Resolution List

 

 

“Attention, please!”

A plump woman in his middle thirties with frizzy, blonde hair that reminded everyone with noodles was clapping her hands in front of the class. It was a subtle sign but enough to silence the roaring students. While other teachers might need to bang their fists or books against the whiteboard vigorously to tame these boisterous kids, it wasn’t so with Mrs. Park. She was undoubtedly the wisest, friendliest, and most humble teacher ever walked in Golden River High, unlike her colleagues who would bite your head off if you didn’t listen to them. It really wasn’t surprising to see all of the students really respected her.

“I know this is our first day and we’re supposed to get to know each other and all,” she continued, “but the headmaster has me to take care of some things. I’m really sorry that I can’t spend some quality time with you.”

“Don’t be, Mrs. Park,” said a guy from the corner of the class. His brown hair was really spiky that no one dared to mess with him for fear he might poke eyes with his spiky hair out of the blue. No bluffing, it was total truth. “We’re definitely cool with that.”

She gave an apologetic smile. “Glad to hear that. Now, before I leave, I want you to do one little thing. Please write down your name in a piece of paper and then list all your hopes and things you want to accomplish this year.”

“Like ….. a bucket list, Ma’am?” questioned someone from the middle row. Her tone suggested how much she disliked the idea of writing a bucket list. Well, no one in their teens liked it.

“I prefer calling it a new school year resolution,” Mrs. Park answered with a warm smile. Students ‘ooh’-ed at this. “Yes, Luhan?”

At the mention of that specific name, all heads turned to one particular person. All heads but one. Chaerin was doodling in her book, not quite paying attention to what was happening in class. If anything, zoning out at the wrong time was her worst habit.

“We may write down anything, right?” asked the guy.

“Yes, Luhan, as long as they’re relevant to your studies.”

Chaerin was in the middle of drawing a pair of wings on a pig when her left arm was squeezed hard. She stifled an ‘oww’ before glaring at Jinhee.

“That hurt!” she hissed at her best friend who didn’t seem to deter. Jinhee’s eyes were focusing on a spot over her shoulder.

“He talks.”

“I believe it’s ‘I’m sorry’ you should say instead of that.”

“Chaerin, he talks.”

“And so do you. Surprise,” Chaerin mocked.

“No, Chaerin, you don’t understand,” Jinhee continued. “This is Luhan we’re talking about.”

Sighing, Chaerin put her pen down and paid all her attention to her best friend now. “And whoever is this Luhan that you’re oh-so-amazed at the fact that he talks—regardless that’s what actually human do?

Jinhee’s face was scrunched up. “Please don’t tell me you don’t know him.”

“There are over five hundred students in this school, Jinhee. I’m not memorizing every one of them.”

She clicked her tongue and threw her head back, groaning, “Oh, you and your little brain.”

“Jinhee,” Chaerin stated with an expression that was as flat as her tone, “I’m smarter than you. If my brain was small then what was yours? A speck of dust?”

“Only you, Chaerin,” she muttered as she turned to start writing what Mrs. Park had told us to do. Said teacher had left the class some time ago. “If it was someone else, I would’ve kicked their for libeling.”

Chaerin scoffed. “Libeling is when someone falsely accuses you, not when stating the mere truth.”

Jinhee waved her hand, dismissing her best friend’s remark and continuing her writing. Chaerin shrugged then started doing her own.

“So,” she started again with her gaze still on her paper, “what’s up with this Luhan?”

From the corner of her eye, she could see Jinhee had stopped writing to look at her.

“Oh, so you’re interested now?”

Chaerin ignored the mocking tone in her friend’s words. “I am now that you’ve bugged me with bringing this topic earlier. Finish what you’ve started.”

“Okay,” she complied, putting her pen down and pointing subtly to one direction with the movement of her chin. “See over there? Two rows ahead of us, the guy who sits next to Miyoung.”

Chaerin looked up, her eyes trailing to where Jinhee had pointed. Right there was a guy with a pair of glasses, sitting comfortably in his chair and looking quite engrossed in whatever he was writing that he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings. She could barely see the side part of his face due to the distance and a bunch of heads that were sometimes getting in her vision line. What she noticed the most was his hair. It was the softest shade of brown she had ever seen and tousled in an attractive way.

“His father donates the most to this school,” Jinhee resumed explaining in a hushed tone, like she was afraid of getting caught talking about this guy. “Now I could always say he practically runs the school, but no—he’s like trying to go unnoticed by other students, which is useless I must say. Everybody knows him, either from the fact of who his father is or his fine looks. No matter how hard he tries avoiding popularity, he’s already dubbed as one of the very popular students here.”

“In short words,” Chaerin concluded, taking her eyes away from him and looking back at Jinhee, “he belongs to popular crowd.”

Jinhee immediately shook her head. Her lips couldn’t restrain from grinning. “This is where you’re wrong. He may hold the alpha male status but he hardly engages with other students.”

Chaerin shot her a skeptical look. “How would you know?”

“How wouldn’t everyone know?” she countered. “If he isn’t sitting alone at lunch, he must be reading alone in the library in his free period. Alone is like his middle name. Everywhere he goes, he’s almost all by himself. Well, he does sometimes talk to Baekhyun and Chanyeol but even this rarely happens. Oddly enough, this is what makes people attracted to him just like moth to light.”

“Including you.”

“Including me,” she admitted without feeling ashamed at all.

Chaerin let out a sigh before reaching her pen back. “Okay, now that I’ve known the reason why you were so shocked at the fact that this guy actually talks, let’s get back to work.”

Jinhee muttered some more words but Chaerin had already focused all her attention on her new school year resolution, completely drowning all the noises around her.

 

♥♥♥

 

It was lunch at Golden River High. Chaerin and Jinhee, just like others students, were enjoying their lunch when a shadow fell upon them. They looked up to find a familiar guy standing at the end of the table, right next to them. Chaerin remembered him from Chemistry class.

“Lay, right?” she guessed as the Chinese guy smiled down at them.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“Wanna join us for lunch?” Jinhee offered friendly.

“Thanks but I’ve already had mine,” he replied then turned his attention to me. “I come by just to tell you that Mrs. Park has been looking for you. She wants you in her class now.”

Chaerin looked at him quizzically. “What for?”

“No idea.” He shrugged. “She told me to call Lu too. He’s probably in her class now already.”

Just as Chaerin was about to ask who this Lu was, Jinhee exclaimed with a loud voice. Her tray was almost knocked down to the floor in the process.

“Luhan??”

“You freaked me out,” Chaerin hissed to that dear friend of hers while giving her chest soft pats. She had been easily surprised lately.

Jinhee gave her an apologetic smile before turning back to Lay. “Why would Mrs. Park ask Chaerin and Luhan to come to her class together?”

Being friends with her for two years was enough for Chaerin to pick up a hidden pressure in the way she said the word ‘together’. Lay, however, was oblivious to this.

He chuckled. “Hey, I’m just a messenger here. Your friend here should go to find out why.”

“Got it,” Chaerin said, nodding to him “Thanks, Lay.”

“Anytime.” He flashed them another smile before walking away.

“Well,” Chaerin announced, rising up to her feet, “I’d better get going now.”

“Good luck!”

She shot Jinhee an odd look. “And what’s that for?”

“For whatever might happen there,” her best friend replied cheekily without pulling down her pumping fist.

“You’re weird, you know that?”

Jinhee nodded. “And you’re weirder for being friends with the weird me.”

Chaerin chortled as she started walking away.

“See you at History,” Jinhee called out.

Chaerin waved without turning back. It was only ten minutes left before their Chemistry class started so she decided to half jogged toward her homeroom. As soon as she got there, she could catch a glimpse of another person sitting in front of Mrs. Park. No doubt that Luhan guy was already there.

She steadied her breath before knocking lightly at the door. When Mrs. Park uttered a ‘come in’, she finally stepped inside. Luhan didn’t even spare a glance when she made her way to the chair next to him. Not that she cared.

“Were you looking for me, Mrs. Park?” asked Chaerin, a bit puzzled.

“Yes,” she replied, nodding firmly. “I wanna talk to the both of you.”

Now that was weird. The woman had made it clear that it was ‘both’. Chaerin could swear this was the first time she was associated with the guy who sat calmly beside her.

“I asked you to write down things that are related to your studies for your new school year resolution, didn’t I?” Ms. Park started again, but Chaerin still couldn’t follow what her teacher was trying to convey.

“You did,” she replied in a wavering tone. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like where this conversation was going.

She watched Mrs. Park heave a sigh before taking out a piece of paper and putting it down in front of her.

“Then may I ask what this is?”

She was hesitant at first but when Mrs. Park motioned her to take the paper, she hurriedly snatched it and read what was written on it. Her jaw dropped immediately.

“What on earth is this??” She was too shocked that her voice came out squeaking.

A soft chuckle came from that teacher of hers. “That’s what I just asked you.”

Chaerin quickly scanned the top of the paper where a name was written. A very familiar name due to the fact that she had just been introduced to it recently by her best friend.

She snapped her head to the side, glaring at a certain figure who sat there. “You!” she hissed. “Why did you write this stupid thing?”

The guy looked back at her. It was for the first time Chaerin could see his full face. She would be the biggest and fattest liar in this whole universe if she said he wasn’t good looking. She had met many good looking guys before, even better looking than him, but something was definitely different with this Luhan guy. His face was so serene. Even when a smirk curled up at the corner of his mouth, that calm vibe didn’t fade even for one bit.

That interesting fact didn’t stop Chaerin from seething though.

“I would never call it stupid,” he said without breaking his gaze from her eyes.

If she was allowed to describe his voice, Chaerin would go with a mug of warm chocolate dripped with honey. It was deep and husky, but sweet and gentle at the same time.

This guy was impossible. Everything about him screamed soft, fuzzy, calm, gentle, serene, and every adjective that belonged to the same meaning. Even his milky white skin looked way smoother than any other girl’s skin she had ever seen in her whole life.

She was envious.

If that was even possible.

“I don’t like your joke,” she bellowed, jerking the paper before his face.

“I never meant it to be a joke,” he countered, his pair of chocolate orbs sparkling under the sunlight that streamed through the windows.

“You—”

“Enough with the drama, kids,” Mrs. Park butted in before World War 3 could officially start. “I’m not angry. I was just wondering why you used the task I’ve given as a means for you to express your feelings to each other.”

Chaerin almost choked.

“Wha—” she tried to rebut but Mrs. Park cut her again.

“That’s fine, Miss Mione. I’m not taking it personally. You may go now. Don’t wanna be late for the next class now, do you?”

Chaerin swore she could detect a hint of amusement in Mrs. Park’s voice but her teacher was right. Now or she would be late for Chemistry. She then gave a stiff smile before excusing herself, Luhan following closely behind. However, as soon as she opened the door, she jumped right back in tremor. This caused her to bump into Luhan’s chest. She was engulfed in warmth as Luhan’s arm quickly sneaked around her waist to steady her. Chaerin jerked herself away from him, turning back for a moment to give him a glare before looking back at what had frightened her behind the door.

“What are you doing there?” Chaerin spat at the very sight of her best friend.

Jinhee only gave her a weak smile. She was about to give her a brief lecture about how impolite eavesdropping was when Luhan brushed past her.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Luhan halted, sensing that it was addressed to him this time. He turned back to look at the still furious Chaerin.

“Mr. Cho won’t be too happy if I’m late,” he replied solemnly.

Chaerin groaned internally. He was gonna be in her History class too??

“Care to explain why you wanted to humiliate me in front of Mrs. Park?”

He stared at the petite girl in front of him in amusement. It seemed like everything he did now would only make this girl go even madder.

“I didn’t.”

“You think your joke was funny, huh?”

“It was never meant to be a joke, I told you.”

Her eyes turned into slits as she spat, “You’re impossible.”

This only made him to smirk, which infuriated Chaerin even more. Her eyes went wide as she saw him turning back and started walking away from them.

How dare he walk away when she hadn’t finished talking?!

“Come back here, you je—”

Chaerin glared at Jinhee who had clamped shut from behind.

“Don’t make a fool of yourself, Chaerin. Classes have already started,” she warned before slowly releasing Chaerin’s mouth. “What made you so mad, anyway?”

Instead of answering, Chaerin took her hand and shoved a crumbled piece of paper she had been holding for so long.

Jinhee quickly scanned the whole paper, looking for something that could possibly make her best friend so furious at Luhan. Her eyes stopped moving at the last sentence. She rubbed her eyes in case she was just imagining it.

Nope.

It was clearly stated there, in Luhan’s resolution list, that he wanted to be Han Chaerin’s boyfriend.

Chaerin’s freaking boyfriend.

She squealed in happiness.

“What are you squealing for?!”

Oh, right. Angry tigress was still there.

She rubbed her throbbing arm that was just slapped by Chaerin, blurting, “You think he’s serious about this?”

Chaerin scoffed. “Very unlikely, Jinhee. He was just pulling a prank on me.”

“Luhan doesn’t pull a prank, Chaerin,” she stated.

“Would you please stop acting like you’ve known him for all your life? I’m the best friend here!” Chaerin finally threw her hands in the air out of frustration. Why did her own best friend take her newfound enemy’s side?

“But he really doesn’t,” Jinhee insisted.

“Yes, he does and that’s final. I don’t wanna talk about him anymore. It’s bad enough that he humiliated me in front of Mrs. Park with his stupid, childish prank. I really don’t need you to make things worse by mentioning his name and defending him every second,” Chaerin stated through greeted teeth.

Jinhee opened only to close it again when she saw how foul the mood her best friend had gotten into. She knew better than to add fuel into the fire. Shrugging her shoulder, she linked her arm to Chaerin’s and quickly but gently tugged her to their History class. She could only pray that situation wouldn’t get worse, knowing they shared the same class with Luhan.

 

♥♥♥

 

“Boo!”

Chaerin was busy typing her homework when someone suddenly spoke to her ear from behind, making her jump forward to hug her PC in fright.

“Oh my God, can you not?!” She yelled at her sister who was grinning mischievously at her. “For the second time today I was frightened to death! Do all people really wish me to die soon?”

Kyungmi reached out to shuffle her younger sister’s hair in delight. “Nope, but I wouldn’t worry about your well being either. You have nine lives after all. Times nine. You’re a SUPERKITTEN with eighty one lives~”

Chaerin growled at Kyungmmi’s bright grin and attempted to bite her hand. Too bad her sister had faster reflex.

“If I were really a cat, I’d bite off your tongue,” she hissed.

Her sister clucked her tongue and wagged her forefinger in a playful manner. “Superkitten is not allowed to say rude things. Bad kitten~”

“Out now or else you’ll regret ever stepping into my room tonight,” Chaerin threatened her.

“I just wanna tell you that the dinner is ready since—” Kyungmi glanced at a clock on one side of Chaerin’s room—“fifteen minutes ago. Mom’s been yelling out your name from downstairs but you didn’t answer. Contrary to your belief, our family consists of human father, mother, and oldest daughter who have to eat to stay alive despite the fact that the youngest daughter is a Superkitten.”

“I don’t feel like eating now but save a plate for me in case I get hungry later.” Chaerin massaged her temple, feeling her patience getting thinner and thinner everytime her sister called her Superkitten.

“Oh, okay,” Kyungmi replied, starting to walk out of her room. “Don’t study too hard though. Superkitten is supposed to be fluffly, not bald.”

Whooooosh, BAM!

A very thick dictionary was slammed to the door, just a fraction second before the older girl pranced out of her room. Chaerin shook her head when she heard her sister’s faint giggle echoed in the hallway. She just didn’t get why Kyungmi really liked to make her explode. It seemed like that was Kyungmi’s own way to show her affection to her sister.

A second later, her cell phone was ringing. Chaerin grabbed it and answered without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Yo~ How is our History paper?”

“The heck are you talking about, Jinhee?”

“Our History paper,” Jinhee repeated with emphasize. “Please don’t tell me you zoned out during the class today.”

Chaerin flinched out of guilt. It was true that she was busy glaring at the back of someone’s head she failed to pay attention to the lesson. “Err…”

She could hear her best friend taking a deep breath before giving her clues.

“Mr. Cho asked us to do a History paper by the end of the class today. In group of five people. Due next week.”

“Oh, okay,” Chaerin replied. “So how are we going to do it? Going to the library or—”

“We’ll be gathering at your house first to assign who does which part.”

Chaerin nodded absent-mindedly, failed to remember that her best friend couldn’t see her approving gesture. “Tomorrow?”

“The sooner we start, the better it’d be.”

Chaerin repeatedly poked her lower lip with her finger while thinking. “How about at 9? We’ll have enough time to discuss before going to the public library and after that, we can have lunch out together.”

“Sounds good. I’m sure the others won’t mind,” Jinhee approved. “Do you do yoga?”

“Nope. Kyungmi does though. What’s with the random question?” Chaerin queried as she took a seat back.

“You should try doing it tomorrow. It could come in handy, y’know.”

Chaerin furrowed her eyebrows. “You’re weird.”

“I know, I know. Just try doing it tomorrow before we meet you at your house.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“I so feel your love.”

“Shut up.”

The call was disconnected from Jinhee’s side. Chaerin sighed while putting her cell phone down on the table. All of a sudden she felt tired. She decided to call it a day, saved her homework, turned off the computer, and threw herself onto the bed. She soon fell asleep with a particular name ringing annoyingly in her head.

 

♥♥♥

 

GAAAAAHHHH….!!!

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

I’m starting another story while I still have three more to finish.

 

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