Youth Vol. 1 | Hwang Hyunjin

002

Hwayoung closed her bedroom door behind her and walked toward the bathroom. Jiyoung beat her to it. In a rush to get to class she left before Jiyoung finished. She ran to the school's closest restroom to her. Outside the restrooms was Felix.
"Oh, hi Felix," Hwayoung said.
"Hi," He smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back.
"Are you waiting for someone?" She took a step closer to him.
"Yes, he's waiting for me," Hyunjin said walking out of the men's restroom. Hwayoung looked up at him before walking into the restroom. When she stepped out she saw Hyunjin and Felix waiting for her.

They walked into class together. Felix sat in between Hwayoung and Hyunjin.

"Bye," Hwayoung waved to the two boys before leaving. Hwayoung went to the rest of her classes for the day and went back to the dorm afterward. Seongja and Jiyoung were the only ones home at the time. Jiyoung was on her phone And Seongja was getting ready to go out with her friends.
"Hwayoung, Seongja," Jiyoung groaned "Can you guys come shopping with me tomorrow?"
"For what," Seongja asked as she put on her shoes.
"For new clothes because someone named Seongja shrunk all my clothes."
"I told you it wasn't me," Seongja started to raise her voice.
"I saw you," Jiyoung answered louder than Seongja
"Well, you saw wrong." Seongja turned around and left. Jiyoung was left dumbfounded.
Hwayoung stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do.
"So do you want to come?" Jiyoung asked.
"Sure," Hwayoung answered.
Hwayoung walked to the dining table and set up her study supplies. She studied for 2 hours straight.

Aejung got home and quickly took off her shoes. She slammed her door shut behind her. Hwayoung and Jiyoung looked at each other before Hwayoung walked up to Aejung's door.
"Aejung, did something happen?" she asked softly.
"No," Hwayoung could hear her voice quiver. There was a tapping at the window. Hwayoung and Jiyoung went to see what it was. They saw a boy with a birthmark on his cheek standing in front of their dorm. He was about to throw more pebbles at the window when they opened the window.
"Is Aejung home?" He asked.
"Yes," Jiyoung said and Hwayoung nodded.
Aejung quickly walked out of her room, put her shoes back on, and went outside. Hwayoung and Jiyoung watched them talk in front of the dorm. Soon Aejung started to cry and the boy hugged her. Once Aejung calmed down he released her from the hug. Aejung wiped her tears before saying bye to him. The boy stood there looking at the ground then back up at the window. Hwayoung quickly closed the window. They ran back to their previous activities when Aejung walked back to her room.
"Is that her boyfriend?" Hwayoung asked.
"No,"

Hwayoung woke up earlier than normal to get some extra study time in. She set up her laptop and iPad to take notes. Yerin woke up soon after Hwayoung. She got ready for her classes. When Yerin walked out she caught a glimpse of four of the girls in the living room. Aejung was walking into the bathroom. Jiyoung and Seongja were on the couch watching tv. Jiyoung was eating cereal. And Nari was vacuuming. Gyuri had just walked out of her room. Yerin closed the door behind her. Hwayoung was only able to hear the muffled voices coming from the tv and the vacuum.

Hwayoung walked into her class and saw Hyunjin sitting by himself. She sat in the row in front of him. She turned around to face him.
"Where's Felix?" She asked.
"He won't be here today. He's sick," He answered. "Hwayoung, can I borrow a pen?"
"No."

Jiyoung, Aejung, Nari, and Hwayoung went shopping together. Jiyoung and Seongja weren't talking to each other. They walked around multiple stores, Jiyoung only bought one or two items from each store. They went to five different stores before Jiyoung felt satisfied. Hwayoung and Aejung went to a stationary store while Jiyoung and Nari went to the food court.
"Who was that boy that came over yesterday?" Hwayoung asked while picking out new pens.
"Um his name is Jisung," Aejung replied as she went to the next aisle and Hwayoung followed. Aejung started to pick out washi tape.
"Why did you come home crying last night," Hwayoung kept a straight face.
"I broke up with my boyfriend," Her voice quivered.
"What? Why?" Hwayoung finally showed emotion.
"My friends back home and Seongja have been trying to tell me that he wasn't good and that I should break up with him but I never listened to them."
She turned to look at Hwayoung. Hwayoung noticed the tears start to form in her eyes.
"But when I thought about what they were saying I realized our relationship was very one-sided. So I ended it."
Her tears didn't fall down her face. She wiped away her tears.
"Do you like this pattern," Aejung asked
"Yeah,"

The four of them decided to regroup at the bookstore. Hwayoung saw Jiyoung and Nari looking at the manga. Aejung went to the romance section. Hwayoung went to the YA fantasy section.
I hope Aejung's okay Hwayoung thought as she looked at a newly released book. She read the synopsis before deciding she was going to get it. She also saw a book she was waiting to come out in paperback and decided to get it too.
They walked up to the cashier where they saw Hyunjin and Yerin's coworker.
"Yerin's coworker," Jiyoung said, pointing to him. He turned around to see who said that.
"And Hyunjin," Nari said, also pointing.
Hwayoung noticed Hyunjin was holding the same paperback she was.
"I didn't think you were the type to read fantasy," He said as she went up to pay. Hwayoung smiled at the cashier and thanked them.
"What did you think I read?" Hwayoung asked. She started to walk out of the store. She didn't realize it was just the two of them.
"Hmm," He thought about it, looking up.
"Contemporary, nonfiction, and memoirs," He looked proud of himself.
"I do but I mostly read fantasy," She turned around and saw Nari, Jiyoung, Aejung, and Yerin's coworker a few feet behind them. She stopped and waited for them to catch up.
"Hey, Felix wanted to know if you could come to a party at our dorm?"
"I'll think about it,"
"Hwayoung,"
"Hmm,"
"Never mind I'll ask you later,"

On a beautiful Saturday morning, Hwayoung decided to study at a nearby cafe. She took all her supplies. She sat at a table near the back. She orders an iced coffee and a croissant. She had a piece of the croissant sticking out of her mouth when someone walked up to her table. With the croissant still hanging out of her mouth she looked up at them. Hyunjin was standing in front of her. He had the paperback he bought yesterday in one hand and an iced coffee in the other.
"May I sit with you?" He asked.
Hwayoung finished eating the piece of croissant in her mouth before answering.
She covered her mouth with her hand, "Sure," He sat in the chair opposite her.
"Before you ask, Felix is staying in our dorm today,"
"I wasn't going to ask,"
She was.
She looked back at her laptop. He started to read his book. She took an occasional sip of her drink for the next hour. During that time Hwayoung felt safe and comfortable.
She started to pack up her things.
"Are you done?" Hyunjin stood up with her.
"Yes," She started to walk away.
"I'll walk you home,"
"No thank you. My dorm's not far from here," She walked out of the cafe. Hwayoung hadn't noticed the complete 180 the weather did while she studied. It had become very cloudy and it was drizzling. She walked with Hyunjin. They walked in silence. It soon started to pour. Neither of them had an umbrella. Hyunjin took her hand and started to run. She didn't protest. He led her back to his dorm.
Hwayoung slapped Hyunjin on the arm, "You idiot. I'm not allowed in your dorm,"
"It's okay, I just need to get something and I'll walk you back to your dorm. It will be quick."
Hwayoung walked in behind Hyunjin. Inside were six other boys.
"I'm back," He took off his shoes. Hwayoung stayed in the doorway as she waited for Hyunjin's return. Hwayoung recognized four of the six boys there, Felix, Yerin's coworker, Changbin, who's a childhood friend, and Jisung.
"Hi Hwayoung," Felix said as he walked up to her.
"Hi, are you feeling better?" She gave him a concerned look.
"Yes, much better. — Oh, they are my dorm mates." He gestured towards the other boys in the room. He had noticed Hwayoung looking at them, curiously.
"I'm Chan, Yerin's coworker," Chan waved at her.
"I'm Jisung," Said the boy that comforted Aejung the other day.
"I'm Kim Seungmin," A boy with a puppy face said.
"And I'm Minho," Hwayoung recognized him from the library on campus.
"Hi, Hwayoung," Changbin smiled at her.
Everyone in the room looked at them confused.
"Oh, Changbin and I know each other. Our parents are friends," Hwayoung said.
Hyunjin came back into the room with an umbrella in his hand.
"I could only find one," Hwayoung stared at him with a blank face.
"Okay, let's go," She turned to walk out.