who are you | na jaemin

2

the bell rings. korean class. it was a signal for 2 more periods and i could finally go home. i rub my eyes and quickly take out some pepero to eat for the next 3 minutes ms. chung wasn't looking at me.

"is that the pepero you bought last night?" jaemin looks at me. i forgot he sat next to me for a second.

wait.

"last- that was you?" i tremble.

"yeah, you didn't recognize me?" he questions.

"no i just- how come you look so different out of school? i was so confused when you said see you tomorrow because i didn't recognize anyone from school like you.." i quietly say.

"oh that's fine. i guess my charms are just too hypnotizing that you forgot what i looked like." he laughed.

i kind of laugh, but i'll let that slide. whatever, just a confusing mistake.

-

i read the clock. 8:23 pm. wow that's way too early to be finished with homework. guess i didn't procrastinate today.

my mom calls me.

"yeoboseyeo?"

"can you get the green onions again siyeon? and maybe some garlic and parsley."

"*breath in* okay. love you. bye."

she hangs up.

i lowkey don't want to go, but i have no excuse. my phone buzzes again. did she forget to say bring a reusable bag? typical.

wait no. the notification says jaemin. he never texts me, i think. i click on the notification.

can we meet at the snack aisle again? i want to see u :)

him? me? i guess.. that's ok.

jaemin, i don't know what to say to him. it's obvious i've fallen for him, but it's not enough to say i like him. despite being shy and modest in front of most people, he opened up to me when i said i was in the kpop industry. he said he was training in SM entertainment. jeno and i are the only ones who know that because he moved to my school to be with his clarinet apprentices, and no one would believe him if he said that his side job was being a kpop idol.

i understand that too, being in the lowest group for track and field. no one cares about your activities outside of track and field. kpop idol? now that's something to bully about. i just don't understand.. why me? we just met this year. but then again, jaemin and jeno just met this year and they've been mistaken for brothers many times.

i don't really wonder if he likes me too. i doubt it. with a personality like that, i'm sure he just thinks that i'm a cool friend that is in the kpop industry too. it doesn't matter.

-

still cold. i walk to the register. i step back. right. i'm supposed to meet him at the snack aisle. i see him, picking out some ramen.

"oh look, it's a weeb in it's natural habitat." i say.

he laughs and runs up to me. his eyesmile is cute up close. he grabs my hand. my face turns red.

why did he do that? that's what couples do right? i think.

his hand is still in mine, and he points to the pepero with suho on it.

"i got this for you. i'm sure we have some secret room in sm entertainment, just full of food sponsored by sm artists, but you know, it's the thought that counts." he laughs.

i laugh back. the irony is that i'm in JYP, so i don't even know if i'm allowed to eat this exo pepero.

"thanks jaemin. you didn't really have to buy it though." i say.

"no problem, it's fine. hey, do you want to go walk to the seoyeong tunnel?"

the seoyeong tunnel. it's not that far from my apartment, but it's quite the interesting place. it's a remodeled train tunnel where college kids take aesthetic pictures during the day. it's still open at night, but apparently that's when girlfriends and boyfriends go out and they like kiss there and stuff, i don't know. before it became popular, i used to bike there. it was fun because there was a hill on both sides and i could go so fast down, i screamed in the tunnel and it would echo.

he doesn't like me, i say to myself. just think of it as a hangout with jaemin ironically at the seoyeong tunnel.

"ok. but we need to hurry, my mom's gonna wonder why i took so long to get green onions."