Ae Yi's POV

At last, I finished what I needed to finish for today's agenda. I can mark my to-do list done. I wonder what happened to Kyungsoo. This is my first time I brought a guy home. It wasn't really that awkward, right? I made sure that he feels very comfortable. I hope he's okay.

"Mom, I'll go ahead and sleep. Please wake me up early tomorrow. I need to redesign and fix our conference room. I have to make sure that everything is settled once we use it." I said then kissed her on the cheek. "I won't wait for dad any longer."

"Oh shoot! I forgot to get Kyungsoo's number." I immediately sent Hyojin a message.

Me: Do you happen to have Kyungsoo's number?

HJ: Kyungsoo? Do Kyungsoo? From 3-C? I can get it from the class database. Dude, but why?

Me: Shut up. He's my partner in Junior Council. Shut your chicken-like mouth and don't think about spreading rumors about us.

HJ: Yeah, yeah. I know. You're waaaaay out of his league. So, yeah.

Me: Dude, stop it. I'll see you tomorrow, fxcktard! Good night, I love you.

I received Kyungsoo's business card from Hyojin.

Do Kyung Soo +1801 994 0193 467

I sent him a text message.

"Hi, Kyungsoo! I know it's late to ask.. and it's going to be too much to impose but can you please help me fix the conference room tomorrow morning?"

I added, "I hope you got home safely and I beg the heavens that my dad didn't scare you."

"Just send me an acknowledgment receipt because I might not be able to sleep. Thank you and good night! 😉"

Oh! What am I doing? I just sent him three consecutive messages. Will he find them annoying? I hope not!

A text message came in, "Okay, I'll help you. Good night!"

Next Day

I arrive in school early. I quickly went up to the third floor to check the conference room. I saw Kyungsoo waiting by the door.

"Hi!" I greeted him with a big smile on my face. 
"Yeah, hi. I tried opening the door but the guard said I can't open it unless you're here since you have the spare copy of the key," he said with his soft and cold voice.

"I'm sorry. I really thought I'll be here earlier than you. When I had Oh Min Ji as my partner, she was lazy enough to even pick up my calls," I said as I open the door.

"Come in!"

So I pointed out how we are going to be seated since he's my deputy general. He has to sit beside me.

"That's our office. I don't usually share my office because I'm pretty particular about my things but I can see that you're neat so I don't mind."

Nobody actually wants to share the office with me. Joke is on me.

I placed the old things inside a box and I'm more than ready to throw them outside. Dang it, it's heavy. I tried once again to carry it but I couldn't. Kyungsoo finally noticed me. He didn't even say a word. He just slowly removed my hands from the box and carried it.

"Where do I place this?" he said while glancing at me. "Just outside. The maintenance will just get it from there. Thanks!"

"Yay! We're done." I wiped my hands with wet tissue and offered some to Kyungsoo.

"Of course I came in prepared. It was crazy of me to ask you to come to school this early so I brought us some snacks." I handed him a box of chocolate milk with some cookies inside a ziplock bag.

I sat beside him. I asked him nonchalantly, "so what's your deal?" I can sense that he was caught off-guard with my question so I told him, "hey! Take a chill pill. You don't have to answer. I just wanted to break the ice."

He wasn't responding so I continued, "still you got me so curious, why are you so taciturn? I seldom see you with your classmates. Do you always prefer isolation?"

He quietly answered, "I just find interacting with people a..bit.. uh, uncomfortable. I always listen to music, I've always thought that music is the sweetest escape from reality. That is my reality - the moment I turn the music up, it is a whole new dimension. It somewhat makes me feel so nostalgic; like storytelling, on that context. I also like illustrating or drawing as the common term on my free time.

That blew me away. I just listened to his answer. He continues, "..well, I'm not really good at it but I want to pursue it."

"Wow, that's probably the longest dialogue I've heard from you. I like it," I mocked him a bit. I think I am..no, we are both starting to infiltrate each other's worlds.

"Umm, thanks. Uhh, illustrating.. How do I explain it? It's like the light at the end of my journey into darkness."

Is this guy any deeper than Marianas Trench? Yes, he must like it a lot.

"It's quarter to seven. We gotta be quick. Let's prepare for class." I cut the conversation. "Oh, right," he shyly muttered. "See you later!" I pat him on the back.

I went inside the classroom when the bell rang. It was the usual thing. I asked my classmates to greet Mr. Lee Taemin. Jinri and my other classmates like our teacher, no, they are obsessing over our teacher. They even knew it's his birthday today. How on Earth were they able to get ahold of that information? Jinri discreetly walked inside the classroom from our backdoor with a cake on the palm of her hands; and the whole class sang in unison. It was refreshing to see Mr. Taemin with a cute smile on his face.

We all congratulated him; but he started with his lecture again. I honestly thought we will be able to escape from the lessons but here we go.

After 2 hours of lecture, it's finally break time. Sohyun and Hyojin waited for me outside to head to the cafeteria.

"You know what Sohyun, Aeyi isn't telling us something. She has a new apple of the eye. She likes the emo kid from 3-C," Hyojin teases me. I just shrugged her off. 
"Hey, woman. How can you spare us your dirty little secret? So dead kids are your new thing now, huh? Are you going to make him popular like what you did to you-know-who?" Sohyun added gas on the fire.

I flared up and lashed out on them. That was beyond what I can control. I love these two so much but sometimes their mouths are nonstop. They do not know how to filter what's coming from their own dirty little mouths.

"First off, there's nothing to talk about. He's just my partner from Junior Council. He's working with me to make your out-of-this-world events happen. Second, I have to thank the two of you for flaking out on me on the first day of class - I was able to get to know that person better. If you, Sohyun, didn't ditch me for your ever loving boyfriend Jonghyun - who basically makes you cry every single time he couldn't put you on a pedestal that you've always wanted, then I wouldn't be able to ride a bus going home with him. 
Then here we have Hyojin the Great. Can you please refrain from talking nasty things about him. He's one hell of a nice guy. He does not deserve this kind of treatment."

I was so exasperated about what they said. It was too much of them to talk about a person that way. When I entered the cafeteria, I slammed the door and I got everybody's attention. It was a bad idea.

I want to prove to other people that Kyungsoo is more than just an awkward, dead kid. Now that he's finally letting down his walls on me, I can't fathom crushing those words are if he hears them. I can't let that happen.

I brought my snacks with me from the lunch lady and I scanned the whole room for a seat. The three of us always had a table reserved for us. Nobody sits there but us; but from all the things that happened few moments ago, I couldn't bear to eat with them, nor even sit with them. I have to bring up my pride and looked for another table.

At last, I found my favorite wallflower at the table near the window sill once more, staring at the horizon. I immediately paced up to that table and sat in front of him.

"Shut up, don't ask. I'm eating with you. It's going to be very disrespectful to your partner if you send her off," I explained before he can even open his mouth and ask me what the hell am I doing there.

He didn't say a word, as per usual. He meekly ate his food and so did I.