HER

The next week just flew by in a whirlwind of craziness. It was the last week before sports day, and literally half the classes each day were being cancelled for practice, and Friday was completely devoid of any classes at all as it was mostly just one big, final rehearsal before the big day. I barely had time to reminisce on my date with Minseok, and how weird, but nice it had been. Weird because we hadn’t even been able to leave the coffee shop together, in case someone spotted us; I’d never really anticipated the complete lack of privacy he experienced on a daily basis, and was kinda baffled by it. Nice because, after the initial awkwardness had dissipated, it had become just like old times. I’d never really been as close to anyone in my life as I’d been with Minseok – not even with Woojin – so to be able to grasp onto that feeling once again, well, it had been amazing. I was confused though. Utterly confused. But this week I didn’t have time to think about it. It was work, practice, overtime, and then bed. I was looking forward for this Saturday to come as quickly as possible, only because I was looking forward to it being OVER.

HIM

After the date with Sora, I’d been elated for days. The members teased me about it incessantly. It also happened that we’d ended our promotions for the new song, so our schedule was a little more relaxed and I could spend more time talking to her. Ironically though, since her school was preparing for their sports day, she was the one who now had no time to reply to my mails. I only understood that too well, but I was dying to see her again. That was impossible, of course, because the only free time I had was usually way past midnight, and Sora usually went to bed around 11pm. I said that our schedule had relaxed a bit, but don’t misunderstand, “free time” was a luxury that was still not being offered to me.

HER

Finally, Saturday morning rolled around! I got to school bright and early because we had to set everything up before the parents showed up. Honestly, if you don’t know, sports day in Korea is an event all in itself! It’s bigger even than graduation! We have to set up tents to house the sound system and the VIPs… people give speeches… they even hire food vendors that already started setting up when I strolled through the school gates at 7:00am this morning. It’s pretty crazy.

When the students arrived, we had to take attendances, distribute headbands and finally usher everyone onto the sports field, where we all did stretching exercises together as a massive group. Around 8:30, parents started arriving and crowding the empty spaces around the field, and by 9am, the principal gave his official opening speech.

As in the last two years I’d been here, the kids were really excited. They really got into the games, races, and cheering each other on… it was really fun to watch. Mostly, I just walked around making sure everyone was in the right place at the right time, and sometimes I had to check scores for the races and report to teacher Kim who wrote it all down on a little score board.

By the time we broke for lunch, I was already exhausted. I plopped down on the chair at my desk, not even wanting to pretend to be ladylike. I gobbled down the fancy lunch-box that was provided by the school (teaching at a private school did have its perks) and, in what seemed like no time at all, I had to be outside again to check on my class.

The cheer contest was scheduled to happen right after lunch, and it was the most anticipated of all the events of the day. The kids spent weeks rehearsing their dance and making their costumes, and now it was finally D-Day for them. Basically, the 6 teams all prepared a choreographed dance/performance for the guests, and then the teachers and VIPs would vote on which one was the best. At the end of the day, someone would calculate the points and the team with the highest score would receive a trophy, and the seniors would get to keep it in their classroom for the whole year. Needless to say, the competition was fierce. The teams would go in class order, so since we were in ‘2-1’, it meant we would go first.

I walked over to a clump of girls sporting red headbands, making last minute preparations and asked, “Are you ready?”

“Yeaaaaah!!!” they yelled at me, cheerfully waving their red pompoms, and I couldn’t help smiling at them.

I spotted my little Doremi, stretching in a corner, fanning themselves, and walked over.

“So is this gonna be the winning performance?” I asked them.

“Of course!” answered Reika cheerfully, jumping up and down and shaking her pompoms.

“We’re gonna put EXO to shame!” retorted Dohee, with a smug face, and I chuckled.

“Oh, is that so?”

“Oh, maybe we should record it and send it to them?” suggested Miran, clapping her hands together; even she was way more excited than normal.

“So it’s gonna be that good huh? Maybe you should audition for SM after you graduate!” I said, winking at them.

A bell sounded announcing that teams should get ready and move back to the grounds for the start of the competition. I gathered my girls around me in a tight circle and we all put our hands together, and then threw them up to the sky screaming “fighting!!!” and they all ran off to take their position.

I made my way over to the teachers’ tent and sat down as the festival committee presented the event and how we were to score each team. We were all given an envelope with voting papers and a pen, but I just put them on my lap, taking out my phone instead. The girls had given me an idea, and I thought that, just maybe, there was someone else who might find this funny.

The first bars of EXO’s “Call Me Baby” started playing on the speakers and a group of nearly 100 girls dressed all in red ran to the center of the grounds. I lifted up my phone and pressed the record button.

HIM

The boys and I had been in the dance studio all day, practicing for our upcoming tour. We’d been at it for hours, but now, fatigue and hunger was starting to win over and we’d decided to take a break and order some food. Suho brought the take out menus and a bunch of them crowded around him, splaying them on the floor and arguing over what we should order. I didn’t really care, as long as it was edible, so I walked over to where I’d dropped by my bag and grabbed my phone.

Sitting down on the floor, I happily noticed that Sora had sent me a message so I opened it. It was a video file, along with the lines [my students think they’re kicking your , what do you think?]

I clicked on the link and a low-quality video of an enormous group of teenage girls dancing to our latest single started playing. I burst out laughing. Attracted by my laughter, Lay and Chen popped over to see what I was doing.

“What are you looking at?” asked Lay, and I turned the phone over to show him.

“It’s Sora’s school, they’re dancing to our song” I said, grinning, as he took the phone from me.

“Oh, cool!”

“Ah, I remember those! How nostalgic!” said Kai, who had appeared out of nowhere behind him and put his chin on his hyung’s shoulder.

“Nostalgic?” asked Lay, turning around.

“Yeah, don’t you have that in China? Sports day?”

“Hmm… not like that though… this is cool!”

“Plus they’re all girls, it’s cute” added Sehun, who had just popped out of nowhere behind them.

“Maybe we should have our next concept like that. Dancing with an all girl’s school” laughed Lay as he handed me back my phone.

Kai play-punched him in the stomach and they all laughed.

“Are you kidding?! The fangirls would murder us” I said, matter-of-factly, to more laughter.

HER

“Sugohaesseoyo!!” (Thanks for your hard work!)

Most of our school’s teaching staff stood huddled together outside the restaurant where we’d had our celebratory party – most of them, more than slightly drunk. Sports Day had been a success and now it was over, and so was this official drinking party. I was SO glad. I’d managed to stay relatively sober this time, and was tentatively trying to make my escape from the group, who was already plotting drinks at a second bar.

I said my goodbyes quickly, and walked off before anyone could try to convince me otherwise. I thought I’d succeeded, but a few steps later, I heard a voice calling behind me.

“Cheon-sshi!”

I turned around to see teacher-Kim running up to me.

“Are you heading home?” he asked, falling into step with me.

“Yes. Before anyone notices…” I joked, “I’m so exhausted, I just want my bed right now…”

“Aww, come on! The night is young!” he said, linking arms with me, which is when I realized he must’ve been more intoxicated than I thought because we were NOT on such friendly terms.

“Yeah,” I said, “but it’s been a long day.”

“Just have one drink with me… pleeeaaase?” he asked, making an aegyo face that was really incongruous with his usually serious look, and I just had to laugh.

“Alright. One drink. But I gotta make the last train.”

“Deal!” he said, saluting me like a soldier, and I laughed.

10 minutes later, we were sitting at a cozy, dimly lit, little bar, sipping on fancy wine. Somehow it didn’t surprise me at all that he knew a place like this.

“This place is really nice, teacher-Kim” I told him, glancing around the room.

“Please,” he said, “I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

“What should I call you then?” I chuckled, “that’s your name!”

“Can’t we just use our first names? We’re friends, aren’t we?” he said, giving me a gooey smile.

“Ok…” I forced a smile, feeling a little awkward, “hum…”

“It’s Daeyong.” he told me, looking somewhat sad that I didn’t already know his first name.

“You know, Sora…” he started, staring at the glass in his hand, “I’ve actually been wanting to ask you out for quite some time…”

I looked up at him kinda shocked. To be honest, I wasn’t really that surprised, but hearing him say it still came as a shock. I managed to cough out the words “oh, really?” so as to not be completely rude.

“Yeah…” he chuckled, giving me a cute side-eyed smile, “but you’re always so busy, I can never seem to find a time to speak to you alone.”

“Oh yeah… well, it’s been rather crazy these days, hasn’t it…” I reasoned, thinking about how the reason he could never get me alone was much less accidental than he thought.

He nodded. There was an awkward silence.

“So, are you doing anything tomorrow?” he asked, at the same time as my phone buzzed audibly in my purse.

I quickly grabbed my bag, glad of an excuse to not answer right away, and pulled my phone out.  I smiled without meaning to when I saw that it was a message from Minseok, and put it back into my purse.

“… or, maybe you already have plans…” he said again as I turned towards him, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. “Was that your boyfriend?” he joked.

I was about to answer “No, no he’s just a friend”, but then I stopped myself, a thought coming to me.

“Hum… yeah…” I answered with a sheepish smile, as his face fell.

“Oh… right… of course, you’d already be seeing someone… how stupid of me…” he said, and I felt a little guilty about lying, but, then again, how far was it from actually being the truth… really?

“Oh well,” he shrugged, “at least I asked!” and he forced a little laugh.

“I’m sorry…” I apologized, embarrassed.

“Don’t be. Let’s just drink then!” he said, raising his glass to me, “as friends!!”

HIM

Even though it was pretty late, I was still fully clothed, lying on my bed with my headphones on, listening to some music. My phone rested face down on my chest as I stared at the ceiling. I was trying to play it cool, but really, I just couldn’t sleep because I was waiting for Sora to mail me back. I was a little worried, since it was way past midnight, and she never usually came home that late, so all kinds of crazy scenarios had started popping into my head, and really, until she mailed, I was just going out of my mind.

[I’m hooooome!! «ª«]

My phone buzzed on my chest suddenly, causing me to jerk up in surprise as the text I’d been waiting for finally came to relieve me from my misery.

[Welcome back! :)]

I replied, chuckling at her mail. Sora had never really been one for emojis.

[Can I call you?] I asked.

And the only thing that came for a reply was a big cartoony sticker holding two thumbs up. I shook my head and hit the call button, wondering if she was drunk.

“Helloooooo, Minseokiiiiee!!!” she greeted me in a loud sing-song voice.

Yup. Definitely drunk.

“Hey Sora,” I giggled, “are you drunk?”

“Very much so” she replied in a serious voice, and I could imagine her pulling the serious face that went along with it, which made me smile.

“How was your sports day?” I asked, wondering if I’d actually be able to get an answer.

I heard a commotion in the background, and then she just said “wait” and obviously put the phone down – cue more clattering – before picking it up again, and telling me to wait again. Then I heard walking, a door open and close and loud, poofy sound that I imagine was her flopping down on a sofa or a bed.

“Ok, I’m good.”

“Are you sure?” I asked in a jokingly worried voice.

“Yup.” she answered, “I’m in bed now. All is well.” she sighed and I laughed.

“What was the question again?”

“How was sports day?”

“Ah… well… we won the dance contest, but finished 4^th place for the main competition, which SUUUUCKS” she slurred that last word, “and then we had to stay and take care of the dumb VIPs, which, don’t they have anything better to do, really? Well I guess not… and then we had to clean up and that took so long… and Mrs. Kang and Mrs. Jung spent like, 30 minutes chiding me about not wearing arm-covers and stupid grandma visors cuz I was gonna regret it when I’m old with skin-cancer, and wtf do they know? They are all wrinkly anyways, looking so damn stupid for nothing… and then we had the official party, which you can’t opt-out of, even though it costs 75,000won to go and it’s ing lame… and then I tried to leave and they were like ‘No! Sora! One more drink!’ and dragging me along to this wine bar, and of course I’m so weak to wine, and one drink turned into 50, and here I am! Drunk! Me!”

She laughed. I laughed too. She’d delivered that whole speech without pausing for breath and honestly, I hadn’t really understood most of it, but she was ok, which was the main thing to me at the moment. Also, drunk Sora was kinda funny. It made me wish that one day, we could get drunk together and I’d see it with my own eyes.

“Really? 50, huh?” I asked, teasing her.

“More or less…” she retorted, before letting out a huge yawn. “But how about you, Seokie?”

“Me?”

“What did you do today?”

“Mostly just practiced our dance for the concert.”

“Really? That’s nice…” she mumbled, sleepily.

“And we didn’t finish too late, which was good.”

“That’s nice…”

“Oh and the boys liked your video.” I told her.

“…”

“Sora?” I called out, but no answer came back except the sound of her breathing.

I chuckled, shaking my head as I hit the button to end the call. “Don’t fall asleep on the phone, silly girl…”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while!! I was on vacation, and I went to Korea (and I've been lazy...) but I'm not giving up on this story!! I'll try to write more this month! Enjoy this update!!
AoH