Somin and Junu
Somin hoped she would be the first in the drawing class to get the best spot for a four-hour painting lesson.
No such luck.
Someone was an even earlier bird. In the center of the room stood somebody else's easel. On the ground below it sat a boy. Short brown hair was messily tucked underneath a hoodie that covered his face as he looked down at his sketchpad. His shoes were scattered behind him on the floor—barefoot sketching. Not one of her pastimes but she could see the appeal.
Somin walked towards him. "Hi, I'm Lee Somin."
He turned his gaze to her.
Wait what? He's so young. It caught her unprepared.
"I am Junu," he said quietly, staring down at the paper. He was drawing his legs along with various objects from the classroom. She also caught a glimpse of some made-up landscapes among the chaos.
I won't bother him.
Somin set up her station next to him. "That's alright, you don't need to talk," she smiled at him.
His eyes sparkled and Junu mouthed, "Thank you."
She kept her distance so as not to disturb this shy kid and joined him in sketching
It's really nice to know there's a silent partner in crime. Someone who understands solitude without a need for talking or worse... asking.
Her hand sketched absentmindedly, her brain turned off. Thank god it's Friday.
She gripped her pencil tighter, looking at Junu and his passion inspired her more. The quiet boy's concentration was contagious. The way his pencil sang on a paper made Somin work harder too, maximizing what she could muster up at the time. When she looked down at the paper, Teho looked back up to her, making her heart skip a beat.
Are you stalking me? Somin chuckled at the thought.
But she swiftly turned the page as other students finally started to fill up the room.
...
The drawing studio filled with their peers quite quickly.
Somin's little incident with Teho had made the older girls in her class either ignore her or whisper conspiratorially whenever they saw her. Everyone had seen the video circulating in the school chat. So, as the group was led in by Ms. Nowak, Somin glanced around nervously.
Just observing the group of girls made Somin anxious and when they chuckled she instantly doubt herself.
Am I paranoid or are they laughing at me?
As their eyes moved from her and the young boy, the senior girls whispered to each other and gathered on the other side of the room.
Somin tried to mask her discomfort by acting unbothered. She forced her shoulders to relax and put on a blank look. Her 'unbothered' came across as tense and stern to everyone else, but Somin couldn't see herself.
She was glad she had chosen a warmer dress that morning. The way it clung to and warmed her aching body helped to ease her mind. The soothing tones of baby blue only added to the feeling. She hoped that at least looking presentable would make her more appealing to them. Her pink hair was neatly brushed and tamed by a light blue headband dotted with a set of small bows, a simple testament about decisions Cholsu had made for her.
She glanced at Junu.
The young boy was alert and turned slightly to her.
"Why are they like this?" he whispered.
"I don't know," Somin answered.
I never did.
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