Complicated Chemistry

What Can I Do?

  Jae looked down at his calculus homework as he walked to school, calculating the numbers on his hand. He heard a chorus of shrieks and yells from behind him, breaking his focus. Dowoon passed by, his earbuds in and black backpack hanging off of one shoulder, unbelievably oblivious to the gang of girls following him. Dowoon's grey plaid shirt was accompanied by a white short sleeve hoodie, a patch on the left side. His black skinny jeans were bunched around the ankles near his hi top shoes. Jae flipped another page of his homework as Dowoon walked in front of him, the girls squealing behind him, circling him like security guards for an idol or an important political figure. Jae glanced up, a bit curious of how many of them there were today. Suddenly, he felt a figure bump into him. Hard. Jae turned his attention away from Dowoon to the girl who was now walking beside him, smiling brightly.
    "Hi, Jieun", Jae greeted. "Do you understand this?" he asked as he pointed to a problem on the calculus homework that he hadn't been able to figure out. Jieun tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she looked closer at the problem that Jae was pointing to. "What the heck?! That's so easy. How do you not understand it?" she exclaimed. Jae put his pointer finger on his lips as he listened intently to Jieun's explanation of the so-called complicated problem. Walking to school was always the same.
    Class started as the bell rang loudly. Dowoon was sleeping on his desk, cheek pressed flush against the polished wood, lips slightly parted. One of the girls that was following him waved her hand in front of his face. Dowoon slept on, unaware of his surroundings and in a blissful dream. Meanwhile, Young K looked down at his phone one desk over. He never understood why all the girls found Dowoon so attractive and dreamy. His earring dangled from the lobe of his ear, glinting in the light. As Young K read the latest news, all he could hear was the gushing of the girls over how beautiful and handsome and godly Dowoon looked. He tilted his chair back and turned towards the girls. "Hey girls, if you could keep it down, I'm actually trying to be caught up on important events rather than Dowoon. Kindly take your swooning somewhere else. Thanks," he announced.
    "Go die!" a tall girl threatened, drawing her finger across her neck. "You don't even deserve to sit next to him," another added. The chatter of the girls' death threats and complaints increased in volume. Young K turned away, scoffing at them. "Girls. They're so protective. Over a guy who doesn't even like them back," he thought. He got up to go somewhere more quiet as the girls threw fists at him menacingly. Through all the noise, Dowoon stirred and straightened up, satisfied after his nap. The girls immediately turned their attention to him, fawning over how he looked so perfect. Standing up, he walked drowsily out of the classroom as his fangirls followed after him, giggling.
    Sungjin looked up, inspecting the bookshelves in the library for a book. He spotted the one he needed, a white paperback with a column of Korean characters down the front. He flipped through the pages, interested in the topic when he heard footsteps. Sungjin looked up to find Jieun, a girl that he had seen in the hallways a lot whenever he was going to his classes. She had long hair, a bright smile, and eyes that could hold the galaxy. She reached for a book on modern architecture, looking through its pages. Sungjin stared at her, book forgotten in his hands. Jieun started turning around and he quickly turned away, fearing the fact that he might be caught staring.
    In the next row over, Wonpil sat on the floor of the library, back against the bookshelf and legs crossed at the ankles, propped up on the bookshelf in front of him. He read intently, speeding through page after page of his book. He glanced up to stop his eyes from hurting and blinked hard. Through a space in the bookshelf, he had spotted Jieun. Wonpil didn't know her well enough to be called friends with her but they were definitely in more than a few classes together. He glanced over at Sungjin, who was sneaking a glance at Jieun as she looked for another book. Wonpil and Sungjin had been friends for about 7 years now and Wonpil considered Sungjin to be one of his best friends. Jieun tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and Wonpil saw his friend smile a little as he turned away to focus on getting his book.
    Young K strolled through the halls, hands in pockets, looking for something interesting. A few meters away, Jae and Jieun were walking together, laughing as Jae flipped through the pages of his textbook. As Young K walked with his head down, he slammed his shoulder into Jieun. Looking up, he realized that he recognized her. She was from his calculus class, the class president, to be exact. She ran her fingers through her hair, mouth slightly parted from the shock of the impact. Young K realized he was staring as Jieun asked "What?" He turned away and went on his way, the girl he just bumped into still on his mind. "What the hell, Jae? That guy didn't even apologize," Jieun said as Jae picked up his textbook, dusting it off. "Yea, what's wrong with him?" Jae said as they both watched Young K's silhouette walk away further and further into the distance.
    Girls ran out of Young K's way as he walked down the hall. Some bumped into the wall, clinging to their friends because of his presence. "Jieun, let's go," Jae said, gently nudging Jieun. "Kay," she replied, linking her arm with Jae's and taking a sip of her strawberry yogurt drink. She took one last glance at Young K before turning away and walking to calculus with Jae.
    They took their seats, fooling around before class started. Jieun tugged the right side of Jae's zip up hoodie over his cheek, laughing at his reaction as he stopped talking to his friend for a second. "What, am I cute like this?" he joked, pulling one side of his hoodie up to his cheek and his school uniform collar up to the other cheek, looking at Jieun through his gold rimmed circle lens glasses. His rose gold hair flopped a little as he laughed.
    One row over, Wonpil turned to Sungjin, starting up a conversation. However, Sungjin's focus was not on Wonpil. It was on Jieun who was sitting one row over, laughing with Jae. Sungjin looked on as her beautiful smile lit up his entire world, erasing the darkness that was ever there. Wonpil laughed at his own joke, hands behind his head, turning to Sungjin. His smile faded a little as he put his hands down, noticing where his best friend's focus was. Looking over, he saw that Jieun was laughing at what Jae had said, a hand covering her mouth. She hit him jokingly as she agreed with what Jae had said happily. Wonpil turned his attention back to Sungjin who was still mesmerized by Jieun. Wonpil sighed a little as he scratched his head, unsure of what to make of Sungjin's crush.
    Dowoon sat on the border of the roof, swinging his legs back and forth, crossed at the ankles. He looked over the city, the wind blowing his hair into an organized mess as he listened to his favorite artist. Suddenly, he heard giggles and squeals. The gang of girls from earlier had come back, one of them holding a box. He turned his attention from the cityscape to the girl who was smiling and holding the box out to him. Her friends stayed next to her encouragingly. Dowoon hopped off the ledge as he sighed. "No matter where I go, they always seem to find me," he thought as he walked to the door that led back into the main building. He heard a slight sigh from the general direction of where the girls were and a couple of "It's ok"s got through the music.
    Wonpil sat in his usual spot at the library, on the floor of the 5th row, back against one bookshelf and soles of his shoes against another. He was reading one of his favorite books but he just couldn't concentrate. His mind wandered to calculus class where Sungjin had been staring at Jieun. He tilted his head back, sighing as it made contact with the bookshelf. "Just how long are you going to keep this crush, Sungjin?" he thought as he lost his page.
    PE was basketball. Dowoon's fans cheered from the sidelines as he made a shot from the free throw line, Jae failing to stop his shot. Wonpil made a shot soon after as he hit the ground after his high jump. He spread his arms in victory, putting a peace sign up to his eye and smiling brightly. Wonpil tried to block Sungjin but failed as he pulled a feint and dribbled quickly around him. He bumped chests with Wonpil as he smiled at his victory. Soon after, YoungK made a shot, fist up in the air after it went in smoothly. Jae made a basket as Jieun cheered from the sidelines. He ran towards the bleachers, giving everyone high fives as he ran past. Jae threw his hands in the air, smiling as his rose gold hair flopped backwards. Jieun was smiling but that bright smile faded just the tiniest bit as she locked eyes with Sungjin for the first time. A beautiful moment passed as time stopped for just the two of them.

End of Chapter 1: What Can I Do? <3