Hanbyeol really needed to be fitter. Trudging up the hill to her school, she already felt her feet begging for mercy. Students of all ages passed her, blending together with their deep red blazers. The hedges on her left and right thanked the sun as they thrived all the way up to the stairs beneath the main entrance of the building.

When Hanbyeol made it to the top, she spotted Seojun with Jugyeong. Wearing a grey hoodie, the boy was lounging on his black motorcycle, a large and shiny beast that matched his image. Hanbyeol's heart fell slightly. Jugyeong had lipstick over her face, but Seojun still looked at her as if she was the only girl in the world. They did fit together quite well – a cute couple of cubs bantering.

Shaking her head, she marched over just as Jugyeong scurried to the side to fix her makeup. Hanbyeol stopped next to the brown-haired boy, who climbed off his bike and stared at Jugyeong's retreating body. His jawline was as sharp as ever and his fair skin complemented his almond-shaped eyes.

"Did you scare her away? I knew it, you've got a scary face," Hanbyeol joked.

Seojun turned to her with a smirk, a silver cross dangling from both ears. "There's my pretty girl. What are you doing here so early?"

"You do realise that class starts in a few minutes?" she raised an eyebrow, ignoring the way her cheeks heated up.

Hanbyeol continued walking up to the large building and he joined her, his bag slung across one shoulder as his hands rested in his pockets like usual. Their light bicker carried them to their classroom comfortably and Hanbyeol's face held a smile the whole time.

With every seat filled with their common grey uniform and the occasional coloured jumper, the first period of maths started. While Hanbyeol did alright, it was her least favourite subject and she was glad the teacher didn't call on her to solve the questions on the board. Instead, Suho, Soojin and Jugyeong were requested to write them out.

Jugyeong cursed in her head as she hesitantly picked up the chalk, the white dust rubbing on her fingertips. Standing in front of the green chalkboard that stretched a good few metres wide, Suho and Soojin were already scribbling the formulas for the class. Jugyeong chewed on her thumb as she stared at the board. Although her hand was up and ready to write, it had been frozen for a while. It was like trying to read three different languages mixed together.

In his seat at the back of the classroom, Seojun framed the small figures of Jugyeong and Suho in a rectangle with his fingers. He squinted his eyes and scoffed – they definitely didn't look like a couple.

Hanbyeol saw his actions and her lips turned down slightly. She tried to focus on the three students at the front, where two of them were nearly finished, but her hands still fiddled with the ends of her hair.

As the sound of chalk scratching the board echoed in the room, Seojun casually leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs out.

"Lee Suho, please help me," Jugyeong whispered desperately to the boy on her left. "Maybe just a formula? Please? God Suho."

No matter how much she begged and praised him, Suho didn't say anything. He simply looked at her maths equation before returning to his own, his expression never changing. Biting her lip, Jugyeong read her problem over and over again. Hanbyeol felt bad for the girl.

Putting down his chalk, Suho finished his task, which was done with impressive speed.

"As expected! You won't have a problem winning this year's math Olympiad!" their teacher complimented him with cheering fists and eyes as big as her glasses.

When the teacher spewed some more unnecessary words of flattery and pressure, Suho just returned to his seat, clenching his teeth behind his normal mask. Next to him, Hanbyeol noticed his tight grip on his pen. She started to feel bad for this boy too. She could never handle the stress and attention of being first in academics; she just wanted an average, pretty life.

On the other hand, the teacher's remarks made Soojin speed up and storm back to her seat when she finished. Hanbyeol found herself feeling bad for her too, although she wasn't sure what her friend was going through. Now on her own, Jugyeong felt her forehead grow hot with sweat. She glanced at the other students' equations, hoping that she would find her answer there as well. Her eyebrows knitted together tightly as she panicked.

"Jugyeong?" their teacher asked her. "What good is looking at it when you've got a different question?"

The girl nodded and faked a chuckle, "You're right."

Seojun snorted. Hanbyeol turned to him, just like the teacher. Although he tried to clear his throat to cover it up and avoid eye contact, the teacher's stern glare through her glasses was unyielding.

"It looks like Seojun is confident," their teacher said pointedly. "Han Seojun, come out and solve this instead of Jugyeong."

Damn it, he thought. Seojun yawned and sunk his head onto his arm on the desk, finding comfort on his grey hoodie sleeve. If only he was in his bed. He was riding smoothly through school under the radar just like how he wanted, but today was not his day. As long as his grades kept passing and he wasn't called to the office for his trouble, his mother wouldn't worry about him.

"That won't work. Come out."

With a whisper of a bad word escaping his lips, Seojun stood up and stalked to the front of the classroom. His brown hair was slightly ruffled, just like how he felt. He gave Jugyeong an evil glare as he passed her, while she gleefully bounced back to her seat and mouthed a 'thank you'. Inevitably, Seojun stared intently at the problem on the board. As much as he wanted to throw the chalk and storm out, he didn't.

Turning his head to the left, he noticed movement from the corner of his eyes. Hanbyeol was making the answer with her fingers. A two and three, the girl mouthed. Seojun scribbled twenty-three on the board before strolling back to his seat, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders hunched over. Although the teacher had to blink twice to make sure she didn't read it wrong, she moved on to the next task.

* * * *

Once the maths class was over, Hanbyeol was allocated the task of cleaning the chalkboard from the white numbers and symbols which littered the board from top to bottom. As she headed to the front of the room, the students transformed into their little cliques, and most of them started heading out already as they teased one another.

Hanbyeol picked up the chalk eraser, a hefty black block that brushed off the white. She wiped the bottom half of the board, but when she got to the top, she couldn't reach the edge. Despite her tippy-toeing and jumping with her wavy hair flying about, there were still remnants bordering the top. Frustrated, she glared at the writing, licking her lips.

"Do you want any help?" a deep voice asked from beside her.

When she turned her head, Hanbyeol saw Suho standing there. He was like a dashing prince with his neat, charcoal hair and broad-shouldered blazer. Being a head taller than her, reaching the top of the board was a walk in the park.

"No thanks," Hanbyeol replied with a glint of determination in her eyes.

She faced the board again, licking her lips as she stretched her arms as high as they could go. A slight scraping sound made her look to the left. Suho had put a chair next to her and walked away as quiet as he appeared. His feet lingered ever so slightly with his ears working hard.

Seeing the chair, the corner of Hanbyeol's mouth tilted up. She didn't think he would be that kind, but it felt refreshing. The chair squeaked when she dragged it closer to the wall. Making sure it was sturdy, the girl put one foot on it, then the other. Now, she could reach the top and finish erasing everything.

"Nice!" she breathed out.

At breaktime, Hanbyeol strolled outside with her friends. The sun was at its peak as trees presented leaves of green, yellow and red. Munching on their snacks and chips, the four girls in skirts interweaved between the short hedges squatting near the tall building.

They discussed maths academies and the difficulty of getting into college. If Hanbyeol hated doing something more than chores, it was maths. Joining their study group sounded like fun though. They could help each other, and if they had the number one student Suho, then it would be even better.

As they turned a corner in the criss-crossing pathways, they spotted Suho sitting on a bench. He was reading a book by himself, looking elegant as always with his tidy uniform. When the four girls approached him, he looked up, his eyes pausing at Hanbyeol before returning to his book.

"Hey Suho," Soojin started. "Do you want to join our study group? We have one spot open."

Hanbyeol didn't realise they were actually going to ask him right now; her mind still wasn't sure how she felt about him as it kept going back and forth like a swing. She subconsciously twirled a strand of her wavy hair around her finger. Suho probably wouldn't want to study with them anyway. Unless he did have a crush on Jugyeong, thought Hanbyeol as she pursed her lips.

"I don't want to," Suho stated blandly, not looking up from his page.

Sua seemed as if she didn't expect any different as she stood there with a juice box and her arm still linked through Jugyeong's.

"You should join so my mum will stop nagging," sighed Soojin with a tinge of pleading.

"Just tell her I'm in."

With a shut of his book, Suho stood up, and Hanbyeol tried to hide her frown.

"You want me to lie? Why don't you just join?" Soojin tried again, hoping to be the one to convince him.

Despite her hopeful smile, Suho turned and walked away. The four, close girls watched him make a sharp turn between the strips of nature to go behind them, Hanbyeol slowly shaking her head.

"I didn't even expect him to," Sua comforted them. "Let's just do it with the four of us, including Hoon."

"Sounds good," Hanbyeol added cheerfully, the chips in her hand long forgotten.

Soojin suddenly pointed her finger at Sua as she remembered something. "Right, if you miss it to go on a date with Taehoon, you're out instantly."

Hanbyeol giggled as the short-haired girl agreed with a pout. At that thought, Sua turned to the two new girls, her pretty eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Oh right, Im Ju and Byeol, I gave your numbers to the guys I'm setting you up on a blind date with," Sua told them.

Taking out her phone, Hanbyeol checked the message that her blind date sent a few minutes ago. She read it and the sweet words made her smile, but her heart didn't flutter or jump like she hoped.

Meanwhile, Suho heard them from the other side of the wide hedge behind them. His feet paused like a harsh brake, his hands gripping his book tighter before relaxing again. Suho didn't know why he was feeling strange lately and he wasn't sure about this foreign emotion. He couldn't help it as he slowly peaked over at the four students.

"And this is your guy, Hanbyeol," Sua was showing the girls pictures of their dates on her phone. "Isn't he so cute? I think he's quite artsy too."

"Mm, not bad," Hanbyeol voiced with a nod and attempted enthusiasm.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to digest the photo. He was indeed cute, but not her style. While she might've liked him a while ago, she found that he looked too nice and chatty with less brain cells than she would like.

Suho tried to look over their shoulders at the picture from his distance, but it was like reading a store sign a block away.

"His character should be cute. Make up your mind after meeting him," Soojin rested her hand on Hanbyeol's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I will," the other girl reassured, her light eyes smiling at her friend. "Though I'm a bit nervous as it's my first date."

"Yeah, I'm not mentally ready yet," Jugyeong agreed.

Sua clasped her hands together, the orange juice box protesting in between. "Just go for it! They're already into you two after just looking at your pics."

Hanbyeol slowly nodded, not seeing the harm in meeting someone for a first date. As she spaced out, thoughts floated around in her mind. She would have to wear something nice, but it would have to suit where they were going – where were they going? What if he was actually mean? Or an airhead?

Suho nearly let out a scoff through his small lips. He told himself that he just couldn't believe girls would go on a date like that without meeting the guy beforehand. Not wanting to hear them gossip anymore, he harshly strode off towards the main building.

Suho realised that he needed to get back on track and focus on his studies; he didn't need to waste time thinking about anything else. Or perhaps he could join a study group.

* * * *

On Friday, Hanbyeol was leaving the school with a bounce in her step. The warm sun glowed as it started on its gradual descent. With the flood of teenagers flowing down the hill, Hanbyeol chatted with Jugyeong, who was also going on a blind date tomorrow.

"Have fun on your date," Hanbyeol said when they reached the metal gates at the bottom of the hill.

"Thank you," Jugyeong returned her smile with her strawberry lips. "You too."

Although another boy popped into her mind, she decided to try and enjoy herself later. She waved farewell to Hanbyeol and skipped off to the comic book store, dreaming of her nights there with Suho.

Hanbyeol heaved her backpack up and set off for home, but she didn't realise that someone else was standing behind her with ears following their conversation. Speeding up, Suho matched her pace beside her. She glanced to her left when she noticed the movement out the corner of her eye, and her mouth widened slightly at his presence.

"So, you're going on a date tomorrow?" Suho casually asked, his big, onyx eyes flitting to her for a second.

"You like eavesdropping now?" Hanbyeol raised an eyebrow.

"No, you were just too loud."

The long-haired girl chuckled to herself. As they walked along the street on the narrow concrete, the number of students and cars she could count reduced. Sounds of light traffic floated in the air as small restaurants started preparing for dinner. Hanbyeol didn't even realise that Suho was walking her home. When they took a left, they passed by the yellow chicken place that she would always see on her way home.

"I don't think you should go on the blind date," Suho continued. "You haven't even met him yet. What's the point?"

"That's the whole point – to get to know him. That's why it's called a 'blind date', cos I haven't seen him in person," Hanbyeol replied as if she was explaining basic addition.

"That's a stupid point," he muttered under his breath, his dark eyes narrowing.

Hanbyeol didn't hear him, simply admiring the blue sky. Their arms swayed ever so gently as they walked side by side, nearly brushing each other's, but she made sure they never touched.

"Well, it might be fun. We're going to see a movie, and at least I get to eat yummy food. I hope we get to eat carbonara!" Hanbyeol shrugged and thought out loud, grinning at the taste.

Suho let out a small scoff. "I can make carbonara."

The girl just smiled, her eyes crinkling happily. Walking to her home through the grey streets, they exchanged few words. Hanbyeol's brown, two-storey house stood behind a thin, stone wall. Gripping her backpack strap, she looked back and forth between the gate and Suho, finding this part awkward. Luckily, he nodded goodbye and departed naturally.

Later that night, Suho found himself searching up recipes for carbonara. 

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Hope you enjoyed this long chapter! Next ones will sadly take a bit longer. My birthday's coming up, I'm going interstate for a bit and then Christmas! Can't believe it's already December!

I'm currently re-watching Twinkling Watermelon with my sister. What are your fav kdramas to re-watch?

Thanks for reading! Please vote and comment :)