Chapter 1

The bell rang.

'Finally, class was over!'  Mina could breathe now.

She put all her things in her backpack, cleaned her desk and headed out the room.

"Mina!" It's Yuri, her classmate.

Mina walked to her, feeling confused.

Dani, Yuri's best friend, held Mina's hand. "Let's hang out!"

"Hang out?" Mina was surprised. That was the first time her classmates approached her.

She's a new student in this school. She was right on her first day here, everyone looked brat girls and no one seemed to care about her. She already expected this because her new school was one of the elite high schools in the country.

"Yes, hang out! Don't you like?" Yuri smiled at Mina.

"But--"

"Let's go!" Dani cut her in and grabbed Mina's other hand.

"W..Where are we going?" 

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Hannan Street was beautiful in the afternoon but lively at night like this, full of restaurants, shops, bars, food stalls. Colorful and bright lights were everywhere. Music was loud. This was definitely a trendy and hot place for young people.

"Here." Yuri gave Mina a green tea flavored ice cream.

Dani was eating chocolate bar while Yuri was drinking her cheesecake bubble tea. They sat down in the middle of the park. Everyone had happy faces, but not Mina.

"Is it good?" Yuri asked her.

"Y-Yeah." Mina faked her smile.

Mina did not know but she felt strange spending time with Yuri and Dani. She didn't get why suddenly they asked her to hang out with them. She could still remember when she was introduced to the class a few months ago as a transferee. She saw Yuri and Dani throw her their bitter smiles.

'Did they just realize that I need friends? Do they feel guilty? I don't know, I have no idea.' Mina thought to herself.

"Is this your first time here?" Dani asked, looking at Mina strangely.

"No. I've been here a lot of times but not at night. My brother and I used to eat here on afternoon weekends."

"I see." Yuri said.

Dani moved closer to Mina and whispered to her. "Wanna have some fun?"

Yuri and Dani giggled.

"I think I need to go, I still have--"

"Oh, they are here!" Dani stood up and waved at the four tall guys who also looked like high school students.

Yuri held Mina's hand and made her stand up. "Mina, you know SA Arts High School? They are from that school."

Dani introduced them to Mina; Jay, Ric, Shin and Mark. They were good looking guys but they did not attract her. She had a bad feeling towards them.

"Yuri, Dani. Why didn't you tell me that you have a pretty classmate?" Shin smiled at Mina. He was holding a cigarette. Mina could see it even though he was trying to hide it.

Shin's compliment didn't move her.

Mina looked at her phone. "I'm sorry. I have to go because I still need to--"

"Come on. We just met and you're going home?" Ric put his arm around her shoulders.

Mina tried to remove his arm but it's too muscular for her to handle. The others just laughed. This irritated Mina.

She moved her left arm and hit the side of the guy's waist. Ric flinched. They laughed again.

"Oh! She's strong!" Jay commented.

'These guys are so annoying.' Mina was flaring inside.

She moved forward. She walked closer to Jay, raised her right foot and kicked him with force.

Jay seemed to be pain. His friends teased him.

Mina felt really annoyed. She rushed to the bench where her bag was but someone's hand stopped her. It's Yuri's. She strongly gripped Mina's wrist and smiled at her with her sharp eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?" Yuri warned Mina. This time, she could already see her classmate's wicked smile.

"She's going home. She needs to." A serious voice answered.

Mina turned her back to know who just spoke.

Only a few steps from them, a very handsome guy was already standing. 

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His hair was not neatly done, no wax, gel or whatsoever. But that messy hair looked so good on him. He looked like an action star in a black shirt under the grayish jacket, rugged jeans and Converse sneaks. In his hand, a black backpack.

He was only standing there but his manly presence was strong enough to attract eyes. His serious look made him more appealing.

For some reason, Mina's fear suddenly disappeared.

"Let her go or I will report you to the police for harassing her." Not only his attractive looks and manliness, but his voice was also something to go crazy for.

When Yuri took her hand off her, Mina got her bag and hurriedly walked to the guy. She stood beside him.

The guy stepped closer to Jay and his friends. "You guys haven't learned your lessons yet? Get yourselves involved in misconduct again and I will not hesitate anymore." 

The four guys walked out while Yuri and Dani remained standing in front of them.

The guy looked at Mina. "Should I call your school?"

Mina shook her head. But she gave the girls a stare. "This will be the last time."

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"You're a teacher from SA Arts High School? Wow! You must be good!" 

Mina was walking beside him. They were heading to the bus stop.

"Not yet. I'm still a practice teacher." He said, voice was as cold as ice. 

"But that's still cool."

The guy did not respond anymore. 

Different songs were blasting on this busy street. But Mina's heartbeat was a lot more deafening.

'Mina, please. He's just nice. Don't dream!' She thought to herself.

"Next time, be careful." He broke the silence.

Mina looked at him, but his eyes were fixated on a straight direction ahead of them.

He spoke again. "You should not trust easily. Even when we know someone, sometimes they can still hurt us."

Mina nodded to show him she took his advice.

She wanted to ask his name but she felt shy.

As soon as they reached the bus stop, the guy's phone suddenly rang.

He immediately answered it. "Yes. Hannan 011 Bus Stop."

Mina looked at him the moment she heard him say where exactly they were.

'Is he a kidnapper or what?' But surprisingly, there was no fear even a bit in her.

She just laughed in her mind, thinking that she must have gone crazy because instead of running away from him now, she was still standing beside him.

Immersed in her weird thoughts, she didn't notice that the guy was already looking at her.

"Didn't you hear me?" He asked coldly.

"S-Sorry. What's that again?"

A taxi just pulled over.

"I booked your ride because I think it's safer. But I won't force you to take it."

"Can I refuse?" Mina remained standing but she didn't feel right.

"Like what I said, I won't force you." He walked to the taxi.

Mina quickly followed him. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that--"

But the guy ignored Mina. He opened the door and got inside. "I will ride this instead of her." 

The taxi drove away. Mina was left speechless.

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The gate opened.

Mina hurried to get inside, trying to avoid Ms. Kim. But the old lady was quick to her senses and asked her why she got home late.

'Oh shoot! What should I say?' Mina suddenly panicked. 

Mina turned her back to answer Ms. Kim. "I j..just had some ice cream on my way home."

Ms. Kim threw her a look filled with unspoken suspicion. Mina plastered a forced smile on her face. She excused herself and continued her steps towards the house.

While walking, Mina released silent sighs. 'Did I lie? Of course not! It's true that I had an ice cream at Hannan Street.'

"What flavor of ice cream did you eat?" Ms. Kim asked out of the blue.

The old lady's question was really weird, making Mina looked confused. She turned her back again. "W..Why?"

Ms. Kim's face could tell she got also surprised by her strange question. She smile awkwardly. "There's a lot of ice cream in the fridge. I wonder you don't like any of them." 

Mina hissed silently. "Green tea."

"Oh.. From now on, I will include that flavor in my grocery list."

"T..Thank you." Mina didn't know if it's Ms. Kim's thoughtfulness or sarcasm. 

"Oh no! I forgot! I'm cooking something." Ms. Kim left Mina, she was rushing to the house.

'Weird lady.' Mina thought.

The spring breeze kissed Mina's cheeks. She felt good.

She looked up. Though her grandfather's house was surrounded by big trees, she could still see the bright stars that were scattered in the night sky.

The handsome practice teacher suddenly appeared in her mind. An instant smile was plastered on her face.

'They say if there are lot of stars at night and one wishes for something, it will come true.' Mina said, still gazing at the twinkling stars.

'Can you make us meet again? Even just once please? I forgot to thank him. I'm stupid, right? I really forgot because--'

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Mina hurried to the gate. When she opened it, her eyes displayed such great surprise.

A familiar handsome guy was standing before her!

Mina's heart began to tremble while looking at the guy who had saved her from the bullies at Hannan Street.

"Good evening. I'm Kian Park. Your new tutor."