The Soccer Field.

That’s where I met him for the second time in my entire life.

Looking back, I couldn't help but laugh fondly at the memories that we have encountered.  It kind of resembled a roller coaster; there were moments of anxiety when you are anticipating the drops, followed by times of absolute euphoria when gravity seemed to disappear.  Along the way there may have been some loops that will dampen those happy feelings, but the ride soon stopped to a finish, and you realized that the dangers have passed.

Before starting my story, I will tell you beforehand that I, Yoon SuAh, was an absolute geek back then, and a huge fan of books.  I still am now, but it was thanks to a certain someone who managed to change me into a not-so-geeky person and the aspiring novelist I am today.  Here we go.

I was a shy and a quiet student entering Cube High for the first time and right from the get-go, I was immediately labeled “The Bookworm”.  It was as if upon entry of the iron gates, people already knew me as ‘the-girl-who-always-carries-a-book-around’ and that name stuck to me for the next three years of my high school life.  Wherever you saw me, I would either be studying or sleeping, but you always saw a book by my side.

My parents were fond of literature as well; my father was a languages professor at a nearby university, and my mother a former journalist for a popular newspaper magazine before she became a stay-at-home housewife.  They were probably my biggest influences for my love of reading, and also the fact that they owned an entire mini library that I had pawed through since the day I learned to crawl.

Growing up in such surroundings, it was certainly different.  While the other kids were playing and running around in the mud, I would curl up on the staircase with a good fairytale or picture book.  When the girls were gossiping about boys and shopping, I preferred to indulge my thoughts into thick pages of text and dream about the words as they come alive in my mind.  That was how I spent my childhood years.   

But as I grew older, people started comparing me to a nerd or a person who has no social life and I was deeply hurt by that.  It was not fair that they could criticize another one’s interests just because they didn’t enjoy it as much as I did.  The teasing didn’t stop even after I’d graduated from middle school.  That’s when I decided that I’ve had enough.  I wanted to escape their jeering laughs, their taunts as they throw down books as if they were pieces of trash onto the ground.  I wanted to leave that place.

My parents were slightly worried when I told them I wanted to transfer to a different high school other than the one next door, but they consented in the end after me persuading them that Cube offered a better program for literature and the arts.  I lied to them.  Well, more like half-lied; the school did have a reputable languages program that I could see myself flourish in, but it was also another reason to get away from my classmates that would be attending the same high school that I previously rejected.

The effort was futile.  People still referred to me as the ‘bookworm’ and this time the situation turned for the worse as more students got involved.  I’m pretty sure you can guess who they are, but I’ll tell you anyways: popular girls and arrogant jocks. 

The first day I walked into Cube High, I had the misfortune of bumping into a clique of girls that resulted in a mini- fight and me losing my glasses.  Stumbling amongst the snickering and laughter, I spun wildly around and in all different directions trying to find them, resulting in my face being bumped into the wall multiple times. 

I must’ve wondered a bit too far, for the laughter soon drifted away and then the starting bell rang for class.  I began to panic, this is my first time at an unknown place and I was stuck trying to find my glasses.  Not caring about my dignity anymore (If I had any), I began searching around like a madman.  No sooner than I had taken another move, I heard someone running, followed by a thunder of footsteps that seemed to get closer with every second. 

“Watch out!”  I heard a deep voice yell, and suddenly I found myself being roughly tugged by the hand to fling-flung nowhere.  The person half-dragged me down a couple of meters, with my feet flailing uselessly behind, and then I felt him turn to the left with me following suit. 

“Agh!” My body fell against something bulgy and plastic-like.  A hand was cupped firmly against my mouth, preventing me the chance to scream.  The hairs on my skin stood up as I sensed another body radiating heat beside mine, panted breaths huffing in my ear.  There was no doubt about it, I'm being kidnapped, I thought with terror creeping in my heart. 

THUMP.  THUMP.

The thunder-stampede of footsteps came closer to our huddled location, and I felt my kidnapper in a breath.  “Where did Doojoon-oppa go?!”  A shrilly voice yelled out.  It was joined by other girly whines, some ranging at decibel levels way beyond my hearing range.   But soon the footsteps turned in the opposite direction, and silence fell once again.

...So, I'm not getting kidnapped?

The person’s hand left my mouth and I felt my arm being pulled up.  Yelping, I blinked rapidly at the distorted scenery.

“Gwenchana?  Mianhae, the garbage bags were the first place I thought of!”  Blurry visions of a male’s face flickered across my eyes.   I scrunched my eyebrows, trying to get a clearer image.  That didn’t work too well.  “E-Eh?”  I stammered.

I saw my vision blur even more as he waved what appeared to be his hands in front of my face.  I began to get a bit nauseous.  “G-Gwenchana?  Annyeong?  Can you see me?  D-Did you hit your head?”  he asked again.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, trying to get past the moment of dizziness.  “A-Ani, it-it’s just I l-lost my g-glasses s-somewhere and I c-can’t see.”  I responded lamely. 

Suddenly, the same shrilly voice from earlier shouted out, and I blindly looked to my right to see a blurred feminine figure pointing in my direction.  “I found him!”

“Aish!”  The boy quickly let go of my hand, and shouted a hurried, “I hope you find your glasses!” before his voice was overpowered by the thundering of footsteps whistling past my ear as I pressed my back against the hard surface of the walls, praying to God that this stampede will end soon. 

I’ll just fast-forward the story a bit, since what happened next wasn’t all that interesting.  As it turned out, My new principal, Hong SeungSung, found me wondering the school grounds blindly for another half-hour before calling Omma to send in another pair of glasses.  My parents were not that pleased, but they didn’t scold me too much.  For the next few days, I got acquainted with the school and my classes, and I learned that the girl who I bumped into earlier was in fact Kwon Heeyoung, the most popular girl in my grade.

Since I was the new girl, people didn’t know me nor did they bother trying to be my friend.  I sat alone at lunchtime, but it soon grew too stuffy and loud in the cafeteria that I switched outside, where it was much quieter and I could go back to my comfort zones.

One afternoon, I was sitting on my usual spot on the spectator stands where I had occupied for the past week, munching on my sandwiches and poring over a new sci-fi that just came out.  Just so you know, I’m a fan of all book genres; I found reading only one type too dull for my taste.  Anyways, I was getting to the part where the main character opens the gates when-

“Watch out!”

WHAM.

An invisible force knocked the book out of my hands, then rebounded, hitting the base of my chin and sending my head flinging backwards in an awkward angle.  My eyebrows twitched in pain as I heard the suspect’s hurried footsteps run across the field and onto the stands. 

“G-Gwenchana?  Mianhae, mianhae!  I hope the ball didn’t hit you hard!” 

The twitching stopped as I heard his voice.  It sounded vaguely familiar.  A dark figure soon shielded my eyes from the blinding sunlight and I was faced with a teenage boy, around the same age as me and wearing a blue soccer uniform. 

“Annyeong?  Are you okay?”  he asked again, holding out a hand as to help me up.  I took it gingerly and straightened my askew glasses.  “Neh, I’m fine.”

“Sorry about that, I lost my footing there and the ball spun out of control,” The boy continued to apologize as I smoothed down my uniform shirt.  Agh, stop apologizing and just go already.      

The boy then gasped.  “Your chin, it’s bruised.” 

Every nerve in my body froze as he placed two fingers near the base of my lower jaw, tilting it up so it revealed the reddening skin.  I quickly stepped back, covering the bruise with my hand and blushing profusely.  “I-it’s fine, i-it’s just a scratch.” 

“You sure?”  The boy asked.  I furiously nodded my head.  He leaned closer, and I felt my cheeks grow hot. 

“I’ve seen you somewhere,” The boy mumbled as he examined my face.  Then a bright smile replaced his confused gaze at he pointed at me.  “Ah!  You’re the new student I saw on the first day, the one who lost her glasses!” 

I cringed.  “Yup, that’s me.” 

Wonderful, now everyone knows about my epic failure.  I will soon be known as “the-bookworm-how-can’t-even-read-because-she-lost-her-glasses”.  However the grinning boy stuck out a hand.  “Welcome to Cube High.  My name is Yoon Doojoon!”  he said in a friendly voice. 

I hesitantly shook his hand.  “Yoon Suah,” I answered. 

“YOON Suah?  Daebak, it’s nice to finally meet another student with the same surname!”  Doojoon replied, and