eight;
Day 16,
"Im Changkyun!" Hanna called out from the door of the classroom.
Hanna wasn't the type to wake up early to go to school. However, today she was determined to reach school earlier than the time she usually wakes up so that she could talk to Changkyun. It's been a week since their last tutor session and Hanna admits that she needs more of those. Or, maybe more of him. She doesn't know either.
Changkyun, who came earlier than expected too, was sat down in his seat. Reading a book. What's new? Maybe the fact that he was falling asleep halfway through reading the book. Yesterday's practice was beyond tiring. As the event date comes closer, the training hours gets more hectic. But, he still knew how to manage his time between practice and studies.
The boy woke up from his 'reading', shocked. "I thought you were a teacher!"
There were only two of them in the classroom since it was too early in the morning. She went up to the older, "when we agreed not to have tutoring for a few days, doesn't mean you can just entirely ignore me and my existence!"
"You've been saying that for a week! Since when did I ignore you?"
She turned the chair in front of Changkyun to face him. "Like when I passed by you and your group of friends during lunch time or when I called you to ask for help in Chemistry?"
"I told you I'm busy," Changkyun shrugged, looking up to face the ceiling and making the top of the chair his headrest, "I wanna sleep."
He took his book and put it on top of his face. "Haven't you been sleeping?" Hanna watched as he tried to be comfortable in his position.
"Nope, too much practice and homework," Changkyun shook his head, the book falling from his face. He grunted.
The girl sighed, standing up from her seat. She moved and sat on the chair next to Changkyun's. Slowly, she tilted his head towards her left shoulder. Changkyun wondered why she was being nice but he didn't question and instead slept.
An hour later, Changkyun woke up to the sound of the clicking of cameras and the light from all the flashes. He opened his eyes, different kinds of phones were practically at his face. "What is this?"
He felt someone shifting beside him and he looked to see Hanna rubbing her red eyes, clearly disturbed from her sleep. "Are you not gonna stop?"
Everyone dashed back to their own seats except for one who claimed that Hanna was sitting on his seat. She stood up, facing Changkyun, "you owe me."
-
"What do you mean I owe you!" Changkyun shouted from across the hallway. Everyone looked at him.
Classes were finished and Hanna left in a hurry for no particular reason. Changkyun tried to catch up with her along the corridors and tried to talk to her but she acted as if she didn't know him. Giving up, he looked at her as she walked away. However, still curious, he shouted from the hallway, not caring about the people around them. Hanna stopped walking and looked back at the boy.
The older huffed, walking up to Hanna. "What do you mean I owe you?" he repeated upon stopping in front of her. "I let you sleep on my shoulder. That's good enough reason for you to owe me something."
He was about to argue back but was hushed by the girl. "I need to go. You have practice, don't you? See you tomorrow!"
She left without looking back which surprised Changkyun. First of all, why did she seem carefree about him when she practically shouted at him early in the morning for ignoring her? It's as if they're back to when they never talked. He didn't understand the feeling. Why did he feel lonely when she's not there to entertain him?
-
Day 17,
"Morning," Hanna greeted her parents coldly. It was the same thing all over again. They only nodded their head at the greeting. However, her stepmother was upset at the fact that Hanna didn't call her her mother.
They sat down at the dining table, silently eating. Jeong Jinmi broke the silence after chewing her food. "We have a company party coming up in two weeks. I wish we can all go as a family."
Hanna tsked, "what do I have to do there? Act like a perfect daughter I'm not? A difficult task to pursue, so I'll pass."
Everyone in the dining table looked at you, one in worry and one in disappointment. "We'll go," her father informed her mother, ignoring her statement a while ago. Hanna rolled her eyes. Jinmi smiled, "Hanna, you need a partner for this. Our boss is making this party like a prom so it will feel as if we're reliving our high school days."
Joon glanced at his wife, smiling. Hanna simpered, "pathetic."
Hanna's father glared at her. "That is not the way you talk to your mother!"
Hanna corrected him, "step-mom."
"You are to invite a friend and that decision is final."
-
"I didn't even say I wanted to go!" Hanna complained to herself as she walked along the corridors of her school. She was on the way to her classroom while agitatedly whispering to herself about the talk she had with her parents this morning.
"Go where?" a voice crept from behind her. Her shoulders jumped until she realized it was just... who else? Her tutor. "I'm in no mood to talk, thank you."
She walked forward, ignoring the motionless Changkyun. Once caught up, Changkyun asked Hanna once more, despite the fact that she said she didn't want to talk. Tired of being ignored, he complained, "you were the one who was complaining about me ignoring you but who's ignoring who now?"
Hanna stopped in her tracks right at the door of the classroom. She turned to him who was behind her, "I really don't wanna talk. I'm sorry."
After apologizing, she walked out of the scene, arriving at her seat and sitting down on it. She rested her head on the table, trying to sleep to ignore the annoying and loud chatters from her classmates.
She was almost successful in trying to sleep when she heard someone drag the chair beside her table. She didn't bother to look up to know who it was but then she felt someone hold her by her arms, and pulled her towards that person. Surprised, she sat up straight as she was unfamiliar with the skinship between her and the person. She suddenly didn't feel sleepy anymore.
As she came back to her senses, that same person apologized to her, "sorry if I'm suddenly being clingy." She recognized that voice. After receiving two weeks of teaching from him, of course she would remember his voice.
"What were you trying to do?" she rolled her eyes. She had no time for whatever joke he was trying to pull. There was no response from the boy, so she placed her head back on the table and tried to sleep. However, she was pulled back again by Changkyun. "I was trying to say, 'you can lean on my shoulder because that position may be uncomfortable for you to sleep in'."
She pushed herself away from him. "I didn't say anything so why try?"
"I was just trying to help? Should I say sorry?" Changkyun scoffed. "That was also supposed to be 'thank you for helping me sleep comfortably the other day so I'm trying to pay you back'."
"Yeah, okay, should I say thank you?" Hanna looked at his eyes. "Besides, I get to choose when I'll get you to pay me back with what you owe."
"Fine, if that's what you want but I just wanted to help and ask you if you're okay." Changkyun confessed. She knew it was almost time for classes so she ended her conversation with her tutor, "yes, I'm fine, thank you. You didn't have to ask, so thank you."
He noticed the coldness in her voice but decided to leave her alone as she was afraid of her exploding her anger towards him. Right after those words, their teacher came in to mark their attendance.
-
Day 18,
'Meet me at the gate of the school. We'll have tutor session today.' Hanna read the message out loud. She scoffed, "and what if I'm not free?"
She knew no one was going to reply her so she continued to sleep. She was in the school's rooftop, trying to avoid everyone who's asking her if she's okay since she looked sick. She hated denying the fact that yes, she is sick. Sick of everything. She didn't understand why she felt this way, it just happens all of a sudden. Do you get it?
There are just moments in your life when you suddenly feel like no one cares about you and you feel so empty because of that. Nobody deserves to feel that way.
This resulted in her avoiding everyone. She was grateful for those who asked for her concern but she felt like she didn't have the power to control her depressing emotions.