As I walked into the classroom, a bout of anxiety assaulted me at the prospect of seeing Jiyong. Friday's argument hadn't been like one of our normal tithes. There were no jokes or banter, no mock rage or petty squabbling. And for whatever reason, it really bothered me.

The weekend had dragged on, long and laborious, filled with repetitive essays until my date with Jae. We'd gone to see a movie (some mushy-crap Jae had brought tickets to prior, which I'd endured, not having the heart to tell him I'd much prefer to see a thriller or action film), and then went out for some ice cream. It was nice, and I'd had fun. But…for a moment there, I could have sworn I'd seen Jiyong in the movie theatre. Only, when the suspected-Jiyong turned round, I realized I'd been duped. I'd felt so stupid as well as a flare of hope had rushed through me at the prospect of him being there also, and that maybe he'd spot me and grin and I'd know we were okay.

If Jiyong apologizes first, I'll follow suit, but until then... call it my stubborn streak, but I'd done nothing to warrant him criticizing me like that, questioning whether I liked Jae at all. And anyway, why should he care about who I date or not? It's none of his business.

I hesitantly opened the door to the classroom, the class is only half full, with no sign of Jiyong. Where is he?

"Right," Mr. Yang began, standing up from behind his desk, papers in his hand. "I have your creative writing pieces here, which I'll be issuing you with later. Until then…"

"Sorry I'm late," the door swung open, Jiyong swiftly shutting it behind him.

A sardonic smile flitted its way onto Mr. Yang's lips. He hated tardiness. "Good of you to join us, Mr. Kwon. Next time, on time please."

Jiyong simply nodded.

"Before I was interrupted," Mr. Yang continued, "I was going to speak to you about your group projects. These constitute as 15% of your grade, and will be delivered in front of the class in a month's time, which will give you plenty of time to dazzle me with your efforts."

"Can we pick our own partners?" a blond girl asked, sitting beside me. Her eyes strayed to Jiyong, leaving no doubt in my mind as to who she has in mind.

"No. I'll be picking your partners." Seriously? If I'm paired with the Black Head Wonder, I'm gonna fail!

He read the names of the pairs from off a list. As the numbers of my potential partners begin to dwindle, I have a sinking feeling as to who I'm going to be stuck with. I swear, sometimes, the world must be out to get me.

"Kwon Jiyong and Sandara Park, you'll be the next pair. I'd like to speak to you two at the end, as well."

When class finally comes to an end, I lingered behind with Jiyong.

"You wanted to see us, Sir?" Jiyong asked, me coming up right beside him. He's deliberately avoiding my eye.

"Yes," he said, "do you know why I paired you two together?"

In unison we shook our heads.

"You're my best students. I know I shouldn't say that, but I will. Some of the other students in this class couldn't give a damn, I think. There's pizza stains on their work, and some of their spelling…" He shook his head, appalled. "Anyway, I have high hopes of an outstanding presentation from both of you. I also wanted to present you with your creative writing pieces."

He smiled as he handed us our work, the upturn of his lips a strange sight to see, as I'm only ever accustomed to him frowning.

"Promising writers, both of you. I was impressed, particularly with yours, Miss Park. Quite a talent you have there. Your characters are well developed, and you have an excellent grasp of the English language." I'm grinning from ear to ear, surprised and ecstatic. He liked my work!

He then turned to Jiyong. "Well, Mr. Kwon, you have quite the sentimental side. Was this unrequited love based on personal experience?" Jiyong has women practically throwing themselves at him left, right and center. So who the hell would turn him down?

"Uhm…" Jiyong stalled, "no, just…just an idea."

Mr. Yang held up his hand. "Well, it was quite simply beautiful. My wife had tears in her eyes when I read it to her."

Jiyong stopped biting his lip to give a small smile. Sentimental side? I've only just discovered Jiyong has a heart. What the hell had he written?

"That was all I wanted to say, really," Mr. Yang said. "Keep up the good work."

We nodded and said our thanks and goodbyes.

As we descended the steps to the music room, silence enveloped us, neither one of us prepared to initiate a conversation. Well, this is going to be a fun practice. Note sarcasm.

As Jiyong, Seunghyun, Bom, and Daesung, packed up their instruments after a two hour practice, I closed the piano lid and gather my music sheets together. Jae had sat through practice mostly in silence, offering helpful advice occasionally to all of us. He'd even been civil to Jiyong! I supposed our little talk last week must have put his mind to rest, and that Jiyong and I are never going to be together. Never. Ever. No. Way. Jose.

Suddenly wiry arms encircled me and I'm pulled against someone's chest.

"Hey," Jae whispered, his mouth close to my ear.

I smiled and leaned back into him, trying not to tense up. I've never been much of a huggie person, and for whatever reason, I've always had this insatiable desire to keep people at length.

"I had a lot of fun on Sunday," Jae continued.

"Me too," I said, disentangling myself from his arms. A frown marred his face for a moment, before I issued a small smile and patted his arm. "I'll see you tomorrow," I said, preparing to leave the room. He stopped me, however, placing a quick kiss on my lips. I don’t know why but my eyes flitted over towards Jiyong. When my eyes locked with his, he instantly looked away and left the room.

It has been four days since Jiyong and I had been paired together, and a week since our argument. I suspected Bom, Seunghyun, and Daesung, are aware that something has happened between us, and that we are no longer speaking. Normally, we'll bicker, exchange mock insults between one another, so the sudden turn from bickering to silence is bound to turn heads. Neither one of us wants to apologize, and neither one of us wants to start up a conversation. But one of us is gonna have to, because otherwise, our grades will suffer: we're partners in this project, after all, and in order to do well, we'll have to start speaking. And soon.

Fortunately, our afternoon practices had been coming to an end sooner than usual as the Music room is currently being used as a temporary practice room for a brass group that will be participating in a concert next week. It means that I haven't been required to give Jiyong a lift back all week.

I headed to the canteen, deciding I better get some lunch before my next class. I'm starved! And my stomach hasn't stopped grumbling all day. Note to self: don't skip breakfast r.e. pack cookies for emergencies.

There are about two dozen students spread across dining tables, lining in front of the counter, scrutinizing what is edible and what is not. I parked myself behind the dwindling line, spotting a burger that has my name written all over it: Dara's burger, hands off! I'm drooling, literally, at the prospect of munching into such a delicacy, until I go rummaging in my pockets for some change, coming up empty handed. I gave a feeble smile to the woman who stood behind the counter. She's impatient, her hand outstretched, waiting for me to give her the money. Damn.

"I guess I've left my money at home," I said, feeling sheepish.

"I'll pay." I recognized the voice instantly, and prepared to protest when the money's placed in her hand and she put it in the till. Too late.

"I'll pay you back," I told Jiyong, going over to sit at a table. He followed me, a bottle of coke in his hand.

He shrugged. "No biggie. I never paid you for all the taxiing you did last week."

I didn't protest. Fuel prices are pretty extortionate.

Jiyong sipped his drink while I picked at my burger, no longer hungry.

"We have a project to do," he stated.

I nodded.

He continued, "We've been given our topic of research so…"

I nodded again.

"We have three weeks until it's due…"

Again, I nodded.

"We should probably get started soon…"

This time I went to nod, only Jiyong stopped me by asking, "Are you listening? Or have you once again left your brain at home? Because you're bobbing your head up and down like the Churchill dog on the adverts."

I rolled my eyes. "No, just thinking. You may want to try it some time."

"Oh, I do," he said, "all the time. Only it doesn't take as much concentration for me as it does for you. I can talk and think, at the same time."

"Men can't multitask."

"I can."

"I stressed…men can't multitask."

I trailed off, smirking as he narrowed his eyes at me. I'm surprised at how elated and…light, I feel. Even if he is the biggest pain in the ever, I'm glad we're speaking again. His face seemed lighter too, his eyes shining, and he's less closed off. All week I've been unable to read him. He'd worn that mask of reticence, but for now, he's taken it off. I'm not going to bring up our argument, and I get the feeling, neither would Jiyong. We'll forget about it...for now.

"You could come to my house," I said, getting back on track, "and we could work on the project there."

He frowned. "I have to watch the kids." Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about Jiyong's big brother responsibilities.

"Okay," I said. "We'll have to work on it at your house instead. And just so you know, I want nothing less than an A on this presentation, so you better pull your weight."

"Remind me, Dara,” he said, leaning forward. He's close, our noses only a couple inches apart. I can feel my cheeks flaring up, but I didn't pull away. I'm kinda trapped in his gaze. "Who has the higher IQ?"

He pulled away suddenly and I blinked. He's smirking, and I'm wondering why the hell I haven't slapped him for invading my personal space like that. I'm also wondering why I haven't fired some witty retort back yet. But then some neurons fired back into action in my brain and I snapped, "I think you cheated on that test." I paused, "And even if you didn't, intelligence isn't everything."

A small smile quirked his lips. "You're right. Looks count as well, and since I'm devilishly handsome and intelligent, I have the full package."

I gave an exaggerated sigh of impatience. "We've talked about you deluding yourself into thinking you're good looking, haven't we?"

"Well," Jiyong said, "I think you're deluding yourself into thinking that I'm not handsome. Just admit it, you find me very attractive."

"I find you very annoying."

"You find me very funny."

"Only when I look at that," I said, pointing to his face. "You're a pain in the ."

"You want to touch my ."

"I hate you."

"You love me."

I threw my arms up in the air, exasperated. "Again with the delusions?" I slung my bag over my shoulder, picking up my half-eaten burger. "I'm going," I said, turning my back on him.

"Not far," he called. "I'll see you in class next."

I rolled my eyes, smiling. Everything is back to normal…for now.

Hi everyone!!! Thank you for reading!! ^________^ Love you guys! <3

This update was requested by PINKEMERALD. See that girl? Now where're my rated chappies for 365 and SI???? LOLOLOL I'm kidding *innocent*

(Special shoutout to my newfound girlfriends whom we shall collectively call..... #GForce!! Hi girls!! XD)