Fifth period began and I was still wondering why Mir, Minhyuk and the rest of the population here were so crazy about Junhyung. The entire class flocked to his side while we waited for the teacher to arrive, leaving me to Lee Joon, who picked up where he had left off the day before. I gave him only half of my attention. I must confess that the other half drifted to the other side of the room, where Junhyung was sitting and talking to the blond boy I had seen in the cafeteria.

Junhyung didn’t try to speak to me and I wasn’t quite sure whether to be sorry about that or glad. Of course, I disliked him and had no desire for his company. On the other hand, he owed me an apology after almost knocking me down.

“…would you?” Joon’s voice cut into my thoughts and I realized he was waiting for an answer. I also realized that I had no idea what he had just asked me.

“I’m sorry, Joon. I guess my mind was wandering,” I began and at that moment the late bell rang.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he whispered, my hand. I had an uneasy feeling that Woonie’s warnings about him were for good reason.

Joon tried to talk to me again after chemistry but I managed to escape before he could tell me what was on his mind. When the final bell rang an hour later, I made one last trip to my locker, silently congratulating myself for lasting through the day without any further disasters. Unfortunately, my relief was premature. Junhyung stood at his locker putting away his books. I was a little surprised to see him. I was sure he would be staying late for football practice. Too late, I remembered Doojoon told Dongwoon that the team would just review game films today and leave early.

There was no way to avoid him. I boldly marched up to my locker and dropped to my knees, wishing for the dozenth time that Woonie had gotten us a different locker. A minute later I heard Junhyung’s locker door slam shut and at the same time I felt a sharp yank on my hair.

“Ouch!” I yelled.

Junhyung had started to walk away but he turned back when he heard me.

“What’s with you?” he asked.

“My hair! It’s caught in your locker door!”

“Well, well, well,” Junhyung said. A wicked smirk spread across his face. “This is an interesting situation, isn’t it?”

“Very funny,” I said as calmly as I could go. “Please let me go.”

He looked down to me, still smirking, “Now, why would I want to do a thing like that?”

“Let me go!” I repeated, more angrily this time.

“Oh, I’ll let you go in a few minutes,” Junhyung replied. He sat down on the floor next to me and leisurely leaned back against the row of lockers. “But I think I’ll let all the school traffic leave first, before I set demolition Yoseob free to terrorize the highways.”

“Let me go, Jinwoon!” The words were out before I realized what I was saying.

Junhyung raised his eyebrows. “Jinwoon? Who’s Jinwoon? I’m Junhyung the Neanderthal, remember?”

“Are you going to let me go or not?” I demanded through my clenched teeth.

“Not until you tell me who Jinwoon is,” Junhyung said.

“Jinwoon is an obnoxious jerk!” I snapped.

“Oh. No wonder you got us mixed up.”

I scowled at him. “Will you please let me go before I miss my bus?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you rode the bus?” Junhyung leaped to his feet with agility. He opened his locker and released my hair. I grabbed my books, jumped up and ran for the door, reaching it just in time to see the last of the buses drive away.

“Thanks a lot,” I groaned as Junhyung reached the door only a few steps behind me. “Now I’ll have to try to find Woonie and see if he can give me a ride home.”

“It’s my fault you missed the bus,” Junhyung said. “I’ll drive you home.”

“No, thanks. I’ve seen you drive remember? I’d feel much safer with Woonie,” I told him, heading for the parking lot.

Junhyung kept pace with me. “Why are you riding the bus, anyway?”

“My-my car isn’t fixed yet,” I lied. I hadn’t even told Woonie that I was afraid to drive and I certainly wasn’t going to tell Junhyung.

I reached the lot just in time to see Dongwoon easing his car out of its parking space.

“Oh, no!” I wailed. Tightening my grip on my books. I raced across the stretch of asphalt that separated me from Woonie’s car. I chased after it, yanked the back door open and dove for the backseat while the car was still moving.

“I need a ride home,” I panted, climbing over the seat back and tumbling forward into the front.

Looking to the rear window, I saw Junhyung raise one hand in a careless wave as he headed for his Mustang. Dongwoon waved at him but I turned my back to the window.

“That was rude, Hyung,” Dongwoon scolded me.

“I know,” I replied with a malicious smile. “Say, Woonie, do you know what class meets fourth period in Mr. Heo’s room?”

“Yeah, it’s trig. Junhyung was on his way to trig when he ran into you.”

“How did you know about that?” I asked taken by surprise.

“Doojoon told me about it. He came into the room behind Junhyung. He said Junhyung was really afraid he’d hurt you. You know, it sounded sort of sweet and romantic.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, it was wonderful. Almost as romantic as being run over by a truck.”

But that wasn’t quite true. The way Junhyung had helped me. For a moment I felt confused. Then I felt sudden rush of anger. First Junhyung had wrecked my car and that was bad enough. But it was nothing compared to what he was doing to my peace of mind!