Sungjae’s morning routine consisted of waking up late, squeezing in time for a huge breakfast (because it’s the most important meal of the day, of course), and passing through the bustling streets of Seoul on his way to school.

As he got closer to the Red Velvet cafe, Sungjae saw something so surprising through the window of the shop that he stopped his tracks, mouth agape. Inside Red Velvet were two girls, one with long, wavy brown hair whose back faced the boy. The other also had long dark hair but the ends were dip-dyed a light shade of pink. Sungjae had a clear view of her, noting her milky white skin, doe-like eyes, and the faint blush on the apples of her cheeks, small details of the girl that hadn’t changed since the last time he saw her.

When the pair got up to leave the shop, Sungjae came back to his senses and not-so-subtly hid behind a lamppost, which only covered about a fourth of his body. The girls didn’t notice him at all, too immersed in each other’s company. Not too far away, the boy eavesdropped in on their conversation.

“Thank you for getting breakfast with me, Unnie,” said the one whose identity Sungjae had yet to figure out. He realized she was wearing a Seoul Senior High uniform.

“It’s no big deal! You know I love spending time with you,” the girl with pink tips said, her beautiful smile revealing a set of straight, pearly white teeth.

“It was great catching up. Next time let’s do something with the maknae. She’s been obsessed with karaoke lately!” They chuckled.

A bus came to a screeching halt nearby, the non-high school student’s cue to get going. “If my class didn’t start so early, then we could hang out longer,” she said while pouting. Wow, even when she looks sad she’s still pretty, Sungjae swooned.

The pair of friends hugged before the older one boarded the bus. Sungjae watched her the entire time, holding onto those precious few minutes before she finally disappeared from his sight. Had it really been two years since he last saw her?

The high school student turned towards the window as she went on her phone, giving Sungjae the perfect opportunity to unveil her identity. Whoever she was, this person was his ticket to getting closer to Bae Irene--his crush since kindergarten, his first and only love.

Sungjae squinted, unable to get a good look at the girl because her hair covered her face. When she tucked her dark brown locks behind her ear, the boy’s jaw dropped. What luck he had as the person standing ten feet away from him, aka one of Bae Irene’s best friends, was none other than his favorite person ever--class representative Park Joy.

Joy arrived at school a little later than normal, which was still considered early for most people. She liked being at school thirty minutes to an hour before it started because it gave her time to study, complete any class representative duties, and, most importantly, gawk at a certain someone with no one around to catch her.

Okay, I have five minutes until people start pouring in, Joy thought as she tiptoed up to room 3-2. The only way she could peer inside the room was through the window of its door, which the girl took advantage of a little too often.

Looking inside, she found the only person capable of making her lose all senses, including the ability to think and speak coherently, the only person capable of raising her heartbeat with his mere presence alone (not counting Coach Anh who always put class 3-1’s stamina to the test), and the only person capable of attracting a crazy person like Joy. Min Yoon Gi, the one student out of the entire Seoul Senior High School population to ever outrank Park Joy in every form of examination, sat in the back corner of room 3-2, headphones on, bleach blonde bangs hiding his expression, and focus completely fixated on the textbook in front of him. Behold, 3-1’s class representative’s crush and subject of her one last high school wish.

“Need a napkin to wipe that drool off your chin?” someone asked, startling Joy enough for her to jump in place.

She whipped her head around and almost bumped heads with one of the last people she expected to be at school before the tardy bell rang--Yook Sungjae.

“Wha-what are you talking about?” she whispered defensively.

“I saw you watching that guy in there,” Sungjae teased, and not in a low volume.

Joy flailed her arms at how loud (note: normal-sounding) he was, checking if her crush had heard him. Luckily, Yoon Gi was too absorbed in his music and studies to notice.

The girl then pushed Sungjae behind the staircase where no one could spot them. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” Joy asked harshly.

“Nothing,” Sungjae replied, shrugging. “I should be asking you that question. I didn’t peg the class rep to fall for the Min Yoon Gi type.”

“Ugh, shut up!” Joy cried, smacking the side of Sungjae’s head out of instinct. Her face turned bright red like a ripe tomato.

“See, you do like him!” the boy continued to tease. “If you want, I can help set you two up! We’re, like, buds.” The last part sounded a bit awkward.

“No, I don’t like him,” Joy stated sternly. “And you don’t know anything. Seriously, Yook Sungjae, if you tell anyone what happened just now, I will end your life.” Even though Sungjae stood twenty centimeters taller than Joy, he suddenly felt so much smaller in the presence of her wrath, especially as she bore her dark brown-almost-black eyes straight into his soul. He gulped in fear, and the class representative stormed off.

Before she disappeared from his sight, Sungjae ran up to the girl. “Wait, wait, Park Joy. I have something to tell you.”

“What?” she hissed, crossing her arms.

Scary, Sungjae thought. “I saw you with Bae Irene this morning.”

An expression of shock and disgust came across Joy’s face. “That’s kinda creepy.”

“Oh, really, Joy? You’re telling me what’s creepy, Miss I-Watch-Boys-Through-Windows?” he retorted.

“I have a proposal,” Sungjae began to explain. “Clearly--and strangely--you have a crush on Yoon Gi, and I admit that I’ve had a crush on Irene for as long as I can remember. If you help me win her over, I’ll help you with Yoon Gi. How does that sound?”

Joy tapped her finger to her lips, pretending to think about the deal. “Hmm… sounds like a good--NO.” The girl her heel and joined the rest of the students that had all of a sudden filled the hallways without Sungjae noticing.

“You really are amazing, Park Joy. Class representative, top-ranking student, and now a woman with a job,” Sungjae commented, applauding. “How do you do it all?”

At the sound of his voice, Joy flinched. She was in the middle of serving customers their orders when her classmate waltzed into the cafe spewing out sarcastic compliments. “Excuse me,” she told the lovely couple, forcing a smile. She then took her tray and hurried towards the kitchen area before…

“Joy, let’s talk,” Sungjae said while stepping in her way.

“Sorry, sir, I don’t know who you are,” Joy said in a deep voice. She tried walking around him, but he sidestepped again to block her.

“I know you work here. You were the one that made my drink last time.”

Good thing the bill of her hat covered her face because Joy had a look of sheer panic. She mentally slapped herself for not being more careful about disguising herself. Maybe the next time I see someone from school, I’ll wear a wig, she thought.

Dismissing all other ideas, Joy dropped the act. And groaned. “I don’t want to talk.”

Sungjae had been bothering her since this morning, following her around despite the two of them hating each other. During gym class, they played dodgeball, where he made sure to knock her out just so he could talk to her in the infirmary (her head still hurt from his powerful throw, by the way). During lunch time, he interrupted her conversation with Yeri as the pair of best friends chilled by the basketball courts. And during her trip to the teacher’s office after school, he was the one sitting at Kim-seonsaengnim’s desk, pretending to be their homeroom teacher.

Each encounter had the same conversation of “please, please, please help me out” from Sungjae and “no, you’re a creep, go away” from Joy.

Now, the boy that had been stalking her all day stood right in front of her once again at the place she didn’t want anyone knowing was affiliated with her. And at this point, anyone could probably guess what he had to say next…

“If you don’t help me out, I’ll tell Min Yoon Gi you like him.”

Or maybe not.

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Author's Note:

Aaaah thank you so much to everyone who has checked out, subscribed, commented, and/or upvoted OLW! Y'all have no idea how happy you've made me with your interest and support T-T Special shoutout goes to sparklesandspirit, QueenVelvet, and yookjoy1234! Hope you enjoyed chapter two, and stay tuned for more~

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Preview:

“Don’t worry. I’ve already taken note of all your unlikeable qualities and, as usual, I have a plan,” Joy said matter-of-factly, unveiling a makeshift scroll. She unrolled it to reveal a charted out timeline (which, of course, was laminated) titled Operation: Reformation. It had a very detailed two-week procedure to turn the dreamer into the man of Irene’s dreams.