May 31, 2004

Yonghwa picked up the dusty old Taylor guitar. He had retrieved it from the storeroom earlier that day. Looking intently at the instrument in his hands, he brushed his index finger slowly down the neck of the guitar. Dust piled up on his finger and he knew that this old instrument had been abandoned for quite a long time, placed and forgotten in the storeroom where retired objects were stored.

He had seen his father played a few songs when he was still young. His father would strum and sing lullabies on the guitar for little Yonghwa when he refused to sleep at night. As he strummed softly, restless little Yonghwa would somehow calm down and listen intently. Then, in a couple of minutes, little Yonghwa would be asleep. It always worked like magic.

Recalling those memories, Yonghwa felt a surge of emotions washed past him. He had like hearing his dad sing and play for him, but as his family business flourish and responsibilities get heavier, this routine died out.

Pouting slightly, he placed his middle finger on one the strings and plucked. A low buzz sounded and echoed through his room. He plucked the string a second time, then a third and a fourth time in a slow rhythm. Staring straight ahead into space, his mind drifted to what happened the night before.

Basketball training was over for the day and the team decided to go for dinner together. They arrived at Shinsang BBQ, a restaurant down the street from their school. Rowdy as ever, the boys were playfully teasing each other and they entered the restaurant noisily.

“You should have seen how he dunked, it’s the best. Really.”

“Come on, I did it better, you know it.”

“Shut up, you couldn’t have. There was only perfection in his dunk.”

“Hahaha stop bickering you two, I was the best!”

“You? Please, save some dignity for yourself!”

They settled down noisily at a table near to the entrance. As they laughed and teased, Yonghwa spotted Seohyun and her girls at the far corner of the shop. He couldn’t help but smile, pretending to be laughing along with his mates. Though he had a crush on her, he didn’t want to make her feel burdened.

Jonghyun, who sat beside him, noticed his uneasiness. Looking in the direction of where he was looking at, he turned back to him.

“Psst. Looking at girls? They look younger.” He lamented cheekily, giving him a friendly nudge on his arm.

It wasn’t a surprise why Jonghyun failed to realize that Yonghwa was eyeing on Seohyun since the several occasions where the team had teased Yonghwa about her, he wasn’t there with them.

Yonghwa gave a weak smile, “Hey what’s on the menu?” He changed the subject while he grabbed the menu on the table.

He didn’t find the food nice at Shinsang, in fact, the only thing that he found attractive about the store, was the ridiculously cheap prices and the girl seated at the far corner. He was distracted the whole time, as he eyed her from the corner of his eyes as he ate.

However, he could not help but notice every time she looked over at their table, she was looking at Jonghyun. He narrowed his eyes. That definitely bothered him a lot. Another factor that annoyed him was her friends. The one named Tiffany to his knowledge, was eyelash-bashing him all the time he looked over. He could even hear her squeals though his team was loud themselves. He respects his fans, but overly obsessive ones turn him off big time.

Lost in thoughts, Yonghwa felt a sudden pang of pain. Wincing a little, he looked down at his hand. Unknowingly, he had been plucking the same guitar string with his middle finger for a long time. His finger was reddened and it felt sore. He sighed and removed his guitar from his lap and placed it behind him, on his bed. He had thoughts of playing her a song, but it seemed like a long way to go before he could master this foreign instrument.

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“Hyunnie, I won’t be able to accompany you today,” Taeyeon gave an apologetic look at Seohyun who was packing her bag. The last lesson of the day had ended and the school was bustling once again.

“Oh? That’s okay, what are you busy with?” Seohyun replied with a smile, placing her Mathematics textbook into her bag.

Taeyeon let out a sigh. “Well Ginger’s been really inactive nowadays. I think I ought to bring it to a vet for a check. I’m sorry yeah?” She made a sad face, looking for forgiveness.

“Your new puppy?”

Taeyeon nodded in response, resting her head on her chair as she peered to look at Seohyun was seated behind her in class.

“I’m fine. I’m just going to drop a few books at the library and head home then.” Seohyun reached over and reassured her by her head. They originally planned to head for a movie after class. It was Friday after all and everyone deserves a break.

Taeyeon pouted. “It’s a pity Tiffany couldn’t make it too.”

“Well, her grandmother came to visit. We’ll plan for another movie date when we’re all free okay? Come on, cheer up! I’m fine really.” Seohyun giggled a little when Taeyeon made a face.

“Okay then, I’ll see you next week?” Taeyeon stood up and started putting on her bag pack. “Drop by my house this weekend if you’re free! I’ll text Fany about it too.”

Seohyun nodded and waved goodbye as she watched Taeyeon walked out of class. Then, she double-checked her desk to make sure everything was packed into her bag before she stood up, pushed her chair under her desk, and made her way out.

Arriving at the lockers area, she opened her locker to drop off books that she would not need for the weekend. And there again, she spotted that familiar piece of memopad.

She brought it up to her face. Yes, it was another drawing of her. This time, it was a picture of her with her friends at the school canteen. She smiled to herself and brushed her thumb over the initials at the bottom right corner of the paper.

This was the fourth drawing already. Since the first drawing she received at the school library, she had been secretly anticipating for more. Surprisingly, she didn’t find it stalker-ish, or an invasion of her privacy. People might feel insecure, but she found it really sweet compared to guys who splurged on expensive bouquets and stuffed toys to try to impress her.

Giving it one last look, she took her book out of her locker, flipped it to the content page and placed it in with the other memopad drawings. Closing it slowly, she replaced the book into her locker.

Just as she was about to close her locker door, a loud crashing sound shocked her. She spun around just to see someone collapsed on the ground beside her. Panicking, she squatted immediately and shook the person.

“Hey, hey! Are you okay?!” She shook the guy who was on the ground, her face filled with worry.

The guy opened his eyes slightly, and sat up. He leaned on the lockers with the help of Seohyun.

“Are you okay?! You look really pale, do you need to go to the hospital?” Seohyun asked while grabbing hold of his arm. It was only then did she realize that guy was no other than her eyecandy, Lee Jonghyun. She looked around the corridor. A few students were watching but none came to offer their help. His teammates were also not anywhere in sight.

“I.. I.. No it’s okay.” Jonghyun looked up at her gratefully and gave a weak smile. “I always have fainting spells. It’s no biggie.”

He lifted his right hand and massaged his neck. Then he shook his head violently as if to get rid of the dizziness.

“Are you sure?” Seohyun scanned his body worriedly, looking for injuries.

“Yeah… Thank you.” He smiled gratefully. “I think I might need to drop by the sick bay for some iron pills though. I must be experiencing low blood pressure again...”

“And… I might as well get this fixed.” He twisted his right arm to reveal a gash on his elbow.

Seohyun gasped. There was a cut on his elbow and blood was starting to stream down his hand. Thankfully, the cut didn’t look deep. Slowly, Jonghyun tried stand up. Seohyun held onto his left arm to support him.  

“Come, I’ll accompany you there.” Seohyun guided him along in the direction of the sick bay.

Jonghyun’s head was still spinning slightly. While they walked slowly to the sick bay, he turned his head to look at her. Her face still looked worried. His vision then landed on his left, where he gazed at her hands, both gripping firmly onto his left arm to support him. At that moment, he felt thankful, but also half-embarrassed.

Soon, they reached the sick bay. Jonghyun allowed Seohyun to guide him as she slided the door open with one hand, another not leaving his arm. They entered the room, but there was no one in it.

“Come, sit here. I’ll go look for the nurse.” Seohyun guided him to the nearest bed in the sick bay and gestured him to sit down before she left the room.

Jonghyun sat down and watched her leave frantically. He knew he could actually handle everything himself. Apart from being a little light-headed, he knew he was still capable of taking care of his injuries. However, he couldn’t resist the help of this kind female schoolmate, who looked more worried than him. And the thing that touched him the most, was that she was actually worried for him, an almost complete stranger.

He brought up his right arm and examined the wound on his elbow. It wasn’t nasty but it needed some cleaning. He cursed silently for being so careless, especially since an important inter-school regionals basketball match was coming up the following week.

Seohyun burst back into the sick bay, panting slightly. “I… I couldn’t find the school nurse. She wasn’t in the office too.”

Jonghyun smiled, “Its ok. I’ll just bandage it myself.” He stood up slowly from the bed, in an attempt to source for medical needs. But before he could take a step

forward, Seohyun rushed towards him and shoved him back down on the bed.

“Hey, you’re a wounded patient! Just leave it to me.” Seohyun said firmly, before turning to the cupboards and opening them.

Jonghyun stared at her back view in surprise. For a moment he was lost for words.

Seohyun found the first aid box on the second shelf. She pulled it out, placed it on the table next to the bed and opened it. Taking out some bandages and iodine solution, she dapped some solution onto a clean cotton-bud and turned back to Jonghyun.

“Here, give me your hand. I’ll help you clean your wound.” She held out her hand to him, gesturing him to do so.

Jonghyun stared at her suspiciously, “Are you sure about this? I think it’s okay. I just need some bandages.”

“Are you doubting me? I’m a trained first-aider, you can trust me. Your elbow please~” Seohyun kept her hand extended to him.

Slowly, Jonghyun raised his hand and Seohyun twisted it carefully to treat his wound. While she cleaned, he couldn’t help but stare at her face. He realized how close her face was to his. He was also aware how careful and gentle she was tending to his wounds.

A strange feeling churned in his stomach. It felt jittery, and he could feel his face reddened. Realising what was happening, he turned and looked out of the window in embarrassment. He was only thankful that Seohyun seemed to be oblivious about it. She was too engrossed and focused.

“There! All done!” Seohyun finished the job by tightening the knot of the bandage. She wore an expression of happiness.

Jonghyun looked down and admired his bandaged elbow. It was impressive, she had done a great job.

“You feeling better already?”

Jonghyun looked up to see her staring back down at him.

“U-Uh yeah yeah. Thanks for helping me,” He stammered a little and stood up facing her.

“That’s good to hear. So… if all’s good then I guess I’ll get going already…” Seohyun pointed at the door shyly.

“Yeah… yeah go ahead. Thank you again, you did a great job.” He held out a good sign with his uninjured left hand.

Smiling and waving goodbye, Seohyun picked up her bag and made her way to the door. She was only a step out of the door when she heard someone call her name.

“Seohyun?”

She turned and looked back at Jonghyun, surprised.

“If it’s okay with you, I would like to take you out for dinner sometime… You know, a treat to thank you for your help today.” He felt shy. It was his first time saying something like that to the opposite gender. He was really thankful for the help Seohyun gave with no hesitation and he felt that he needed to know this girl more.

“Ah… I think it’s-” She started, before getting cut off.

“Accept my sincerity please?”

“I-”

“Come on~”

“But…”

“I’m gonna get angry…”

“…. Okay then.”

He smiled slightly at her flustered face. Realising that he was smiling at her, Seohyun looked down on the ground, half-embarrassed.

“I’ll contact you again.” Jonghyun stated, as he picked up his own bag and slid past her at the door. Seohyun cringed slightly at the close proximity. She backed till her back touched the doorframe.

“Ah!” Jonghyun stopped in his tracks, a few steps away from Seohyun who was still stood rooted at the door.

“Have a great weekend.” He flashed her his dimpled smile, before he turned and continued walking down the corridor.

Seohyun blinked a few times. She still couldn’t get the whole situation correctly in her head. She remained partially confused while she stared at him walking further and further away from her.

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Sorry for the late update, I hope you'd missed me hehe.
Keep the comments and subs coming in, xoxo!

redradish
15/6/13, 4:23pm