<chuu>
something weird happened earlier. i was almost late in the first class so i had to run to the classroom. but then, surprisingly, sooyoung and i bumped into each other as we were both rushing in the doorway. luckily, we weren't met by a teacher when we entered. that could have gone a bit... more awkward.
i heard she said 'hi' that time. though, i couldn't really comprehend the situation on whether i should focus on my clumsiness or how gorgeous sooyoung looked today. so, i just nodded and smiled lightly at her just to not make things difficult for me.
going back to my seat, i could sense lia's keen look at the corner of my eye. as much as i wanted to ignore the scene earlier, this seatmate of mine just had to bring it up.
"what was that all about?" lia laughed, but not quite loudly enough to raise my embarrassment.
"i don't wanna talk about it," i tried dropping the topic just like that and faintly slammed my head on my desk.
i heard lia hummed beside me. "well, if you say so. just make sure you lift your head up. teacher's here, you don't wanna sleep in class again."
that was when i suddenly realized that she had a point. i had gotten so many warnings about dozing off on almost the whole period of every subject class, but i haven't really done much sleeping in most of them these days.
i guess, that's improvement. it took a lot of energy and bravery to stay up at least one whole day in the week.
but of course, thinking about sooyoung also took part of that.
❖
i survived the first class. now, we're on the second one.
if i pulled it off the first time, for sure i could stay awake this time. plus, it's the subject that i really love. english!
for someone who takes a long time learning something new, english was definitely the only subject i could learn in a jiffy.
but in the past twenty minutes in class, something was off. it's probably obvious by now that i used some of my time stealing glances on sooyoung instead of napping.
she seemed a bit disinterested in class today. usually, she would have had her notebook out and her hair tucked behind her right ear while writing notes with her burgundy-designed pen. and she would have had looked up at the teacher every two minutes, then another minute looking outside the window and sighing before continuing to write. maybe a few moments of her tapping her lips with her pen when thinking.
fuck, that was a load of observations and it hasn't even been half the school year yet.
back to what i was talking about, sooyoung did not have her notebook out. i mean, it could happen to anyone. it's not as if it was not possible for her not to bring it out because for all i know, maybe she forgot it at home or she just didn't want to take notes or something.
that was not the case, though. i knew sooyoung loved this subject and she actually excelled in it. seeing her just blankly staring outside the window ever since the first class became really suspicious to me. i was rather concerned than curious.
"miss ha sooyoung!" our english teacher called to her, probably a bunch of times now. i didn't even realize that i wasn't really paying attention either. and... neither did she, apparently.
sooyoung turned to the teacher looking a bit confused. "huh? oh..." she slowly stood up.
the teacher was waiting for an answer, but the raven-haired girl was just utterly puzzled right now. with a hint of annoyance, our english teacher repeated his question while pointing at the rotated 's' written on the board, "what does this symbol mean in proofreading?"
again, she didn't give out an answer. her face was sluggish.
"i have never seen you this unresponsive before, miss ha. you know what i do to students who don't participate in my class."
i gulped because i knew what was coming. besides english being a total breeze of a subject, the teacher, however, was strict as fuck. no one could ever get passed that punishment. he never let it slide no matter how small the problem was.
sooyoung looked a bit uneasy. i just assumed that she also knew what was gonna happen. she didn't have to say anything. so, she walked towards the door and out of the classroom.
normally, sooyoung, being the senior elite in the room, would have defended herself or, at least, apologize. it was definitely weird that she did not do any of those. lol, is she rebelling?
a few minutes after sooyoung was thrown out of the class, i couldn't wrap my head well. i could listen to the teacher all period, but i couldn't bear the thought of sooyoung just being alone in the hallway right now.
somehow, just with that thought, i found myself having an idea.
i daringly pulled out my phone and accessed a setting. then, i pressed a button.
ringgg~ ringgg~
i purposely put the volume up. as expected, the whole class' attention were on me. the disappointed look was evident in our english teacher's face.
"aren't you going to answer that, miss kim?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.
"oh! okay!" i exited the ringtone setting.
when i saw him turn around to go on with his lesson, i knew i had to act fast. so, i put my phone against my ear and pretended to have a phone call
"yeoboseyo!!!" i intentionally screamed, having everyone in the room flinched in surprise. "oh!!! i'm just in class!!! no, it's okay!!! you weren't a bother at all!!!"
the teacher sighed and crossed his arms, looking at me.
i shamelessly continued with my acting and, well, shouting. "ah, yes!!! the plant has to be watered just three times a week!!! there's no need for fertilizati-"
"miss kim jiwoo!"
"oh!" i fake covered my phone with my other hand as if i paused the call. "yes, sir?"
"i told you to answer it, but not in the middle of my class. get out!"
"but sir, i-"
"i said get out!" he ordered. "this class had enough of interruptions!"
i put my phone back in my pocket and pouted.
before i left my chair, i whispered to lia, "fill me in with things i need to know."
"you got it!" she whispered back. "and that was hilarious! now, go. go, go!"
i nodded and went back to my upset countenance. i walked outside the room without a care at all.
i spotted sooyoung just sitting on the floor, her back against the wall adjacent to the classroom.
then, it all started hitting me. why in the world did i do that? great, now i have to think of something to talk about with sooyoung.
"you didn't have to do that," sooyoung initiated.
oh fuck! right, she already knows i like her! i tried to keep cool and changed the subject, "you know, that wasn't quite like you earlier. it seemed like you were out of focus."
"oh, that... yeah i guess i was a bit distracted."
"penny for thoughts?" i asked.
"it's nothing big... i guess i'm just not doing well with english these days," she gave a small smile.
never thought sooyoung's interest in academics would actually falter. i felt bad seeing that since i've grown to know that she's always top of the class.
i can't believe i'm saying this but...
"we can overstay again and study together." if my mind was a real person, my face would have had a large bruise already from its endless slaps after every dumb shit i say.
"i'd love to."
wait, wha-? well, that went easier as i thought it would be. though, honestly, i gave her the offer because i genuinely wanted to help her out. remember when i said that i still have a lot to know more about this girl? this was my chance of that.
❖
sooyoung and i just sat in silence for the rest of the period. we didn't have much to talk about. she was dodging every question or topic i could pull out, so i just decided to remain quiet.
not gonna lie, i kind of found it very comforting.
and it's really rare for people to get comfortable in a silence like this. sooyoung really is something and i'm thinking if she felt the same way.
i shook my head impulsively after that thought. she could never, right?
as soon as we knew it, the class was dismissed and lunch break ensued.
our english teacher went out to scold us and told us to do this special seatwork regarding the lesson earlier. good thing sooyoung is a total genius and i have a foreigner seatmate that can teach me. this would probably be simple enough.
"chuu," sooyoung pulled me out of my train of thought. she went on and asked, "you wanna do this later?"
"huh?"
"overstaying, right?"
"oh yeah," i completely forgot that i invited her to overstay with me after class. i smiled widely at her, "sure, yves."
i wondered what could happen.
❖
<yves>
i don't know why, but her smile's really contagious. i couldn't help but smile back.
"sooyoung!"
i turned around to see hyunjin and jungeun calling to me. i wanted to say 'bye' to chuu first before going; but when i turned back, she was already gone. well that sucks...
the two started rushing over to me.
"who was that?" hyunjin asked.
"chuu. a classmate of mine," i answered swiftly.
"oh. she's cute," jungeun commented. i was taken aback by that. she even added, "so what, you friends now?"
i don't know if she's being serious or if she's mad... sometimes, i couldn't read my friends at all. and vice versa, anyway.
"we were just talking. can't we just go eat, now?" i tried changing the topic and they just complied.
the three of us went to the cafeteria.
then, a senior guy was about to confess to me. gosh, can't they take a break? too bad, i was still going to reject this dude.
i was really getting sick of getting into this kind of circumstances.
i would reject everybody who was out of my interest.
then, what does that make chuu?
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