The moon glowed over the city as a young girl strolled through the streets, humming a tune. While Hanbyeol wanted to relax at home, her sister begged her to buy her some treats, and of course necessities, to relieve her deadly time of the month.

Hanbyeol's hair was settled in its mess, and she revealed her pretty bare face, but she didn't mind as she was sure she wouldn't bump into anyone from school at this time on a Monday night. The grey trousers she wore were baggy, just like her black hoodie with a graphic design on it – a souvenir from a concert.

In the bright convenience store, she bundled some pads in her arms, along with some chocolate bars. It was peaceful as there was no one else there to shop. The electronic bell sounded for a new customer, but she didn't pay any attention as she skimmed through the endless shelves. Debating on what to buy, she turned into the snacks aisle and came face to face with a boy, a slightly familiar boy.

His brown hair could almost be called a mullet, and his skinny face was accompanied with a few shiny ear piercings. As his sharp eyes regarded her, she remembered where she saw him. Back in middle school, he had a beautiful voice and then they went to the same store. The only main difference was that he now wore a Saebom High blazer over casual clothes.

"You go to Saebom High?" Hanbyeol couldn't help the thought from escaping her lips. "No, you don't. I do."

"No, you don't. I do," the boy mimicked the words he threw back at her, his hands shoved in the pockets of his black pants.

Hanbyeol blinked, wanting to smack her forehead. She didn't even know what year this boy was in, or perhaps he was teasing her and stole the jacket from someone. Clearly, she hadn't had much experience with speaking to guys.

The handsome boy, Han Seojun, was still trying to piece together this girl. He couldn't recall seeing such bright honey brown eyes before, but the messy hair tugged at his memory. It also didn't help that he hadn't attended school in a while. He just preferred spending his time doing more enjoyable things, but he had to at least wear his blazer when visiting his mum in the hospital, so she believed he was a good student.

"Okay, today was actually my first day as a second year at Saebom," Hanbyeol confessed after a while. "What grade are you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Seojun's smirk made her heart beat faster than usual.

Hanbyeol's eyebrow twitched though. "I would, actually."

Teasing this girl was better than the food that Seojun came here to buy, and those Turtle Chips were his go-to every week. His gaze wandered around until it landed on the products in her hand. Flustered, Hanbyeol hid them behind her back.

"It's not for me! It's for my sister," Hanbyeol blurted.

"I can relate," the boy nodded, his silver earrings fluttering along.

"You have a sister too?"

"I never said that," Seojun's eyes twinkled.

His intricate words made her sigh and run her hand through her hair. Feeling the chaotic state it was in and realising the time, she needed to get back home. The girl gave him one last look before moving around him, squeezing her body between the shelf of chips and him.

"Hope you don't bleed too much, and you don't get too moody!" Seojun called out after her.

Hanbyeol simply rolled her eyes as she headed to pay for her things. Was this boy really in high school like her? She froze for a second, remembering that her hair was in disarray, and she didn't have makeup on, but he didn't comment on her looks at all. Hanbyeol's face brightened as she picked up her bag of items that she just bought, nearly swinging it around.

When she left the convenience store, the boy grinned at her retreating figure. Going to school was in his distant schedule but looks like he'll be back there sooner.

At the same time as their reunion, another one occurred on the corner of a small street in the lovely neighbourhood, where a comic book store lived. Mysterious on the outside, its cozy, brown interior was memorised by Jugyeong. Skeletons and other Halloween decorations welcomed the girl as she came to find a book.

However, an unexpected boy appeared and fought for the same volume. As Jugyeong reached for it and knocked him over, she found herself laying on top of Suho. Her eyes widened, instantly recognising the rude boy from school.

Suho also recalled the familiar face – the pimply, blemished face. He had once saved her when she was about to jump from a rooftop. While Jugyeong now tried to run away, the friendly store owner gave her some ramyeon.

As the pair of students sat together, she conjured up several stories so that he wouldn't know her – saying she was a middle school student or 25 years old. Unfortunately, Suho didn't buy it, but he didn't call her out as Jugyeong, and he promised to keep her secret. Finally cleaning off her bowl and leaving the comic there, Jugyeong escaped.

That encounter would unfortunately unravel into their interesting relationship. The very next day, Jugyeong's prayers were not met when she crashed into Suho at the start of the morning. Jugyeong was relieved that he didn't recognise her, but the coldness from him was suffocating.

As Hanbyeol joyfully entered the same walkway beside the classrooms, her attention landed on two nearby girls who were whispering about Suho, causing her to frown. The boy of their gossip was about to enter their room when he spotted Hanbyeol further down. His eyes followed her gaze to the two girls who were now taking pictures of him.

"Delete it," Suho demanded the young girls next to the windows.

Hanbyeol had blinked once, and the boy had already marched over to them. She watched this exchange curiously. Luckily, there were hardly any people around in the narrow, yellow corridor.

"W-what?" the girl with the phone stuttered.

"Delete it before I throw this," Suho snatched the phone from her hand.

"I'll delete it. I will, so give it back."

With no emotion, he returned the phone and strided to his classroom, smoothly opening the wooden door to a spirited bunch of students. Hanbyeol narrowed her eyes at him, refusing to find him charismatic. Sure, it wasn't nice to have your picture secretly taken, but did he have to be so rude about it? Not everyone would know his distaste about it.

The pretty girl later forced him out of her mind as she prepared for class at her seat and chatted with Soojin about their favourite subjects.

During lunch, Hanbyeol finished her boxed meal of rice in minutes and decided to visit the band room on the third floor again, but with her guitar this time. To her surprise and luck, the three from yesterday were already in there. She boldly stepped in and greeted them as they set up their instruments.

"Nice to see you again, Hanbyeol," Doyoon waved at her with his drumstick.

"Yeah, good to see you again so soon," Gyuri smiled at her. "Wanna practice with us now? We've got a small gig at another high school coming up."

"I'd love to," Hanbyeol replied, taking out her vibrant blue guitar on the floor.

In the small and dim room filled with beanbags and musical posters, they were huddled together like a real band. A light scent of rosin and wood littered the room, hiding the incoming sweat from the heat. The teenagers warmed up like clockwork and then played an upbeat song that was familiar to Hanbyeol. Although Hyuk, the other guitarist, was a guy of few words, they harmonised well.

The low riffs and loud grooving drifted down the corridor until it hit Suho. A hungry boy smelling freshly baked bread, he followed the sound until he came to the band room. When he peaked through the window, his heart was satisfied to see her. She looked alive and was glowing as bright as her guitar.

When Hanbyeol glanced up from her head banging, her eyes met Suho's. Her fingers missed the string for a second before they found the beat again. His presence was quite unexpected.

Once they finished their song again, they packed up, leaving their instruments in the room. They gossiped about their favourite bands as they exited. Doyoon suddenly stopped, causing the others to bump into each other like dominos. When Hanbyeol peaked around her friends, she saw Suho in his maroon blazer still standing there, his eyes locked on her.

Doyoon's big eyes flittered between Suho and the girl before he gave her a knowing smile, "We gotta go. Catch you later, Hanbyeol."

The blue haired drummer dragged the other two musicians down the hall as they quickly threw their farewells to Hanbyeol over their shoulder. Unsure of what to do, she played with the ends of her long hair, facing the boy who seemed to have words on the tip of his tongue.

"I didn't know you played the guitar that well," Suho finally said.

To be honest, the boy didn't know what to say. His short sentences were often without thought.

"Not like you've ever really talked to me before," Hanbyeol replied.

Those were, in fact, his first words to the dark-haired girl since high school had started. Trying to think about the time or the next class, Hanbyeol's heart was growing restless. She hoped she could escape soon. The quiet space seemed longer up here, even though it wasn't.

"Well, there's always a first for everything," Suho tried to meet her light eyes.

"Indeed, so I shall be the first to walk away."

Hanbyeol left him there without a second glance. It was strange that he started conversation, but she didn't want to ponder much longer as she headed down the hallway for her next period. Her grey skirt swayed as she rushed to the stairs.

The lonely boy furrowed his eyebrows. How were his efforts in vain? All he wanted to do was compliment her guitar skills. Nevertheless, there was a reason he was always first in the class. He wasn't going to give up. 

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Yay, my favourite boy - Han Seojun! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm so sorry, I'll be kinda rushing the scenes without Hanbyeol, as this story is focusing more on her, but some scenes were important, like the bookstore scene.

Have you guys gone to K-pop concerts? I'm going to xikers this week so next chapter will be end of this week. I'm so excited for xikers, ahhhh!!

Thanks for reading! Please like and comment! Have a great day :)