My name is Choi Jonghyun, but you can call me Changjo. Awes– Fantastic nickname, huh? Now, if you're wondering why I haven't completed the word... I quote the air, ‘Awesome,’ is that my Tenth Grade English teacher always told me that the word made no sense in particular in any sort of context. The more I thought about it, the weirder it sounded. So, I stopped using it.
... Anyway.
Sorry for getting off-topic there... I get distracted easily... Not all the time. I tucked my thumbs under the straps of my newly bought, black backpack with its bricks for books inside. I mean, seriously, it was just so flipping heavy that I thought I was a mule for Heaven's sake. In other news, it was the first day of school and the first thing I did was walk up to my locker and shove the thing in there post taking out the books I needed for my first class.
I massaged my right shoulder using my left hand and my textbooks in my right, then repeated for the other. Ouch.
Keeping an eye out for my absolute bestest friend in the whole wide world, Lee Byunghun a.k.a L.Joe (I dunno why he kept this nickname, it's so strange), I kind of went blind for a second or two as I ran into this dude who was even blinder than I was. You might be thinking that, some sappy K-Drama love scene happened where my books fell and he picked them up and it was love at first sight but Hell to the n-o!
“Sorry,” he spoke, brushing the invisible dust off his clothes, offering me a hand but I simply waved it off. “Nah, don't be. What's the rush, though?” I stood up and fixed my black shirt which went with my bag (people said I looked good in black. Why am I not surprised?), and gazed at him, scanning his features quickly before looking somewhere else.
The boy had fairer skin – You think I wasn't fair? Puh-lease – and obviously dyed platinum hair to go with it, which was parted from the left neatly. It was horrifying that he looked younger than I did, his smile reaching his brown eyes as his visible cheek bones did all the work in charming anyone who laid eyes on him. Note that I am not included. I was a somebody, not an anybody. “Nothing, I-I-I,” he stuttered, clutching his binder to his chest. “I just, I'm trying to find my class.”
“I could help you. What room is it?”
“Room 134.”
“Well, just go down the hall, up the stairs, and it'll be the first one on your left.”
“Alright,” he thanked me, then licked his crimson lips from what I thought was nervousness before holding his hand out, a meek smile pulling the edges of them upwards, “By the way, I'm Choi Junhong.”
Gladly, I took it, shaking it once, “Choi? I'm Choi Jonghyun. We could be like... The Choi Brothers, or something,” I laughed while he nodded in return, a soft chuckle escaping the back of his throat. “Yeah, I suppose.”
“Well, uh,” I added. “See you around, then?”
“See you around.”
I watched him walk off but dang, still no signs of Byunghun!
------
I chewed on the back of my pencil, leaving teeth-marks around the eraser-less end, my eyes glued onto the page The Teacher was going through. L.Joe still hadn't arrived and I ended up sitting with my other pal, Ahn Daniel, but we chose to call him Niel because... It sounded cool?
At that very moment, the classroom's door opened, L.Joe scurrying along the narrow passageway, A Furious Teacher waiting for him at the other end. I'd hate to be in his shoes. I watched him as he went. In fact, the entire class had their eyes glued on the boy, the atmosphere falling silent, a pause put to the endless whispers and gossips that bounced off the walls, despite the fact that The Teacher had warned them twice.
“Ah, Mr. Lee,” he began, his hands tying behind his back, before he untied them again to reach for the Late Slip the student handed him. “Why so late, hm? It is the first day... Did you not sleep on time? Were you awake till one, playing video games on that dumbing device for a–”
“I'm sorry, Sir,” L.Joe began. He was shorter than our Teacher, Bang Minsoo... Much, much shorter. Our Teacher, had a brother as well. His name was Bang Yongguk, and they were total opposites.
Mr. M taught us English, and Mr. Y, Chemistry. Which reminds me, there was Chemistry, next! Everyone liked his brother better, including myself. He was elder, too, by two years. He was like a friend – An emotional support. Whereas the younger, he despised pupils, and I had heard he decided to take on teaching in order to distract himself from his pessimism, or whatever.
“There was a traffic jam and–”
“Just find a place and sit, Byunghun,” he breathed.
They were both bachelors too. I wonder what would happen if he ever married...
Correction: Ever got someone to marry him, anyway.
Niel smacked my arm, which snapped me back to reality. L.Joe had taken a seat at the front, where Mr. M could see him. Poor guy. I felt apologetic. “Ow!” I yelped, rubbing my arm, then looked over at The Teacher, thanking the Lord that he hadn't heard me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have returned home that afternoon. “What?!” I whisper-screamed. “Listen to the teacher, you dweeb,” he answered back in the same manner, his eyes rolling. “Whatever, mom.”
------
Class finished ten minutes after, fortunately, and it was the Nice One's turn. Mr. Y strolled into class as everyone stood up, chorusing a ‘Good morning, teacher.’ He returned the song, trying his best to imitate the way we sounded, making everyone giggle. “Now, today, we have a very special friend joining us!” he smiled his usual smile that revealed his teeth and gums. I absolutely loved it, since it was contagious. There's a desperate need for people like him in everyone's lives.
L.Joe and I had sat together this time, since Niel did not have class with us. I watched as a boy entered the room, his feet dragging across the passage and GOD, was he tall!
But this height could only belong to one person.
“Class, I would like you to meet Choi Junhong,” Mr. Y beamed, squeezing the taller pupil's shoulder encouragingly. Our Teacher was pretty tall, yet the boy standing next to him was even taller. “He's come here all the way from Mokpo and, I would like it if any one of you volunteered to show him around.”
L.Joe snuck a glance at him, and then at me, “You totally should go for it, Changjo.” I looked at the brunette, confused, “Wha–”
“I know you want to,” he grinned, writing down God knows what in his textbook as he scanned through the text. “Go for it,” he repeated the phrase.
“What makes you think I'd –”
“For starters, you're too stupid. Your kind of stupid people are too nice, and they'd let anyone play them like a harp. So go for it, kid. You might make a new friend that way. And if anything happens, I'm right here for you.”
“... Thank you?” I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult... But I wasn't offended. At least, I don't think I was. My hand shot right up (a bit out of reluctance), “I'd be happy to show him around, Sir.”
Mr. Y beamed gleefully, the corners of his eyes crinkling with pure happiness. He found joy in the smallest of things, and that's what I admired about him. He really was a role model, a person worth looking up to, and I was sure he wouldn't ever let me down.
Whereas, Junhong, gasping a little as he saw me, his round eyes widening further which were then replaced by a crescent-shape when he grinned. “Perfect! Thank you, Jonghyun, I really, really appreciate it.” Mr. Y patted the boy's back gently and made him sit at the left of the room, in the second row. “Alright, now back to the topic...”
And it was then, that I had never felt more enthusiastic.
