You Don't Know Me ➳ Taesan [COMPLETED]

Four

It was lunch time, and the day felt like it was crawling. He just wanted to get home and escape this hollow full of people. Everyone was still looking at him as if he was an alien that had just climbed out of a UFO.

He stood in-line just like the rest of the students and waited for his turn to get his food. Even on the queue to get food, so many people were stealing glances at him. He wondered if they were going to stop staring by the end of the day.

Taesan looked at his food once it had been served. It was rice with mixed vegetables of the colors green and orange, some meat and some tofu. It seemed to have been prepared with much care than the food he used to have at his previous school.

Once he had received his food, he looked around the cafeteria. Everyone was sitting with someone, and they talked wholeheartedly like all teenagers would do at lunch. They laughed and joked about subjects which Taesan knew he would probably not be able to participate in.

Amy-Janett caught sight of Taesan looking for a place to sit. She was excited to see him.

'Don't dare,' Lily immediately warned her friend whom she noticed almost waving Taesan to sit with them.

'What?' Amy-Janett complained. 'He probably needs someone to sit with.'

'He's a boy, isn't he? He'll probably sit with the rest of the male 11th graders. He probably already knows Jaehyun by now.'

Taesan had noticed Amy-Janett, and he deftly pretended he didn't see her. He wasn't going to risk sitting with anyone at lunch.

He looked around for an empty table, and then walked over to sit there on his own, much to everyone's surprise. He kept his head down as he started to eat, knowing that everyone would probably be looking at him like they were always doing.

'He's sitting alone?' Riwoo asked Jaehyun.

'I don't know. Invite him to come sit with us, he probably just doesn't know who to sit with.' Jaehyun suggested to his friend.

Reluctantly, Riwoo nodded and got up. He didn't like the idea of having a kid from the city within their group, it would feel uncomfortable at first. But maybe he didn't have to feel that way, he thought to himself, maybe it didn't matter. Maybe a kid from the city would be a good addition after all, maybe he could tell them about things they didn't know.

'Hi,' Riwoo greeted Taesan once he had arrived at his table, standing next to it.

'Hello,' Taesan replied with a smile after he had looked up from his tray.

'We noticed you're alone, why don't you come sit with us?' Riwoo pointed at the table they were sitting on, a table that had all the 14 boys from the 11th grade. The table was filled with chatter and laughter.

Taesan didn't want to sit with them, and he knew he shouldn't. He hesitated, before shaking his head. 'Thank you very much for the offer, but I think it's best if I sit here.'

Riwoo did not expect that response. He stopped for a moment, trying to process what Taesan had just said. Had he declined sitting with them? 'Why not?' he did not want to sound tenacious, but he was genuinely curious. What good reason could Taesan have?

'I just...I prefer to relax and recharge during lunch time,' he explained. 'Thank you again.'

Riwoo didn't believe Taesan's explanation, but not wanting to force him, he simply nodded and walked away from the table. So many thoughts were running around in Taesan's head as to why he declined, but he finally settled on one thought - and it was very distasteful.

'He didn't join them?' Lily asked her friend Amy-Janette in wonder.

'Yeah,' she nodded proudly, 'he really is different from the rest of the boys.