Yoona looked around the classroom, smiling. 30 students sat at their desks writing, completely focused on their work. Good. Yoona sighed happily and sat down at her own desk, opening up a book and picking up a pen. The peace didn’t last long, though.

“Teacher Im, help me!” A chubby girl with pigtails named Ari shouted at Yoona from her desk in the back of the classroom. Yoona walked over to Ari and knelt down to help her with her spelling.

A knock at the door. Yoona looked up, sighing. It was probably the principal or another teacher. As if her day hadn’t been busy enough. The door swung open, and Yoona stood up to greet whoever stood on the other side. Her eyes widened as she saw who it was.

Sehun. He stood tall in the doorway, a slight smile on his face as he looked over at Yoona. His arms were folded and he wore a low-cut cotton t-shirt and jeans. His hair shone gold in the sunlight from the hallway. What exactly was he doing here? Yoona raised her eyebrows at him in confusion. It was against the rules for teachers to have guests in class.

Sehun smiled over at her calmly, and walked over to where she stood by the table. Yoona looked at her students, sitting in their seats and staring at the stranger who had just walked through the doors. Ari spoke first. “Teacher Im, is this your boyfriend? Wah, he’s handsome!” Several of her students giggled.

Yoona blushed, and she looked away from Sehun in embarrassment. “Ari, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s no one, children. Do your work.” She didn't feel like explaining the complication between her and Sehun. It would be confusing for a child. Ari grinned at her, shaking her head.

“No, he’s your boyfriend, teacher. Don’t lie!” The class burst into laughter, and Yoona felt her face reddening as she looked up at Sehun again. He looked amused as always, his eyes fixed on Ari, but didn’t seem affected by her comment.

 “Ari, why do you think I’m your teacher’s boyfriend?”

Before Ari could answer, Yoona grabbed Sehun’s arm and guided him out of the classroom. She pushed him out into the hallway and closed the door behind them. She glared up at him, folding her arms. “What are you doing here?” She tried to sound frustrated, but she secretly felt pleased to have Ari call Sehun her boyfriend.

Sehun gave her a half-smile, his face dimpling. “Luhan hyung sent me. He says we should eat dinner together today.”

Yoona’s heart skipped a beat. They would be eating together again? The three of them? It was hard to deny the rush of happiness that bubbled up inside her.  Yoona wasn’t sure why she was so excited. It was just dinner after all. But it was definitely something to do with the fact that she would be spending it with… the man standing in front of her. She nodded coolly at Sehun, who stood regarding her with a slight smile, arms still folded.

“Alright, I’ll see you at dinner. I’m going back inside now.” She ducked her head and reached for the doorknob. Before she could open the door, Sehun grabbed her arm. Yoona’s breath caught in and she turned to look back at him. His grip loosened on her elbow. He looked almost uncomfortable. “Can I stay with you until you finish class?”

Yoona released the breath that she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. She gulped, nodding slowly. “Ah… alright then. You might get a little bored.” He shrugged, his face dimpling again, and released his light grip on her arm. Yoona opened the door and headed back inside.

It was difficult to continue teaching the class with Sehun hovering at the back of the classroom, his tall figure always hanging on the edge of her vision. For the rest of the hour until class ended, he stood in one position, lounging lazily against a shelf of books. He seemed to be observing the class, smiling when Yoona stumbled over her words or made a mistake.

The students, even more than Yoona, were distracted by the tall man at the back of the classroom. “Hey, teacher Im’s boyfriend! What’s your name?” Ari, shouting as usual, turned around to stare at Sehun. He laughed at her, kindly, but did not reply. His eyes flickered forward to face the front of the classroom again, as if he was paying attention to Yoona.

When at last the bell rang for the end of school, the students left the classroom in a rush, calling goodbyes to Sehun. He waved at them, his face crinkling into a smile. Yoona was surprised to see this side of the cold Oh Sehun; usually, he was a person who rejected emotions, and he wore a seemingly permanent bored expression. Or else he looked as if he was sharing a secret joke with himself. Yoona shook her head wonderingly. Oh Sehun was such a confusing person. And he was becoming more and more interesting to her.

They left the school together, and Yoona explained with embarrassment that she didn’t have a car. They would have to walk to the restaurant together. The sun was already beginning to set, and it had suddenly turned very cold.

Sehun walked beside her without a word, close enough for their arms to brush. Yoona almost jerked away, but stopped herself, realising she was overreacting. Sehun’s skin was cold where it touched hers, and she noticed he was shivering. No wonder; he was only wearing his thin cotton t-shirt. Yoona sighed and took off her jacket; she was wearing a thick jumper underneath. Knowing he would reject it, Yoona reached up and wrapped it around his shoulders instead of handing it to him. It was difficult with the height difference. Sehun glanced down at her, the surprise evident on his face. He nodded gratefully, and drew the jacket closer around himself.

At that moment, his phone began to ring. Sehun took it out from his pocket and answered. “Yeobosayo?” His face brightened as he spoke to the person on the other end, then suddenly it crumpled. He looked almost disappointed, but it was difficult to read his expressions. They had stopped walking.

“Oh, alright hyung. I’ll tell her. Bye.” Sehun hung up. He looked over at Yoona with a frown, and she braced herself for the news.

“It’s Luhan hyung. He says he’s busy in the office tonight, so he’s cancelled the dinner.”

It was exactly what she had expected. Yoona couldn’t help but feel annoyed that Luhan had left them, yet again.

She was even more disappointed when Sehun told her that he would go home, instead of spending time with her like he had last time. But then again, what had she expected? The past hour had already seemed too good to be true.

Yoona watched Sehun’s back sadly as he walked down the shadowed street, his hands shoved inside his pockets. He had returned her jacket, and Yoona held its warmth to her. She felt more alone than ever, first her boyfriend had abandoned her and now his best friend.

Yoona took her phone from her pocket and dialled the only person she could think of.

“Oh, Sooyoung-ah. Can you come out for pizza?”

Of course, being her reliable best friend, Sooyoung arrived 10 minutes later, sensing her best friend was distraught. They met at a nearby pizza shop, where Yoona ordered massive servings of pizza. When she was depressed, she ate, and eat she did. Even Sooyoung widened her eyes at the amount of food that awaited her on the table, where Yoona sat alone glumly.

“Yoongie, what’s the matter?” Sooyoung slid into the bench beside Yoona, the concern evident in her tone. She studied Yoona with wide eyes.

“It’s your boyfriend isn’t it? Don’t tell me he ditched you again.” Now she sounded frustrated, as she always did when Luhan upset her best friend. Yoona nodded mutely. Sooyoung shook her head in disbelief. “Jerk.” She sighed and leaned back, folding her arms.

Yoona shrugged, eyes downcast. “Luhannie isn’t a jerk. He just forgets about me sometimes. I understand he’s busy at work.” She forced a smile and looked up at Sooyoung. “It’s nothing, let’s eat.”

Sooyoung frowned and shook her head again “He’s definitely a jerk, Yoong! How many times has it been already? Haven’t you had enough of him yet? Aish, doesn’t he know how much you like him?”

Yoona shrugged again, nibbling on a slice of pizza. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Soo.” She placed a hand on Sooyoung’s arm, and forced another smile. “It really doesn’t.” She sighed inwardly. If only it were true.