Time- 10:19PM, 020711
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I stayed in class after the school dismissal bell. Flipping the pages, I began to revise on the topics taught today. The entire campus was quiet as classes had dismissed early today. Everyone had rushed off to enjoy as tomorrow is a Saturday. But for me, I'm used to studying in school till 5PM. Everyday is like this. I will finish all revisions before going home. Because it is unlikely that I will study at home as there are many distractions and the another reason is because of her.


Flashback

I have decided to stay back everyday to study until evening as I realised that I will never ever study at home no matter how many times I swear and promise myself that I will. As Mother doesn't turn on the lights even though it can still be quite dim in the afternoon, I will find myself feeling sleepy after snacking on tibits. In the end, I sleep through the afternoon. That was why my results were horrible. I studied. And when it was about 4:55PM, I heard the sound produced when the glass windows were been pushed closed. It was quite loud and it came from the other side of the building. I ignored the little disturbance as I buried my head back into the books infront of me. The sound became louder but I continued to read the textbook as I do the mind map.

"Excuse me," I turned my head to the back door where the voice came. "I have to lock the doors now." A girl around my age stood by the door. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and I have to say that her hair was really long. It reached a few centimetres above her waist even if she tied them up. She was in a simple green T-shirt with jeans. I stared at her as I started to study her. Tan skin, a pair of big, round eyes and chubby cheeks. Her features combination attracted me.

"Oh, okay." I said, turning back to pack my things, stuffing the stationaries back into the pencil case. She came in, going to the windows and closed them. The same crisp clear sound I heard just now rang again. The glass-hits-glass sound. I was eyeing her as I put the exercise books back into the bag. She reached for the upper window and closed it. Her waist was so tiny. Her ponytail floated in the air as the wind carried them. After she closed everything, I was keeping the textbooks in my cabinet that the school provides for all students. I took my bag and she was behind me, following me out and locked the door. I walked down the hallway and stopped after taking a few steps, turning back to see her going into the next classroom and the sound of her shutting the windows could be heard again. I have never seen her in school so I guess she may not be attending lessons in this school. What made me more curious was that, why is a girl like her, working as a stuff in the school? If she is studying here, then maybe I can understand. She might be just working part-time for the school and it was very convinient. I quickly turned away when she came out from the classroom and headed home.

The next day was the same. I studied throughout the afternoon and when I heard the familiar resounding noise, I turned to the back door automatically. The noise stopped for a while and alerted the already quiet school after again. Just like this, the noise became louder and louder and when I heard footsteps nearing, I turned back to the desk.

"Excuse me, I have to lock this class now."

"Okay." I turned to her, giving her a nod and stood up. Just like last week, she came inside the room and closed the windows. I packed my things and grabbed my bag, throwing it over my shoulder.

"Thank you, Miss." I said and she turned to me, giving me a smile.

"You are welcome." Oh, that smile I will never forget. She has smile eyes. I smiled back and went out of the classroom. My footsteps were light as I walked home.

I continued to stay back the next day even though I felt more tired than usual. If I give in to myself for the first time, there would be a second time, a third time, a forth time and it goes on. Then I would never be able to get my results out of the 'Fail' and 'Grade C' pits. My eyes began to feel a little pain as I pushed myself to finish reading the chapter. When I finished reading, I looked at the clock and it was already 4PM. I went on to learn more vocabulary and found myself looking at the clock from time to time. A small part of my heart was actually waiting for 5PM. That was when I started to have diffiulties concentrating. I actually even spaced out staring at the words on the book. My head shot up when I heard the sound I was waiting for. I smiled to myself as I wrote down the last word and stared at the exercise book, reading the meanings of those words that I just learnt. I turned to the backdoor when I heard footsteps. She saw me staring at her and stopped by the door for awhile, our eyes locking. She awkwardly looked away as she took small steps in.

"I need to lock this room." I gave a small smile, nodding. I stood up and gathered my things, pushing them all inside my bag.

"Thank you." I said, thanking her for locking all the classrooms in the school. She smiled faintly, giving a nod.

Thursday. Again, I was in class doing revision. Only that Mr Im was with me. I had asked him for help and he was glad to tutor me. He guided me in Mathematics and I was so engrossed in it that I thought I was in the other world. When the noise of the windows closing shut was heard again, that was when I thought of the girl. A part of me started to anticipate seeing her again.

"The school is closing. Let's finish this and continue tomorrow."

"Yes, Mr Im." I said as I sped up, pressing the keys of the calculator and solved the question. When I completed it, that was when the girl came and stopped by the door.

"I'm going off. See you tomorrow." I bowed.

"Thank you, Mr Im." Mr Im smiled and walked out of the back door, passing by the girl. Seeing that I was already starting to pack up, she just came inside and closed the windows like usual. I lifted my bag and turned to her, seeing her looking out of the window.

"Thank you. See you tomorrow." I said. She turned back.

"Goodbye." She flashed a smile. Her smile had always been like this. A small, faint peaceful yet tired smile.  

End of flashback


My friends were with me in class as they did not finish the assignments that were supposed to be summitted today.

"Seung Hyun, can you help me in this?" I took the set of worksheets Tae Woo handed to me read the question. I explained to him the theory and he understood.

"Tae Woo, I finished mine already. Have you?" Cheon Jun stood up and looked at Tae Woo.

"Finishing..." Tae Woo wrote down the answer to the last question and stood up. "Finally...!" He quickly packed his things, practically throwing all things inside his bag and exited the room with Cheon Jun.

"Bye Seung Hyun!" They waved and walked off, not even waiting for me to reply. I shrugged and went back to work. Time check, 4:30PM. Not sure since when, I started to anticipate the nameless girl to appear at the classroom. I remember the first time I was actually quite disappointed when she came as I felt that time was really going fast but now, I'm actually waiting for her to come and lock the door. Anticipation had came to the extent that she had became the reason of my determination to stay back even though my eyes were already closing. 5PM sharp. She is always very accurate. Surely she would appear when the time is 5PM. I leaned back on the chair as I reread the chapter, waiting for my favourite time as it approaches. There, it came. The sound I was waiting for.

"Hello." I said first when I saw her. Smiling to her, she seemed a little surprised. She flashed a quick smile and quickly walked to the windows. I smiled to myself, carrying my bag. I pushed in the chair and turned to her, seeing her reaching up for the window. I walked to her side, reaching up and closed the window for her. She turned to me, staring. I smiled back and went on to push the other windows closed.

"Th-thank you." She thanked softly.

"No problem." I don't know how many times had I smiled but I can't seem to stop. "See you again." I waved and left.

It was Monday again and my friend from the other class asked if I could go over to his class to study together as we were in the same Science class. Since I ended school earlier than him that day, I waited outside his classroom until the lessons ended. After the subject teacher left the class, I entered and pulled an empty chair to his desk. We started studying. Although we were into the discussion, I was taking note of the time. This class will be the last room she will be locking so I will still see her anyway, right? On that note, I waited for her arrival. Soon, I heard those sounds.

"We got to go soon..." Hyun Won muttered, still fixing his gaze on the paper as he jotted down notes on the discussion.

"Yeah." I glanced out of the door, even though she wasn't there yet.

"Okay, done." He stood up, keeping his things. "Are you going?" I looked up from my book to him.

"I will finish this page first. You can go first." He nodded, waving.

"See you then." I waved, watching him as he walked down from the staircase just next to the classroom. The sounds of the windows kept coming. Only that the sound stopped for a longer time before ringing again. I don't know what exactly was the reason for this but thinking that she will come in the end, I continued to wait. With what seemed like forever, she finally appeared. I was about to smile to her when I noticed the difference in her. She looked a little bothered. I was about to talk when two guys came in as well. Okay, they looked like those erted guys harassing girls. I turned back to the girl, who was already walking passed me as she smiled a little and the smile vanished immediately after. The guys went beside her, like they can't see me.

"Hey, isn't it too impolite to ignore us for like, 3 minutes?" The girl did not reply, just reaching for the windows and closed them. One of the guys took her hand from the window panel and I was taken aback. What are these people doing? I saw her eyes widened as she tried to pull back, but failed.

"Finally you are looking at me huh?" The guy said, smirking. The girl began to get nervous, I can see. "After 3 minutes."

"Let go of me." She said, still struggling to pull away.

"What if I refused?"

"Excuse me," I finally spoke up, my gaze getting intense. The guys rolled their eyes as they turned to me.

"What are you? Do your things. If not, get lost." The one grabbing onto the girl's hand said before turning back to her. The girl was looking at me, helpless. I stood up, walking towards them.

"Please let go of her." I said, trying to solve things politely. "Why bother a girl for no reasons?" The two smirked at the same time, as if mocking at me.

"I advise you to mind your own business." The same guy said and started to pull her out. I was once again, surprised. Are they serious of doing this? In school? My hand went to the girl's wrist, stopping him. I stared into his eyes as I pulled his hand off with my free hand. The girl immedaitely went behind me, holding onto her hand. The guy laughed mockingly, stepping forward.

"What do you think you are doing, Junior?"

"Senior, you should be asking youself." I said. He glared at me, about to open his mouth again when a booming voice erupted the place.

"Who allowed you two to leave the detention room?!" I jumped a little, spinning to the back to see the discipline master, Mr Sung stomped in and scolded the guys before bringing them out.

"Choi Seung Hyun, I will remember you." The guy glared at me one last time before leaving. I looked down and realised the name tag on the uniform. I turned back to the girl.

"Are you okay?" She nodded.

"Thank you." She said softly, going to close the windows again while I packed my stuff. I helped her to close the front and back doors and she locked them. I walked behind her, seeing her entered the admin office before I walked off.

Things were the same the next following day. I was waiting for her as usual while I studied. When it was 5PM, she has not reached the classroom and a few minutes later, it was a man in his fifities who came to lock the doors.

"Hello, the school is closing and I have to lock the doors." I stood up and gathered my things.

"Okay." The man came and closed the windows. I was disappointed that she didn't came. I was actually sad as well. "I'm sorry, but can I ask you something, Mr?" The man turned to me.

"Yes."

"It used to be a teenager locking the doors. I'm actually curious why there is a sudden change."

"Ah, you mean Yoo Bin?" The man started. "She exchanged the tasks with me, so she will be mopping the AVA rooms." Her name is Yoo Bin...

"Oh..." I nodded slowly, looking on the ground.

"Why? Disappointed that you see an old man instead of a young lady?" My head shot up.

"No." I waved my hands, laughing nervously. "I actually wanted to ask her something." I reasoned. What do I want to ask her anyway...? The man laughed.

"She should be in the admin office by now." He smiled as he reached for the windows again. I grabbed my bag.

"Thank you, Mr." I smiled and bowed before going down. I headed to the admin office and asked for 'Miss Yoo Bin', but the receptionist told me that she had left. I sighed, could only walk out with my head hanging low. I exited the gate and walked towards the apartment area. My mind was occupied and I sighed again, feeling awful for I don't know what reason. I glanced to the side and saw a person sitting on a bench at the void deck, massaging the ankle. I ignored, only to turn back to that person when I found her familiar. It was Yoo Bin. I slowly walked to her. Her head was hung low and she didn't even notice me nearing her.

"Miss Yoo Bin?" I called softly. She looked up, surprised to see me and that I know her name. Her eyes were watery and there were dried traces of tears on her cheeks. She quickly turned away, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying. I felt my heart being squeezed a little. I sat beside her.

"What happened?" I asked softly, leaning over to see her face. She kept her head turned away and didn't make a sound. I turned my gaze to her ankle and saw that it was swollen, her hand gently rubbing on it. I reached for her ankle and she jerked when my fingers touched it, making me retrieved my hand instantly. Did I hurt her or it is that she doesn't want me to touch her?

"Sorry." I said. She looked down and I followed her gaze. I saw a book between the both of us from the corner of my eyes. Her name and class were written on the cover. Kim Yoo Bin, 2A. I recognised that book. There's only two schools using that publisher's books. I am super serious when I say this, people who study these books are smart and intelligent to the maximum, which also means that she is in one of the best high schools in Korea.

"You are studying in Hwa Yang High School?" I made a guess out of the two as that was nearer to my school. She shook her head slowly. "National High School of South Korea." She nodded cautiously. Gosh, that's the best high school in the entire Republic of Korea...!

"Woah." I said in awe, smiling. She smiled a little, still looking down. I reached for her ankle again. She didn't jerk this time, just turning to stare at me.

"What happened? It's quite serious." I said.

"I missed a step at the gate and twisted it."

"Can you walk?" I asked gently. She made no response. My hands gently massaged her ankle and I felt her winced. I heard soft sobs and stopped whatever I was doing. "I'm sorry. Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"It's okay. It's always been this painful. I can just rest a few days at home."

"I don't have ointlment with me now. Do you have some at home?" She shook her head. "I will go buy some." I stood up.

"It's okay." She called. "It isn't that bad."

"I will be back soon. Wait for a while." I ran off to the pharmacy and grabbed the bottle of oilment and headed back. I went infront of her and squatted down, removing the cap of the bottle.

"I can do this myself." She voiced.

"Tell me if I'm hurting you." I smiled, reaching for her leg on my lap. I applied the ointment on the swollen area and when I looked up to check on her, her eyes were shut tight. I tried to be more gentle and it was the most gentle I can go, but it seemed like it was still too painful for her.

"I'm sorry. Please bear a little more." I wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks with my clean hand, coeing her. She sure was really scared of pain. After I was done, I handed the bottle of ointment to her.

"Remember to apply it everyday." She nodded.

"Thank you."

"Come, let's go home." I handed both of our bags to her and squatted infront of her again. She looked at me in wonder. "Come up, I will bring you home."

"I can manage. I'm fine already."

"You don't look like you can walk home without crying your eyes out." I said, smiling as I turned back to her. "Come on."

"It's really okay." She politely rejected. She stood up and immediately reached for the side of the bench when she tried to take a tiny step. I rushed to her, giving her support.

"I insist. Come up." I waited for a while before feeling her weight on me. "You took everything?" I turned a little and saw our bags with her.

"Hm."

"Let's go then." I said, like a father talking to his toddler child. The sun was setting and I was walking through the park since she said that was the way to her house.

"Thank you, Seung Hyun." She said whisperingly when we were crossing the road.

"No problem." I smiled. Then silence. I have not shown it, but my heart was beating harder ever since I was carrying her on my back.

"Yoo Bin?"

"Yes."

"Are you feeling uncomfortable? Like something unusual?"

"Huh?"

"I'm feeling uncomfortable in that sense." I told her. Hell, I was about to get comsumed by this feeling I was getting.

"Am I really heavy? Put me down. I will walk back slowly." She quickly said.

"You're not heavy. That's not what I meant." I said with a laugh. "It's just that, it's beating fast."

"H-huh?"

"It's thumping fast." I said again, enjoying the little conversation we were having and the cute blur side of her.

"What do you mean...?"

"I don't know, but I feel my heart thumping real fast." I revealed truthfully. Silence. "Yoo Bin?"

"Hm." She responded, letting me know she was listening.

"Did I scare you in any way?"

"No..."

"Yoo Bin?"

"Hm."

"Will you be with me?" I felt her stiffened a little. I waited for her reply. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Not answering?" I asked with a nervous laugh. Her silence was really taking my life.

"I..." Silence again.

"You should at least reject me. I will not be able to sleep if you keep quiet." I said with a chuckle, although I was feeling a little sad thinking that she will reject me.

"Okay."

"Hm?" Okay, what does she mean by that? "Okay, you are rejected or okay, you are accepted?" There was another pause until she replied softly.

"The second one...?" It was my turn to tense up. Oh... My... God... I stopped in my tracks, turning to her which she looked down at my shoulder.

"Really...?" I asked, feeling incredible myself. She coyly nodded.

"Hm." A smile finally spreaded across my lips as I turned to the front again, each step I made became lighter and I felt like I was floating in the air even when I was carrying her.

"Thank you." I said, grabbing onto her thighs tighter. I felt her head on my shoulder and when I glanced back, I saw a small faint smile on her with her eyes closed.
---

Hello. Okay, I have started to stay back in school everyday until 5PM as I couldn't study at home, just like Seung Hyun here. And at 5PM sharp, Yoo Bin will not appear in my classroom to lock the doors but an uncle. Then one day, I turned and saw the uncle closing the windows in my classroom and ding, inspirations hits me. And a few days ago, I wrote this short story! XD

P.S. Thanks for reading and hope you all enjoyed it! ^^

Schedulex2(C)

Started-  10:19PM, 020711

Ended- 1:53AM, 030711

Posted at 10:38PM, 030711