Truth 002

“Restrictions must be placed to avoid disorder in a balanced world.”

The girl’s eyeballs bulged out of their sockets. He remembered her face, specifically her eyes. She had the most basic face of a Korean girl, how? Should she be proud that he pinpointed her out of a population of who knows how many girls that lived or roamed this area, not to mention she never told him what school she attends.

Jieun muffled up a response, trying to get herself out of the situation of being seen with him. “I still think you’ve got the wrong person.” She needed to escape before the monsters lurking this place captures her.

“No, I’m sure of it.” He clicked his tongue and shivers ran down her back at the sound of his pleasant voice. His tongue must have rolled beautifully to create that sharp, clear noise. Snap out of it. Baekhyun was a persistent fellow holding her up when she responded and rejected him politely. Next option, ignore his existence and with her chance he’ll be annoyed with her impolite manners and leave.

She turned her back once again and beelined it to the next corner of the wall. The corner was so far, pummeling her school facility for being large. The sounds of his footsteps scared her, each sound wave penetrated her eardrums. Her heart hasn’t been pumping that much blood in and out in forever. Why and how persistent can Baekhyun be to talk to her?

His face suddenly came into her view and she tripped on air and backed her steps. Jieun froze in place and stared at his fiery orbs for a second before tracing her eyes over his shoulders to look at a nice-looking shrub missing three-fourths of its healthy leaves. His eyes were a nice shade of cocoa-colored or a nut-colored brown with swirls of churning fierceness that portrayed a look ー you won’t escape from me. She gulped a little too loud for comfort.

“I know you’re the girl, so don’t try escaping from me. Let’s talk.” He said hard staring her into the cement ground. What the heck does he want to talk about? Nothing needed to be said and ties were cut that night. They promised each other that night that it was a onetime moment and to continue with their routine lives as if it never happened. Did he forget and ignored her sole wish?

The girl’s eyes wandered around the area of the parking lot. Uneasiness splattered her face, cold sweat breaking out. 7 vehicles surrounded them, 5 were brand new models and 2 were on the older side with dust and little paint chips coming off the bottom frame. However, there were no signs of existence besides the little sparrows hopping around, pecking the ground at the little crumbs of food.

He shuffled closer, closing the gap, his face right next to hers. Only a couple centimeters and his skin would have touched hers. Jieun stiffened like a statue as his hot minty breath hits her outer ear and down to the crook of her neck. A static nerve ran down her neck. Baekhyun’s lips spread apart, “Let’s chat somewhere else.” He noticed.

Despite the girl’s reluctance to interact with his existence now, she immediately nodded and followed him. I’ll follow and get it over with quickly. Both remained silent as seconds passed with a strained silence held by a thin string. The crunch and rustling of leaves under the soles of their shoes snipped the string ever so lightly. The girl had never ventured far into the woods in her studies here, dumbfounded that there was a man-made pathway. He maneuvered her through a skinny, narrow dirt path into the forest and away from the public area.

Jieun chewed the tiny bits of dried skin on her lips hesitantly and brainstormed ideas on how to approach and talk to him. Should she blurt out her idea against him associating or sparing a glance, nonetheless a word with her? The motor in her brain listed a long list of consequences for recognizing her in a public place. Perhaps if she blurted out some of these ideas they would repel him from acknowledging her. She battered her brain for coming up with those dictating ideas that made her look like his boss when she was a low class compared to his status. He was a king and she was a worker. Let him lead, just play along.

A couple hair strands unhooked from her ear and flowed past her shoulder as she twisted her neck to look around. She was faced with an upcoming huge oak tree, bigger than the one she seeked as a distraction. The bark was rough and uneven the closer they approached. His feet stopped at one protruding root exposed to the air.  She sluggishly slowed down and stopped 4 feet away, unconsciously breaking the leaves into smaller pieces when he turned to face her.

“Am I that contagious that you keep avoiding me? Even after our not so normal first meeting together.” Baekhyun chuckled, his lips forming a small, gentle smile. She blinked once, then twice. His smile caught her off-guard, but it was completely different witnessing it up close compared to afar when he’s in the hallways and she’s just part of the crowd on the opposite end. Jieun blurted out the first thing in her head before she could filter and process what she said.

“Yes.” Real smooth. She mentally hissed at her brain for responding so blunt and rude. She tried to regain whatever manners she had left to display that she wasn’t a for lying and avoiding his presence. “It’s just I didn’t expect you to ever talk or associate with me after an unexpected encounter.”

“And why is that,” he curiously asked. His eyes never leaving mine ー longest time held today. She anxiously looked at the trees, bushes, grass, rocks and every object besides his organ of vision without moving her head. She meekly took her chance to examine his face and caught him looking at her with unwavering eyes. She sheepishly coughed in surprise and regained composure before responding to his question.

“You made a promise not to.” Jieun continued with logical reasoning. “You’re like the king on the social ladder. Whereas I’m classified as a middle-class stranger under you. It is physically impossible for us to talk, nonetheless breathe the same air without being criticized upon.” She took a gasp of air and softly spoke her last line, “I don’t want the attention and to be talked about. I think