The Dare
Silent Smiles
“It was at that moment when I was faced with a life-altering decision,” Himchan said as dramatically as possible as a group of girls gathered closer to him, anxious to hear the rest of the story, “Now I bet you’re wondering what that decision was, huh? Well, I’ll tell you this: it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I was torn between eating the red velvet cake and not eating it but then I thought, “Never regret anything that ever made you smile,” so I ate it.”
“Wow Himchan, what a great story,” another deep voice suddenly said from behind Himchan, causing him to jump.
The girls shifted their attention from Himchan to the new figure who Himchan was now glaring at playfully. “Gosh, Yongguk, you don’t have to sneak up on me like that!” he said, putting his hand on his chest.
Yongguk smiled jokingly and scooted Himchan over on the desk at sat down next to him. “I can’t help it,” Yongguk laughed, “you’re just too easy to scare! Now ladies, I don’t think I had a chance to say hello to you yet – today being my first day and all. How about if I get some digits so I can call you all later?”
Himchan elbowed him in the side and stood up. “You’re such a playboy!” he laughed as he watched the girls whip out their cell phones and give Yongguk their numbers. As soon as they were done, he elbowed Yongguk once again and chuckled devilishly. “Hey, let’s see how good you really are at getting girls.”
“Bring it,” Yongguk replied with a knowing smirk on his face.
Himchan pointed to a girl the corner of the room who was more preoccupied with reading a novel than interacting with her fellow classmates. “Her,” he said, “Get her number. If you get her number then I will forever crown you King of the Babes.”
“No problem but, uh, one question,” Yongguk said, holding up a single finger, “Who is that? Remember, it’s only my first day at this school.”
The other boy wrapped his arm around Yongguk and laughed embarrassingly. “Oh yeah, I keep forgetting,” he said, “That, my friend, is Park Su Kyung. She doesn’t like to talk to people and mostly keeps to herself which is why she is the perfect candidate for you. I’ll considerate it beginner’s luck if you can get her to talk to you and a miracle if you can get her number. Okay?”
Yongguk smirked playfully and hit Himchan on the back before proudly strolling over to the corner of the room. As he approached Su Kyung, he grabbed the chair from the desk that was front of hers and sat backwards in it, placing his elbows on the back of the chair and his head on his hands. “Hey there, cutie,” he said with a gummy grin.
Su Kyung glanced up from her book and stared at him, keeping silent. Sensing the awkwardness between them, Yongguk cleared his throat and said, “I, uh, saw you from across the room and I thought you were so cute that I just wanted to get to know you better. So, what do you say? Mind giving me your number so I can call you sometime?”
She continued to stare at him and cocked her head to the side, raising her eyebrow in the process. A light chuckle escaped her lips. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything but are you sick or something?” she asked. Yongguk was taken aback by her words. Su Kyung reached for his forehead and felt it. “You don’t have a fever,” she stated, “So then why are you talking to me? People generally don’t speak to me unless they’re dared to or something.”
Yongguk resisted the urge to glance back at Himchan who he knew was watching and decided to play it cool. “I wasn’t dared to come and talk to you,” he replied with a laugh. It was true though. He wasn’t actually dared to talk to her. He was dared to get her phone number. Su Kyung was silent and eventually she began to read her book once again. Yongguk coughed in another attempt to clear the awkward air between them. “So, uh, what are you reading?” he asked.
“A book,” she stated simply, trying to get the idea across that she wanted him to stop talking.
“Which one?” he asked, trying his hardest to make some sort of intelligent conversation.
Su Kyung loudly closed her book and looked up at him. “Why are you still talking to me?” she asked him with a sigh, “I thought I was making it rather clear that I’m not interested in giving you my phone number so please leave me alone.”
Hearing what was just said, Himchan and a few others began to laugh at Yongguk and his failure. Yongguk looked at Himchan and then back at Su Kyung who was once again reading her book. He sighed loudly and rubbed the back of his neck and was about to say something when their teacher entered the classroom. The student scurried around the room and into their seats and Yongguk stood up awkwardly, not knowing where he sat. When the teacher put his things on the desk, he looked at Yongguk. “May I help you?” Mr. Song asked politely.
“My name is Bang Yongguk,” Yongguk said with a bow, “I’m a new student in this class.”
Mr. Song nodded and took out a piece of paper. He put his hand on his chin and said, “Okay, then Yongguk, you can sit right there next to Su Kyung.”
As Mr. Song pointed to the desk to the right of Yongguk, Yongguk looked to his right at Su Kyung. She was still reading but still seemed to have heard what was going on. Yongguk nodded and took his seat next to Su Kyung. What was her problem? Why does she hate him so much? He didn’t do anything wrong. He was just playfully flirting with her. No big deal, right? Yongguk glanced over at Himchan who was seated on the other side of the room. Himchan pulled out his phone and pointed to it, silently asking if he got Su Kyung’s number yet. Yongguk sighed and shook his head.
“Okay everyone,” Mr. Song announced, “take out your textbook and turn to page 95. Yongguk, since you don’t have your book yet, you can share with Su Kyung.”
Yongguk nodded and scooted his desk over next to Su Kyung’s. He wasn’t sure if he was happy about this arrangement or not. He knew Su Kyung didn’t like him but it was as if he was getting a second chance at getting her number. He smirked as he thought about the second option. The more he thought about it, the second option turned into the only option.
He took out his notebook and tried to listen to what Mr. Song was saying but it was rather dull. All he knew was that it had something to do with history so he flipped to a blank page in his notebook and wrote a note. Why do you hate me?
Su Kyung glanced at it as Yongguk tore the page away and slid it over to her. I don’t hate you, she responded, I can just tell that you weren’t sincere and I don’t want to give you my number and I’m not planning on giving it to you.
Is that a challenge?
Su Kyung smirked. Try all you want. It’s not going to happen.
Inwardly, Yongguk chuckled. This was it. There was no way he was going to fail. She was testing him, he figured. He couldn’t let Himchan and his other friends see him as a loser. He arched his back and stretched with a silly grin plastered on his face. He was going to win no matter what.
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