Chapter 3

“Hello.” I hear him say in a Korean, though with the hint of an accent. Just like me, I’ve observed, it seems like he’s perfected the Korean language but was unable to fully get rid of his Chinese accent. I marvel at the fact that I’ve been here long enough to be able to distinguish between the different dialects and accents you find when encountering people from different parts of South Korea as well as foreigners like me. Turns out I’m a quick learner after all.

“Hi.” I greet back, cautious as I always am with practical strangers or people who I just haven’t gotten to getting to know.

We both take our seats at our table and search for our physics books in our bags. We aren’t so fortunate as to have been given lockers at this school but can rent one if we want one- this new rule being due to previous students and their misconduct and violation of the right to lockers in earlier years. Or so I’ve been told.

This means we have to carry around school bags filled with heavy textbooks all day with no relief for our precious back. Such an unfair rule to be passed down to us because of those who came before us!

Han opens his book to Friday’s homework and I quickly jot down the answers before our teacher walks in and discovers that I haven’t done my homework again. I wonder why he’s helping me considering the fact that he hasn’t done so in the past. I could have easily answered those questions myself in no time.

I utter a quick “thank you” before to him as I scribble away in my own science book. I should really consider starting to actually do my homework. But why does it have to be such a drag?

I chuckle to myself as the thought of a character from an anime that I like pops into my head. I must admit that I agree with Shikamaru when he complains about everything being such a drag. It really is true.

“So how was your weekend?” Han's voice brings me back from my silly thoughts and I finish off my messy scribbling and pass his book back to him, not failing to notice how his hand brushes against mine in the exchange- seemingly purposefully in my unimportant opinion.

I give him a quizzical look as he looks at me meaningfully, similarly so to all the times he’s not-so-secretly looked at me from the corner of his eye thinking I wasn’t paying enough attention to notice.

“Not very eventful, why do you ask?” I ask, curious as to why he is suddenly showing an unexpected interest in me and paying me more attention than usual. Sadly enough, I don’t get to hear his response as our physics teacher ostentatiously bursts into the classroom with the biggest smile on her face, saying something about what a beautiful day it is outside and going on as if science is the most beautiful thing to have ever been entrusted to mankind.

I don’t believe it for a second but I ready my pencil and work book, as well as my notes, and try to listen and watch tentatively as she explains the notes and the previous week’s homework before our actual lesson starts.

Later in the lesson, when the bell indicating the end of class is about to ring and we are busy finishing off marking a class activity we have been doing, I can’t help but unexpectedly burst in to a forcefully hushed but ill contained laughter as I hear Gitae the nerd complaining about a wrong answer that he got because apparently Sungmin marked it wrong when truly, it was right.

“This is bull!” he complains louder than he probably intends to an indifferent Sungmin who only brushes him off by sliding her bag onto her back and strutting, head held high in defiance, as she exits the class just as the bell goes off.

How stuck up can a guy get, complaining so vehemently about a single wrong answer in a class activity when he’s already the top achiever in the entire school?! I can’t believe that his biggest issue in life is a wrong answer in a class activity. Don’t I wish my life was that simple?

“You have a cute laugh.” Han says to me without sparing me a single glance as he packs his books away and I can’t help the blush that makes its way onto the face despite the direct order I send to my brain to stop such displays of unnecessary emotion. Luckily I’m black, so my skin isn’t as prone to tinting as people of lighter skin so I can get away with a small hint of embarrassment without it showing. But that still doesn’t take away from the words he’s just said to me.

What now he’s complimenting me? He has never so much as uttered a single unnecessary word to me and now a compliment? What’s up with him today? What does he want?

I murmur an unwilling “thanks” to him for lack of a better response and zip up my back before placing it on by back. I double check my desk to see if I haven’t left anything behind- because I have a tendency to do that- and I’m just about to walk away when I feel a warm and slightly sweaty hand wrap around my own rough and dry artistic one- the paint really does take it out on your hand, even more-so for me because I always manage to get paint all over me when I’m being artsy.

I turn, startled to see Han’s hand holding firm to mine as his eyes send me yet another one of those meaningful looks I don’t understand but am starting to find annoying. I raise a frustrated brow at his confusing actions and send a questioning look that teeters on the border between a grouch and a glare at him. What could he possibly want from me?

“Do you have something to say?” I ask him, unable to hold the impatience back from appearing in my tone. If he has something to say then he should just go right ahead and spill it!

“Yes,” he says in a deep, hushed voice that makes me have to lean closer to him to hear what he has to say. He then let’s go of my hand and straps on his bag, turning back to look at me as though we are the most casual of friends in the midst of a delightful conversation and giving me an unexpectedly friendly smile that I haven’t had the pleasure of being graced with in the past.

“Do you wanna have lunch with me?” he asks and for a split second I swear my heart freezes in my chest only to restart again at an uncontrollably rapid pace.

“What?”

***

Hello to my dear subbies :)

I hope you are enjoying so far

What do yiy think??? Let me know?? :3