Yoo Nara

A ray of early morning light beams on my face, glittering ever so softly through the adjacent window, waking me up from my deep sleep. I groaned; my body aching all over from the awkward position I had assumed the night before. Rubbing my eyes tiredly, I yelped as I caught a glimpse of the clock. Quickly, I pulled on my uniform and gathered all the materials strewn haphazardly around my room.

Just great. There’s only twenty minutes before school starts. I’ll never get there on time, even if I start running now.

Grabbing an apple from the dinning room table, I rushed out the door just as the boy from across the street emerged from his own house, clad in the same uniform as me. I shyly raised my hand in greeting and let loose a small smile, only for him to ignore my attempts.

Jeez! What was his problem anyways?  I thought to myself as he sped off into the distance on his bike.Even if we’re not friends yet, he should have at least offered me a ride! We’re both obviously going to the same school, not to mention the empty space behind him!

I shook my head, disappointed at the lost opportunity. If he was, going to be that cold, I would try harder to thaw his frosty exterior.

Again, I tore a piece of paper from the notebook I carried and proceeded across the street, stopping at his front door. After all, a couple more minutes wouldn’t make a difference if I was going to be late in the end.

Seeing the empty space underneath the rock, I smiled slightly to myself, choosing to believe he had taken my note in spite of his actions thus far. So I decided to continue on, slipping the message under the same rock.

Hi, I’m Nara. Let’s be friends.

______________________________

Chansik

I kept glancing nervously at the door. Any second now, the third and final tardy bell would ring, yet Nara still wasn’t here.

She’s never been this late to school before,I thought worriedly, my mind immediately going into overdrive.

She always makes it by at least the first tardy bell…Heck, I’m pretty sure she’s never even received a tardy in her life! Maybe something happened to her; an accident, or her father…

My thoughts trailed off as I imagined the endless possibilities. It was likely that her father had been in a bad mood this morning

I wasn’t an idiot like the others. I knew what Nara went through everyday despite her seemingly composed exterior. She fooled everyone but me.

It didn’t start out this way though. Sure, she was smart and pretty, but if you asked me then, there was nothing particularly special about her. The way she dressed, the way she talked; it was all similar to the hundred of other girls enrolled at school. Even I wasn’t exactly sure how I got so attached.

Maybe the blame fell on my friend Cha Sunwoo for talking so loudly to me in class. Or perhaps it was the teacher’s fault for calling us out and switching my seat. Whoever it was, I was also thankful in a sense, for I would have never really noticed Nara otherwise.

Honestly, sitting next to the genius Yoo Nara was amusing to say the least. I found myself stifling laughter more often than not; when she sighed loudly and her brows wrinkled after a particularly difficult problem, when she danced in her seat after a correct answer. With her every move, I became more and more intrigued. This girl, who I hadn’t even looked at for more than a second, began to consume my mind. She was intoxicating and I wanted more.

And then, I found out. She had just raised her hand to answer a question when the sleeve of her uniform dropped farther down her arm, revealing what seemed to be dozens of faded scars on her wrist. My eyes bulged at the discovery. It couldn’t be possible. Yoo Nara, the epitome of perfection within our school intentionally hurt herself?

In the following days, I paid even more attention to her. I noted the bruises on her legs that were too excessive to be blamed on accidents. I noted the scratches that sometimes appeared on her face, the terrifying marks that circled her neck. The extent of it all left me angry at everyone, but mostly at myself.

The sudden scraping of the chair next to me interrupted my memories and I found myself smiling on habit.  She’s here.

“Chansik-ssi! I guess I’m a bit late today, aren’t I?” she said, grinning sheepishly all the while. “It’s a good thing the teacher was too busy yelling at Sunwoo-ssi to notice that I slipped in after the bell.”

I laughed, the sensation warming my insides. “It’s not like you didn’t expect it! Sunwoo hyung has always been the naughty type, don’t you think?”

She laughed along, reaching into her bag to retrieve last night’s homework as we joked around. Her sleeve lifted again, showing a new red cut amidst the fading pink ones.

“Nara-ah…” I began slowly, choosing my wording carefully. “Are you…you’re okay, right? Did anything happen recently?”

Discomfort flashed across her face before she composed herself and smiled weakly.

“I-I’ve always been okay…” she responded slowly, uncertainty laced in her voice.

I reached over to mess up her hair, my cheeks heating as the tips of my fingers made contact. The embarrassment I felt at my lack of control around her unnerved me, causing me to turn my blushing face downward.

“Hey Chansik-ssi…” I heard her call out gently to me, her voice barely a whisper. “Thank you…”

I smiled again, this time wider, feeling it reach up all the way to my eyes. In truth, I loved her. She had become precious in my eyes. She shined.

______________________________

As the day progressed, I couldn’t help but note the new awkwardness between Nara and myself.

It was the stupid question, Chansik! Why did you have to ruin it all when she obviously wanted to keep it a secret? Aish, I only wanted to let her know I cared, and now look where it’s gotten me.

I let out a frustrated sigh, ruffling my hair in the process. Stupid mouth, stupid brain, stupid heart.

I was still in the middle of chastising myself when the door opened to reveal the school principal ushering in what seemed to be a new student.

“Please welcome a transfer from China who will be completing his senior year in Korea. Wu Fan -"                                           

“My name is Kris. I hope to get out of here as soon as possible, so please don’t try and approach me. I hate friendly people the most,” he said in his heavily accented Korean, cutting off the poor man entirely in his introduction.

Despite the rudeness of his speech, girls on all sides squealing painfully high in response to his tall stature and pretty face. I scoffed at the foolishness displayed. What was so good about being handsome if you were a Grade A jerk?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nara smiling as well, a knowing glint in her eyes. Kris, in return, bore holes into her face with his fierce glare.

I moaned inwardly. Of course, I thought bitterly. That’s what’s good about being handsome.