[스물일곱]
𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙖𝙮.
───The classroom hummed with the lively chatter of the students, their excitement visible as they engaged in conversations with their friends about a myriad of topics. Although their current anticipation was for the approaching school festival, Eun ji, however, found himself grappling with yet another dilemma.
"Hey Eun ji, let's go hit the cafe," Zack said in a carefree tone, his stature comfortably sitting on the chair he pulled from someone else's desk. His presence made Eun ji increasingly awkward with each passing second. He didn't know why, but the male had been occupying him ever since their teacher had left the classroom. And it wasn't just him who had the displeasure of dealing with the boxer's erratic behavior, but Jay as well. The blonde watched quietly as the two interacted, though his clenched fist, betrayed his reaction to Zack's request.
"Why not wait till the bell rings, Zack? We still have a few minutes till lunch. . "
Despite feeling uncomfortable with Zack's sudden insistence, Eun ji mustered a smile before politely declining. It was unusual for Zack to suddenly be so.. vocal during their occasional interactions. Jay, however, visibly brightened at Eun ji's rejection of Zack's offer, his smile was impossible to contain which immediately drew in the attention of the two engaged in conversation, both looking at him with confusion.
"What's the deal with that mute bastard." Zack slipped his hand into his pants pocket, one of his brows arching in response to Jay's sudden shift in demeanor. Eun ji chose to overlook the insult he casually directed at the somber male, and instead asked if the other was alright.
"Jay? Everything alright?"
The boy swiftly shook his head in response to Eun ji's concern, raising his hands and gesturing emphatically in front of his face to signal that he was fine. Jay often relied on hand gestures to express himself more vividly, especially in Eun ji's company. And after that day.. when they went shopping together and bought a cake together that he had the pleasure of being fed by Eun ji (completely forgetting Daniel's involvement in the entire thing). Jay found himself yearning for more attention from his desk mate, especially after receiving the mesmerizing scene from the male in return for a small keychain.
"Alright then." Eun ji's casual reply to Jay's unpredictable gestures caught Zack off guard. His expression changed to a look of complete astonishment as he sat upright, wanting to inquire about the two's odd exchange further, "Huh? What the hell? Wasn't he just flailing his arms around?? How did you understand him just from that."
"Well... Maybe you'll start to understand him better if you get closer to him as a friend?" Eun ji replied with a hint of uncertainty, his lips still positioned into a smile. And though it was not visible to either of the two males he didn't want to answer Zack's stupefied question, rather he didn't how to, since even he wasn't sure how he managed to interpret the blonde's peculiar way of communication, which only Daniel Park had the pleasure of understanding (in the webtoon).
Unlike Eun ji's nonchalant remark, the two stiffened in their seats at the mention of them becoming closer as friends. Until that moment, they had never acknowledged each other's existence, Zack was much too prideful, and just like the other kids, he too was unaware of Jay's constant presence inside the classroom. Whereas Jay, always remained silent, despite being aware of all the happenings inside the classroom including Zack's harassing nature. It was obvious that both of them came from entirely different ends and were now unexpectedly confronted with each other's existence, all thanks to one simple sentence uttered by the one person they both admired. Perhaps their feelings concerning the new transfer student (ignoring that Daniel), was the only thing the two had in common.
Eun ji sensed the tension he had inadvertently stirred as he saw the two tense up. Two people who hadn't even exchanged glances much less acknowledged the other's existence even when they were in the same class, it was too much of a stretch to suddenly have these two be comfortable with each other. However, knowing that both Zack and Jay forged a strong friendship, along with a few others in this school due to Daniel's intervention. He knew that there was still hope for them to get past their difficult stage and come to an eventual comradeship. It would take time of course, but Eun ji was considering if he should intervene to speed up the process. Daniel being unable to make any sort of progress with these two made him somewhat concerned about said male's future ties, and knowing that it would be a grave mistake to leave Daniel alone to fend for himself (because of his obvious nativity and also not to repeat his past mistake), was enough reasons for him to step up.
Eun ji's growing train of thought was interrupted by a familiar voice. Turning his gaze, he spotted Daniel near his seat, his expression fidgety and nervous, undoubtfully because of the two prominent statures sitting on either side of his friend.
"Eun, do you wanna go grab lunch?", Daniel's timid voice made both Jay and Zack whip their heads toward him.
' . . !! '
'This fucker!! When did he get here?!' Zack was. . perplexed. His eyes were wide at the sudden appearance, and although Zack was already aware of Daniel's speed due to their unconventional fight days before, he still found himself being astounded by the guy's show of prowess, "Fuck, what the hell are you looking at, huh?" Albeit, his own gratification was holding him back from acknowledging the known defeat.
Daniel quickly looked away the moment Zack caught his nervous gaze, beads of sweat forming almost instantly due to the harsh address. He cringed as he sensed the boxer's glare on him suddenly intensify, becoming even more imposing. Unknown to Daniel, his own words, were the fuel to the fire.
'Huh?? when the hell did he start calling him by 'Eun'?! Since when did he get so chummy with him?!' Zack's internal musing, abruptly halted when he saw Eun ji rising from his seat, happily accepting the other's request.
"Sure— "
「🦋」
*BAM
The abrupt, loud bang drew everyone's attention inside the classroom. Eun ji and Daniel exchanged puzzled glances, both bewildered by Zack's sudden outburst, Eun ji's previous call caught in his throat. The said boxer wore a complicated expression as he met their gaze, with his teeth gritted and his hands firmly planted on the desk. The chair he sat on lay fallen on the ground.
'Why did he agree with that bastard so fast!? He didn't agree to go to the cafeteria with me earlier!'
"Zack??", Zack snapped out of his stupor upon hearing Eun ji's puzzled voice. He shifted his glare from Daniel to Eun ji, meeting the latter's gaze laced with concern. He noticed other students looking at him as well, but since they were already aware of Zack's temperaments, the crowd reached a completely different reasoning.
"What happened?"
"Zack looks pissed. Is it because of Daniel Park?"
"No way, are they going to fight again?"
"Didn't Zack lose to Daniel already? I bet it won't be any different this time."
Despite his growing annoyance with the agitated whispers thrown around, Zack managed to maintain his composure, mustering a broad, closed-lip grin, offering a hasty excuse seconds after. His attention remained fixed on Eun ji, uncaring of anyone else's presence in the classroom. "Haha! A mosquito! I saw a mosquito!" he exclaimed. Thankfully for him, Eun ji didn't question further, merely responding with a nervous grin.
"The lunch bell's about to ring. So let's move." Zack quickly reverted to his usual carefree self, making his way out of the classroom, and brushing past the skittish students. Eun ji, let out a sigh, not knowing what to make of Zack's unusual behavior anymore. His exasperation didn't go unnoticed by Daniel, who was standing right behind him.
Eun ji's attention was quick to draw to the fallen chair lying on the ground, the disruption Zack had left in the classroom's already tense atmosphere. But before he could react, Jay, reached for the seat, retrieving the chair to its rightful desk. The blonde turned toward him right after, his stature giving off a seemingly anticipatory radiance, which was earned with appreciation from the recipient.
"Thanks for putting the chair back, Jay."
" . . ! "
"We should head to the cafeteria now, Zack's already left."
" . . . "
Daniel observed the unspoken interaction between Jay and Eun ji, quietly taking note of the camaraderie between them. If he was being honest, Jay's presence was somewhat overwhelming, much like every other student in his new school, even when the blonde had kindly intervened to stop the fight between him and the already departed boxer. However, seeing Eun ji effortlessly fitting in and warming up to their new classmates, he felt his admiration for him grow. 'Eun's already made so many friends. . ', Daniel thought to himself, a firing resolve stirring within him. 'I shouldn't be afraid of making new friends, either!', Daniel clenched his fists in front of him, his eyes shining comically.
.
.
.
'That's what I said but. . ', Daniel felt himself shrink as he stood between Jay and Jiho, with Eun ji and Zack already at the front of the lunch line, receiving their meals. Earlier, Daniel had also invited Jiho to join them.
"H- Hey.. umm.. I'm Daniel!" There was a long silence between them, Jiho peeking up at the two towering figures due to Daniel's sudden introduction. "Y- Your Jay right? Thanks for being there at my birthday and. . also for the fight that day." Daniel was sweating profusely but still managed to utter his appreciation for the somber male's intervention during those specific events. He didn't wish for the awkward stillness between them to continue.
" . . . "
Daniel's nervous expression immediately brightened at Jay's subtle nod. Though it was a small gesture, he felt relieved that it helped break the awkwardness between them. Their fiddly confrontation was being observed by a certain ravenette, a small smile grazing his lips when he witnessed a lighthearted atmosphere replace the previous vexatious aura.
'Ah, looks I didn't need to worry so much about their relationship after all.. it might've taken a bit too long, but at least their finally interacting with each other now'. Eun ji had purposely left them to join Zack in the line when they arrived at the cafeteria, though it wasn't all too necessary due to the said boxer pulling him to his side the moment he spotted the other, 'You're finally here. I took the line a while ago.. so stand here.' were his exact words. The younger's behavior had been too puzzling for him to decipher, so he decided to simply let it go, it's not as if he was all too familiar with the younger generation and their erratic ways.
'Kids at this age have the most irrational behavior, trying to understand them would only confuse me more.', Eun ji gave an exasperated sigh, 'Fuck, on days like this I would down at least eight cups of caffeine already', unfortunately for him, those constant shots that his office's broken down coffee machine made, was the only way he would deal stressful or bemusing days.
"Hey. Eun ji."
"Ah. Sorry, you were saying." Eun ji turned his head to meet Zack's questioning face, his previous frustration, now replaced with a close-eyed smile. He knew the male had caught onto his lack of interest in their conversation, just by how the boxer raised one of his brows raised.
Zack, however, did not say anything, rather he scanned his eyes throughout the loud cafeteria, immediately spotting an empty table and lifting his hand to hold onto the other's. Eun ji didn't have the time to say anything to address the guy's actions, as he was suddenly pulled to one of the empty tables. The scene was caught by the two standing farther behind in the lunch line, startled by them leaving together, Daniel also decided to follow along. But even before he could move his feet, his gaze fixated on a rather familiar scene. Jiho stopped his feet at the taller's halt, his eyes trailing the other to meet with a similar scene.
────𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙣𝙙.