On the next Monday, I couldn't help the fact that my eyes were searching for a certain blue-haired girl amongst my schoolmates who were standing in the school's square, having our daily morning assembly. I didn't know why I was searching for her. Maybe I just wanted to see her. Not more than that. It was not a wrong thing to do, am I right?
The morning assembly was nearing its end, and my eyes still couldn't find what they were searching for. Where was the fortune teller?
'Maybe she didn't come to the school?'
'I don't know.'
'Hwang! Stop thinking about her. She is not someone that matters in your life.' My own voice resonated in my head pretty well while my eyes kept wondering between the students in the school's square, still hoping that I could see her. Surely, my eyes and my brain did not cooperate with each other as they should be on that day.
When we were about to be dismissed from the assembly, all of a sudden, a teacher instructed us to stay. Veins were popping from his neck. Well, I could see it clearly as I was actually lining up at the fourth from the front.
He then instructed a group of students from the side of the square to come in front, to face all of us. And that was the time which I could see her, the fortune teller.
She was there, in front, facing all of us. Together with her were two of her friends, Lia and I don't know the other. She was asked to stand there together with her friends as they were caught on trying to sneak out of the school by the teacher in-charge.
"Again, there she is, being scolded in front of the students. I swear this has been the uncountable times she was being scolded for her actions."
I turned my face, to face Soyeon, one of my classmates.
"Who?"
"The one and only blue-haired girl in our school, Shin Ryujin."
That is the time where I finally knew her name. I nodded, before facing the front. My eyes were attached to a certain someone who was wearing a straight-dull face while staring at me.
'ME?!' I quickly looked down, at my pair of shoes.
'This couldn't be. Maybe she was looking at our schoolmates and the moment I was gazing my eyes towards her, that was the time in which, her eyes were supposedly to gaze at my direction.'
I inhaled deeply, before looking up at her direction and there she was, looking at other students other than me.
Standing there, I could feel that she knew that I was staring into her. But again, everyone were staring at the three students, while listening to Mr. Yang, our school's discipline teacher, blabbering about the school's discipline ethics.
I yawned, feeling tired upon hearing the endless remarks by him.
'He keep talking, I keep yawning.'
After a few minutes that felt like hours, Mr. Yang dismissed us and once I was in my classroom, I could hear some students were talking about this morning's commotion. I was told by Minnie that Ryujin was a student in the class next door.
'Wow, no wonder she could know my name. We were only being separated by thin walls and of course, she must had numerously saw me and maybe could know my name when she overheard any of my classmates calling for me.'
However, here came Hyunjin, dropping a bomb of fact about Ryujin. She was one of the motorcycle's gang members who sometimes made a ruckus around the town. She was one of their respected leaders. And by the word of respect, you may decipher the fact that she was indeed, a dangerous one.
I could feel chills were crawling up my one and only spine. at that particular moment, I really thought that she must be a really naughty and maybe a bad person. However, deep in my heart, I don't think that she was that bad.
However, I must distance myself from her. I should never allow her to do anything that could put me in danger. I must close and shut down any probability that could hurt or cause a trouble on me if I were to being friends with her.
Most importantly, from tomorrow, I need to avoid meeting her in any circumstances. I also must stay alarmed whenever she came near me. I must ignore her. I don't want her to hurt me.
Little did I knew, she will be someone that used to be so important in my life, as if my life was depending on her and her only.
After a few times of yawning, chatting, and discussing, the school was finally over. My friends and I were walking as fast as we could to the bus stop as the sky was dark, and the rain could pour at any time soon.
While we were walking, my heart began thumping repeatedly, as I noticed that Ryujin was following beside me with her motorcycle. I really thought that she will ask me to ride with her as before.
I am not a fortune teller, and I was wrong. She didn't say anything, just riding her motorcycle beside me as slow as my pace. Actually, I have prepared a few reasons for me to excuse myself if she were to ask me to ride the motorcycle with her.
"Will you ride the van to your house?" she asked me, her face was facing me.
I nodded with a slightly annoyed face. I really hoped that it could make her notice that I don't want to be bothered at that time.
It was weird. I usually could be calm while being with her, even though we had only met twice. However, on that particular day, I could sense something weird. I was becoming a judgmental person towards her after hearing Hyunjin and Jongin's stories of hers. Yes, I was judging her at that time, and I knew that I shouldn't be.
"Okay then. I will follow you."
"To?"
"Ride the van."
"Don't be."
"But why?"
"You don't need to follow me."
"I am saying that I want to follow you to ride the van. Not to anywhere that you are headed to."
"Why don't you use your bike? It is much easier."
"I want to spend my time with you."
"Then what will happen with your bike? Will it be left here?"
"I will hand this to my friend."
I raised an eyebrow towards her. She flashed her smile. I swear her whiskers were really captivating. She then made a U-turn back to the school. I frowned upon watching her actions but continued walking towards the bus stop.
Not long after, I heard a running footstep and it stopped beside me. I turned to my side, only to see her walking beside me.
Curiosity made its way into my head when she followed me to enter the van and sat beside me. That situation was really awkward for me, and I don't think that I could even breathe due to the awkwardness that was filling the air between us at that time.
"Today will be the first time I have a seat beside you, beautiful." I spared her a glance with an awkward smile. My head was filled with a lot of curiosity back then.
'Did she just tried to flirt with me?'
I then decided to read a book. It was not a problem because I will always bring any books to be read when I am bored back then, until now it became a habit of mine, to spend my free time to read, either to gain new knowledge or to just kill the time with any storybooks that had caught my interest.
"Yeji." She called my name with her deep husky voice. My heart skipped a beat upon hearing her calling my name.
"Do you feel my heartbeat?" she asked me, upon receiving no reply to her call.
I turned my head to face her with a raised eyebrow.
"There you are. I think I need to say something that is out of the blue to gain your attention on me." She displayed her whisker dimple to me.
'She is so cute.'
"What do you want from me?" I finally asked her.
"Nothing." I rolled my eyes and continued to read the book.
"The book is more interesting than me, huh?"
"Yes. The book is not irritating me like you did."
"But you also had irritated me."
I closed my book upon hearing her remarks.
"What are you talking about? We just talked with each other for a few times with durations not more than fifteen minutes and now you are saying that I have irritated you?"
"Yes. And that is the case."
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that we never had a long conversation. The fact that we never meet each other more than two times. I missed you."
I was stunned upon hearing her confession. I couldn't decipher what is the meaning behind her words. I don't know what I was feeling at that time.
"And now do you feel irritated with me for saying those words, Yeji?" she asked with a concerned face.
"No." I replied shortly.
"Thank God." She sighed.
"Why?"
"I don't like the idea of irritating you. I don't like it."
"Why?"
"Because you are beautiful."
"What?" I raised my voice and all of the heads inside the van turned toward us.
"Continue doing your works." Ryujin commanded and everyone turned their heads to the front.
"How did you do that?" I asked.
"I am the bad one here. They don't want to mess up with me. That is the thing."
I suddenly stiffened upon hearing her words. Yes, I forgot that I need to distance myself from her. She might affect my life badly if I continue to be with her.
"It is not okay, am I right?"
I couldn't answer her question.
"Yeah. I knew it. Nobody wants to be friends with troublemakers. I totally got it. I am sorry, Yeji." Supposedly, I need to be relieved upon hearing those words, am I right? But it didn't go that way. I felt something aching in my heart. I felt like had been stabbed with a really sharp knife which could take away my life.
"It is not like that."
She turned her head towards me. I gave her a smile.
"That is not the case. It is just that we just knew each other for a few days. We never knew each other. You are a total stranger to me. The way you suddenly approached me with those words made me felt a bit uncomfortable with it. The stories that I heard about you didn't help me at all. They even made me feel more uncomfortable with you. The stories made me felt a bit scared of you."
She inhaled deeply before answering, "That's okay. I have encountered this situation for hundreds of times already. It is a normal thing for me."
I reached for her hand and squeezed it. I don't know why I did that on the first thing that I could do to her on that moment, but I had the urge to do so. That was the first time we held hands.
She turned her face towards me and gave me a weak smile. My heart was aching upon seeing such sight. It was just the third time we met but it had made me felt something with her actions.
Suddenly, she let out a small chuckle.
"I really had turned off the mood, am I right?" she asked me while giving me her biggest smile that I have ever seen.
"Quite a bit."
"I am sorry. So, let's change the topic. Now, I want to make a new fortune telling." She smiled proudly; her nose was in the air.
"And that is?"
"You will know my name."
I smiled upon hearing her prophecy, "I already knew it, dumbass."
She slouched on the seat with a pout on her face. I kept my silent while watching her thinking intensely while staring onto the van's floor.
The van was about to stop the next stop when she suddenly said, "Of course you had knew about it because of this morning's incident."
I nodded with a smile.
"You know what, Yeji? You are so beautiful." I just stared into her eyes, not knowing what to respond.
"But I must say something to you," she continued.
I raised an eyebrow, wanting her to continue her words.
"I haven't fallen in love with you. But I think one day, I will." She smiled and moved towards the van's door and left once the van stopped, together with a few other students.
I was left dumbfounded upon hearing her words, thinking and my heartbeat increased rapidly.
'What have you done to me, Shin Ryujin?'
Once I arrived at my home, I quickly went into my room. there, on my table, I found a letter.
"Yeonjun posted it to you. It arrived here a few minutes ago, before you came home." I nodded towards my mother.
I quickly changed my school uniform and reached for Yeonjun's letter. The love filled letter had made me smiled widely, from ear to ear.
At night, while I was rereading the letter from my boyfriend, I received a call that made me smile upon seeing who the caller is.
"Hello beautiful." The person on the other line started and my heart had quickened its pace.
We chatted for nearly two hours. Our conversation was filled with laughs and jokes that put my heart at ease.
"Goodbye, baby."
"Goodbye, Yeonjun. Love you." I hung up the call and continued reading the letter.
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A/n: Serious question; should i publish the chapters daily or weekly?