[CONTENTID1] Chapter 2 [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] “Today was fun, right?” Min Young said, in a final attempt to have a conversation with Jeongguk.

“You just don’t want to quit, do you?” He asked, smiling at her.

“You smiled. You smiled. So you do know how to smile!” She said. She was surprised he even answered, but a smile? It was the best answer she could have received.

“Ah, really.”

“I am sorry for being so persistent. But you’re the first person I met since I got here and I… I really wanted us to get along.”

She gazed down at her admission. He smiled again. *Well, this is something new. Someone wants to get along with me.*

Jeongguk had always been the silent type of person. He didn’t talk much and he didn’t really have any friends. He thought people would mock him if they were to find out he was living in an orphanage, so he never bothered to get along with other teenagers. And no one until now had tried to get along with him either. But there was something about this girl that made him want to talk to her. And so he did.

“Can I ask a question?” He said, measuring her from head to toe.

“Sure, sure. Any question.”

Jeongguk didn’t really have a question to ask, but since the first words that came to his mouth were the ones above, he had to come up with a question. *Think fast Jeongguk, think fast.*

“At what age did you stop growing? You’re so short.” He said, as he let out a small chuckle.

“Oh. So you ignore me for 5 hours and when you finally talk to me you tease me. She said, and gazed down again. *And exactly about my height.* She said to herself.

*You and your stupid mouth. Stupid Jeon Jeongguk.*

“I was joking, I’m sorry.” He grabbed his jacket and his backpack and started to walk toward the exit. He only took two steps, then turned around and asked:

“Are you coming?” She looked up at him and froze. The first thought that crossed her mind was this: *He is so handsome. Wait, what? No, no, no.*

“Well?” He asked again.

“Yes, I’m coming.” She nodded, as she gulped.

She followed him quietly. None of them spoke until they arrived at the school gate.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” He said.

“Yes, I guess so. I mean, yes. We are classmates after all, right?”

“Yes, we are. See you tomorrow.”

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He turned around and left. *She wants to get along. Why would she want to get along with me? It must be because she doesn’t know.” He had decided a long time ago he would not tell or let anyone find out he was living at an orphanage. This time it had to be different.

 He was tired of being alone. He was always alone. Even the kids from the orphanage used to run away from him because after he found out about his mom he confessed to an elder boy that he thought of as a friend, but shortly after he had did s