"Wha- what? Me?" Eunjoo stammered. "Why would I think that?"

Chunji laughed. "Do you not think I know the rumors? I'm actually smarter than you think." He winked.

Eunjoo sighed. When Chunji asked her if she thought he was dumb, a cold feeling flashed up he spine. She could then feel blood rushing into her cheeks and the heat coming from her face. 

"Look. I'm sorry, Chanhee. I really... I know it may not seem so, but I try not to judge a book by its cover, but I did this time and I sincerely apologize. If you can forgive me... maybe we can be friends." Eunjoo said as she looked down in shame. Maybe we can be friends?! She thought. How desperate are you?

She looked back up and made eye contact with the boy in front of her, something that she was good at. He was smiling sincerely, his eyes making crescent moons.

"Eunjoo, I'm not mad! It's natural that people believe that, since my grades are terrible." Chunji chuckled and patted her head. His voice was a bit high pitched, but it was attractive nonetheless. Unlike her friends, she usually preferred slightly less masculine men for some reason. She could also hear a hint of a lisp in his voice. Eunjoo's eyes then travelled around his slim face. His hair was a bit fluffy and his skin was pale and blemish-free (probably from staying inside all day playing games). His eyes were large with deep double eyelids. His eyelashes were probably longer than hers. Eunjoo giggled inwardly as she thought he looked like an adorable llama, or something. He was actually really cute, so how was he not getting fawned over? "Don't worry about it."

Eunjoo snapped out of her trance with a shiver. "Huh? Oh. Thanks, Chanhee."

"Anyway, do you have time afterschool? I have something to ask you later." Chunji giggled.

"O-okay." Eunjoo shakily said and checked the time on her old watch. "Anyway, let's finish this thing."

****

It was awkward. Awkward being alone at her locker where she was always with her friends. Awkward because her stomach was still grumbling. But mostly, it was awkward because she didn't know what Chunji wanted from her. Should she wait at her locker? Or should she try to find him?

Shaking her head, Eunjoo started walking to the exit. If she didn't see Chunji on the way out, it probably wasn't meant to be.  She nodded to herself and kept walking. 

"Eunjoo!" Chunji was leaning against a wall with earphones plugged into his ears. "I wasn't sure where to find you, so I just came her. Good thing I did, too!"

"Uh, yeah. So, what do you want to talk about?" Eunjoo found it hard to look the boy in the eyes. 

"Ah, there's a place that I wanted to take you." Chunji laughed cheerfully and grabbed Eunjoo's hands. They started getting clammy, but Chunji didn't seem to mind. 

****

"Where's this?" Eunjoo asked curiously. They were in an old, abandonned skate park. Colourful graffitti surrounded them, showing years of people visiting this place. 

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Chunji grabbed Eunjoo's hands again and looked into her eyes, and this time, she couldn't look away.

Now, Chunji definitely wasn't the tallest person she'd seen, but Eunjoo, barely passing 150 centimetres in height, couldn't really say anything. She had to crane her neck and look up at him to see his face. Even with that, Chunji was slightly slouching down. His head sort of covered the sunlight from Eunjoo's eyes and it created a golden glow around him. He looked, to put it in one word, angelic. 

"I've actually know a bit about you before today." Eunjoo frowned, confused as Chunji let go of her hands, looking away and scratching the back of his neck. "I know it doesn't look like it, but I actually sing. And I know you do, too. I really admire you. And whenever there's a competition for singing that I attend, I'm always second and I'm always beat by one guy. His name is Niel. So, I was just, you know... wondering if you could listen to me, like once, and see what I need to improve on. I've been beat by this guy for nearly three year, and I really want to beat him, just once." Chunji said nervously, but had a fierce fire of determination burning in his eyes. 

Eunjoo was shocked, to say the least. That Chunji knew she sang. That Chunji sang. His request. 

"So, you just want me to help you? To beat Niel?" She confirmed. Chunji nodded.

Smiling, Eunjoo went on her tippy toes and patted Chunji's head. His hair was jet black, and he had a small bronze streak in his hair. Had he dyed his hair? No, she shouldn't be thinking about that. "Why would you be nervous to ask me that? We're friends, right? Anyway, I'm honoured." She jokingly bowed. "Ahn Daniel. I remember him." She muttered to herself.

Chunji let out a sigh of relief, then took in what Eunjoo had said about Niel. "Wait, you know him?" 

"Of course I do! We used to go against each other a lot when we were younger. Like real rivals. I'm pretty sure he moved to another district a few years back, and we haven't talked since. But he's the same age as me, right? Come to think of it, how long have you been singing?" Eunjoo asked, as she sat down.

"About 4 years?" Chunji guessed.

"Wow, you must be really good if you get second place in contests, since a lot of those people have been singing all their lives." Eunjo nodded to herself. "What were you doing in arts before singing?" 

"Oh, I actually lived in the Kim District. I'm living here with my friend, Byunghun, while my family's still there." Chunji explained.

"I see. Anyway, start singing! I'm excited to see almighty Chunji's skills!" Eunjoo smiled as Chunji nodded nervously.

"Ok. I'll sing 'A night like tonight" by Jung Taekwoon.'" He closed his eyes and exhaled. 

"*You don’t know how much I miss you
I can’t take this loneliness anymore
Whenever the dark night finds me
I softly called out your name

If I close my eyes, it seems like you’re next to me
But I couldn’t feel your breath
This empty space that heavily presses down on me
Takes me to an endless wandering

Even if you get exhausted due to the long waiting
Please don’t shed tears because you are lonely
Someday, I will take your two hands
And we will walk together

On nights like this,
I want to take you deeply in my arms
And inside the stopped time
I want to linger forever with you..." Chunji sang. 

Eunjoo also closed her eyes and started swaying along with the music. Chunji was singing acapella, but was great, nonetheless.

Once he was done, Chunji smiled. Eunjoo opened her eyes and nodded. 

"You're really good, Chunji! Wow, I never would've guessed!" she joked.

"Aw, thanks, Eunjoo!" He patted her head. "Now, what do I fix to beat Niel?" He asked determinately. 

*from Chunji's performance on "King of masked singers"! link here!