King of Elves

(Jiyong's P.O.V)

What subject is it? - a single thought passed through my mind.

Strange that it wasn’t connected to the only thing that I had been thinking of for the last few hours.

I looked around the room indolently, without even moving my head. The classroom seemed quite familiar. There were some portraits on the walls, depicting some sage looking people. I had no idea who they were. I was sitting in the last row so I couldn’t see more than backs of other students’ heads. It wasn’t enough for me to recognize them as my classmates. I wondered for a while if it was possible that I was in a wrong classroom and people sitting around me were complete strangers from another class. The teacher - Do I even now him? - was pointing at the map hanging beside the blackboard. I assumed that it was geography.

I lost interest in finding out if I was in a proper place. I leant against my hand and accidentally pushed a notebook off the school desk. Some people glanced at me but I pretended not to see them.

“Jiyong?”

I turned my eyes towards a girl sitting on my right side. She was staring at me questioningly. It surprised me that she even knew my name. I guessed that it meant she was my classmate. Everything was fine then. I didn’t make any effort to answer and decided to let the notebook lie on the floor.

My complete lack of action made her bend and put up my notebook. She stretched out her hand, handing it to me.

“It’s yours, right?”

I gazed at her hand passing me the opened notebook.

And then all the memories I was trying to hold back even for a while, came back with redoubled power. They hit me so hard that I sighed out loud and felt my face turning red. The shell of apathy and complete ignorance that I was trying to build up around me started fissuring and disappeared, releasing the emotions that I wanted to tame.

“Everything’s alright?” She sounded seriously worried.

I quickly grabbed my possession that she was still holding in her hand and nodded to her.

“Thanks,” I mumbled only to make her stop staring at me. She came back to listing to the teacher after sending me last surprised glance.

I started trembling. Once again I fell deep into the same vision. The same memory was replayed in my mind. I couldn’t fight with it. It was stronger than me.

~~~~~~

“Come on.”

It was the first thing ever that Choi Seunghyun said to me.

I had never imagined finding myself in such kind of situation. With him.

I closed my eyes tightly, so ashamed that not even able to look at him.

The moment, when my cold fingertips touched his warm manly palm, filled my stomach with butterflies. It was a miracle that I didn’t faint from experiencing so many emotions.

It had never happened to me before. To feel like that being near someone.

Seunghyun helped me stand back on my feet and then handed me my red umbrella - the cause of the whole situation. I wasn’t sure, if I should curse it for making me fall down in front of Choi brothers or treat it as an object of worship and build a temple for it as a “thank you” for being finally noticed by Seunghyun.

I brushed off my coat and followed Seunghyun who entered the school and waited for me, keeping the door open. I avoided looking him in the eyes and focused on closing my umbrella.

I could feel his gaze on me what made my cheeks burn.

“I like your hairdo,” he finally broke the silence.

Utterly shocked, I made the most stupid thing I could. I went straight into the glass wall.

I could only blame myself for not being able to control my inner flight instinct. Running away was my favourite response to such kind of situations. But this time my sweet escape was blocked out by the glass door-frame which I had completely forgotten about.

“Oi!” exclaimed Seunghyun. He caught me just in the right second and didn’t let me fall down again.

Okay. I’m dying.

Seunghyun shook me gently. I opened my eyes to look at him, but the only thing I could see were colorful stars jumping, dancing and spinning around.

“Hey! Do you hear me? Should I take you to the nurse?”

He was so close that I could smell his wonderful scent, a combination of cologne, vanilla and cinnamon. Had he eaten pancakes for breakfast? I want to eat pancakes with him.

I took a deep breath and blinked. I regained full consciousness and unwrapped myself out of his arms. I wouldn’t mind staying in such a position forever but I was so embarrassed that I dreamt only of hiding myself somewhere. Or coming back to my bedroom.

“Will you make it to the classroom?” He asked. “I mean, without bumping into things and people.”

I blushed and opened my mouth to protest, to explain that I wasn’t a clumsy person, that it was an accident. He probably found my expression very funny, because he started laughing. It wasn’t a kind of a nasty laughter that I got used to hear. Seunghyun looked like he was truly amused. His laughter was friendly. And y.

Seeing him like that, I only smiled back.

“What’s your name?” he asked, making my heart flutter.

“Kwon Jiyong,” I replied.

God, it must be a dream.

“Okay, Jiyong. I must go now, but you have to promise me that you will be carful during the rest of the day, all right?” He sent me one of his gorgeous smiles.

I nodded. It was too hard for me to speak. There was one thing that I should learn, apart from carefulness. Handling with my own emotions. I had never thought that it would be so hard.

I was watching Seunghyun go away, when he turned around as to check, if I was still there.

I immediately wanted to hide behind a pillar but I forced myself to stay in the same position.

“I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Choi Seunghyun!”

I know your name, Choi Seunghyun. You have no idea, how well I know it.

~~~~~~

It took me a long time to realise that I had a crush on Seunghyun. I had been treating it as my biggest secret for almost a year. At first I was fascinated only by his voice, then appearance. Later I started subconsciously trying to find myself in his surrounding. Listening to him speaking was enough, but I always observed him. He occurred to be far different from his older brother. Seunghyun was a gentleman, always very kind to girls and willing to help them. He didn’t get the best marks but still was teachers’ favourite. Dongwook was his complete opposition and soon became the reason why I started avoiding the Choi brothers. He failed his exams and for the second time didn’t move up to next class. He joined my class and chose me as a subject of his jokes and pranks. Seunghyun was ordered to keep an eye on him since his infamous fight with the English teacher, whom he hit with a chair and sent to the hospital. From that time on, I couldn’t follow Seunghyun anymore, because wherever he was, there was also Dongwook. I wasn’t that stupid to walk into the lion’s den.

It was the time when I discovered koreafashion.kr and got really involved in it and my designs. My crush on Seunghyun was then partly replaced with fascination with T.O.P. The only situation, that I sometimes was thinking about, was the first time when I noticed Seunghyun.

It was soon after I went to the high school. All of the freshmen, including me, were made to watch a performance of school theatre club. I heard from my sister that they were always choosing extremely boring plays and the acting was so bad that the cast usually didn’t even get an ovation at the end. Having her words in mind, I took my sketchbook and a pencil with me, to kill time during the jejune show. It turned out that I didn’t even touch it.

The play was Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night's Dream”. At first I focused on the costumes - they were surprisingly good, though I would add or change some details. I didn’t care what were the actors doing, I only analysed their outfits, wondering who made them. Many characters showed up on stage and disappeared and then it was time for a dialogue between Oberon and Titania. And then I heard his voice. It was hypnotizing. Although I hadn’t actually seen the others, for me he was the best actor. He looked stunning in his golden costume, it really suited him. He was not only a king of fairies, but become also the ruler of my heart. I watched his every move, every smile and gesture. I simply couldn’t take off my eyes of him.

He used his magic on me. His voice and manner were just like the juice from a magical plant that Oberon put on Titania’s eyes to make her fall in love with the first person she saw. I felt exactly the same. There were hundreds of people around me, but the only person I cared about was him.

I started calling him “Oberon” or “King of elves” in my mind. Later I discovered that his real name was Choi Seunghyun and he was the leader of the theatre group and also their main costume designer. I immediately felt a connection between us.

Choi Seunghyun was a king on stage and in every other field. There was no one as charming and perfect as him. I was so overawed that I never managed to talk to him.

But this morning everything had changed. I was talking with Choi Seunghyun. He complemented my hairdo. He was holding me in his arms, even though it wasn’t for any romantic purpose. And finally, he asked for my name and expressed his concern about my safety! He did it, my lovely Oberon.

A sudden wave of happiness struck my mind and I started inventing titles and names for Seunghyun.

Choi Seunghyun The King of Elves. Choi Oberon. His Majesty Seunghyun. The Prince of Fashion Fairies. His Royal Highness Choi Oberon Seunghyun.

“…I mentioned on the previous lesson. Who would remind me who was the commander of the Japanese forces during the battle of Midway? Mr. Kwon?”

“Oberon,” I realised I was the only Kwon in class and answered without hesitation.

Everyone burst out laughing.

Oh, so it’s history, not geography.

“It was admiral Yamamoto, actually,” said the girl sitting next to me.

“I know it, right?” I pouted and sent her an angry look.

She only shrugged her shoulders.

The bell rang for a break. The classroom went empty in about a minute. I slowly finished packing my backpack when I realised that Dongwook was absent today. And that was strange. I saw him enter the school after our collision in the morning, so were the hell was he? Not that I missed him, but I wanted to find his brother, who always accompanied him during breaks. I made up my mind and decided to ask Seunghyun to be my model. I knew that he had a passion for fashion, so why would he refuse?

I left the classroom, still trying to guess where the Choi brothers went. Seunghyun was a member of many clubs, but Dongwook didn’t have any hobbies apart from torturing me and other students. And apart from basketball!

I quickly ran to the sports hall. Tomorrow was the big match between our school and a team from central Seoul, how could I forget! Everyone was talking about it all the time.

Both Seunghyun and Dongwook were stars of our representation, so they were training the whole day.

I entered the gym but there was only a cleaning lady, who told me that the training had already finished. I didn’t want to give up my decision to talk to Seunghyun. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow and possibly change my mind.

I decided to wait somewhere near the locker room to catch him, when he would be leaving. Unfortunately, it was Dongwook who left first. He eyed me up and down and sneered.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here. My little Jiyong! You came here to peep, right? But girls' locker room is next door, you know? Or maybe you did it on purpose, hmm? You wanted to see how real men look like, Jiyong~?” He teased.

I kept my eyes lowered and ignored his jibes. I learned from my own experience that there was no point in arguing with a heartless bully like him.

“So how is it? Tell me!” Dongwook continued his performance in front of other team members. ”Did you miss me that much that you came to see me? You have a Stockholm syndrome or something?”

He came closer to me. I could feel his hot breath on my face.

“Dongwook, let’s go home.” It was Seunghyun! He saved me the third time this day.

“But Hyung, we were only talking. It was just a friendly chat,” answered Dongwook turning around to face his brother.

Why was he calling Seunghyun “hyung”?

He might be in the upper class, but he was still younger than Dongwook.

I realised that it was a part of Dongwook’s game. He decided to put on a pose of a guiltless younger brother.

“Fine, but we still have to go now. Mom called me and said the dinner is ready.” There was a confidence in his voice, but I was quite sure that he played it by the ear.

“You just don’t want to let me talk with my precious friend” He pointed at me. His voice was changed to sound sweet and innocent. “I’m so sorry, Jiyong. We’ll continue tomorrow, okay?”

I smiled at him bitterly, feeling forced to be a part of his play in front of Seunghyun.

I could do nothing but watch them leave. It seemed like a déjà vu. Seunghyun turned around, but this time he didn’t say a thing but only waved me goodbye.