park beomi p.o.v
jugyeong and i walked to the school entrance together. we laughed as we joked but came to halting stop when seojun walked up to us.
he threw his key at jugyeong, "here, take it."
"huh?"
"you said to not ride the motorcycle."
i heard some mumbling behind us, "lee suho is coming behind us."
"starting from today-" seojun leaned forward- "i plan to listen to only to you."
he smiled and left. jugyeong and i gazed at each other and his key.
what is he up to, now?
"what, what? is he confessing or what?"
"does han seojun like im jugyeong?"
"wow."
is this his goal? bother jugyeong by making rumors.
i took jugyeong's hand, the one holding the key, and walked toward seojun, "hey, han seojun."
"don't go."
jugyeong and i were tugged backward. suho was holding onto jugyeong's wrist.
"but... the keys..."
"i said don't go."
i shrugged at jugyeong.
"why?"
"because i have something to say."
"something to say? what do you have to say?"
"that..." suho looked mentally occupied.
"'that?'"
"the indian ocean dipole and el niño phenomena were pointed out as the cause of the australian wildfires. what do you think about the relationship between the two?"
what is he on? is there such thing as academically drugged? 'cause i'm sure he is.
"what, what niño?"
...
seojun's key has been going back and forth between jugyeong and seojun. it was an annoying game of catch.
poor jugyeong was being teased by many students.
not only that, suho has been weird, too. he's been acting totally clingy with jugyeong.
only more gossip for jugyeong to deal with.
this must be some type of competition between seojun and suho. what else?
...
"suho gave me a strawberry juice. the one i clearly said that i liked! i think he did it because of that. am i crazy to think he likes me?"
i don't want jugyeong to be let down by suho, but maybe i was wrong. suho isn't that type of person, right?
"i guess not. maybe you should ask him on a date. something simple to start."
we walked into the lunchroom and stopped talking as to not be heard.
after getting our food we went to sit down together but seojun came and shoved between me and jugyeong.
sujin tried telling him to leave but he repeated the same nonsense fron earlier.
"i'm only to listen to what jugyeong says."
ugh. i could vomit.
"then... i have a favor."
"just say it."
"can you please get lost?"
ah, i've raised her well. i'm so proud.
"what? i'll listen to everything but that."
"then don't talk to me."
haha! she's getting good.
"except that too."
"what's that coming out of your mouth, words or farts?"
"you don't like this, huh?"
seojun stole some of jugyeong's fried pork cutlets, her favorite side dish.
"my favorite side dish. i was going to save it for last!"
"why would you?"
"why do you care about my eating habits?"
"okay. i'll listen to you. hey, hey. fried pork cutlets."
seojun's friend brought jugyeong two platters full of cutlets.
this whole school went absolutely bonkers.
jugyeong let her head drop. her hair dipped into her plate but seojun pulled it back.
"you shouldn't eat your hair."
jugyeong pulled out seojun's key and placed it on the table.
"take your key back. you better not secretly put it back."
"what's the point of giving back my key?" jugyeong continued eating throught seojun's words, "when my motorcycle is in front of your house."
jugyeong must've been really shocked because she spit her rice all over seojun. we tried not to laugh but it was difficult.
"what do i do? i'm seriously sorry."
...
"park beomi!"
i just exited the bathroom and already feel like going back. i stormed to seojun.
"what do you want?"
"i want your help with im jugyeong."
"absolutely not. in fact, you better leave her alone before i get my hands on you."
i was ready to walk away but was bumped by two boys running past. i fell back, but, to my surprise, seojun caught me.
i looked at him and it was like time froze. like those scenes in the cringe romance movies.
our little moment was interrupted by seojun's friends loudly hyping him up.
many students stopped to watch.
oh no. now rumors will start about me, as well.
i sat up quickly. maybe too quickly because i totally collided with seojun's forehead.
"sorry."
i began to walk away but realized something: i don't normally just walk away. i walked back to seojun.
"no. why did you grab me? huh? because of you, i fell!"
"if i saved you...!"
"don't save me! and, seriously, leave jugyeong alone."
i stomped away, noticing suho as i left. he leaned over to me.
"are you okay?"
"yeah. sure. i don't know. i just wanna leave, man."
this, kids, is why we don't run in the hallways.
as i walked away, i noticed jugyeong peeking into a classroom. i joined behind.
there were some girls talking harshly to another girl.
"how dare such a joke like you? you're not really doing this because you want the solo, right? tell the teacher immediately that you can't do it."
my blood boiled seeing the way they treated her. i walked in and stood in front of the girl who did the speaking.
"who are you? move."
i shoved at her shoulders.
"who the hell do you think you are?"
"better than you. that's for sure. and her-" i pointed at the bully's victim- "she's way better than the both of us. so you better leave her alone."
she scoffed and walked past me. her minions followed. i began walking to the only girl left but she ran out, holding her things in her hands.
...
i wasn't joining jugyeong and sujin on the bus today since i was taking a different route.
i tapped my foot on the cement floor as i waited at the bus stop.
a well known motorcycle stopped in front of me.
oh, yay.
seojun took off his helmet, "where are you going?"
i hesitantly answered, "the hospital."
he gestured the helmet hanging behind him, "get on. i'll take you."
"no. you're not even supposed to be driving it."
"i came just for you. besides, i'm way faster than the bus."
i rolled my eyes, "fine. but promise not to go too fast. we may go zooming into heaven and i wouldn't really like that."
he chuckled and handed me the helmet. i got on carefully and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"okay. let's go."
...
maybe seojun acting like this isn't so bad. he waited for me the whole time at the hospital.
hell, he even drove me back home. i watched him rush to leave his motorcycle back in front of jugyeong's house.
my window can see right into jugyeong's street. i even got to watch jugyeong's brother pretend to ride the bike after seojun left.
maybe i can get used to this. maybe.
...
jugyeong called me. i answered quickly.
"can you help? please!"
"uh, sure. with what?"
"suho wants his sweater back but i already showered. i don't want to go see him like this. but, then, if i get ready, it will be obvious because i already told him that i was showering."
"okay, okay. i'll come over to pick up the sweater."
i arrived at jugyeong's front door quickly after hanging up. i was about to knock but the door swung open.
"beomi! guess what?" she whined, "it's not dry yet."
"ay. i guess you have to tell him."
"no, i'm too embarrassed! please, go tell him. he's waiting at the playground."
"fine. you owe me!"
she went back inside so quickly, it was almost suspicious.
i looked around the playground for a while but couldn't find suho.
maybe he isn't at the playground.
i walked into basketball court.
bingo!
suho was crouched, looking at a cat. if it weren't for the cat i would've yelled already.
i crept up to him.
"hi, kitty."
i pet the cat's forehead as he melted into my hand. suho looked at me, bemused.
"did i scare you?"
"...no."
the cat meowed and crawled closer to me.
"he seems to like you, though he was acting fierce."
"he's totally a fierce cat, always on high alert. i fed him everyday begging for affection and it worked."
"now, even to a cat... you're so nosy to everyone."
"but still, it's a pity he's by himself just because he's prickly."
suho didn't say anything in response.
i stood up, "i'm sorry."
he also stood up and looked at me.
"you were expecting jugyeong but she sent me in her place. and you were expecting your sweater but-" i reached my empty hands out- "it's still drying."
"it's okay. i'm like the cat."
prickly?
"well, at least you have a family. he--"
"i don't have a family."
oh.
"you live alone?"
"yeah. alone."
"i'm sorry i assumed. i also live alone."
"it's okay. stop apologizing for everything."
"sorry- ah! wait, sorry. nope. i'm just gonna... stop..." he chuckled quietly at me.
"you, um, you came all this way to get your clothes?"
"of course. at night... would there be another reason to come besides getting my clothing back?"
"i guess not."
"it's a clothing that i cherish a lot and i have an attachment for."
"really? i'm sorry then. i'm sure jugyeong will have it ready soon. i'm really sorry. you came all the way here for nothing."
"well, it can't be helped."
"true that... anyways. i think i better get going now. bye."
i began to walk away but suho stopped me.
"hey..."
"huh?"
"there's a basketball."
suho went to pick it up and began playing with it.
"ooh. wow."
"what'd i do?"
"it was unexpected and totally cool. since you seem like you only study... i bet you can't shoot it in." i pointed at the hoop.
he failed. i laughed at him and received the ball.
"it's because it is a bit deflated."
"really? watch this."
i shot the ball and scored.
"yeah! you saw that? did you, did you?"
i jumped around excitedly like a little kid as suho tried to shoot. he missed again.
"i was captain of our basketball team until last year."
"but then why aren't you participating in the tournament this time?"
"just because."
"hmm. i think it's because you can't score." i teased him.
"if you see me play basketball, you'll faint."
he missed again.
i laughed, "as if."
i received the ball again but it bounced out of my hands. i chased after it. one thing led to another and suddenly i was being embraced by suho.
we slowly turned to look at each other. he pulled me in again.
what is going on?
my heart was beating quickly. suho let go and stepped back. the ball rolled away but we were too busy to notice.
"that... how was it?"
"what...was? the hug?"
"the scent."
am i missing something here? wtf.
"i changed my detergent yesterday."
"right...detergent..."
"because it said the scent wouldn't go away even while exercising. checking the effectiveness."
i nodded but was still very baffled, "oh, yeah, the scent is nice. but why is your face...?"
aw, is he blushing? wait, am i blushing, too?
suho turned to our side and so i did too. the man from the bookstore was standing not too far, looking back at us.
"was it you guys?"
what?
suho ran to him and hugged him.
"what are you doing?"
"how do i smell? i changed my laundry detergent."
"citrus?"
huh.
the man of the comic books inhaled deeply, "it's nice and refreshing."
"really?"
he kept smelling suho, "this is nice. is it a foreign brand?"
suho tried to back away but couldn't. i laughed silently.
"stay still."
once suho convinced the man to stop smelling him, we decided to leave.
it was nice and quiet as we walked. maybe too quiet.
"so, suho. are you gonna hug the bus driver when you see him?"
he looked away embarrassed.
"i'm just kidding."
it became quiet again.
we arrived to my front door but i peeked around the corner. suho followed. i stared at seojun's motorcycle.
i still can't process seojun being nice to me.
"you seem upset about that motorbike."
"huh? oh! no. it's just that seojun gave me his keys."
"give them to me and i'll return them to him."
"but you guys always fight."
"don't worry. i won't."
...
i walked to jugyeong's house so that we could go to school together. seojun's motorcycle was gone.
i guess things are starting to look up. so quickly, though? seems weird.
...
"beomi! incoming!"
i caught the bouncy, yellow ball.
hehe, maybe this is a sport i'll be good at. or at least mediocre.
i turned next to me and watched suho easily catch his ball, as well.
i whispered to him, "suho. han seojun's bike was gone this morning."
"oh really?"
i threw my ball at my partner, jugyeong.
suddenly, a loud but familiar sound occured. i looked at suho and his arms were wrapped around a ball.
"you're really good at embracing."
"huh?"
"huh? i- i meant that you're good at catching things! good at catching balls."
i think i should super glue my mouth closed.
i walked away to take a break. the students continued playing but started a conversation.
"god suho is returning to basketball!"
"l-lee suho is playing? wh- why is he suddenly?"
but he kinda sucked yesterday.
i looked at him and he looked at me. he looked away immediately and threw his ball.
"really?"
"whoa!"
"who can play against that height? seojun, you play a little, right?"
"what? why? do you think i'd be good? i'm freaking amazing."
"of course, you're freaking amazing! then for this year's school festival, shouldn't you play for our grade team and show off those freaking amazing skills?"
"well then, you should ask im jugyeong. i'm only listening to what she says."
oh. my. god. he's at it again. so annoying.
"im jugyeong, want to see me play basketball?"
we all looked at jugyeong, waiting for her response.
"no. not at all."
"not at all?"
a student fell to his knees, begging, "jugyeong, please tell him to play. i don't want to lose to that guy!"
suho? is he seriously that good?
"ugh, i don't care. do it or don't."
"your wish is my command. i'm playing in the basketball game."
"okay! thank you!"
what a mess. over a basketball game. pfft.
...
jugyeong, sua, sujin and i sauntered through the halls. we were going to the bathroom together. the way besties do.
jugyeong opened the door and we became shocked. the girls from the choir room were at it again, bullying.
i noticed a bucket near the door. i showed jugyeong. she picked it up and splashed the girls with it.
"are you crazy?! why would you splash dirty mop water on me?!"
"because your mouth is so filthy, i figured we needed to wash it."
i smirked proudly.
"who do you think you are to speak to your classmate like that? is looking pretty outside all the matters, even if your insides are filthy and disgusting?"
"you're a grade 11? who the hell are you to throw a fucking fit?"
jugyeong froze. i stepped forward, "since i warned you last time... your. worst. nightmare."
the poor girl ran out when sua and sujin tried coming in.
jugyeong ran after her, "gowoon!"
"ugh, what's up with these crazy bitches?"
"do you need another wash? your mouth still seems awfully dirty."
she huffed and she and her friends stomped out.
i hope they learned their lesson.
i turned to sua and sujin. they looked confused.
i peeked out into the hallway, "where's jugyeong and gowoon?"
the girls shrugged.
damn. i hope jugyeong is able to help gowoon.
...
jugyeong and i watched makeup videos on her phone as we waited for the bus.
jugyeong wanted to help gowoon by doing her makeup. it was genius.
suho sat beside us, "what are you watching?"
"oh, a makeup tutorial. actually, there's a girl that we met coincidentally. she's going through a bit of a hard time. so i'm just trying to see if there's a way for us to help her out."
"you're so nosy."
i looked away. he said that to me yesterday.
i spoke up, "right...nosy..."
"but that nosiness can help make someone stronger."
my lips curved up.
hopefully. that's kind of the point.
"actually, she reminds me of my old self," jugyeong continued, "that must be why i feel particularly bad for her. of course, my bare face is uglier than hers is."
i was about to correct jugyeong but then suho beat me to it.
"i don't think so."
"huh?"
"you're pretty without makeup."
huh. maybe suho does like jugyeong the way she suspected. hm.
"the bus is here."
i shot up. i grabbed jugyeong's hand and we left suho behind.
that was weird. i feel weird.
jugyeong and i sat down near the back of the bus. she pulled out her phone and typed.
"hey everyone, a guy has been nice to me recently. and he told me that he thinks i'm pretty. what does this mean?"
we watched as her phone blew up with cheerful comments. we read them out loud.
"he likes you!"
"yeah, he likes you, 100% sure"
"something seems suspicious about the sudden kindness."
"is he a player?"
"ask him out on a date! if a guy isn't interested in you, he'll never spend his money or time on you."
jugyeong looked shocked, "ask him out on a date? no, i can't! never."
even though it made me feel weird, i wasn't gonna ruin this chance for my friend.
"you should! i don't see what could go wrong."
she thought about it, "right...?"
she opened her messages and held her breath.
i watched her type, "are you getting home okay? my sister gave me some free movie tickets. after the festival tomorrow, do you want to see a movie with me if you have time to spare?"
the messages read opened. jugyeong panicked.
suho responded, "sure, let's do it."
i looked away before i could read any more texts. i sighed but soon joined jugyeong on her squealing.
...
"wah. she's hot, totally my type."
"you should go for someone cute and innocent. hot girls split up families."
i groaned and walked away. the school festival wasn't as fun as i'd expected.
i've heard that too many tines. maybe it's not wrong.
i played a couple basic carnival games before i became bored.
i can't just go with my friends because sua and sujin said they'd be busy and jugyeong is probably getting ready for her date with suho.
i wonder if the the basketball players are ready for their game.
i was walking toward the basketball court and dressing rooms when i heart noise coming from the science lab.
i peered in and was jugyeong and gowoon. i walked in.
"oh? im ju? gowoon? what are you guys doing?"
gowoon looked away but jugyeong waved me over.
maybe she's shy?
"hey, you look pretty!"
gowoon looked up at me and smiled bashfully.
"really?"
"well, you looked pretty before, but you look even more stunning right now."
"thank you jugyeong!"
"here, have this drink. i heard it's good for your throat."
i gave gowoon a drink that was originally mine.
she can have it instead.
"wah, thank you! i don't know why you two are nice to me but i'm grateful."
jugyeong and i followed gowoon to the theater. gowoon left behind the stage and jugyeong and i looked for seats. we ended up sitting near jugyeong's brother.
the show started and gowoon looked like a true star on stage. she definitely sounded like one, too.
her voice is angelic. enough to make someone emotional.
we greeted gowoon outside the auditorium after the choir show ended.
gowoon ran to us, "unnies!"
we hugged her, "you really were the best."
"you were born to be on stage."
"thank you, unnies."
"we didn't do much."
gowoon looked behind us, "oppa!"
seojun came and gave gowoon a bouquet.
"han seojun?"
"you girls know each other?"
"you guys know my brother?"
"oppa? do you mean biological brother?"
"jugyeong! beomi! help me!" sua ran to us.
she looked indecisively at jugyeong and i, "kang su suddenly said she can't come. i need one of you."
jugyeong looked at me then back at sua, "okay."
sua clasped onto jugyeong and pulled her away.
"i'll see you later."
i waved at her then turned back to gowoon and seojun.
how strange.
"how do you know each other?"
i looked at gowoon and smirked, "it's a secret."
"tell me."
"what's the magic word?"
"abracadabra."
"what? no. i-"
"i have to go. bye, oppa. bye unni."
"bye, see you later."
gowoon left seojun and i alone.
i scratched the back off my head, "shouldn't you be getting ready for the game."
"i have plenty of time."
"oh, okay."
"you... you want to do something?"
i looked at seojun curiously, "like what?"
"i don't know..." seojun looked down at his watch, "damn, nevermind. i have to go get changed."
"so much for 'plenty of time.'"
"whatever, i can always take you out some other time." seojun blurted out.
"take me out?"
that phrase is only used for dates...
"i mean- you know what i mean."
i laughed nervously, "of course. good luck on the game."
he began walking away, backwards to keep eye contact, "aren't your friends cheering for the opposing team?"
"yup. and since our team is so good, i figured you needed a good luck charm."
"a good luck charm?"
"me!" i made a fluttering motion with my fingers around my face.
he chuckled and left. i watched him turn a corner before i left the other way.
i met with sua at our seats to watch the basketball game. sujin also arrived last minute. we were just waiting for jugyeong.
she finally arrived in a cute pig costume, but she was awfully quiet.
she must be really excited for her movie date with suho.
the game started but lee suho was missing. they started anyways. after a little, suho showed and joined the game.
it was an exciting game but the end came and suho's team won.
the girls and i left the court. i told them i'd meet them at the performance outside. i went to the bathroom and they left to the performance.
suho and jugyeong must have left by now. but... why am i so disappointed?
i took my time in the bathroom to relax. i was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
once i finished i went to meet up with sua and sujin. as i walked down the stairs i noticed someone. they were hunched over.
"are you okay?" i helped them up.
lee suho?!
he was struggling to breathe. i didn't know what to do, but tried helping anyways. he stumbled away from me.
"no, lee suho. wait. you need help."
i followed him as he hadn't gone far. i helped him sit down on the floor, leaning against a brick wall. i held his hands in my own.
"okay, breathe. it's okay."
"go. i said, go!"
i let go of his hands and fell backwards. i took a deep breath.
"no. i'm not leaving you alone, especially like this."
he seemed close to crying as he tried standing up. i pulled his arm, helping him stand. he walked away but i followed.
"lee suho." i pulled him back.
there's only one thing i can think of that may calm him down.
i pulled him into my embrace. his face buried into the crook of my neck.
i never thought i'd see suho so hurt. i almost want to cry with him.
after about a minute, he started wiggling out of my arms. i tried to look directly at his face, but he looked away.
"are you okay?"
"go."
aish, i'm really worried. but he wants to be alone so i should leave him be.
i called for him as he walked away, "lee suho. please, be okay. maybe not now, but soon."
i felt worry as i watched him leave.
...
jugyeong and i walked home together. it was silent. i didn't know if it was too soon to ask about her date. i did so anyways.
"um. what happened with you and suho?"
she stopped and looked down at her feet. her eyes welled up with tears.
"he rejected me. i talked to him in the dressing rooms but he pushed me away. i- i don't really want to talk about it anymore."
"aw, jugyeong. i'm so sorry."
i hugged her tightly before we continued walking.
i wonder if this has to do with what happened to suho earlier...
it's okay to not be okay. but it's better to be okay. i will help those around me be okay. starting with myself.