Chapter 2

“Pass it to them! Don’t you dare eat it! ” Lu Han’s mom warned Lu Han as she passed him a pack of chocolate biscuits.  Lu Han took the chocolate biscuits from her grasp and scratched his head in confusion.

 

“Why me? They’re just next door, you can do it yourself.” Lu Han blinked curiously and pushed the pack of biscuits back to his mom.

 

“I promised her that you’ll pass it to her. Besides, she kept bothering me about when she could see you in person.”

 

“Eomma… don’t tell me-“

 

“Yes, yes I did. She was boasting to me about her kids and I knew I couldn’t lose like that.  You know very well that you are my kid and any kid that comes out of my tummy will be the best in the world so I boasted to her about you as well.” She hid a sly laughter as she pushed the pack of biscuits to him once more, as if they were playing tug of wars except that instead of pulling, they were pushing.

 

“Just pass it to her would you?” His mother pleaded as she smiled at him, her eyes full of hope.

 

Lu Han gulped at his mother’s expression and grabbed the pack of biscuits reluctantly.

 

“Thanks sweetie!” she yelled cheerfully as he strolled out of the house. Lu Han waved a goodbye and he pretended to walk towards the house next to his. He waited until his mom had fully shut the door close and then he wiped the smile off his face.  He glanced at pack of chocolate biscuits and noticed a post-it note stuck to the side of it.  “Enjoy! –Mrs. Lu.” As he read the details out loud, he didn’t notice a petite figure running past him.  He simply shrugged his shoulders at it, pretty happy he’s got cookies to eat later on at school.  He threw the pack of biscuits into his bag and grabbed his bicycle.

 

~~~~

 

The skies had streaks of grey and the sun was hidden behind the dark and gloomy clouds. It was pouring heavily and Lu Han was waiting at the traffic junction with his orange colored umbrella fully opened, the pole leaning between his right shoulder and neck. 

He heard the pelting of rain on his umbrella as he rode his bicycle across the roads and into the school. It sounded as if the sound of the rain was mocking him. In fact everything sounded mocking to Lu Han.  It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. Lu Han parked his bicycle and dragged himself to the school’s entrance with his bag slung to one side and a basketball hanging loosely below it, still holding on to his umbrella. He thought maybe playing basketball with his friends after school could lighten up his mood but the weather didn’t seem to agree with his plans.  

 

As soon as he walked into the hallways of the school, he took his phone out of his pockets naturally and messaged Ye Rin like he usually does every morning.

Lu Han:

"Good morning pretty. I just reached the school. How about you?"

[7.55am]

Ye Rin:   

"Mornin!! I'm here as well together with Da Eun!!"

[7.56 am]

 

What...? Not again... Lu Han felt a sharp stab into his heart although he somehow had already expected it. He was oh so deeply deprived of his beloved Ye Rin. He never really did saw her in school because she was two years younger than him thus they weren't in the same class, and whenever he actually did saw her, she would be with a certain someone.... KIM DA EUN.

 

Of course, for the past whole week, Lu Han tried to wake up a little earlier so he could meet his beloved Ye Rin, he also went to her class every time he got the chance to. However, it was as if the heavens were on stupid Da Eun's side, Ye Rin was never around when Lu Han tried to find her.

 

 Lu Han heaved the heaviest sigh he could manage. He tilted his head up to the ceiling.  Feeling frustrated, he combed his soft brown hair with his fingers thoroughly.

 "Gah!" He exclaimed loudly and it caught the attention of a few buzzing students around the hallway.

 

"Yah! Keep it down!" Chen slung his arm around Lu Han's shoulders as he tried to shush him up.  Lu Han took a quick glance at Chen and sighed again.

 

"Oh it’s just you… morning...." Lu Han greeted his friend with a monotone voice. Chen furrowed his brows at him and gave him a cute pout. "Well that’s really nice of you." He replied sarcastically.

Lu Han placed his phone into his bag and Chen noticed the packet filled with biscuits in it. “What’s that?” Chen asked curiously as he pointed into Lu Han’s bag.

“Chocolate biscuits.”

“Why do you have it?” Chen asked, his lips.

“Well, I heard from my Eomma that the old tenants that stayed right beside my house finally bought a new place to stay in so they moved out. The owner recently rented it out again and Eomma instructed me to pass this to the new tenants.” Lu Han stared at the packet of chocolate biscuits in his bag.

Chen pouted at Lu Han, “And for a moment there i thought it was for me.” He joked and Lu Han chuckled, closing his bag.

“So how’s Ye Rin doing?  Have you guys been going out on dates lately?  I hardly even see you two together-”

 

"She's with Da Eun. Again." Lu Han emphasized on the word 'Again' as the two walked towards their classroom. Chen felt Lu Han's walking pace getting slower by the minute and tried to walk slower so as to match his pace. Was he really that depressed?

 

"Just take a chill pill man. After all, the one Ye Rin loves is you, not Da Eun." Chen tried to sound as confident as possible. It was a fact anyway. He patted and squeezed Lu Han's shoulders in assurance. His words and that small gesture didn't seem to make Lu Han feel any better though.

 

They entered their classroom together and Lu Han immediately looked towards the direction of his seat at the back of the classroom; and the one next to it.  Empty.

 

Lu Han had mixed feelings, was he supposed to feel glad that Da Eun wasn't there? Or pissed off at the fact that she was with Ye Rin right at this very moment?

 

Definitely the latter, he thought.  Lu Han stopped in his tracks and watched as Chen settled down to his own seat.  I should find for her, I should go say hi to her. I want to see her.

“…” Lu Han smiled to himself as he thought to himself.  I want to see her. I want to see her.  I want to see her.

"If I’m late, tell ssaem (short form for teacher) that I’m having a bad stomach ache." He winked at Chen and the guy widened his eyes in surprise.

"Now?? But lesson is starting in less than a minute's time...!" His words entered from Lu Han's right ear and exited from his left. He was too preoccupied at the thought that he wasn't listening.  Chen pursed his lips as he heard a very muffled "I'm-counting-on-you".

 

Lu Han, still carrying onto his bag, dashed as fast as he could towards the stairs and then to his girlfriend's classroom. Despite the fact that they have been sending messages to each other every day and night, it's been a week since he truly engaged himself in a real conversation with her. A week for god's sake!

 

He needed to speak to her. He needed her presence around him. He needed to feel needed.  Being too immersed in his thoughts, he didn't quite seem to notice a petite figure running past him.  Again.

 

He saw his girlfriend's classroom and without any hesitation, he ran inside of it. "Ye Rin!" He yelled unconsciously as he scanned the classroom for that said girl.

 

In a blink of an eye, all eyes in the classroom were on him. He heard a number of girls swooning over him and screaming uncontrollably and he pinked. It faded away as soon as the teacher in that classroom spoke.  "You are looking for Ye Rin?" His voice was very strict but his eyes remained soft and gentle.

 

"If it's something so important for you to have interrupted my lesson, please continue with what you were doing." His expression changed. It was the exact opposite now. His voice was soft and gentle while his eyes were strict.  They were practically shooting out laser beams and Lu Han shuddered a little.  It took a while for him to process what the teacher had just said.  The sudden realization struck Lu Han right then.  He flushed at his own impulsiveness. That's right, what on earth was so important to he had to interrupt the teacher's lesson? 

 

Lee Ye Rin.

 

He kept silent as he reluctantly replied with a soft, "nothing".

Oh how he wished he had said her name instead. He mentally slapped himself. Coward.

 

As he was about the leave the classroom, he scanned through the class once more with his eyes automatically landing onto the prettiest girl. Her soft black hair complemented her facial features as well as icing and decorations on a cake. She looked like an angel, he thought.  No, she is an angel.  He admitted proudly to himself.  She caught him staring at her and she stared back at him, giggling cutely to herself.  It was right there and then that Lu Han felt his heart melting into pure bless and joy.  How else cuter can his girl get?

 

~~~~

 

Lu Han rolled his eyes at Da Eun as soon as he sank into his chair. Da Eun furrowed her eyebrows at him in confusion.  What’s with that eye roll?  She was pretty sure she didn’t talk to him or even gestured any insulting actions towards him or anything.  Why was he always so irritated whenever he saw her? She scrunched her short brown hair with her fingers in frustration, messing it up unconsciously.

 

The history teacher didn't question Lu Han on why he was late. It seems like the stomach ache excuse worked.  Lu Han smiled in relief.  Chen then exchanged glances with Lu Han and the older one mouthed a word of thanks.

 

The lesson continued and silence surrounded the two seatmates. The silence slowly became really uncomfortable and awkward. Very awkward.  It was supposed to be silent because the teacher was talking and all but Da Eun couldn't stand it. It wasn't just some ordinary silence; it was a very awkward one.

She decided to break it by talking to Lu Han.

 

"So... how's life?" She asked casually, not being able to think of a better question or a topic that they could talk about.

"Shut up."

"Oh...ok..."

 

"Um, so... nice weather today right?" She mentally face palmed herself. The weather was bad, very bad. Raining cats and dogs, thunderbolts and lightning strikes. “I mean bad weathe-“

"I said shut up." Lu Han's voice didn't waver one bit as he copied the notes on the board into his notebook.  Da Eun bit her lips and glanced at her empty notebook with a sloppy drawing of their history teacher then she glanced back up to look at Lu Han again.

 

"Why were you late?" She asked despite the fact that Lu Han was obviously feeling vexed with her.

 

"I said shut up!" Lu Han screeched and placed his pen down, glaring coldly at Da Eun. She was taken aback but immediately glared back just as coldly.  She furrowed her brows and pushed her large framed glasses up her face.

 

She saw a hint of contempt in his usually sparkly, bright and cheerful looking eyes. AGAIN. He was disgusted at her. It was as if she was a lesser being compared to him. It was as if the world only revolved around him.

 

"Tsk." was the only thing she could say although she pretty much had enough of his childish attitude.  She was a little pissed but she tried her best to cover it up by remaining calm and collected.

 

To be honest, all she wanted to do was to make friends, like a normal girl. Transferring of schools was already depressing enough news for her and now she has to tolerate Lu Han’s idiotic attitude because he hated her the moment he found out that she was a lesbian.

She personally doesn't hate Lu Han, in fact, she sincerely wanted to be his friend, but her perspective of him finally changed, seeing how badly he treats her now.  Making new friends is tough, it seems that only Ye Rin was willing to be her friend and Ye Rin wasn't even in her class.  Just because she started school in CheoNan High a month later than the rest of them, they were all already busy in their own cliques and couldn’t be bothered with her.  Either that or the fact she was a lesbian.

 

It made Da Eun reflect on her actions. Should she have confessed her friendly love to Ye Rin in the first place?  The reason why everyone was unwilling to be her friend was because they think she was a lesbian.  If she hadn’t kept it so secretive from the start, would that have changed anything? 

 

Da Eun clicked her tongue and blew a raspberry.  She was already caught up in this whole misunderstanding for a week, so why bother explaining now?  She closed her eyes and it triggered her memories. Her flashbacks was at the back of her mind as if she was in a movie theatre watching a film.

 

~~~~

~1 month ago~

“Eomma, to be honest i’m happy studying in Seoul Girl’s Highschool.” Da Eun placed her thick framed glasses down on to the table as she tied her long brown hair that touched her chest into a messy ponytail. Her mother turned around to look at her as she pursed her lips together. Her daughter never really did master the art of a neat ponytail did she?  She loosened Da Eun’s ponytail and her soft and flowy hair in a rhythmic movement.

 

“Your father found a new job that is located near our new house.” She explained.

 

“Rented house, you mean.” Da Eun cut in.  Her life felt to her like a never ending debt to pay off.  The constant renting houses to live in and moving again when her father finds a new job. It was quite normal for her family actually.  But of course, they wouldn’t be so poor if Da Eun’s mom had bothered finding a job in the first place.  She gave reasons like housework and chores to escape that topic whenever someone brought it up.  It was just a complete mess.  The good news was, her older brother had recently found a part time job in a shopping mall nearby, working as a sales assistant.  At least there was another breadwinner in the family.

 

“Shush. Your old school was located the furthest away from here compared to your brothers, thus to save up on transportation fees, you need to be transferred. Besides, your new school uses the same textbooks as your previous school so the only thing I have to pay extra is the piece of uniform you’re wearing now.  Best of all is that your school fees here are much cheaper than your previous highschool.” She sounded legit enough but Da Eun wasn’t convinced.

 

“But I’m already in my third year Eomma, I just have to study at Seoul Girl’s Highschool for another year and who knows when Appa might lose his job again? Besides, my friends at school misses me a lot and I miss them too.” Da Eun whined, her explanation sounding pretty legit as well.

 

“Well, I’ve already applied this school for you and we’ve already paid our rental fees for the first three months, so quit complaining.  You should have voiced out your objections before we moved here.” Her mother talked back, obviously proud of what she has said.  Her daughter won’t stand a chance to win the conversation against her now, would she?

 

“I did! But the only thing you said to me was to keep quiet.” Da Eun retaliated immediately.

 

“Quit complaining.” Her mother protested and Da Eun pouted in silence.  She knew that this conversation would be never ending if she doesn’t give in now, so she let her mom have her final say.  Da Eun wasn’t exactly feeling mad or disapproving of her mother’s choice to transfer her to CheoNan Highschool though, in fact she was a tiny bit grateful.  She might meet a certain someone in it, her life-saver, she thought.

 

Her mom grinned at her proudly, knowing that she has won the argument, as she continued to fiddle with Da Eun’s hair.

 

From young, Da Eun always had her hair trimmed short, probably because she has two brothers, one older and one younger than her, so whenever they needed their hair to be trimmed, her parents would ask her to trim hers as well. Just for convenience sake. 

Being the only girl among her siblings has influenced her to be tough, rowdy and boy-ish as well.  Her mother frowned in great regret as she gave that a thought.  She had been raising her up with the mentality that she was also a boy, giving her Hotwheels, Lego blocks and boy’s clothing to play and wear with instead of dolls and dresses.  Again, just for convenience sake.  Da Eun didn’t exactly loved it, neither did she hated it, instead she was completely neutral with it.

 

Then came a day when she finally told her mom she wanted longer hair.  Her mom felt relieved when she heard her saying that.  “She’s growing up.” was the first thing she had thought at that time, but she immediately took her words back when she saw Da Eun unconsciously spreading her legs open as she sat down on an empty seat on a bus back home.  She reminded Da eun to sit with her legs closed many times but she would always end up forgetting about it.  Not to mention everything that happened was actually quite recent.

 

“Eomma!” Da Eun’s blaring voice pulled her mother away from her thoughts with a small jerk.  Da Eun wondered what was taking so long for her mother to get her hair done.

 

“Yah! You scared me!” Her mother snapped as she grabbed Da Eun’s hair and tied it into a neat ponytail in just a matter of seconds.  She pulled her baby hairs to the sides of her face and pinched her soft cheeks, “Done.”  Da Eun thanked her mom and sat on the dining table as she started munching down on her bowl of milk and cereals together with her two brothers.  Her father was already off to work, thus he wasn’t there to enjoy the family breakfast.

 

~~~~

 

 

“Yah! Kim Da Soo! Don’t expect Eomma to wash your bowl for you.  Come back here and wash it yourself before you leave.”  Da Eun yelled sternly at her younger brother as he was about to leave the kitchen. 

 

“Ughhh….” Da Soo growled at his sister irritatingly, she even heard faint mumbles of curse words which she hoped was just her own imagination. 

 

“Da Soo, you can leave it here.  I’ll wash it.”  Her older brother, Da Joon spoke up for him. Da Eun opened unbelievingly her Oppa.

 

“But Oppa! You’re gonna spoil him!  He’ll never learn this way!”  Da eun protested unfavorably but Da Joon just blatantly told her to shut up.  She clicked her tongue disapprovingly at their strong brotherly love as she sat there and watch Da Soo sending her Oppa a flying kiss and left the house in high spirits.  Da Eun let out a long sigh, clearly annoyed at the two love birds.

 She finished her breakfast quickly and brought the bowl to the kitchen sink where Da Joon was still washing the dishes at.  She placed her bowl into the sink sneakily without him noticing, grabbed her school bag and made a run for the door. Da Joon soon noticed the extra bowl that wasn’t supposed to be there and immediately spun around only to see Da Eun sending him a flying kiss. 

“Stupid Da Eun…” He chuckled to himself as washed her bowl for her.