A Daily Life With the Boys Next Door | hts

one

I looked outside the window of the bus, staring up at the clear blue sky and wondering how I got myself stuck in this situation. It was chaos, pure and utter chaos.

Just a few weeks ago, my morning ride to school had been calm and peaceful. I would put my headphones on and listen to The Chairs while ignoring all of the loud students that usually filled the 7 a.m. bus.

I have now, under no will or desire on my account, become part of the loud students on the bus.

"I told you! I haven't peed my bed since I was in elementary school!" Woonhak yelled loudly from the backseat of the bus directly behind me. His long legs kept jolting my seat as his cries of protest grew larger and his movements bigger.

His protests just seemed to edge Jaehyun more, who mocked Woonhak in an even louder voice - loud enough that all the people on the bus would've been able to hear that 'Woonhak doesn't pee his pants.' Leehan's loud laughter accompanied Woonhak's cries which just seemed to escalate the situation more.

In front of me sat Sungho and Riwoo who were arguing about last night's 'intense gaming match' that Sungho 'solo carried' at the end to which Riwoo was retorting.

I heaved a heavy sigh, wondering where my peaceful mornings went.

An even bigger question to me is how amidst all of the loud conversations in front and behind us, Taesan slept peacefully beside me, as if none of this could get in between him and his extra 15 minutes of sleep.

His ability to sleep through 5 boys yelling around us both amazed and frightened me.

This wasn't what I had planned for myself after transferring into a new neighborhood and a new school right in the middle of the year.

It has barely been 2 weeks since the first time I ever met the six boys. The first meeting was as eccentric as the boys were.

I had just moved into my grandparents' home, I was having a lovely little afternoon tea time with my grandmother until they pulled up to my front porch on a random Saturday afternoon, asking for an apology.

Jaehyun had worn a bright yellow jacket that day and did a 90-degree bow the moment I opened the door while shouting 'We're sorry on behalf of Taesan!'

I remember the urge I had to slam the door back then because I had no idea who they were, much less know any 'Taesan'. I only vaguely remember Taesan's embarrassed face as he whisper-shouted 'We got the wrong address, you idiots!'

After a little explanation (which I never asked for) of the situation which roughly went like this - Taesan rejected a girl harshly - Jaehyun said 'You shouldn't have been mean about it!' - Jaehyun devises a plan to go and apologize for Taesan's rude rejection - Taesan was dragged against his will - they got the wrong address - my lovely grandmother invited the six neighborhood boys at our doorstep for afternoon tea.

I thought that would be the last time I ever saw the boys. I went to my new school, I found a stray cat at the park I liked to feed, I took the 7:30 a.m. bus every day, and life was peaceful and quiet.

My goal in moving to a different place was for that purpose - to not stand out, to get through high school without any disturbance, out of sight out of mind.

That was of course, until that faithful morning on my way to school. Who would've thought the boys in my neighborhood also went to the same school as me? Definitely not me.

Jaehyun apologized again 'on behalf of Taesan' because Taesan had lured them into the wrong house on purpose.

Riwoo had comfortably taken the seat next to me, asking me if I take the bus every morning to school. I had only nodded in reply but that didn't stop any of the boys from making conversation.