chapter three.
                                           I still remember you.

 

 

 

August 22, 2014

Hankyeol Highschool, Seoul . Front Gates

12:14 AM

 

"I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry!"

 

Sehun stared at the school gates in front of him with two grocery bags in his hands, lost in thought.

He had never heard anyone talk so fast.

 

"Sehun!"

Sehun looked up to see Mark opening the gates for him. The guy was panting rather heavily.

"Dude," He immediately shoved a crumbled piece of paper into his face. "Look at our Class Divsions list! It's like a jackpot of stupidity and chaos--"

"... Krystal Jung?"

"Not only that!" He pointed at the last name on the list. "Look! And to think we're actually gonna have to deal with all of this starting from tomorrow--"

 

31: Kim Jaehyun.

 

Oh Sehun couldn't help but smile.

---------------------

August 23, 2014

The Kim's House, Seoul

9:07 AM

 

It was the first day of school.

In other words, Kim Jaehyun's worst day of the year.

Riiiinnng.

 

"I'LL GET THE PHOO~ONNNEE!"

"NO, I wanna get it!"

"OW! Stop shoving me! NOOONA! JOON PUSHED ME! I DON'T THINK HE DESERVES THURSDAY'S COOKIES."

"BUT NOONA, HYUNSOO'S TRYING TO HOG THE PHONE ALL TO HIMSELF--"

The door suddenly slammed open.

"Don't." Jaehyun pointed at the shocked kids with a broomstick. "Touch. The. Phone."

The twins stared back up at her, frozen in mid-fight.

Jaehyun cautiously walked closer to the ringing phone, staring at it as if it would explode any second. Uneasily, she reached out to press the 'dismiss' button.

The ringing suddenly stopped before she could.

 

"Ding. You have one new message."

Hyunsoo gasped. Jaehyun quickly shushed him with her broomstick.

Beeeep. ".... Kim Jaehyun hasksaeng?"

Jaehyun widened her eyes.

"You missed today's first period... again. Please remember, it is more important to be a student learning in the classroom with friends your age than doing your studies alone. Although I've told you this before, I'm always willing to cooperate with you in coming back to school--"

Click.

 

"Awww, why'd you turn it off?" Joon exclaimed in disappointment.

Jaehyun gave him a funny look. "Why? You don't even understand what she's saying."

"So? It's fun listening to her every year! Like Santa coming every Christmas!"

Jaehyun took advantage of the distracted twins, who were now engaged in the topic of Christmas, to quickly unplug the phone cord before heading back into the kitchen. If she didn't do that, it would ring every forty-five minutes to inform Jaehyun about each class period she had missed.

Just like last year.

And the year before that.

 

"Goodness...." She wiped her sweaty forehead as she went through the pile of mail, letters, and packages on the kitchen table. Each one was adressed to her, of course, from the beloved Hankyeol Highschool. Neatly typed reminders telling her that it's not too late to show up for the school year, handwritten messages from teachers urging her to come introduce herself to the class, photocopies of the classwork they were planning to go over this week...

She stopped when she got to the packaged box that was significantly larger than the rest. Even just by looking at it, she knew what it was.

She unboxed it. A crisp, brand new uniform with the navy blue blazer all the way up to the small, rectangular name tag with 'Kim Jaehyun'  neatly inscribed on it.

She stared at it without a word.

This looks expensive.

 

Unknowingly, Jaehyun looked down at the small, golden, delicately made ring on her left ring finger, a wavering feeling inside her chest.

... No.

 

The kitchen door suddenly slammed open.

"--And then we'll go sledding in the sled Santa gave me last year--"

"Wait, but I thought he gave me the sled. He gave you the boots, remember?"

Jaehyun rolled her eyes in amusement at the two boys walking in, arguing over who got what for Christmas last year.

"Guys," She moved the scrambled eggs into two white plates, "He wasn't Santa."

"Yes he was! It was Christmas, and he was giving us free presents! He's Santa!"

She shook her head in amusement as she set down the plates of eggs and bacon onto the kitchen table. They still remember that guy giving out presents in the shopping mall from a year ago.

She smiled, a warm, fuzzy feeling appearing in her stomach as it did each time she remembered last year's Christmas day.

 

That guy had been really nice that time, reminding the twins to read more books and 'always listen to your noona no matter what' while handing them the free gifts. Although Joon and Hyunsoo had been too busy rejoicing over the presents to listen carefully to what he had said, Jaehyun had still appreciated it... a lot.

She looked down at her hand. This small, golden, delicately designed ring in her finger had been her Christmas present from him too.

"You're a student, aren't you?"

He had smiled. A small, yet deeply warm smile that had been thick with empathy.

"You look tired."  He took out a small box. "Here. It'll look good on you. Strengthen up a bit... life goes on. All you have to do is go to school well. Everything will be fine from then."

"Noona! What do you think? Was it me or Joon who got the sled?"

Jaehyun turned and looked at them, brought out of her own thoughts.

"The sled? I don't know.. Why don't you go find Santa and ask him yourself?"

The twins' eyes lit up.

"That's a great idea!"

"Yeah! We should go find him this Christmas and ask him!"

Joon gave a mischievous smile. "Maybe he'll give us more--"

"No, Joon. You'll die if you be greedy."

He groaned. "But you say that for everything! Even for vegetables!"

Jaehyun rolled her sleeves back down after finishing up with the morning kitchen chores, turning to leave the twins to eat their own breakfast.

 

Light skin.

Soft, disheveled brown hair.

Delicate fingers. Subtle smiles with crinkling deep, brown eyes.

 

She stared down at her ring. And she smiled.

Seojin Shopping Center, was it? She thought to herself as she opened the door. "It hadn't been too far from here..." She muttered, only to suddenly stop as she recalled something.

 

Oh yeah.

-------

December 25, 2013

Seojin Shopping Center, Seoul

10:48 PM

 

"You look unhappy."

The brunette tilted his head. "Are you having trouble at school?"

She shrugged, not wanting to bother explaining everything to a stranger, no matter how kind he seemed.

"Sort of.... I guess." Jaehyun muttered beneath her scarf.

"... Well, then you should fix whatever's troubling you."

Jaehyun looked up.

"Why?"

"Because students should go to school. Studying in the classroom and chatting with your friends and all that... that's what makes a student a student, you know. It's just something necessary."

She blinked a few times in thought before looking up at him cautiously.

 

"Are.... Are you a reliable soure?"

He smiled.

"Trust me. I work at a school around here. I see students come and go, and going to school never made things worse for them."

--------

"A school around here...."

Jaehyun looked back at the blue uniform on the kitchen counter.

 

"There's only one school around here."