I opened my eyes and shifted my body towards the right, squinting my eyes to focus on the digital time-teller on my side table; 03:56 bright and green. It was way too early for me to wake up but yet, I found myself trying hard to sleep back and only to fail doing so. I got ready for school and left early; too early than routine that when I was out, sunrise was hours to go.

 

So I took my time again, walking to school and discerning the falling, and fallen discoloured leaves from the one, two, three rare trees in the city. The bakery cafe was already opened and my lips twitched into a smile. The coffee's nice, they serve pastries and I'm hungry.

 

I hummed a tune as I entered the cafe. No one was at the cashier, perhaps she's somewhere in the store but she'll come soon because she couldn't miss the ringing bell when I entered. I scanned through the sandwich choices that were available; ham, egg and ham, chicken, spicy tuna, kimchi ham, sliced tuna, smoked chicken, garlic and parsley...

 

“May I help you?” the familiar voice of lady said but I didn't look up. I was having a dilemma about the sandwiches. Too many choices shouts 'PROBLEM' because I can't choose. I decided to go with whatever come out of my lips hereafter.

 

“Green tea latte.”

 

What I said was definitely not a sandwich but she simply said 'okay' and went to make the drink. While she's busy, I was still indecisive over breakfast.

 

“Which one should I eat? Ughhhh,” I lowly groaned and kept my eyes on the array of sandwiches in the glass fridge.

 

“Your latte's ready,” the lady sort of whispered to me which I just simply nod to. This sandwich thing is getting on my nerves, so I closed my eyes, reached out and grabbed one.

 

“Oh, egg and ham,” I flatly commented, not amused of my blind choice. Better than nothing. I went to the cashier to get my drink and pay.

 

“That's a good choice,” I looked up and my hands went numb, the sandwich box fell with a soft thud, thankfully on the counter.

 

“It's ₩12000,” I froze. How the hell am I seeing this person again?

 

“Excuse me. Hey,” the boy waved a hand in front of me and that snapped me out. Did I imagined the lady's voice? Was he here all the time?

 

“You're the girl from yesterday. The library, right?” he nonchalantly recalled. If I were him, I wouldn't even say a thing. I would run away to the end of the ocean and drown myself. The rated section is only to be remembered of if you have high self-confidence. Maybe he has that much confidence. But I don't.

 

“How much? ₩12000 right? Here,” I quickly changed the topic. I handed him a few notes and quickly left. I paid the exact amount so he won't have the time to say any more if he doesn't need to return the change.

 

“Hey, wait up,” I heard him shouted as I went out.

 

“Oh no.”

 

“I hope you don't mind walking to school together,” he said after he caught up.

 

“No,” I replied. To be honest, 'YES I MIND. PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE. I AM EMBARRASSED. I DON'T READ RATED BOOKS. I WAS JUST SLEEPING THERE.'

 

“You haven't answered me yet. You were there yesterday, no?” he asked. I nodded.

 

“It's the best section to wink forty times, right?”

 

“What?” I have no idea what he was talking about. What winks?

 

“It's the best place to have a nap, I mean. I go there all the time,” he explained himself.

 

“Oh really?” and the embarrassment that haunted me whenever I see him finally dissolved into bubbles of interest.

 

“What class are you in?” he asked.

 

“Senior 1,” I plainly replied. I don't know how to continue a conversation with a stranger. God forbid.

 

“We're in the same class,” a rather foolish light grin formed of his lips and that freaked me out a bit.

 

“I've never seen you before.”

 

“Transferred from Senior 2. My grades went up,” impressive but he didn't sound jovial about it. Senior 2. That's Dasom's class. She's a pea brain after all. And she has the guts to bully me around, that parasite. Stupid. Idiot. Even this zany person is smarter than her.

 

“Oh,” was all I can say to him. I wouldn't want to blurt out what I had in mind. That would scare the out of him. Soon, we arrived at our class and took our seats. And apparently, his was behind mine. I skipped one whole day of school and all of this happened. What else did I miss? Someone jumped off the school's building. Impossible. That someone would be me but I'm still here.

 

---

 

The cafeteria served an extra side dish during recess today, egg tofu.

 

“Great. Eggs again,” I grumbled to myself, softly, making sure none of the lunch ladies hear me or I'll get dissed by them. I took my usual spot at one of the tables, isolated from other people. I don't know how I come about having a usual spot so solitary because just a year ago, I was sitting in a clique of what I could say normal students. While I was wondering who would ever sit here if I'm gone, someone came by and sat in front of me.

 

“Hi.”

 

“What are you doing here?” I hissed. I didn't want to attract attention and by him sitting with me did just that.

 

“Eating...” he said it with such innocence I almost believed it.

 

“You can sit with your own friends. Go away,” I was almost panicking by now. I prayed to the heavens and hell for him to just leave already.

 

“I only have one friend. And he's somewhere, not here,” he simply replied and ate his food. I can't believe this. What did I ever do to deserve this? I should leave. I can always eat in the washroom or...or the staircase. That would at least be more hygienic.

 

“Where are you going?” he asked when he saw me put my utensils aside.

 

“Somewhere else to eat.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Why to you,” I shot back. Oh no. I'm sounding rude now.

 

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude,” I apologised immediately.

 

“You can just sit here. You don't need to go somewhere else,” he said it with ease but as I took my utensils back, I felt troubled.

 

“You know, you're the first person I talked to,” I frowned at his statement.

 

“In the new class I mean. I'm just too intimidated to start a conversation with anyone else.”

 

“And me?” I bemused.

 

“Way easier. You look friendly,” Friendly? He must be pulling my leg.

 

“What's your name? I'm sorry I didn't ask you earlier on,” he went on before chewing his food.

 

“Don't you know me?” that came out a bit different than I expected it to. I sounded like as if I was some kind of superstar or something. More of to, a super bully substance. He shook his head with a perplexed look on his face.

 

“Am I supposed to?” he asked.

 

“You really don't know me? Gaeol? No?” I can't believe what I said. I just conceded myself as a fake face and I am mentally stabbing myself right now. He shook his head once more.

 

“Do you even go to this school before this? Are you sure you transferred from Senior 2 and not from another high school?”

 

“I'm always missing out on things. Sorry,” he shrugged and that explained a lot of things. His utter ignorance made me see him as a whole new person. He's a new person, sure I've never seen him before even though he's from the same school but the fact that he doesn't know the part of me that's known by other students as uglier than hideous, is really a contentment.

 

“Hyerin. Son Hyerin,” I told him. My first genuine smile in years was given to him. He should be darned thankful.

 

“I'm Kim Jongin. You can call me Kai,” another smile and we went back to our food, devouring it. Conversations were reserved for later, whenever later is.

 

---

 

Nothing seemed to catch my attention in class. Mathematics was basically revision of what we learned a few days ago, so I had that down. But Kai obviously didn't. He was new to this class after all. What we learned last week, his previous class has not even started the chapter. He kept asking questions about the integrals of countless equations to which I was more than willing to answer and help him. Ultimately, he understood fast. I could see how he got transferred to this class now.

 

And during Science, Miss Gu aimed at me for the -nth time. She just loves sending me to detention. But I like Science. So when my mind wandered off to the sky full of cotton outside the window during her class about space, she took an opportunity to ask me about the composition of the atmosphere of Venus.

 

“The atmosphere of Venus is made up almost completely of carbon dioxide. Nitrogen exists in small doses, as do clouds of sulfuric acid. The air of Venus is very dense that the small traces of nitrogen are four times the amount found on Earth, although nitrogen makes up more than three-fourths of the terrestrial atmosphere.”

 

“A very good answer Miss Son,” I could feel the chagrin radiating from her despite her oh-so-flattering remark. Even Kai was amazed, so I heard from his whispery 'wow'.

 

During English class, Mr Song asked us to pick our own partner for an assignment. I would be alone again since the class has an odd number of students.

 

“Hyerin,” I had a minor heart attack when I heard my name after Mr Song asked Kai who he wanted as a partner. I turned back at full tilt and he flashed an inviting smile. I was half thankful that I wasn't going to do another assignment alone but doing it with someone, a partner was a bit daunting.

 

The others seemed to be shocked too. I could see it in their faces. I, the lone wolf, finally has someone to play with.

 

---

 

“Why can't we go to your place?” I asked as we walked to my house.

 

“I don't have a computer,” weird but I didn't want to ask further. It's not like I'm bothered that he's going to my house. Heck, I must be crazy to bring a stranger to my house. He might me, kill me, rob me, make me as a living sacrifice in a cult. But then again, he was a student. Doing so would make him go to jail, ruin his life, dark future right there for the young lad. Gosh, he's just coming to do the assignment!

 

“You're thinking too much Hyerin,” I whispered to myself. Kai had heard and asked if I said anything. Of course no. To him that is.

 

After long hours of looking for complex sentences from cliched essays online, I would say a pointless assignment, we're finally done and I was still alive. Kai didn't me, rob me neither kill me and the cult sacrifice was just an imagination.

 

“All that's left is to compile it,” he sighed contently. We went down because I wanted to send him out, at least I'm being courteous than to let him leave by himself.

 

“Do you have dogs?” his question came out of nowhere. I turned to where his finger pointed, the dog basket.

 

“A Morkie and a Pomeranian. My mom's dogs. They went to the vet for something,” I couldn't remember what mom had said about it a few days ago. It's not like I need to remember or care for that matter.

 

“Can I see them sometimes?”

 

“What? Are you coming again?” he was so shameless to ask such question. I know my house looks like it came from a lifestyle magazine or something but that didn't mean he could come whenever he wants to see the dogs.

 

“No. You can always post the photos on SNS. Or show it to me someday.”

 

“Oh,” I realised I need to stop making vacuous assumptions of this guy. He might be genuinely nice.

 

“I'll get going then. See you tomorrow.”

 

---

 

I tried so hard to stay awake to write an entry. My hands were starting to loose impulse from my brain and what I wanted to write turned out to be scribbles of dark pencil lead. English words started to ramble in my head and I felt like someone fresh off of a non-stop, day long English course. With that, my head hit the table with a thud and pain was nothing compared to the level of tiredness I was at.

 

 

 

Kim Jongin. Nice to meet you. You seemed nice. I wish it's worthy to get to know you better when I'm staying for five days only. English is tiring. I know you feel the same way too.

 

---

 

A/N : I had too many egg and ham sandwiches and I got tired of them and I just wanted to put that in. I like eggs in general though. So Hyerin finally knows Kai. How come Kai was suddenly at the cashier? And where did he go all this time until he doesn't know 'Gaeol'? Weird Kai doesn't have a computer huh? And is Kai really nice? Questions to be answered in soon, so stick around :)