Unexpected Love | 박 찬열 [CURRENTLY BEING REVISED]

Missing Appa

"Aish, Chanyeol, will you please focus? We kinda have things to get done here." Soojung angrily complains, slamming her hands down on the specific class textbook designated for their class together.

Chanyeol rolls his eyes as he flips his pencil with his long nimble fingers, no longer showing his kind facade, "Yeah, yeah." He replies, not giving a care about her constant pleads to get back to work. This causes her to huff before resuming her writing for the project. Chanyeol takes this time to truly study her. 'Ugh, how did I get stuck in this situation...' He hides his face in his arms, wanting to get out as soon as possible.

Suddenly she ceases her writing and begins desperately rummaging through her bag. 'What the... What is she doing?' He snaps his fingers to get her attention, which works after a while and she gives a look of annoyance, "Hello? We have a project!" Soojung sticks her tongue out before rolling her eyes back to her backpack. He sinks back into his seat, glaring at her until he sees a bag full of circles with darker chocolate dots.

"Oh cookies!" He cheers before rudely snatching it out of her hand. Soojung could barely register what had just happened and begins to boil, "Mm, these are delicious," Chanyeol closes his eyes as he munches without shame. She places her hands on her hips. "Well the baker would love to eat it herself." Soojung retorts, snatching the rest of the cookies back, biting on one dramatically before returning back to her work.

His eyes go wide, looking back and forth at the cookie to Soojung, "You... baked this!?" He exclaims in disbelief, thinking that there was no way a loser like her could have nearly won his heart already by one cookie. Soojung quickly raised her index to finger to her lips and 'sh'ed him.

"Yah, you do know who you're talking to right?" He asks, more of stating actually.

She shrugs before sarcastically smiling, "Should I?" , nonchalantly swiping away the pieces of eraser off her paper and then looking back up at him. Soojung no longer felt like a project partner-- but more like a babysitter for a weirdly grown-bratty-child. She shakes her head in disappointment.

His eyebrows furrow, "What do you mean 'Should I'? Of course you should! Damn, you seriously have no life," He retorts, mumbling the last bit, which renders hopeless, for Soojung hears it anyway and rolls her eyes.

She shakes her head in disapproval, attempting to suspect why so many girls would kneel before such a spawn, "Whatever Chanyeol." She says, getting back to her assignment for the nth time. His eyebrows furrow even deeper and he finishes his cookie in thought and irritation.

His feet instantly falls off the table and he leans over, getting closer to her face. "You should care! I'm one of the hottest guys around school, or maybe even around Seoul for all I know!" He explains, not believing that a girl like her could possibly not be attracted at all to a popular guy like him. If she doesn't show any interest, his bet will go down the drain.

'So he's conceited...' Soojung rings in her mind, but really--she knew deep down he already was. rolling her eyes and shaking her head once more at the spewing nonsense. Soojung replies back with an empty comment, more concentrated on her notes.

He huffs angrily, This nerd his going to ruin me, I can already see it.'

Soojung then checks her watch and she gasps "Omo! It's getting late. I should go, it was, nice meeting up with you—weird, but I'll let you know when we'll meet up again for the project." She manages to make out before swiftly running off, leaving a confused Chanyeol.

'Weird? You're the weird one weirdo.' He thinks. "Tch whatever nerd." muttering before going on his way, completely letting her walk alone in the dark.

-

Fortunately, however, Soojung had made it home safely. "Annyeonghaseyo Eomma!" She greets, quickly kicking her shoes off and hugging her mother with lots of love. They sway side to side for a moment, Soojung laughing at their silliness before getting a quick whiff from the kitchen and her heart beats faster from the scents she smells.

"Welcome back Soojung! You came back just in time for dinner! Let's eat!" Soojung's mother pats her arms before turning back into the kitchen. Soojung puts her backpack down and slips into her house slippers before making her way to her mother. She catches her mom cooking, her back towards Soojung. She leans on the door frame and smiles bittersweet to herself as she hears the sweet hums of a song as her mother cooks. Soojung's mother has been humming for again for the past two weeks, and it was nothing but bliss to hear for Soojung. 

She was beginning to feel like her mother was finally recovering. Soojung stands up from the doorway and places her hands behind her back.

"So, would you like to visit Appa tomorrow?" Soojung offers. Her eomma looked at her with a sad smile-- making Soojung think that her mother may still not be ready yet. If anybody in the family to a hit from her father's passing, it would be her mother. 

"Of course honey." She agrees after a pause, seeing Soojung's face she brings out the plates and nods her head towards the dining table, "C'mon, let's eat."

-

Soojung exits the bathroom after her usual routine and trustfalls down on her bed, puffing out her cheeks. "Bwo... Why did Chanyeol have to pick me?" She asks herself with pure confusion in her voice.  Something just isn't adding up at all to her. Her brain kept picking at all the interactions she had with Chanyeol today and none of it was making sense to her. Soojung's thoughts were going as far as to believe that he was possibly possessed by some girlfriend-desperate ghost.

 Soojung gives a big sigh and turns to her cherished picture frame of her father and gives a bittersweet smile, "Appa, I wonder if you could tell me how my future would look like... That would've helped me much more..." She mumbles. The picture shows her father pushing her on the swing, his eyes looking at Soojung's figure with so much love, that she still felt it every time she glanced. It was the only thing that made him seem so much more alive than she knew. Soojung smiles to herself, her eyes drowsy and ready to shut. Blissfully, she dreams of her childhood.