{3}
Hardships and a Photobooka great welcome to c h a p t e r t h r e e
Progress is a nice word.
But change is a motivator.
And change has its enemies.
-Anonymous
A crowd of girls gathered around Seo Eun and Yuri's table early in the morning. Somehow, there seemed to be sparks fluttering around that area, bits of ecstasy lighting.
"Yuri?" Seo Eun called curiously as she placed her school bag on the chair.
"Seo Eun!" Yuri sang like a bell, her smiles and expression were radiant ; tantalizing.
"Dae Hyun asked her out!" One of the girls screamed in glee.
"Dae Hyun? The one Yuri had been liking for so long?" Seo Eun asked.
They all bobbed their heads up and down. Then Yuri stood up and pulled Seo Eun to a corner.
"See," Yuri smiled sheepishly. "If you want your crush Ba-"
"Shshhshshhshshshs!!" Seo Eun hurriedly slapped her hand onto Yuri's mouth before she said his name. Yuri squealed in delight upon seeing Seo Eun's embarrassed reaction. Because that wasn't something you'd see everyday.
"Okay, okay.. See?" Yuri said as she flashed a silver Pandora bracelet. It was a gift from Dae Hyun. And it must have cost a bomb.
See? What's there to see? Seo Eun thought. It's meaningless, Yuri. He already has Jae Yi.
All Seo Eun could see was Yuri's mini school skirt. It was definitely longer last time - It used to fall down to her knees, but now, it was folded numerously, rising all the way up so that it exposed her slim thighs.
"Eun-ah, wearing contact lenses or wearing your skirt shorter doesn't change who you are. You're still you." Yuri said, her tone a little more serious now.
"It makes you slightly more attractive, but it doesn't change you." She paused. "You're beautiful," Yuri said as she adjusted Seo Eun's spectacles.
"You're more beautiful if you make the little changes, maybe then Baekhyun will notice you like how Dae Hyun sees me now."
And then she left to return to the group of girls who were still squealing.
Now, Yuri felt that fitting in was mortifying. Maybe it was better. Maybe Yuri was right.
Yuri.
Yuri changed.
But then again, change is the only constant.
14 January | Sunny
God, thank you for granting me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I hope I make the right choice.
I will change.
Math class now, annyeong~
Chicken. How do you draw a chicken?! Seo Eun screamed mentally in frustration.
All these while she had drawn children, the elderly, people, scenery, cats and other things but she never realised she couldn't a chicken. It was late in the afternoon and the classroom was empty, the fans on the ceiling whirling round and round ; the only source of noise.
Suddenly, someone came in the classroom.
"Er." The intruder voiced.
Seo Eun looked up from her half done comic art, suprised that someone would still come by her class at this hour.
That was no intruder. It was Baekhyun.
And as though someone the mute button, Seo Eun could not speak properly even though she opened .
"I'm here to collect Jae Yi's water bottle," Baekhyun uttered smoothly as he walked deeper into the classroom, "She said she left it with you." He was now nearer to Seo Eun's table.
His voice was so uniquely stark in the silent classroom. And that left Seo Eun tongue-tied. His brown hair wasn't exactly in a neat shape, yet Seo Eun thought it all fitted perfectly. He was sweating in his sports attire, but that just made him more charming.
Finally, she snapped back to her senses and hid her head in her bag to take the water bottle. Baekhyun was wondering what the young girl could be doing in her classroom at that hour when everyone had already gone home. Curious, he tipped his head and saw Seo Eun's hand placed on her sketchbook as she dug in her bag.
"You drew this?" Baekhyun couldn't help but ask, he was intrigued ; awed that a quiet girl like Seo Eun actually possessed such fine skills.
Immediately, Seo Eun's head jerked up in suprise. Baekhyun walked nearer. And then he leaned down to see her work, until his head was just a few centimeters away from her. She held her breath as her eyes fed on him. His skin was fair and smooth, as though ants would slide if they ever crawled on it. His sides glistened as tiny sweat droplets clung onto his soft sideburns. Seo Eun was terribly flustered and wanted to cover up her work and crush it into bits.
Oh, what an idiot he must have thought I was, drawing useless stuff when I should be at home studying for the upcoming exams.
"It's amazing."
What? What did you say?
"Sorry, what?" Seo Eun had accidentally let her thoughts slip through . Her heart rate was accelerating quicker than a race car.
Baekhyun chuckled lightly as he took Jea Yi's pink Nike bottle from Seo Eun. His fingers brushed against hers.
"Your work. I think it's amazing." He smiled and pointed to the drawing Seo Eun was covering with her hands.
"T-Thanks.." Seo Eun found herself smiling as she replied. It was a becoming a serious problem now because instead of walking out of the classroom to return to Jae Yi, Baekhyun actually swiftly pulled out a chair in front of Seo Eun's table and sat across her.
"Hi, I'm Baekhyun." The young boy chirped and stuck out his hand, awaiting a handshake in return.
Yeah, I know that already. I know so much more. Seo Eun thought sheepishly.
"I'm Seo Eun, Jae Yi's cousin." She replied and tipped her glasses, her face was beaming as her stuttering had finally recovered.
Then Baekhyun nudged his hand towards her playfully, trying to tell her to shake it.
"Oh!" Seo Eun found her voice cracked. Steadily, she shook his hand.
It was a pure and innocent two seconds as the thin hands of the clock ticked, yet Seo Eun felt like time stopped.
It was very quiet in the classroom, and maybe if the fans were switched off, Seo Eun's heartbeat could be heard.
Oh dear...God, is my hair okay? Do I look okay? He's sitting really near!
Seo Eun now felt like she was thrown in the deep sea, anxiously waiting for someone to throw her a life jacket and reduce the amplitude of her heart waves. But at the same time, she wanted to linger in the sea and let the blue waters engulf her.
But dear Seo Eun was worried for nothing. Why? Because Baekhyun didn't see anything ugly in Seo Eun, nothing at all. He didn't find her spectacles unattractive, nor did he think her art was stupid and meaningless. What sweet innocence, what bright eyes that glistened behind the thick frames she wore. Baekhyun found it pleasant. In fact, he wanted to know more about her drawings. Yes, Baekhyun was fascinated by art. He loves drawing of people, scenery or still life, he loved it all - even though he could not draw.
And this was what made Baekhyun even more envious of those who could.
"What are you drawing?" He asked excitedly as he shifted her fair fingers away from the drawing, revealing a pencil shaded art of a young girl with waterfall braids. Poor Seo Eun didn't know how to react. Was this a dream? The guy I like, is actually interested in what I do?
Baekhyun was oblivious from her shy uncomfort, instead, his eyes fed on the picture that she drew. And Seo Eun watched his eyes brighten like a curious cat. And when he asked if he could look at the other pages of her work, and Seo Eun gladly permitted.
At first, Seo Eun briefly explained one of her drawings to Baekhyun because he asked her to. But then, gradually, she found herself talking about every piece of her art as Baekhyun turned the pages, and Baekhyun was more than interested at every different page. Seo Eun was so happy, more than that. Little did she know that someone was willing to listen to her speak about her drawings, and not just someone, it was Baekhyun.
"I didn't know you liked art!" Seo Eun beamed heartily, the uncertainty had now slipped off a non-existing cliff ; all tension was clear.
"I love it! I didn't know you could draw!" Baekhyun laughed, not even realizing he had placed the Nike water bottle on a random table, because it seemed to have encumbered the distance from him and Seo Eun's drawing. Or maybe the distance between both of them.
Soon, they were exchanging conversations as though they had been friends for a thousand years just over the pictures that Seo Eun drew. She explained how she loved drawing during her free time and that every picture she drew instilled a sense of belonging within her. And Baekhyun always replied with the same level of enthusiasm, or even more.
There was no awkwardness between the two that had met. There was no strain. And strangely, Baekhyun felt like a light had ignited in him, a light that never really sparked before. Even after he met Jae Yi.
And the classroom was now vibed with life other than the spinning fans, and they were smiling like carefree children - Both eager. For something they didn't know what.
"Do you know how to draw a chicken?" Seo Eun asked after both of them finally stopped laughing from a joke Baekhyun had cracked.
"Ha ha! My art is really, really terrible. But, I can try." He replied as he took her pencil.
Seo Eun watched him as he bit his lips in frustration. He was super adorable. Is this really happening?
"There, how is it?"
Seo Eun snapped to reality. Yes, this is happening.
Excited, she looked at what he drew : A small circle for the head, a slightly larger circle for the body, and a mini triangle for the beak, and two short lines for the feet. Then Baekhyun snapped his fingers before quickly adding a small oval below the chick.
"What's that?" Seo Eun questioned curiously.
Baekhyun scratched his head and grinned like a small boy, "It's an egg!"
Instead of answering, Seo Eun couldn't help but laugh, iearning a hearty laugh from Baekhyun too.
"Good effort," Seo Eun chuckled.
"I know right." The cheeky boy replied with sarcasm.
When Baekhyun had first stepped into the class, a second passed. Then two seconds. And then a minute. And now, Baekhyun was staying longer than he had planned. Maybe if someone came in abruptly to asked them why Baekhyun came in the first place, the two of them wouldn't have the slightest clue, for the pink Nike bottle was now placed far away from reach.
Anyway, Baekhyun still flipped the pages of her personal sketchbook, and Seo Eun's heartbeat seemed to have gotten used to the sound of Baekhyun's presence.
Until Baekhyun almost saw a particular drawing on a labelled page. As soon as Seo Eun saw the light blue strip sticker she had pasted on the top of the page, she knew very well what picture was there. In super speed, she took the book to her hands and clutched it to her chest, immediately earning a sly smile from Baekhyun.
He wiggled his eyebrows and folded his arms.
"Ohhh," he slurred. "So Seo Eun has secrets?" He grinned from ear to ear and bobbed his head up and down.
Seo Eun forced a smile. Whew...that was close.
"Okay, I won't see that page." He sighed and pouted. "I promise. But ther-"
And it was as though the heavens clapped their hands, strictly calling : your time is up.
Baekhyun was interrupted by the ringing of his phone.
Jae
slide to answer
Both Baekhyun and Seo Eun exchanged horrid expressions. Then he motioned his hands, saying that he was going to have his head chopped by Jae Yi. Seo Eun widened her eyes, she found everything he did so child-like and cutely enticing.
Hesitantly, he picked up, only to hear an ear-splitting scream. It was so loud that Seo Eun could hear it clearly.
"Yah! Where are you?! It's been 45 minutes! Did you die up there or what?"
45 minutes? Both of them looked at the clock. It was approaching 6 o'clock.
Seo Eun felt her heart sink. She couldn't help but think that it was her fault Baekhyun was getting yelled at.
"I'm so sorry, I'm coming right now." Baekhyun said softly into the phone, his lively tone suddenly turned grave.
"Yeah, whatever. Practice is already over and I'm heading to Bay Sizzle for dinner with Lina and the girls. It's up to you whether you're coming or not."
Seo Eun cringed at her cousin's rudeness. Shouldn't she be showing Baekhyun at least some affection?
Before Baekhyun could answer, the girl on the other line cut him again, "Oh and if you're still there which you shouldn't be, tell my cousin, dinner at my place tomorrow. 7 o'clock."
Then, the importunate ringing came on right after she abruptly hung up.
"I'm so sorry.." Seo Eun couldn't help but feel guilty.
"No, no. Don't be." He cooed as he kept his phone, standing up now.
"I really enjoyed the 45 minutes here." He beamed as he imitated his angry girlfriend on how she accented 45 minutes. Funny how he still had the life to mock Jae Yi after receiving a scolding.
"I wished I could stay longer to view your work," he pushed in the chairs. "I really do."
Seo Eun bit her lips, preventing herself from replying "next time?". Because she knew there wasn't going to be a next time until a long time later.
"Next time?" Baekhyun beamed, as though he read through her mind.
"N-Next time?" Seo Eun stuttered.
Baekhyun nodded.
"Oh and," Baekhyun muttered as he pointed to Seo Eun's blouse shyly. She looked down, extremely embarrassed that the button gaps of her uniform exposed her tummy flesh. She jolted up and adjusted her blouse. While doing so, she accidentally dapped some blue ink onto her uniform.
Baekhyun too, couldn't help but feel a tint of red spread over his face too as he now reached for the Jae Yi's water bottle. It was the first time he saw female flesh.
Then with a split-second wave, he exited the classroom. But just as he stepped out, he wanted to turn back to ask :
Do you draw comics?
But damn it, time was ticking and he was already late.
Baekhyun cocked his head in wonder. I'm glad I met someone who likes Art too, I thought it no one appreciated it anymore. Then he smiled and bolted off.
Seo Eun released the sketchbook from her body and scanned the page with the blue transparent strip. That page could only be seen by her.
For what she had drewn was none other than a beautiful, detailed portrait of Baekhyun with his red cap worn the other way.
That night, Seo Eun slipped in her favourite pyjamas, because the happiest day meant the most comfortable clothing. However, Seo Eun was a little drained as she had to rush through her revision for the upcoming examinations. And thus she couldn't post any comics that day. However, she realised that she had been lingering on the net still, but she didn't know why.
Then she received a notification from her comic blog, and that's when she knew why she was half-mindedly closing and opening tabs over and over again.
Reply from @quietguy1234 : @pinktips_ : No comic update today?
A smile flickered across her face.
Reply from @pinktips_ : @quietguy1234 : Exams are coming, sorry :/
In a minute, a reply came.
Reply from @quietguy1234 : @pinktips_ : really? i'm having my exams next week too! all the best to you.
Seo Eun thought for a while before she replied.
Reply from @pinktips_ : @quietguy1234 : you too, fighting! *\(^_^)/*
That was weird. Her exams were next week too. Stretching her arms, she smiled and silently thanked God for answering her prayers. It was a day she would never forget. Her first conversation, her first handshake, her first laugh, all with Baekhyun.
Nevertheless, Seo Eun could feel her body giving in to fatigue, and so she let sleep take over her.
A/N : I made this whole chapter only about Baekhyun and Seo Eun finally getting the chance to talk to one another.
But the following chapters will jump quite greatly. Not that it's a rush or a big skip, but because this chapter is supposedly, specially meant to detail the foundation of how their frienship starts.
Subscribe or vote or comment please? ..Sometimes I feel I'm too long-winded and that I shouldn't write so detailed, is it okay?
Since some of you were asking me about what it meant by Baek still texting Seo Eun, I editted it a little now, hope it's clearer! ^^
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