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It was a warm and sunny afternoon when the class of 2-5 was having their P.E class in the field outside. Namra looked around the class to look for familiar faces amongst the crowd. She saw Cheong-san and Gyeong-su playfully pushing one another with Onjo and I-sak behind them looking disappointed but also entertained at their friend’s antics. Woojin and Dae-su were not too far from them with Joon-yeong listening well to Teacher Jin-goo’s instructions of what they have to do for today so that he can relay it to the two boys who were talking about going to a mart to get ice cream after class.
She overheard Nayeon, Hyo-ryung, and Ji-min talking loudly about the newest song of some boy group she hasn’t bothered to know or care about. Finally, she finally saw the one person she was looking for the whole time. Lee Su-hyeok who just came back from the restroom and just joined his friends by the corner with him wrapping an arm around Joon-yeong and asking what the teacher said they were going to do.
She wouldn't like to admit it but he caught her eye when he first came to the classroom of 1-5. Ever since he changed up his act, everybody seems to like him and she was among those girls who were interested in getting to know him.
“Alright! Everybody line up! Boys on one line and girls on the other!” yelled the teacher to the class.
Everybody lousily but quickly formed a queue as instructed and Namra found herself at the very back of the girl’s line (as usual).
She saw the boys start pushing one another until the teacher yelled at them to stop it in which all commotions ceased. She smiled to herself, entertained at the sight.
“Since I’m being kind today, I’ll make the whole period a free period!” said teacher Jin-goo, which was followed by applause and cheers. She didn’t really care though since she usually just sat down by the corner and waited till class was over.
“But first, everyone has to stretch for at least 5 minutes and properly. I don’t want any of you kids getting injured under my watch.” said the teacher.
Everyone in the class just agreed and found partners that could help them stretch. The pairings were always obvious and never changed. Cheongsan would go with Gyeong-su, Dae-su with Woojin, I-sak with Onjo, and so on and so forth. However, there was one thing that she didn’t expect to happen that day. By some surprise, Suhyeok who was always partnered up with Joon-yeong or Cheong-san decided to ask Namra to be his partner for today’s class.
“Hey, Pres. Do you mind being my partner for today?” He asked with a very sheepish smile.
“Sure.” was the only thing she could say back.
Nobody bothered to comment on it or notice it even, which made Namra somewhat glad in order to spare her and Su-hyeok the embarrassment of getting teased.
They started doing the warm-up slowly and Su-hyeok was to say the least surprised by the fact Namra was extremely flexible.
“Woah, Pres. I’m surprised you can reach that far.” stated Suhyeok who was watching her do the Saddle stretch.
“I used to do ballet when I was a kid but I stopped since my mom wanted me to focus on studying.” She replied in a monotone voice.
Su-hyeok simply nodded and looked in awe as she slowly went back to sitting up properly in an Indian position.
“Were you good at it?” He nonchalantly asked in response.
“I was decent.” She replied back.
Su-hyeok could only smile back at her and say “You aren’t one to talk too much, are you?”.
She only nodded back with a plain expression which garnered a small chuckle from him.
“Mind helping me out with this?” Suhyeok asks with a cheery tone as he sits down and prepares to do the Saddle stretch as well. She would only stand up and position herself kneeling behind him.
“Actions over words..I like that.” Suhyeok thinks to himself.
As he bent forward, Namra would support him by pushing it forward just a little bit for him to reach exactly where his feet were. She didn’t want to think about it but the first thought she had when she touched his back was how toned it was. She doesn’t live under a rock to not know about his past as a delinquent back then but she’s just surprised at how fit he really was. No wonder he never lost.
Namra would be lost in thought until she finally heard Suhyeok say “Hey Pres, I’m done. It’s okay, you can let go now.” in a soft tone.
“Sorry.” as she backed away a little bit and watched as Suhyeok slowly stood up in front of her.
He stood up and was smiling as he looked down at her and offered her a hand to help her up.
She took it and was brought up with little to no difficulty. She would nod her head in thanks and slowly pat off any dirt or dust on her jogging pants.
“Aren’t you gonna play with the rest of the girls?” He asked as he gestured by pointing his thumb at the girls of the class getting volleyballs and the like from the teacher and laughing.
“No, they never really invite me to play with them.” Namra replied in her signature cold voice.
“You want to come with me then?” asked Suhyeok nonchalantly. Namra’s expression shifted from confusion to interest.
“I’m not gonna kidnap you or anything if that’s what you’re wondering.” He says in a soft tone.
She really thought about whether or not to come with him since this is something very new to her. Especially with someone like Lee Suhyeok of all people asking her to go somewhere to maybe spend time with her.
“Aren’t the boys gonna wonder where you went?” She asked.
“Not really, they don’t really wonder where I go from time to time and just ask where I was.” He replied just as fast as she asked.
Suhyeok asks the question again “So…you coming?”.
She pondered for a moment and looked at him with the coldest glare she could give him.
“You better not get me in trouble,” Namra said with her icy tone and glare.
He made a small cross around his heart with a smile on his face.
“Promise.” he replied back as cheerful as ever.
“Why is this guy always smiling? It’s kind of endearing actually.” She thought to herself.
They started walking towards the place Suhyeok wanted to show her with her in tow. They kept a small distance between them as they walked.
“Sir! I’m going to the restroom!” Suhyeok yelled to the teacher.
“Okay. Go” He said with a neutral expression.
“Sir, I’d like to go to the restroom.” Namra asked in a quiet voice
He simply gestured to go and just observed the class with their ongoing activities.
Suhyeok and Namra made a little bit of small talk on their way there which Suhyeok always initiated. Topics like favourite food, what kind of hobbies the other has, and favourite type of music.
She learned that Suhyeok doesn’t have a favourite food but the go-to dish that came to his mind would be jjajangmyeon. He liked to play basketball (which she knew about whenever she watched him and the boys play basketball in the gymnasium) and going to the arcade to kill time on driving games and shooting games. He liked to listen to R&B a lot and his favourite R&B artists would be DEAN and DPR LIVE but he liked whatever made him feel at peace basically. She answered as much as she could with a little bit more information for her to be invested and not bore Suhyeok with her very plain life.
“It’s your turn. What’s your favourite food?” asked Suhyeok while looking at her.
She gave it some thought and couldn’t give a proper answer like he could so she simply said “Same as you I suppose, I don’t have any favourite food but the first dish that comes to mind would be doenjang.” She looked at him while answering back with a softer expression compared to her usually stone faced appearance.
He just hummed back as a sign of acknowledgement and asked the next question.
“Hobbies?” as they take a turn to the back of the school to some covering.
“I spend most of my time studying and listening to music online so that’s a given. I read most of the time or review notes for the classes ahead of time so I’m prepared.” She replied back.
“Do you always study for fun or are you forced too?” He asked without any insulting or demeaning tone. She had a hard time trying to say it
“My mother forces me too since she wants the “best” for me.” She replies back with an angry tone. Suhyeok looks back and notices the change in her voice. He looks back at her and quickly says “You don’t have to continue that if it makes you angry, Pres. Sorry if I asked too much of a personal question.”
She looks at him in surprise and just stops to look at him for a moment and says “It’s okay, I just feel burdened by it all the time, It’s not something I really want to do but I have to not disappoint my mother.”
“We can talk about it a little more in my little spot if that’s okay with you?” asked Suhyeok in a gentle tone. He looked at her with a small smile and turned his head towards the covering.
Namra only nodded in response and saw him light up like a little candle to that.
She watched him take little steps into the bushes to find some good footing for them to step into properly. He reached out his hand towards her so that she could take it. She held onto his hand and was surprised by how gentle he held her hand. Not too tight and not too hard either but just right. Like handling a flower or a butterfly to say the least.
She took little steps not to fall into a tiny hole or a ditch. She almost tripped but Suhyeok grabbed her by the waist and immediately let go when she gestured she was fine. She finally found ground and solid footing in which Suhyeok just nodded and led the way. He would push some branches out of the way and gestured to a nice small patch of land in the middle of some trees and bushes. The view from below was beautiful since not a lot of sunlight covered the whole patch and it looked like scattering beams of light to say the least.
“Do you like it?” asked Suhyeok who looked like he was anticipating a nice answer.
“Yes. It's beautiful.” She replied simply while still staring at the sunlight behind the leaves.
“You can sit down anywhere, you like. I mean it’s not really mine after all.” he said with a small chuckle as he sat down by the trunk of a tree. She only looked down at him and sat down right beside him which he was surprised to see happen. He shuffled a bit to the left and gave her some room so they sat down beside one another.
She looked at him and asked “How did you find this place?”
“I was skipping class one day when I came around this place.” Suhyeok said quietly.
“Back when you were…with the wrong crowd” Namra asked in a hushed tone like it was something she wasn’t supposed to say.
Suhyeok nodded and replied “Yeah, I came here often to just relax and release some stress. I never told Myung-hwan or Gwin-nam about this place. I guess it was my sanctuary away from them when things got too bad or intense. I don’t know why I just never left them as soon as they started to do bad things. I guess that’s what happens when they’re the only people you know.”
They both just sat in silence after that and listened to the chatter of passing students and noisy cars passing by.
Namra spoke up to clear the silence by saying “You left them and your behaviour improved. You’re liked by everyone in the class and you’re doing your best to amend for past mistakes. I think that you’re different from back then so that counts for something. You changed and for the better.”
“That’s comforting to hear from you of all people. Thanks, Pres.” He replied with a sombre smile.
“How come?” asked Namra questioningly.
“I can only say that when you say things, they come from the heart. You aren’t one to beat around the bush when it comes to things. You’re direct and say things that are important so….it’s comforting to hear that since I know you’re being genuine.” replied Suhyeok.
Namra was flattered to hear that from him and gave him a small smile.
Suhyeok smiled back at her. He was absolutely enamoured with her smile and didn’t want to say anything about it to risk ruining the moment.
“Enough about me, what about you? You said you were going to tell me more about your mom so I’m all ears.” Suhyeok said to continue the conversation.
Namra stopped smiling a bit and thought about the proper words to say.
“My mother and I….we don’t have a nice relationship to say the least.”
Suhyeok nodded and urged her to go on.
Namra started talking about her feelings. “When I was younger, we would always go out for small things, let me try out new things, and support me in whatever I wanted to do. I think my dad may play a part in that since the family seemed a lot happier when he was around.”
“What happened to him?” asked Suhyeok
“I don’t know either, he left home one day saying he had to do something for a bit and he never came home.” Namra sadly replied.
“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Suhyeok replied.
“It’s okay, it happened a long time ago anyways.” Namra smiled sadly at him.
“After that, my mom and I didn’t really talk as much as we used to. She would be at work more to the point she wouldn’t go home for days or even weeks and left me to take care of myself. The only conversations we usually have now are about school. How are my grades? Am I the top now in the class or the school? Do you need a tutor? And telling me if she was gonna be gone for a week or a month before leaving me an allowance I manage to survive for a month. She feels like a stranger to me nowadays.” She ended her talk with an empty expression.
“Do you think you’ll ever rekindle your relationship with your mom?” Suhyeok asked with sincerity.
“I don’t think so. Well, not now at least. I’m just really mad at her for everything. For not really acting like a mom or acting like she cares when something happens to me but I’m willing to try and fix it.” Namra looked at him and looked down again to ponder about her feelings for her mother.
“I wish I still had parents to talk about.” Suhyeok jokes.
Namra perked up and looked at him with a concerned look.
“It’s okay, they died a long time ago in an accident. I can’t say I have any bad memories of them since I only had good ones or the ones I remember at least.” He said while looking at her with a sad smile.
“My grandma takes care of me and I will forever be thankful for her but there are times I wish they were still here.” He looked forward and started playing with the laces of his shoes.
Namra nodded in understanding and looked forward as well. They simply shared a moment of silence after having deep talks with one another.
“I think this is the longest conversation we’ve ever had.” Suhyeok joked before looking at her again.
Namra just smiled at him and replied “Is that a bad thing or a good thing?”
“No, I like talking to you.” Suhyeok said so casually.
“I’m surprised you brought me here to your secret place. I figure I’m not the first one to be here.” She looks around the place.
“Nope, you're the first person I ever showed it to or will be the only person I show it to.” he said it in a matter-of-fact way.
“Why me?” Namra asked in a sincere tone.
Suhyeok paused and thought of the right words to say and said “I wanted to know you better and I figured I’d open up to you through this way.”
“That’s one grand way to make friends,” Namra said in a joking manner.
Suhyeok paused and looked at her directly with a smile on his face “Did you just make a joke”
Namra said back in a challenging but joking tone “If I did, how did you find it?”
“4/10, could work on the punchline.” Suhyeok quickly retorted.
She pushed him a little bit while smiling before asking “What time is it?”
He looked at her and said “I don’t know.” with a small shrug to that answer.
She immediately stood up and raised a hand to help Suhyeok up.
“We might have missed the entire period.” Namra said casually.
Suhyeok started patting off any dirt on his jogging pants and said “That’s okay. Do you have any good excuses?”
“It’s my time of the month and I stayed at the clinic.” Namra said without missing a beat.
“That’s a good one.” Suhyeok said while clapping with a half smirk and Namra rolling her eyes with a smile.
Suhyeok touched his chin while thinking of a good excuse and said “I think I’ll just say I had a really bad stomach ache from eating something from the cafeteria.”
“These are good excuses. Let’s go.” Namra said quickly while nodding and tugged on his shirt to lead the way.
They both took their time walking back to the field and enjoyed the other’s presence without needing to speak. As they were about to join up with their classmates
Suhyeok broke the silence by asking a simple question.
“Pres.”
“Yes?”
“Are we friends now?”
Namra could only look at him weirdly before smiling at him warmly.
“Yes, we are friends now, Suhyeok.”
Suhyeok looked down with a sheepish smile “Right. Just needed to make sure that’s all.”
“See you in class, friend.”
“See you in class, Pres.”
As she put on her cold appearance and joined the class, they were getting ready to leave and go back to their classroom. Suhyeok, who was behind her, ran up to the boys crowding near the staircase. She watched him flick Daesu in the back of the head before quickly hiding behind Gyeongsu in which Daesu accused Woojin quickly and a small rumble ensued. While he was laughing at them, they made eye contact with one another and smiled. He waved at her and she waved back a little.
As they arrived in class, They all scrambled to get their bags and leave since it was dismissal. She took her time packing her things since she didn’t want her materials to be messy and disorganised so that when she came home, she could properly lay out her review materials without any mistakes.
She saw the boys all get ready to run outside since Cheongsan said his mom wanted them to try out a new flavour for their restaurant. Suhyeok, on the other hand, just watched in amusement.
“Why isn’t he rushing to join them? I figured he’d be one to rush as well, seeing as it's free food.” She thought to herself as she went back to packing her stuff.
Something caught her off guard as a phone appeared in front of her face.
“Do you mind if I get your number, Pres?” Suhyeok asked.
She smiled a bit at it and asked innocently “You don’t use KakaoTalk?”
“I use both actually, I didn’t want to assume you didn’t use any of them so I asked for your number instead.” He said ever so simply.
“Fair enough.” Namra replied as she took his phone off his hands.
She dialled it in and saved her name as “Choi Namra” and handed it back to him.
“Why do you always call me by Pres and never by my real name, Suhyeok.” Namra asked with the intent of knowing why.
“It’s a secret,” He said, `` but I’ll tell you when I’m ready.” and ended the statement with a smile.
“SUHYEOK! LET’S GO!” yelled Gyeong-su from down the hall.
Suhyeok yelled back by saying “I HEARD YOU! JUST GO AHEAD!” and looked at Namra.
“Do you want to come with us?” he asked.
Namra looked rather sad as she said “I’m not sure I’m welcome among them so next time instead.”
Suhyeok just nodded sadly and understood. Suhyeok looked towards the door and said “I have to go.” to which Namra just nodded in response.
He picked up his bag and started walking until he stopped by the door. He looked like he wanted to say something but chose not to say it. He looked back at her and mouthed the word “bye.” She said the same thing back with a small wave as well.
He smiled at her and left. She finally finished packing and closed up her bag since she was the last one in the classroom. She closed up the lights and closed the door.
On her walk home, she received a text message from an unknown number.
Please be safe on the way home, Pres :>
- Suhyeok
She stopped to smile at the message for a moment and saved the contact as Suhyeok.
“I made my first friend today.” was the thought she had and it brought her some glee.
She went to look for a song that Suhyeok recommended to her earlier when they were talking about their favourite types of music and found it. It was named “instagram” by DEAN and she pressed play.
She would hum the song’s notes and it became stuck in her head for the rest of the night.
If you looked closely enough at Namra, you might have noticed a small skip in her step on the way home.