Stories

I managed to catch Daehyun in the hallways the other day. He seemed so shocked to see me that I forgot why I was looking for him at that moment. I told him it wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t look convinced in the least bit. It didn’t help that the bell rang and cut us of our time, Daehyun saying sorry and asking me to find someone else again. I thought the whole us constantly apologising thing was pretty funny at first, but this time, I really don’t know what to do.

Yongguk and I agreed to meet today after my last lesson. I tap my pen against the table, looking down uneasily at Park-songsaengnim. I was afraid he might lash out at us again today, but fortunately, he’s a lot more calm today. There’s a teacher in training with us today―someone named Kim Ryeowook. 

I exhale a long breath once Park-songsaengnim puts away his marker, clapping his hands together.

“We’ll stop here for today.”

Sighs of relief echo through the class, some of us rising. 

“Did I say you’re dismissed?”

The class instantly stills and those standing plop back hastily into their seats, looking towards Park-songsaengnim.

He clears his throat, packing his things into his bag. “For the follow-up segment of your project, you will be doing on a prominent theme in your part one of your project. Again, it is an open topic―this time much broader―and the content is not restricted. Prose, poetry, plays, art, any kind of story, even viva voce is allowed. You can do a mix of both personal and officially published works. Not only that, you are allowed to do your presentation however you please.”

“We’ll be holding an exhibition in the hall for all your works.” Park-songsaengnim pushes his glasses up his nose bridge. “So please submit something presentable.” He raises his head, coughing again.

“You are allowed to change partners as long as you inform me, but that is not recommended.” His gaze finds me in the crowd and I shrink back into my chair. “However, please do so if necessary. Class dismissed.”

I fall back into my seat, watching Park-songsaengnim leave the class with Kim-songsaengnim. It’s a teacher’s orders, but that won’t stop me from working with Daehyun again. He’s innocent, and if Park-songsaengnim scolds me, so be it.

I squeeze out to the stairs, glancing up and sifting out Daehyun’s face in the crowd. I briskly pace over to his desk and wave, garnering his attention. Daehyun looks up from packing his bag, eyes huge.

Zitao, who is sitting beside him, whispers, “I thought you said he’s gonna find another guy.”

Daehyun barely acknowledges Zitao’s words, hand paused in the air with his pencil case in his clutch.

“Hey.” I rub the back of my neck, casting him a smile. “Can I be your partner?”

--

“But… why?” Daehyun asks as we walk out of the lecture theatre.

We stop outside the door by the side, Daehyun blinking at me rapidly. I lean my weight onto one foot and stare back at him. I consider reiterating the fact that it wasn’t Daehyun’s fault, but I think he'll just deny it with another apology.

“Because I want you to be my partner,” I reply with a bright grin.

Daehyun folds his lips, looking conflicted. “Youngjae, it’s alright. You’ll get into trouble.”

“I’m a troublemaker,” I joke, hoping to put Daehyun at ease. Roaring a little, I triumph inwardly when Daehyun chuckles.

“It’s not your fault, Daehyun. I mean it.”

Daehyun shifts and diverts his stare. “But Park-songsaengnim told you to change partners.”

His shoulder deflates, sigh tumbling out of his mouth. He parts his lips and I quickly interject before he can insist for me to find another classmate.

“But I like you.”

Okay, that sounded very self-serving. Daehyun halts in his motions, shock written into his eyes. I struggle to phrase my words properly, bringing up my hands to gesture.

“Sorry, I- What I meant was…”

A wide smile suddenly spreads across Daehyun's face, startling me. His eyes are shaped in crescents, crinkles running through his cheeks and chapped lips pulled up high.

I find myself smiling along with him naturally. It feels like the entire hallway just lit up by a thousand watts.

All of a sudden, a voice resounds towards us.

“Daehyun!” A girl runs up to us and I retreat a little as she stops abruptly, beaming at Daehyun.

“Eunji, don’t you have classes now?” She nudges him lightly, standing close enough for their shoulders to brush.

“Enrichment classes were cancelled.” She gives a thumbs up, teeth showing brightly.

“Let’s go for a snack together.” She winds her arm around Daehyun's elbow, casual grin on her cute features.

Welp, it feels like I’m interrupting something with my presence here. I back away further, waving to Daehyun.

“Youngjae,” Daehyun blurts, clearly awkward about putting me on hold.

I shake my head dismissively. “So we’re doing the project together, okay?”

Once he nods, I turn and briskly leave for the music room. Wow, that girl’s really pretty. They seem close, seems like she’s Daehyun’s girlfriend?

Ambling to the next block, I neaten out my uniform and knock on the door. Oh god, I’m feeling anxious about meeting Yongguk. I don’t want to be an awkward turtle there.

The door swings open, revealing Yongguk in a hoodie with a CD player on the ground.

“Youngjae!” he greets cheerily with a gummy grin. It completely melts away all the intimidation weaved into his face. “Thanks so much for doing this. Sorry, I know you’re busy and all.”

“It’s no problem, hyung,” I assure as he leads me in, dropping onto the ground.

"So, you’re friends with Jaebum," Yongguk remarks.

I nod, turning on my laptop and tapping against the mousepad. “It's a curse."

Yongguk breaks out into a hearty laugh, slapping me on my back. He continues through giggles, “How about Daehyun?”

I lift my head up at the question. Yongguk’s head is craned towards me, face spelling interest of the highest degree. He backs away once we lock eyes, clearing his throat.

“Ah, who are the other juniors in the team… Hongbin, Byunghun, um…” Yongguk trails off, pressing on his outstretched fingers. 

“Oh, I don’t know who’s Byunghun…” Not personally, at least. He’s the one who came up to Daehyun and I when he missed practice. I wince at the memory.

“Hongbin’s in my class,” I reply, “and Daehyun’s in my literature class.”

Yongguk perks up. “Oh,” he chimes, “so you know Daehyun?”

I feel like he just ignored the other two he asked me about. 

“Mm, I do,” I return. Yongguk nods contentedly.

“Do you know that he sings really well?” Yongguk digs out a disc from his bag along with a notebook. “We had him sing at a noraebang and he broke the record score.”

“Wow. Yeah, I’ve heard him sing before. He’s amazing.” The memory of Daehyun’s voice is still fresh in my mind. I wonder who he was thinking of when he wrote the song.

“You have?” Yongguk curiously shifts towards me for an answer.

“I saw his audition for Beacon,” I admit hesitantly.

“What!?” Yongguk’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. Maybe I should think twice before admitting to technically illegal stuff. “He signed up for Beacon!?”

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Yongguk massages his forehead and sighs. I bite down on my tongue nervously, cursing myself for saying so. Is Daehyun forbidden from joining?

“...Youngjae, by any chance are you competing in Beacon?”

“No, I’m not. I’ll just be watching.”

I don’t know if the answer made any difference, but I hope it’ll lessen whatever trouble I got Daehyun into. God, I seem to always screw something up for Daehyun.

“Go figure, that makes more sense.” Yongguk nods, pinching at his nose bridge in exasperation.

“D-Did I get him into trouble, hyung?” I ask meekly.

Yongguk stares at me for a moment before shaking his head, eyes twinkling in amusement. “No, you didn’t.”

Sceptical, I turn away anyway and start up Photoshop on my laptop.

“Daehyun’s a nice person, isn’t he?” Yongguk babbles.

“Yeah, he is.” Thinking back, he insisted on walking me home even though I was just a few minutes away from my home.

“Thoughtful, charming, talented… and most of all, dedicated. A real ladies’ man,” Yongguk rambles.

That’s a definite. It’s not surprising Daehyun has a girlfriend.

“You know, he’s gotten a lot of confessions. What a popular guy,” Yongguk sings as I flash him an amused look. He sounds like a mother bragging about her son.

“Really? I- oh, here we go,” I pipe up once I finish loading all my brushes and textures, edging the computer towards Yongguk.

Yongguk’s mixtape is really awesome. He’s got a whole bunch of remixes and self-compositions on it and he raps with a lot of passion. It’s astounding he’s releasing his own album when he’s just a senior in high school. Goes to show when you put your mind to it, you really can go far.

We work on the cover for about a few hours, Yongguk and I leafing through a few of his sketches and finalising on a rough draft. He said he tried to get Daehyun to collab with him on one of his songs, I Remember, but Daeyun refused to. That’s too bad; I’d like to hear it. Yongguk played the melody for me on his keyboard and it sounds great.

I wait outside as Yongguk locks up the studio, keys jingling in his hand. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride back? My father can always send you,” he asks.

“Hyung, it’s alright.” We walk to the school gates together, Yongguk chatting animatedly about how excited for his release.

“And it’ll look so good all thanks to you!” Yongguk sings, pumping his fist in the air and yelling. I laugh, throwing an arm up and cheering along with him.

Yongguk guffaws, high-fiving me and then patting my back. “Hey, Youngjae. Are you dating right now?”

I edge around uncomfortably before shaking my head, a bit embarrassed. Everyone seems to be dating while I’m here looking like I intend to be the next Mary. I don’t think any girl has ever showed interest in me before since I’m such a boring wallflower.

“Just a little advice,” Yongguk says as he holds me by the shoulders, “don’t look too far.”

That sounds like something Himchan would say, except he would probably shove a stranger’s selca into my face as an add-on. Not too far, he’d probably whisper maniacally while pressing the screen to my nose. A car pulls up in front of us and Yongguk tugs open the door, suddenly nudging me in as I yelp. 

“Hello, Appa,” Yongguk greets joyfully, climbing into the passenger seat. “Youngjae, where do you live?”

“Hyung, I-”

Yongguk shoots me an assuring grin, quelling the protests in me. I mumble out my address, greeting and thanking Yongguk’s father.

“Kidnapping your friends as usual?” Yongguk’s father jokes, igniting a burst of laughter in Yongguk. “I’m forced to be your accomplice.”

Yongguk elbows his father in the ribs, whining when his father swats him away. They look so close…

I ask Yongguk’s father to drop me at the station, pacing to the same street stall where I always get my dinner from. It’s not anything spectacular, just some store that sells cheap noodles.

“One jajangmyeon please-”

“Youngjae!”

I spin around, coming face to face with Daehyun. Huh, he must have left school pretty late too.

Daehyun squirms, scratching the back of his head. “What a... coincidence. Are you getting dinner?”

“Yeah, you too?” I chime.

Daehyun nods instantly, staring at me for a moment. “Do you… want to eat dinner together?”

“Sure!” I cringe at how fast I replied; I guess I really haven’t grown out of my dislike for eating alone. Since young, I’ve never liked eating on my own but now, it can’t be helped as my parents come home so late. I don’t want to burden my other friend