Why Thunder?

-Clover

It was three in the morning, yet again, and the cup of coffee beside my laptop was starting to get cold. My head was throbbing, and every inch of my aching body told me to sleep. I didn’t heed its complaints, though, because I was trying to push myself to finish a part of my thesis which was due the next day. I still had seven pages to fill in order to meet the minimum amount of sheets I’ve to submit.

I had to smirk at that one. After talking with him for two weeks, I noticed he rarely asked questions and if he did, it would almost always be the one I addressed to him first. I guess you could say he’d return my questions as common courtesy. Another reason why I liked talking to him, I guess, would be the fact he was still around despite the time.

Well, isn’t this grand? It’s rare seeing you taking the initiative to start a new topic.

-Thunder

You’re right. I rarely do ask questions, because honestly speaking I couldn’t be bothered. I’m too lazy to think of mundane things to ask about whilst knowing the answers will soon be forgotten. But you, Thunder, are different. There’s just something about you and I wouldn’t mind asking questions. I think being bored and not sleepy helps, too.

-Clover

Should I thank your boredom and inability
to sleep for asking me a question for the first time, then?

-Thunder

Why do you return my question with a question?

-Clover

Do I really do that? Oops, I did it again, didn’t I?

-Thunder

I had no idea how long our ‘banter’ droned on, but after a while, I finally decided to answer his question which was the root of our playful retorts and slight teasing. Clover and I never really discussed anything deep, like the true meaning of life, and other philosophical crap similar to that. I guess we didn’t, because for us, discussing who we truly are was deep and confusing enough.

Because thunder is loud, and I’m anything but loud.

Why Clover?

-Thunder

The answer’s simple: that username wasn’t taken when I registered.

-Clover

Like I said, he was simply complicated.

From there I realized he would ask questions which wouldn’t really reveal anything special about him if it ever got returned to him. He was a careful guy, and it made me wonder if like me, he had ‘trust issues’, as well.

<:>

“Again?” Sunggyu snapped, as he crossed his arms and glowered at me. I sighed, and began to rest my head on the table, but he stopped me by leaning forward and placing his long and slender hands against the flat surface.

I gazed at him, a bit irritated. “What is up with you?”

“We’re in the library to study, not to sleep,” he answered. “You can’t rest now, Hana.”

“But I’m tired,” I returned.

“You should’ve slept earlier last night.”

“I can’t.”

“You won’t,” he parroted.

“Sunggyu—” I trailed off when I noticed some of the students’ eyes were on us. Apparently, I spoke too loud. I sighed, and whispered, “Why are you doing this to me now?”

“If I don’t, you won’t break your habit,” he replied. “You’ll be unable to sleep tonight if you shut your eyes now.”

“Did something happen at home? You’re pouring out your frustrations on me.” I shot back.

He paused, and flashed me his trademark, bright smile. “Sometimes, Hana, it isn’t bad to care.”

That put an end to our tiny argument, and as if nothing had happened, I forced myself to seep in any information my seemingly drugged brain could absorb from the book I was reading. It was an analysis about Romeo and Juliet, but instead of taking important notes from it, I thought about how people could fall in love with people whom they’ve never even met yet for less than a day. It was stupid, really. But of course, that was just my cynical side coming out.

Sunggyu slightly stepped on my foot beneath the table, and I glanced at him.

“You’ve been on the same page for ten minutes now,” he pointed out.

“Do you always study my every move?” I returned, with raised eyebrows.

“Maybe,” he provoked. A mischievous smile graced his lips, and he added, “If we get an A for this project, Hana, I’ll be the one who’ll pay for your energy drinks next month.”

I stuck with Sunggyu because he was neutral. Sometimes, though, he’d show his warm and caring side. I didn’t mind it, in all honesty, because that was his charm.

“I find it laughable,” I said.

“Find what laughable?” Sunggyu asked in response.

“Romeo and Juliet,” I answered. “How they blindly fell in love in a matter of days.”

“You think so?”

“They were as good as strangers,” I pointed out.

“People online tend to fall for a person they usually talk to, without even meeting them in person,” Sunggyu said. “And they’re as good as strangers.”

I looked at Sunggyu, then, and he casually stared back at me. I clocked his movements, and even his body language. He was the type of guy who would touch a very sensitive subject by accident, you see, making the person he was talking with suspect he knew more than he should have.

“You think?” I muttered. “It’s still laughable, though.”

“A tragedy’s supposed to pull out a feeling of fear and pity from you,” he said. “You think weirdly sometimes.”

I scoffed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

I caved in an hour later, and miraculously, Sunggyu let me rest. While sleeping, I could hear the rustling of the paper every time he turned a page, and it was the sweetest lullaby for me.

<:>

Clover and I never really knew what the other was doing in real life. I did not tell him I was in university, and he did not seem to mind. Still, I imagined him to be someone slightly older than me. We never asked personal questions, and I could only build his image in my mind through the bits and pieces he would randomly add in our conversations, no matter how unimportant they may seem. According to him.