It was Valentine’s Day.

Couples within the student body were mostly dressed in matching shirts, of pink or sequins (yes, the males were forced to put on sequined tees). Jaejoong and Junsu were both dressed in red, to celebrate the occasion although none of them were attached.

“Today seems like a bright day,” Jaejoong commented, his two hands gripping tightly onto the heart-shaped box. Everyone who passed by him, girls and guys alike, were staring at him and his dear handmade present, wearing looks either of disgust or doubt or amazement.

Junsu cleared his throat, shielding his face from the barrage of passers-by who were discussing Jaejoong’s demeanor. “Yeah, bright day indeed.”

It was a bright morning indeed, and the two boys were headed for class. They took a detour and risked being late, but Jaejoong would do anything just so he can meet Taeyeon on the way.

And true enough, Taeyeon and Yuri were found along this exact hallway. Yuri nudged Taeyeon the moment she saw Jaejoong and Junsu. On instinct, Taeyeon’s first action was to drag Yuri away and run.

Junsu pushed Jaejoong forward, prompting him to run after her. Both guys weaved between the multitudes of students and eventually caught up with the two girls.

“Yah, Taeyeon! Why the rush?” Jaejoong called out, holding onto Taeyeon.

Taeyeon swore under her breath and turned around, plastering on one of those smiles she now called a Jaejoong smile. “I had to rush to class.”

Yuri stifled her laughter, looking away past the two bickering people. Her eyes fell onto Junsu, who stood a few metres behind Jaejoong, quietly watching the situation unfold. Junsu wasn’t wearing a smile, and Yuri found this odd. Her eyes followed the direction in which Junsu was staring intently at.

Her eyes landed on Taeyeon.

This surprise caused her to bite her tongue by accident. She let out a yelp of pain, whereby Taeyeon finally managed to leave Jaejoong’s grip and go to her friend.

“Omo. Yah, meet us at lunch alright!” Jaejoong called out again as Taeyeon supported her friend in pain and began to run.

“Yah, what’s wrong with you?” Taeyeon asked as they stopped, right outside the classroom.

Yuri caught her breath and tried to link everything together. She managed to regain her sanity and shook her head at Taeyeon. “Nothing, nothing.”

She strode away, behind Taeyeon, still muddled. Junsu. Taeyeon. Jaejoong.

Junsu. Taeyeon.

Junsu.

=

Yunho watched as everybody went about his or her daily activities, celebrating the occasion called Valentine’s Day. He smiled. It was a nice day. Love was all around.

And all he was doing was trying his best to ignore the person who lingered in his head.

He would have tried his best, but he had known from the start that he would not succeed… There was a small red box in his hands, that he had planned to gift somebody.

He strode toward the next block of lockers, where a girl stood, carefully putting and taking books in and out of her locker. He took a deep breath and quietly snuck up behind her locker door.

When Yoona was done, she shut the locker gently, turning to her left – only to find Yunho staring back at her with a shy but nonetheless big grin.

“Oh, Yunho-sshi! I’m glad to see you around, how are you…” her greeting wavered away as her eyes drifted to the red box in his hands. She inhaled sharply, hoping her gasp went unnoticed by people around her. Probably not, since all the girls in the hallway were staring at them. The hottest guy in school was gifting Yoona a red box of chocolates, not-so ostensibly shaped in hearts.

“Happy Valentine’s day,” he greeted, a feeble attempt to melt the awkward silence that took over for a while.

“Happy… Valentine’s day to you, too…” She couldn’t help but to keep staring at the box, hoping that it wouldn’t end up in her hands later.

She didn’t know why, but she felt a dark vibe rising within her. Could this be? Could this actually be?

The question marks in her head disappeared the moment he snapped his fingers in front of her eyes to claim her attention back. “This is… for you.”

She gulped and looked up at him. With a sorry look on her face, she took a very gentle step back.

“I’m sorry. I can’t take this.”

Yunho’s grin wavered. It slid off, then he tried to keep it on, but it slid off again. “Why?”

“I…”

“Yoona, it’s just a gift…”

“I have to go.”

“Yoona!”

Before she could let his call of plea get to her, she fled with all her might, running against the flow of the crowd to get out through the back exit.

And there Yunho stood, the box still in his hands, as he watched the fleeting figure of the girl he thought he could have a beautiful story with.

He has learnt many lessons before not to expect too much, but she made him feel hopeful. Too hopeful.

The stares from the crowd around him only built up his pain. He felt foolish for being there at that moment. He felt foolish for ever having tried.

“Why are you so disappointed?” an inner voice asked. “It’s just a gift, right? You just wanted to be friendly to a friend, right? She’s Yoona, you’re Yunho, and it’ll always be like that, right?”

Maybe not.

=

Taeyeon edged out of the classroom warily, as though someone would spring out and cast a bad surprise on her. Yuri gave her a look and strode past her onto the empty hallway. “Please walk like a normal person and not embarrass yourself, Taeng.”

“Yah, you’re not that normal yourself!”

“I’m content with being a lot more normal than you are.”

“Yah, you—“

“So, anyway, did you prepare a present for Junsu in the end? Or Jaejoong? Or whoever you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

“You know, if you weren’t my best friend, I’d have stabbed you eleven times and thrown you into a woodchipper for all these sarcastic jokes you’re making of me.”

Yuri feigned a dramatic gasp and pouted. “But… don’t you love me?”

Taeyeon smacked her head away. “About your question earlier on – I didn’t prepare nor bring any gift today.”

“Good move. So you’re not giving anybody anything?”

“Nope. You’re right. I’ll appear like a creep if I give Junsu something.”

“You’ve turned smarter.”

“But not smart enough to avoid this lunch with Jaejoong, damn!”

“Hey, on the bright side, Junsu’s there too.”

“Oh… yeah.”