Bad Day

Chapter 1- Bad Day

Heavy rain poured down that morning outside the busy streets of Seoul. Dambi sighed as she sat down in another boring class. The bald, old teacher was rambling on enthusiastically about some war that had taken place sometime during the past. Dambi couldn’t care less about the past. She wanted to know what the future was holding. She wanted to know her future. She sat along the last row of desks in the classroom. She looked to her right, only to see Kyungsoo’s face as he was taking a peaceful nap. She giggled when she saw his drool flow down to his textbooks. Sori, who sat one seat in front of him was doodling on her desk, drawing perfect flower boys that only existed in the world of fiction and manga. She reached for her backpack that was placed underneath her desk and shuffled a few things inside until she felt the outline of her ash-grey umbrella.

Thank god I remembered to bring this today, she thought. Dambi looked outside and watched the raindrops kiss the window. She waited until the school bell rang. The teacher shouted the page numbers of the homework for the class and some students scurried out the classroom and some stayed back—taking out their lunch boxes and moving to sit beside their group of friends. She could hear Jong In and his friends making bets about some soccer match. As Dambi headed out the door, she felt someone placing their arm around her shoulder. She looked around to see her friends Sori and Kyungsoo.

“Wanna join us Dambi? Sori and I are going to try the dishes at the new Chinese restaurant that everybody has been talking about. I heard their noodles are delicious!” asked Kyungsoo as he clapped his hands around excitedly. Dambi noticed then how big and round his eyes were--he resembled an owl.

“No, thank you. Maybe we can go sometime after school?” Dambi stopped at her tracks—pushing aside Kyungsoo’s arm. “See you guys later and Kyungsoo—you have some dried drool on your face.” She said just as she turned to another corner leaving the duo behind.

“Where do you think she disappears to every time?” asked Sori, who pouted her lips, just as she always did when she was worried.

“Do I still have drool on my face?” inquired Kyungsoo—his eyes looking bigger than ever. Sori just sighed and grabbed Kyungsoo and started to run.

“Chinese noodles! Here I come!” Kyungsoo announced when they sprinted down the gloomy streets, while attempting to avoid the wet puddles.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dambi went up the flight of stairs, finally taking a stop when she reached a door. She opened the door and stepped into the familiar surroundings of her school’s rooftop. The rooftop was wide and empty like always, noted Dambi. That was until she saw a figure far off into the distance. He was standing at her spot where she always sat and not only that but the strange boy was standing on top of her chair! How dare he invade her special place? She felt her blood boiling and stomped her feet at the direction of the stranger until she was standing right behind the stranger.

She coughed obnoxiously, hoping the boy would take some notice of her presence. But the stranger didn’t budge. Dambi eyed him and observed how the boy was really slim and tall. His uniform was neat and proper but he was drenched in rainwater.

“That’s my chair you’re standing on!” she exclaimed. And when he still didn’t move, she kicked the chair with as much force as she possibly could. The boy’s knees wiggled and he finally jumped off the chair--nearly falling, “Yah! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

As he turned to face her, she recognized the stranger’s face. It was none other than the infamous Oh Sehun. He was well-known around the school and Dambi always heard the girls chatter about him during classes. Sori had told her that Sehun was not only handsome and smart but he was the heir of some big company that was famous all around the world.

She looked at the seat of the chair where he stood which was now covered with dirt and water from his designer shoes. He bent down to reach her eye level. His hair was wet and his bangs blocked the full view of his eyes but she could see that they were slightly red. She was standing in front of a so called handsome guy that girls went crazy for but she didn’t feel anything but hatred and annoyance at the moment. Dambi could see that he looked like one of those drawings that Sori often liked to draw. Those manga flower boys.

“Why would anyone bring their own chair all the way to a school rooftop?” He pointed at the chair while raising his eyebrows, gazing with a confused expression.

“I bought one of those portable folding chairs that can be folded open, okay? Don’t judge me. But seeing how dirty it is now I have to buy a new one all thanks to you!” Dambi reached for her backpack and pulled out one of the textbooks and placed it on the chair and sat down. “Now if you don’t mind—please leave. I always sit here. And I’ve claimed this place since I was a freshman. Let me enjoy this time alone, thank you very much.”
Sehun wore an amused face that Dambi didn’t enjoy. “Don’t you have any friends to hang out with? And you not only own that chair but this whole rooftop as well?”

“Exactly. Now if you could only kindly leave.” She huddled under her umbrella and tried to ignore any eye contact with him.

“Whatever you say loner…” He said and walked away.

Sori sighed in peace when she finally looked back and saw no one in her company. She had always spent her lunch periods in the open space. It was empty and she liked to just look up at the sky and think. Sometimes she would read or draw but it always felt like time would stop when she was at the rooftop. When she returned to class, she always realized how hectic life was compared to that short period of time she spent every noon alone. Dambi woke up from her thoughts and sensed her clothes and hair getting soaked and she remarked how the rain on that day was the type that fell in all directions—not knowing where to go or what to do.

He just visited the rooftop once and will never return, she thought as she reassured herself. Occasionally some people would visit the rooftop to have a smoke or chatter with a few friends but they didn’t visit every day like she did. She tried to think calmly but she couldn’t stop thinking about the obnoxious Sehun while continuing to get soaked in the rain. It was indeed a bad day.

---------------------

Dambi, during the lunch period sat down on her chair while happily gazing the clear blue sky. It was a new day and there were no clouds in the sky. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was nothing to be worried about. But just as she opened her eyes, Sehun’s face popped up and she jumped and fell back on her chair. “What are you doing!” she exclaimed.

He also flipped open and extended a chair while placing it right next to her. He smirked when he saw her bewildered surprised face. “Looks like you’ll have to learn how to share.” He said and grabbed a book and quietly started to read.

It was supposed to be a normal day. Nothing out of the ordinary was supposed to happen. Out of all the people in the world—why did it have to be Oh Sehun? He’ll just go away sooner or later, she thought. Oh how very wrong she was.