Array
(
[text] =>
— Are you going to sleep again? — Heejin asked, looking with some disappointment at her best friend, who only raised his middle finger in her direction before lowering his head and laying it on the small pink pillow.
The pillow she had given him on his birthday.
— Do you know how many drunken men I saw yesterday? No, so shut up and let me sleep, Jinnie…— The tallest boy, but still the youngest, said, pushing the chestnut’s shoulders so that she would sit facing the blackboard.
The girl rolled her eyes before sitting up straight in her chair, her eyes shifting to her left, wandering around the room, stopping at one back, in which, lately, and for almost four years, she had always seen.
Yeon Sieun’s Back.
Heejin had had an immediate crush on that guy, she had seen him on the first day of school four years ago and it was as if a stone was thrown at her head, her attention immediately went to his pretty eyes, which saw her without apparent emotion, but for her, it was as if he had told her the best compliment in the world, her head could only repeat the same look over and over again, besides, she had a huge curiosity for that boy, mostly because she swore she had never heard him speak more than monosyllables, at least with her, it was always a “Hello” “Goodbye”. They’d been classmates since kindergarten, even apartment neighbors, but they’d never, ever, had a conversation.
Heejin often wondered the reason why she liked Sieun, it was strange, because it was as if puberty had come to her and suddenly, zaz! She liked the boy with the surly black kitten attitude who sat at the front of the class. She never thought that she would end up with a guilty taste with that guy, she used to have a type, that was not at all close to what Siuen was, but as they say, different strokes for different folks.
And Heejin was curious to know why he always kept his head buried in his books, whenever she saw him, he was studying, with his headphones on, staring at whatever he was doing, writing something quickly, moving his lips as if he were repeating what he was writing.
Didn’t his head hurt from see letters and numbers all day?
Heejin wasn’t an idiot, actually, she was pretty good in class, second in her class, but she had never had such a big habit for it, and she hadn’t put as much dedication, as Sieun, to her studies, she just studied from time to time, and she reviewed her notes before each exam.
She didn’t think it was worth mortifying yourself to get a good grade. There were more effective methods than studying all day and missing out on your life.
— You’re drooling over your notebooks again, Hee…— The laughter of one of her classmates made her snap out of her trance and look at the boy with feigned annoyance, punching his shoulder before he made fun of her gawking state again, causing the girl’s attention to leave Sieun completely to start hurling prankster insults at her classmate.
That was until the teacher entered the classroom making everyone shut up immediately. The woman was smiling, and she knew what that meant.
Someone of that class had won some prize again.
The teacher had always been the competitor type, that woman always wanted the best results and if she didn’t get them, then bad luck for her students. She wasn’t very nice when she got angry.
—… Yeon Sieun and Jeon YeongBin, come forward… — Heejin looked up, confused at the mention of both names.
— Why did she call them? — The girl asked her classmate in a whisper, she was distracted.
— Won a prize.
— YeongBin, a prize? — The girl said in disbelief, as she looked at the boy in front of her with furrowed eyebrows.
— Mathematics.
— Oh… — The girl nodded, leaning back in her chair. Clearly. YeongBin was an idiot, but she had to accept that, in math, he surpassed her by a lot.
—… Congratulations Sieun. — Heejin’s applause was the only thing heard after the woman said those words, all the attention went to her, who raised her eyebrows, unashamedly, until the winning guy’s gaze fell on her.
— I’m sorry, I thought we’d applaud them separately. — The girl said, tilting her head in apologetic mode before settling back a bit, wanting to hide when she heard Sooho’s giggles behind her.
The girl waited for the applause to be heard in the room to stretch out her hand and move the small pillow that held her friend’s head, making it hit the wood of the desk hard. Heejin smiled, knowing that it hadn’t been heard due to the applause and cheers of the others in the room.
— And that’s how you want him to pay attention to you, you aggressive bitch…
Sooho knew of her, according to him, strange infatuation with Sieun, he had known it ever since she had prevented a girl from getting too close to the boy, and although he was sure that he had kicked her out on his own, he knew that Heejin had done it in an act of jealousy, yes, she used to be too jealous, like a little puppy that got upset when she saw her owner petting another.
Heejin slammed her friend’s head with the pillow before handing it back to him. —I’m your eldest, respect me… And, I don’t want him to pay attention to me…
— Of course, and I don’t want to meet Messi…— The boy muttered as he buried his face in the pillow. Heejin only looked at him with some displeasure, knowing that he had won somehow. — Mm… Wake me up at lunchtime.— He muttered before closing his eyes again, leaving his friend with a raised eyebrow, and letting out a sigh of surrender.
Of all the people in that room, you had to have broken his nose on the first day of school, Moon Heejin.
…
— Move your hips more, Hyunie, imagine you’re Heejin… I’m sure she got something from her mother. – The girl looked up at that words, putting her pencil down on her notebook before turning to look at the scene.
YeongBin and his two henchmen, annoying Hyun, a chubby boy, too good for the world, was unfortunately a victim of the abuses of, what Heejin called, the devil himself. — I didn’t know you liked watching men dance, YeongBin… Although, knowing your father, I wouldn’t be surprised if you have those preferences.
The “uh” that could be heard in the room made the boy erase his smile, getting up from his seat to start walking towards her.
Yeongbin and Heejin didn’t have a good relationship, they had never had one, there was no reason, it was as if just being in each other’s presence made them uncomfortable, he had hit her on more than one occasion, and she had clearly hit him, maybe that was what he disliked, that Heejin wouldn’t let someone raise his hand without taking advantage of it, or strike back with two more.
The girl smiled with some innocence, putting her hand on Sooho’s head, who was sleeping peacefully, caressing his hair delicately. — Get my name out of your filthy mouth, because next time, I’m sure you’ll never be able to open it again. — Heejin said seriously, looking at him as she continued to stroke her friend’s head.
He knew that she was nothing against a rather angry Yeongbin, but she knew that Sooho would smash a desk on his back if it was her, so she wasn’t afraid to answer the eldest loudly.
Sooho had given her that confidence anyway.
The girl raised an eyebrow with warning before returning to her previous position, not caring about the thump she heard seconds later, turning her attention back to her science book, she needed to continue studying for the mock exam which they would have in a few days.
— Uh… Be more careful, you just hit Heejin’s boyfriend. — YeongBin’s mocking voice was heard.
That term had a somewhat mediocre origin, and in fact, it had been created by Yeongbin himself, when he found out that Heejin liked Sieun, there was no one in the place who didn’t know about it, even in the senior and younger year halls, everyone knew that Heejin had feelings for the boy with the kitten aura.
Then, one day, all of a sudden, everyone was referring to Sieun by that nickname: Heejin’s boyfriend. She didn’t have a problem with it, and she never saw Sieun complain, actually, she didn’t know if he even cared, but she let it be, not having the energy to argue with Yeongbin over something as pathetic as a nickname.
The girl shook her head, averting her eyes from her book, to see the scene that was unfolding under her nose, meeting everyone’s eyes on her, strangely, she looked towards the two people, which other pairs of eyes found more interesting.
YeongBin and Sieun.
— Sorry. — The first one said with a sarcastic smile.
— Be more careful next time. — The “ohs” sounded again and Heejin let out a funny snort, finding the scene in front of her funny, watching as the taller one got up and walked towards the gray-hooded boy, who had already turned around to go back to his notes.
— I said it was an accident, what do I have to be careful of? — Heejin looked at Sieun, waiting for his reply, she really liked to hear how he humiliated the tallest with just two words.
— I know it was an accident. So be careful not to cause another one.
The scene continued, and Heejin could simply see how YeongBin was losing patience with the youngest. —… People hate you, no matter what you say, it sounds so annoying… What do you think of that? I think… even Heejin is starting to be bothered and guess what… She’s a huge fan of yours.
— And does that bother you? — The girl raised her eyebrows when she heard Sieun’s words, watching as he didn’t even take his eyes off his notebooks.
— What?
— The fact that Heejin likes me more than you is not my problem, stop bothering me and go study English, you need it. — Heejin blinked a little, surprised, but smiled proudly a few seconds later, she didn’t even know why she felt that way, but the fact of seeing him defend himself made her feel happy, she liked that he wasn’t one of those typical quiet boys who were frightened by half a harsh word they said to him.
The feeling didn’t last long as she heard the door to the classroom be abruptly opened, her gaze went to it, noticing five boys or more standing in the doorway, looking sideways. They all had their school baseball team suits on and looked pretty upset
— Who are Moon Heejin and Ahn Sooho?
Everyone’s gaze turned to the duo of friends, who were sitting at the end of the hall, not knowing what was going on, Heejin narrowed her eyes, moving by stretching out her arms, starting to hit Sooho’s head with some force, she wants to keep watching the two boys argue.
— SooHo… Ahn Sooho! — The boy quickly raised his head, trying to open his eyes, before looking sideways in confusion, and finally looking down at his friend, showing her a pout.
— What? Is it time for lunch already?
— Are you, Moon Heejin and Ahn Sooho?
— No bro, they pointed us out for you to ask again. — Heejin said, rolling her eyes, Sooho’s giggle made the girl smile, before looking, at the other guy in front of her, up and down. — Oh! I know you, you’re the guy I had to distract a week ago, you’re so easy to convince.
— You… – The boy pointed at Sohoo, not paying attention to Heejin’s words. — Did you flirt with… my Naeun?
— ¿Gaun?
— Naeun, with “en”. — Her friend said, repeating Naeun a little low so that he would look at her and nod, repeating it low as well.
— ¿Naeun? ¿Lee Naeun?
— I think it’s Park Naeun.
— I’m sure it’s Lee Naeun, where do you know that Park Naeun from? Is she cute?
— It’s Sohn Naeun, you morons! —Both stopped when they heard the yell that had interrupted them, both looking at him with some displeasure, there was no need to shout so much.
— Do you kiss your girlfriend with that mouth? — Heejin asked. — Now I understand why she asked me to distract you to go see SoHoo.
— Ah… She was bothering me, she wouldn’t stop texting me, so I ate with her once, maybe she would leave me alone… — The boy said as he straightened up in his seat. — She didn’t even finish her meat… Oh, she made me waste my money…— Sooho complained, thinking again about how the girl had left more than half of her plate on the table, because according to her, she was already too full. — I’m not interested, she’s not my type.
— He doesn’t like girls who betray their boyfriends. — The girl said, smiling as she nodded towards the boy, who was apparently older than the two of them. — Hey, Honnie… Today’s menu is sautéed pork… A little protein doesn’t hurt, right?
—Oh… That’s great…— The tallest one touched his stomach, as if the thought of food had made him too hungry. — I like protein.
The duo looked at the group again when they heard the eldest’s call, they both watched in confusion as two of those in that group began to approach them before raising the bat, Heejin felt someone pick her up immediately, being pushed back, hitting her back with the lockers that were at the back of the room, before the metal bat hit her table, Sooho stood in front of her, dodging the blow of the bat, once, twice, three times.
Heejin crouched down when she saw the bat go straight to her face, punching the boy in front of her, she removed the bat from his hand, raising it in threatening mode towards the boy, walked to a nearby table while smiling and throwing the bat, dodging the blow of another of the uniformed boys, noticing Sohoo in trouble, she quickly grabbed one of the bats lying on the ground in her hands, hitting one of the two boys, who were standing against her friend, on the back, not too hard, just to let their guard down.
Seeing how another boy came for her, she raised the bat at the same time that she took a book in her hand, she began to hit the boy’s head with the book, releasing the bat to take him by the arm. – Yah! Come here… You. Don’t. Hit. Women. Much. Less. With. A. Bat. – The girl said as she hit the boy with the book, she didn’t apply too much force, but the book was heavy, so it would hurt him just the same. —Understand?
She pushed the boy, looking beside her, two boys hesitant to approach. — Do you also want me to help you memorize the history of Korea? — The history book was menacingly raised towards them, walking backwards a bit, Heejin collided with something, not caring, she hit a desk in front of her, causing one of the players who was going towards her with a bat fall.
— Uh! Touchdown! — The girl said, smiling before seeing the others with a raised eyebrow, shaking her head to make them walk away, they did so with some hesitation.
Heejin turned around just before being pushed to the ground by Sohoo, who backed away to avoid being hit. The sound of the metal bat hitting the blackboard was heard before the girl’s hiss of pain on the ground.
At being on the ground, the bat had hit the back of her head as it bounced off the blackboard, Sohoo saw that, and Heejin could feel the anger growing in his eyes. — You’re dead, dude. — With nothing more to say, the boy threw a punch at the older one, causing him to fall to the ground, right at Heejin’s feet, who was picked up a second later by Sooho.
— Come, get up… are you okay? — He checked the back of his friend’s head, before putting the palm of his hand in front of her eyes. — There’s no blood, see? Everything is fine. — The boy said with a smile before seeing the others in the group. — Pick him up and take him to the infirmary, ah… And if you say any of our names, I’ll kill you.
Heejin moved a little, stepping on something and hearing it break, lowering her gaze and lifting her foot, she saw a broken pen on the ground, frowning, she looked for where that little victim came from. Her eyes moved to a gray case, which was open and had pens and pencils around it, broken as well, Sooho noticed this, looking at the case and then beside her, connecting glances with Sieun, who was looking at his pencils seriously.
— Oh, was it my fault?
—No. — The boy said before seeing Heejin. — It was her fault.
The girl raised an eyebrow before seeing Sooho bend down and pick up the pens, put them in the case, and put it back on his table. —Okay, here, I’m sorry. Heejin, tell him you’re sorry.
— I am sorry.
Sieun looked at the girl, he had never observed her well, he had seen her once or twice when he arrived at his apartment and she was outside talking to Sooho or a neighbor, also in their advanced classes, they went to the same place to receive them, but he had never stopped to observe her.
Her eyes were dark brown, her hair, that was a shade darker than her eyes, almost black, not so short, quite pale and with a blush that looked natural on her nose and cheeks, or maybe it was just because of the heat of the whole fight, but what caught his attention were those two little dots under her eyes, they looked like tattoos done with tremendous delicacy, however, Sieun knew that the girl couldn’t get tattoos at that age and unless she was a rebellious girl, he could assure that they were moles.
— You didn’t have to say it if you didn’t feel it. — With that, the boy turned around, going back to his books.
Heejin smiled at that thick, serious voice. He was mean. Her type.
Sooho looked at his friend with some disgust in his features, shaking his head when she looked and smiled at him with some malice. The boy refused to understand how she could be attracted, or even seem interested, to a boy like him.
He barely spoke… But he couldn’t judge her, he had never had a stable relationship, so he resigned himself to just joking about the situation, of course, earning himself some jokes due to his lack of relationships.
[text_hash] => 4c0bf224
)