Confused | Hwang Hyunjin

chapter 1

Nori's POV:

To the sound of my alarm, I jolt up out of bed to get ready for school. I head on to my bathroom to brush my teeth and do my skincare. Once I'm done with that, I put on my school uniform. I run downstairs and grab my bag, kissing my mom on the cheek goodbye. I'm running a little late, so I can't eat breakfast today.

On my walk to school while looking down, I remember that my teacher announced that there will be a new student entering our school. I really hope we can be friends, considering that I only have one. It's my goal this year to develop more friendships and avoid being teased by my classmates. My best friend, Felix is the only person I'm close to. We've known each other since kindergarten. Ever since I've been teased and bullied, he's the only person who would stand up for me. He's gotten way more friends than me so we're not with each other all the time anymore. I miss his company but I fully respect that he has other friends.

As I get into my school, stares are coming from each side of the hallways. The only way I don't get bothered by everyone's looks is just to look at the floor while walking. I reach my locker and pull out my textbooks from my bag before I put it inside. A few seconds later, the bell rings.

8:15, Math

"Alright everyone! Take your seats. Anyone without textbooks will be kneeling outside." Mrs. Jun shouts. I take a seat in the middle row while putting my textbooks down on my desk.

"As you all know, we have a new student entering today. Please welcome, Hwang Hyunjin." A tall, black haired boy walks into the class giving the room a vivid stare. Mrs. Jun tells him to sit down on the empty seat behind me and Hyunjin quickly bows to her, walking to his desk.

Halfway through class, I feel hands brushing through my hair and flicking little strands of it. I turn around and give Hyunjin a disgusted look before turning back to the front of the class. I hear a scoff coming from him after I gave him a look. I can't help but think, maybe I shouldn't have been so rude for my first impression.

The bell rings for dismissal. I stand up and turn around to the exit of the classroom. As I'm walking to my locker, Felix comes up to me and greets me. As him and I are having a conversation while walking through the hallway, I see the new kid giving me a stare. He looked somewhat angry. I probably annoy him like every other person sees me. I can already see that Hyunjin has made a lot of friends. He also seems popular with the girls too. Every one of them is calling him, "oppa." Half of those girls don't even know the boy's age. It's crazy how popular you get in an instant if you're pretty. "Ri, is that new guy looking at you? I think he's charmed by your beauty." Felix smirks. "Oh, don't be ridiculous, idiot." I push him. Felix waves, "Anyways, I'll get going. Bye!" I wave back to him.

Next class is biology. After saying goodbye to Felix, I go back to my locker and put in my math books and get out my biology ones. When I turn around to walk to class after shutting my locker, I walk into someone's chest. I look up to see the new kid, Hyunjin. "What's your problem? Don't look at me like that."

Well, that was uninviting. I thought I'd be the one to make a bad impression to him but I guess it's the opposite. I ignore his attitude and shove past him to biology. Little did I know, he was paired to sit beside me because I was top of the class and Mrs. Lee wanted me to "guide" Hyunjin in our projects. Today's was dissecting a frog. The thought of it was absolutely gross, but I have no choice. Mrs. Lee hands us the frog and I stare at it. An annoying voice starts complaining, "There's no way I'm doing this. Do this by yourself." Hyunjin then turns his head and rests it on his arms laid on the table. What's up with this boy? I gave him another disgusted look while he wasn't looking and slid the frog tray towards me. I then read the instructions and followed along with the teacher.

After doing everything myself, Hyunjin didn't even say thank you. The least he could've done was smile at me or something. I've had enough of him. I pray that he doesn't have anymore classes with me.

It was finally time for lunch so I grab my wallet from my bag and walk to the cafeteria. I line up for the food and pay. I was planning on sitting with Felix today, but he had different plans. He looked like he was having a really fun time with his friends, so I just found an empty table because I didn't want to be a bother. The whole lunch, I sat there admiring everyone eating and laughing with their friends.

When lunch was over, I walked to my next class, history. As I sat on my chair, a group of about five girls walked up to me and one of them put her hands on my desk. "Are you trying to act dumb or what? Leave Hyunjin alone. He clearly doesn't want you and soon enough, he'll definitely ask me out." I replied in an irritated tone, "Look, I want nothing to do with him. Please, take him if you wish. He couldn't be more annoying and clingy anyways." The girls scoffed and walked away. Although, one of them didn't seem to have it. She pulled a clump of my hair, making my head lean back and bent down to whisper in my ear, "Stay away from him or we're gonna have a problem." She let go of her tight grip on my hair and caught up with her other friends.

These girls have been teasing me since freshmen year. I swear, they monitor my every move.

As I watch the girls sit down on their seats, I see a figure standing by the door, listening to my conversation with the girls.