When Choerry wakes on the cold November morning, her first move, like any other American teen, is to check her phone.
She rolls over under her thick, purple comforter with little crescent moons, past her plentiful favorite plushies to her bedside table.
And when Choerry opens the chat window between her and her boyfriend, her face falls a bit when she’s presented with only a new read receipt on the numerous good morning and goodnight texts she’s sent over the past few days.
Nevertheless, she opts to send another.
Choerry: good morning baby! <3 <3 <3 just wanted to ummm say good morning! :D i know you have that english test today and i hope you ACE it! i love you so so so so much, have a great day my sunshine <3
Despite the energy in her text though, Choerry can’t help but stare at her previous good mornings that have accumulated before today, and fights tears that start to prickle at her eyes at the lack of reciprocation.
***
Hours later that Monday, the blazing Southern California sun shines high over St. Jihyo’s Presidential Academy - and Ms. Wong is interrupted from her grading by the mischievous cackling at the desk in front of her.
While her seat partner Yeri watercolors silently with her airpods in, Yeojin is practically dying of laughter in front of her phone. The shortest girl in the class is louder than every other conversation in the room combined. When she catches her breath for a moment, she realizes her art teacher staring straight at her, bewildered.
“Did you finish your assignment?” Vivi asks, trying to hide the amused smirk on her own face from her favorite student.
“Oh yeah, here you go!” Yeojin carefully rips the watercolor paper from her sketchbook at the serrated edge, and hands her masterpiece to her teacher.
Vivi scans the colored paper with narrowed eyes. “This is a woman’s butt.”
“That is a peach Ms. Wong. Getting a little raunchy with your thoughts over there.”
The art teacher shuts her eyes in unexpected embarrassment and starts to shake her head. “You better not be looking at anythingraunchy on your phone over there, or I’ll confiscate it,” she says with raised eyebrows. (She allows phones, as long as the student is finished.)
Yeojin snickers at her teacher, then lowers her voice for secrecy. “You wanna see something goofy as hell?”
The little eighth grader doesn’t wait for an answer. She stands and leans forward, extending her arm to Vivi’s face to show the phone screen.
Vivi’s eyes widen when she recognizes the app’s interface as Tinder. She also recognizes the woman on the screen after a few seconds.
It’s Haseul.
Ms. Wong gasps hard, while Yeojin nods slowly in amusement. The art teacher simply cannot believe her eyes - she is face to face with her boss’s (and friend’s) dating profile.
The cover card of Haseul’s profile is a selfie in a collarbone-exposing marigold top, in which she pokes her cheek with an adorable little smile. The image makes Vivi’s heart melt into a puddle of endearment, and her mouth falling open a little as she beams.
