Hazelnut - Ryeji

9

While I was walking to school, I kept on thinking about the fun little wig and ice cream date I had with Yeji yesterday.

In front of me is my sister walking with her friends, on my right side, there are people exercising and jogging, and on my left side, there are dogs strolling at the park with their owners.

I inhaled the cold air and the flower-like scent and I exhaled sharply. I put both of my hands in my pocket and continued walking with a big smile on my face.

I've been seeing Yeji a lot these past few days and I started to notice something with my personality and how I see myself and others.

I definitely changed.

"I need a smoke." I said to myself.

I pulled out my lighter and a cigarette stick from my pocket. I wasn't worried about the fact that there are students walking around with me. I knew that if they see me, they will definitely report me to the principal.

But I didn't care.

I don't care about school that much. I wasn't afraid of getting detention or even kicked out of school.

Even though there were many students and people throwing glances at me, I still placed the cigarette stick I was holding on my mouth and checked my lighter if it was working.

'It's been a while since I smoked.' I thought to myself.

I started smoking a year ago when my family started falling apart. My dad drinks and smokes a lot so I decided to give smoking a try to see why he is so obsessed with it. On my first time, I coughed a lot. My chest was aching so much and I kept on coughing until my face turned red, but after a while, I got used to it. I got used to the smell of the smoke and the odd feeling.

I got obsessed with it.

I looked at my blue lighter that I stole from my dad a few months ago. I lit up my lighter and I looked at the small dancing fire on my lighter.

The wind was too strong so the fire suddenly disappeared.

I let out a sigh and I lit up my lighter once again. I held the cigarette stick with my thumb and index finger. I carefully brought the fire closer to the cigarette. All I wanted is to smoke.

"Ryujin!" Someone suddenly yelled that startled me making the fire on my lighter disappear.

I sighed and put the lighter back to my pocket and looked behind me and my eyes widened as I stared into the girl who is running towards me.

"Yeji." I weakly said.

It felt like everything was in slow motion. Yeji had a big smile on her face while running towards me. She was still wearing her plain black beanie, her blue and black hair that she bought yesterday in the wig store, and she was wearing her glasses that have circular frames.

As she started to get close to me, she kept on saying my name over and over again, "Ryujin! Ryujin! Ryujin!"

She was in a good mood that made me smile. She had a joyful look on her face.

As she's now a meter away from me, Yeji slouched and placed her hands on her knees while trying to breathe. She was out of breath that made me chuckle a little bit.

I walked towards Yeji. "Idiot. Why did you run?" I said.

Yeji inhaled and exhaled as she fixed her posture. The smile on Yeji's face dissolved into an angry look that made me a little confused. "Hey." She said.

"What?" I asked.

"What the heck is this?" Yeji suddenly took the cigarette stick from my mouth.

"H-hey, give that back." I said.

Without hesitation, Yeji threw the cigarette stick to the ground and stomped on it with her right foot. "I hate people who smoke, Ryujin." She explained.

I sighed while looking at my cigarette stick that was torn apart. "Cigarettes are expensive. Do you know that?"

Yeji clenched her right fist and hit me on the head. "Idiot. Do you want to die? do you want to have lung complications?"

I held my head and pouted. "What should I do?"

"Just quit." She said.

I nodded. I started tapping my chin with my index finger while having a battle with my thoughts. 'Should I?' I thought to myself.

After a few seconds of silence, I finally decided.

"Alright. I'll quit." I said.

Yeji's eyes widened that made me chuckle a little bit. She looked at me in the eyes and asked, "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll quit for you."

Yeji chuckled softly. "I wish my boyfriend was like you."

The happy look on my face dissolved into a sad look. I started to feel mixed emotions. I don't have feelings for Yeji, but when she said that she had a boyfriend, I felt something within me. "O-oh, you have a boyfriend." I said.

Yeji let out a small smile. "Well, not anymore. I didn't actually tell my best friends who I dated." She chuckled.

I smiled while looking at Yeji. "H-hey, do you want to cut classes with me and eat tteokbokki?" I jokingly asked.

Yeji nodded that made me a little confused. "Sure." She said without hesitation.

"It was just a joke. A-are you seriously going to cut classes with me?" I asked.

"Yep. I'm already dying anyways. School is pointless." Yeji said that made me a little sad.

"Alright." I said.

--

"Oh my gosh. This tastes so good!" Yeji yelled that startled me.

I nodded while walking with Yeji. I already finished my tteokbokki, but Yeji isn't. She is slow when it comes to eating that I find adorable.

"You should always take me on a date here." Yeji said that made me a little confused.

My eyes widened when I heard those words. "A-A date?" I shyly asked. It was my first time hearing someone say those words to me.

Yeji nodded while eating her tteokbokki. "Yeah. You are officially my best friend! I feel like Lia and Chaeryeong will like you." She said.

I chuckled softly while looking at Yeji. "O-oh, I see." I said. "Yep! I am your best friend!" I happily said.

I was happy.

I was so proud that our friendship is starting to grow. She gave me something that my two friends couldn't give me.

Calmness.

Sometimes, all you need is someone to talk to.

Suddenly, Yeji stopped walking that made me a little confused. I noticed that she is pointing at something and her arm is shaking a little bit. "H-hey." She nervously said.

I looked at where Yeji was pointing and my eyes widened at what I saw.

I saw our teacher.

The man in his 40s was glaring at us. He had an angry and confused look on his face. He squinted while scanning Yeji and I with his eyes.

"S-shoot. We're in trouble." Yeji whispered to me.

The man took a few steps toward us. "What are you kids doing? are you cutting classes?!" He yelled.

'Shit.' I thought to myself.

"Yeji, run!" I yelled.