More
His Cactus, Her Love
“Sorry for the intrusion,” I knocked on the door of the staff room, then politely walked inside the busy room. I tried to ignore the curious stares of the teachers that were busy with paperwork.
“Oh, Koo Yooae,” Mr. Lee waved his hand in the air and swiveled around in his chair. “Glad you came!”
“Actually, can I take back what I said?” I sighed as I approached him. Mr. Lee had asked me to tutor Myungsoo. Although that was definitely quality time for us to get close, I had second thoughts. I just felt that I wouldn’t be able to teach him wholeheartedly; we argued all the time, and I didn’t want him to be dragged down because of me. In addition, my fiery temper was bound to cause trouble.
Mr. Lee took off his eyeglasses, and gave me a long look. “If possible, can I know the reason?”
“It’s just... I don’t think I can do it,” I shrugged in an attempt to appear nonchalant. There was no way I was going to explain to my teacher that I had a crush on Myungsoo.
“I trust you, Yooae,” He gently smiled. “If it’s you, I know you can do it.”
“Well-”
“Can you think about this and tell me on Monday?” He pleaded, giving me a nervous smile.
“Fine,” I answered. He nodded understandingly, before jokingly shooing me out of the staff room. As I walked down the hallway to the entrance of the school, I quickly took a look out a window. The sun was starting to set, staining the sky with an orange blush.
I quickly retrieved my backpack from the classroom, double-checking to see if I left anything behind. The school was often open until night; sometimes, students would stay after school to study. But because today was Friday, everyone had left as soon as the school bell rang.
“Huh? Yooae, you’re still here?” Myungsoo called out. I turned around from my locker and saw Myungsoo standing in front of the row of lockers.
“Yeah,” I replied.” Why are you still here?”
“Prior engagements,” He bluntly answered. “Oh, I know. Where do you live?”
“Er... in the Jongno-guk Kangbuk area,” I tried my best to sound casual.
“Great!” He brightly grinned. “I live in the same direction! I’ll walk with you.”
Woah. I bit the inside of my tongue to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. This had to be a once in a lifetime chance.
“S-sure!” I eagerly answered, slamming my locker shut. Hesitant, I slowly followed him out of the school.
“What are you so shy for? Come on!” He laughed as he watched my slowly tread behind him. He motioned for me to walk next to him.
Obviously, Myungsoo had no idea what he was doing to me; he was turning me into mush. I couldn’t think straight, much less walk straight. It was a different feeling from when I was with him in the classroom and at the cafe. There was no one else on the road, except for us and the birds that hopped around the street.
It was peaceful, to sum it up. The atmosphere turned more comfortable as I began to relax. Encouraged by the sounds of chirps and the faint glow of sunlight, I spoke up.
“It’s really peaceful,” I stupidly commented, turning to look at Myungsoo. His face was dappled with sunlight that streamed through the boughs of tall trees.
“Yeah,” He remarked. “It’s completely different from the busier city parts of Seoul. That’s why I occasionally stay behind so I can enjoy the walk home.”
“So... previous engagements, huh?” I gave a sarcastic laugh. He bit his lip in embarassment, realizing what he said. Myungsoo usually went with a large horde of friends to the busier parts of Seoul to have fun after class.
“Well, even I like to be alone sometimes, you know,” He grinned.
“I didn’t know you had that side in you,” I said, shaking my head in wonder. “I thought you were more ignorant than that.”
Truthfully, I was touched that he had such a sentimental side. Unfortunately, the shy part of me took my words and twisted it into a prickly comment. It happened all the time.
“I’ll try to take that as a compliment,” Myungsoo frowned. “Did I really seem that ignorant?”
“Yes.”
“Huh,” Myungsoo tapped his chin. Soon, the peaceful road faded into one of a busy city. We passed by several karaoke centers and “fun” areas, where teenagers often hung out.
“Oh, that! I’ve always wanted to try that!” I pointed to a photobooth. It took pictures of you, then allowed you to draw or add special effects to the photo. It was one of the things that I’ve wanted to do but never did. “Hopefully one day I’ll be able to- woah?!”
Myungsoo grabbed my arm and started towards the photobooth. “Let’s try it then!”
“Really?” I blurted out, then covered my mouth. “I mean- are you sure?”
“If you want to try, then do it as soon as possible!” He pulled me into the photobooth. Unsure, I inserted coins into a slot while Myungsoo observed the touchscreen at the very front of the photobooth.
“How do you work this thing?” His brows were furrowed in a perplexed manner.
“This is my first time, so I’m not sure either...” I decided to press a flashing green button. All of a sudden, there were a few consecutive flashes of lights. Images of out confused faces popped up onto the touchscreen.
“This...” Myungsoo burst out in laughter. “Well, we can’t let it go to waste. Here, you decorate it.” He stepped aside and motioned for me to decorate the photo. I gladly approached the screen and began to stamp the images with glittering icons and cute phrases.
“There?” I stepped back to take a look at the final result. I was quite pleased with it, actually. On the other hand, Myungsoo was struggling to keep his laughter in.
“What? You have a problem with it?” I growled at him, pressing the “print” button. The photo fell down a chute and into Myungsoo’s hand.
“No... it’s just surprisingly cute for someone like you,” He observed the product. “Oh, and it’s in sticker format!”
“Someone like you?” I echoed, staring at him,
“I mean, you’re usually prickly, so-”
“Well, thank you very much. Like most girls, I happen to like cute things; anything wrong with that?” I unhappily retorted.
“No, not at all! It’s nice! Oh, here, you keep it,” He handed me the sticker photo. Disgruntled, I silently accepted it. We headed out of the photo booth, and blended into the busy street. Pretending that I was adjusting my backpack, I let him walk ahead by a few steps. After a quick glance, I discreetly stuck the sticker onto the inside cover of my phone. Satisfied, I pocketed my phone and jogged to catch up to him.
All of sudden, I had an urge to ask him some questions I was eager to know the answers to. It was like the sticker photo had given me a spurt of courage and confidence.
“Hey, d-do you have a girlfriend?”
“What gave you that idea?” He looked my way, and I quickly avoided his gaze. I couldn’t help but notice how serious his eyes were. It was like they could peer through my skin and into my heart.
“W-well,” I began to stutter. “There are a lot of girls that confess to you, but you always turn them down.” He didn’t reply, but simply stared straight ahead. The comfortable atmosphere began to freeze as silence took over our conversation.
“Yooae,” He seriously began.
“Yeah?” I perked up.
“Do you like me?” He stopped midstep and looked into my eyes. I blinked rapidly, and gripped my backpack. There was something about him that I couldn’t decipher. Although the obvious answer to his question was “Yes”, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I didn’t want to tell him like this.
“I-” I took a breath. “No. No, I don’t.”
He smiled, relieved. “That’s good, then.”
My chest tightened as a familiar feeling of uneasiness and hurt spread into my heart. I squinted my eyes, my vision turning blurry for a second.
“Oh, Koo Yooae,” Mr. Lee waved his hand in the air and swiveled around in his chair. “Glad you came!”
“Actually, can I take back what I said?” I sighed as I approached him. Mr. Lee had asked me to tutor Myungsoo. Although that was definitely quality time for us to get close, I had second thoughts. I just felt that I wouldn’t be able to teach him wholeheartedly; we argued all the time, and I didn’t want him to be dragged down because of me. In addition, my fiery temper was bound to cause trouble.
Mr. Lee took off his eyeglasses, and gave me a long look. “If possible, can I know the reason?”
“It’s just... I don’t think I can do it,” I shrugged in an attempt to appear nonchalant. There was no way I was going to explain to my teacher that I had a crush on Myungsoo.
“I trust you, Yooae,” He gently smiled. “If it’s you, I know you can do it.”
“Well-”
“Can you think about this and tell me on Monday?” He pleaded, giving me a nervous smile.
“Fine,” I answered. He nodded understandingly, before jokingly shooing me out of the staff room. As I walked down the hallway to the entrance of the school, I quickly took a look out a window. The sun was starting to set, staining the sky with an orange blush.
I quickly retrieved my backpack from the classroom, double-checking to see if I left anything behind. The school was often open until night; sometimes, students would stay after school to study. But because today was Friday, everyone had left as soon as the school bell rang.
“Huh? Yooae, you’re still here?” Myungsoo called out. I turned around from my locker and saw Myungsoo standing in front of the row of lockers.
“Yeah,” I replied.” Why are you still here?”
“Prior engagements,” He bluntly answered. “Oh, I know. Where do you live?”
“Er... in the Jongno-guk Kangbuk area,” I tried my best to sound casual.
“Great!” He brightly grinned. “I live in the same direction! I’ll walk with you.”
Woah. I bit the inside of my tongue to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. This had to be a once in a lifetime chance.
“S-sure!” I eagerly answered, slamming my locker shut. Hesitant, I slowly followed him out of the school.
“What are you so shy for? Come on!” He laughed as he watched my slowly tread behind him. He motioned for me to walk next to him.
Obviously, Myungsoo had no idea what he was doing to me; he was turning me into mush. I couldn’t think straight, much less walk straight. It was a different feeling from when I was with him in the classroom and at the cafe. There was no one else on the road, except for us and the birds that hopped around the street.
It was peaceful, to sum it up. The atmosphere turned more comfortable as I began to relax. Encouraged by the sounds of chirps and the faint glow of sunlight, I spoke up.
“It’s really peaceful,” I stupidly commented, turning to look at Myungsoo. His face was dappled with sunlight that streamed through the boughs of tall trees.
“Yeah,” He remarked. “It’s completely different from the busier city parts of Seoul. That’s why I occasionally stay behind so I can enjoy the walk home.”
“So... previous engagements, huh?” I gave a sarcastic laugh. He bit his lip in embarassment, realizing what he said. Myungsoo usually went with a large horde of friends to the busier parts of Seoul to have fun after class.
“Well, even I like to be alone sometimes, you know,” He grinned.
“I didn’t know you had that side in you,” I said, shaking my head in wonder. “I thought you were more ignorant than that.”
Truthfully, I was touched that he had such a sentimental side. Unfortunately, the shy part of me took my words and twisted it into a prickly comment. It happened all the time.
“I’ll try to take that as a compliment,” Myungsoo frowned. “Did I really seem that ignorant?”
“Yes.”
“Huh,” Myungsoo tapped his chin. Soon, the peaceful road faded into one of a busy city. We passed by several karaoke centers and “fun” areas, where teenagers often hung out.
“Oh, that! I’ve always wanted to try that!” I pointed to a photobooth. It took pictures of you, then allowed you to draw or add special effects to the photo. It was one of the things that I’ve wanted to do but never did. “Hopefully one day I’ll be able to- woah?!”
Myungsoo grabbed my arm and started towards the photobooth. “Let’s try it then!”
“Really?” I blurted out, then covered my mouth. “I mean- are you sure?”
“If you want to try, then do it as soon as possible!” He pulled me into the photobooth. Unsure, I inserted coins into a slot while Myungsoo observed the touchscreen at the very front of the photobooth.
“How do you work this thing?” His brows were furrowed in a perplexed manner.
“This is my first time, so I’m not sure either...” I decided to press a flashing green button. All of a sudden, there were a few consecutive flashes of lights. Images of out confused faces popped up onto the touchscreen.
“This...” Myungsoo burst out in laughter. “Well, we can’t let it go to waste. Here, you decorate it.” He stepped aside and motioned for me to decorate the photo. I gladly approached the screen and began to stamp the images with glittering icons and cute phrases.
“There?” I stepped back to take a look at the final result. I was quite pleased with it, actually. On the other hand, Myungsoo was struggling to keep his laughter in.
“What? You have a problem with it?” I growled at him, pressing the “print” button. The photo fell down a chute and into Myungsoo’s hand.
“No... it’s just surprisingly cute for someone like you,” He observed the product. “Oh, and it’s in sticker format!”
“Someone like you?” I echoed, staring at him,
“I mean, you’re usually prickly, so-”
“Well, thank you very much. Like most girls, I happen to like cute things; anything wrong with that?” I unhappily retorted.
“No, not at all! It’s nice! Oh, here, you keep it,” He handed me the sticker photo. Disgruntled, I silently accepted it. We headed out of the photo booth, and blended into the busy street. Pretending that I was adjusting my backpack, I let him walk ahead by a few steps. After a quick glance, I discreetly stuck the sticker onto the inside cover of my phone. Satisfied, I pocketed my phone and jogged to catch up to him.
All of sudden, I had an urge to ask him some questions I was eager to know the answers to. It was like the sticker photo had given me a spurt of courage and confidence.
“Hey, d-do you have a girlfriend?”
“What gave you that idea?” He looked my way, and I quickly avoided his gaze. I couldn’t help but notice how serious his eyes were. It was like they could peer through my skin and into my heart.
“W-well,” I began to stutter. “There are a lot of girls that confess to you, but you always turn them down.” He didn’t reply, but simply stared straight ahead. The comfortable atmosphere began to freeze as silence took over our conversation.
“Yooae,” He seriously began.
“Yeah?” I perked up.
“Do you like me?” He stopped midstep and looked into my eyes. I blinked rapidly, and gripped my backpack. There was something about him that I couldn’t decipher. Although the obvious answer to his question was “Yes”, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I didn’t want to tell him like this.
“I-” I took a breath. “No. No, I don’t.”
He smiled, relieved. “That’s good, then.”
My chest tightened as a familiar feeling of uneasiness and hurt spread into my heart. I squinted my eyes, my vision turning blurry for a second.
“Oh.”
My voice came out broken and scratchy from the lump rising in my throat.
We didn’t talk much for the rest of the way, except to comment on the nature of our surroundings. Myungsoo accompanied to the entrance of my apartment. The sun had nearly set by then; a deep blue began to spread across the sky.
“Bye,” He waved, a smile on his lips. “See you in class on Monday!”
I nervously turned my back on him, waving without making eye contact. “Bye.” I watched as Myungsoo walked away, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants. Hoping that he wouldn’t turn around, I tiptoed and stared at his retreating back.
“Argh, dammit!” Frustrated, I ran my hands messily through my hair. “What was that?” I grinded my teeth together in frustration. This was not happening. The tiny glimmer of hope I had was starting to fade away. Also, he hadn’t answered my question; did this mean that he already has a girlfriend?
I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. With his good personality and striking looks, he could melt the heart of any girl. I clenched my fists and stormed into the apartment complex and into the elevator, ignoring the angry complaints of people that I bumped in to along the way.
Everything was fine until I asked that question. That one, single question.
My hair was a mess by the time I arrived home. My parents didn’t bother to ask me what happened, much to my relief. I slammed my door shut, and flopped onto my bed. The scent of freshly washed bedsheets helped soothe my mind as I gingerly reached for my mobile phone.
“Airi...” I croaked into the phone as soon as she picked up.
“Are you okay? You sound sick!” Her voice was sympathetic. “What happened?”
“Hey, are you friends with Jung Airi?”
“Do you know her favorite color?”
“Yooae? Hello? Are you there?”
I regained my senses and weakly answered.
“No... no, nothing. Sorry for bothering you!”
“But-”
I hung up.
AN
Hmm... are things what they seem?
A hint : I do not like cliches.
Sorry for the late update!
Next chapter:
“Why are you laughing?!”
“I’m really sorry...”
“I’m Woohyun, by the way!”
.
Comments