"IT'S TIME WELL SPENT IF IT'S SPENT WITH YOU."

JUNE 10, 2015 — 8:10 AM

"So, you all came to class early for once," Mr. Jung rolled his eyes, slamming his hands against the podium. We all laughed at his silly fit of anger, his arms soon crossing. "Well, I can't believe my sophomore class is graduating so beautifully. You all worked so hard this year, and you deserve the long rest that's needed."

We continued to listen to his short lecture, the man moving around his desk before sitting on top of it. He rolled up his sleeves, taking off his glasses.

"I have to give it to you guys, a lot of my students in the past didn't have good scores passing their sophomore year—maybe because I was a bad teacher or because I was such an easy-going one," He said, causing us to deny the first statement. "However, I really put my hope into you guys this year. This is one of my favorite years yet, so thank you for making it your year, but also mine."

He suddenly turned to Yena, who perked up from his eyes. "Kim Yena, the girl who always brought coffee and snacks to class because she couldn't eat breakfast at home," Yena rolled her eyes, everyone snickering. "You graduated with one of the highest marks this year. Third of our class—yet always so prone to giving away her k-pop photocards in trade for other ones. Surprising."

"Mr. Jung, if you just wanted a Jungkook photocard from my new album, you don't have to humiliate me about it," She joked, taking it from her phone case and showing it to the class. Mr. Jung rolled his eyes, soon looking at Taehyun.

"Kang Taehyun, you're super shy and quiet that it almost frightened me when you volunteered to come up to answer a few math problems," Taehyun giggled to himself, raking back his hair. "You often judged from the back, so you getting second place in our class with top marks was quite the scare. Good for you, though—you're going to grow up well."

"You're not the first, Mr. Jung," He rested his head on his elbow, perking his shoulders. "Some say I drift like a ghost. Wooo~ woo—"

"Son, that's enough," Mr. Jung interrupted, all of us cracking up at Taehyun's cute pout. However, the surprise definitely came when his eyes landed on me, a leg of his crossing over the other. "My, oh my, Yang Yihwa..."

"If you're just here to tell me I got the lowest score, save it," I whined, covering my eyes. "You always tease me, I've gotten used to it."

"Well, would it be more shocking if you got the highest score on the exam?" Shit, I guess all that stress studying did come in handy. Everyone clapped, my face flushing red as I blinked slightly. "You know, it was a surprise that you entered my homeroom class with a loud, aggressive boyfriend, low as the street-floor marks, and a passion for doing nothing but talk—however, your passion for your friends is what I admire the most. You're determined to make things your way, and I think that's one of your best traits."

Did he really have to mention the aggressive boyfriend? Ah... he told me he'd keep it under the rug. "I'm proud of you as your sophomore homeroom teacher—you've shown lots of growth this year. Keep it up!"

We all cheered, some happy that his lecture was over, while some were happy that Mr. Jung was happy. Me, being right in the middle, felt more entitled to being happy Mr. Jung was happy. He deserved lots of love, including the ones from his students. "Well, since I have nothing else to tell you, you're free to go and leave," Mr. Jung grinned, beckoning to the door. "Don't forget to visit me next year if you need anything. I'll always be around."

"Bye Mr. Jung!" We all synchronized, the bell ringing to finally end our short graduation. Instantly seeing Beomgyu around the corner, he sped over to me, kissing me straight on the lips. Taehyun and Kai—who seemed to be there at that moment—gagged, looking away as they walked down the stairs carefully.

I still loved him, no matter the problems that it took to love him as I did.

The next day came, and as promised, Taehyun and I went inside Yeonjun's car as Beomgyu and Kai went to Soobin's. They forcibly forced Beomgyu and me out of each other's grip, considering that Beomgyu would hug onto me like a cute koala.

On the way there, a discussion erupted. "Yihwa?" Taehyun asked, causing me to look up from my phone which held the directions. "Does hyung know—"

"About my suicide attempt?" Taehyun gasped, causing me to chuckle and look back down at the directions. "Take a right here, Yeonjun—and yes, he knows well about it."

Turning right, the driver cleared his throat. "We never got to talk in detail about it because Soobin caught us red-handed when we were eating together," I nudged Yeonjun, who obviously wasn't aware of another storm that could erupt. "What? Taehyun knows we aren't having an affair and Soobin was just kidding. Give it a break."

"Did you talk about both attempts?" He questioned, making me shrug.

"I didn't go into detail about the second one, but you're free to traumatize Yeonjun," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I'm being sarcastic, don't talk about it."

"I don't even like talking about it," Taehyun muttered, sighing. "It was quite the sight to see. Anyway, hyung, what did you think about it?"

"Take a left."

"Hm..." Yeonjun hummed, taking a calm left as I said. "It was quite... shocking at first, you know? Yihwa never struck me as the type to kill herself over a boy, but I can see where she was grieving—and where she'd give it all up for him."

We continued to listen despite the conversations somehow always pointing to Beomgyu and me's relationship—but I wasn't pressed about it. Getting advice from the people who knew him best was quite reassuring. "I hope that this girl next to me realizes the pain she'll be going through now that Beomgyu is committed to loving her—but it seemed she already knew the risk."

"Hyung also told me about the talk he gave you when you got the lighter fixed, too, and I wanted to talk about that," Taehyun said, causing me to look at him in the mirror. "He's not wrong that you've become less wound up, and he's right, hyung will use your silence as an advantage—just like he did in the gymnasium the day he threw basketballs on you."

I listened, my eyes fixed on the map. "Hyung hates when people don't respond to him quickly when people try to claim things that are his. He'll enrage himself in guilt or with misunderstanding, causing a storm. The moment he finds out that you two..." He pointed between Yeonjun and I, our eyes meeting for a split second before respectfully focusing on our jobs. "...He'll freak out. It'll be over for the both of you—not breaking up, but I mean that he will split you both up no matter what."

His words were as harmful as Kai's first time warning me before I dated Beomgyu, and I still took the risk. I still don't regret it as much as I said I used to, but my heart drops thinking that we should've set boundaries before we went off and argued like kids. "I'm telling you, it will not be good."

"We both know," Yeonjun seemed to answer for me, keeping me from saying something that may result in a misunderstanding. So, I swallowed my words, pointing to the sign up ahead. Taking a quick turn, we were almost there. "So don't worry, Taehyun. If we get into trouble where Yihwa is at risk, I'll take all the blame."

"You're just going to anger him more from doing that," Taehyun sighed, shaking his head. "Nevermind—in any case, whether you guys hung out or not, he'd catch on that you guys are a little more than friends—"

"We aren't," We synchronized, stopping Taehyun.

"It doesn't matter if you guys are friends or best friends," Taehyun uttered, sitting back to end the conversation. "He's still going to misunderstand, he's still going to yell at Yihwa, and you guys are going to be done for."

We didn't say anything else, considering that if this went on, it would be another brutal fight like I did with Beomgyu. Instead, I could feel Yeonjun's sad stare on mine, somewhat concerned as his hand reached towards me a second—only to retract back to his thigh.

Stopping at the port, he parked right near the sidewalk, whistling towards Taehyun. The boy perked up, looking around. "We're here—taking out the luggage, and don't forget to text me if everything's been settled."

We nodded, hurriedly getting out to avoid traffic. Grabbing our things, including Yeonjun's, we settled on the sidewalk, waiting for Soobin's car to arrive.

Beomgyu pulled my ponytail slightly, grabbing my hand as he swung it around and around like a toy. We all gathered at the front of the ferry, waiting for our two parents—Soobin and Yeonjun—to come back to the entrance for our Jeju island getaway. I admired his face, taking his hand out of mine before grabbing his cheeks. He gave me a kissy face as I pinched his cheeks, mumbling sweet nothings to the tiny boy who was taller than me.

"You know—"

"No, I don't know."

"Then let me tell you what you should know," I gritted my teeth, glaring at him. He pouted as I took half of his hair, pulling it back. "You should grow out your hair. I think as you age, you're going to look so pretty and adorable with longer hair."

"Would I?" He whispered, pulling out his phone. He watched through the camera as I combed his hair, pulling it back slightly to create a mullet. "Oh, maybe—what do you guys think?"

Taehyun and Kai looked up from their phones, confusion written on their faces. "What do we think about what?" They synchronized. Beomgyu rolled his eyes, pointing to his hair.

"To me growing out my hair."

"Why should I give my opinion when I know that you'll do it anyway because Yihwa told you to?" Taehyun grumbled, putting his phone away. "I'm sure it'll look nice since you have nice hair."

"And maybe even darkening his hair might be nice, too," I suggested, Beomgyu thinking about it.

"That would look nice on hyung!" Kai pointed out, chuckling. "But to be honest, Taehyun hyung is right—since you suggested it, the next time you see him, he'll have a darker hair color."

"That's not true—"

"Oh, it is!" We three—Taehyun, Kai, and me—synchronized, Beomgyu on the losing end knowing that we're right. "Oh, there's the two drivers!" Kai said, pointing out the two eldest swinging their car keys while talking to each other. They look funny as if they're in a movie or something. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yeah, we are," Kai answered, smiling. So, within a few minutes with the rest of the people who were ready for summer on Jeju island, we all boarded, enjoying the waters that looked out to the rest of the world.

As we were on the boat, I mainly sat back, not trying to get myself sick in case I had some kind of hidden case of seasickness. Beomgyu sat beside me, his hand clasped around mine as the slow ferry hit a few bumps. Yeonjun was by the window of the ferry, taking photos of himself and the sailing winds.

Soobin and Taehyun were off watching the waves, trying to spot some sea creatures or something. Kai was just listening to music, jamming in his seat as his eyes stuck to the water.

I wasn't sure what to expect on this trip. All I knew...

was that it wasn't going to be as good as it ought to be.