I See Colors | Taegi

twenty-one

When lunch begins,
   Hoseok pulls me away from the music room
   and to the loud cafeteria
before I can get a chance
to leave the classroom.

   I almost tell Hoseok that
   I don't want to eat lunch with them,
   but that would be a lie.

   I'm pulling myself forward
   instead of walking
   because of the people everywhere
   and because I didn't get time to tell Yoongi
   that I won't be in the music room today.

We arrive at the same shaded table
and the things Jungkook told me
meet me in the shadows.

Jungkook and the wine boy are already there.
I'm not sure how they are so punctual.
It's as if they
teleport.

I sit across from them this time,
partly because I don't want to be here
with a bunch of people
who only see each other as labels
to drop in different boxes.

"Hi Taehyung."
The boy who tastes like wine greets me,
"I didn't introduce myself to you last time.
My name's Kim Seokjin.
It's nice to meet you."

I'm surprised by how
formal he is,
like we're in a business meeting
instead of a dirty, loud
high school cafeteria.

I wave back.

I turn to look at Hoseok
and decide to practice
my formal speech.

"May I leave now?"

Hoseok leans forward and covers his mouth,
trying his best not to laugh.
Seokjin is laughing freely,
and Jungkook smiles for a second or two.

I look at each of them,
confused as to why they're acting as if
they're watching an old rom-com
from the '90s
like what me and my friends used to do
during the weekends.

"Wha-...
What's so funny?"

Hoseok calms down to look at me
and he shakes his head.

"It's not funny.
It's cute."

   I stare at him
   for a little longer
   until I hear Seokjin begin to talk.

   "So anyways,
   I was messaging Shiyeong
   and my sister looked over my shoulder
   and saw my phone
   then said,
   "Damn.
   Didn't know opposites attract so much.""

   Hoseok bursts out laughing
   while me and Jungkook listen.

   "We're not even dating!"

   That makes Jungkook smile and hold in some laughs,
   so I smile too.

Hoseok accidentally knocks his fist
on a plastic spoon
and all of us watch it
catapult across the cafeteria.

"Oh no."
He says
then stands up to grab it.

Seokjin's laughter
covers up the other voices for a moment.
As I watch Hoseok pick up the spoon,
I can even hear Jungkook
quietly laugh behind my head.

Hoseok has a skill for
creating stories
without realizing it.

When he returns with the spoon,
Hoseok places it on the table
to prevent another launch.

I realize now
   how confusing humor can be.