My breath stopped at my throat. Sung Joon?

I recognized him from yesterday. The messy-but-styled-nicely hair, those thick eyebrows and big eyes from action manhwas, those lips that forever seemed to be amused at something. He told me that he was my age alright, but it did not occur to me at all that he would be in this school, let alone in the same class as I will be in. From his face, I could tell that he too was surprised that I was here. Who would have thought that I would actually get to meet the same stranger who made my heart thump?

From the corner of my eyes, I detected a waving motion next to his seat and I was shocked yet again.

“Jong Suk-ah?!” I gasped.

He mouthed, “We meet again,” and he smiled.

The teacher, a Park Ki Woong Sungseng-nim, announced, “Since everywhere else is filled, why don’t you sit at the back, Kim Sun-shii?”He motioned to the desk at the far corner of class, right behind…that idiot Ahn Jae Hyun.

“Ah, yes,” I nodded and made my way. I could see Jae Hyun snickering at me from afar.

If I sit there, my view is probably gonna get blocked by that idiotic tower. Maybe I could kick him to make him lean backwards a bit and just–

My foot got caught on someone’s bag’s strap and I almost tripped if not for the owner’s arm that kept me steady. A few rumbles of giggles went through the whole class.

“Be careful,” said a familiar-sounding voice.

I nodded to the person, “Sorry and than– RC boy?!” my eyes got bigger. It was indeed the same boy that I’d met at the park yesterday! He was not wearing a cap, but I could recognize his facial features still.

His eyes widened. I could see that he just recognized me too. “Ah, it’s you, huh.”

“Yes, yes! We’ll chat more later, okay?” I quickly muttered as I heard the teacher starting homeroom.

I crept my way to my seat and settled in. No sooner than five minutes had passed that I realized I was never going to learn anything if I sat there. That idiot Ahn Jae Hyun was tall, and the person in front of him was taller. If I tried sneaking to my left, Jong Suk and that RC boy would be blocking my view. What, do I have to teleport to the window to see the blackboard?!

My constant shifting in my seat must have been more distracting for the teacher since – after a lengthy talk about an incoming soccer competition and some club needing more people to recruit – Park Sungseng-nim suddenly asked, “Is everything alright, Kim Sun-shii?”

Just like that, all eyes were on me, even Jae Hyun side-glanced at me with wary eyes. Might as well, I thought, “I’m sorry Sungseng-nim, but I can’t really see the blackboard from here.”

He blinked a couple of times before he clapped his hands in realization. “Oh, right! How silly of me,” he frowned, looking apologetic. “I forgot that I had the towers sit there, and now you have them blocking your view.”

I smiled. “Neh.”

I heard some female whispers that went off, like;-

“She has the best seat and she complains?!”

“She must be blind.”

“Be quiet! Just let her change her seat already!”

“Yeah! I’m getting jealous to see her so close to them!”

Them? Who’s them? I cleared my throat, “Can I change my seat?”

A whole lot of hands shot up in the air. I noted that they were all girls, and I suspected they were the same girls whispering around a minute ago. Just like that, chaotic shouts erupted in the classroom. From the noise they were making, I would have thought this class was a wild zoo!

“Me! ME! I’LL TRADE MY SEAT WITH HERR!!” one girl hollered. Girl, where’re your manners in front of the boys? Tsk, tsk.

“She should sit here! At this very front seat!” Ah, hell naw! No way I’d take that seat!

“Pick me, Sungseng-nim! She can change seats with me!” Err… That’s just the other back corner of the class, girl. Nuh-uh.

“I VOLUNTEER TO TRADE SEATS WITH HER!” …did she just make a parody of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games? Puhahaha!

“Settle down, girls! Settle down!” the poor teacher tried to calm the girls with their uncontrollable hormones.

He was already breaking into cold sweat, but from the resigned look in his eyes, it seemed as if he deals with this every day! For what? For these boys in front of me? Dear God, it’s no wonder that I hear most boys are so scared to approach girls when they’re this hormonal…!

I sighed. Now I feel so guilty for bringing up the change in the seating arrangements. “Sungseng-nim…” I stood up to cancel it out.

One male voice calmly voiced out above the rest, “She can have my seat.”

All the girls were silent. They looked shocked at the male’s offer. Not only that, the boy’s friends were caught by the surprise as well, their eyes going round and their mouths gaped open. Heck, I was sure that my eyes were round and my mouth was gaping too!

The boy was still smiling, and he repeated his words, “She can have my seat. At least, if I sit at the back, I would still be able to see the front, compared to her. Is that okay with you, Sungseng-nim?”

Park Ki Woong Sungseng-nim broke into a relieved smile. “That’s a brilliant suggestion, Jong Suk-shii. Fine, you may trade seats with her. Make sure you do it before first period, okay?”

Jong Suk just nodded, “Understood, Sungseng-nim.”

With that, the teacher concluded homeroom and just before he stepped out of the class, he called out, “Oh, Kim Sun-shii?”

“Neh?” I asked, halfway sitting back down on my seat.

I could swear that his smile just transformed into a grin as his eyes twinkled in mischief, “I wish you the best of luck as the new kid.” And he left.

“Ehh? What does he mean by that?” I asked aloud, plopping down.