Prompt: “There were no tears” (The challenge:  use this phrase as the first line of the story, then make a narrative out of it)

Here we go~

OC- Park Minji

(Minji’s POV)

“There were no tears,“ he said. “Only senseless crying.”

 When I was young, I was told never to cry. Crying means giving up and not having enough strength; it’s a sign of weakness and vulnerability. With these thoughts in mind, I grew up to be a determined girl who gets everything her way. I focused and relied on myself to get things done. I excelled in school and received honors and recognitions. I was unstoppable and I had the world wrapped around my fingertips.

That is until that fateful night of April 25th, 2012.

Being the top student at Bucheon High gives you two reputations: First is that you are a nerd and gullible to pull pranks on; second, you’re too smart and well off to even fraternize with the rest of the student body. I was more of the latter and practically kept to myself most of the time. It’s not that I was shy. God, I wish. I just didn’t find the use of making friends when the world is filled with so many distrustful people. 

Don’t get me wrong, I talk to people but they are merely acquaintances to me. Most of the people I talk to are adults (when asked to order in a fast food restaurant), fellow honor students (when forced to do a group work), and the occasional introverts (when I feel like I need to be alone with someone). I lived with my uncle, my dad’s brother, for the last seventeen years. He was the only other person I actually interact with. Uncle Fred understands me, says that I was exactly like my mother. I would always snort and say, “I’m nothing like her.”

“But you are, Minji-ah.” He pressed. “You look like her and you say stuff that sounds exactly like her! It’s creepy.”

I would just smile at him but deep down I was furious. I am nothing like my mother; nothing like the woman who abandoned her only daughter to go out with some other man. It was good riddance, if you asked me. She never felt like a mom to me in the first place. She was too uptight, too serious, and too absorbed in her career to even care about my dad and I. I’m not sure what my dad saw in her and I never got the chance to ask him.

“I never got to ask him.” I whispered to myself and the memories washed over me like a wave slapping on the shore.

It was the middle of the semester when a new student arrived in my English class. Byun Baekhyun was everything I hated in a guy. He smiled too often and was friendly to everybody. He had the tendency to move a lot, making me wonder if he was diagnosed with ADHD. He joked around too, making the whole class laugh at his silly humorist actions.

Physically, he was not bad, I admit. He was tall with pale flawless skin, a flop of black hair on his head, and an amiable face with warm brown eyes. Everyone loved him and everyone wanted to be his friend. I tried not to gag every time a girl tries to get his attention in class by leaning in too low, exposing their chests… talk about being discrete.

I never paid attention to the “Baekhyun wave” and went on with my life like I usually do, which is mostly keeping to myself, studying, or writing in my blog.

I was perfectly fine until Baekhyun got assigned to be my partner for a project.

“Hey!” he greeted me once in the library while I was reading Pride and Prejudice for the nth time. “Park Minji?” I winced. I hated it when I get interrupted while reading.

“Uh-oh. Sorry. No full names?” he asked, his lips pouting as he thought. “Uh—how about Min? Ji-ji?” he stated then snapped his fingers, “Ah! Minnie, maybe?”

“What do you want?” I snapped. I looked up at him and immediately felt guilty when I saw the look of hurt on his face. I don’t know why, but I snapped at people before but I never really felt guilty about it. “Sorry,” I said. “Minji’s fine.”

“Okay.” He shrugged. “Just wanted to ask about out project.”

“This is how it works, “ I said, putting my book down. “I do the project and you stay out of my way. I’ll brief you when it’s finished and when we present it, all you have to do is stand there and look pretty.” Baekhyun looked at me with a blank expression. “Okay?” I smiled before averting my gaze from him to return to my reading. I heard a shuffling sound and when I looked up Baekhyun was sitting across from me, “Not okay.” He said. “I’m not letting you do all the work.”

I tilted my head curiously. This is definitely something new. “Funny,” I countered. “Most people kill to not have to work.”

“I’m not like most people.” He said.

Understanding his words as a challenge, I said, “Okay, we meet here after school every Wednesdays and Fridays for the next three weeks. Fine with you?” I knew he would decline, especially since I scheduled it on a Friday.

“Deal.” he said, surprising me. “Thanks, Minnie.” I was so shocked by his answer that I didn’t even glare at him for calling me Minnie. “See you Friday!” he called out, waving at me with a smile as he bounced towards the exit like a crazy kid.

Who the hell was that guy?

~~~

Surprisingly, working on the project with Baehyun wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, I started getting amused by his crazy antics and even laughed at his corny jokes and greasy pick-up lines. The days passed and I admitted that I started to like him more and more each day. It was a crazy feeling, liking someone. You always want to see them, you always wonder where they were when you’re apart, and you get nervous whenever they’re near. I