will spring come for me again?
will beautiful flowers bloom in my heart again?
episode 3
꒰ different from when we first met ꒱
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Once in a while, when I think about my life and my future, I find myself crying.
Minho never told anyone what exactly happened to make him become the person that he was. Cold, distant, a little ruthless even, but also plainly awkward. Those were all words that others used for describing him. They were the only things that people really knew about him. When somebody asked one of his classmates who Minho was, they could say that he was an outcast, but after that, they were at a loss of words. They didn't know anything else that they could say about him and he wasn't completely sure how he would answer that question either. Just thinking about it, was enough to bring back a strange sensation that at one point in his life, he lost something. Or someone. Himself, perhaps?
'' You aren't making any sense, Minchi. ''
You are the last person that should say something like that.
Togun 2 and Minho were in public, so the only way for them to have a conversation, was with her talking and him typing replies on the Friendbot app. He was standing in the middle of a crowded bus and looking at the screen of his phone, while she was swinging on one of the bars that were attached under the ceiling of the vehicle. People couldn't see her, but he wasn't sure about them feeling her touch, so he told her to stop doing that, but she didn't listen to him. Feathers were dropping from her figure, landing on the students and dissolving. They were sleeping, eating their breakfasts, talking to each other or finishing up their homework and they were blissfully unaware of the rainbow dust that was making their eyebags sparkle in an unusual bright light.
Togun 2 swung on the pole that was meant for people to hold on to and hung on it upside down. She raised her arms beside her, grinned in excitement and called out: '' Minchi! Look what I can do! No hands! Look! Look! ''
Minho couldn't help it but to glance in her direction. Her green hair was falling forward on her face and she was hanging in the air right above some student who was sprawled over two seats and sleeping. She laughed when she saw Minho looking at her and his gaze met hers before his face suddenly got bright red. Her features formed a confused frown and he almost dropped his phone when he typed a response to her.
Other people might not be able to see you, but I still can, so you should definitely stop doing that. At least while you are wearing a short skirt.
Togun 2 let out a loud shrill and pulled her skirt up again. She pushed herself off the metallic pole that she was hanging on and flew through the air above Minho. Her cheeks were tinted in a deep shade of red and there was a forced smile on her face. Minho could tell that she was trying to change the topic of conversation. '' Anyway, where were we? There is nothing unreasonable about forcing your friend Changbin to go to the movies with you! I can't believe that you were actually planning to go to a premiere on your own! Who cares if he doesn't like horror films? I hate them too, but I will come just because of the free popcorn! ''
'' If you're coming, then why do I need to invite him for? '' Minho snapped before he could stop himself. His eyes grew wide with shock when he realised that he accidentally said those words out loud and some students turned their heads and looked at him in confusion. His heart accelerated, then he quickly raised his phone to his ear and pretended like he was in the middle of a call with someone.
The bot girl giggled at the sight of his bad acting. '' Just give up. It would be more convincing if you would just say that you are talking to a ghost... Anyway, I still want you to call Changbin and ask him to come to that movie premiere with you! The more people go, the more fun we will have! ''
Minho lowered his head and typed a blunt response in his phone.
No.
'' Come on, Minchi! ''
I refuse.
'' Tch... Buzzkill. ''
Bold words for someone who can disappear with the click of a button.
Togun flinched, wrapped her arms around herself and cried out: '' Why are you in such a bad mood this morning? Is it because I ate all of your cereal last night? I couldn't help myself! It was two in the morning and I was bored! Even your neighbor's cat got tired of playing with me and decided to go back home and go to sleep! ''
Minho rolled his eyes at the sound of her words and prepared to type something in response to her, when the bus came to a stop. Some students fell in to silence and stared at the individual that stepped inside the vehicle. Minho was so engulfed in his conversation with Togun, that he didn't even notice how the bus took a different route to school than it usually did. Some other one got involved in an accident and ended up completely wrecked, so the drivers made arrangements, to make sure that they would still cover all of the stops. Minho's bus just reached the one in front of Wangsan's shipyard. The ocean was sparkling under the rising sun, seagulls were gathering on the roofs of the nearby buildings and the only one who got on the vehicle was Hwang Hyunjin.
Minho didn't turn his head, but his gaze followed the boy who slowly made his way towards the back of the bus. Hyunjin's reputation wasn't the best. He was the son of a single father who worked in the shipyard and barely managed to earn enough money to survive. There were a lot of rumors going around about his supposed drinking problem and the bruises that Hyunjin always had on his skin.
Minho didn't want to make any assumptions, but he secretly also believed that a violent father was the most probable explanation for the wounds on the boy. Even if he knew that Hyunjin also had a delinquent older brother who moved away to Mokpo. He recently started hanging with him and his crowd and it was possible that they had something to do with it too.
Togun 2 clasped her hands together and stared at Hyunjin in amazement. She wasn't the first girl to get mesmerized by his dark hair, sharp eyes and handsome features. Hyunjin had a specific kind of charm, there was no denying it. '' Who is he? He is so much cooler than you are! ''
Minho scrunched up his nose and glared at her. The student who was standing behind her, thought that he was looking at him and he flinched with surprise. Minho cringed and quickly lowered his head again. His gaze traveled towards Hyunjin, who stopped at the back of the bus and held on to one of the metallic poles. His head was covered by a hood and his eyes were filled with emptiness. He was clearly in a bad mood, but some people still decided to try to mess with him.
Togun 2 frowned in confusion at the sight of the guy that targeted Hyunjin. He did it just because he was alone and he couldn't defend himself. Minho was used to the sight and he almost couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Han Jisung stand up all of the sudden. The popular soccer player was surprising him a lot these days. He would've gotten involved and helped Hyunjin, if it wasn't for a friend of his, who put a hand on his shoulder and said: '' Let it go. You know how Hyunjin gets when he's mad. If Seungjo will poke him enough, he is going to get thrown out of the bus. Literally. Through the nearest window. When Hyunjin gets mad, you can't reason with him. ''
He's not wrong.
Hyunjin is a beast when he's mad.
The school's star soccer player will never risk getting injured-
'' That's a bunch of bullshit! '' Jisung hissed and pointed at Seungjo. The guy stopped tormenting Hyunjin and looked at him with surprise. '' Yah! You talk about how quiet Hyunjin is when he's alone, but what about you? You wouldn't even dare approach him if you weren't in a public bus where you have your friends to back you up and a lot of witnesses! How is that fair?! Just go back to your seat and stop annoying everybody! Believe me, you are not the only one who got up with the wrong foot today! ''
Minho stared at Jisung in bewilderment.
First the soccer player was nice to me and now he stands up for Hyunjin too?
Something strange is going on.
The bus reached another stop and a familiar person stood up from her seat, so that an older lady could sit down. She stopped right in front of Minho and glanced at his phone before she raised her gaze towards him and slowly began: '' Who does a supposed loser with no friends even have to text? His mom? ''
'' Is that supposed to be an insult or are you genuinely curious? '' Minho asked and looked away from Togun 1. The bus was crowded, so she had no choice but to stand right in front of him. He still didn't like how close she was. Her presence, right in front of him, was painfully overbearing. She was almost touching his chest and standing so close that he could smell her strawberry shampoo.
Togun 1 faintly smiled and raised her shoulders in a shrug. '' A little bit of both. I'm in a bad mood this morning and I am still annoyed because of what happened yesterday. I can't believe that you actually kicked my chair to make me wake up when I dozed off in the middle of Maths class. Now, instead of just hating you, the teacher hates both of us. I hope you're happy. ''
'' Very, '' Minho quietly responded and glared at Togun 2, who was floating in the air above him. She was yelling at the top of her lungs because he couldn't bring himself to look in Togun 1's eyes while he was talking to her.
He gritted his teeth in irritation and prepared to type a response to her on his phone, when it suddenly happened. The bus tried to do a narrow turn and the driver had to slam on the breaks to stop himself from crashing against a cyclist, who was speeding towards the shipyard that they just left and trying to get to work on time. The sudden stop actually knocked some students off their feet and a few girls let out surprised screams. Among them was also Togun 2.
Once the bus came to an abrupt stop, she was sent flying towards the front of the vehicle. Minho's eyes grew wide and he automatically reached out with his hand towards her. He tried to grab her, but he was too slow. The girl went directly towards the windshield of the bus, only that instead of slamming against the glass like he was afraid that she would, she suddenly turned in to a cloud of peacock feathers.
They swallowed up the entire bus like a wave of water. Minho almost couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone was engulfed in green, blue, orange and yellow peacock feathers and they weren't even aware of it. The mindblowing sight left him at a loss of words, until he realised that one of his arms was wrapped around Togun 1.
He didn't even notice that he held her, to make sure that she wouldn't fall and continued holding her for a lot longer than he was supposed to. Now Jisung was tapping his shoulder and Minho half expected to get punched in the face, but the blonde guy managed to control himself and just say: '' Hey, man. Thanks for helping, but are you planning to get your hands off my girl or do I have to do that for you? ''
Minho's gaze traveled down to his arm, wrapped around Togun's waist. His eyes grew wide with surprise and he quickly let go of her. She purposely didn't look at him, but a smile returned on her lips when Jisung pulled her towards his seat and made her sit on his lap. That was when Togun 2 reappeared next to Minho and thoughtfully murmured: '' It feels weird to see someone with my face, sitting in another guy's lap. ''
Minho frowned and rolled his eyes.
You are the one that has her face, not the other way around.
Togun 2 pulled on his sleeve and whined: '' Minchi, I want to try it out too! ''
He cringed and quickly typed his response to her on his phone.
Dream on.
Togun 2 clenched her fists and huffed in disappointment.
It was a calm morning in school and Minho was happy to go through a day without any trouble. He ended up getting excited too soon and forgetting that Togun 2 made it her personal mission to complicate his life as much as she possibly could. Her newest idea was to steal his packed lunch, so that he would have to leave the safety and peace of his classroom and venture to the school cafeteria. She was certain that he would never go for the option to remain hungry and she wasn't wrong, but she forgot that there was also something else that he could do - get his food back.
He sprinted after the flying bot girl and prepared to fight for what was rightfully his. His murderous gaze was focused on Togun 2, who was floating above the students in the crowded hallway and he didn't even hear Naeun's quiet voice until she loudly called: '' Minho! I need to talk to you! ''
His heart skipped a beat and began to race. His stolen lunch was instantly forgotten. Just turning around and facing Naeun was enough to make his face red in embarrassment. Actually looking in her eyes, was beyond his abilities, so instead, he opted for gazing at her pale pink sneakers.
Are those tiny blue wings on the sides of her sneakers?
Dammit, even her sneakers are cute.
'' Stay away from Togun. I won't let someone ruin her life again. She left that part of herself in the past and she really doesn't want someone to bring it back up again, okay? Can you respect that? '' Naeun's words took him by surprise and he didn't know what to say. Truthfully, he didn't have the slightest idea what she was even talking about. Naeun soon realised that too and shook her head in disbelief. '' You don't remember? You forgot?! Shame on you, Minho. You are always standing on the side and you don't talk, but on our first day of school, I still remembered you right away. ''
I am always watching Naeun and I never even imagined that she saw me too.
Naeun and Minho were classmates when they were still in middle school. It was only for two weeks though. After that Naeun and her mother moved to Mokpo. Minho heard that it was because Naeun's parents went through a rough divorce. Her mother needed to get away from Wangsan for a while and they got back only when it was time for her to enter her first year of high school. That was when Minho started crushing on Naeun. She changed a lot during the three years that she spent in Mokpo. Her newfound love for the color pink and all things cute was certainly adorable, but Minho couldn't help it but to miss some old parts of her and her personality, like the passion that she used to have for fishing together with her father.
Wait, did Togun use to go to our middle school too?
She did say that she came back to Wangsan instead of moving here for the first time like everyone thought, but Minho was certain that there was nobody called Togun among his classmates.
Naeun walked away and Minho was left standing in the hallway by himself. Togun 2 appeared out of nowhere, floating upside down by his side and staring after the girl. Her arms were crossed on her chest and she was frowning in thought. '' I hate to break it to you... But you need to step up your game. From my perspective, she seems to like you less and less. If that's even possible, considering that there was never a lot of 'liking' to begin with. ''
Minho suddenly thought that Togun, as a girl, could perhaps help him figure out what was going through Naeun's head. He was about to ask her something, but he got interrupted by his friend Changbin, who appeared out of nowhere, ran towards him and almost knocked him off his feet. '' Did I see it correctly? Or do my eyes deceive me?! You actually talked to Naeun! ''
Togun 2 clapped in excitement and answered, even if she knew that Changbin couldn't hear her: '' I know, right? He didn't look in her eyes even once, but at least he didn't say anything dumb! ''
Minho ignored the girl and frowned. '' Yeah, I talked to her. So what? ''
Changbin elbowed him and grinned. '' Don't even try to play it cool because I know that you are mentally screeching. ''
He cringed and glanced at him. '' Is it that obvious? ''
'' Just a little bit, '' Changbin happily said and swung his arm around his shoulder. Minho didn't bother pushing him away and he followed him to the school cafeteria. He saw Togun 2 floating after Naeun, so he decided that it was better to lose hope over getting his packed lunch back. The bot girl was most likely planning to eat it herself from the very start. She was surprisingly into the food that he made, despite his limited cooking abilities.
The two boys entered the crowded school cafeteria and they instantly spotted a familiar face. Minho's eyes grew wide with surprise at the sight of Christopher Bang. He knew that he wasn't able to graduate last year, but he thought that he decided to finish his studies at another school or perhaps even at home. There was no sight of him ever since his classes began. It seemed like everyone else believed that too, because Chan was earning a lot of surprised and confused looks and they were clearly making him extremely uncomfortable.
His messy blonde hair was covered by the hood of his jacket, he was squatted on his chair instead of sitting down like a normal person and holding a spoon as if it was a weapon. His eyes were darting left and right and his upper lip was slightly curled in irritation.
Looks like he is still the same as last year.
There are too many things about this town that never change.
'' Let's go say hello! '' Changbin eagerly said and patted Minho's shoulder.
The boy scrunched up his nose and shook his head. '' I am not sitting with that... thing. ''
Minho flinched when Togun 2 suddenly appeared out of nowhere and scolded him: '' Thing? You are not one to talk, Minchi. ''
He ran with his hand through his light brown hair and swept away the peacock feathers that rained down on him. Changbin glanced up towards the top of his head in confusion, then he looked at Chan again. Some kid accidentally bumped against his chair and spilled his raspberry juice all over his table. It was the same guy that was tormenting Hwang Hyunjin on the bus that morning. Instead of apologizing, he started making fun of Chan for being held back a year, even if he had no idea why.
'' He looks like he has potential to become friends with someone like you! '' Togun 2 excitedly continued and started pulling on Minho's arm. She pointed towards Chan and said: '' Go help him! This is your chance to be his knight in shining armor! ''
Changbin was looking towards Chan and not paying attention, so Minho could glance at Togun and quietly respond to her: '' You need to stop deciding things for me. I know that you don't have bad intentions, but nothing ever goes as you think that it will! Getting involved with someone like Chan couldn't bring anything but trouble! ''
'' Okay, all of my past attempts might have gone wrong but... I don't know where I was even planning to go with this, but you still can't just give up! Get involved! Get involved! '' She was waving her arms through the air, floating around Minho and screaming. Colorful peacock feathers were flying everywhere and they covered the ground around him like a carpet. '' Do it! Do it! Do it! ''
Minho took another look at Chan. He was about to grab a fire extinguisher and beat up Seungjo and his friends with it. Realising his intentions, the boy who was quick to torment him, suddenly stopped smiling.
Minho lowered his head and started walking away. '' This has nothing to do with me, Togun. ''
'' Alright, '' the girl murmured and let out a sad sigh. He was surprised to hear her give up so easily. A part of him wished that she would continue pestering him. He always turned around and walked the opposite way when he encountered similar situations, but that day, his heart felt unusually heavy. Every new step, made it ache even more.
Is this really the right thing to do?
He took another step away, stopped and looked at Togun. She was floating by his side, her head was lowered and her figure was slowly dissolving in to feathers. The disappointment in her eyes was obvious and it hurt him more than he would ever admit that it did.
I'm definitely going to regret this.
He picked up a spray bottle that was laying nearby, together with some other cleaning equipment and turned around. Then he broke in to a run. Togun 2 slowly raised her head and her eyes shined with happiness when she saw that Minho changed his mind. Changbin almost couldn't believe it either, when his childhood friend suddenly ran past him and jumped on a table. He leaped off the edge and landed on the ground right between Chan and Seungjo.
He slowly turned his head towards the surprised boy, who was holding a fire extinguisher in his arms. He heard Seungjo ask what he was doing and Minho's voice was apathetic when he replied: '' I'm saving you from getting killed. You're welcome. ''
That was when he pointed the cleaning spray bottle at Chan and sprayed it directly in his face. For a moment, the cafeteria remained deathly silent. Then the blonde student dropped the fire extinguisher that he was holding in hands and started coughing, screaming and cringing. Some of the cleaning spray got in his mouth and he was worried that he was going to get poisoned. Minho was afraid that he might get angry at him instead, especially after he started walking away and he made his way after him, but Togun told him that he didn't seem mad anymore. '' He's definitely following you, but he's not growling like he was earlier, so I would take that as a good sign. ''
'' This is exactly what I was worried of! '' Minho hissed and shook his head. He could feel everyone watching him while he was walking through the cafeteria and he hated it. He couldn't wait to sit at one of the empty tables in the back and have some peace. '' Chan is the last thing that I need in my life. I already have you and I don't need more complications! And he is good at that! He is chaotic energy itself! ''
Togun 2 frowned and asked: '' Will you stop calling him a 'thing'?! ''
Minho was about to say something in response, but he stopped when he saw Chanbgin sit at his table. And he didn't come alone. Chan was crouching down next to Minho, completely invading his personal space and thoughtfully inspecting his face. His eyes were narrowed and his features were distorted in to a frown. Minho let him do that at first, but it didn't take long before he got annoyed. That was when he placed his palm against his face and pushed it away, regretting that he didn't take that spray bottle with him. '' What are you doing? ''
'' You stood up for me, '' Chan seriously mumbled and hope illuminated his eyes. '' That's what friends do, right? Does that mean that I can sit with you and Changbin during lunch, right? ''
Minho wanted to say no, but he couldn't bring himself to destroy the happy expression on Chan's face, so he just rolled his eyes and muttered: '' Do whatever you want. ''
Chan let out an excited scream and Miho instantly regretted letting his compassion get the best of him. '' You aren't going to be yelling like that for the whole time, right? ''
Chan carelessly shrugged and grinned. '' I yell when I'm happy. ''
Togun 2 clapped in excitement and screamed: '' Me too! ''
Something tells me that I am never getting rid of them again.
Minho cringed at that thought, but at the same time, he didn't completely hate it. A hint of a smile appeared on his lips and he stole an apple from Changbin's tray of food and took a bite of it. Togun 2 continued doing flips through the air and screaming even long after Chan's yelling died down and he started blabbering something about how worried he was that he wouldn't make any friends after coming back to school.
Minho lowered his head when his phone suddenly buzzed and he saw that he got a notification from the Friendbot app.
He didn't understand what exactly the app's missions were, but they just started appearing out of nowhere. He found himself staring at his phone for a few moments, wondering what the next one could possibly be. Then he put the device away, took another bite of his stolen apple and shot a glare in Togun's direction, in hopes that it would make her stop yelling.
She's proud of me, huh?
She sure has a weird and annoying way of showing it.
That day, for the first time in a while, Minho didn't eat lunch completely alone.