DRAINED [Kim Sunwoo]

02

"Dabin, ready to go?" Younghoon left an hour ago. He didn't get the chance to cook for us, so Jeyou and I decided to leave early and search for the breakfast on our way to school.

Unexpectedly, but in a good way, Jeyou was quite talkative. His hyper personality was actually comforting. We had walked for 10 minutes already but I didn't sense the awkwardness between us. Not even in one second.

"I don't usually take breakfast. But when I do, this stall will always be my favorite." Jeyou pointed at a small stall in front of us.

I could say that they had everything a school student would be interested in. Spicy teobokki, hotdogs, cheese ball, steamed bun. Basically anything you probably craved in the morning.

No wonder he likes it so much.

Even my eyes were wandering around the said food.

"Ey, Jeyou! You finally got yourself a girl?" A middle aged woman raised her eyebrow, teasing the young boy. She was holding a waffle pan, probably going to make a waffle.

Jeyou hesitantly looked at me, sending me apologetic looks. "Mrs. Ahn, this is actually my sister, Dabin." Sister? I slightly bowed to the woman.

"Ahh really! Why haven't I see you before, young girl?" Mrs. Ahn quickly put down the utensil she was holding and averted her gaze, observing me up and down. I played with the hem of my skirt.

Mrs. Ahn sighed, turning back her gaze towards Jeyou. "Boy, I'm not forgiving you for not telling me about her earlier." And turned back at me.

"Tell me what do you want honey, it's on me today!" She excitedly shoved me the menu. "Huh? Is that okay? I mean, you don't have to do that. It's okay, I pay by my-"

"Save your money today, use it when you feel like visiting here again. I'll be glad if you do that!" I smiled, placing the money back in my uniform blazer pocket.

We walked towards the table while waiting the food to be prepared after we made our order.

"Honestly, that's the longest one coming from your mouth ever since Younghoon and I encountered you." Jeyou continued playing with his phone after chuckling at his words.

********************

I was sitting in the staff room not knowing what I was waiting for. I glanced at the wall clock, showing 8.15am. Class was about to start in 15-minute time.

What am I doing here anyway?

I tapped my foot impatiently realizing that everyone in the staff room walked past me but none of them seemed to be approaching me.

"Jung Dabin." I turned my head upon hearing a voice calling my name. A fair-skinned woman who I assumed still in her 20's. Her hair was neatly tied into a bun. Her dimple was clearly showing on her left cheek when she smiled. Really pretty.

"Let's go. I'm your homeroom teacher, Ms. Lim. We'll be heading to classroom now."

I got up from the seat and followed her steps. The school was quite big compared to my previous school. They had six classes for each grade.

From what Younghoon said in the previous day, I was placed in the 4th class. So, we had to walk past three other classes to get into my classroom.

Ms. Lim slid open the classroom door causing the students to disperse from where they were, back to their assigned seats.

When she ensured that everyone had settled down, she exchanged looks with me and nodded, signaling me to introduce myself.

"I'm Jung Dabin. Please take care of me." Ms. Lim was deeply in thought for a second. She looked around the classroom and spoke. "Where should you sit?"

"Ms. Lim! There's a vacant seat at the back." The girl with a ponytail pointed at the back seat. I was about to walk towards the seat when Ms. Lim stopped me. "I don't think making a new student sitting alone at the back is a good idea."

I hated myself for being the center of attention at that moment. I felt like burying myself in a deepest layer of the earth.

Fortunately, a raised-hand student at the middle of the class caught everyone's attention, saving me from the unwanted situation.

"I'll move to the back. She can sit here beside Yubin." The girl packed her belonging and moved towards the back, filling the vacancy of the back seat.

"Thank you, Chaekyung. Dabin, you can take your seat right there." Ms. Lim watched me sit before proceeding to the lessons.

I was paying attention to the lessons when I felt a nudge on my left arm.

"How about I bring you to the cafeteria during recess? Are you okay with that?" She cheerfully smiled when she saw me nodded to her question and returned her focus back to the whiteboard.

********************

I waited for my seatmate to clean up her table before we headed towards the cafeteria. "I'm Yubin. Kim Yubin." She said smiling.

We were walking towards the locker room because Yubin left her purse inside her locker while taking her book this morning. I leaned my back against my locker, located quite far from Yubin's, playing with my phone while waiting for her.

"Crybaby?"  My eyebrows were knitted, confused with what I just heard. Sounds so so so familiar. I turned around upon hearing the familiar nickname.

I couldn't move my feet, as if they were nailed to the floor. Him.

I was contemplating whether should or not I run to him and hug him like we always did. But before I got the chance to do so, he came to me and engulfed me into his embrace. "Crybaby! I can't believe it's really you!!"

"I miss you stupid!" Many pairs of eyes were darted towards us but we couldn't care less. We just missed each other's presence so bad.

It had been 6 years since our last met. "It's really cool of me to recognize you right away, don't you think so?"

I could see the spark coming from his eyes as he spoke, showing that he was really excited to see me. And I bet my eyes did the same.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Dabin let's— Oh sorry Hyunjae, I didn't see you there." Yubin bowed politely upon seeing Hyunjae in front of me.

"No, no, it's okay! I am about to leave." Hyunjae waved both of his hand in front of his chest to assure Yubin that he was fine before returning his attention back to me.

"And you. How about you wait for me after class ended? What class are you in?" I put down my thumb, showing him my other four fingers.

"4th Class? Alright, I'll pick you up. See you!" With that, he left to catch up with his other friends.

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Love, Nia♡