Meetings

On Fridays, thankfully, my classes end early as compared to the rest of the cohort. I've been holding the jacket, which I washed, for the whole day. I really don't know how I'm going to find the person who owns it. I presume it's a guy because of the size and cutting, but that's not going to help much in my search for him.

I sit at a corner of the canteen alone, checking the clock while drumming my fingers on my computer. Okay, so ending early on Fridays isn't such a good thing since club meetings are on Fridays and everyone else has classes. I've made an allocation list for the assignments we'll be handling. Jinki and Hayi are doing this month's magazine design, Junhee is handling the design for our special interview with alumni celebrity, Son Gain, and Sungjae and Minhyun are doing the other posters for the singing competition.

I sigh quietly, fiddling with my fingertips. Club meetings are awkward. We are a bunch of awkward people put together, well, except for Sungjae. He's the anomaly of the team. He runs about spazzing over almost everything and has the hyperactive, bubbly personality of a five-year-old.

"Youngjae!"

I turn to the source of the voice and am greeted face to face with Hyosung, smiling brightly. I back away, flushing at our close proximity. I used to have a crush on her last year when Himchan introduced her to me. She's bubbly, outgoing and friendly, practically the opposite of her.

"Noona."

She sits at my table, grinning in anticipation. "I'm here to tell you about our play so you can work on our posters."

She reaches out to pat me on the head. "I know how busy you are so thank you so much for helping us out."

I nod shyly, sieving out a pen and a notebook.

"You know what play we're doing, right?" She pipes up.

"Romeo and Juliet?" I return curiously.

Hyosung hums, polished nails tapping against the table. "It's such a tragic story, isn't it?"

She sniffs, wiping away an imaginary tear. "But see, what we're doing isn't exactly the same. What makes our play special is that we're doing Romea instead of Romeo. It's a lesbian love story in which their parents are against them even being friends because they are rivals competing for the same male aristocrat."

Hyosung's eyes light up with a brilliant spark. "I feel a bit of me die whenever I act out the scenes with Sunhwa. It feels so real, Youngjae! It's so heartbreaking; I don't want to lose her... "

She drops her head onto the table, whining in despair. I poke her with my pen and smother back a laugh. 

She pops her head up, pursing her lips. "So you have to get all of that down, okay, Youngjae? The play is really, really, really sad. It will make everyone cry so badly, the Han River couldn't begin to compare to their flood of tears."

I chuckle softly. No wonder I used to like her.

"I want it to look depressing but also, to be filled with love and passion. I want everyone to feel the agony and unfairness," she asserts, faraway look etched in her eyes.

I nod, scribbling down her words. A bunch of boys stroll past us, voices booming in yells and cheers.

"Oh my god." Hyosung sits up straight, ogling at our school's basketball team.

"Noona," I chide with a chuckle, "at least be more subtle."

Hyosung whimpers, eyes still latched onto the team striding past. "Youngjae, you don't understand how hard it is to be conspicuous," she sighs dreamily, resting her face against her palms. "Everything just disappears from sight when hot guys come into my view."

I shake my head and burst out into a laugh. She continues to check out the boys, clapping her hands abruptly in happiness.

"Daehyun finally wore his team jacket! It's about time; he looks so good in it. The girls have been dying for him to wear it. Now, we just have to wait for Yongguk to put it on."

Daehyun. The name registers in my mind. The guy who takes the train with me in the mornings and is in my Literature class. I don't pay attention to him much on the train but I'm certain I've seen him several times while I squeezed through the crowds.

"I wonder why they don't want to wear it," Hyosung mutters. I glance to the basketball team as they fade out of sight. They look so striking with their bright red varsity jackets; I can't tell who's who.

"Maybe they find it too flashy?"

"Yeah," Hyosung chimes. "Yongguk definitely isn't the type to draw attention to himself. Same goes for Daehyun. Their mysteriousness makes them so y."

Oh, so Daehyun's a reserved person. I wonder how he fits in with his team, especially with people like Jongin and Yifan who are constantly the centers of attention.

"I'd give a leg if I could act with anyone in the basketball team, Youngjae." Hyosung her lips and I muffle back a laugh. "Athletic guys are so attractive. Especially Yongguk. He's mega eye candy."

She ponders to herself, thumb between her pink lips. "And except for Chanyeol. He's kind of cuckoo."

"Aren't you a bit crazy too?" I tease, earning a light nudge and a pout from Hyosung.

"It's alright, anyway. I have Kikwang! And he's a baseball player. Not as hot as a basketball player, but still hot enough."

I squint at her, clicking my tongue in disapproval as she blows a raspberry back. Just then, Hayi walks up to me, steps hesitant.

"Hayi," I call, tripping on the last syllable and igniting a cackle in Hyosung.

Hayi nods silently, watching as Hyosung gets off the bench and waves to the both of us.

"Good luck! And make our poster A* quality, Youngjae!"

Hayi and I sit in an awkward silence for a while, making repeated comments about when we think the rest will arrive. You'd think I'd do better as the head of a department, but no. I am a social failure.

Luckily, Junhee arrives next and she accompanies Hayi. Sungjae springs towards us with Jinki and Minhyun in tow. I brief them on their assignments for less than five minutes and aside from Sungjae's lively remarks, none of us speak other than when necessary. They disperse quickly, leaving me alone at the table. Sleep claws at my eyes as I walk towards the lockers, trying to blink fatigue away.

Just as I open the lockers, I notice a can sitting above my locker. I would have assumed someone left it there by accident if it weren't for the yellow note taped to it.

Youngjae.

Some of the ink has smudged due to the condensation of the can. I take out the note, revealing a coffee wrapper. I smile to myself, binning the note and cracking open the can. If Himchan keeps this up, I'll die from caffeine like how he will in a few years' time. Pulling out my phone, I text him a quick Thanks for the coffee, hyung.

I settle down in an empty classroom, rushing out a few drafts for the teachers in charge of Beacon. They're a really picky group; my designs have been sent back more than five times, like I'm some miraculous machine that can churn out designs all day long. I know graphics look like just what they are, but underneath, there'