NichKhun stared at the dark sky, his thoughts wandering. G-Dragon had been helpful. Maybe not the best friend out there, but certainly a good listener. The balcony had become their hangout place. They would dangle their feet and talk about the Thing. Usually, besides GD, he was the only one who ever came up here, so he was surprised when he heard the door slam. He slowly turned around and came face to face with Taec.
“Hey there.”
“Hi.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Thinking about things. You?”
“Same. I…Can I tell you something?” Taec looked more than eager to share, and Khun understood immediately that he was one of those really friendly people.
“Sure.”
“I like someone.”
NichKhun snorted. “Don’t we all?”
“Do you?”
Nich shook his head.
“Well…Do you know Yoona?”
“Oh, is she the pretty one who always has her hair in a bun? The one that hangs out with that Barbie doll.”
“Yeah. She is pretty, isn’t she? But…you wouldn’t like her, would you?”
“No. I guess not. I really can’t seem to tell if she has a personality or not, and I’ve talked to her plenty.”
“Yeah, I know. History of Dance is pretty much the most fun class I have. Everyone’s in it.”
“Hah. Yeah. Uh, well, if you like her, why don’t you ask her out?”
“Mm, that’s the problem. We are going somewhere, but with your friend, WooYoung.”
“Oh,” Nich didn’t really know what to say. WooYoung was sure moving fast for someone with zero experience.
“And I don’t know what we’re going to talk about. She was so different when we were children! I don’t see a bit of the old Yoona in her. It’s like someone’s yanking her around on strings. And most of the time, she’s too…vulnerable. I don’t want to be stuck with someone like that. Like this morning? Her friends obviously set her up to mortify her in front of me, and she didn’t even figure that out. If she only had a wild side, and I got to see it, I’d be happy.”
NichKhun’s thick brows furrowed. “Isn’t that asking too much? I mean, nobody’s perfect. Maybe you should help her instead of complaining about it.” He waited for a harsh response, but instead, Taec laughed a big, booming laugh.
“Hey, that’s actually a good idea. Thanks man, you’re really smart.”
“Would it surprise you to know that I haven’t had any experience with girls?” he asked jokingly.
Taec’s ears perked up. “No way!” He punched Khun lightly on the shoulder. “I should probably go talk to her now, shouldn’t I?”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”
“It’s so nice talking to someone about this. Thanks, man.”
Nich couldn’t help but feel a bit used. It wasn’t like Taec did it on purpose, but the only reason he was talking to him was because he knew that Khun didn’t know him well enough to go tell someone else all these things.
Little did he know of how much Taec envied him.
**
WooYoung and Dara moved swiftly from left to right, their bodies intertwined.
I’m falling in love, not wanting to, not needing to, but just because.
WooYoung felt little sparks every time she touched her. He couldn’t help but wonder if the feeling was mutual. He twirled her around, and they finished the song in each other’s arms.
“Wow,” Dara pushed back a damp piece of hair. “That was good.”
“I think that’s enough for today,” WooYoung said, throwing a towel at her head. “What are you doing in, say, twenty minutes?”
Dara looked around. “Uh, I think that I have to meet GD. We’re,um, gonna go over the lyrics and see if there’s any necessary changes.”
“Huh. Okay. I’ll see you then. You worked hard.”*
*Placed here because you people are impatient: A way to say “nice working with you” or “you did a nice job” in Korean after a long task.
WooYoung walked away, not looking back. Enough was enough. His brother was right. Let her do whatever she wants. He didn’t want to obsess over it like she did over GD, and it wasn’t necessary for him to spend every waking second with him. He flipped his cellphone open and called Minzy.
“Hey Minz. Where you at?”
“Girls’ dorm. Let’s meet up.”
“Let’s. Where to?”
“Why don’t you just come here?”
“To the girls’ room? You’re a disgrace to every living Asian.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now get your ass here.”
“No. What if Teacher Lee sees us? We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Whatever. I’ll come to your dorm. There’s no way I’ll get in trouble for that. You boys never get in trouble for things like that.”
“Fine.”
*
“Your room’s…nice, in a sorta bland way,” Minzy clasped her hands behind her back and walked around. “I do like Nich’s bedsheets, although they are a bit too orange. Your yellow goes well with it. Junho’s navy kinda sets it off.”
“Junho’s a man of few words and dark colors.”
“Is he? I really do want to get to know him, but I always feel dumb about him. Speaking of, I’m mad at Dara. Just thought you should know.”
“Why?”
Minzy let out a loud laugh. “Oh please. Like you don’t see the way she drools over G-Dragon. She doesn’t even give a crap about anyone else anymore. She’s in the bathroom for an hour every morning, and she’s barely said more than two words to me these past three days. Why? Because she was with GD. And guess what else? GD invited us all to do something next week, and she told him that we didn’t want to go so she’d be alone with him. That is so pathetic. Who does she think she is, anyway?”
Woo reeled back. Is this what all girls were like when you angered them?
“Ya, Minzy-ah, shut up. You’re supposed to be her best friend.”
“You’re supposed to be her best friend, too. I don’t see you disagreeing.”
“She’s in love.”
“Are you really forcing yourself to believe that? Is that why you’re putting up with it? Because she’s in love and you want her to be happy? Aish, you’re so corny. Eyes on the prize, Woo. Eyes. On. The prize. As my friend RyeoWook would say, ‘If you really love someone, just go for it’.”
“Isn’t that what Dara’s doing though?”
“Look here, Mandu Cheeks. I didn’t come up here for you to get all defensive on me. Jeez, you have no clue how to make a girl happy. You’re supposed to agree with girls, no matter what. Tip for your future love life, but judging from the direction you’re headed, you’re not likely to have one.”
“And how is your life coming along, oh great and powerful Gong Minzy?”
“Quite well, actually. Not that it’s any of your business or anything. Besides, you’re so obvious about liking her. It’s almost as bad as Daragon, which I do not approve of. GD’s cool and all, but his head’s in the clouds. He’s oblivous to everything: her liking towards him, your hatred—“
“I do not hate him! That’s immature!”
“I was saying: how people look at his dyed-blonde hair and extreme outfits. I mean, how much can a guy spice up a school uniform and not look gay?” She buried her head in her hands. “My best friend likes a gay guy! Kill me now!”
Minzy’s phone made a bloop and she lifted her head, a smile creeping onto her face. She opened it, read a text, and snorted.
WooYoung stared at her curiously, wondering what the heck Minzy was doing. He had nothing against her, but she seemed to fierce for anyone at this school.
“Anyways,” she said, snapping her phone shut. “I need to talk to you about something. Tell me all you know about Daesung.”
WooYoung sighed. High school consisted of relationships and nothing else, didn’t it?
**
Junho sat at his piano, all alone in the dimly-lit room. NichKhun and WooYoung were nowhere to be found, and sometimes, that was just the way he liked it. He needed to practice as much as he could. Nobody knew how quickly he’d get sent home if he didn’t get the highest grade on the final. Nobody knew anything about him, for that matter.
**
Sunny, Yuri, and Jessica were practicing in the empty dance studio.
“Faster, better, stronger!” Jessica yelled, blowing on a pink whistle.
“Perv,” Yuri rolled her eyes. A balled up sock was thrown at her head.
“We need to nail this. Do you understand? If we don’t impress everybody, I’m kicking both of you out of the group.”
“Who’re you gonna impress?” Sunny asked, stopping to tie her shoelace.
A smile crept up on Jessica’s face. “You’ll see.”
**
Friday: Day of the Finals
The third years all stood huddled together, talking anxiously. The younger ones had already gone, and it was their turn. First up was “Jessica and the Girls”. WooYoung watched them perform, his cheeks puffed out. He looked for SooYoung, but she wasn’t there, which made him happy. They performed a very girly number with extremely raunchy choreography, and WooYoung couldn’t help but notice how out of place Sunny looked in all of this. She had too much aegyo* to do such sexy dances.
*cuteness, innocence
At the end of the performance, Jessica stepped forward and called out to the crowd, “This song was dedicated to NichKhun oppa. Saranghae, Nich!”
Wooyoung scanned their circle for NichKhun, but couldn’t find him. He heard a door slam loudly, and muttered, “There he goes.”
Next up was SooYoung and Yoona, and they did a song called “Lucky”. Their English was extremely well; their soothing voices went well together.
Minzy and Daesung followed, singing a duet about…falling in love. It seemed to be the theme of the finals so far. They were followed by Bom and T.O.P.
“I heard they’re going out,” a second year next to him whispered to her friend.
Dara sung a solo song, and it was beyond obvious who it was for:
“So here’s my confession: This time, this time, don’t just want you to love me. I want to be your obsession, this time, this time. Oooh, I want you to want me, I want you to need me, I want you to hear my confession: I, I want to be your obsession, oh. Ain’t nothing wrong with OCD, long as it’s for me, long as it’s for…me.”
G-Dragon and Dara’s performance followed. WooYoung didn’t want to admit it, bu their voices were nice, and GD was really good at rapping. They got a lot of applause. Junho was after them. His song was, to simply put it, about being under pressure from everybody. WooYoung knew his friend was talented, but he’d never seen him like this. He dominated the crowd. Woo had never felt so moved and challenged at the same time. He clapped the loudest for Junho.
WooYoung and Dara were next. Woo’s stomach did triple flips as he went onstage. He had no problem performing live, but he’d never done it with a girl that…he thought he had feelings for. Dara slipped her small hand into his and he guided her around the stage. He wanted to talk to her, to confess, but he didn’t want to fail. He looked into her eyes, hoping to find a bit of the glimmer that he’d seen when she’d performed with G-Dragon. Unfortunately for him, it was all but gone. The crowd really liked their performance, but WooYoung just wanted to get out of there. Dara was looking at him the whole time, but it seemed like she was looking through him. What Minzy had said had been completely true.
After they bowed, Dara rushed backstage to GD.
“Nice performance,” he nodded at them both.
Dara gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek, which surprised everybody who was watching. You couldn’t just kiss people like that.
G-Dragon put a hand up to his cheek, then looked at it; and then at Dara, who giggled.
WooYoung turned and left the room, slamming the door hard behind him.
SooYoung, who had been watching the whole thing, shook her head in disgust at Dara and followed him.
“WooYoung!”
He turned around abruptly. “What?”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Stop playing dumb, for one. Also stop caring so much. I’m not asking you to completely forget Dara, but give her room to grow. You’re turning into her. You don’t want that, do you?”
WooYoung slumped against the wall.
“I just don’t know what to do.”
“You know what? I think it’s high time we left this place. Remember we were going to go to a sushi place? How ‘bout a movie instead? Sound good?”
“But it’s against the ru—oh, let’s go.”
“But we’re gonna have some company. I invited Yoona and Taec, too.”
“Sounds good. Let’s get out of here.”
**
NichKhun was by himself on the balcony, once again. He felt like crap. That blonde girl had embarrassed him in front of everyone, and he barely even knew her. And who did she think she was, calling him oppa?! Some people just didn’t know what limits were.
He heard a rustling noise and looked down to see four figures hoisting each other up to pass the school walled. He peered closely. Two guys…and two girls. One of the guys turned around and the moonlight hit his face.
WooYoung.
There goes someone else with a much better life than mine, he thought to himself.
**
Yoona was petrified. She had no clue what to think or do. She and Taec were sitting at the very back of the cinema, sharing a bowl of popcorn, awkwardly pretending to watch the movie while they tried to catch each other’s eye.
“So,” Taec said, turning his body away from the screen. “You’ve grown quite a lot since I’ve seen you. You’re taller, for one,” he said, nudging her. “But you’ve gotten really ugly.”
Yoona giggled, knowing he wasn’t being serious. He used to tease her about being his guardian angel all the time when they were little.
“You’ve lost your baby fat.”
“What?” Taec stared at her in mock-shock. “I was never fat!”
He then started ranting about how fat his younger brother was. Yoona leaned back, her body relaxed. She’d missed Taec a whole lot.
**
“And now, for the person with the highest score on our six-weeks exam….Lee Junho!”
Junho got up from his seat and walked toward the stage, trying his best to smile. He’d been so scared that he wasn’t going to win that it was more of a relief than a reward. Good. Now his father wouldn’t have another thing to judge him about.
When he received his certificate, Junho specifically looked in at the sea of people, trying his best to find NichKhun’s natural orange highlights, or WooYoung’s pale, puffy face. Both were absent. What little happiness that was starting to form in him died out.
Of course they weren’t there.
“They’re too busy with their oh-so dramatic lives to care about others’,” he mumbled to himself, running up to his room.
**
WooYoung watched in awe as SooYoung downed yet another can of rice beer—her fifth one.
“You sure eat a lot.”
“Is that bad?” SooYoung murmured, not tearing her gaze from the screen.
“I love eating!” WooYoung smiled for the first time that day. SooYoung grinned back.
“That’s nice. Do you like playing videogames?”
“Actually, no. I think my older brother plays them enough for both of us.”
SooYoung laughed. It was nice to be around WooYoung, even as just a friend, because that was what he needed most right now, more than anything, and that’s what SooYoung wanted to give him.
*
They returned at midnight, and went up to their dorm rooms,only to face Teacher Lee. Before any of them could say anything, she held up a hand.
“Monday. After breakfast. My office.”
Taec looked at Soo and WooYoung grinning at each other bashfully, and Yoona biting her lip in worry.
“We are so screwed.”
**
Monday (weekends are when the students leave to visit their families), Teacher Lee’s office
“Let’s be very straight with this,” Teacher Lee said, her arms crossed against her chest. “You’re teenagers; it’s what you do, and no matter how much we punish you, it won’t change a thing. But did you really have to sneak out on finals day? I had to cover up for you guys big-time when they called up your names. I’m gonna let this slip this one time, but next time, I’m making you take classes with the first years for two months. The principal will never hear about this. Capiche?”
The four kids shook their heads in awe and left the room with her; heading straight for History of Dance. The loud talking was muted as soon as WooYoung and Yoona entered the classroom. Everybody stared at the four of them; and then started whispering amongst themselves.
WooYoung took his usual seat next in between NichKhun and Junho.
“Hey guys.”
Junho doodled in his notebook. NichKhun turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
Junho stared out the window.
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” NichKhun said, not being able to contain himself. “You’ve been acting strange, you sneaked out of the building without telling us, and you’re all gaga over Dara.”
“You’re one to talk,” Junho shot back, clicking his pen angrily. “All you do is walk around gloomily like something’s up, but you don’t bother to even talk to us about it. And you’re never around. You act like the world revolves around you. And you—“ he pointed his pen at WooYoung, “—I don’t even know what’s wrong with you anymore. You’re so nice to people, but you never get niceness in return, and you let it affect you in all the wrong ways. You’re breaking yourself down instead of building yourself up with all of this negativity. And for god’s sake, for once, please, at least pretend to care about things.”
Both boys stared at him, their mouths open.
“I don’t think NichKhun’s like that,” Jessica called from her spot across the room.
“You,” Nich growled, pushing his chair back. “I’d completely forgotten about you. What do you think you’re doing, embarrassing me like that? Who do you think you are? Do I even know you?”
“But oppa—“
“What the hell, bro?” SooYoung said, also getting up and pushing her sleeves back. “This is the kid you were secretly obsessing over? That is just so wrong on so many levels. You’re such a creep, Jessica.”
“Oh shut up, Soo, you filthy hypocrite,” Jessica rolled her eyes. “The only reason you even talk to WooYoung is because you’ve got a weird tomboy-crush on him.”
“Uh oh,” Sunny covered her eyes. “I don’t wanna see this.”
“Don’t call me oppa ever again,” NichKhun shouted angrily.
SooYoung took in a deep breath, fighting to keep her cool.
“Oh yeah? At least I don’t publicly humiliate myself for a boy, and then get yelled at by him. At least my life, personality, and self aren’t fake. At least I can’t reciprocate feelings. Tell me, when was the last time you said anything nice, or thought of someone else? Can’t answer that, can you?”
Now they were nose-to-nose.
“Lay off, Soo,” Yuri yawned lazily, taking out her nail filer.
“Actually, no,” Yoona said, looking up from the notebook Taec was writing in. “I think she should keep going.”
Sunny covered her ears now.
“At least your friend isn’t being a complete bitch because she wants to impress some guy that doesn’t even care about her like that,” Minzy said to SooYoung, glaring at an oblivious Dara, who seemed to catch it a few minutes too late.
“Shut up. Just because I haven’t immediately gotten myself a boyfriend doesn’t mean I throw myself around at people.”
“You do!” SooYoung, Minzy, and WooYoung shouted.
“Uh, excuse me, but, who the hell are you to be telling me anything?” Dara said, joining Jessica, her eyebrows raised. “I don’t remember ever giving you permission to stick your nose in my business.”
“It’s not her fault you make your business so public,” WooYoung commented, rushing to protect SooYoung. Although what he’d said had been a bit harsh, it just seemed like an innocent defense coming from him.
“And it’s not my fault you’re obsessed with me!” Dara shouted.
Silence fell over the room. No matter what anyone had said, that was just going against everything. The rudest thing was to be conceited, and Dara had exceeded the limit.
“Like you’re obsessed with G-Dragon?” A voice called from the very back of the room, behind Taec. Everybody turned around as Suzy emerged from the shadows.
“Yes, to your surprise, I still exist. And I have a few things to say: Dara, you’re vain, put too much faith in your looks, and have OCD. Chubby Cheeks, you need to loosen up. She’s obviously not worth it. Pretty boy—lose the emo approach and the world’s at your feet. Seriously, what could be so bad about your life that we don’t know about?—“
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” NichKhun muttered.
“And Junho, I have nothing to say to you. You’re completely right. Try not to be so flawless, eh? SooYoung: fights will get you a suspension, as much as I’d like to stir the pot a bit. Jessica, sit your plastic ass down; Yuri, please, for once in your life, give a crap; Sunny, grow up, and Taec and Yoona—you guys are cute together.”
They pulled back.
“We’re just friends,” Yoona whispered.
Suzy gave them a tight smile.
“As much as I’d love to stay and be a part of your drama, because I find it to be extremely interesting, I have some drama of my own to attend to.” With that, she breezed out of the room.
“She’s stupid to skip right after you guys have snuck out,” NichKhun mumbled.
“She thinks she knows so much,” Jessica said.
“But she has no clue,” Yuri added.
Everyone nodded.
“No clue,” Dara muttered.
Teacher Lee walked in, and stopped short, staring at all of them.
WooYoung kept blowing his cheeks in and out, Dara was scribbling furiously on the cover of her binder while Minzy glared at her, NichKhun and Junho were eyeing each other, SooYoung was cracking her neck, eyes focused on Jessica, who was whispering to Yuri, while Sunny was slumped down in her chair, her panda hat pulled over her head, her lips drawn into a pout. Taec and Yoona were discussing something quietly, seemingly in their own world. And Suzy was…absent.
“Okay, class. Let’s get started.”
“Hey there.”
“Hi.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Thinking about things. You?”
“Same. I…Can I tell you something?” Taec looked more than eager to share, and Khun understood immediately that he was one of those really friendly people.
“Sure.”
“I like someone.”
NichKhun snorted. “Don’t we all?”
“Do you?”
Nich shook his head.
“Well…Do you know Yoona?”
“Oh, is she the pretty one who always has her hair in a bun? The one that hangs out with that Barbie doll.”
“Yeah. She is pretty, isn’t she? But…you wouldn’t like her, would you?”
“No. I guess not. I really can’t seem to tell if she has a personality or not, and I’ve talked to her plenty.”
“Yeah, I know. History of Dance is pretty much the most fun class I have. Everyone’s in it.”
“Hah. Yeah. Uh, well, if you like her, why don’t you ask her out?”
“Mm, that’s the problem. We are going somewhere, but with your friend, WooYoung.”
“Oh,” Nich didn’t really know what to say. WooYoung was sure moving fast for someone with zero experience.
“And I don’t know what we’re going to talk about. She was so different when we were children! I don’t see a bit of the old Yoona in her. It’s like someone’s yanking her around on strings. And most of the time, she’s too…vulnerable. I don’t want to be stuck with someone like that. Like this morning? Her friends obviously set her up to mortify her in front of me, and she didn’t even figure that out. If she only had a wild side, and I got to see it, I’d be happy.”
NichKhun’s thick brows furrowed. “Isn’t that asking too much? I mean, nobody’s perfect. Maybe you should help her instead of complaining about it.” He waited for a harsh response, but instead, Taec laughed a big, booming laugh.
“Hey, that’s actually a good idea. Thanks man, you’re really smart.”
“Would it surprise you to know that I haven’t had any experience with girls?” he asked jokingly.
Taec’s ears perked up. “No way!” He punched Khun lightly on the shoulder. “I should probably go talk to her now, shouldn’t I?”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”
“It’s so nice talking to someone about this. Thanks, man.”
Nich couldn’t help but feel a bit used. It wasn’t like Taec did it on purpose, but the only reason he was talking to him was because he knew that Khun didn’t know him well enough to go tell someone else all these things.
Little did he know of how much Taec envied him.
**
WooYoung and Dara moved swiftly from left to right, their bodies intertwined.
I’m falling in love, not wanting to, not needing to, but just because.
WooYoung felt little sparks every time she touched her. He couldn’t help but wonder if the feeling was mutual. He twirled her around, and they finished the song in each other’s arms.
“Wow,” Dara pushed back a damp piece of hair. “That was good.”
“I think that’s enough for today,” WooYoung said, throwing a towel at her head. “What are you doing in, say, twenty minutes?”
Dara looked around. “Uh, I think that I have to meet GD. We’re,um, gonna go over the lyrics and see if there’s any necessary changes.”
“Huh. Okay. I’ll see you then. You worked hard.”*
*Placed here because you people are impatient: A way to say “nice working with you” or “you did a nice job” in Korean after a long task.
WooYoung walked away, not looking back. Enough was enough. His brother was right. Let her do whatever she wants. He didn’t want to obsess over it like she did over GD, and it wasn’t necessary for him to spend every waking second with him. He flipped his cellphone open and called Minzy.
“Hey Minz. Where you at?”
“Girls’ dorm. Let’s meet up.”
“Let’s. Where to?”
“Why don’t you just come here?”
“To the girls’ room? You’re a disgrace to every living Asian.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now get your ass here.”
“No. What if Teacher Lee sees us? We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Whatever. I’ll come to your dorm. There’s no way I’ll get in trouble for that. You boys never get in trouble for things like that.”
“Fine.”
*
“Your room’s…nice, in a sorta bland way,” Minzy clasped her hands behind her back and walked around. “I do like Nich’s bedsheets, although they are a bit too orange. Your yellow goes well with it. Junho’s navy kinda sets it off.”
“Junho’s a man of few words and dark colors.”
“Is he? I really do want to get to know him, but I always feel dumb about him. Speaking of, I’m mad at Dara. Just thought you should know.”
“Why?”
Minzy let out a loud laugh. “Oh please. Like you don’t see the way she drools over G-Dragon. She doesn’t even give a crap about anyone else anymore. She’s in the bathroom for an hour every morning, and she’s barely said more than two words to me these past three days. Why? Because she was with GD. And guess what else? GD invited us all to do something next week, and she told him that we didn’t want to go so she’d be alone with him. That is so pathetic. Who does she think she is, anyway?”
Woo reeled back. Is this what all girls were like when you angered them?
“Ya, Minzy-ah, shut up. You’re supposed to be her best friend.”
“You’re supposed to be her best friend, too. I don’t see you disagreeing.”
“She’s in love.”
“Are you really forcing yourself to believe that? Is that why you’re putting up with it? Because she’s in love and you want her to be happy? Aish, you’re so corny. Eyes on the prize, Woo. Eyes. On. The prize. As my friend RyeoWook would say, ‘If you really love someone, just go for it’.”
“Isn’t that what Dara’s doing though?”
“Look here, Mandu Cheeks. I didn’t come up here for you to get all defensive on me. Jeez, you have no clue how to make a girl happy. You’re supposed to agree with girls, no matter what. Tip for your future love life, but judging from the direction you’re headed, you’re not likely to have one.”
“And how is your life coming along, oh great and powerful Gong Minzy?”
“Quite well, actually. Not that it’s any of your business or anything. Besides, you’re so obvious about liking her. It’s almost as bad as Daragon, which I do not approve of. GD’s cool and all, but his head’s in the clouds. He’s oblivous to everything: her liking towards him, your hatred—“
“I do not hate him! That’s immature!”
“I was saying: how people look at his dyed-blonde hair and extreme outfits. I mean, how much can a guy spice up a school uniform and not look gay?” She buried her head in her hands. “My best friend likes a gay guy! Kill me now!”
Minzy’s phone made a bloop and she lifted her head, a smile creeping onto her face. She opened it, read a text, and snorted.
WooYoung stared at her curiously, wondering what the heck Minzy was doing. He had nothing against her, but she seemed to fierce for anyone at this school.
“Anyways,” she said, snapping her phone shut. “I need to talk to you about something. Tell me all you know about Daesung.”
WooYoung sighed. High school consisted of relationships and nothing else, didn’t it?
**
Junho sat at his piano, all alone in the dimly-lit room. NichKhun and WooYoung were nowhere to be found, and sometimes, that was just the way he liked it. He needed to practice as much as he could. Nobody knew how quickly he’d get sent home if he didn’t get the highest grade on the final. Nobody knew anything about him, for that matter.
**
Sunny, Yuri, and Jessica were practicing in the empty dance studio.
“Faster, better, stronger!” Jessica yelled, blowing on a pink whistle.
“Perv,” Yuri rolled her eyes. A balled up sock was thrown at her head.
“We need to nail this. Do you understand? If we don’t impress everybody, I’m kicking both of you out of the group.”
“Who’re you gonna impress?” Sunny asked, stopping to tie her shoelace.
A smile crept up on Jessica’s face. “You’ll see.”
**
Friday: Day of the Finals
The third years all stood huddled together, talking anxiously. The younger ones had already gone, and it was their turn. First up was “Jessica and the Girls”. WooYoung watched them perform, his cheeks puffed out. He looked for SooYoung, but she wasn’t there, which made him happy. They performed a very girly number with extremely raunchy choreography, and WooYoung couldn’t help but notice how out of place Sunny looked in all of this. She had too much aegyo* to do such sexy dances.
*cuteness, innocence
At the end of the performance, Jessica stepped forward and called out to the crowd, “This song was dedicated to NichKhun oppa. Saranghae, Nich!”
Wooyoung scanned their circle for NichKhun, but couldn’t find him. He heard a door slam loudly, and muttered, “There he goes.”
Next up was SooYoung and Yoona, and they did a song called “Lucky”. Their English was extremely well; their soothing voices went well together.
Minzy and Daesung followed, singing a duet about…falling in love. It seemed to be the theme of the finals so far. They were followed by Bom and T.O.P.
“I heard they’re going out,” a second year next to him whispered to her friend.
Dara sung a solo song, and it was beyond obvious who it was for:
“So here’s my confession: This time, this time, don’t just want you to love me. I want to be your obsession, this time, this time. Oooh, I want you to want me, I want you to need me, I want you to hear my confession: I, I want to be your obsession, oh. Ain’t nothing wrong with OCD, long as it’s for me, long as it’s for…me.”
G-Dragon and Dara’s performance followed. WooYoung didn’t want to admit it, bu their voices were nice, and GD was really good at rapping. They got a lot of applause. Junho was after them. His song was, to simply put it, about being under pressure from everybody. WooYoung knew his friend was talented, but he’d never seen him like this. He dominated the crowd. Woo had never felt so moved and challenged at the same time. He clapped the loudest for Junho.
WooYoung and Dara were next. Woo’s stomach did triple flips as he went onstage. He had no problem performing live, but he’d never done it with a girl that…he thought he had feelings for. Dara slipped her small hand into his and he guided her around the stage. He wanted to talk to her, to confess, but he didn’t want to fail. He looked into her eyes, hoping to find a bit of the glimmer that he’d seen when she’d performed with G-Dragon. Unfortunately for him, it was all but gone. The crowd really liked their performance, but WooYoung just wanted to get out of there. Dara was looking at him the whole time, but it seemed like she was looking through him. What Minzy had said had been completely true.
After they bowed, Dara rushed backstage to GD.
“Nice performance,” he nodded at them both.
Dara gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek, which surprised everybody who was watching. You couldn’t just kiss people like that.
G-Dragon put a hand up to his cheek, then looked at it; and then at Dara, who giggled.
WooYoung turned and left the room, slamming the door hard behind him.
SooYoung, who had been watching the whole thing, shook her head in disgust at Dara and followed him.
“WooYoung!”
He turned around abruptly. “What?”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Stop playing dumb, for one. Also stop caring so much. I’m not asking you to completely forget Dara, but give her room to grow. You’re turning into her. You don’t want that, do you?”
WooYoung slumped against the wall.
“I just don’t know what to do.”
“You know what? I think it’s high time we left this place. Remember we were going to go to a sushi place? How ‘bout a movie instead? Sound good?”
“But it’s against the ru—oh, let’s go.”
“But we’re gonna have some company. I invited Yoona and Taec, too.”
“Sounds good. Let’s get out of here.”
**
NichKhun was by himself on the balcony, once again. He felt like crap. That blonde girl had embarrassed him in front of everyone, and he barely even knew her. And who did she think she was, calling him oppa?! Some people just didn’t know what limits were.
He heard a rustling noise and looked down to see four figures hoisting each other up to pass the school walled. He peered closely. Two guys…and two girls. One of the guys turned around and the moonlight hit his face.
WooYoung.
There goes someone else with a much better life than mine, he thought to himself.
**
Yoona was petrified. She had no clue what to think or do. She and Taec were sitting at the very back of the cinema, sharing a bowl of popcorn, awkwardly pretending to watch the movie while they tried to catch each other’s eye.
“So,” Taec said, turning his body away from the screen. “You’ve grown quite a lot since I’ve seen you. You’re taller, for one,” he said, nudging her. “But you’ve gotten really ugly.”
Yoona giggled, knowing he wasn’t being serious. He used to tease her about being his guardian angel all the time when they were little.
“You’ve lost your baby fat.”
“What?” Taec stared at her in mock-shock. “I was never fat!”
He then started ranting about how fat his younger brother was. Yoona leaned back, her body relaxed. She’d missed Taec a whole lot.
**
“And now, for the person with the highest score on our six-weeks exam….Lee Junho!”
Junho got up from his seat and walked toward the stage, trying his best to smile. He’d been so scared that he wasn’t going to win that it was more of a relief than a reward. Good. Now his father wouldn’t have another thing to judge him about.
When he received his certificate, Junho specifically looked in at the sea of people, trying his best to find NichKhun’s natural orange highlights, or WooYoung’s pale, puffy face. Both were absent. What little happiness that was starting to form in him died out.
Of course they weren’t there.
“They’re too busy with their oh-so dramatic lives to care about others’,” he mumbled to himself, running up to his room.
**
WooYoung watched in awe as SooYoung downed yet another can of rice beer—her fifth one.
“You sure eat a lot.”
“Is that bad?” SooYoung murmured, not tearing her gaze from the screen.
“I love eating!” WooYoung smiled for the first time that day. SooYoung grinned back.
“That’s nice. Do you like playing videogames?”
“Actually, no. I think my older brother plays them enough for both of us.”
SooYoung laughed. It was nice to be around WooYoung, even as just a friend, because that was what he needed most right now, more than anything, and that’s what SooYoung wanted to give him.
*
They returned at midnight, and went up to their dorm rooms,only to face Teacher Lee. Before any of them could say anything, she held up a hand.
“Monday. After breakfast. My office.”
Taec looked at Soo and WooYoung grinning at each other bashfully, and Yoona biting her lip in worry.
“We are so screwed.”
**
Monday (weekends are when the students leave to visit their families), Teacher Lee’s office
“Let’s be very straight with this,” Teacher Lee said, her arms crossed against her chest. “You’re teenagers; it’s what you do, and no matter how much we punish you, it won’t change a thing. But did you really have to sneak out on finals day? I had to cover up for you guys big-time when they called up your names. I’m gonna let this slip this one time, but next time, I’m making you take classes with the first years for two months. The principal will never hear about this. Capiche?”
The four kids shook their heads in awe and left the room with her; heading straight for History of Dance. The loud talking was muted as soon as WooYoung and Yoona entered the classroom. Everybody stared at the four of them; and then started whispering amongst themselves.
WooYoung took his usual seat next in between NichKhun and Junho.
“Hey guys.”
Junho doodled in his notebook. NichKhun turned around.
“What’s wrong?”
Junho stared out the window.
“I’ll tell you what’s wrong,” NichKhun said, not being able to contain himself. “You’ve been acting strange, you sneaked out of the building without telling us, and you’re all gaga over Dara.”
“You’re one to talk,” Junho shot back, clicking his pen angrily. “All you do is walk around gloomily like something’s up, but you don’t bother to even talk to us about it. And you’re never around. You act like the world revolves around you. And you—“ he pointed his pen at WooYoung, “—I don’t even know what’s wrong with you anymore. You’re so nice to people, but you never get niceness in return, and you let it affect you in all the wrong ways. You’re breaking yourself down instead of building yourself up with all of this negativity. And for god’s sake, for once, please, at least pretend to care about things.”
Both boys stared at him, their mouths open.
“I don’t think NichKhun’s like that,” Jessica called from her spot across the room.
“You,” Nich growled, pushing his chair back. “I’d completely forgotten about you. What do you think you’re doing, embarrassing me like that? Who do you think you are? Do I even know you?”
“But oppa—“
“What the hell, bro?” SooYoung said, also getting up and pushing her sleeves back. “This is the kid you were secretly obsessing over? That is just so wrong on so many levels. You’re such a creep, Jessica.”
“Oh shut up, Soo, you filthy hypocrite,” Jessica rolled her eyes. “The only reason you even talk to WooYoung is because you’ve got a weird tomboy-crush on him.”
“Uh oh,” Sunny covered her eyes. “I don’t wanna see this.”
“Don’t call me oppa ever again,” NichKhun shouted angrily.
SooYoung took in a deep breath, fighting to keep her cool.
“Oh yeah? At least I don’t publicly humiliate myself for a boy, and then get yelled at by him. At least my life, personality, and self aren’t fake. At least I can’t reciprocate feelings. Tell me, when was the last time you said anything nice, or thought of someone else? Can’t answer that, can you?”
Now they were nose-to-nose.
“Lay off, Soo,” Yuri yawned lazily, taking out her nail filer.
“Actually, no,” Yoona said, looking up from the notebook Taec was writing in. “I think she should keep going.”
Sunny covered her ears now.
“At least your friend isn’t being a complete bitch because she wants to impress some guy that doesn’t even care about her like that,” Minzy said to SooYoung, glaring at an oblivious Dara, who seemed to catch it a few minutes too late.
“Shut up. Just because I haven’t immediately gotten myself a boyfriend doesn’t mean I throw myself around at people.”
“You do!” SooYoung, Minzy, and WooYoung shouted.
“Uh, excuse me, but, who the hell are you to be telling me anything?” Dara said, joining Jessica, her eyebrows raised. “I don’t remember ever giving you permission to stick your nose in my business.”
“It’s not her fault you make your business so public,” WooYoung commented, rushing to protect SooYoung. Although what he’d said had been a bit harsh, it just seemed like an innocent defense coming from him.
“And it’s not my fault you’re obsessed with me!” Dara shouted.
Silence fell over the room. No matter what anyone had said, that was just going against everything. The rudest thing was to be conceited, and Dara had exceeded the limit.
“Like you’re obsessed with G-Dragon?” A voice called from the very back of the room, behind Taec. Everybody turned around as Suzy emerged from the shadows.
“Yes, to your surprise, I still exist. And I have a few things to say: Dara, you’re vain, put too much faith in your looks, and have OCD. Chubby Cheeks, you need to loosen up. She’s obviously not worth it. Pretty boy—lose the emo approach and the world’s at your feet. Seriously, what could be so bad about your life that we don’t know about?—“
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” NichKhun muttered.
“And Junho, I have nothing to say to you. You’re completely right. Try not to be so flawless, eh? SooYoung: fights will get you a suspension, as much as I’d like to stir the pot a bit. Jessica, sit your plastic ass down; Yuri, please, for once in your life, give a crap; Sunny, grow up, and Taec and Yoona—you guys are cute together.”
They pulled back.
“We’re just friends,” Yoona whispered.
Suzy gave them a tight smile.
“As much as I’d love to stay and be a part of your drama, because I find it to be extremely interesting, I have some drama of my own to attend to.” With that, she breezed out of the room.
“She’s stupid to skip right after you guys have snuck out,” NichKhun mumbled.
“She thinks she knows so much,” Jessica said.
“But she has no clue,” Yuri added.
Everyone nodded.
“No clue,” Dara muttered.
Teacher Lee walked in, and stopped short, staring at all of them.
WooYoung kept blowing his cheeks in and out, Dara was scribbling furiously on the cover of her binder while Minzy glared at her, NichKhun and Junho were eyeing each other, SooYoung was cracking her neck, eyes focused on Jessica, who was whispering to Yuri, while Sunny was slumped down in her chair, her panda hat pulled over her head, her lips drawn into a pout. Taec and Yoona were discussing something quietly, seemingly in their own world. And Suzy was…absent.
“Okay, class. Let’s get started.”
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