“Dammit, I’m late.” He said, his fingers impatiently tapping on the steering wheel. Everything seemed to be going at snail pace ever since he entered university. Sleepless nights run by countless cups of coffee convinced Kim Myungsoo that college wasn’t all what he expected.

What a horrible day. Along with lack of sleep, he barely passed his math midterm, which killed his self-esteem because he always thought he was good in math. The one girl in his Calculus class that was kind of cute rejected him for a date, which ruined his title of “Campus Prince.” Not that he cared about the title; he was just upset that she said no.

And finally, this stupid Seoul traffic was making him late for his first photo shoot.

He should’ve taken the back roads; he kept chiding himself, wanting to bang his head against the horn. Glowering at the clock, he reminded himself that it was already three and he was supposed to be there taking pictures as a student intern right at this very moment. Another traffic light. What was the point of those things if people in Seoul didn’t follow traffic rules anyway?

Myungsoo stopped right in front of a school bus and glared at it. If it wasn’t for that big obnoxiously yellow vehicle he would’ve sped right through that cross intersection. Another ten minutes of waiting, he crossed his arms, peering up at the bus’ rear window.

Through the window he spotted the usual rambunctious middle schoolers excited to go home, in fact they were going crazy. It was actually strange, at this age they were usually mannered. Paper balls were being thrown around, and he thought they were just playing a game of catch, until he realized that they were directed towards someone’s head.

At the very last seat sat a young girl, pressing her face to the window so none of the kids would notice her. Piles of paper balls were at her feet, where her shoes were uncomfortably pulled in as she tried to make herself as small as possible. Her long dark hair hid half her face which faced the children, and the other half revealed her silent tears.

He frowned, why was she crying? A pretty little girl like her wasn’t allowed to cry, especially on the first day of school. Did she fail a pretest? Did she slip and fall? His eyes trailed over to the paper balls on the bus floor and sighed. Bullying.

A wave of pity washed over him, he didn’t even know this girl. He thought his day was bad, but what about a girl like her? Children shouldn’t be crying so freely at this age, they’re supposed to smile and glow like the morning sun.

The girl noticed she was being watched and her eyes flew to Myungsoo, who froze in his spot. His mother always told him that he had a bad habit of staring and it would get him in trouble one day. The girl blinked, her tear streaks falling to her neck.

Myungsoo attempted to smile back at her, but it came out as an awkward sort of twitch because he was unprepared. Apparently it was funny, because she covered as she tried hard not to giggle. His face probably looked really weird but it was worth it because he was making her feel better.

“Everything will be okay!” he yelled out, unsure if she was able to read his lips or hear him.

A genuine smile curled upon the girl’s pink lips as she wiped her tears with the arm of her uniform sleeve. She must’ve felt so touched that a random boy like him was trying so hard to make her smile. In return she gave him a thumb up, indicating that it would be okay like he said.

Myungsoo smiled at her until the light turned green and he had to make left on the other side of town. Although he probably wouldn’t see her ever again, it felt good knowing she would try to smile more because of him.

But in the end, Kim Myungsoo never made it to his photo shoot. 

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Prompt for the 

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