It was hard, Mi-Hyun thought, to like someone when they were barely around

Second year of high school had started without a glitch, and had quickly escalated into mountains of work and assignments, in preparation for their third year, when all students would be sitting their college entrance exams.

Mr Kim had remained their home room teacher, but he was like a completely different person. ‘Do not forget to hand in your history assignment tomorrow,’ he pressed every day. ‘And don’t you dare to forget to do your math homework, or to study for your English test.’ His grey streaks in his hair increased and there were wrinkles around his eyes. Apparently the stress was getting to him too.

Hyorin and Kyungsoo…well, they were as close as can be. But the saddest thing was they could never truly get what they wanted, which was to be together, as a true couple.

Ga-In was still being smart and staying away from boys. ‘Who needs a man,’ she had confided with Mi-Hyun, ‘When you’ve got family and friends?’

And Baekhyun, Baekhyun-when it came to Baekhyun, Mi-Hyun had very mixed feelings.

On one hand, she was ecstatic that EXO was becoming more and more popular. No one was happier than she.

But with popularity came more and more activites and promotions, which cut into Baekhyun’s school time and days with her.

In the back of her heart, there was a spot that itched, but she was afraid if she scratched it, all the love she felt would come pouring out.

Also, Baekhyun had fans. Girl fans. Girls screaming at him to marry them, to have their babies. Mi-Hyun saw them on TV, saw them on the streets, saw them outside of the school and inside the school. They made her feel defensive, and protective, and everything else a girlfriend should feel when there were a million other girls lusting after their boyfriend. And on top of this, Mi-Hyun felt angry at herself because she wasn’t even his girlfriend.

And this was the very fact she reminded herself as another boy looked at her from across the room, watched her, looked her up and down, smiled at her, and this was the fact she used to ease the guilty nagging in her heart when she realised she wasn't stopping him.

~~~

‘Hey.’

Mi-Hyun looked up surprised, into the tired face of Baekhyun. Her mind absently noticed his cheeks seemed hollower.

‘Hey!’ she energetically replied, moving over to make room for him. ‘Hey,' she repeated slowly. 'No promotions today?’

‘Nope,’ Baekhyun said. ‘I’m here.’

He gave her an exhausted smile and Mi-Hyun’s pulled heart was itching. She reached out for his hand instinctively but changed course halfway when she realised what she was doing. She reached for a stack of papers next to him instead, to cover up her mistake.

‘What are those?’ Baekhyun asked curiously. Mi-Hyun looked down at the photo on the first sheet. She sighed.

‘The freshmen who want to join the school newspaper. I’m meant to be interviewing them tomorrow.’

Baekhyun moved closer and Mi-Hyun felt her blood rushing to her ears.

‘Don’t pick her, she's got bad hair...’

‘Baekhyun! Geez, don’t judge a person based on their looks.’

‘That’s what you always say…’ Baekhyun grinned at Mi-Hyun fondly, their faces less than 15cm apart from each other. It was the closest ‘I missed you’ he was allowed to say.

Mi-Hyun swallowed it whole.

~~~

To Baekhyun’s credit, it was barely five minutes into the lesson when he noticed. All that training seemed to have made his eyes sharper.

‘Baekhyun…Baekhyun, stop nudging me!’

‘Who’s that guy?’

His sharp whisper made Mi-Hyun glance up from her work. She squinted at him. ‘Who?’

Baekhyun pointed to the corner of the room, to a guy with jet black hair and wide shoulders.

 ‘He was staring at you earlier,’ he said. There was something burning in his eyes. ‘He smiled at you. Do you know him?’

Mi-Hyun tried to avoid Baekhyun’s accusing eyes. ‘His name is Minho. Jung Minho.’

‘Why was he looking at you?’

At this, Mi-Hyun started to feel irritation creeping up her spine.

‘Is he not allowed to look at me?’ she whispered fiercely back. ‘What’s wrong with guys looking at me? I don’t have a boyfriend.’

Baekhyun looked rather taken back at her outburst. Then he narrowed his eyes. ‘You’re right,’ he said. ‘You don’t have a boyfriend. You can do whatever you-’

‘MR BYUN.’

Baekhyun faltered as Mr Kim’s shadow draped over the table. He leant ever so slightly back as Mr Kim boomed, ‘I should think you would be giving your all in class considering how many times  have even come to school this term. Please see me after class.’

Baekhyun was silent. When the bell rang for lunch, Mi-Hyun angrily swung her bag onto her shoulder and marched out of the classroom. She didn’t see Baekhyun gazing regretfully after her.

~~~

 As angry as Mi-Hyun was, she still went to the roof.

After all, Baekhyun was still her friend and a fight didn't change that. As she sat down, she tucked her legs under her skirt. A lump formed in  .

She hadn't seen Baekhyun for nearly a week and the first proceeded to do was fight. What kind of a friends was that? What kind of support was that? But to notice Minho staring at her and to be bothered so much about it...it meant he liked her, right?

But there were so many other girls...people who followed him more closely than Mi-Hyun probably would, girls who liked him so much they became obsessed...could she have the courage to stand up to that?

She wanted to touch him so badly. Mi-Hyun blushed at her thought. But she wanted to touch him so badly.

She wanted to his pale cheeks, to kiss life back into them, run her hands through his face and pull his body close to hers and to finally place her lips on his. 

But she couldn't. She couldn't even make the first move if she plucked up the courage to because she couldn't bring herself to be selfish enough to risk ruining Baekhyun's career.

And now she couldn't even see him and when she did, they started fighting. God.

Mi-Hyun was going crazy.

She ran up to the railing and shouted in frustration. The wind whipped her voice away from her and she released another shout. It felt so good. Then another and another, unintelligable things, until was hoarse. When she leant back, she realised she had release all her stress as well.

Mi-Hyun heard footsteps and turned around.

'Hey.'

Baekhyun stood awkwardly against the door. Mi-Hyun looked away, still pretending to be mad. He hesitated then strode towards her. He approached from three metres away, then two, then one and Mi-Hyun thought he was going to stop and say something but Baekhyun kept on walking, with a purposeful look on his face.

'What-'

Mi-Hyun was cut off when two strong arms wrapped around her. She had a flashback back to when Baekhyun had first touched her neck when he tied her tie. His fingertips had burned. Now her whole torso felt like it had been set on fire. But you know, joyfully. If that made any sense. Her face was on his collarbone (he wasn't that much taller than her) and she took a breath. He smelt like something light and sweet. Like a male.

Baekhyun's abrupt hug only lasted for a second and all too soon, he drew away, leaving Mi-Hyun feeling weirdly cold. His face was red and he clenched his two hands at his side, as if he couldn’t trust what they would do.

‘Um,’ Baekhyun said. ‘Um.’

Mi-Hyun raised an eyebrow, trying to act cool although she was anything but. ‘Yes?’

‘I’m sorry,’ Baekhyun said quickly. He looked relieved he finally got the words out but Mi-Hyun wasn’t going to let him off the hook so easily.

‘What for?’

Baekhyun nervously tapped his right foot. ‘For you know…for getting angry and snapping at you.’

‘Why were you angry?’

‘Because…’ Baekhyun threw her a frustrated look. ‘You know why.’

‘No,’ Mi-Hyun said. ‘I don’t. Tell me.’

Baekhyun looked at her forlornly. ‘You know I’m not allowed to.’

‘Then I can’t accept your apology.’ Mi-Hyun turned to leave but Baekhyun grabbed her sleeve.

‘Wait! I got angry, okay…I’m gone for a couple of weeks and suddenly a new guy is ing on you…it’s enough to make any guy pissed, alright?’

‘He was not ing on me,’ Mi-Hyun retorted. ‘ And you still haven’t told me why. Why did you get angry?’

‘I can’t tell you.’

‘Fine then.’ Mi-Hyun turned and walked away. She walked no more than ten steps when Baekhyun’s angry voice made her stop in her tracks. Stabbed through her heart and anchored her feet.

‘I thought you're my friend,’ he said, a little unsteadily. ‘I thought out of everyone who relies on me, you would be the one I could always turn back to, the one who didn’t change. Over the past two weeks, all I’d thought was, if I survived my schedule, I could finally go to school and talk to you. And now you’re walking away from me like everybody else.’

Mi-Hyun counted her options in her head:

1) Go back and forgive Baekhyun. Slip in an apology in the end for not understanding.

2) Tell option 1 to go to hell. Tell him she had enough of understanding, of making ends meet on her side. Tell him if he wanted this friendship to continue, he would have to do something about it.

3) Turn around and compromise. Because compromising worked in Autumn Rain.

4) But her life wasn't a drama. It was about a real girl who was in a dilemma.

All Mi-Hyun could do was force her right foot in front of her, then her left foot, then right again to presume walking. She opened the door and closed it. Not angrily, not lightly. Just closed it. She climbed down the stairs, leaving her heart behind on top of the world with a boy who wouldn't take it down with him. He made her carry it. So Mi-Hyun grew tired and she left.

Going down, down, down from the roof.

A/N: So yeah, remember when I said there would be wifi in China? Hmm....no. So sorry guys for the late update, to be fair, I did write it a fair while ago (on a word document) I just couldn't post it until I got back to Australia, which was yesterday. Tell me what you think and thank you as always for reading :)