Dark to Baby: A Changjin Story

Chapter 4

"Oh my gosh! Kkami, stop!" Hyunjin panicked as he rushed up to try and untangle his dog from this stranger's feet.

"I'm so sorry, my dog-" Hyunjin stopped as the guy knelt down and started petting the wiggly puppy.

Hyunjin stared in awe at the smiling boy, that looked about his age, before it registered that they were wearing the same shirt. However, this boy wore his uniform completely different from anything Hyunjin had seen before.

The boy had on red sneakers, khaki shorts, and a blue beret that covered most of his wavy brown hair. Everything else was a part of their uniform. He had untucked his white shirt, like Hyunjin, but had left on his knitted navy vest, and then the most interesting part was how he had tied his tie into a large bow-tie that hung loosely around his neck.

Hyunjin didn't think he had seen anyone tie their tie like that since middle school when the girls would do it to try and draw attention to their nonexistent breasts.

Hyunjin shivered at the thought of those girls. Thankfully being home-schooled meant he only had to see them a few times a month for group lessons. Otherwise he might have gone crazy from all the attention.

Whatever, this guy was not them. He was cute with his huge tie and sweet smile. He almost looked like a puppy himself as he continued to pet Kkami.

"Is this your dog? She's cute!" Hyunjin jerked himself back into reality to see the boy looking up at him.

"It's a he, but yes."

"He, she, whatever." The boy waved a dismissive hand as he went back to rubbing Kkami's belly.

After a few seconds of staring at the dog, the boy spoke up again.

"You're Hyunjin, right? The new kid?" Hyunjin nervously giggled.

"Yeah, that's me." He hadn't expected to be recognized. "And you are?"

The boy raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin before scoffing.

"Do you really not remember from this morning? Short term memory much?" Hyunjin's eyes widened.

He had met this boy? When? Where?

The boy watched Hyunjin with anticipation but only got a confused expression back.

"Oh, gosh." He breathed out as he stood up with the end of Kkami's leash in his hand.

"Seungmin?" He paused to see if it would spark something in Hyunjin's brain but obviously that wasn't working.

"From chorus?" He continued, but he could tell this was getting nowhere.

Seungmin shoved his free hand in his pocket as he turned away from Hyunjin in disbelief before turning back around to face the confused boy.

"You know, you would think after staring at someone's mouth for thirty minutes, you would at least remember their face."

"You're in my section!?!" Hyunjin practically yelled in Seungmin's face.

"Do you have to be so loud?" Seungmin said as he backed up and Hyunjin uttered a small 'sorry.' Seungmin sighed.

"Well since you don't remember. Hi, I'm Kim Seungmin, tenor section leader and resident 'I don't give a crap.'" Hyunjin blinked awkwardly at the blunt introduction before noticing Seungmin's outstretched hand. He shook Seungmin's hand while mumbling out a quiet 'Hwang Hyunjin' in return. Seungmin laughed.

"I know who you are! But who is this?" He asked as he bent down to rub Kkami's back.

"That's Kkami..." Hyunjin trailed off as he watched Seungmin pet his dog while cooing at him.