Touch || Lee Jeno

two.

The distant sounds of clattering pans woke her up. Her eyes fluttered open, taking in the sunlight from her window. She groaned and was stretching her body when she realized she was lying on the floor. Did she fall asleep on the floor?

She sat up groggily, feeling the cold, wooden floor beneath her. Around her were strewn food wrappers, textbooks and scattered stationery. 

Memories from last night flooded her mind and she remembered why she was on the floor— her mind flashed back to her cringing on the floor, clutching her chest as she tried to endure random bursts of pain, each worse than the one before. She probably fell asleep on the floor, trying to forget about the pain. 

Her heartbeat started to quicken as she held her hand to her chest once again.

Her eyes trailed to the opened textbook in front of her and she cursed under her breath. She didn't even get to finish studying! She looked at the time and gasped— now she was going to be late for school! 

She immediately got up, cleaning up the mess she made last night and hopping into the shower. She got ready in record time and sped downstairs, backpack slung on one shoulder and collar still sticking up. 

In the kitchen, Mrs. Choi was cooking something and Dabin was on the dining table eating breakfast. Knowing she'd be late if she stopped to eat, she quickly grabbed a piece of bread from the table, telling Mrs. Choi she was running late before running out the door.

"Have fun!" Mrs. Choi called out just as the front door closed.

This time, she didn't have the time to walk slowly and take in her environment; she ran down her neighborhood, past markets and little cafes, until she could finally see the building of her school. She was grateful that her school was within walking distance, but during days like these she wondered if living further away and being required to ride a bus to school would actually be faster— and easier. 

She finally reached the school gates, panting slightly as she slowed down. Maybe if she wasn't rushing she may have noticed earlier, but now that she had slowed down, she finally noticed a new, strange and abundant presence in her school grounds— boys. 

A whole lot of them. 

She scrunched up her nose; she totally forgot that today was also the co-ed orientation! It bugged her that she suddenly felt a tad bit more conscious about the way she looked. She shook it off and walked through the front doors of her school. 

A teacher stood just by the entrance, repeating the same sentence to the students entering. "All students are to proceed immediately to the auditorium— bring all your belongings and go to the auditorium immediately."

Is it for the orientation?, she wondered to herself as she followed the crowd of students. 

She found herself being pushed left and right; there was barely any space left to walk with everyone piling into the auditorium. How was this even going to work? It's twice the amount of students in the same, old and cramped building. 

The sea of moving people made it hard to see where she was going, but they finally entered the auditorium, allowing the students to disperse a little better and give her some space. 

The once big auditorium now looked small and suffocating. It didn't help that the boys all looked like giants. She watched as their principal made her way up the podium, clearing her throat into her microphone. It took several seconds, but the auditorium finally quieted down. 

The principal gave a welcoming smile before she began. 

"Good morning, girls— and for the first time— boys! Today is going to be one hectic day, trying to adjust to your new learning environment. To make adjusting easier, today will be a half-day. You will still have the same amount of classes, but each period will be half as long.