The Outsider(Wangda)
The Outsider
I grew up in a pretty secluded town. It was far from any big cities, and if you looked around in any direction, all you would see was trees and mountains. Most of the locals lived in modest farm houses or traditional houses. Everyone knew each other, because all of us grew up here, together.
Hardly ever did we see a newcomer, or a family that moved into our town.
But the summer of my 17th year, someone came.
We heard about it at school, the announcement of a Chinese exchange student.
He was to stay with the Hyun family, my neighbors, and close friends of my father's.
It came as a shock to me, and all my friends. We'd never met anyone who DIDN'T live in our town, little less someone from an entirely different country.
"Why here?" the first daughter of the Kwan family, Kwan Minjoo, raised her hand and asked the teacher.
"Some of the exchange students are being sent to rural towns because they're from big cities. It's to experience a different type of life."
We all nodded and understood. He wasn't like all of us. He was a city boy. This made me so much more curious about him.
Who is he? What will he look like?
I sat and wondered about these things right up until the day he came, two months later.
On that day I was running late. I hoped off my bike and ran into the school. The entire class knew I was the type to run late.
"Again? Lee Sanghee!"
"What was it this time?"
"Set your alarm earlier!"
"Sorry, sorry!" I bowed to my fellow classmates and sat down, brushing my hand across my bangs to make them stay down.
"The exchange student is waiting outside now, we'll invite him in in just a minute." Our homeroom teacher explained.
What? I was just outside, why didn't I see him? I thought.
Before I could search my memories for anyone in the hallway, the teacher called him in.
"Everyone, this is Huang Zi Tao."
He was...definitely different.
His dark hair hung in his slanted eyes, his height towered over the other students, and he just..didn't look friendly.
"Zi Tao, do you have anything to say?" the teacher spoke slowly and carefully.
"Tao. Just Tao."
His voice had a strong accent, and it was difficult to understand. A couple students snickered, some already turned away, disinterested.
"Is there anywhere Tao can sit?" the teacher scanned the room, but most of us were unwilling. Some even covered the empty spots beside them to prevent him from sitting there. Tao's expression remained hard and cold.
"Um..." I pitied him, even if he didn't look very friendly. Maybe even a little scary.. My hand went up slowly and I lowered my eyes, too scared to look at him. "He can sit here."
I pointed carefully at the empty seat beside me.
"There we go! Thank you, Sang Hee!" My teacher brightened up at my determined attempt to be a decent human being. "Over there, Tao."
The tall boy turned my way and began to walk. His presence made me feel very small. He was intimidating. Tao walked behind my desk, pulled the chair out from the desk beside me and sat down.
I had to try and be friendly. Do something! I told myself.
"Hi..." I spoke as slowly as I could, hoping he could understand. He didn't say anything. Just sat there coldly, as if I hadn't said anything.
"Hello? My name is Sanghee.." I said again, wondering if maybe he couldn't understand me.
But he didn't speak. Not even once, not even a smile. The entire time, he sat there in silence.
And that was when it all began.
After school, it once again became my job to teach the new student of our ways. I led Tao around the school, talking slower than a snail could run a mile.
"This is the gym, over there is the music room," but he wasn't listening. He just followed absentmindedly and said nothing. It was like talking to a wall on wheels.
After a week of being Tao's "babysitter" things got worse. My friends no longer wanted to hang around me, because wherever I was, Tao was. The two of us became a pair, one I never wanted to be a part of. Tao was an outsider, a stranger in a closely knitted world, and it began to unravel one strand at a time.
"Sanghee-ah.." one of my closest friends, Sun Young, avoided my eyes. The rest of my friends stood a few feet away. I could only guess she was the representative for all of them. "We can't hang out with you anymore.."
"What? Why not?" I reached for Sun Young but she stepped back, away from my touch.
"The other kids...they named you Wangda."
I couldn't say a word. Sun Young apologized one more time, then ran back to my friends, well, my ex-friends I suppose, and they left.
I was left with the word 'Wangda' on my mind. Hearing that word and your name in the same sentence is the fear of all students. My class had chosen to abandon me.
I walked home with Tao that day. Not because I wanted to, but because I had no other choice. He followed me regardless, he was my neighbor.
The word Wangda seemed to weigh on my shoulders, and cling to my ankles. It was attached to me, and I could not get it off. All because of him. I was now the Wangda, the outsider. My friends won't talk to me anymore, the other kids will ignore me, and there is no way to escape it.
When I reached my house, Tao broke off from me and continued down the road. I sat on my porch and watched him. I couldn't help but feel bitter towards him. My entire life was over now, because of him.
***
"Do you want to eat?" my mother called over the stove. I shook my head and sulked to my room. Eating was the last thing on my mind.
I laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling, almost hoping it would just collapse and crush me. Maybe then I wouldn't have to face a life of being the Wangda. It still hadn't sunk in yet, if it had, I would have cried. But I just felt numb.
Lonely, and numb.
***
My first day as the Wangda. I came into the classroom, and every eye fell on me. But just as quickly as they looked, they vanished. I hung up my jacket and began walking down the aisle towards my seat, Tao tagging along behind me.
All was quiet. I pulled out my chair, and sat down. Instantly, conversations started.
People talked and laughed and whispered, everyone around me had someone to talk to. Yet none of them would talk to me.
"Jiyoon-ah," I reached toward my friend in the desk in front of mine. She didn't look at me, and moved away to avoid my touch.
I glanced at Tao, doesn't he have some opinion on this? But he looked solemn as ever, sitting there blankly. Has he ever looked me in the eyes? I wondered.
Part Two
Days went by as Wangda, and as expected, nothing happened. Nothing. No one talked to me, or acknowledged my existence. Even my old friends no longer looked me in the eye. One day was particularly bad.
I was walking to school, as usual Tao a few paces behind.
A group of boys came up behind me, and they took my bag.
"Hey! Stop! Gi Joon! Minhyuk! Stop!" They were bigger than I was, and no matter how high I could jump, their arms were longer.
Their laughter felt like poison. Each word out of their mouth stung worse. The first time in weeks anyone had talked to me, and all they said was, "Wangda! Wangda!"
At last, the taller of the boys took my bag and threw it onto the ground. I dashed to pick it up off of the path and dust it off. Something hit my head.
"Ow!" I whimpered in pain, and rubbed my head. The boy's bag slipped down my shoulder and fell onto the ground. My eyes widened as the other boys raised their bags to throw at me as well.
I raised my arms, there's no stopping them, but maybe I can lessen the pain...
"Stop."
I opened my eyes. Tao stood over the boy, clutching his hand tightly.
"Stop."
He can talk?? I dropped my arms, and grabbed my bag. I sat there crouched on the ground.
"You spoke Korean?" the boy, Gi Joon, looked terrified.
"Go away. Now." Tao glared him down. His height was intimidating enough, without those dark eyes.
"Y-yah.." Gi Joon was shaking, he tore away from Tao and motioned for the other boys to follow, "Let's go!"
Dirt was kicked up into my eyes as the boys ran away, leaving Tao and I alone.
I choked a little on the dust.
When the air cleared, there was Tao, tall and dressed in his uniform. He looked different than usual.
He held his head up, and for the first time, I could really see him.
His skin was pale and flawless. The best skin I'd ever seen on a boy. His nose was long and pointed, not to say it was bad looking. His lips were probably the most strange to me: angled and small. Then, his eyes.
They didn't look the same as before. They weren't just a plain black like I had thought, they were brown. A deep, warm, brown. His hair had overshadowed them, and his eyelashes too. But in fact, they weren't empty.
They had a color.
He had a color.
I eyed him carefully, cynically, as if at any moment this newly found kitten would turn back into a cougar.
He trotted over and held out a hand to me. I stared at it for a while, contemplating whether or not this was a good idea. But I figured I had nothing to lose, so I took it.
He pulled me up and dusted me off a little.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice much softer than I imagined it would be.
"I..I'm okay." I said, dumbfounded. When did he learn to say this?
He looked at the ground, seemingly searching his thoughts. He finally looked up at me, and with sincerity in his eyes he said, "I'm sorry."
And the worst part was he meant it. I could see it in his eyes. How could I stay mad at him?
I smiled weakly, it was the best I could do.
"It's okay," I whispered.
***
From that day on, he spoke. Not even a little bit, but a lot. As if all that time, he was holding it in, and he just suddenly let it all come out like a huge wave of emotions and thoughts.
"What's this letter?" He leaned in and pointed at a character in the textbook.
"Ja." I told him easily.
"Hmm...Ja." He repeated. "Thank you." He smiled a little.
"You want to come over?" he pointed toward his host family's house after school, as if I didn't understand what he had said.
"Mm." I nodded with a smile and followed him. I'd been to the Hyun's house many times. They're a young couple, with a daughter in elementary school. My father and Mr. Hyun used to go fishing together. I often played with Minji, their 6 year old, while they were out.
We walked into the house, Tao and I slipped off our shoes and stepped onto the main floor.
"Tao oppa!" MinJi, came running across the floor and wrapped herself around Tao's leg. He smiled and laughed, waving his leg up and down while she squealed.
It was an awkward smile, shy, just like he was. But I liked it, because more often than not, people's smiles don't reflect them as well as they should. His was just perfect.
"I didn't know you knew Tao oppa!" Minji said to me.
"We got to know each other at school, right?" I turned to Tao.
"Yes." He smiled.
Mrs. Hyun waved to him from the kitchen, and he waved back with a bright smile on his face.
"How was your day? Mrs. Hyun asked.
"Good!" Tao said in broken Korean.
I greeted them, and Tao led me to my room. Motioning for me to go like a butler.
His room was extremely neat and clean, except for the messes of piles of papers and korean learning books on the floor.
"How much do you study??" I asked.
He just smiled and sat on the bed. I could never tell if he didn't understand me, or just didn't feel like talking.
"Was your Korean really bad?"
He nodded, "Mm."
"Is that...is that why you didn't talk to me?"
He looks away shyly, and nods again, "Mm."
"So that's why.." I felt my cheeks heat up and looked down.
The two of us sat in an awkward silence for a while. When I finally felt like I might explode if it was silent any longer, I forced a smile onto my face and sat on the ground.
"Can you teach me Chinese?" I asked.
He nodded slowly, and slipped off the bed and onto the ground beside me.
"How do you say hello?" I asked, flipping through one of the many books.
"Ni hao." he said with ease.
"Nee ho?" I asked, tilting my head.
He shakes his head, "No, Ni Hao."
"That's what I said!" I argued, "Ni ho!"
Tao leaned in and moved his lips slowly, "Ni...Ha..Oh. Ni Hao."
I rolled my eyes. "I know! Ni ho!"
"Pffft...Hahaha!" He couldn't contain himself, and rolled onto the floor laughing.
You don't look too bad when you smile, I thought to myself. His laughter was contagious, and soon enough I started laughing too.
"Yah, I know you're making fun of me!" I barked at him.
"Sang hee!" He rolled over suddenly and put his head in his hands.
It shocked me the most that he knew my name. I had said it only once, and he'd never called me by it.
"Y-yeah?"
"You're pretty." He smiled as if he had said something simple like 'hello' or 'nice to meet you'. As if it was something I heard everyday, as if it was obvious.
"You're pretty." He smiled as if he had said something simple like 'hello' or 'nice to meet you'. As if it was something I heard everyday, as if it was obvious.
"W-what??" I turned away to hide my blushing face. Maybe he just thought the wrong word, he probably meant something else.
"You're pretty." he said again, this time louder, just in case I didn't hear before.
"Okay okay!" I yelled, and covered his mouth so he couldn't say it again. "You're pretty too! Now shh!"
He pulled my hand off and looked at me with a smile, "Really?"
"Yes, really! Quiet before someone hears you!"
The Hyun family called us in for dinner, and Tao was beaming the entire time. Minji kept looking back and forth between us, eyeing us suspiciously. I tried my best to act calm.
After dinner, Tao walked me to the front of the house. It was hard to notice how tall he actually was until he stood right next to you. My meager 5'5 was nothing compared to his 6 foot frame. I even considered myself tall before seeing how much taller he was.
"Well, thank you for dinner." I smiled, and he nodded. "I guess I'll see you at school the--"
Tao bent down, and turned his head, then kissed me on the cheek.His lips were soft and warm, and it felt good.
It lasted longer than it probably should have, but he finally pulled away and smiled at the ground. His face was as red as an apple, mine probably was too.
W-what do I do??
"B-by-bye..." I turned around and started walking home. My legs felt as stiff as logs. I could hardly walk, my entire body was shaking.
I stepped into my house and walked into my room, then collapsed on my bed, my heart still beating a thousand times a minute.
I saw his face in my mind like a movie on repeat. I still felt his lips on my cheek. I still heard his breath in my ear. My heart stopped.
***
At school we became known as the "Wangda Couple". Still, no one talked to me. No one but Tao. But Tao was enough. I came to the resolution that all I needed was one person.
I know Tao worried for me, because he knew his presence was only temporary. After summer ended, he would go back to China. He would escape his Wangda status, but I never would.
"But..But.."
"Don't worry about it!" I assured him with a smile and a thumbs up.
"Sanghee-ah.." Every time he said my name, I had to remind myself to breathe. I had the biggest, biggest crush on him.
***
"Sanghee-ah, come over tomorrow." He pleaded as we walked home from school in the early spring.
"Why?" I asked, turning to look at him, "Hey, come here, there's something in your hair."
"Huh?" He stopped and bent down so I could reach him. I carefully dusted cherry blossom petals out of his jet black hair. "My family will be gone, I don't want to be alone!" he said.
"Where are they going?" I dusted my hands off and he straightened up.
"To the city for the weekend."
"And you want me to stay with you? All weekend?"
"And you want me to stay with you? All weekend?"
He nodded.
"Are you crazy!" I blushed furiously, and had to turn away to hide my face.
"Why?" He asked matter-of-factly.
"B-because! You're a guy and I'm a girl a-and!"
He stared at me like he had no idea what I was inferring. How could he possibly not know? I screamed in my thoughts.
"Come." he said, staring at me with those perfect brown eyes.
"I..I.." He knew I couldn't deny those puppy dog eyes anything they wanted. "..Okay."
"Asa!" He shouted and a fist into the air.
"Yah!" I shouted, "Why are you doing that? What are you planning?"
"I dunnooo~" He stuck his tongue out at me and started running towards home. I ran after him.
"Yah! You knew what I was talking about the whole time didn't you! Yah!"
Part Three
"Be careful!" My mother called as I slipped on my shoes to head over to Tao's house.
"With what? His house is just a few feet away!" I yelled back.
"You know what I mean!" She said.
My face was already burning red without her helping. I had no intentions of doing anything of that sort. Definitely not.
Tao was sitting on the porch, bent over with his elbows on his knees, waiting for me to come. When he saw me his face lit up and he waved. I waved back.
He took my hand and helped me up onto the porch. Inside he motioned for me to set down my bag, and I did. I was barely containing my nerves.
"What's for dinner?" I asked, following him into the kitchen.
"Chinese." He smiled.
All the ingredients were spread across the counter. Chicken, some fresh vegetables.
"Cut that," Tao instructed, pointing at some celery on the counter. Obediently, I picked it up and started chopping. I pressed as hard as I could, but the stupid thing was resilient, and it wouldn't cut. Tao looked over and saw my struggle. He laughed and came up behind me, putting his hand over mine and helping me to cut it.
"U-u-um!" I let go of the knife and flipped around, but I realized too late it was a bad idea. We were already too close for comfort, but now that I was facing him, it was ten times worse.
He looked at me with wide eyes. "A-a-actually," I slipped under his arm and trotted over to where the chicken was, "I think I'll cut the meat!"
He just breathed a laugh and nodded.
We cooked in silence, I chopped the chicken and he chopped the vegetables. When the chicken was all nice and cut, he stood behind me and reached around to grab it. I froze in place, trying to avoid his touch.
He took the chicken and the vegetables and put them all in a bowl and left it to cook. In the mean time we set the dinner table for dinner for two.
"Tada!" Tao took the lid off of the pot of our delicious chicken soup. It smelled amazing.
He quickly poured me a good sized serving then took his seat opposite me.
"Tao..." I whispered after dinner.
"Hmm?" He raised his eyebrows and took my bowl, then brought them to the sink to rinse.
"I'm going to go..take a shower."
Tao's face burned bright red, "O-okay."
I stood to leave and he looked up a little, then quickly averted his eyes.
"U-um..Do you need to know where it is?"
"No..I'm good."
I waved him off, grabbed my bag, and ran into the bathroom. Inside I started the shower, locked the door, and just stood there. I'd never been so nervous in my life. Not like anything was going to happen, but that didn't change the fact I was alone in a house with a boy, and I was about to take my clothes off.
"Deep breaths," I reminded myself as I pulled my shirt above my head and double checked if the door was locked, "Deep breaths."
***
I toweled my hair off and pulled on an over sized T shirt I wear to bed. I hopped around a little to get into my bright blue pajama bottoms. After checking myself in the mirror two hundred times, I finally thought I was ready to make an appearance. I crept out into the hallway and peeked around. The light in Tao's bedroom was on, so I snuck down the hallway and rapped on the door.
"Sang hee-ah?" I heard his voice through the door.
"Is it okay to come in?" I called back.
"Yeah."
I opened the door and step inside.
Tao sat with wet hair on the floor, wearing baggy sweat pants and a blue sweater. He finished pulling the covers up on a make shift bed on the floor.
"I'll sleep here," Tao motioned at his bed, "You can sleep there."
"Are you sure?" I asked, sitting down beside him, "I could sleep on the floor."
He shook his head, "I'll do it."
Then awkward silence.
We both sat leaned up against the side of his bed with our legs stretched out on the make shift bed.
"Sang Hee-ah," Tao broke the silence, "Do you want to play basketball?"
"What?"
He smiled and crawled across the room, then dragged a trash can until it's right at my feet against the opposite wall. He crawled back and tore a piece of paper out of his notebook.
"Paper basketball." He held up a tiny ball of crumpled up notebook paper. "Watch." He tossed it into the air, and it landed neatly in the trash can.
"What a waste of paper," I laughed and he pushed me playfully.
"Try it. Try it." he handed me a piece.
"Ookay." I held it up, adjusted my aim, and threw it. It bounced off the wall and fell into the trash can. Tao gave me a high five with a bright smile.
Without even realizing it, my nerves were gone.
We played paper basketball until we had wasted ten pieces of notebook paper each, and the trash can was filling up. When it was time for me to crawl up into my bed, and him down into his, I didn't want to.
"Tao," I whispered with my eyes closed.
"Yeah?" He whispered back, and I could hear him smile in his voice.
"I can just stay here right?" I slowly lowered my head onto his shoulder. I felt his warm breath graze my hair, my head moved with the motion of him breathing. And my favorite part...I could hear his heartbeat.
"Yeah." I felt Tao gently rest his head against mine. His hand found its way to my hand, and he intertwined our fingers. I could feel his warmth everywhere.
"Goodnight." I whispered, feeling like life couldn't possibly get any better than this.
"Goodnight." He whispered back.
The light of the morning woke me up, and I blinked my eyes open. I could hear Tao's soft breathing beside me, his head was on my shoulder. I smiled at his sleeping face and petted his hair gently with my free hand. The other one was still latched onto his. I had no desire to let go. Not now, not ever. If we could just stay like this forever, I wouldn't ask for anything else.
After a while, Tao raised his head and yawned, then turned to look at me with sleepy half-opened eyes.
"Sang Hee-ah."
"Mm?"
"Good morning." A smile spread across his lips and I smiled back. He stood up slowly and helped me up.
I helped him clean the kitchen and he helped me pack my things back into my bag.
***
He stood in front of me on the dirt path to my house, his hand still in mine. We just stood smiling at each other, because we didn't need to say it. We both knew.
We weren't just friends anymore.
"Tao, I--"
Tao leaned in, and I expected his lips to hit my cheek, but instead they pressed into my lips. His lips were soft and warm, just like he was. He pulled away too soon. I wished I could have kissed him again, longer.
"You're pretty." Tao smiled and what can I say? It was beautiful.
"You're pretty too." I smiled back, unable to contain my giddiness. "I'm glad..my first kiss was with a pretty person." I confessed.
"Me too." He blushed furiously.
His eyes fell on our hands, and his slowly lets mine go.
I backed away, not daring to turn the other way. I thought if I took my eyes off him for just one minute, he would disappear.
I backed up all the way to my house, and finally when I couldn't see him any longer behind the fence, I turned around and walked inside.
My parents were asleep, so I didn't try to wake them or disturb them. I just went into my room, and sat down.
All I could think about was him.
Part Four
The end was drawing near. Each day we were reminded we had one less day until he was gone. We never stopped holding hands. Even in class our hands were practically sewn together underneath the desk. We both thought that if we let go for one second, something would pull us away from each other, and that would be the end. The teacher called us out on it one day.
"Wangda Couple!" she barked at us. We both looked up, accustomed to our title.
"Please refrain from holding hands until after school."
We instantly broke our hands apart. She nodded and turned back to the board.
Tao took my hand again.
***
At the end of each day, I crossed off the day on my calendar with a sour heart. Each new X brought me closer to the circled day with red writing that read, "Tao's Flight Home."
Tao had already begun packing his bags. Each time I came over to the Hyun's house, there was one less trinket, one less piece of clothing decorating his room. Slowly he was removing the evidence of his existence.
"Tao," I set my head on his shoulder. A gentle summer breeze ruffled my hair and the grass we were sitting on.
"Yeah?"
"We'll see each other again, right?"
He squeezed my hand tighter and nodded.
"We will. Definitely. We're the wangda couple."
"That's right," I smiled, though in my heart I felt more like crying, "We're the Wangda couple."
But what we both knew that meant was without the other, we were entirely alone.
***
I hesitated with my hand floating beside the calender. I didn't want to draw an X today. The words "Tao's Flight Home" burned into my eyes. If I crossed them out, it would be the end. Instead I put the cap back on the marker and set it on the table. Carefully I took the calender off of the wall and hid it away in the drawer. Now he can stay forever.
If only it was that easy.
"Sang Hee-ah!!" I heard Tao call my name and I kicked the drawer where the evil calender was one last time before trotting outside to meet him.
Tao was riding Mr. Hyun's old bike. He sat on it with one leg on the ground for balance. He patted the seat on the back and smiled.
"You're really going to drive me around?" I asked, cheerfully climbing onto the back and wrapping my arms around his waist.
"Of course!" Tao yelled over his shoulder. He left out 'because it's my last day', but I was glad he did.
I held onto him as if by doing so, he wouldn't be able to leave. That airplane wouldn't come for him at 5 tonight, and he could just stay here forever. But we both knew he couldn't. He had a life in China, and he had to return to it.
I held on tightly as he pedaled up a steep hill. His breath grew more ragged with every push. His speed slowed down so much until I could have walked faster than we were going.
"Tao, I can get off, I can help you." I told him.
He shook his head and pushed harder, "This is the last thing I can do for you. I'm going to do it!"
I jumped off the back of the bike and started pushing from behind, "It's the last thing I can do for you too! Let's do it together!"
We reached the top of the hill, and the sun hung high in the sky, burning down with all the furiosity of summer.
He took my hand and dragged me into the grass, then collapsed, pulling me down with him. We landed in the fresh green grass with a thud.
He turned to me and held up his fist.
"I have something for you." He said.
I flipped my body over to face him, "You do?"
He nodded, and opened his fist. In it was a thin ring. Probably bought from a street vendor, it was simple. There were no jewels, it was just a plain silver ring with little swirl patterns engraved in the sides.
"It's not much but.."
"But what?"
"Remember me." His eyes fell on mine. They were shimmering with tears, and burning with sincerity.
"Stupid," I laughed dryly to keep from crying and slipped my hand into his, the ring in between our palms. "How could I forget you?"
***
He pulled up at my house at 3pm. The Hyun family, along with mine, waited smiling for our return.
Minji ran up to Tao and he caught her and held her while she cried. Tears were in the eyes of everyone that day. We all ate dinner together, and while we ate, I stared at Tao. I thought that maybe by doing so, I would remember him as clearly as if he was there. I glanced at my hand, the silver ring glimmered on my left ring finger. I swore to myself to never take it off. Not until he came back.
Even if he never came back, I would wear it to my funeral.
After dinner the Hyun family started up their old rusty truck, and helped Tao load his things into the back. I stood in the pathway, staring at them. Tao and I agreed we wouldn't say goodbye. If we said goodbye, then it would be over. So no matter how badly I wanted to run to him and tell him everything I'd ever felt, every single thought I'd had about him, I didn't. I watched as he got into the car, and peered through the back window at me with a smile.
The car rumbled into life, and began bouncing down the street.
When at last it was out of view, I sat down on my porch. He was gone. The tears I tried to strongly to suppress came out, and they overflowed.
I felt something on my shoulder and looked up.
"Appa?"
"get in the car."
"Where are we going?"
"The airport."
Upon hearing it, I stood up immediately. Appa didn't even open the door for me, and he didn't have to, we were in a rush. My mother waved at us from the porch as we took off down the dirt road, kicking up dust behind us.
Appa pressed the pedal with all his might, pushing the old car to its limits. During the long ride to the airport I kept glancing at my ring. Somewhere a ways ahead, Tao was wearing the same one. We pulled into the modest airport a town away thirty minutes later.
"I'll be back!" I called to Appa and jumped out of the car. I sprinted into the airport, searching everywhere for a sign of him.
I spun around three times, looking everywhere in the airport to find him. Finally, I spotted his bright red backpack. He was standing on a balcony a floor above me, in line for his flight.
I tore through the crowd of people, ripping them out of my way. I ran up the escalator, darting around the people who were riding it.
When I reached the top I saw him across the way, handing his ticket to a stewardess.
"Tao!" I screamed as loud as I could. He turned around and I saw his face. Tears poured out of his red eyes and he held his ringed hand tightly in the other. I ran to him and crashed into him, almost knocking him to the floor.
He let go of his suitcase and wrapped his arms around me, crushing me in his embrace.
"Tao I love you!" I cried. Tears poured out uncontrollably.
"I know." I felt him nod, and he squeezed me tighter.
"I won't ever forget about you!"
"I know. Me either." He said.
I pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. I laughed to see I wasn't the only one crying this much. Tears streamed out of his eyes just as much as they did from mine.
"You're too sensitive," I laughed and cried at the same time.
"I know."
"I love you." I said again, because I don't know when I'll get to say it again.
"I love you too." He sobs. He bent down and kissed me.
It was the worst kiss I'd ever had. It tasted salty and wet from the mess of tears. We kissed like we were going to die the next day. It was so painful, so desperate, and so rushed. Every movement was hungry for more. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pressed me into him so tightly I couldn't breathe. I'd never kissed someone so hard in my life. He was my first kiss, and I wanted him to be my last.
We parted too soon. His flight was going to leave. He pressed his forehead into mine and we both breathed shaky breaths and tears rolled down our faces.
"Don't forget me." I whispered, and he nods.
"Never."
"We'll find each other again. After all, we're the outsiders. There's only two of us in the whole world."
He pressed his lips together and more tears fell down his cheeks.
"Mm." He nodded.
"Until next time, okay?" I closed my eyes just to listen for his heartbeat.
"Until next time."
He pulled away slowly, until only our fingers were touching. Our rings caught light and reflected the same shimmering silver. Then he let my hand go, and with a grubby, tear-covered face, he smiled.
Then he turned away and disappeared into the doorway.
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Do you guys hate me for ending it like this?
Don't worry! It's not the ending!
I will be writing an epilogue for this story ASAP
So stay tuned and be sure to subscribe to see the ending!
Please Comment and tell me if you liked it, it's my second time writing a one shot, and I'd love to hear some feedback!
Thank you so much for reading(:
P.S. Yes 'wangda' (outsider, loser, etc) Is a REAL form of bullying in Korea. If you want to learn more about wangda or bullying in South Korea click here
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