Gold | Park Sunghoon

16

Sick

Sunghoon walked around his campus too happily for a Monday morning. It was the week after his competition; and honestly, he felt like a brand-new person. He passed a couple of students in the hallway so casually that no one really came up to him to congratulate him—which was still good. He wasn't sure if people knew about the competition, and he was okay if they didn't. The only thing that mattered, he thought, is that he was proud of himself. His friends and parents were proud of him, and so was Jangmi.

That was all until he reached his classroom. People were cheering his name and clapping for him. He knew they would find out sooner or later. The sudden noise made Sunghoon flinch as he passed the doorframe.

The class president, Huening Kai, ran up to him and gave him a high five. "Congratulations, Park Sunghoon! I bet you did amazing in your competition!" He said as he placed a hand on the ice-skater's shoulder. The boy smiled back at the class president and bowed his head. "Thanks, Kai!"

He walked to his seat beside Jay and sat down. Dropping his bag on top of his table, he faced his best friend with slight grin on his face. Jay chuckled at how Sunghoon's expression looked very different compared to the past times he was congratulated. 

It's not that Sunghoon didn't want people to congratulate him, he just didn't want people to be so loud about it. He was okay with the passing remarks; he just didn't want it to feel like a full-blown party. But still, it was a good feeling to be recognized.

"You're resting the entire week, right?" Jay asked him, cutting him out of his train of thought. Sunghoon nodded as he leaned back into his chair. "Yeah," he replied nonchalantly. All his best friend did was nod at the response before looking back at the blackboard, looking like he was in deep thought as well. "Do you have anywhere to be later after class?" He asked another question this time, to which Sunghoon shook his head.

"Why, Jay? Do you need anything?"

His best friend shook his head and smiled sheepishly. "Nope! Nothing at all, Sunghoon," he replied a little too ecstatic and somewhat fake—like he was stopping himself from saying the whole thought.

But even if Jay sounded off, he decided to shake the weird feeling away. He faced the board to see that his homeroom teacher had just entered the classroom. The homeroom adviser congratulated him as well, to which he just smiled and thanked her for. 

Sunghoon knew that, throughout the entire day, nothing was going to change his bright mood. 

---

Although the light peeking through the cafeteria window was bright, Sunoo's mood was a sharp contrast to it. He sulked, tray in hand, as he walked up to Jay's table and sat down.

He was alone—for what seemed to be the first time since Jangmi became a student in their school. 

"Where's Jangmi? Don't tell me she's skipping lunch to study," Heeseung, of course, was the first to ask about her whereabouts. Sunoo shook his head and proceeded to eat his lunch with no appetite. "She's absent today, actually," he sighed before taking a sip of his doenjang jjigae.