Already.
Flawless“Hae Jung-ah! Go to sleep now!”
“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on!”
“Fine, don’t go to sleep late though!”
“Okay, okay. Good night! Love you!”
“Love you!”
Without another word, Hae Jung’s father headed off to his room and joined her mother. “Sorry,” Hae Jung muttered into the phone. She stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back against the headboard. Hae Jung let out a small grunt.
“That’s okay,” the voice on the other line laughed.
“So, wh-what were we talking about again?” Hae Jung never had the greatest memory, but these were the only times she forgot what was happening entirely.
“Hae Jung, you’re so stupid!” one of Hae Jung’s best friends, Jung Sung Ra, hollered. Her voice lowered after laughing at Hae Jung. “How do you feel about getting into high school?”
Hae Jung inhaled deeply. While scratching her forehead, she answered hesitantly, “Honestly…I’m not as scared as I thought I’d be. It’s just – I know the workload will become worse!” She clicked her tongue. “It doesn’t seem as bad as the teachers in middle school told us.”
Sung Ra chuckled. “Oh, the work will definitely be worse! I think I’m going to have a harder time than you though! I’m going to Kang Han alone!” Sung Ra uttered. Even though she didn’t want to admit it out loud, Hae Jung felt bad for her best friend. Sung Ra was the only one of their middle school graduating class going to Kang Han High alone while a little over ten people were going to Yeongu High, including Hae Jung. This was the first time she would be apart from Sung Ra for a long time since Sung Ra moved to Texas for a year in grade three. Hae Jung didn’t know if she’d be alright without Sung Ra, but she still had her other best friends.
“I know, I’m sorry, Sung Ra. I’m sure you’ll find some really nice people there.”
“Maybe, but even then, I wouldn’t be able to get as close as them than I do with you or the others,” Sung Ra sighed. “Ah, well, you think there’ll be some cute guys?”
Hae Jung rolled her eyes. “Ugh,” she groaned. “As much as I wish that, I really could care less.”
“So you do care about cute guys?”
Hae Jung’s eyes widened as she explained, “No! I mean, I don’t care about them! I actually want to focus on school work now.”
On the other line, Hae Jung could hear Sung Ra laugh. “Why?”
“It’s high school!” Hae Jung yelled. “I don’t know. School is becoming more important to me now.” Hae Jung rolled around on her bed.
Sung Ra claimed, “You do well in school already. I swear, Hae Jung, you don’t even have to study to pass a test, or read the textbook to understand the actual lessons. You’ll do fine in high school, Hae Jung!”
Hae Jung took a breath through her nose and closed her eyes. “You’ll do fine, too. If anything, we’re still here so just call any of us for help.”
“Alright,” Sung Ra began, “Well, it’s getting late.”
“Yeah,” Hae Jung sighed.
“We don’t want to be late on our first day, right?” Hae Jung rolled her eyes at Sung Ra’s words. “Good night. Have good dreams!”
“You, too!” Right before Hae Jung was about to pull the phone away from her ear, Sung Ra called out her name. “Yeah?”
“You’ll get a text from me in the morning!”
“Alright, alright. Good night.” They both hung up. For a couple more minutes, Hae Jung sat on her bed with a blank expression. I wonder if I’ll be okay, Hae Jung prayed silently. She slipped her glasses off and put it on her bedside table. She sniffled quietly before finding comfort under her warm blankets.
The next day, Hae Jung woke up in a bad mood like she did every day. She groaned and muttered random things about how it was too early as she stretched her arms. Hae Jung kicked her feet in the air grumpily and let out cries of despair. I don’t want to go to school! She put her glasses on and blinked, trying to adjust. She let out an inhuman sound and continued to roll around under the covers.
It was 6:30, and Hae Jung was obviously not a morning person, especially not when it was still cold outside. Her mom walked by her room and shouted to Hae Jung for her to get up. She rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She grabbed the uniform she set on her desk and headed for the washroom. She changed quickly to go down for breakfast. After eating, she hastily brushed her teeth as she packed whatever else she needed. Hae Jung did all of this with no motivation. She wasn’t excited like all her other friends, nor was she nervous. She headed out of their apartment, saying goodbye to her sisters and her parents.
Hae Jung walked to the bus stop, letting out sighs every now and then. She waited patiently for the bus and rocked back and forth on her heels. Hae Jung tugged on her jacket when the cold wind would blow. She looked down at her watch that read 7:17, and right when she looked up, the bus appeared.
Getting to school already tired Hae Jung. As she walked from the bus stop to the school, her friend Ki Young, bumped into her. “Ah! Hae Jung-ah!” Ki Young exclaimed. They exchanged hugs and strolled to school together.
“Do you think we’ll be in the same class?”
“I doubt it,” Ki Young scoffed. “I mean, there’s over 100 first years and you think you and I will be together? Maybe one or two of us will be in a class together.” By “us,” Ki Young meant all their other friends. They were a group of friends who went to the same elementary school, the same middle school and now, the same high school, excluding three of them, one of them being Sung Ra.
Hae Jung exhaled and replied, “I hope one of you guys is in my class.” Ki Young smiled reassuringly to Hae Jung who smiled back. As they walked together, Ki Young texted their other friends to meet them outside. Just then, Hae Jung’s phone beeped. She flipped it open to see a text from Sung Ra. "I hope you have a good first day, Jungie! I love you!" Hae Jung smiled and closed it. Ah, Sung Ra, I already miss you.
When the pair neared the school, they saw a couple of girls standing outside and chatting. “Hey, guys!” one happily greeted, Chan Hyo, spotting them out of her peripheral vision. “We already checked which class you guys are in!”
Hae Jung and Ki Young exchanged looks. “What?” they said in unison.
“You two are in the same class!” Chan Hyo informed them delightfully. Hae Jung looked at Ki Young with a raised eyebrow. Instead of a look of defeat she expected, Hae Jung saw Ki Young smile at her. That’s a relief. “I think you guys are in class 1-2.”
Min Chan, a quieter one of the bunch, announced loudly, “Chan Hyo and I are in the same class!”
“So Ra, Min Ji, Mae Ri, and Chan Mi are in their own classes!” Chan Hyo added with a laugh. Hae Jung felt sorry for them, but she knew they would be fine on their own. As she continued to watch her best friends talk, she thought about the new friends she would make. Maybe I won’t make friends at all. Maybe I’ll just stick to Ki Young.
People started to walk by and go into the school, passing by the group of girls with no interest. After a couple minutes of talking, the bell rang, and they all parted ways. Ki Young hooked her arm with Hae Jung’s, and the two skipped happily to their class, keeping their eye out for a sign that read 1-2. “Ah, here!” Hae Jung exclaimed. “I thought I’d get lost,” she laughed. Ki Young dragged her inside even though Hae Jung protested. She didn’t think she was ready for the high school life.
Immediately, their teacher came in and introduced himself as Mr. Song. He did the attendance and when he called on “Do Hae Jung,” Hae Jung stood up abruptly, causing her chair to fall back with a thud. Ugh, even on the first day. She shook her head as she sat back down, glaring at Ki Young beside her who was snickering. He began to explain how the year would work. The teachers would come into their classes and students were not allowed to leave without permission.
Hae Jung put up her hand and asked, “Sir, may I go to the washroom?”
“Fine,” Mrs. Kim, their English teacher, grunted, “Make it quick.” As she walked out the door, some of her new classmates turned to look at her. Am I that interesting? She rolled her eyes, a habit of hers, and walked out the door. Now, where’s the washroom?
Hae Jung walked down the hall, only to find that there were no washrooms there. She eventually made her way back to the front of the school and decided to start from there. While she lingered near the office, she bumped into someone. “Ugh, I’m so sorry,” she apologized quickly. She stood up, brushing off her skirt, and pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“Ah, no, that’s okay,” the person she bumped into said. Hae Jung looked up, wondering who that husky voice could’ve belonged to. Her eyes met a tall male’s. He's so cute. He smiled weakly and bent down to pick up a book. “Did you just move here?”
Hae Jung scrunched her nose up. “No,” she said with a bit of an annoyed tone. “Why?”
“I don’t know. You’re a first year, aren’t you?” the male said, looking at her blazer.
Hae Jung’s eyebrows knitted together. “So? Just because I’m a first year that doesn’t mean I just moved here.” In fact, I’ve lived here my whole life. Hae Jung took a look at his blazer to see that the emblem on his blazer was a different colour than hers. His was the colour of a second year’s.
The boy’s nose twitched. “Yeah, well, I kind of need help.”
“What is it?” Hae Jung asked, her expressions softening.
“I just moved here. I don’t know anything about this place,” he explained.
Hae Jung crossed her arms. “Well, I don’t know about this high school either,” she shrugged. “I’m a first year, aren’t I?” The tone in her voice changed to that of a sarcastic one’s.
“Can’t you still help me?” the second year male pleaded. He tried to pout, hoping that he would get to her, but Hae Jung didn’t even notice.
“No, I’m sorry, I’m trying to look for the washroom and I really got to go,” Hae Jung spoke, taking off speedily. She continued to walk around until she saw a washroom sign. It’s near the office, she reminded herself. Just in case I got to go again.
The second year was left there, standing alone. He was already late. He didn’t know where he was going, but Hae Jung thought that he could use a little more common sense. But then again, who was she to think that knowing that she took a while to find the washroom? She looked smarter with her glasses and everything, he thought sarcastically.
He shook his head and continued his search for class 2-4. He finally found it and knocked on the door. The teacher opened it and once she saw him, he was scolded for being late on the first day. He looked around the classroom and met eyes with many girls and guys. Maybe moving wasn’t such a horrible idea.
Hae Jung was also given a bit of a lecture for taking long when she got back. She bit her lip and tried to hide her embarrassment by apologizing quietly and ignoring the stares. She sank into her seat and braced herself for a long day. I hate it already.
A/N: So, here's the first chapter. Hopefully, it was okay...? lol, yeah. Hmm...yeah. I don't know if you're all familiar with the Korean school system (because I am not), but I'm pretty sure the school year starts in...March? Right? Correct me if I'm wrong, but yeah. Also, if you didn't read my foreword, Hae Jung is based off of my personality and her first day was somewhat written based on my first day of high school, but I started in grade nine, whereas her high school starts in grade ten. Yeah, so...lol. Please comment and subscribe if you'd like! Look forward to the next chapter ^^
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