Reply Two

It was Summer 2008 when I listened to Big Bang's Haru Haru on my IPod nano third generation. I remember, I was one of those cool kids for having an IPod. Mine was blue. I think, Eunji's was white. I remember, how we had both pleaded our parents to buy them for us. We were only 16 back then when the IPod nano third generation had come to the market. Now that I remember and if I actually could go back in time, I would have told my 16-year-old self that I should have waited a bit longer  since in early Autumn of year 2008 the fourth generation had been introduced. I remember how angry I had been in September 2008 because my parents had spent their money on my IPod that had been outdated after the new generation. I wasn't one of those cool kids anymore and my parents were angry as hell. Even Eunji's mom was mad at her. But I think, the reason was that her mother couldn't buy herself the newest bag or something like that.

Besides Girls Generation, I really admired Big Bang. Especially Taeyang. He was that cute guy who had his sides shaved. He had that cute eyesmile I couldn't get out of my head. I really loved Johnny Depp but Taeyang was my Korean hero. I always dreamed of him, rescueing me from this hell hole of school. But whenever I met eyes with Woohyun, Taeyang suddenly disappeared from my head and all I could see was Woohyun. Not even Jack Sparrow could pop into my head and disturb my thoughts, circulating around him. Eunji would have killed me if she had known that I actually liked someone more than Johnny Depp. She wasn't really interested in Taeyang, even though she liked Big Bang's music. I think, she was TOP's supporter.

I hummed the melody of Haru Haru, looking at my red chucks that were placed on the top of my desk. My father had walked into my room today and had yelled at me for putting something that dirty onto my working place. He'f told me that I was getting dumber by the day. I had rolled my eyes, turning the music even louder. I knew that it had irked my father but I had done it anyways. I hadn't really cared back then.

It was still the summer holiday and I enjoyed every little bit of it. I grabbed under my pillow to pull a picture out. It was Taeyang's signed photo I had won last year. I don't even know why I'd had so much luck back then but I was happy. I even slowly betrayed Johnny Depp. Since he was American and I couldn't just fly to the United States. Since Big Bang lived here in Korea.

When school started, I became a third-year. It was my last year at high school until I graduated. I was looking forward to it since I wanted the yearbook. I wanted Woohyun's picture so that I could replace Taeyang's photo with the one of Woohyun. Just by the thought, I giggled like a teenager. I was 17 years old, it felt more like 14 when I had met him for the first time. I still cannot believe that I had loved him for such a long time. I had constantly liked him for 3 years before he had talked to me. This thought triggered my feet to walk to my desk. I knew what I wanted to write down on my scrapbook. Even before I had fallen in love with Woohyun at first sight, I had started a scrapbook. I had attached photos and stickers onto it. I had written lyrics of Big Bang's Haru Haru or even Girls Generation's Into the World down. I had also written my own thoughts and little poems into it. When I had started liking Woohyun, this scrapbook had turned into a love diary.

Things to do during the first day of school:

• Not looking away when he looks back

• Trying to find him in the crowd of students

• Trying to be friends with him

• Be friendly to his friend (or apologize on Eunji's behalf)

I stared at the black ink on yellowish paper. I knew when I wrote things into this book, I had to do them. Some pages before, I had told myself to learn the lyrics of Taeyang's solo single Only Look at Me from his album, Hot. And days after that I had really memorized the whole lyrics. This book had some kind of magic on me. And I had used this belief for my own benefit. A new year was about to start and I was going to take the iniative in pursuing Woohyun.

I think, school was never that exciting to me. I think, I never looked that much forward to go to school. Back then I had thought, something might be wrong with me since I was never that excited to go to school. I thought I had a fever or something like that. But if it was fever, I think it would be called Woohyun. For him, I invested more time into dressing up. I never wanted to look good in those uniforms until that day - the first day of school as a third-grader in my second semester. He was in the same grade, not the same class though. I remember when I had graduated from middle school and I had cried much more than my mother because for several reasons. First, I'd had to grow up and study seriously for high school. Second, my parents had demanded more from me since I had graduated. Third and the most important reason, I hadn't even known if I would ever meet Woohyun again. I hadn't wanted to forget him. We whad been at the same middle school but no one ever has that much luck that their crush even applied for the same high school. Guess, I had been quite a lucky back then. We had both applied for the same school, considering the fact that almost everyone of our middle school had applied for it. Probably just coincidence.

My mother called for me downstairs. I yelled back to her, telling her I was coming. I needed to check my hair first. I never tried cutting full bangs since it only suited Eunji. I always had long hair and I would never, never in my whole life chop them off. They were my precious. At that day, I had waved them a little. I wanted to look good. I wanted to be special and striking. I wanted him to notice me. I even wore a flower onto my head. Now that I think about it, I was really stupid back then. I really thought it would suit me. Not that it didn't. Eunji liked it. But I looked like a elementary schooler with that white flower. And I actually wanted to look more ladylike and mature. Guess, I failed.

When I bid goodbye with my parents and met Eunji outside, we both walked to our high school. We had to walk to the bus station near our neighborhood. We passed by the playground where I had once seen Woohyun in the rain. I remembered his depressed expression on his face. I still wondered why he was there - alone without any of his close friends. He was popular, of course. He was Nam Woohyun, the popular guy at our high school. Guys liked him because he was upfront with them, because he was good at sports and friendly to all of them. Girls had a crush on him because he was good-looking and sporty, because he had charms.

"Hana, should we buy something to eat beforehand?" Eunji looked at me, her eyes boring into mine. "I'm hungry."

"You are always hungry." We entered the crowded bus to find a place to stand. I noticed a really beautiful girl, sitting at the back of the bus. She had big eyes and very long hair. I envied her healthy hair. They were so beautiful. I couldn't help but stare at her until I noticed that the others were staring at her, too. Because she was pretty. I averted my gaze back to Eunji beside me. "Okay, let's go to the supermarket."

We got off the bus some stops before our high school. The supermarket Lotte Mart, situated in Myeongdong, was really big. We could buy everything here. But Eunji and me, we only wanted to buy some snacks for school. I intentionally forgot the lunch my mother made for me. The supermarket was so big that we didn't know where to start. I wanted to buy Peperos for snack since I loved them. They were always packed in red boxes, my favorite color. We roamed around, trying to check our list of snacks to buy in our head. Eunji went to the juice shelves whereas I stayed at the snacks ones. My eyes scanned the whole shelf, looking for Pepero. I remember that there is also a Pepero Day in Korea. People gift each other with peperos on the 11th November since the number '11' resembles the sticks. I had always given Eunji some on that day.

I still scanned the shelves for my favorite snack when a bag of saewookkang - it's shrimp chips, very popular in Korea - fell onto my head. I heard the sound of someone gasping, as they suddenly caressed my forehead where the bag had hit me. The other hand had picked the snack up. "I'm sorry."

"Please be more careful." I shoved their hand away even though I hadn't wanted to be mean. But I was annoyed by that person for touching me without my permission. 

"I will, don't worry." I looked up to meet eyes with him since his voice sounded pretty familiar. It was my time to gasp as I noticed that Woohyun stood right in front of me, his friend being next to him. My jaw was wide open when I stared at his figure. He wore his uniform. It looked handsome on him. During the holidays I only saw him twice. One time at the train station when he was surrounded by his many friends and one time at the ice parlor. He wore casual clothes. But I always had a thing for uniforms, thus, him standing here before me with his perfectly fitting uniform made my eyes widen even more in the process.

"Oh, it's Elizabeth." Woohyun smiled at me. I couldn't help but feel my chest tighten again. I knew my chest always started hurting whenever I met him, but this time was different. It wasn't painful. "You are wearing a flower."

"Where's your mean friend?" His friend asked, narrowing his eyes at me. "I don't want to meet her again."

I was glad that he wasn't strange to me but only to Eunji. Then again, Eunji was my best friend and that friend of Woohyun was being mean to her. I wanted to retort something back when I realized what I had written into my scrapbook, Be friendly to his friend (or apologize on Eunji's behalf). "She feels sorry for having acted like a brat."

"Really?" The friend still narrowed his eyes at me, even though his eyes were already small to begin with. I wanted to punch his face so I might actually be able to see his eyes but I restricted myself. I didn't want to look like a beast in front of Woohyun.

"Okay, we'll get going. Come, Sunggyu-hyung." He waved me goodbye, but stopped in his tracks right after. "Elizabeth"

"Yes?" I mentally slapped myself for bringing out such a high-pitched answer.

He chuckled lightly. "Since I've annoyed  you today, let me buy you something for compensation."

He approached me again. I mentally pinched my arms to see if everything indeed happened. He really wanted to buy something for me because he let the bag of chips fall onto my face. I guess, he indeed forgot the 14-year-old me that he kicked the ball to. But that was okay since I wanted to break out of that image anyways. "Choose something."

I scanned the shelves again, blaming myself for not having found the Pepero earlier. I was wasting his time. He waited for me to choose something and I wanted Pepero. But since I didn't want him to wait too long, I decided to choose something else. "What are you searching for?"

"I'll take this." I picked the bag of ojingeo ttangkong - roasted sea-like tasting peanuts - to end this whole situatione even though I really wanted to talk to him more. He had such a beautiful voice.

"You sure?" He asked me, grabbing the bag out of my hands. I nodded instantly. "Then this it is."

We three walked to the counter. For that moment, I even forgot Eunji who was still roaming around Lotte Mart. I decided to apologize later to her since I wanted to enjoy the time with my first love. His friend, Sunggyu, tried talking with me. I guessed, he was actually a nice guy but we just hadn't started right. His smile even reminded me of Taeyang's. Both of them had eyesmiles and all of a sudden, I actually started liking Sunggyu. He was friendly and he was Woohyun's friend. I wanted his friends to like me. I mentally wrote a note in my head to write down the aim to be friends with his friends in my notebook.

When he paid for me, I thanked him. He returned my gratitude with a smile, telling me it was his mistake to begin with. The both of them bid goodbye with me, not before asking me to go to school together since we attended the same one, but I politely declined, joking that I didn't want to be seen with Sunggyu. Both of them laughed which was a plus for me. I wanted them to like me. Especially Woohyun. 

"Seriously, I can't believe you actually got lost." Eunji shook her head the whole time when we walked to our high school. She even punched me on my arm when we reunited outside of Lotte Mart. "It's not like it was our first time here."

I rubbed the sore spot she punched her fist to. "Well, sorry for loosing the mind for direction because I was too distracted with the snacks."

She stared at the bag of ojingeo ttangkong that was held between my arm and my ribs. "Wasn't it Pepero?"

"I decided for that, instead." I avoided eyecontact. I knew that Eunji could be sharp at times. She could read my mind as if I was an open book. I mentally reminded myself to be more careful around her. "Let's hurry. We will be too late at our first day."

When I thought that we were the last ones who attended the opening ceremony, I was wronged by that guy who appeared with a loud thud. He seriously jumped out of the windows into the big hall. All the students and teacher who were gathered in there, stared at him. No one ever shocked me like that. He politely bowed to all of them before they proceeded in continuing the speech. Eunji and me, we couldn't just act like nothing happened. We both continued staring at him. He was hobbling a little. We guessed it was because he had landed on the wrong foot. We didn't know him. He was probably a transfer student. Soon after, we lost interest in that guy with the hurt leg.

We were sitting at our seats in our classroom. Our teacher hadn't shown up for the first day, hence, we could hang around. Eunji read an online novel with her phone while I listened to my IPod nano. Other students slept on their desks with a dictionary as a pillow. I wondered what Woohyun was doing at that moment since I couldn't find him at the ceremony. I hoped to myself that he hadn't skipped school today or else I had put effort into doing my hair for nothing. Although, I had seen him before at the supermarket in his uniform. He had even bought me the snack that was laying in front of me on my desk. I decided not to eat it since this was another reminder of Woohyun. The first snack he bought me.

I heard a loud thud, when someone bursted into our classroom. It was the guy at the ceremony who had jumped through the windows. He had been running apparently since his hair was all messy and he gasped for air. When he noticed that everyone was staring at him, he grinned. I think back then, it wasn't only me who had noticed his handsome smile. The girls in my class mentally screamed. Even Eunji flinched a little when she saw him. He was nothing compared to Woohyun but he was good-looking. Not as handsome as the quiet one in class 3 - 2 but handsome. Better than average. He bowed politely again. "Sorry for disturbing."

I think, everyone of us in that room noticed his accent. He came from Busan, we immediately recognized the dialect. Eunji knew the best since she came from Busan, too. The students were silent since it was rare that we actually had transfer students assigned to our class. He noticed our silence and filled it instead. "You can continue on whatever you were doing."

He walked to our direction, catching girl's attention by the way his body moved. He had earplugs in his ears just like me. I wondered what he was listening to. That Busan guy took a seat right next to me, not looking up from his black IPod. I thought to myself, he was one of those cool kids, too. But when he looked up, the girls fixed their gazes on something else, pretending not to have stared at him. I wondered whether he was a rival to Woohyun. I remembered when our first year in high school had started and many girl had swooned over him. They had treated him like a Korean idol. They had screamed whenever they had seen him as if he was one of Big Bang's members. Maybe I was exaggerating. But I had been one of those girls who had secrectly admired him. Back then, there had been another guy who had been popular amongst the girls. He was that quiet guy from class 3 - 2. To be honest, he was indeed very handsome. Eunji had even said so but she had quickly lost interest when she had  realized that he hadn't spoken a word. I was never interested in other guys beside Woohyun.

"He is mine, that Busan guy." Eunji beside me poked my arm. "Hana, remember that."

I rolled my eyes at her stupid expression. She had even once 'marked' that quiet guy from class 3 - 2 as hers but had given up right after. Because he couldn't speak. We had thought he was mute. "I seriously don't care."

It was my morning routine of going to the toilet. It was 10 in the morning and I seriously needed to release my with juice-from-Eunji-filled stomache. Besides, I hated that English teacher, he couldn't even pronounce the word 'with' properly. I know, it might be difficult for beginners to pronounce the 'th' but who would hire an English teacher who couldn't speak English fluently? So I decided to go to the toilet to escape from his weird way of speaking. When I roamed around the hallway and heard the voice of a teacher explaining something in Korean, I realized that a door of a classroom was open. I walked past it since it was the only way to get to the ladies. If I could go back in time, I would have burned myself with a hot frying pan. How could I have been so stupid not to recognize his classroom? The sign above the door which clearly stated 3 - 6? How could I have forgotten that his classroom was 3 classes down the hallway away from mine? How could I, when I had jumped like a mad woman the moment I had found out that our classrooms were quiet close to each other's? I couldn't help but stare at him. How he laughed, his eyes turning into slits. How pretty his profile was. Then, my chest tightened painfully when I noticed his little glances at the girl sitting diagonally in front of him. It wasn't that nice feeling I had whenever I saw him and his beautiful face. Not that feeling where I would go jumping around, dancing awkwardly. It was that feeling that people called jealousy. I was jealous of that girl. Because he was interested in her. Because he did the same things I did to him. Of course, I knew what that meant. I found myself staring at the girl. She was the one I had seen in the bus. The one with the long pretty hair and eyes as big as moons. She was that pretty girl not even I could take my eyes off of. And she had stolen my first love's attention right when she had transfered. I didn't notice that the students were staring at me. Not even did I notice that the teacher spoke to me, asking me if I was alright. I only noticed when I saw that pretty girl locking eyes with me. I must have seemed like a weird person. Mentally ill. Even Woohyun and his friend, Sunggyu stared at me. I politely nodded to the whole class.

"It's Elizabeth." I wished at that moment, I could have slapped him. That friend of Woohyun, that is. He had just turned the class's attention right back at me. I couldn't help but clench my jaw. I even balled my first, ready to set a bruise on that guy's face.

"You are a foreigner?" The teacher asked me. I was glad that he was someone who was friendly to the students. I was glad that it wasn't that homeroom teacher from class 3 - 4 who always yelled and spatted on his pupils.

"No, seon-saeng-nim. I'm Korean. My name is Son Hana from class 3 - 3." When time challenged me, I could be polite, too. Even though I had a sharp tongue, my parents had taught me the ways to behave in front of elder people. Those I had to respect. "May I leave now?"

"Of course." I nodded at him, quickly walking away. I had never imagined the situation to turn out like that. I had never imagined Woohyun to be knowing my name through this situation. I had never thought he would get to know my name because his stupid friend started this whole introduction thingy. I had even introduced myself in front of the whole class. I  had turned from the girl-whose-face-was-misshapen-from-a-ball-that-her-first-love-had-kicked to Elizabeth, then the girl-whose-face-was-hit-by-a-bag-of-saewookkang-in-a-supermarket and finally to the girl I was. I couldn't believe that after 3 years of knowing him, he had finally noticed me. He finally knew my name. Even though I had imagined it to be different, I was still glad that he knew my name. Starting from a letter to the bag of saewookkang. I mentally reminded myself to buy one as a reminder. Adding to my collection of Woohyun reminders. There was just this little extra that irked me. The fact that Woohyun started liking someone in summer 2008.

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