Unconditional Feelings (Heesun)

1

–Over the past few years, technology has advanced in various ways, and it has had a great effect on society. Nowadays, almost everyone provided with technology rely on it–as it contains many resources, many opportunities, and many surprises.

People these days use advanced technology, such as–cell phones–to make calls, text people, interact with others online, and do countless types of activities to keep themselves busy. There are also many dating apps nowadays, where people meet other people online in hopes of finding a relationship, or maybe a hook-up; all of these advancements are found in a single device: the cellphone.

Among all these innovations, there was one app that rose up in popularity upon its release–it had soared to the charts, with over 4 million downloads within 2 days. The app was named 'Love alarm.'

Love Alarm is a dating app, which enables users to discover love through an application that notifies users when someone within 10 meters has romantic feelings for them. When the application was released, many people were curious, and there were some who were suspicious of the strange app. The majority of the people wondered, 'How would a mere technology have the understanding of human feelings and emotions?'Yes, technology has grown to the extent that we have human-like robots, but the possibility of learning and comprehending feelings through the cell phone seemed almost incoherent and beyond bizarre, the idea of the invention itself was something completely different from the rest, which is why it gained the sudden popularity upon its release.

Sunoo blankly stared at the board, where the teacher had briefly explained the app 'Love alarm.' He heaved a sigh and slumped his head, not paying attention to the topic. 'Love alarm this, love alarm that–it's fucking everywhere!' He groaned upon the thought and glanced back at the board. The teacher was still rambling about the app as if it was the most important thing in the world right now. He scanned the classroom to find a student similar to him, but all the students seemed somewhat elated learning about the app. 'Am I the only person who absolutely hates this app?' He thought. His thoughts were interrupted due to the loud 'ding' from someone's cell phone. It was the Love alarm app–it had a specific tune, that everyone recognized.

Everyone inside the classroom turned their attention toward a girl sitting at the back, she was apparently on her cell phone while the teacher was busy instructing the class–and someone rang her Love alarm. All the students started swooning over the tune and some giggled while whispering.

"Someone rang Yuna's Love alarm." A boy situated in the middle row cooed and the entire class started laughing. Yuna covered her face and hid her phone under the desk. The teacher approached her and shook her head in disappointment.

"Hand me the cell phone." She sternly spoke, suppressing her laugh. Yuna sighed in defeat and handed her the cell phone. "We are literally talking about the app right now." One of the girls sitting at the back spoke up, still laughing from the scene before. 'It wasn't even that funny, c'mon now.' Sunoo ponders as he rolled his eyes at the sight in front of him. It was one of the class couples, who were secretly holding hands under the table. The guy was gently caressing his girlfriend's hand while the girlfriend was softly giggling. 'Couldn't they wait after class or something?' He internally groaned and continued to listen to the teacher ramble about the stupid app.

Once the class had ended, Sunoo rushed outside the classroom, in hopes of avoiding someone, who he loathed from the bottom of his heart. He always picked on him because Sunoo looked feminine and he was from an unstable family; both his parents were almost never home because they were always busy working. Ever since birth, Sunoo was taught to be independent, he learned how to manage the house, cook, clean, and navigate his way through different situations. His family wasn't financially stable, which is why they were almost never present.

Sunoo was panicking, his anxiety was slowly creeping up on him. He hastily rushed through the crowd of students, not sparing a glance at anyone in front of him–he wanted to run away before he caught him.

There was a loud thud, that caught everyone's attention. Sunoo was on the floor, and Heeseung was peering down at him, with a snarky smirk plastered on his lips. "Were you trying to ignore me again, Kim Sunoo?" He bitterly chuckled and leaned near Sunoo, who was on the ground. "I'll find you wherever you are, you know you can't run from me." He whispered, his deep and hoarse voice echoing in Sunoo's ear. Heeseung backed away and kicked his stuff on the floor as he slowly trudged away, ignoring the stares. Sunoo swiftly gathered his books for the floor and ran away. He wanted to cry, but he remembered he couldn't be weak; he couldn't cry–he shouldn't let the tears fall from his eyes. He rushed inside the bathroom and hid in one of the stalls. He plopped himself on the toilet cover, breathing shakily. He rubbed his eyes, trying to suppress his tears. When he was relaxed, he headed outside the restroom to the cafeteria for lunch.

When Sunoo entered the cafeteria, he saw Heeseung and his group of assholes sitting and cackling loud enough for everyone to hear. He felt goosebumps while thinking about the things Heeseung has done to him. He brushed off the thoughts because he was starving, and waited in the lunch line behind the other students.

He thanked the lunch lady, as he grabbed his tray and walked near his table; it was located at the back of the cafeteria where basically no one would sit because it was right in front of the backdoor of the school and it would be very chilly, since the cold air was always breezy, and the doors would almost always be open. He placed the tray down and situated himself on the large bench.

He held on to his chopsticks and immediately started eating. No matter how hurt he was, he had no reason not to eat; he needed to look after himself, even when no one stayed beside him, appreciating his existence.

People would watch him get tormented every day, but no one stood up–what would they receive in the end? – Nothing. Greed would lead almost anyone for money, and people would do anything for money–even if it meant selling their bodies.

He continued eating while thinking about his responsibilities and some school events.