As soon as he entered his bedroom, Hanbin dropped his bag and sat down at the edge of the bed. He heaved a sigh and wiped off the beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Exhausted was an understatement. Coach was training the team harder for the upcoming boxing match. He was being pushed harder during trainings because of the win.

 

Well, that’s what you get when you have set a name for yourself. He thought to himself.

 

He stretched his arms over his head and winced. His muscles were sore. As he was gently massaging his arms and shoulders, his eyes caught sight of the side of the box he received in his locker today, peeking out of his partially ped bag. He bent down to take out the blue box with white ribbon from his bag and settled it down on his lap. He opened the box and took out the neatly-folded paper that he read at the start of the day.

 

The boys laughed upon hearing what Hanbin just read.

 

“Woah, this is by Lee Eunhye?! The mysterious girl??? I can’t believe this!” Chanwoo shook his head.

 

“Who, which girl?” asked Yunhyeong curiously.

 

“There’s this one girl that sits by the window. She is pretty. Like I said, she is a bit mysterious, usually keeps to herself,” Chanwoo provided, “This is a surprise! I didn’t think she is forward seeing that she doesn’t usually reach out to people first unless necessary.”

 

Lee Eunhye. The girl just now? Hanbin questioned in his head.

 

“She’s probably one of your fangirls,” Bobby said.

 

“I agree, she probably just wants your attention,” said Junhoe.

 

“Well, at least you have another one to add to your collecti-”

 

RIIING!

 

Whatever Chanwoo wanted to say was cut off by the school bell, signalling the start of school. The boys dispersed and rushed to their respective classes.

 

Hanbin had received a lot of gifts and letters since the win. He has never rejected any because he did not want to come off as an arrogant person. Also, his mother had taught him to always be humble and thankful. He accepted the gifts, some of which he really liked. As for the letters, he made time to read each and every one of them. It was amusing to him. Sometimes, he would humour his friends by reading the hilarious and absurd ones to them. The letters he had received ranged from just one word to two pages long or hate to admiration.

 

However, the letter he got from Lee Eunhye was a bit different. He carefully opened the letter again and started reading the neat handwriting.

 

Dear Hanbin sunbaenim,

 

I am Lee Eunhye, a junior here. I am in the same class as Jung Chanwoo, who I’m assuming is a good friend of yours.

We have bumped into each other a few times; I am not sure if you’ve noticed. Every time that we ran into each other, I needed help; again, I am not sure if you’ve noticed. I just want to thank you, once again, for every time that you’ve helped me. I hoped the gifts were useful for you

I hope the next time we bump into each other that we will meet in a more normal circumstance next time. Having said that, I hope to be friends with you, instead of just bumping buddies.

See you around and hope to hear from you soon.

 

Yours sincerely,

Lee Eunhye

 

Hanbin folded the letter according to the fold-lines and set it aside. He then looked at the contents of the box and smiled. At least, she has given him something that he could really use. He took out the hot patches that he planned to use later then put the box and the letter on his desk.

 

He walked to the bathroom connected to his room and thought to himself. Maybe, she is different.

 

 

***

 

 

It has been a few days since she placed the box in Hanbin’s locker. Eunhye was still waiting. For what exactly, she was not sure. She just hoped she would get some form of reply from Hanbin.

 

Has he received the box?

 

What if he doesn’t reply?

 

Has he even read the letter?

 

“Patience, Eunhye, patience,” she said to herself.

 

She wanted to continue reading the book