"Hey..." Yoochun lifted his hand for a weak wave, "I came to pick up my dongsaeng." 

      Yonghwa brushed past Seohyun, bumping into her shoulder. 

      "I'm leaving," he mumbled, "The rest of you guys go on without me."

      Yonghwa put his arm around his hyung and forcibly pushed Yoochun away from his friends.

      "Nice going, Seohyun," Chanyeol sighed.

      "Seohyun-ah," Jessica held her hand, "Are you okay? You seem really stressed out. What happened?"

      "I really don't have time to explain," Seohyun answered, pulling her hand away from Jessica, "Sorry."

      On her walk back home, Seohyun couldn't believe herself. She had said that in front of Yoochun oppa! She was humiliated at the very thought! She halted in her tracks.

      "Ugh," she groaned and let out a rage by stomping her feet on the ground, "AHHH!"

      "Excuse me? Are you alright?" 

      Seohyun stopped.

      She faced a tall, handsome stranger who had stopped his bike after hearing Seohyun venting out her anger.

      Seohyun closed her eyes shut tightly. Why? Her day couldn't possibly get worse! 

      "Hahaha," she laughed fakely, "I'm fine. Sorry."

      "Oh," the stranger got back onto his bike, "Okay, that's good. Have a nice evening."

      He went off on his way.

      "Oh my God!" Seohyun whispered to herself. 

 

      "What do you think that was all about?" Jessica asked Chanyeol as they were walking with Sehun and Minhyuk trailing behind.

      "I honestly don't know," Chanyeol replied, "She mentioned his mother, which is weird, because I know Yonghwa doesn't like anyone dwelling upon his family business."

      "Seohyun can be mean," Jessica stated, "But I've never seen her that mad before. Either she misunderstood something, or Yonghwa did something really wrong."

      "But then again, let's say Yonghwa did for some reason, break out of his cold personality. Would Seohyun be the type of person he would choose to open up to first? I don't think so," Chanyeol shrugged, "I really have no idea. Asking Yonghwa won't get us anywhere, so why not ask Seohyun?"

      "I feel bad," Jessica sighed deeply, "But I am very curious."

      "Eh," Chanyeol teased, "Are you curious, or are you just jealous that Seohyun knows something about Yonghwa that you don't?"

      "What?" Jessica was thrown off by Chanyeol's comment, "What makes you say that?"

      "C'mon, Jessica," Chanyeol elbowed her, "Everyone's taken notice of it. You like him."

      "Who likes who?" Jessica asked frantically.

      Chanyeol stopped and held her face with his hands.

      "You like Jung Yonghwa."

      Jessica slapped his hands away.

      "Sure," she said sarcastically and walked ahead on her own.

      "No, no I don't," Jessica muttered to herself.

      But it was no use. She knew she was lying to herself.

      Jessica liked Yonghwa. She harbored deep feelings for him...ever since they had first met. 

 

      Four Years Ago...

      "This is the third time she's had to transfer schools."

      "Dear, I really think this time, she'll be happy."

      "She's our own daughter, but I can't seem to get my finger on it. Why does she always say she hates school?"

      "I'm not sure of the reason myself. She won't speak a word of it. And we both don't have time to focus on the issue because of work."

      Middle school Jessica listened to her parents' conversation through the little opening between the two doors to the master bedroom.

      "Huh," she laughed quietly to herself, "School."

  

      "Alright, class, we have a new student today," the teacher introduced, "Please introduce yourself."

      Jessica scanned the classroom. The students weren't paying any attention to her. It was morning and they were all tired, not able to keep their eyes open.

      "My name is Jessica Jung," she began, "This is my third time transferring to a new school."

      That got the attention of the students.

      "Third time?" they whispered to one another.

      "Is she a delinquent?"

      Jessica smiled. Now they noticed her.

      She sat down in the empty desk by the window and basked in the glory of all the eyes that were on her as she walked.

      "Hey, she's pretty cute."

      "You're right!"

      "I'm gonna ask her to be my friend."

      Jessica took her seat, crossing her legs. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that many of the students were talking about her...except, for the student right next to her. He was simply staring at the cellphone in his hand that he was hiding under his desk. Annoyed by his lack of attention, Jessica took out her pencil case. She placed a pen on the side of her desk and leaned to the side closest to the window to pretend she was picking up something she had dropped. As she was doing that, the pen rolled off from the desk onto the floor, stopping by the male student's feet. Jessica praised herself for a great tactic. As she brought herself back up, she realized the pen had already been placed back into her open pencil case. The boy was once again, staring blankly at his phone screen. 

      "What the heck," she thought to herself, "He's a weird kid."

      The teacher got up from her desk at the front to take attendance.

      "Yoo Hanneul."

      "Here!" 

      "Bae Shinnae."

      "Here!"

      "Kim Taeyoung."

       "Here!"

       "Park Chanyeol!"

       Silence. 

       "Park Chanyeol!" 

       Again, there was silence. 

      The teacher walked up to the boy next to Jessica and she slammed her ruler down onto his desk, causing the boy to look up at her. She let out an open hand. The boy rolled his eyes and lazily gave the phone to her.

      "See me after class," she instructed sternly. 

      Chanyeol didn't respond and simply put his hands into his pockets, slouching in his chair. 

      "Pscht," Jessica muttered to herself, "He's the delinquent. Not me."

      Class continued on and Jessica took out the same pen to write down notes on the lecture, when this time, the pen actually slipped through her fingers, rolling over to Chanyeol again. Embarrassed, Jessica didn't know what to do. Chanyeol noticed and made momentary eye contact with Jessica. He seemed to be...laughing? He bent over to get the pencil and this time, he reached out his hand to give it to her. When Jessica got hold of the pen, he didn't let go right away.

      "Are you that desperate?" Chanyeol teased. 

       Jessica let go the pen.

      "Yah!" she shouted at him, standing up in her seat.

      "What?" Chanyeol responded, acting as if he didn't know anything.

      "Jessica and Chanyeol!" the teacher announced, "Clean up duty after school!" 

      Chanyeol angrily closed the textbook on his desk as Jessica slowly sat back down. 

      He was annoying. Very annoying. 

      The teacher left clear directions that the floor, board, and all the desks had to be cleaned. Once she was gone, Jessica grabbed a sponge to soak in water as Chanyeol took the broom, but instead of dusting off the floor, he shoved it into Jessica's hands. 

      "What are you doing?" she demanded.

      "I have a soccer game to play," Chanyeol said smugly, "And I can't do this right now."

      Jessica let the broom drop to the floor.

      "You've got to be kidding me."

      "Nope," Chanyeol smiled deviously, "I've got to go."

      The door slid open. A boy wearing their school uniform entered. He saw Chanyeol with a girl and leaned his head against the door with his arms crossed.

      "Park Chanyeol," he said, "We're all waiting for you and you're too busy being here with a girl?"

      "I'm coming, I'm coming," Chanyeol walked away without a second thought, "Jung Yonghwa, did you miss me that much?"

      Chanyeol closed the door behind him, leaving Jessica alone. She curled in her lips.

      "Chamah (hold it in)," she encouraged herself and squeezed the sponge hard with her hands. 

      She had finished washing the board and was halfway done with the desks, when the door slid open, revealing the same boy who had called Chanyeol over.

      "Do you need something?" she asked.

      The boy stormed over and grabbed the sponge out of her hand. He dunked it in water and began to scrub the desks himself. 

      "Excuse me---"

      "I hate people like you," he suddenly said, washing the desks furiously, "You people can't say what you want. You have no voice of your own."

      Jessica was startled by his extreme reaction.

      "What?" she frowned.

      The boy stopped for a second, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

      "Chanyeol was playing soccer with us while you were cleaning up on your own for the past hour and half?" the boy said, "Why didn't you say anything before? It's stupid."

      Jessica was offended.

      "Hey," she snapped, "Why are you getting mad at me? I didn't do anything wrong."

      "Why didn't you hold Chanyeol back?"

      "He wasn't worth it," Jessica explained, "And I still don't get why you're here helping me."

      "It's not right," the boy replied, "I'm pissed off at Chanyeol for being irresponsible and at you for not saying anything. You shouldn't be doing this by yourself."

      The boy started washing again.

      Jessica didn't say anything. The boy noticed she was confused. He finally stopped and walked over to her. Jessica took a step back. He took one forward and held the sponge above her. 

      He suddenly squeezed the water onto her head and Jessica shrieked in response. 

      She was about to yell at him, when he smiled at her. 

     Jessica felt frozen. He seemed...so happy. 

     "It's not fun being alone, is it?" the boy laughed. 

     Jessica's feet were planted onto the ground. She couldn't move.

    Then, she began cry. 

     Alone...that was all she had felt...both at school and home. At school she always had to try so hard for everyone to like her, but in the end, she had no close, trustworthy friends. At home? Her parents were never there she needed them most. 

     "Hey," the boy put his hands on his hips, "Why are you crying?" 

     "I don't know," Jessica sobbed, clinging onto her soapy hair. 

     The boy started cracking up.

     "What?" Jessica cried.

     "You're funny," the boy cocked his head to one side, "Chanyeol was telling me how you were some super self conscious girl who was fake. He told me that he couldn't find a single human trait in you. Called you a robot."

     "And?" Jessica pouted, wiping away her tears.

     The boy smiled again.

     "I don't think so," he said warmly and patted her head. 

     Jessica stopped crying. 

     "We'll be here forever at this rate," the boy sighed, feeling relieved that she had stopped sobbing and threw the sponge at her, "Let's hurry up."

 

     Jessica looked up at the sky. She missed that Jung Yonghwa, but she knew he was there somewhere.

     Just hidden. 

     Hidden...really well.