Special Part A-1—Sunday’s Secret

Sooyoung’s smart, but that does not mean she’s an exemplary student.

[Song Info: Sunday’s Secret (Nichiyoubi no Himitsu) by Honeyworks]

🎵🎸 In my dreams, I can be a natural 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 Even the greetings became my specialty 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 But in reality, I’m so awkward 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 This is our story 🎸🎵

She’s sitting there in her chair while glaring at the history book she’s holding, reading no words. In her ears lies her earphones as she listened to music while letting time pass by. Under her breath, she’s chanting a series of ‘Good afternoon’s as if it will help her on her ongoing mission.

Mission, that is to greet a 'good afternoon' on her senior crush who she always meets in the subway station after school.

It was the same mission she failed for more than a month now.

It’s difficult. People who say confidence is a key are all tall, big, fat liars. Sooyoung is a goddess oozing with confidence.

“But why can’t I blurt those words out…?” She groaned inwardly, burying her face with her book in frustration. “It’s not that I don’t try to but the timing’s always off and I might look weird!”

“T-thank you!” Sooyoung recalled Seulgi’s face that rainy afternoon, blushing cheeks and all those panic in her eyes.

“I hope I did not scare her away…” Sooyoung pouted. “She’s giving my umbrella back, right? I purposely gave it to her so I can have another reason to speak with her.”

But what can I do? If this were my dreams, it would be dead easy.

I’m a pro at talking to her then…

Slowly, Sooyoung got lost in her daydreams of a familiar light blonde-haired girl whose smile looks bright like the morning sun. (Actually, it was more like the moon. Seulgi’s eyes disappear into crescents when she smiles.). So lost that when her History Teacher walked right passed her, she received a smack in the head.

“Miss Park, as much as you’re an excellent student, I’d appreciate if you pay more attention to class.” The teacher reprimanded enough to make Sooyoung stand up straight. Not in embarrassment though, she refused to be embarrassed inside the classroom.

“I am paying attention, sir!”

“Your book’s upside down.” The teacher noted.

Sooyoung grinned. “Amazing, right? I can read upside down! How about you, sir? Can you? It seems you can with how messy handwriting!”

The entire class snickered, which led the teacher to give up. “Enough joking around and turn to page 213. Miss Oh, please read the first paragraph.”

Sooyoung slumped back to her desk and sighed. “I hope I’ll see her in the station again today…”

It’s Sooyoung’s lucky day.

Seulgi stood there, at platform 3, with a green umbrella in her hand. The red-haired girl can’t help but smile at the sight of her crush. She even almost tripped at a banana peel on her way. (What’s the banana peel doing there? I don’t know.)

Sooyoung must’ve caused quite a scene since when she looked up again, Seulgi’s eyes are on her. Awkwardly, smiling, she walked over to where the girl is waiting.

“G-good afternoon, s-sunbae!” Sooyoung greeted, looking down in shyness.

Shyness? Girl, since when were you shy? Sooyoung almost hit her head. Ever since I met this blonde-haired beauty, that’s when! Ahhh, why can’t I say something more than that?

“S-same to you,” Seulgi replied, handing her the green umbrella from before. “Thanks once again for letting me borrow this. I appreciate it.”

“It’s n-nothing, sunbae! Y-you’re welcome!” Sooyoung grabbed the umbrella and shoved it inside her bag. With the awkward silence between them, they waited until their train comes. Sooyoung can’t even glance at the right side of her vision, in hopes to stop herself from staring at her senior next to her. Seulgi isn’t doing fairly better either. Her left foot is tapping the floor, mirroring the little drumming of her heart.

Their train arrived right on time, 4:35 PM. Seulgi found her usual seat vacant and slipped right in. She’s wearing her earphones on, drowning herself to music and yeah, she wants to appear that way. In all honesty, she was just trying to muster up the courage to talk to her pretty crush. They did talk earlier, but it was barely a conversation.

A-and I want to have another reason to talk to her now… I gave back her umbrella already. Seulgi almost pouted at that thought. With her best friend’s ongoing confession this afternoon, Seulgi is also dying to do something with her now-named crush.

Park Sooyoung, huh… that is a pretty name. I hoped Chorong unnie isn’t pranking me when she said that.

🎵🎸 「May I sit beside you? 」 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 I take out my courage inside the morning train 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 「Go ahead, 」 I answered from there 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 I’m being silent like a coward 🎸🎵

Lost in thought, Seulgi didn’t notice the tall girl standing before her.

“U-Uhm, sunbae?” Sooyoung poked on the older girl’s shoulders than almost made Seulgi yelp.

“Y-yes!” Seulgi asked in surprise as she looked up.

“M-may I sit beside you?”

Woah, is she listening to the song I’m listening to? Seulgi almost gasped but stopped herself. That was silly. Instead, she tried to nod her head. “Sure, go ahead.”

Sooyoung sat next to the small space next to her. Since the train is packed with students going home and they fill all seats, their elbows are almost touching. Each time they did, Sooyoung can’t help but gulp.

Timing, timing, timing… She chanted in her mind. I should get the perfect timing or else we’ll reach my stop and I can’t talk to her anymore.

Fiddling with her fingers, Sooyoung anxiously looked around until her eyes landed on Seulgi’s phone as the screen lights up. A song was playing, a familiar song she knows.

🎵🎸 What must I say? If I’m not quick enough 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 We’ll arrive at the destination 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 I must be a man, 🎸🎵

🎵🎸 「Could you tell me your number? 」 🎸🎵

“HoneyWorks?” Sooyoung asked out loud, unintentionally.

Seulgi overheard that and took one of her earphones off. “You know them? You’re a fan?” There was a fascination in the third-year student's eyes, and also a beam of hope that Sooyoung refuses