Truth 006

“You learn a lot about someone in a short matter of time.”

If there was one thing she hated about acquiring days off from school was the fact that they always seemed to pass by quickly. But then again, time was something no one had control of. More than anything, she would befriend a supernatural being or find a genie bottle to rub and grant her the power to wield time. Since those options seemingly doesn’t exist, the girl had to pray that the remaining two years in high school can pass by promptly. The blaring ringtone of Big Bang Sober roared next to her ear, deflating her mood at the brink of 5am.

Her index finger messily swiped left at her phone without looking, silencing the noise. She groaned and thrashed around her bed, and with her forgetfulness, retracted into fetus position. Pain struck her nerves and incidences from last night flashed by her eyes. The girl sat up, upper half leaning on the wall behind her.

Eyes still closed, she grumbled under her breath at the restlessness her body has taken in the past three days. No one was in the house to hear her, thus she vented out her feelings. She didn’t even want to recall last night. That only brought too many questions into her brain and she could only withstand so much. She needed answers, but no one was there to answer them.

She carefully walked to her drawers and closet, pulling out her ironed uniform to prepare herself for a frightening day. Mentally and physically.

Monday. The first day of the weekday. The day most students and adults dread because reality strikes them back with a blow from the fun they had the other day. Homework and exams haunt students. Teaching misbehaved students are a dread for teachers. Jieun didn’t resent today, she abhorred it. She dealt with the worst yesterday, and now she had to survive a Monday too. Especially with the one-sided deal she made with Suho yesterday that had no benefits for her. Her back shivered at the latter option happening, leaving her as a pawn to Baekhyun. Nothing against being friends with him or them, but still a no in her books.

Jieun was all tidied up and ready to leave; her bruises and tiny scars hidden beneath the skin-toned concealer. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and apple before dangling her legs off a stool. The girl sat and stared at the absence of nothing, but her living room. No one was there, her uncle and aunt was still in another country for another day. Yet, she felt at peace somehow.

Silence. Her mind eased and cleared up when she was in solitary. She had time to think to herself, despite the headaches that often came along. She was content. She was fine with the way her life was, sitting at a standpoint alone. She was okay. That was how she was in the past. That was what she was repeating, but for good?

What about now? A hurdle stood in front of her lane. Not even a hurdle, but a barricade from an environmental disaster that can happen unexpectedly. Jieun didn’t expect for them to surround her and halt her footsteps. She wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation after a long time in her lifestyle, deep socialization was not her forte. A problematic situation, and one she wasn’t too sure why fate made it her.

To a bystander, they might think the girl is crazy for not hopping the bandwagon. Like you can become friends with the school’s royalties, what was wrong? Jieun thought too much and far into the future. There are no free benefits in the world.

The apple was eaten to the core, no nutrients left for the girl to nibble on. She pondered on the issue for too long, staring at the darkness of the room that she forgot her real task at hand.

Attend school and survive.

Her thoughts gnawed her brain as much as she gnawed her fingernails under stress. Or what was left of her fingernail.

She entered school grounds without earning many eyes analyzing her every move. There weren’t that many whisper and gossip resounding off the lockers in the hallways. People were tired or chit chatting about their weekend; nothing new on the dispatch note. She was right ー people’s mind move on fast. Jieun may have steered clear of the limelight.

The girl held her breath though. It was too early to count success. Only 15 minutes had passed, homeroom hasn’t even started yet, so she had at least under eight hours to see and pray for nothing out of the ordinary to happen.

Her feet pattered against the tiles under her ever so lightly; trying ever so hard to stop tapping out of nowhere. One palm laid on top of her thigh to help suppress the urge from unconsciously moving. Her unoccupied fingers drew the pencil graphite along the sketch paper as a distraction.

Jieun was bummed about her recent purchase that drowned in water and dirtied with debris that night. What she didn’t expect was to find in the same bag was a sketchbook ー waves of blue gradients. She had a hunch as to who may have placed it in the same bag without her notice, but she didn’t feel the need to ask the boy abruptly. If need be, she could always send a simple text thanking him with no direct contact. However, that was another burden, but she obliged to be a girl of manners.

The classroom was starting to pile up as the time ticked closer to seven. Yura, a tall girl devoted in worshipping the princes screamed out of nowhere. It was never out of nowhere, there was a reason ー a prince was on her radar. Jieun was caught up in her troubles that she forgot about the boy that the female population fangirled and surrounded around his seat. He was in her homeroom, but she truly never acknowledged his presence until today. He was part of the trio who managed to have her phone number.

The girl’s stomach was unsettled because of one thing. He didn’t come alone. His friend came along and stood at the doorway bidding him farewell. A boy she wished had his eyes out of the doorway instead of wandering aimlessly in curiousity. His eyes enlarged at the sight of her, both having a staring showdown. Baekhyun somehow located her, like a magnet drawn to the opposite pole of another magnet.

He smiled, but she didn’t smile back. She merely contemplated on doing so, but withdrew in a matter of milliseconds. Jieun would love to end the day unscathed. It was too early to have her plans be ruined with his appearance. A lucky fangirl can have his welcoming greeting. Her eyes drawn to the group of four closer to the door waving their hands at the boy. Baekhyun looked flustered and that caused the girl to raise her eyebrow. He regained his composure and winked at the girls, causing a loud squeal to emit from the bob-haired girl named Hyeri.

One thing the two forgot amongst the commotion was another set of eyes taking in the event. His lips quirked for a second, returning to a straight line like his facade. Interesting.

The intercom above the doorway blared and school had officially started. Mr. Lee had returned the pop quizzes in a timely manner as usual. Jieun sighed in relief at her grade, an A. She had made a stupid mistake and took the wrong variable to get the right answer, but she was pretty darn proud. She knew that she stumbled on some of the problems, especially if she felt her forehead heating up that day.

The teacher announced the class average to be lower this time, and questioned the class why. Was his teaching not good? Wrong, his lessons were simple. Was his class boring? Wrong, I for one like his class. Was the student’s head still in vacation mode? Well for some of them, yes. This went on for some time, until I caught a whiff of what he actually said.

“I would like to applaud three of our students who were the only ones to actually ace the quiz. Jungkook, Sehun and Jieun, congratulations.” Mr. Lee clapped and the other student bodies clapped and cheered, mostly the girls praising the two boys.

“I would like to see all three of you after school ends. I have something for you three.” He scanned our e