'It's a secret. It's not time yet'

- Secret (WJSN)

Yuna had her books spread around on her table, quickly scribbling down notes. Her cursive handwriting filled pages upon pages, and her eyes scanned her biology textbook, the girl picking up a different colored pen and highlighting certain points. Biology has always been her favorite subject, and her notes show that. Everything is written down neatly and carefully, diagrams sketched out precisely, labels attached between the pages so that she knows which segment belonged to which chapter. She's broken out of her focus by her phone ringing loudly. She smiled as she read the familiar name, sliding her finger across to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Studying even on a weekend?" Ki-joon's raspy voice asked, amused.

"How would you know that? Are you stalking me?"

"Look outside your window," she stood up, phone still pressed to her ear as she drew open the curtains, smile growing wider at the sight of Ki-joon and Seo-joon leaning against their bicycles, waving once they saw her.

"Give me ten minutes,"

~

Fifteen minutes later, she found herself letting out an excited laugh, holding onto the handlebars of Ki-joon's bike as they sped down a hill, adrenaline racing through her veins. She could feel the rumble of Ki-joon's laugh against her back, the boy pulling her close to his chest to make sure she was secure, eyes scrunched up as he grinned. They looked like a couple from a movie, Seo-joon thought to himself. One of those movies about teenagers experiencing love and falling head over heels for each other. The way his brother looked at Yuna as she whooped and cheered, pedaling faster so that the wind could blow her hair behind her, was a sure sign that Ki-joon was whipped for Yuna.

"Come on Seo-joon! Don't be so slow!" the girl yelled, and he smiled, speeding up so that they were cycling next to each other. The sun cast its rays across their happy faces, the air filled with the sounds of their voices calling to each other. The adults of the neighbourhood watch in amusement as they go skidding by. It's always been like this, the three of them going biking together, the wind pushing against their faces and ruffling their clothes. Ara raised a hand to wave at them as they sailed by, lips tugging up into a smile as memories flashed by in her mind. Of seven year old Ki-joon whining about Yuna not sitting with him, cheeks becoming rosy when she rolled her eyes and let her arms tighten around his waist. She had seen the trio grow up in front of her eyes, and was glad that her daughter had managed to become friends with such good people. Ki-joon spied Ye-seo walking in front of him, and a smirk grew on his face.

"Ki-joon don't-" Yuna started to say, a yelp leaving her lips as the boy ignored her and sped up, cycling past Ye-seo and yelling in her ear.

"Yah Cha Ki-joon!" they could hear the girl shout after them. "Stop doing that!" Ki-joon laughed, Yuna hitting his head.

"Don't do that," she scolded, but couldn't suppress her giggles either. They stopped at the convenience store, Ki-joon helping her get off, arm around her waist to support her.

"What should we get?" Seo-joon asked, propping their bicycles against the stands.

"I'm in the mood for ice cream. I heard that they started to stock some of that new edition brownie one, and I really want it," she said, walking into the store. Eyes turned to focus on her, people who recognize her waving and greeting her. While not the most popular, Yuna was known for her kind nature and warm heart. Dressed in a chiffon blouse and blue skirt, she looked fresh and bright, hair half pulled back by a lacy ribbon. She skipped to the ice cream aisle, mouth dropping at the stands full of new flavors. "This is where I belong," she whispered. Seo-joon snorted, shaking his head and laughing at his friend's nature, reaching past her to grab a lemon popsicle and two chocolate ice creams for Ki-joon and Yuna.

The girl was browsing through the stalls, humming under her breath as she looked through a magazine, when a squeal caught her attention. Looking up, she spied a boy handing a bouquet of flowers to a girl outside of the shop, cheeks bright pink as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"What are you looking a-" Ki-joon paused when he saw the girl throw her arms around the boy in a hug, not minding the flowers being squashed between them. He took in the dreamy look in Yuna's eyes.

"I'd like someone to bring me flowers too,"

"I didn't know you'd be into that kind of stuff,"

"Every girl wants to be in a relationship with someone they're comfortable with, someone who brings out the best in them," she watched as the newly-made couple walked off, a soft smile on her lips.

"One day," Ki-joon said suddenly. "Someone will bring you flowers and sweep you off your feet. Someone who will shower you with all their affection," he turned to look at her, an unreadable expression on his face, eyes impossibly gentle. "Someone who'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated," she blinked, opening her mouth to say something, but was cut off by the sound of something crashing to the floor.

"Sorry!" Seo-joon's voice came, and the moment broke, both of them rolling their eyes and going to help the grinning boy.

~

The class is silent as they take their exams, the sound of pencil scratching against paper the only noise in the room. Yuna flipped through the worksheet, glancing at each paragraph to find the closest answer to the question she's stuck on. The bell rang shrilly, and their teacher clapped his hands.

"Everyone put your pens down! Ye-seo, go around and collect everyone's answer sheets," the class groaned, and Yuna can't stop the snort that left her when she saw Chaeyoung desperately attempting to scribble down the ending of her answer, getting up to walk out of the classroom to take a breather.

"How was the test?" Seo-joon asked her.

"I couldn't answer the last question properly, but I think I did okay,"

"I think I flunked," Chaeyoung sighed.

"Well, if you stay up all night watching dramas instead of studying, you can't expect yourself to get good grades," Ki-joon ducked to avoid the hit Chaeyoung aimed at him.

"'Fight for my way' is worth every bad grade!"

"I don't think your parents would feel the same way Chae," Yuna and Seo-joon laughed as the girl's face paled. Chaeyoung's mother was a cafe owner, kind and sweet, but had a sharp side that came out when her daughter didn't get good grades. 

"If my mom ever found out," she shuddered, and it wasn't because of the faint breeze that passed by. "I wouldn't even survive to see myself turn twenty,"

"You can always borrow my notes," a voice said consolingly, and Chaeyoung blushed, tucking strands of hair behind her ears as Sooyoung walked up to them. She was a tall girl, with dark hair that fell down her back and bangs that fell into her soft eyes.

"Mine too," Yuna added. "I always make them super detailed because I know someone doesn't pay attention in class properly," she glanced at Ki-joon meaningfully, and he huffed.

"It's hard to pay attention when the person sitting next to me always distracts me with how pretty she is," Yuna blushed, smacking the boy's arm.

"Your flattery won't make me stop scolding you," Ki-joon grinned at her.

"It was worth the try," the students of their class were all roaming around, laughing and chatting, all of the stress of exam season that had plagued them gone. The sun shone down, and the trees cast shadows against the pavement. They settled on the bleachers, everyone messing around. Yuna was nudging Chaeyoung's towards Sooyoung, the other girl shoving her friend away with red cheeks.

"Yuna," she blinked, mid-smile, turning around at the call of her name to find Woo-joo staring at her, eyes curious. "Where'd you get that scar?" her blood froze as she realized her blouse has untucked itself, revealing the edge of her ribs, where a sharp scar was visible. It wasn't healed over properly, and trailed down till her leg. She pulled it down, looking away from the boy, and Woo-joo looked surprised at how everyone tensed up.

"Just a small little incident," her smile looked forced. "Don't worry about it Woo-joo,"

"But it looke-" he silenced himself at the gaze of the friends around her. The chatter of their class had dropped, and everyone seemed stricken by the question he had asked. All of them were looking away from him, and Chaeyoung's grip on Yuna's arm had tightened, Sooyoung patting her back reassuringly. Ye-seo has abandoned her books to stare at him with blank eyes, and Hye-na was shaking her head, mouthing the words 'don't ' at him. "Never mind," he finished. He didn't like the glum atmosphere that had settled over them, and it seemed that Yuna didn't either because she stood up, getting everyone's attention.

"Hey, Woo-joo, you said you're good at basketball, right? Let's have a competition," Seo-joon snorted.

"A shortie like you? Playing basketball? That's be something I'd like to see," she scowled.

"Yah Cha Seo-joon! Come here-" they all dissolved into laughter as they watched the girl chase the taller boy around the field, but Woo-joo couldn't get over the withdrawn look on Yuna's face when he mentioned the scar, and he especially couldn't forget the haunted look on Ki-joon's face. Something was amiss, something that everyone in the class was hiding, and Yuna was in the center of it all.