Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This is my first time delving into writing for this fandom that I have grown to love so much. It absolutely sucks that I caught on when it's died down a bit, but I thought it'd be a great chance to spice it up for those of us still here and wanting more of our fave couple.

A little background: for the sake of this story, there is no Class A-F, just typical high school where everyone's thrown into the same high school classes together regardless of how smart.

Next: I thought it'd be fresh to see Naoki for Kotoko first. We're gonna go with this trope and just see what comes of it. He'll be extremely out of character but hey, that's showbiz folks.

Please let me know what you think, what you hated, and if you'd like to see more of this fic!

Also- this fic was originally written for Playful Kiss, the Korean drama. If you'd like to read it in that universe I have it posted in that fandom's archive as well!

—-

He needed something different.

Irie Naoki had known this for quite some time now- every day filled with the same thing over and over. The same boring lectures, the same boring rice and coffee for breakfast, same boring everything.

Sure, he was pretty popular and had the best scores in his grade, and it was cool at first, but he was bored.

He looked around his first class of the day uninterestedly, only a handful of his classmates in their seats as there usually were when he sat in the room 15 minutes early.

Naoki continued to read his book until he heard his teacher come through the door. He could usually tell without looking up by the way that the man would shuffle through stacks of paper and mumble to himself on his way in.

Setting his book aside, Naoki sighed and prepared to zone out while his teacher rattled off about information he's known since grade seven.

What he wasn't prepared for was the tiny, doe-eyed girl that walked in behind the teacher.

Naoki felt himself straighten up in his seat as if to get a better look (or so she could see him better, he wasn't sure which).

She was pretty cute, he wasn't going to lie. Which was a first for him to admit, seeing as for the entirety of his life he never really felt attracted to women. Or anyone. Of course, he was a teenage boy, so he's felt that kind of attraction, but he genuinely thought this girl was really cute. She had reddish hair that grazed her shoulders and plump, pink lips.

The teacher cleared his throat after a couple of minutes have passed and the remainder of the class had filtered in. "Okay everybody! We have a new student who is joining us, and I would like for all of you to be very welcoming." He turned to the girl standing next to him. "Please, dear, introduce yourself."

Her cheeks tinged pink slightly as all eyes turned to her, but she smiled and bowed before she awkwardly waved to the class. "Hi everyone! I'm Aihara Kotoko. Please take care of me!" She quickly bowed once more.

There was scattered applause throughout the classroom, and a round of teasing giggles accompanied by eye rolls from the so-called popular girls of the school, but a quite enthusiastic round of clapping from behind where Naoki was sitting. He turned to see Ikezawa Kinnosuke, the class clown, as the source of all the noise.

Naoki rolled his eyes before facing forward once more. It was just in time to see new girl choosing the empty seat right in front of him. He caught a whiff of strawberries from her hair as she sat down.

For some reason, he had this weird internal debate about whether or not he was going to tap her on the shoulder and introduce himself.

He shook his head. She was cute and she smelled super nice, but he didn't typically do that kind of thing.

Throughout class, he found himself looking over her slight shoulder and noticing that she wasn't paying much attention, but doodling away in her notebook instead.

Interesting.

Aihara Kotoko. Maybe he found his something different.

—-

As the bell rang dismissing class, Naoki looked up from his book and saw new girl stand up and start putting her stuff away in her bag. She sensed him watching what she was doing, so she lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. She offered a tiny wave.

"Hi."

He smiled slightly. "Hi."

She bit her lip and hesitated for a second before she continued. "I'm sorry if this is weird, but would you mind helping me find my next class? I still don't really know my way around here."

He acted as though he was thinking about it for a second before shrugging and nodding. "Yeah, sure." He moved to stand up.

She reached her hand out for him to shake. "Aihara Kotoko."

He took it and grasped it firmly before giving a slight shake. "Irie Naoki." He slung his satchel over his shoulder. "Where to?"

"English," she pouted like a petulant child. "Not looking forward to it."

Naoki chuckled. "I'm sure it'll be okay, new kid. Maybe try paying a little attention."

Kotoko opened her mouth to protest, but he gestured with the extension of his arm toward the door and a wink.

Once they made their way out into the hallway, the whispers immediately started around them. Naoki rolled his eyes. He should've known his nosy school would find it interesting that he of all people was showing the new kid around, especially since said new kid was a pretty girl.

Kotoko turned to him. "What...?"

"I'd just ignore it. It happens." He rolled his eyes once more.

Kotoko gave him an impressed look. "Wow, I didn't know I was being escorted to class by Mister Popular."

He offered a cheeky smile. "Looks like it's your lucky day, doesn't it?"

"And he's full of himself!" Kotoko scoffed teasingly.

"What was that I heard?" He cupped his ear and leaned closer to her, grinning. "Someone doesn't need to be led to class?"

"Hey now!" she grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving. "I'm sorry, Mister Popular, I'll stop teasing."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'll accept the apology… For now."

He may have taken her the long way to get there, but she hadn't let go of his arm and he wasn't going to remind her.

Once they arrived to her classroom, he gestured towards the door. "Here we are."

Realizing that she was still holding onto him, Kotoko hastily pulled away. A rosy hue tinged her cheeks.

Naoki smirked, but didn't say anything about it. "Let me know if you need help finding anything else, new kid."

She folded her arms. "My name's not new kid, it's Aihara Kotoko."

"Aihara Kotoko." He let her name linger on his lips. "So pretty."

—-

"Aihara Kotoko?"

Noriko rolled her eyes. "Yes, Onii-chan. Aihara Kotoko and Aihara Shigeo. I've been talking about this for weeks!"

Naoki couldn't believe what he was hearing. The doe-eyed girl from earlier that day was the daughter of his father's best friend, said daughter and father that were on their way to move in with them that evening. He really should start listening to what his mother has to say…

His little brother, Yuuki, rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I have to give up my room! Ma, why can't she share the room with Onii-chan instead?"

Naoki teasingly looked at her as pointedly though Yuuki was making a valid point and Noriko scoffed good-naturedly at the both of them. "Oh, my sons. That's a good try, but… No."

Before the banter could continue, the doorbell sounded and Noriko jumped up from the couch excitedly, smoothing her skirt out with her hands before skipping merrily to the front door.

"Hello, welcome to our home!" she chirped gleefully after opening the door.

And there she was.