Treasure tales

Short 16: Bang Yedam

The school bell rang. I packed up my things with a sigh, half relieved and half dreading the rest of the day. While I was glad school was finally over, I did not appreciate having to study in the afternoon as well, which I would have to inevitably do. That was what you had to go through if you were due to take one of the most important exams in your country.

I marched over to my friend, who was still looking at her phone. Her assigned desk was a huge mess, and it seemed like it would take a while before I could leave school.

"Hurry up, the faster we start, the better our grades will be," I nagged at her.

"Right, sorry," She said as she resumed packing her bag. I raised an eyebrow at her. She was like that every single day, although I had already gotten used to this by now. 

I looked at her with quiet worry. Her name was Miyuki. One thing I appreciate about her company is that we were both burdened by...let's just say 'various things' in our personal lives. In a way, it made my daily struggles feel less lonesome. It was also part of the reasons why both of us would do anything to do well in the upcoming exams. It was probably the only way for our lives to go at this point. We both carried secrets, burdens that clouded us, burned us from the inside.

"Hey, Rin, my friend wants to join us for studying today," Miyuki said. "Do you mind?"

"Why so sudden?" I protested immediately. Miyuki had never done this before. She was usually very responsible and would notify me things at least two days ahead of time. Furthermore, she knew full well my distaste for socialising and knew to not force me to do so if possible. I wondered if something had happened.

"He informed me last minute, and I didn't have the heart to turn him down. You can just ignore him if you find it awkward," Miyuki said. "He's a very conscientious person. I can guarantee that he will be working so hard he won't have time to socialise with you. Please? Just this once?"

I folded my hands and grunted. I was too tired to argue with her and desperate not to waste anymore time.

"Um," I looked from Miyuki to 'her friend' and from Miyuki to 'her friend'. And I repeated that process several times before I finally burst out, "You know each other?"

"I didn't know that you knew him," Miyuki said matter-of-factly. "Anyway that is good. You won't have to put in extra energy socialising with some stranger and this saves me from having to introduce you two to each other."

"Ay, Miyuki, there is no need to be so cold," 'her friend' said warmly. He held out his hand to me and gave me an affable smile. "Nice to see you again, Rin!"

I accepted his handshake courteously before asking "How did you two even meet? Such a small world..."

"Oh, we went to the same enrichment class many years ago back in middle school," 'her friend' said. "We live near each other, so we began to cross paths often. I still call her up now and then if I wanted to study with her."

"So I wasn't your only study buddy?" I pouted at Miyuki.

"Don't complain. You study with others all the time, and so do I," Miyuki retorted. "How did you meet Yedam?"

Me and Yedam exchanged eye contact uneasily.  If I remembered correctly, it would not do Treasure good if I said too much about them to people who do not know their situation. It might not be good to bring them up in the first place. But then there was no way I could tell Miyuki how I met  Yedam without mentioning Treasure.

"We have another mutual friend," Yedam said quickly.

"Ah...I see," Miyuki said. She took out her phone and started browsing through it again. Miyuki and that phone addiction of hers. I met eyes with Yedam again, and we smirked at each other.

Two hours later, I stretched, having completed an MCQ paper. I got up, deciding to take a breather by going out for a walk. There was a nice spacious walkway just right outside Miyuki's house, and that was perfect for me if I wanted to destress.

"Rin!" I turned around. It was Yedam who had called my name. I waited for him.

"I was going to take a walk too, maybe we can go together," he said as he caught up with me. I said nothing to agree or disagree, but I allowed him to follow me.

"Miyuki talks about you sometimes, but I never realised it was you. I simply thought you had the same name as her friend," Yedam commented with a tiny smile.

"Really?" I said thoughtfully. "I don't remember her mentioning you, though. Oh, she might have talked about a friend from enrichment once or twice, although I always brushed it off as one of her many connections. How she knows so many people has always been a mystery to me."

Yedam laughed. "Figured as much. My name isn't exactly common, is it?" He said. "Hey Rin, I heard from Jeongwoo that you sounded very stressed about your exams. May I ask why?"

"Are you not?" I eyed him directly. "I would think typical students our age are all stressing over it."

"Perhaps I phrased my question wrongly," Yedam said. He turned to look into the far distance, lined with rows and rows of landed property and cars squatting amiably ahead. "We all have our reasons for working so hard. That's what drives us. What's yours?"

"What if I said it was because my parents want me to get into a good university? That I'm living life just like everybody else, just trying to get by the days, not knowing what to do with my life?"

"I'll accept that," Yedam said as he placed his hands into his pants pockets. "It is a legitimate reason after all."

"What's your reason, then?"

"Ah, you see, I've got to make a future for myself," Yedam said thoughtfully. "I do have some ideas of how I want to be living in the future, and it isn't good to just dream about it. You have to work if you want success to come to you."

"I suppose that's true," I murmured. I kicked a pebble off the sidewalk. "I lied just now."

"I figured as much," Yedam said amiably. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your true reason?"

"That is a topic for another day," I said, quickly switching the subject. "You go to the top school, right? Amazing. I wish I could be that smart."

"I wouldn't say that," Yedam laughed nervously. "I saw your discussions with Miyuki just now. You're pretty smart yourself."

I raised my eyebrows at him. That was exactly what a person who did well in school would say. I have talked to many of them, and each and every one always made sure to act humble and deny how good their grades were. I myself was guilty of it on the rare occasion I actually did well...which practically never happens.

"I haven't seen my family in years," Yedam added all of a sudden. 

I looked at him, surprised. That comment seemed to come out of nowhere, but judging from Yedam's expression, it seemed like something he had wanted to say for a while. Possibly a long while. Not to me specifically, but to someone, anyone who would listen. It was something that had been biting him all this while, consuming him from the inside.

"So it's okay, Rin, to have your own secrets, to keep your own burdens close to your heart," Yedam finished off with a sweet smile. "It's normal. It's frankly quite embarrassing when people compliment me for being the 'ace', either for my results in school or by imitation abilities. Just because I score a few more marks or is able to wield a few more powers doesn't mean I'm better than anyone. I full of flaws, just like everyone else. I have my own burdens and my own sources of sadness, just like everyone else."

I looked at him wordlessly. I bowed my head and looked away. "I suppose so," I murmured. Even this boy who was good at seemingly everything, who always maintained the kind, polite demeanour, who was more or less the perfect asian child, the very example of what all asian parents wanted their children to be. Even he was susceptible to that empty void, that sadness, that loneliness.

"Let's go back, shall we?" I asked him. "Let's continue to fight on, for our own, separate reasons. They might be very different, but each of them hold a strong value to us, and that is why we keep on going. That's why, no matter how unhappy we are, how..." I trailed off.

"We will do our best," Yedam assured me.