a reason to smile // seo changbin ✔️

chapter eight

golden gates

moon jieun - tuesday

"how many times have you read it?" mrs. cho questions.

"about fifteen times." i shrug.

"mind if i ask why you've read it so many times?"

"i guess i'm just... trying to understand it." i tell her, fiddling with the pages.

"and what don't you understand?" i bite back the urge to roll my eyes. it was question after question with her, and if i didn't answer, she would just ask another question.

"you shouldn't need a significant other to be happy. in fact, i think sometimes that leads to the opposite." i place the book down on her desk, crossing my arms over my chest.

"i'll have to agree with you on that." she smiles.

"so why did i have to read this?" i ask her, cocking an eyebrow.

"because there isn't always one way to look at things." she speaks, reminding me an awful lot of the talk
i had with changbin.

"yeah, yeah. it's an open ending, but that still doesn't change the fact that she gives the boy all of the credit in her recovery." i roll my eyes.

"okay, what if we imagined the character wasn't a boy." she suggests.

"huh?"

"let's say, the boy is..." she trails off, eyes scanning her office. "this pencil." she picks up a regular wooden pencil.

"so you're saying she made out with a pencil-"

"no. imagine with me for a second." she cuts me off, chuckling slightly at my words.

"okay. the boy is a pencil." i shrug, unsure of how to even imagine something like that.

"what do you do with a pencil?" she asks.

"you... write with it..."

"do you ever write?"

"sometimes..."

"what do you write about?"

"if you're expecting me to say my feelings— i'll stop you right there. i'm not that cheesy." i wave her off.

"i wasn't expecting anything." she shrugs. "just waiting for you to tell me what you write about."

oh... i... stories? i guess. fiction." i tell her.

"really? do you have anything with you?" my eyes widen at the request. of course i did, but to hell if i was about to show her.

"no." i lie.

"shame. i'll tell you what." she starts. "keep the book, and take the pencil." she smiles, resting the pencil atop the book.

"i have plenty of pencils." i cock an eyebrow at her.

"i'm sure you do. but bring this one back to me." she winks.

"so that's it?"

"for today." she nods. i scoff, grabbing the book and pencil from the desk, sparing her one last look before heading out. session two out of five and she hasn't tried to help me one bit. this was getting old.

"jieun, hey." changbin's familiar voice fills my ears as i exit the building.

"hey." i respond blankly, not caring to meet his gaze.

"i see you got the pencil." he chuckles, nodding to the pencil in my hand.

"yeah, not sure what i'm meant to do with it. but i have it." i shrug, stuffing it into my pocket.