I met her once more, I couldn't speak to her.
- Yashiro Jin-Woo Kwon
He sat on his seat, not listening to his friends, Eivan, Gavin, Alistair and Fred's conversation.
It's been two months since class started and he's already a 12th grader.
About the girl that he somehow met before, he didn't see her again after that and it's been more than a year since that happened. Up until now, he still couldn't get her off his mind. There's clearly something about that girl but he can't put his finger on it.
Yashiro could still remember everything about that day, how the breeze felt, how the leaves of the trees gracefully fall down, how the girl seemed to shine without even trying, how her honey brown eyes were mesmerizing and enchanting to look at, how her voice was soft and gentle and how he was so captivated by her beauty.
It's a hopeless crush, he knows that but it just felt great and right. He couldn't stop himself.
"So, any news about Jihyun?" Yashiro was brought back to reality when Yami, Eivan's girlfriend talked, referring to their AWOL friend.
"Me and Lis called her yesterday. She said she's going to attend school regularly now." Yuna answered with Lisa nodding behind her, showing a thumb's up.
Yashiro quickly turned to Eivan, "Who's Jihyun?" He asked, curious.
"Yami, Lis, Yuna, Shai and Glen's bestfriend." Eivan answered, turning to Glennary Song who had been listening to their conversation who may or may not have been absent during the last day of school when they were in tenth grade, which is why he was MIA when he met that beautiful brunette.
"Hey, did you know, Jin? You're one of the top three students!" Rayne, A girl from their class said.
"Yeah, tell me how you did those stuff, my guy." Eivan grinned, patting his friend's back.
"Shut up, you were the second lister and I'm only the third. I could've done better." He sighed, feeling like he could have done a better job and would have ranked higher.
"Well, in my opinion, you were really good. Lisa got the top spot because she's literally a prodigy." Rayne grinned, "I was told that their friend, Jihyun is smart too but she's nowhere to be found."
"Thanks, Tolentino." Yashiro told her, calling her by her last name without even looking at her.
"Wow, I was struck by Jin's coldness again." Rayne laughed.
"Sheesh, always so hard and cold on girls, Jin." Eivan sighed.
'I'm not hard, cold or harsh. I just can't handle girls.'
"Good morning, Class. Today, we will have a new student." The Teacher said before fixing her glasses, "Actually, She enrolled early but only got to attend today because of certain reasons so she's excused but she also has a lot to catch up to, so please, be gentle with her. Please come in and introduce yourself." She motioned towards the door.
The raven-haired male was stunned for a moment, finally seeing the same girl he's been wanting to see for more than a year already, the only difference is that her hair grew even longer, the last time he saw her, it was below her chest, now it almost reached past her waist and she grew taller.
"This is Miss Chou Jihyun. Be nice to her." The teacher said, motioning to the girl beside her, holding the brunette's shoulders before flashing a glare at the boys, "And don't make her cry or try to take advantage of her. Or else." She said the last two words in a deeper, monotoned voice, very different from her usual carefree one.
"I'm Chou Jihyun. I hope we get along well." She spoke in her soft voice which didn't change.
"Man, what a beauty."
"Isn't she a student here during 10th grade?"
"She's so graceful but her movements are kinda slow."
Those are only a few of what the students were whispering to themselves, trying to keep it down in an attempt to keep the new student from hearing them.
"Very well, you may sit next to Yuna Shin and Jinwoo Kwon. You're friends with Yuna, aren't you, Miss Chou?" The teacher asked, turning to Jihyun who nodded quite slowly. "You can ask Yuna or any of your friends and classmates for help while you adjust, don't hesitate to come to me if there's any problem, okay?" The young homeroom teacher smiled as her quiet student smiled back and muttered a small 'thank you' before going to her seat between Yashiro and Yuna, taking her time by walking slowly and carefully, making a few of her classmates raise their brows in confusion.
"Jihyunnie! I'm so freakin' happy you made it! Finally, you're attending school again!" Yuna cheered, throwing her hands around the friend she dearly missed.
"I just got held back by something but I'll be attending school regularly now." Jihyun said, her hands gently and slowly patting Yuna's arms as she smiled at her.
Yashiro couldn't help but stare at her, completely entranced by her unworldly beauty. She's very pretty and she also clearly still has this effect on him, especially now that they're seatmates. Now, He remembers why he refused to let go of whatever he's been feeling for her ever since he met her despite it only being a short moment and even without knowing if he can see her again. Which miraculously, he did, although he's quite shy and doesn't know what to talk to her about, he can't even find the right words in his mind.
"Um, is something wrong?" Jihyun asked Yashiro with a confused look on her angelic face, wondering why he's been staring at her for a while.
"H-huh?" Yashiro stuttered, finally breaking out of his trance, "Oh, no. It's nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Okay, then." She said, giving him one final look before going back and talking to Yuna again.
'Dammit, I feel my heart beating like crazy.' He thought to himself, feeling his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.
"Hey," Yashiro turned to the seat beside him to see Eivan, staring at him boredly.
"What?" The raven-haired male whispered.
"Make a move." The older brunette said. Despite the bored look he has on his face, his green eyes showed amusement.
"What?" Yashiro asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.
"Make a move on her. Advance on her, hit on her or something." Eivan said while writing down on his notebook, feigning ignorance and innocence by pretending to be focusing on the topic the teacher is teaching despite it being an easy subject to him, thanks to his keen intellect.
"How and why would I do that?" The clueless male asked again, at a loss for what his friend was hinting.
"Dammit, just do something!" Eivan whisper-yelled, obviously irritated before hitting his shy friend's forehead with the tip of his pen. Sighing and rolling his eyes before rubbing his slightly aching forehead, Yashiro turned to the object of his affections who was currently writing down whatever the teacher is as he caught a glimpse of her small and neat handwriting.
"Um, hi." He greeted in painfully obvious awkwardness. She slowly turned to him with a questioning look in her shining honey brown eyes.
"Hi me?" She asked and he nodded at her with a smile.
"Oh," She paused, her hand ceasing to write completely, the sharp tip of her pen hovering above the stationary she's supposed to be writing at, "Hi." She returned a gentle smile before hesitantly continuing to do her work, picking up on where she stopped.
Yashiro released a nearly inaudible sigh.
"You're more awkward than I thought. You're hopeless." Eivan pointed out, facepalming, already done writing what was written on the whiteboard in front of them. "Fine, do it suavely next time." He whispered.
"Suavely?"
"Like this," Eivan looked behind him and nodded towards a boy sitting directly behind Jihyun who gave him a grin.
"Hey," The boy poked Jihyun's shoulder making her turn to face him only to have her cheek poked.
"Um... Can I help you...?" Jihyun asked, confused about the boy's actions while he only smiled at her, making her furrow her eyebrows more.
"You have something in your eyes." The boy pointed out, causing Jihyun to check her eyes using her fingers, retracting it only in an attempt to take out a hand mirror before stopping at the boy's next words.
"Oh wait, that's just a sparkle. Your eyes are so bright and sparkly that I thought it's illegal." The boy smiled.
"Okay...?" Jihyun hesitantly replied, her face stone-like before turning back to her work as Eivan and the boy shook their head.
"We need to try a whole lot harder." He sighed.
"So, 'suavely', huh?" The usually quiet Yashiro said, emphasizing the second word as his eyebrows were wiggling with a teasing grin on his face while his older brunette friend glared at him.
"Like you can do any better." Eivan said, rolling his green eyes.
And so, Eivan and the boy behind Jihyun did their best to have at least a reaction out of her. The boy behind her would crack a joke only for Jihyun to smile awkwardly, he would throw a few pick-up lines from time to time only for her to nod at him awkwardly and he would try to talk to her and ask things about herself, which she definitely doesn't want to answer, only for them to receive an indifferent, awkward reaction and a nod or a headshake as an answer.
Eivan and the boy tried their best to at least get any sort of reaction from Jihyun to no avail.
"This is a lot harder than I calculated." Eivan muttered, rubbing his aching temple using his pointer and middle finger before clicking his tongue, whispering a few silent curses.
"You think?" Yashiro sighed before hearing the bells ring, signalling that it's lunchtime and the time for the two to finally stop the torment they have been unwillingly and unknowingly inflicting on the poor silent and awkward girl.
"Yeah, that's why I asked Yami to help us, specifically you." Eivan said, motioning towards Yami who was walking up to him and Yashiro with Shaina who was crossing her arms beside her, an irritated look in her face.
"Hey, I heard you want to talk to our dear Jihyun. I can help with that." Yami said, giving Yashiro a thumbs up, causing the redhead beside her to scoff.
"Oh, sure you do, Yami." Shaina said as she rolled her onyx eyes.
"Hey, why the hell did you even come with me, Shai!? I'm the only one Eiva called!" Yami yelled as she glared at Shaina.
"I told you to stop calling me 'Eiva', Yam!" The brown-haired male said in an almost shouting manner, gritting his teeth when his girlfriend dismissively waved her hand at him, causing the raven-haired male to stifle a laugh at his irritated older friend.
"Of course I'd come with you. Who knows what kind of stupid false things you'd say to them about Hyunnie with such an idiotic language." Shaina said, unamused, returning Yami's glare while the latter gasped.
"You take that back, Miss Joo!" Yami pointed at Shaina.
"I refuse, Miss Yusaki."
The two girls continued fighting with Yami gasping and yelling while Shaina was blocking her off with harsher words, something not unusual for the two to do since they always exchange harsh words and insults to each other on a daily basis.
"Eivan, what the hell?" Yashiro asked, lightly glaring at his friend, "What's all this crap about getting Yusaki Yami and Joo Shaina to help me?"
"Beggars can't be choosers, Jin," Eivan whispered back, "Yam and Shai knows almost everything about Jihyun. Glen, Yuna, Yami, Shaina, Jihyun and Lisanna have been the best of friends since they were ten. It's the best choice, they're the best choice." The brunette male continued in a matter-of-fact tone.
"See? I told you the school changed while you were away, Jihyun!" Yuna laughed before wrapping her arms around the brown-haired girl's waist, her head resting on her shoulder.
"Yeah, you're right. I can't believe that I almost got lost." Jihyun spoke with her soft and gentle voice, lightly giggling at the way Yuna was rubbing her own cheek on her shoulder.
"That's why I told you to come to school earlier todag so we can tour you around the new stuff around the school!" Lisanna said, her hand grabbing a hold of Jihyun's.
"I may just have to take you up on that, Lisa." Jihyun said before they all started laughing, her laugh being the softest. With that said, Yashiro may or may not have something new to love about her.
"Wipe that drool, Jin. It's disturbing. Jihyun might find it creepy." Eivan whispered in a disgusted tone, looking at his friend in an odd manner, his eye twitching because of his gawking friend.
"I'm not drooling!" Yashiro replied as he glared at him, stealthily wiping his own lips just in case.
"Sure. You looked so awestruck just by seeing her and hearing her laugh." Eivan pointed out, putting his hand under his chin.
"Eivan!"
"Or was it starstruck?"
"Shut up!"
He was about to say something else when Eivan and Yami raised their hands while Yashiro's eyebrows furrowed, having little to no idea of what was currently happening.
"Hey, Lisa, Yuna, Jihyun, over here!" Yami yelled, attracting not only the trio's attention, but a lot of unwanted ones which made her redheaded friend hit her lightly which the obnoxious girl shrugged off.
"What's up?" Yuna asked as they went over to Yami and Shaina with Jihyun holding unto Lisanna's arm.
"Jihyun didn't get the chance to properly meet Jin, right?" Yami asked as Eivan pushed the said confused boy lightly towards Jihyun with Lisanna seeming to have caught on to the plan as she lightly pushed the brunette in front, still holding unto her soft hand.
"Yeah... I guess." Jihyun answered, averting her gaze, looking down to her hand that was holding unto Lisa's.
"Eivan, no," Yashiro whispered in a warning tone as his friend shrugged and whispered, "Eivan, yes," with a smirk.
"So, Jihyun, this is Jinwoo Yashiro Kwon. Jinwoo, this is Jihyun Utsuru Chou." Eivan smiled at Jihyun who smiled back at him, "You two haven't met formally yet, he's your age, yada yada, whatever."
"Nice to meet you." Jihyun smiled gently, holding out her free hand and Yashiro quickly took it, much to the shy girl's surprise and confusion and the boy's embarrassment. The black-haired boy could swear that he felt electric after holding her hand, but it's the good kind.
"Nice to meet you too." Yashiro smiled back at her and as they shook hands, quickly he can feel his stomach doing flips, in a good and giddy way. He was so lost in thought and because of the warmth her smaller soft hand was giving his own.
"Um..." She stuttered.
"What?"
"My hand..." She quietly said in a hushed tone, her eyes motioning towards her hand which was still held by Yashiro.
"O-oh, sorry." Yashiro apologized quickly before he finally let go of her hand, although he can't help but miss the warmth and softness of her hand, frowning unconsciously at the empty feeling.
"It's okay." She smiled as Lisa, Yami and Yuna were grinning at her.
"U-um... What is it?" Jihyun asked, stuttering after she noticed her friends staring at her with wide eyes or wide grins including Glen who had arrived when Lisa nudged Jihyun, standing next to the two hand-holding girls.
"Jihyun, I never would have thought in ever that you have such a daring side!" Yami laughed, hitting Jihyun's arm lightly before throwing her head back, laughing louder, not minding if she sounded like a dying dolphin and a hyperventilating whale combined.
"N-no way!" Jihyun defended, trying to raise her voice, putting her free hand up as if she's surrendering.
"You're finally a true young, wild and free woman!" Yuna proclaimed, cackling like a mad man, or in this case, a mad woman right beside the still laughing Yami.
"Please, lower your voices." Jihyun said, waving her hand around gracefully, seeming to be refusing to let go of Lisa's.
"I thought that it's only us who you love, Hyunnie babe?" Lisa asked as she pouted playfully.
"Even you, Lisa?"
And the day went by just like that with constant teasing from both of their friends. Yashiro would glaredl at Eivan, Frederic, Gavin and Alistair through their teasing while Jihyun would try to defend herself only to stutter when Lisa, Yami, Yuna and Shaina were teasing her.
Yashiro laid on his bed, sighing.
"I can't seem to get her off my head," He muttered, hiding his face with his hands, "Not that I wanted to, though."
Hesitantly did he pull his hands away from his face and looked at one of the., reminiscing about the moment he shook hands with the girl of his dreams, the feeling of her warm hand, he can still feel it.
"I guess, I really do like her but I'm so darn awkward."