Author's Notes: Wow. Twelfth episode. This is gonna be quite long. Seriously. Like seriously seriously.

Episode 11

Oops?

March 6, Saturday, 6:17AM

Flipping over a disfigured carton, Leon covered his nose and mouth as dust particles flew everywhere. Three days of his absence utterly destroyed his house and made it a mess. Cockroaches fled in random directions to escape the wrath of his foot as he walked around, picking up valuables and placing them inside a box. Leon decided to pack his things and transfer them to the dormitory. He still needed a way to pay the five-month overdue rent, but that could wait until later.

So far, he had collected his clothes and personal items. The rest were junk. It wasn't easy living alone in a house, being a boy, carrying the responsibility to clean it alone. Though it was small and had only one floor, its hard-to-reach corners and various rooms made it difficult to maintain. The paint of the walls were now deteriorated and the wood furnishes were rotting. He had no money to replace them, and he knew he never will.

Leon threw the useless things aside.

"A broken CD."

Rummage. Rummage.

"Another shattered plate."

Search. Flip. Search.

"Tweezers?" Leon turned it over, looking at both sides. He responsively flicked it away when he saw a disgusting strand of hair still attached to it. He didn't bother finding out what kind of hair it was, whether it was head hair, arm hair, leg hair, back hair, armpit hair, pub-...never mind.

He then stumbled across something that caught his attention. A black jewelry box was hiding under the staircase. The small lock on the front was already forced open. Leon brushed the dust off of it and opened the chest. He took the silver necklace inside the box between his fingers. Beneath the necklace was a picture. A family picture. He was swept with nostalgia just by glimpsing at the old photograph.

Leon safely secured the necklace with a silver heart in his pocket. He griped the laminated picture with four fingers. Hand shaking, he tore the part where his mother's face was. He then crumpled it and discarded it like some sort of trash.

His mood changed like litmus paper drenched in acid. He kicked chairs that blocked his path. The pieces of glass from shattered kitchenware crunched as his heavy footsteps engraved them into the floor. He blasted through the door, dragging the box behind him. He walked down from his house to the sidewalk and disappeared into the crowd.

XXX

Ring.

"Five more minutes."

Ring.

"Just five more minutes."

Ring.

Natalie sighed and threw herself off the bed. Grumpy and deprived of beauty sleep, she almost ripped the telephone cord, answering the call.

"Natalie Song speaking." She had a heavy stress on each word she spoke.

"Good morning, heavy sleeper," Miss Song greeted cheerfully.

Natalie blinked, trying to get rid of her irritation and lethargy. "Mom?"

"Come to the cafeteria for some breakfast, okay?"

"Ne." Natalie put down the phone and prepared herself for the day, starting with taking a shower.

Meanwhile, Leon finished unpacking and sorting his belongings inside his room. He sat on his bed, shoving the box under it. The day was perfect for an outdoor activity. The sun was up and the temperature wasn't that cold. Bored, he got up and walked around in circles, desperate to think of something. The phone rang and disconnected him from the web of thoughts in his mind. He picked the phone up.

"Leonhart Chatelier." He sounded professional.

"Good morning, Leon. Breakfast is served, so come to the cafeteria before it gets cold."

"Will do."

"Could you go and call Natalie? I want to make sure she didn't fall asleep again."

Leon grunted a 'yes' and Miss Song ended the call.

Leon went to Natalie's room. He glanced at his watch again as he locked his room. It was past seven, so he thought that Natalie should be awake. He stood in front of Room 1004 and knocked.

No response.

He turned the knob. Surprisingly, it was open.

Breathing deeply, he pushed the door. He felt his heart beat faster, nervous, though he didn't why he should be. A tiny voice at the back of his mind screamed at him not to go in. To no avail, he didn't hear it.

At the exact time he entered Natalie's room, the shower clunked to a stop and the bathroom door opened. Steam and warm air wafted into the room as a girl came into vision.

Natalie stepped out of the bathroom.

Leon's mind went blank.

Her light-toned flesh was flushed and her wet hair was sticking to her skin. All he could do was stare.

Their eyes met.

"Oh."

Her eyes widened.

"My."

She lost grip of her towel. "God!"

"P-P-PERVERT!"

XXX

"What's taking them so long?" Miss Song pondered over her bowl of Gyudon. Yun-Hee spoke through the grumbling of her stomach. Mi-Young solidly gazed at her own bowl, moving her hand in the air as if solving a mathematical equation.

Students and cafeteria personnel alike jumped from their seats when a male student bursted into the canteen. He almost broke the glass doors as he pushed them in. He scurried over to Miss Song's table, stumbling over chairs and people. His hair was pulled in all the wrong places and his bloodshot eyes were having spasms. The two girls avoided the scary student as he hid behind Miss Song, clutching at her uniform like a frightened child.

Another student entered the canteen. Her jaw was tightly closed, gritting teeth contained within. Leon trembled as she came to the table.

"Natalie? W-What happened?" Miss Song had no idea what was going on.

Natalie grabbed Leon by his hair and pulled him to the other end of the table. He knelt on both knees and raised his arms in surrender. Yun-Hee envisioned Natalie wielding a whip and Leon being held captive by chains.

"Don't you even knock before you enter someone's room?" she said furiously yet quietly so only he could hear.

He did, but saying that now wouldn't change anything.

She grated her teeth together and took a seat.

"Is anything wrong?" Miss Song asked again, seeing the obvious redness that wasn't make-up on Natalie's cheeks.

She shook her head violently and stared at the table, hiding her eyes beneath her long fringes. Leon soon followed. A distinct air of embarrassment trailed behind him as he took the seat farthest from Natalie. Everyone noticed it, along with the sore palm mark on his left cheek. Miss Song and the two early students glanced from Natalie to Leon.

Yun-Hee laid her hand on the palm mark on his cheek. "You look like a hurricane hit you." Leon brushed her hand away and fixed his hair with his hand as a comb.

"...What happened?" the teacher, leaning closer to Leon, asked in a whisper.

He shook his head in denial. "Nothing," he whispered back.

"Nothing? That's the crappiest lie I've ever heard." Miss Song got up from her chair. "If nothing's wrong," she said, now speaking aloud. "You sit next to her. You're friends right?" She pulled Leon all the way over to exchange seats. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee were watching them, curious as to why there was an awkward tension between the two.

Natalie slowly brought her head up to give Leon a look that she reserved specially for really disgusting pieces of garbage. "Pervert."

Harnessing eye contact, Leon sighed and reasoned out with his eyes. "It was an accident."

"Excuses."

"It was. I swear."

"Whatever."

Miss Song prayed for their breakfast and everyone started eating, except Natalie. She was at a loss for words and action. Her conflicting emotions combined into a blank expression. She was mortified, upset and disconcerted. She was heavily affected that it was Leon who saw her; if it was another male, she probably would care less, which, in turn, made her slap herself for thinking something so retarded. Leon was drinking water when he saw her slap herself. She glanced at him. He choked.

"What the heck is wrong with the both of you?" Mount Miss Song erupted.

"It was an accident," Leon stated with a believable depth in his voice.

"What was?"

His own mind was torturing him with images of what he had seen earlier that morning. Blurring out a thought was never a hard task for him. But at that moment, he was struggling to stop his mind's eye from seeing her wet, flawless, smooth skin and long brown hair.

Leon took a deep breath, ready for an impromptu confession. "I saw Nata-mmfhm!"

Natalie taped her hand on Leon's mouth for the sake of her dignity.

"He didn't see anything!"

Miss Song dropped her glass. It shattered into a million pieces.

Natalie briskly slapped her other hand on her mouth. She shouldn't have said that. Then again, she shouldn't have done that either.

"See what?" Yun-Hee added another question. Their gazes squeezed the answer out of Natalie like a dried lemon.

"Breakfast time is over, we're gonna be late for class!" Natalie blurted out randomly. She stood up in such a hurry that she hit the table. She passed by Leon's side and 'accidentally' hit the back of his head with her bag, sending Leon's face right into his breakfast. Miss Song seconded the motion, saving both of her students from shame. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee grumbled as Miss Song ushered the four of them to the main school building.

Although it was in fact a Saturday, the special class still had a morning session. The afternoon, however, was free for them to spend. Sir Taiga was discussing about parabolas and ellipses, and Leon couldn't take it anymore.

"These curves..."

Leon gripped on his desk, unable to focus on the lesson. "Concentrate." He was being bombarded with unwanted images of Natalie. Images that involved curves. Her smooth arms and legs, her flushed skin, everything. Desperate to stop his dirty mind from intoxicating him further, he clenched his fist and hit his wound.

"Urgh." Leon flinched from the pain.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Chatelier?" Sir Taiga asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Leon was sure he saw Natalie's concerned face.

"No, go on." He sat straight and fixed his eyes on the board. "Concentrate."

"...determine an exact angle. The symmetry of the curves..."

His mind indeed concentrated. Not on the lesson, but on the other object of attention. The images suddenly improved into 1020 pixel HD pictures. He could smell the blood in his nose.

"If you observe these curves closely, you'll see that-"

The blood gushed out, disrupting the lecture. Sir Taiga stopped and everyone looked at Leon. "I think you've seen too much curves, Mr. Chatelier."

"Yes, I have." He wiped his nose with a clean handkerchief. "Perfect curves, in fact."

Natalie blushed from his statement, and when he glanced at her, she quickly looked away, her brown hair swaying to cover her face.

"Will you go to the clinic?"

"No. All is fine." His head felt unusually lighter after the loss of blood, which was rather too much for a nosebleed. "Except the semi-pornography my mind is providing me without my consent."

Sir Taiga pointed at the writings on the board with a short piece of chalk. "One last activity before I dismiss you. Usual pairings, ten minutes. Go."

Mi-Young and Yun-Hee did their routine. Leon moved his seat closer to Natalie as well. She nudged him slightly, his proximity too close for her taste. As Natalie wrote down the questions, she couldn't help but to feel exposed even though her clothes were complete. Only her face, neck and a small part of her thighs were to be seen.

Natalie felt a pair of eyes on her. She turned, catching Leon seemingly looking down her collar, and slapped him on the arm. He was just looking at her from the corner of his eye and Natalie's suspicion of him made it appear otherwise.

"Stop staring, you pervert!"

"I was not staring!"

"Yes, you were!"

"No, I was not!"

In the nine years they had spent as close friends, it was the first time Yun-Hee heard Leon shout. The classroom was silenced once again by the two. Sir Taiga approached them. "You two lovebirds stop staring at each other and finish the activity. Your time is running out."

Leon sighed when he saw Natalie lay a hand over her collar to close it. She carefully watched where his eyes where focused while she did the activity.

"Keep your eyes to yourself."

"I'd rather look at a hippopotamus than lay an eye on you."

"What?"

Sir Taiga almost whipped Leon's hand with his stick. "Stop it."

Leon sighed. In the end, the pair achieved a jaw-dropping, record-breaking, history-making score of one out of ten questions correct.

Sir Taiga requested to see them after the class. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee intentionally oversaw the conversation through the classroom's glass windows.

"One out of ten. Unbelievable." Sir Taiga tore their paper and threw it to the trash can. "Would one of you explain why this happened?"

Leon took a bold step forward and held out a protective hand in front of Natalie. "It was my fault. I gave her the wrong answers." It was an obvious lie, but Taiga took it anyway.

Leon sensed his hand come in touch with something. Something delicate, warm and soft. He glanced to his side. His hand was on her thigh. He traced the skin up to her skirt, up her blouse, then to her face, which was flaming red and turned at his direction.

"You s-sick...P-PERVERT!"

Leon ran for his life. And tripped.

He jumped out of the classroom window instead of using the time-wasting door. Mi-Young and Yun-Hee ducked to save themselves from being beheaded by Leon's shoes. They ran downstairs to avoid being caught eavesdropping as Natalie went after Leon.

"It was an accident!" Leon screamed as Natalie came running behind him like a stampede of oxen.

The two pairs met on the ground floor. Leon took refuge behind Yun-Hee.

"Hey guys, we should go out today," Yun-Hee suggested. Natalie stopped in front of her, anger drained by the friendliness in her eyes.

"No, thank you." Leon strode past Natalie in full caution and proceeded to the dormitory. The ratio of his gender to theirs was absurd and granted the circumstances, he would only end up being out of place. Also, he had forgotten about his responsibility over Natalie.

"Destination?" Mi-Young asked as soon as the male was out of sight.

Smiling, Yun-Hee told them, "I know the right place to go to." Natalie and Yun-Hee returned to their rooms to get their purses and jackets. The three of them then ventured forth into the cold streets.

Seoul was the center of commerce in South Korea, and because of this, there were many shopping areas to chose from. With Miss Song's permission, the three girls traveled to Myeongdong, a place in downtown Seoul which embodied several stores and fashion boutiques. International brand stores were lined up, their colored signs and showcased products attracting a huge amount of local and foreign customers everyday, whether day or night.

Looking around, their eyes proved that the Seoul was exceptionally modern. Light stone bricks covered the pathways in contrast to the streets' paved asphalt concrete. Leafless fifteen-foot trees gave the city an open-spaced feeling as buildings of contemporary architecture rose like mountains in the background, towering above them like walls.

Natalie, Yun-Hee and Mi-Young started walking. Their aim was to cover the long curvilinear path and all of its stores in one afternoon. There was an endless parade of various stalls and shops and they didn't know where to start.

"Let's eat first," Yun-Hee proposed. The two agreed. They ordered Ramen at the nearest noodle shop. They were seated in a short line, elbows rested on the high counter. Natalie asked the store owner for a small saucer. She scooped out the oil bubbles and fat from her Ramen and into the saucer. Meanwhile, Yun-Hee and Mi-Young gave conversation more importance over food.

"Hey, Natalie?" Yun-Hee called, noticing Natalie's value of her health and physical state.

Natalie titled her head to Yun-Hee's direction.

"What exactly happened?"

"With what?"

"You know, with you and Leon earlier."

Yun-Hee and Mi-Young slowly closed in their faces to Natalie's.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell anyone about it," Natalie thought aloud. She looked to her right. Yun-Hee's face blocked her entire view. She looked to the left and saw Mi-Young staring at her. "Please seat properly. It's disturbing."

The two girls obliged. Yun-Hee finished her bowl in a second. "Come on. Share it."

Natalie shifted her weight on the chair. "Well..."

"You can tell us everything. We're friends, right?" Yun-Hee smiled at her.

"Friends?" Natalie thought, eyes fixed on the floating shank of beef in her bowl.

"Yeah, friends. Well, I'm not sure about Mi-Young but the two of us are, right?"

Mi-Young was already accustomed to offending yet humor-intentional jokes. Yun-Hee gave her an apologetic glance which she replied with a knowing nod.

Slouching, Natalie dropped her chopsticks and hung her head. "I don't think I can look at him straight in the eye ever again."

"Why?" Mi-Young joined in the conversation.

"He..."

"He...?" The suspense was torturing Yun-Hee. Mi-Young had her back straight and was still eating her Ramen, not showing the slightest hint of interest.

"He..."

"He...?"

"..." Natalie brought her head further down.

Yun-Hee bumped her fist on her own head. "What?"

"He saw me right when I left the shower."

Mi-Young pleasantly showered the contents of her mouth onto the face of the store owner, who had his mouth open, unfortunately. "He what?"

The two girls were petrified. Nobody, even Mi-Young herself, expected that she could lose her cool and poise in public.

Cheeks darkening with the deepest crimson, Natalie hid her face beneath a clump of hair.

"He saw you? In the bathr-"

Natalie quickly placed a finger on Yun-Hee's lips. "Shh! Not too loud." Some other customers were already looking at them suspiciously for the noise they were creating.

Mi-Young set her elbow on the counter and spun on the stool to face Natalie. "He saw you completely? With nothing whatsoever?"

"O-Of course not!" Natalie's whole face burned red like a tomato. She sheepishly bowed her head. "A towel," she muttered with the quietest voice she could use.

Mi-Young wiped her glasses clean and wore them again. "It's no big deal."

"No big deal? Are you kidding?" Yun-Hee thought about Mi-Young's response and guessed that she would have been comfortable if she was in Natalie's position. A bit too comfortable, in fact.

Mi-Young adjusted her glasses and flicked her hair, fixing it without the use of her hands. Yun-Hee scrutinized her from top to bottom. She looked like the type who had the appeal and the natural habit of seducing boys. Mi-Young spun back on her stool and stretched her back sensually in an arch, running her hand down her neck to dry some of the soup that was spilled on her blazer. Yup, Yun-Hee's theory was correct. She ordered another cup of tea to distract herself before she could imagine what Mi-Young could do to the poor, oblivious and insensitive Leon.

Yun-Hee met Natalie's worried face. "It's a really big deal."

"A really big deal?" Natalie's voice was shaking.

"I-I don't mean to make you feel worse. But...how can you get married after that?"

It rang a bell inside Mi-Young's head. "Only your husband is supposed to have the right to see you...and Leon stole it from him, whoever that 'he' would be."

Natalie digested the words slowly. "Is that true?"

Yun-Hee and Mi-Young nodded. "What would your husband feel if he finds out that-"

Natalie buried her face into her hands. "What am I going to do now?" she interrupted, exhaling hopelessly.

"See him naked too."

Yun-Hee slapped Mi-Young on the side of the head. Weakly, of course. Nobody would dare hit the valedictorian.

"I think it would be a great idea," Mi-Young added, earning another slap on the head.

"It depends." Yun-Hee emptied her cup. "Are you angry or embarrassed?"

"I'm confused."

Yun-Hee folded her arms. "That's not included as a choice."

"There is a simple solution to solve your little dilemma. Just marry him," Mi-Young joked casually.

Natalie's face slipped off her hands and fell on the countertop, causing a loud thump.

"Is she pregnant?" The store owner noticed his customer's frustration. "I have birth control pills."

Natalie barely controlled herself from throwing the Ramen bowl at the man. Barely. She propped her chin on the counter, her hair messy, and glared at the owner. "You're not even supposed to be in this conversation."

"But, I have some birth contro-"

"No, thank you."

"Birth pill-"

"No."

"I'll give them to you for free."

Natalie got up and left, followed by the two other girls. The store owner looked at the small plastic container. He shrugged and popped a few into his mouth.

"Chewables. Not bad."

The three females spotted their first shop and walked right in. Stylish dresses of the latest fashion trends welcomed them as they entered through the glass doors. Gold light made the clothes sparkle and friendly clerks allowed them to feel comfortable while looking around for any garment that interested them.

"So, are you angry or embarrassed? Just chose one," Yun-Hee's voice came out from the left dressing room. Natalie, occupying the middle one, answered, "Angerbarrassed?" Mi-Young smirked at Natalie's attempt at creating a new word.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what you feel."

Natalie sighed. "...Embarrassed. It was an accident, how can I be angry?"

"You sure showed him that you wanted to wrench his eyes out. Even we could feel it during breakfast and class time, right Mi-Young? You seemed so..." Yun-Hee couldn't find the right word to complete her statement.

"Agitated? Furious? Pissed?" Mi-Young supplied.

Yun-Hee laughed at the last word while forcing her head into a hole of a shirt. "I didn't know you also used informal words."

"Don't overestimate me too much. A little bit is fine though."

Natalie continued, "I was acting on reflex. Would you like it if you were in my shoes?"

"Maybe," Mi-Young replied before Yun-Hee could even say an automatic 'no'. Yun-Hee was sure Mi-Young was a temptress. Natalie pretended she didn't hear anything on the fear of explicit imagination.

The three girls gathered the curtains and stepped out all at the same time. Yun-Hee was in nothing special. She didn't favor clothes much. Mi-Young's choice was a black sleeveless vest paired with long dark pants buckled with a wide belt studded with shiny stones. They complimented each other with nods and turned to Natalie.

"Wow."

Natalie wore a flashy dark top that was adorned with studded straps all across the front, the collar zipped with metallic silver. The top was a bit short, exposing her flat lower abdomen and navel, and to highlight the two tightly cinched belts fastened to her gray denims. Boots with silver and black linings went with her pants. On her left forearm was a fingerless glove, while on the other was a short white glove. Her pink watch had been replaced with a dirty white one to fit her outfit. Lastly, a crimson, black dyed fur jacket with patterned square holes hung from her shoulders to her lower back like a large scarf.

Yun-Hee stared. "Your fashion sense is unbelievable."

Natalie half-frowned and scanned herself. "Does it look that terrible?"

"Terrible? It's so good that I envy you," Yun-Hee corrected, walking around Natalie to inspect her 360 degrees. "You look like one of those girls from a Korean girl group. If you could only sing and dance well, you'd certainly pass in an audition."

Natalie etched the last sentence into her mind.

Yun-Hee pointed a commanding finger at her. "Pose."

"What?"

"Try and pose. A cute expression or something."

Natalie titled her body to the left and put one hand on her hip, showing the other side of her that packed a strong attitude. Yun-Hee giggled excitedly. Natalie was definitely girl group material.

"Buy everything," Mi-Young stated, going back into her dressing room.

Yun-Hee did the same. "She's right, you should. You look ravishing."

Natalie went inside her dressing room and took the time to look at her reflection on the mirror. She smiled and started changing into her school uniform. She had never been complimented for her physical appearance before, but not because she wasn't pretty. Saying that fifteen boys had crushes on Natalie was a bizarre understatement. All of the boys didn't have the guts to tell her up front. Her mere presence makes them nervous and feel self-conscious like crazy, though no one had ever told her that, resulting to her low self-esteem. Who wouldn't feel bad when students of the opposite gender literally run away whenever you came near? Well, I sure wouldn't.

Picked clothes in hand, they went to the counter to pay. Yun-Hee didn't buy anything. She waited for them outside of the store. Mi-Young took out a rolled bill from her purse. The cashier gave her the change and a white plastic containing the clothes.

"Hurry up, Natalie. We still have other shops to go to!" Yun-Hee hurried her friend, excitement getting the better of her.

Natalie carefully placed the complete outfit she had wore on the counter. She had some money to spare and a thirst for fashion, so she took their advice and decided to take them though they were expensive.

She opened her purse. Her fingers grew stiff.

She brought the wrong purse.

Suddenly, a stack of 10,000 Won bills were slammed on the counter. She looked up to see a familiar person. Trying to comprehend what was happening, she glanced at the person in front of her, then to her friends waiting outside, who had their staggered eyes at the money.

"What are you doing here?"