Nobody seemed to notice, since their attention was to the teacher who was discussing something I no longer understand-- my mind's somewhere out there. 

Despite the bold move I've done, I was still shy. I keep on fidgeting, my hands on my lap. Hae must have noticed it 'cause one of his hands held mine, causing me to look at him in question. Again, he just smiled at me as his hold became tighter.

We remained in that position for the rest of the period-- comfy and happy.

When we're about to leave, I saw our teacher talking to someone. It wasn't clear since they were in the part of the room where the curtain of the instruments section was placed, partially covering the people there, but I'm pretty sure the figure was that of a girl. 

With the thought out of mind, we proceeded to heading to the cafeteria. I find it odd that none of the girls were giving me the teasing look, it's pretty unusual actually.

Back when Jae and I started going out, they didn't stop giving me the look for almost a month. And even after that, they were still making a big deal out of every little sweet gesture he would make towards me. 

See how this is pretty odd? 

But why am I even overthinking about this? I should just probably take it as them being mature and just be happy that I get to live a peaceful life. 

.

.

.

Days have passed and almost everything is going smoothly 

The rumors, or news rather, spread out so fast. Almost the whole school is aware that something's going on between me and Hae. 

Wait. Do we really have something in between us? I, too, am not sure. All I know is that he's acting extra sweet when we're together, treating me like I'm a fragile little girl. 

I know, I know. I'm a feminist, and I do believe that I should be a strong, independent woman who can stand on her own and not rely on a guy.But there's this heartwarming feeling every time he takes care of me. During those times, all I want to be is a little girl who needs caring. 

At the same time, he make me feel like I could be the person that I want to be, be myself, be able to make mistakes and fall. He makes me feel like I'm beautiful. 

He makes me feel like I can finally..

Put my guard down.

Melt the ice.

And break the walls that I've built to protect my heart.

He makes me feel like I can reveal my sober heart. 

Despite this, however, my insecurities are eating me up. What if this won't last? What if she's just a substitute? What if.. her presumption about Yoona and Hae is true? What if it wasn't them, she and Hae, who had something, but he and Yoona? What if she's just assuming and putting meaning to his petty gestures? 

So many what ifs are on my mind, but I choose to brush them off. Hae is nothing but sweet to me, so why should I let some doubt ruin something that's running smoothly? 

The both of us are almost blockmates, taking up the same subjects, so it isn't hard for me to watch over him. Of course my jealous side would take the best of me. I wanted to guard him, I would even fence him if I could, but I choose not to go overboard.

I was starting to be selfish wherever he is involved. I'm only holding on to the little string of self-control that I have in me so that I wouldn't handcuff Hae to me. Obsessive? No. Crazy? Maybe. 

Crazy over him. <3

But being the girl that I am, all of these are only inside of my head. I'm not capable of putting such thoughts into actions. I'm too timid, and I grew up being conservative. 

Maybe it was because of the duet we did, but the whole school started calling us the Crooning Couple. 

[A/N: Crooning means singing or humming in a sentimental manner.]

It was just calm at first, like people were just shipping us. However, the moment that Hae decided to transfer seats to the ones beside me, a commotion started and people were really making a huge fuss about it. There were even those who started a page for us which contained stolen shots of us being together. 

Ahemm. I saved some photos that has him looking at me, me looking at him, and the two of us looking at each other.

What? I find it cute. Don't judge me. 

Somehow, though, my insecure side started to subside, and I kind of got the comfort that made me feel at ease. 

Hae and I never talked about it. We just let things flow. 

AUTHOR'S POV

Everything was going on smoothly. The both of them were getting along just fine, no problems whatsoever. They were happy of what's happening, of the things they're sharing.

The whole school is happy too. There are also couples here and there, but none of them were from the two highly respected and idolized group of friends. And to think that both of them were from the said groups only made the situation a big deal. If they were celebrated as individuals, the fondness of the people only grew more when they were together.

It's like they're watching a korean drama, but this time, in real life. Imagine two good -looking people dating, singing in front of each other-- for each other and acting all sweet. There are moments when you just want to look around and check if there's a shooting going on. Them singing together made it feel like they had a soundtrack of their own.

But despite the vast number of people who's celebrating the "union" of the two, there's this one person out to seek revenge and ruin everything. Someone who wants to hinder the blossoming of a relationship, the creation of a fruitful love story.

She didn't care what would happen. She wants him back. He's fallen for her once, it's not hard to make him fall for her the second time around. She's his first love, this she knows. And as the saying goes, first love never dies.

She's thirsty for blood. She's going to kill the love that's yet to mature. 

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I at updating. I know.. I know. But I swear. I'm going to write as much as I can when my final exams are done. I'm terribly sorry if I kept you guys waiting for months. Please read the post on my wall, and if you want, you can contact me. Thank you!

xoxo,

DM

P.S Yes. I do love conflicts. Lol