I See Colors | Taegi

fourty-seven

I'm in the cafeteria right now
trying to talk to Hoseok's friends.

He and I explained to them
that I didn't want to be rude,
and that I was just not interested,
but they understood.

I did
lightly mention
that I wouldn't mind talking to Jungkook more.

Jungkook heard me,
looked shocked for a moment,
then smiled.

"What're you interested in, Taehyung?"
Seokjin leans forward
like he's interrogating me.

I think
he's trying to make a joke,
so I laugh.

"What're you laughing at?
Do I have something
on my drop-dead gorgeous face?"

I stop laughing.

Apparently
that wasn't a joke.

"Uh,
I really like
science,
and..."

"Ohh..."
Seokjin hums.
"That explains...
a lot."

I furrow my eyebrows.

I understand that I'm out-of-touch
socially
and that I don't understand
what people are interested in.
   But how can me liking science
   explain so much about myself?

   "Okay..."

   "Taehyung...?"

   I turn around.

   The girl who ignored her friend
   for the sake of telling me things
   I didn't want to think about
   is looking down at me
   with a lot of discomfort.

I think her name
is Haemi.

   "Hi."
   I wave.

   I flinch
   as she bows in front of me.

   "I'm really sorry."
   Haemi stands up straight.
   "I wasn't thinking clearly
   and didn't think my words meant anything to you
   considering..."

   She shakes her head and
   holds both her hands out.

   In her hands
   is a small vanilla cupcake.

   "If you don't forgive me,
   please at least take this."

   Hoseok claps his hands.
   "It's like a drama!
   I need popcorn."

   Seokjin pouts.
   "If only people noticed my handsome face..."

   Haemi laughs.

   Hesitantly
   since I don't know if it's appropriate,
   I take the cupcake
   out of her hands.

   "Thank you..."

   "It's really the least I could do."
   She tells me
   then waves to the others at the table.
   "Have a good day!"

   "You too!"

As I look at the cupcake,
I can't tell if I feel embarrassed
or grateful.
It might be
a mixture of both.

"Yes!
She actually apologized!"

I raise my eyebrow at Hoseok.

He covers his mouth and
glances away from me.
"Sorry."

Why is he so happy about that?
Did that day matter this much to him?
That doesn't sound right to me.

People like Hoseok
usually forget that kind of stuff.

"Why is that so important?"

Hoseok shrugs.
"Ask Yoongi."

That just makes me
even more confused.

Since we only have around five minutes of lunch left,
I hold on to the cupcake
so I can use it as evidence for Yoongi
tomorrow.

The more I think about it,
the more I realize that
conversations
aren't too different from
experiments.