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Everything has its wonders,

even darkness and silence,

and I learn,

whatever state I may be in,

therein to be content. 
- Hellen Keller

 

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This is my last year in high school at Seoul National Art High and as senior, I promised myself that this year should be the best one. Save the best for last, right?... yeeaaaahh... Rigth... 

 

I don't really have a lot of friends and I'm the "unnoticed" student. People don't really remember me. Maybe because I don't really talk. Well, I can actually talk a lot, if only my brain can send my thoughts to my mouth, I'll be talking non stop. But sadly not. So, I really have a problem making it the best year in high school.

 

I have two childhood best friends, though. Kim Seonyu and Lee Chaerin... oh, I'm Lee Jaemin, by the way. Kim Seonyu is the playful guy and friendly one, he knows all the school people, from freshmen to seniors to teachers, basically all living creatures in here, he's that friendly. Chaerin, on the other hand, is the party-goer and knows all the latest gossips and everything around school 

and likes to socialize. And me, Jaemin, I'm the great unsociable creature, the home buddy, the quiet one, nothing really special. And I might be the "unnotticed" but I do know a lot about the school and what's happening around it. I have my best friends, right? Yeah, great source of information, I could basically publish a school paper.

 

Have I said that I promised myself that this will should by my best year as a high school student? Well, I think I have to start with the this...As tradition, seniors has to go on a summer trip. It's a regular one-week excursion trip where you do sort of group activities, have fun and learn some life lessons blah blah blah... But the thing is we need to be in pairs. Each pair is assigned by draw lots. Starting from 1 and 2 as one pair, followed by 3 and 4 and so on and so forth. Each class basically has more or less 27 students, so if your class is an odd number, whoever got the last number will be pair with the homeroom teacher. And my class is an odd. 25.

 

The day of the draw lots came, a week before the scheduled trip. It was a typical Monday morning in class, and guess where I sit... yep, the darkest corner of the room besides the window. Well, literally speaking, it's not the darkest but it's just that when all you see are the backs of your classmates... it kind of feel lonely and sad... or maybe I'm just being overly dramatic by myself.

 

Anyway, everyone is chit-chatting about the weekend while sitting, others standing and some made their desk as the extension of their bed and typical me, just sitting and listening to music, earphones on while doodling on my sketchpad.

 

The door suddenly slid open and my classmates stop chit-chattering and returned to their proper sits and I closed my sketchpad and pulled my earphones off.

 

"Good morning!" our homeroom teacher, Ms. Choi, greeted as she placed her things on her table.

 

"Good morning" we greeted back.

 

"So... as you all know, the trip is happening next week and today is the draw lots!" she said with a lot of enthusiasm.

 

"Yey....." I said sarcastically to myself as I rested my elbow on my desk and support my head with my hands and let out a deep sigh.

 

She held out the box from her table drawer and everyone started murmuring. Except for me and the one who I think still in slumberland. I guess not everyone is happy about the draw lots since you will have a chance of being paired with the person you don't like, another chance with a friend or another chance with your crush. Let's scratch that last part, since most of their crushes are actually not in the same room, except for the kingka in here, which is the one still in slumberland.

 

Ms. Choi started shaking the box and the murmuring still going on. I let out another deep sigh and look at the sleeping beauty, the kingkong.... I mean kingka. He's seated beside the back door of the room, the opposite side of where I am sitting. No one dares sit besides him since... well, he's a kingka. It is given. Everyone is afraid of them but admire them at the same time. I don't know why, since I never really paid attention to them.

 

"Wow, still playing in slumberland..." I thought to myself still looking at the guy and then decided to returned my attention to our homeroom teacher as she speaks.

 

"Now, we'll start with you, Hyemin then past it to your right and each of you will draw a paper..." she gave the box to the first girl in the front left as she continues to say the instruction.

 

"Aheem." Ms. Choi cleared as she tapped the sleeping kingka for it is his turn to draw his number.

 

"Bang Yongguk..." the guy opened one of his eyes and I noticed Ms. Choi is kind of blushing.

 

"Oh look at that, even teachers.." I thought to myself and shook my head.

 

"What?" Yongguk answered back with his deep cave-like voice as he straighten himself up and rub half him face with his feminine hands.

 

"Well... draw a number in here." she offered him the box and did what he is told. Ms. Choi continues to look at Yongguk and he noticed her and look back at her.

 

"Well? Anything else?" Ms. Choi started to fully blush this time.

 

"Oh.. oh.. yes! Here draw your number and pass" she drop the box to the next student and pass it on.

 

The last one to draw is me, of course and I don't really have much choice and I don't really care who I'm going to be paired with, unless if it's with our homeroom teacher.

 

One by one, everyone stated the number they got as they opened their paper. Some already knows who their partner is. Some sighed and some giggled. Now it's Yongguk's turn and everyone tensed up. 

 

"12" everyone sighed including Ms. Choi and I bet she hoped he got the last number.

 

"tuuuu-weeelveee...." I wrote the numbers 1 to 25 on my notebook and I crossed out the number 12 that Yongguk stated. And we're down to the last 4 of us who are yet to state our number.

 

"3, 13,16, 25... " are the only numbers remaining and half is the chance to be paired with the teacher or the kingka. Great. 

 

"3" the 4th guy stated and he pointed at someone. I sighed. 

 

"Great. Please don't be 16." I thought to myself as I look at the 3rd to the last one.

 

"Okay, next" said Ms. Choi.

 

"16" said the 3rd, and she sighed, the girl before me giggled. I guess they both want the 13. I sighed and hung my head. Now a death-death situation for me. Just great.

 

The girl beside me finally opened her number and gasped. I just sighed on her and I opened the paper then look at my number and that got to be the deepest sigh I have ever made and drop my head on my table.