A/N Hello all! I don't know much about the Korean school system, but since this is a fanfic, I'm going to pretend like it's the same as the U.S. system.

This is just a series of one-shots (kind of.) There will be no real plot that unfolds throughout the chapters, just vignettes taken from different points in their lives.

P.S. I know Eun-young and Jin-soo have been friends for ten years at the start of the drama, but just because they've been friends for ten years doesn't mean that they've only known eachother for that long! So, alas, I give you their first encounter. Enjoy!

–

Prelude

She sat idly by the window, gazing out at nothing in particular. Cars were whizzing by as pedestrians tried desperately to cross; the old man standing outside a bookstore was playing the same tune he did every day, hoping to catch the attention, and money, of passersby; students were dining under table umbrellas nearby, half-heartedly attempting to avoid the bright rays of the setting sun.

"Has it already been that long?" she mumbled gently, shifting her gaze toward the darkening sky.

She had been sitting in the cafe for three hours now, prepping herself for finals week. Her back was beginning to ache from sitting in the same position for so long and her legs were in need of a desperate stretch.

With a sigh and a frown, Eun-young returned her attention to the books laid out in front of her. "Just two more weeks," she whispered determinedly. "Two more weeks and I'll be able to say that I successfully completed my first year of university." She paused, then giggled to herself. "Oh, who am I trying to humble? Two more weeks and I'll be able to say that I absolutely dominated my first year of university! I'll definitely make the dean's list again," she cockily told herself. Picking up her pen, she snickered as she thought of ways to treat herself after exams.

–

He stared at her back, watching as her shoulders shook from laughter. The woman in front of him had been giggling and whispering to herself for the past few minutes now. Jin-soo frowned. It was distracting to say the least.

"Game theory... oh! This... so simple," he heard her mumble.

Sighing, he scratched his head with a pencil. How to go about this, he pondered.

He watched as another wave of laughter hit her shoulders. Rubbing the pencil's eraser even harder against his head, he racked his mind for a way to quiet the woman down.

The obvious route would be to ask her himself, he thought, but that would require awkward conversation. No, no that would not do. He closed his eyes in concentration. He could complain to one of the staff members. That would require zero contact with this stranger. Perhaps–

"What kind of university classes are these anyway? It's like child's play," the woman continued muttering.

"Arrogant, isn't she?" he murmured to himself.

Silence filled the air as the woman paused from her writing.

Jin-soo raised an eyebrow. Had she heard him? Letting out a hiss of frustration, he brushed his hand through his hair. "Now how to go about this?" he wondered aloud.

"Excuse me?"

Jin-soo snapped his head up. The woman's face stared directly at him. "Damn," he whispered under his breath.

"Do you have a pen I could borrow?"

He blinked. "What?"

"A pen? Do you have an extra pen? Mine ran out of ink," she nervously laughed. "See?" she said, scribbling the pen against her hand. Sure enough, nothing came out.

"Oh." He sighed in relief as her simple request registered through his mind. "Is that all?"

The woman nodded her head.

"You can use this," he said as he handed her his pencil. "I don't have any pens though, sorry."

Cautiously, she reached for the pencil. "Are you sure? This isn't your only one, right?"

"No, it's not," he reassured, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

"Thanks," she replied cheerfully as she accepted his offering. "I'll be sure to give it back after I finish."

He nodded his head in response.

Smiling, she turned her back on him once more.

Jin-soo examined the woman. She was an odd one that was for sure. One minute she was giddy with egotistical excitement and the next she seemed almost... normal.

"Ah, excuse me."

The woman's face was looking directly at him again. Startled, Jin-soo cleared his throat.

"Yes?" he calmly replied.

"It broke," she smiled crookedly, bringing the pencil up for him to see. "You wouldn't happen to have another, would you? Or maybe a sharpener?"

He examined the pencil before carefully answering. "No, I have neither."

The woman sighed. "Oh," she said glumly. "Thanks anyway–"

"But I can still sharpen it for you," he interrupted cryptically.

"What?" Confusion spread across her features.

He took the pencil out of the woman's hand and pulled a knife from his pocket.

–

Eun-young raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Are you going to sharpen that with a knife?"

"Of course," the man before her responded in a matter of fact tone.

She wrinkled her nose as she watched him begin to carve at the pencil.

"You don't...," she started, "You don't have to, you know. I can just ask someone else."

The man shrugged. "I would've had to do it eventually."

Eun-young raised her brows a notch higher. "What do you mean, 'eventually?'"

The man glanced at her before answering. "I prefer to sharpen my own pencils this way."

"What?" she replied incredulously. "You sharpen your own pencils?" she repeated.

He nodded.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You sharpen all of them yourself? All of them?"

"Yes, all of them," he sighed, a hint of annoyance laced in his tone.

Eun-young knitted her brows. What a weirdo, she thought to herself as she eyed him.

Thick rimmed glasses framed sharp eyes; dark hair tousled itself atop his head; broad shoulders hunched slightly forward in concentration. She watched as he continued carving. There was something odd about this man. Something in his posture and the way he sat with a cool air; the way the bright orange rays filtered through the cafe windows, reflecting themselves against his glasses.

The man stopped sharpening and glanced at Eun-young.

Startled, she laughed nervously as she rubbed her hand against the back of her neck.

He resumed sharpening. Eun-young let out a sigh of relief.

Once finished, he handed her the pencil.

Taking it once more, she smiled gratuitously. "Thanks again. You really didn't have to."

"It was no problem. Like I said, I would've had to do it anyway."

She gave him another polite smile before turning back to her work.

"Plus, we wouldn't want you failing your exams 'cause of a broken pencil, right? If that'd happened, you definitely wouldn't be able to make the dean's list again."

Eun-young momentarily froze. He watched as she whirled herself back around, her mouth slightly agape.

He smiled at her.

She frowned. There was something terribly foreboding about this man's overly bright smile and she couldn't help but think that he was mocking her.

She opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by the sound of her name.

"Eun-young!"

Both parties turned their gazes up as another young woman walked toward them.

"Hee-soo!" Eun-young called in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was passing by when I saw you through the window! I'm happy I ran into you. Will you be coming back to the room at all tonight?" Hee-soo asked as she slipped into the seat across from hers.

"Oh, yeah of course. I might be a little late though. You know how I get. Once I start something, I've gotta finish it," Eun-young grinned.

"Right. One of your annoying little habits," her roommate teased.

"Annoying? You won't be saying that when you're the one cramming two hours before your exams," Eun-young winked.

Stealing a quick glance over her shoulder, she leaned her body across the table and stared intently at Hee-soo.

"Listen," Eun-young whispered fiercely, "Do you have a pen I can borrow?"

Taken aback by the sudden proximity, Hee-soo raised an eyebrow at her friend's peculiar behavior. "Uh, yeah?"

"Great! Slide it over to me. No, slide it! Don't just wave it about out in the open like that!"

"Um, okay." Hee-soo awkwardly complied as she slid the pen across the table.

"All right, thanks." Eun-young grinned. "You're a lifesaver."

–

Jin-soo watched as the two women before him chatted. The newcomer, Hee-soo he believed was her name, wore a confused expression as she slid something across the table. The conceited one, Eun-young, hunched herself forward as she whispered something to her friend.

Suddenly, the one named Eun-young turned herself around and locked eyes with him. "Hello," she said coolly.

With a curious glint in his eyes, Jin-soo replied in an equal cool. "Hello."

"This is yours," she remarked. An unreadable expression donned her features as she slid the pencil across his table. "Thank you for letting me borrow it. Your... concern over my grades is much appreciated."

He narrowed his eyes in increased interest as he accepted the pencil. "You're welcome."

She nodded her head and turned her back on him for what seemed like the millionth time that day. He continued to stare quizzically at her back, wondering just how eccentric this woman was when he sensed someone else's gaze on him. Glancing up, Jin-soo caught the curious eye of Hee-soo.

She tilted her head in what he thought might have been a mixture of confusion and interest.

He bowed his head at the woman and returned to his work. A trace of a smile pulled at his lips as thoughts of biology, human cell growth and the eccentric woman filtered through his mind.

–

Three days later...

10:15AM marked the official start of class as last minute students started filtering in and taking their seats. The professor was still no where to be seen.

Jin-soo sat at his desk wearing a bored expression. With a yawn, he leaned his head against his hand as he waited for class to begin. School work seemed to be piling up lately and he didn't know if he'd be able to keep up with the fast paced life of a pre-med student for much longer. The pressure to uphold solid grades was beginning to tire him and he desperately needed a break from it all.

"Hi." A soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

Looking up, Jin-soo eyed the woman standing before him.

She nervously laughed and gave him a smile. "Hi, this might sound a little weird, but do you remember me?"

A confused look spread across his features as Jin-soo tried to remember when and where he might have encountered this woman before.

Taking his silence as a cue, she gave him another smile. "Ah, of course not. I saw you in the cafe the other day. My name is Hee-soo. You might know my friend, Eun-young?"

The names sparked a faint recognition in his mind as he continued to gaze at the woman. "Oh, right." She was the friend of the conceited woman, he gradually recalled.

"I thought you looked familiar then, but I couldn't figure out why exactly. When I saw you sitting here, I realized it was 'cause we have evolution class together!"

Jin-soo raised his brows before laughing lightly at the coincidental set of events. "What are the odds?"

"Mind if I sit here?" Hee-soo pointed at the seat beside him.

"Not at all," he smiled.

–

A/N As you can see, I've pretty much kept their bantering at a minimum (i.e. it's nonexistent) in this chapter because I figured they're just strangers when they first meet. While watching the show, I never envisioned either Eun-young or Jin-soo to start bickering right away. They're too focused on exuding good appearances to do that, so sorry if it's a little boring without all their arguing lol.

I still tried to lay the foundation of their love/hate relationship, though I'm not sure if you could really pick up on it. Well regardless, that was fun to write! Onto the next! I wonder what I'll write about now...